At Long Last

A few clips of the short lived Drumbbone! Thanks to the great guys at Buddy System Studios. This job got me out to LA for the first time and lead to me working at Shadow Machine on Robot Chicken. The work done at Buddy System is fantastic stuff and I love those guys. John Harvatine IV I first met in Connecticut working on "The Little People" and Eric Towner I met when he and Harv hired me for Drumbone. I owe these guys a lot- Without those two I may never have gone out to LA.

Humping Toy!

I haven't had the chance to animate the Humping Robot for robot Chicken yet. I look forward to some day animating that humping action. That wait may end with the Humping Robot Toy! It should be out by April and has wind up humping action.

It would be great to get one for free- what's the point of working on the show if you don't get the free swag? I love the picture of the robot humping the washing machine- but that isn't included with the toy. I wonder where I can get one of those... 

Star Wars II Robot Chicken!

On July 21st Robot Chicken Star Wars: Episode II will be released! We originally produced the 22 minutes that aired before the start of season 4. We then went back and produced another 15 minutes! It all looks great, and I can't wait to see the extra features and  behind the scenes (I hope I don't see myself picking my nose).

We have Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams as well as Ahmed Best, who won an Annie reprising  for his performance as Jar Jar Binks. The writers: Seth Green, Matt Senreich, Tom Root, Douglas Goldstein, Mike Fasolo, Kevin Shinick, Zeb Wells and frequent guest writers Breckin Meyer, Hugh Davidson and Dan Milano also picked up the Annie for writing.

The best part of the RCSW II is that it got a bunch of my friends into Robot Chicken that hadn't watched it before- like my wife.

This DVD will make an excellent addition to anyones stop motion library. And if you people out there buy it- I might get more work- so everyone wins!

Coraline

Although no longer in theaters, I am going to add my 2 cents. Some of the initial trailers I had concerns that the film might not look like stop motion, that the level of polish would be at such a level that the hand made quality would not be apparent. I am happy to say that was not the case. A beautiful film full of atmosphere and texture.

I look forward to be able to rewatch it at home and pick through the animation frame by frame. The acting is fantastic and is of a kind that weighs heavy on my mind. It presents itself as a feast, an overwhelming delivery of all that is potential in this art form. 

Amazing.

The Week After

Robot Chicken season 4 ended for me about a week ago. A truly fantastic experience. I look forward to going back whenever they need me way out there in LA. Back in Corning, NY I am adjusting to plugging away on my thesis- which seems to be making progress- even if a bit slowly.

The most valuable thing to gleam from this experience is a new appreciation for Stop Motion. Not to say I ever stopped loving it, but to be back in an environment (a large environment) and be surrounded and consumed by the process, well, it is refreshing. It gives one pause, and a chance to reflect on the art form itself. And after that moment it is time to start a new shot.