Hey All!
Long time no post!
Tomorrow I will be releasing my latest iClone animations to YouTube. It’s a new series named “POD 13” made of sci-fi/comedy shorts. I’m releasing the first THREE episodes on Saturday, and plan to keep making them, one per week.
I hope you enjoy! (I’ll be back with links when it goes up on Saturday, July 5th at midday (EDT).)
In the meantime, where’s the thumbnails!
Cheers!
BiggsTrek
You tease.
Looking forward to seeing it!
Happy Saturday everyone!
The first three episodes of my new sci-fi/comedy series “POD 13” are now live!!
Episode 1 - “Evacuate!”
Episode 2 - “Don’t Touch!”
Episode 3 - “Radio”
Only a couple of minutes each, check them out!
Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtRnt4XWLmncIGtoy4MNwWRfvBXsEIlau
Very nice Biggstrek. Short and sweet like my wife.
lol, and I’ll be sure to use that line in an upcoming episode, biz!
Funny and well done…
Happy to see you still have fun animating!
Thanks! Yeah, still at it. I can’t seem to stop, even if my PC wants to!
Guess what? I made Episode 4, “Game Night” and it’s available now to watch and enjoy (neither optional…)
Virtual reality bites!
Hey All! It’s out! Episode 5 of POD 13 - “Invasion!”
This week we have a special guest star, Phil Rice (aka zsOverman) voicing the role of “Xur”!
Thanks to Phil for both volunteering to do Voice Over work for me, PLUS agreeing to my very tight deadline/turnaround of 48 hours (I think he had the lines done in under 24 hrs? Maybe 12? I can’t remember, it’s all a blur… Thanks again, Phil!)
If you think the name “Xur” seems familiar, then you are probably a fan of the film “The Last Starfighter” from 1984, which this episode refers to. And hopefully you still will be, after seeing my little parody/dig/homage!
Also included are some musical tracks from the YouTube Library:
“Adventure Theme” by Sir Cubworth
“Rock-a-bye Baby (Instrumental)” by The Green Orbs
Just a side note: this film was a challenge, time-wise. I only just got it done and uploaded about an hour before my self-inflicted deadline of 6pm Sunday. Maybe I was too ambitious, or maybe just badly organized, I’m not sure. But I did note that each episode has become longer and longer (starting at 1.5 mins and now at 5.5 mins!) So that might have to change. Also, I’ve come up with a schedule/plan for next week, breaking each day into different tasks that need to be completed on those days. Let’s hope that works.
Hope you enjoy!
Good one Biggsy. Bigger is better (at least so far in this series). Phil was a welcome inclusion for some fun back and forth dialog. Very enjoyable.
Are you actually doing all the production in one week and why (not that I mind…just curious)? Are the episodes pre-written or also happening in that 7 day period or are you going off the cuff?
----Begin Trip Down Memory Lane----
I have 3 (weirdly) indelible memories of my folks taking me to the movies in the 80s. Ghandi (I remember only small parts of the movie but I was 100% psyched to get candy during the intermission), Ice Pirates (sexy and dumb…I think my Dad regrets this one) and The Last Starfighter.
TLS was the perfect 80s video for a nine year old. Play video games well and you get recruited to save the planet while your girlfriend makes out with a goo faced Synthoid. Robert Preston was the rich man’s Rip Torn, Grig was the poor man’s Chewbacca and the Gunstar’s Death Blossum was AWESOME! Its mind boggling that there was never a corresponding video game.
----End Trip Down Memory lane----
Thanks Biz!
Production (including conceiving, writing and filming, etc) is all done in the 7 days I’ve allotted myself. Obviously, the sets and character are reused each time, and I “only” have to create any new stuff that each story may require. For example, the pod (interior) was only half built for the first few episodes, but I added to it at least twice in the subsequent episodes (there’s still more needed to be done, but not yet.)
Here’s my work plan for the next production (if possible):
Monday - Conceiving & Writing
Tuesday - Sets and Actors (and VOs)
Wednesday - Filming (and editing)
Thursday - Filming (and editing)
Friday - Sound FX and Music
Sat & Sun - Rest (and release the film)
Note: this is NOT what I’ve done so far. But I’m hoping this work flow may help me focus and best use the time I have. (I’m tired of staying up all hours…)
Why am I doing this? Well, I’m trying to get my YouTube channel a little more “popular”. Basically, feeding YT a movie a week, hoping it will get the all-mighty “algorithm” to push my products further and get more views. (So far it hasn’t worked, but I did experience an “up tick” a little while back when I uploaded a bunch of old “The Movies” films, which is why I’m doing this now.)
Plus, I’m notoriously slow at making films, normally. While I’m currently unemployed, it was a good time to make use of my “downtime” and see what I can do to boost my movie making. So far, it’s shown that it doesn’t have to take me three years to make a movie. Who knew? lol
So there you have it. A long answer, I know. Sorry about that. I better get back to writing the next episode of POD 13. I had two ideas for this week, and have chosen what I think is the shorter of the two as I now have only FIVE days to get it done. Yikes…
Cheers, and thanks for watching!
btw, I also loved TLS. I remember, years after it came out, I saw a VHS copy (along with a blank VHS) for sale at Kmart. Of course (being a fan for years) I bought it, and watched it to death over the years that followed (finally selling it or throwing it away when I moved to the USA).
Yes, the CGI is old and clunky compared to pretty much anything these days, but the Death Blossom scene still gives me a shiver of delight when I watch it (I now own the Bluray…)
Oh, and there was a video game version of it on the Atari 2600 (my friend had a copy) but it wasn’t very good.
Just a quick update on my new “Plan”. All was going well until Tuesday, when something in “real life” caught up to me and had to be addressed. While I got done Tuesday’s tasks (VOs, set, props etc) I lost Wednesday altogether (priorities, dude!) Thursday I was filming, but a day behind. It’s Friday now, and I’m still filming (about half done.) Guess that means I’ll have to work Saturday, but that’s kinda what I expected anyway. Should be ok for a regular Sunday evening release.
As an extra treat, I have just bought a “new-to-me” PC (2nd hand on FB marketplace - yeah, I know, risky) but waaay cheaper than a new PC. That’s being picked up tomorrow. I’ll take my time setting it up, I’m sure. But ultimately this means I can get back to “Forbidden Planet: Children of the Krell - Chapter 2” in the very near future! (iClone stopped being responsive on my existing PC a while back. It is way under-spec.)
Meanwhile, I’ll do as much POD-13 as I can before switching back. And when FPii is done, I’ll do more POD-13 again (trying not to get dizzy). I’m hoping my new “discipline” means I can get FPii done much faster than my “normal”. Let’s hope, anyway.
OK, enough prattling. Back to filming POD-13, Episode 6 (“Baked Alaska”)!
Out Now!
This week on POD 13, we have a delicious little entry called “Baked Alaska”. (Never had it myself, but it looks tasty. Anything with ice cream and cake can’t be wrong! But I digress.) This is Episode 6 of the ongoing series, and I hope you enjoy.
