Outcast Hero Production Log

Scene 7-9 Lockdown

2012-01-25T17:28:00.006Z

Since Outcast Hero is heading into heavily spoileriffic territory, you won't be seeing many screenshots for a while.

Though I'm not sure what I'll be filling the space with. Maybe a little dance? :I

7_2

2012-01-16T02:52:00.002Z

It amuses me how I found animating at this angle easier than trying to animate Vira putting a hat on. (Which I skipped for the time being, by the way.)

Reams o' References

2012-01-12T19:58:00.003Z

I've been working on updating the reference sheets to reflect all the latest adjustments to specie and character designs. There's still a chunk of them left to do, but so far, so good. :)

New Year, More Fine-Tuning

2012-01-09T02:17:00.003Z

OHverse fine tuning, that is!

Things continue to get very interesting. I won't be going into detail on what's happening, but let's just say the movie's understructure gets more solid by the day. You can also see a bit of character design experimentation going on above.

Hope to have more draft screens soon. C:

7_1

2011-12-29T11:58:00.005Z

Pixar's pro tip for yesterday was "Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite."

I'm finding myself rewriting in places I wasn't expecting to. But all for the better. Just cleared up another bit of unnecessary dialogue, while refining other surrounding dialogue. A few minor segments of OH's previous script incarnation still remain, but have mostly been weeded out due to the fact the previous movie version's characters are somewhat different. Jon rightly pointed out, the past version of Adrian wasn't so much educated as innocent - as such, his responses to some of the following events were initially rather cold.

There was also some issues with rather jerky emotion flow and interactions between characters toward the end of scene 7, which have been fixed. I owe many thanks to Jon and Mike for helping me with these. C:

You get to see a moving segment of scene 7 today. Notes on the segment's production can be found in the comments. Enjoy!

Wall Refs and Resolution

2011-12-18T22:44:00.005Z

This is on the wall in front of my studio comp. It helps to remind me the heights of currently relevant OH species in relation to one another. It has a few old specie names on it because I made the chart before deciding on alterations.

The production still set is something I pulled up today, primarily for showing my Great Uncle but it works as a nice promo too. The video resolution scribbled on the side is the one I'm going to aim for with OH. Having realised about working in widescreen resolutions a little late, the first few scenes of the movie are in odd and varying sizes. It's going to be a bit of a challenge to get them all consistent.

End of Year Review - 2011

2011-12-13T23:15:00.007Z

Click above to see larger version

The production timeline gives you an idea of where the movie stands in terms of how finished it is. Being the optimist I am, I see this as being halfway through production.

Not to say there isn't a LOT of work left to do, but the feeling of what I have already got done is a very good one right now - edits and all. Every cut, tweak and adjustment has made the movie flow more naturally and, while some of the animation is still fairly rough, I'm starting to actually see the Outcast Hero in my mind's eye become reality on a computer screen. And its exciting.

Jon has been working alongside me during the refinement process, letting me bounce ideas off him with regards to edits and giving suggestions and pointers for timing, dialogue and some visual aspects. I asked him how he thought the drafting was coming along:

"The sketch draft looks brilliant! Watching the movie in animatic form was really something that made me smile. While the movement was rather limited, the dialogue, setting and the visuals engaged me as an audience and as a staff member. The way that Gemma portrays the characters through their expressions and their dialogue really brings life to them, all with a unique personality and a conscience of their own; a trait that I've seen in only a select few movies I've watched.

To see the animatic evolve through the sketch draft makes me even more excited! To see the fluid movement and see the characters come to life... it's truly amazing!

Though I won't say that the sketch draft stages isn't at all challenging. From what I've seen, the expressions and movement are now being tested in terms of making the characters seem real and not just a 2D series of movement. Not only that, but it seems that the animated sketch draft tests our observation in terms of the movie's script and the personalities of all the characters.

Though thanks to the refining of most of the scenes and the input shared between Gemma and the rest of the team, I think we're on the right track!"

On the subject of dialogue and adlibbing character lines, there was a little more insight:

"Adlibbing is rather challenging for me, especially since I'm a man who stutters quite a bit, so I try to write down good ideas that pop into my head. I try to say them out loud in the character's voice to see if I can get the line within the same tones, suitable vocabulary choice and the right quirks as them.

They say that the longer you hang around someone, they start to rub off on you. I think the same could be said about voicing characters, heheh. The longer I've voiced Marlon, the more my brain develops a "Marlon mode" of some sorts, in which I can sometimes roleplay as him and think what would be the best way to handle a situation if I was Marlon himself.

As for Reegan, thinking about his dialogue actually seems... easier. I think it has to with the fact that I've grown up in a family full of members in the military and a few war heroes. Also, since I've played games and watched films involving war, I can get the same vibe as Reegan, be it his love for his arsenal or the old war father figure personality that exists within him.

From there on, trying to think up of dialogue for other characters can be challenging since I don't voice them, minus a few temporary recordings. For the case of Adrian, I'd actually have a talk with Mike and see what he'd think Adrian would do in that specific situation. For dialogue suggestions for Muxlowe, I'd try to wing it and mimic how Tim would voice Muxlowe and have fun with being a goofy ego-bag."

I also asked Bianca -who has been assisting on inbetweens- for her thoughts:

"I think it's looking brilliant! ... it's a lot smoother and well formed than the animatic was, the script is flowing better... and the animatic was amazing to begin with so... ...well on the right tracks."

Everyone at Team OH hopes you'll stick around and see where the next year takes us! :D

The Mystical Anticut

2011-12-12T01:29:00.000Z

Well scene six is as finished as it's going to get right now.

I spent more time today further refining parts of the script in order to get information across to the audience in a less complicated manner. But a weird phenomena keeps occurring with my movie. The more I go about trimming any unnecessary segments of the project away, the longer the movie gets. How does this even work?

Scenes one to six of the animatic ran to approximately 32 minutes, whereas scenes one to six of the sketch draft run to around 31 minutes. And those scenes have two vital segments missing from them - things I was going to go back and animate later! Very perplexing.

I'm not worried, though. There's a stigma about long movies, especially animated ones, but I figure if people are entertained by what they're watching, they won't notice the duration they're watching for.

Voice Cast News

2011-12-10T15:26:00.002Z

I'm going to apologize in advance. This is my first time in a director/filmmaker role and as such, lots of things have ended up being learned the hard way. As I continue the sketch draft, it dawns on me that I didn't realise how much refining the movie would be going through at this stage. Scene segments are being cut and edited left, right and centre. Some people have shifted roles during this time, others I'm not even sure will be playing their current roles in the final version.

Consequently I have taken the decision to only keep main voice cast members on the OH main site. Background character VAs will need to expect to either retake lines or play entirely different characters, depending on how the movie develops. I'll keep you posted.

6_6

2011-12-08T23:39:00.004Z

Less talk, more screenies? Aye aye!

I'm rather excited as I'm very close to Outcast Hero's pivotal event point 1 of 3. Also lots of humour. C8

Thank You, Pixar.

2011-12-07T12:51:00.005Z

Thank you, Mr. Lasseter and you Pixar pioneers. With every documentary and interview about your studio that I watch, I know I'm on the right track.

Your passion for strong stories, memorable characters and high quality work has been nothing but inspirational.

On those days when I drag myself out of bed -sore, worn out and contemplating the reasons for continuing my movie- those inspirational quotes stuck to my wall push me onward. It is as if I am associating with kindred spirits, reading those quotes, even though we are very much unknown to one another.

In a world where animation is sometimes observed with raised eyebrows and often crammed into a place reserved for one age group, to hear people express just how much they love creating animation for everyone -treating it as the art form it is- that is so emotionally stirring for me.

If there was a way to let you guys know how much your enthusiasm and vision drives Outcast Hero, I would.

- Gemma

Keeping in Character

2011-11-30T18:46:00.004Z

As I continue to wade through scene segments and assess dialogue that I wrote 2-5 years ago, another thing has struck me about story writing. Brainchildren are a lot like real life actors and actresses. Occasionally they can slip out of character, and it is your job as the storyteller to keep them in line. In the case of Outcast Hero, Adrian has been the biggest victim of slipping out of character, with Vira recently showing up as being another.

Part of this is sometimes down to the character's general development as the project ages. Once you better know one of your brainkids, you can go back and look at dialogue/actions you wrote for them and pick out the things they just wouldn't do or say. It's a curious but fascinating process.

Not much to say on the general sketch draft front just yet. Questionable health has been stalling me over and over, and I've since had to pause to get some more dialogue settled properly. The VA team is gonna love me. 8D

Related Posts : Character Creation ("The Taffetas" Blog)

The Animator is the Actor

2011-11-21T02:26:00.005Z

Those of you who have watched enough 'how to' documentaries will be more than aware of the process of video referencing - taking footage of a figure (often yourself) performing a certain movement, and using it to study how the movement breaks down into its component frames. And there's no reason to leave such a process to the big budget animation studios. If you have a camcorder, a tripod and a bit of floor space, you can do it yourself!

Taking your footage, it helps to play it back through video software that has buttons to allow you to move forward or backward a frame or two (PowerDVD and the K-Lite Codec Pack version of Media Player Classic are just two such examples), and image capture options. Processing it through a video editor works too, though is a little more time consuming. Save the key frames of motion, then import them into your animation program of choice to work from.

When its difficult to visualize what a movement might look like, video referencing is an invaluable production tool.

Benefactors can see my example of video referencing in the Benefactors' Lounge.

Interested in becoming a Benefactor by donating to support Outcast Hero's production? Click here for more details.

The World of Outcast Hero

2011-11-19T23:20:00.003Z

One of the more inspiring pieces of advice to come out of Pixar's Twitter feed was to "Make stylistic choices that support your story, instead of ones that upstage it." For me, this meant simplifying a few aspects that most writers would see as adding realism to a multi-planetary tale. These being language and environment.

As a result, all species in the Outcast Hero universe share one language. Not out of a need for civilisations adapting, but simply because there had only ever been one language. Equally, the life-bearing planets in the Secchus system (the neighbouring solar system to Pricchus, the system containing Earth) have oxygen-based atmospheres.

Keeping these two concepts universal allows me to focus on the kind of diversity that is more important to OH as a movie - that of specie culture and biological makeup.

I'm still refining the structure of what makes the OHverse tick, and its both daunting and enjoyable at the same time. As other concepts are made certain, hopefully I can share more with you.

6_5

2011-11-17T13:09:00.003Z

I'd been working on the previous segment for way too long and found myself becoming frustrated with it. So to prevent me losing faith in the whole movie, I've moved on to the following segment for the time being. I'll return to the one I was working on at some point in the future.

Moving segments has already helped free things up in my head. I feel more optimistic. C:

6_4

2011-11-03T21:37:00.003Z

Back on the wheel again.

This scene has made me realise how one needs to have scripted the responses and expressions of the background characters as well as the foreground characters. Take the above screenshot for instance - there are going to be three members of Somne Town's police force behind Ade, but I've had to stall and sketch their reactions before I continue animating. Admittedly I have skipped a few background character animations in order to keep some sort of flow going. Hang about on a particular segment too long and you feel your sanity beginning to slip away. Aha...haha...

Nothing a little backtracking later on won't fix. I'll be having to do that for additional inbetween frames anyway. :)

The Pandemic

2011-10-22T13:56:00.002+01:00

There is a malady threatening Creatives worldwide, every hour of every day. It can sneak upon you surreptitiously, breaking down your defences with devastating effects. Its name...

"Comparison"

In small doses, comparison can act in a beneficial manner - encouraging artists exposed to it to plough forward in their own creative progress. But if an artist's creative immune system -their self-esteem- is weak, comparison can be fatal.

"That artist makes work far much better than yours," comparison wails. "What's the point in you making any at all?" And you may feel inclined to agree. This is a vital warning sign.

"Why am I writing this?" you may wonder. Because comparison strikes at all of us. I am frequently wading through a quagmire of the stuff while at work on Outcast Hero. The difference shows with how each of us deals with it.

What are your weapons?

- We all have to start somewhere. If you give up now, you'll never get to see where your ideas take you. Neither will anyone else - there'll be a lot of missing out.

- Never think that you have nothing to offer the world, because we all interpret life just that little bit differently.

- If you're feeling particularly low, don't look at anyone else's work for the time being. Instead, look at some of your OWN work that you were very pleased with. Remind yourself of the potential.

6_3

2011-10-08T21:34:00.003+01:00

Scene 6 continues. Had a few kinks to work out in the script at this point, some of the events didn't join together well, but a couple of dialogue edits later, its working better now.

OH Showcase Podcast

2011-09-14T19:12:00.002+01:00

My good friend Chris was kind enough to interview me about Outcast Hero for his site MultiMediaMouth last week. If you're interested in hearing me ramble on a bit about the movie and its inner workings, click here.

6_2

2011-09-08T01:23:00.003+01:00

Now we're going places. |-D

I recently completed an interview about Outcast Hero with a friend who co-runs MultiMediaMouth, for one of their future podcasts. Once its up, I'll link you to it.

6_1

2011-09-03T01:16:00.003+01:00

Has it really been almost two months since I was able to work properly on OH?

Mmyep. A lot of background work cropped up. Well I'm back at the wheel now, more or less, and here's a weird screenshot to prove it!

5_9

2011-07-12T00:05:00.002+01:00

Scene five is complete. Gemma is satisfied. ¦-D

5_8

2011-07-02T23:29:00.002+01:00

I am very happy. After what seemed like an age of not being able to animate for one reason or another (it was only two weeks but in animation terms, that's long enough for the workflow to get nice and stuck), I made some progress on scene 5. Hopefully I'll be able to do more of the same tomorrow - we shall see.

5_7

2011-06-15T00:32:00.003+01:00

I started to get on a roll again, and jobs have arrived. Such is life. XD;

For those of you who don't watch my DA account, I recently upgraded the characters page on the official Outcast Hero website. Why not go check it out?

5_6

2011-06-03T23:46:00.006+01:00

Inching my way steadily towards the end of scene five.

Not really much to say at the moment, bar there having been a couple of minor dialogue tweaks in this segment to improve timing and orientation. I just popped in to share another screenie with you.

Still, while I'm here, I may as well point other budding indie animators to a Youtube video featuring an interview with a truly amazing stop frame artist, Patrick Boivin. Check it out!

5_5

2011-05-20T22:53:00.003+01:00

I've recently been testing out a means to not only speed up production, but also share the weight of the movie a little. And I'm pleased to say that its working!

I'm not going to go into too much detail until there's a little more work done using this method, but for now, things are looking good~

5_4

2011-05-18T02:36:00.003+01:00

As you can probably tell by the above screenshot, I'm sticking to the basics for the moment. As such, Muxlowe doesn't have a reflection.

I only just realised I didn't have the video gallery linked through Outcast Hero's main site. That has since been fixed. You can now access all publicly available clips relating to the movie from the site menu.

5_3

2011-05-07T01:40:00.002+01:00

Getting on with it. Encountered a bit of Adrian's dialogue which sounded more like something Marlon would say, and couldn't find anything suitable to replace it with - so ended up removing the line altogether. Thankfully enough, this move works...I also got an amusing doodle out of the whole escapade.

Scene 5 Angle Sheet

2011-04-28T21:40:00.003+01:00

I don't want to go through making more animatic segments at this point, so when faced with the need to revise parts of the existing animatic, I've taken to creating unorthodox comic page-like storyboards instead. Here's one for the latest tweaks to scene five. Dialogue not included.

Outcast Hero never received an entire storyboard, but a lot of its brainstorming and conceptualizing was done using sketches just like this.

5_2

2011-04-26T01:17:00.004+01:00

Got a nice chunk of scene five done today. A couple of rather subtle-thus-difficult reactions to do for Adrian.

Scriptamajigger

2011-04-21T22:46:00.002+01:00

To all of those interested in making their own movies, series, whatever. NEVER believe your work is done with the script once you hit production. To believe this is foolish. There will always be something that strikes you as a little off once you start putting visuals to words.

This can't be helped, and its not because you're a bad writer or planner. Some things just aren't picked up on until you start actually animating them, or you show them to a test audience. It happens with the big guys like PIXAR and Dreamworks, it happens with us.

That being said, I've been making another set of revisions to scenes in Outcast Hero as of late. One was something I picked up while working on scene 5, and the rest is stuff pointed out by my sister after showing her the movie's animatic. Granted, this animatic is pretty outdated now, but she managed to pick out several still-existing events in scene 6 and 8 that could be streamlined, and asked a question which badly needed answering in-story. The movie has fared better for it.

5_1

2011-04-16T01:46:00.003+01:00

I spent all day on a bike.

No, not riding one. Animating one - bicycle physics are complicated. Okay, so it was more of a tricycle, but what can I say? Chimerites have short legs.

Overall, a solid day's work.

Scene Four COMPLETE

2011-04-14T21:01:00.003+01:00

After what seems like an age, scene four has finally been sketched up. Being one of the trickiest segments in the movie, I am very pleased to have drafted it up in some format. Onward, to scene five!

Also, if you're not an avid watcher of my DeviantArt gallery or the OH Youtube channel, you may be interested to know that I have posted a small promo vid of the last four scenes' worth of footage, minus spoilers of course.

4_9

2011-03-27T23:50:00.002+01:00

I am very pleased with today's progress. Worked pretty solid on this final segment with some experimental animation tactics which I believe went well.

This has certainly made up for the sluggish work rate from the past week or so.

4_8

2011-03-24T01:49:00.002Z

Scene five is almost here...I can smell it.

But before that comes along, I have to clarify a few important camera angles for the last part of scene four. A few thumbnail sketches are in order.

---

In other indie movie news, PRESS START 2 CONTINUE is out now to buy on DVD! I've got my copy, and it was delicious. I mean, hilarious.

Seriously, these guys can sure make brilliant, witty and all round entertaining movies on a budget of next-to-nothing. If you are a fan of video games, you'd be mad not to give the series a look.

Ed, Kevin and the gang need the support of people like you in order to make more films just like this!

4_7

2011-03-12T23:39:00.004Z

And with Marlon staring repulsed at his soup, I finish the first segment of scene four! That's about 3/4 of the scene. I'll be splitting the scene's events into two files, and start on the other part in short order.

Tyler Gibb's advice on cleverly concealing difficult movements has been invaluable.

Concept Workbook

2011-03-10T18:39:00.006Z

A few days ago I showed off the box containing a good chunk of the panels that went into making "Outcast Hero"'s animatic. Today, I have another piece of physical evidence to share.

The OH Concept Workbook.

Part reference manual, part inspiration tool...could even be considered a portfolio of sorts - the concept workbook is a physical representation of the movie's progress and contains a variety of different things.

Notes on motivations, reasons and ideas that formed the project. On the left is the programme handed out to everyone who went to the Bang! Film Festival last November. It's a nice reminder of how enthused the organizers were over OH.

My vision for the project, and what I have aimed to convey through it. Also a simple timeline for the OH universe. Mostly useful for the sequel, though a couple of things from it are referenced in the first movie too.

One of the many character reference sheets created to keep the animation on-model. These ones are of Elani Daemyn, two thieves that appear in scene 3 and a mysterious creature called a Dugota.

A couple of the many scenery references needed to give the backgrounds continuity throughout the movie. I have yet to complete all of these, as I decided to finish them off once the animation was in its final stages.

Test screener contracts, coupled with a list of some of the many post-screening edits I had to apply after studying the critique.

Some of the uplifting feedback on the movie, to keep me psyched.

And finally a couple of articles I found inspirational. The left hand one was about other solar systems with a similar structure to our own and the right hand one was about PIXAR's method of storytelling.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little peek into some of Outcast Hero's underpinnings. If I manage to get to any conventions this year, I may even take the book with me.

4_6

2011-03-06T00:59:00.003Z

Finally out of that animation sticking point. This week wasn't the best kind of week for working on OH anyway, but I managed enough to get through a tricky sequence and things should progress a little smoother for a bit. Slow motion is a pain because there are a lot more frames to do. Same as transformation sequences, but I'll suffer that later. XD

4_5

2011-02-23T21:58:00.002Z

Some highly pleasing progress was made today! Approaching the 2/3 mark of this scene.

Treasure Chest

2011-02-18T20:27:00.003Z

What you see above is "Outcast Hero"'s animatic in its entirety. After almost a year of standing on my cupboard, at risk of stray gusts of wind or stray flailing arms, I have finally put all these individually-drawn panels into a proper box.

Before I really got to grips with Flash, I was working in a more physical format. Even after I felt more confident with the program, I didn't have the heart to suddenly switch to making the animatic in Flash, due to a drastic shift in how it would look. Don't ask me why I was so concerned - after all, the majority of people will never see it. I guess because I saw it as a work of art all its own. And, in a sense, it is.

For two and a half hours of footage, the contents of that box doesn't look much. But consider the fact that quite a few frames were just edited variations of a hand-drawn one, and the amount of paper panels starts to look more realistic.

Caught on a Short

2011-02-17T21:50:00.002Z

Well its not quite the movie, but it is "Outcast Hero" related. I suddenly got the urge to storyboard a 40 second animation inspired by a piece of chiptune music which I've dubbed "Tune Up". Things being well, I may submit the finished piece to this year's Bangimation showcase.

Granted, its only ten seconds longer than last year's submission, but hey...you can't force these sorts of things to run longer or shorter than needs be. Same goes for the movie itself. It's a bit lengthy, but all of its pieces are necessary to the proper execution of the plot.

4_4

2011-02-15T02:17:00.003Z

I'm pleased to announce that I am now officially halfway through sketching scene four!

Also, check out the trailer for "Press Start 2 Continue"

That is all.

4_3

2011-02-11T01:38:00.003Z

The computer's mechanically sound and all cleaned out so, back to work! It's been small progress so far...getting back into animation after even a short break is difficult for me... but it should pick up over the next day or so.

Getting Back in Gear

2011-01-31T16:39:00.002Z

Okay! That didn't take quite as long as I'd feared.

The computer is in a reasonable functioning condition, but I'll be getting it checked over just to make sure no cables inside hang precariously and catch on the moving parts. Now I just need to get myself refocused...

As some of you may have seen, I started reposting updated versions of the main cast reference sheets on Deviantart.

I hope to post Vira and Marlon's refsheets some time soon.

Another Minor Setback

2011-01-22T02:37:00.003Z

...as that cat from Earthworm Jim would say. =I

Unfortunately, the computer I've been using to make Outcast Hero has suffered a hardware failure, and it'll probably take at least a week to get it looked at, let alone repaired. It's nothing major, thankfully, but another delay is something of an aggravation.

On the upside, I'm a fair way through scene four.

Official Site Upgrade! Plot upgrade!

2011-01-09T23:48:00.006Z

Some of you may well be saying, "It's about time." XD

Well after five years of the same compact layout, I've spread things out a bit and overhauled the official Outcast Hero site. In the process I have added three more bios to the character section and replaced all instances of the movie logo.

Yes, the movie logo has had its design adjusted. Why? It has a lot to do with the focal tool of our story, which gained a lot of significance a year or so back, but only recently has also had its design adjusted.

This is the thing about allowing people insight into a production before its ready. You end up seeing the last-minute alterations you would otherwise be unaware of in a professional studio work. And as I move along with sketch animation, certain things about OH's plot have been catching my attention.

Today I made some substantial edits to scenes 8, 9 and 10 for that reason. I'm not going to go into detail about it, due to spoilers, but it was important timing and exposition sorts of stuff.

4_2

2011-01-06T01:09:00.004Z

Picking up steam now on scene four, managed to animate a short dance segment better than I was expecting to, which was a nice boost. Slid another cameo in. Approaching the scene's halfway mark.

4_1

2010-12-23T00:27:00.003Z

SUCCESS! I have finally entered scene four. And off to a flying start!

Recent feedback from the Cameo Recruitment Drive has been both surprising and encouraging. Thanks to all who have contributed designs to the movie thus far, and equal appreciation to those who intend to do so in the future.

While I'm in the gratitude zone, I want to give another thank you to Outcast Hero's test screeners - without their insight and suggestions, OH wouldn't be half the movie it is now.

I have updated the official site with new contributors. I have also updated the fan art gallery.

3_6

2010-12-04T00:54:00.003Z

Scene three is finally drawing to some sort of a close. I'll get stuck into scene four, and return to work more on three's tweaks, some of Reegan's lipsync and the missing mid scene later. Overall, looking good. I'm particularly pleased with Reegan's range of expression, as he is a fairly serious character with very subtle facial alterations.

Am I Stoked?

2010-11-29T15:14:00.003Z

Yes I am.

As if an answer to my frustrated ranting, I had my 30 second short "Brainchildren" screened at the Broadway Cinema and Cafebar, Nottingham, as part of the "Bang! Short Film Festival" on Sunday.

That in itself wasn't the answer. But the response I receieved from the organizers did nothing short of bowl me over.

All in all, the Broadway was a cosy sort of place with friendly people - a real creative atmosphere. Got to meet James Dalby, a talented musician, animator and one of the people I've had the pleasure of talking to on DeviantArt. Even had free popcorn thrown in...literally.

My work was part of a screening session called 'Bangimation', and was the shortest one of the lot. Looking at some of the other animations, I could have probably shared one of my longer black and white pieces, but the organizers of the event seemed impressed enough with the one I'd submitted. I chatted about Outcast Hero after the screening was over, and one of them even took the site address of Niftihalo Studios. The whole experience was very heartwarming and got me excited for the moment when I'll finally be able to present Outcast Hero to the world.

Combined with additional support from my friends, my motivation is renewed. It may be a long way to go, but I'm more determined to get there now than ever.

3_5

2010-11-14T22:18:00.003Z

It's like walking in treacle at the moment.

Trying to make a movie by yourself isn't exactly easy at the best of times. But trying to do it with a life-impairing illness, and you're talking some serious challenge. Not to mention very frustrating. But that's all I'll rant about regarding it here, and keep on trying to get things done.

Scene 3 inches toward its conclusion.

3_4

2010-10-23T10:52:00.005+01:00

Having moved to the latter part of this scene for the time being, current challenges are that of Reegan's beak, and the synching thereof. Fine at 3/4 and side views, but positively horrible face on. Yet I have face on shots. Maybe I enjoy torturing myself.

Still, I will find a way to make it look reasonable!

On a somewhat related note, if you live near or are around Nottingham at the end of next month, the Bang! Short Film Festival is on. And they have an animation screening slot. Why not check it out? There may be something from me on there.

3_3

2010-10-12T16:39:00.005+01:00

Made some good progression over the past few days, and things are about to get interesting. I'll need to split this scene into three separate files, as a spot of modelling help is needed on the 2/3 of it. In the meantime, I'll be working on the final third.

3_2

2010-09-30T22:40:00.004+01:00

Altering my entry titling a bit, hopefully it'll make finding stuff easier.

Finally getting back into an animation flow again after something of a burnout. Need to start recording some line finals myself, now. Lipsynch session went well.

Progress Update - 11th September

2010-09-11T02:12:00.003+01:00

Scene Three

So I've finally begun scene three. Joyous! Now I'm working in full size widescreen, the Flash files are coming out a lot bigger. I hope I have enough room to store them all.

Progress Update - 7th September

2010-09-07T00:26:00.003+01:00

Scene Two

Had a very good animation run today. Almost at the end of scene two now. Have also adjusted my document size to account for rendering into widescreen, hence the narrower thumbnails.

Progress Update - 3rd September

2010-09-03T01:28:00.002+01:00

Scene Two

More crowd work here. Fangirls can be unnerving - especially in large numbers. Not that there are large numbers yet...the majority shall be put in there later. Muxlowe's nervous chuckle was an interesting challenge.

Progress Update - 30th August

2010-08-30T02:34:00.002+01:00

Scene Two

Thankfully the getting off the train scene wasn't as horrible as I thought it'd be, being a side-on view. Almost at the end of the musical skit now...and back to spoken stuff again I go!

Progress Update - 23rd August

2010-08-24T01:29:00.003+01:00

Scene Two

Scene progression has smoothed out a little, which is encouraging stuff. Though I just remembered I have to animate people getting OFF the train in a bit. Shuddersome.

Have now hit the halfway mark on this scene!

Progress Update - 22nd August

2010-08-22T02:09:00.004+01:00

Scene Two

The monorail car is going to be modelled in 3D, but for the sake of figure placement, I had to draw it in some form. Overall, this came out well. You can also see a tiny snippet of the week's work here. Benefactors will get a chance to see the entire sketch version of the intro later.

Progress Update - 17th August

2010-08-18T01:35:00.002+01:00

Scene Two

The next part's gonna be tricky - there's quite a lot of figures on screen to put in motion.

Progress Update - 16th August

2010-08-17T02:50:00.003+01:00

Scene Two

Some encouraging progress today - and some nauseating progress too. Honestly, drawing all that narcissism made me a little ill. Vira's response animation came out great though, very pleased with that.

Progress Update - 13th August

2010-08-14T12:42:00.003+01:00

Scene Two

Interrupting job say what?

Paid work aside, things are freeing up a little. It's difficult to feel enthused about a scene containing a truckload of walk cycles, but hey...its part of the animation package. Gotta take the stuff you love with the stuff you'd rather not have to do. Unless you made all the characters float, I suppose. I'll leave that corner-cutting for the vehicles.

This scene is the first to contain a song, and I'm something of a lyricist on the quiet. Several songs have been written up (mostly for the finished soundtrack, though instrumental versions could well make their way onto the movie itself) and while it's too early in production to start looking for musicians to help me with the melodies on these things, the thought alone puts a grin on my face.

My animation style isn't entirely traditional, and contains a blend of frame by frame work with marionette-style underlayers to maintain proportions during difficult movement. I'm hoping to document some of my process through film as extra footage, but it's knowing which scenes would look the most interesting documented. That and I really need to make everything look presentable for any kind of filming...

Progress Update - 9th-12th August

2010-08-12T01:39:00.002+01:00

Scene Two

Not much to say here really, except... I would have liked to have done more. Oh well. I have at least got to the beginning of the largely musical and non-speaking intro scene. Onward and upward!

Progress Update - 2nd - 4th August

2010-08-05T01:22:00.003+01:00

Scene Two
Time Spent - Indeterminable

Progress has been veeeeery slow lately, not helped by a multitude of health related issues. But I'm forging on! Since animation has been in dribs and drabs, I can't really estimate how long I've spent on these parts. However, I can say I'm pleased with how some of the more subtle movements came out.

Progress Update - Thursday 29th July

2010-07-30T02:21:00.002+01:00

Scene Two
Time Spent - 2-3 Hours

And onward we go! This was an interesting little skit...trying to animate something resembling a crowd, in this case, a group of news reporters. The backgrounds are going to be more layered than this, but for now, I'm just working on the frontmost figures.

Progress Update - Scene One Sketched!

2010-07-26T12:23:00.004+01:00

At least for the most part. I have all the main elements down.

I'm noting rendering issues at the moment, but it's nothing that affects me majorly at the moment, so I'll leave it alone until I get to post-production.

A spot of audio poking, and its on to scene two!

Progress Update - Thursday 22nd July

2010-07-23T00:06:00.004+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 2-3 Hours

No screenies for you today, since the segment I sketched is actually up on DeviantArt. So why not go and look?

Segment in question is only after Marlon says "Hardly" and Adrian glowers at him. Still...the whole wiggly fingers thing makes me snerk no matter how many times I see it.

Progress Update - Wednesday 21st July

2010-07-22T03:00:00.002+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - Indeterminable.

Progress has dragged a little since I've begun my new health treatments and there is a lot to remember with them. Today and Monday have been the most productive days of this week, yet my focus was sporadic so I can't really calculate just how many hours I pitched in. Very close to finishing scene one now - I just need to make an extra push so it doesn't take even more time than it needs to.

Marlon's contrasting cynical reaction to Adrian's excitement has been a fun thing to animate.

Progress Update - Fri 16th, Sat 17th June

2010-07-18T01:45:00.001+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 4 Hours

So what I thought was going to happen this weekend, didn't. Instead I got the return of El Kidney Infecto, but I've tried my hardest not to let that drag me completely into no progressdom. Managed to overcome the beak synch challenge with a little frame duplication.

Progress Update - Thursday 15th July

2010-07-16T01:49:00.004+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 6 Hours

It's been a busy week, and is set to be a busy weekend, so movie progress is unlikely. However, I did manage to make up for the past few days' lack of progress by getting a good chunk of the ending to scene one sketched. Reegan's beak is proving a grind to synch...

Progress Update - 10th, 11th June

2010-07-12T03:01:00.002+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 5+ Hours (I lost track 8D; )

Saturday saw me finish the first major action scene in sketch form. Now I get a rest of sorts while I work on Marlon and Adrian's debuts. Sunday didn't bring too much in the way of progress (though making a Tagen supermarket advert was entertaining)

Progress Update - Friday 9th June

2010-07-10T01:44:00.003+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 6 Hours

I fight on! Was very pleased with today's efforts for the most part, would have liked to have done maybe a leetle more...but got eye strain from concentrating too hard on the screen. Whoops.

As a random thought, I'm hoping the background on this particular part will be computer generated. Still have yet to pin down the OH project's 3D artist.

Progress Update - Thursday 8th June

2010-07-09T02:18:00.002+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 4 Hours

Production may slow a little as sickness gets a grip on me again. But I'll try my best to stay on top of it. Progress was decent today.

Progress Update - Wednesday 7th June

2010-07-07T21:42:00.002+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 8-9 Hours

It's going well. Have actually hit the midpoint on scene one now!

Progress Update - Tuesday 6th June

2010-07-07T02:00:00.002+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 7 Hours

Folding over for now. Did some pleasing work and experimental water motion. Needs a few more frames but overall, it works. Edging closer to less action-saturated parts of the scene now.

Progress Update - Sunday 4th June

2010-07-05T03:05:00.003+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 2 Hours

With folding still continuing, I'm trying my hardest to cram in animation in every available time slot I have. Didn't have too many time slots today...procrastination didn't help much either.

I managed to refine some of the motion in the previous bit, and add some new footage. Digital animation tools...making a movie on one's own would be borderline impossible without 'em.

Progress Update - Friday 2nd, Saturday 3rd of June

2010-07-04T03:11:00.004+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 3 Hours

More difficult action that I've never tried before + one heck of a kidney infection + job work makes for slow progress. The action itself is a bit hit and miss, but I've almost clinched it bar a couple of areas that need more exaggeration on the movement. The next part could prove particularly difficult...it involves a lot of water.

Progress Update - Wednesday 30th June

2010-07-01T01:03:00.004+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 7 Hours

I made up for yesterday's gap with a substantial piece of action work. Considering this is the first time I've tried animating camera angle alterations, it turned out a lot better than I thought it would. Experimenting with tweens and hand-zooming for an interesting take on the concept. Also, animating the Oxcerbus isn't as hard as I thought it'd be. All that running Muxlowe is doing is more of a pain in the bum. XD

Progress Update - Mon 28th June

2010-06-29T02:37:00.003+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 3 Hours

I'm not as far through the scene as I thought, but pretty close to the halfway mark.

Didn't get quite as much done as I would today. Focus was rather up the creek. XD;
Still, what I did get done I was mostly happy with, so its a nice setup for tomorrow.

Progress Update - Sun 27th June

2010-06-27T23:30:00.004+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 6 Hours

I'd say I'm about halfway through this scene now, but the latter half is a lot more action-intensive. Despite this, my goal is to have scene one sketched by the end of the first week in July. We'll have to see how that goes.

Progress Update - Sat 26th June

2010-06-26T22:05:00.007+01:00

Scene One
Time Spent - 5 Hours

Now work on the final has started, you're likely going to start seeing more regular updates here.

I have decided to sketch the entire movie first, before moving on to inking. The first sketch is a base, with further smoothing frames to be added later. Doing it this way will prolong the time before the movie goes public, but will also ensure consistency.

The images on the main movie site have been updated a little.

Progress Update - It Has Begun

2010-06-25T11:56:00.002+01:00

After weeks of psyching myself up, I have finally started work on Outcast Hero's final! I hope you are as excited about that as I am.

My priority is now to have this entire scene sketched out. I am still in debate as to whether to ink it scene by scene or all at once.

There are still issues with Tim's recording quality which we are trying to iron out, but hopefully that will be fixed by the time I get to scene two.

Until then...keep on rooting for me! I still have a looooooong way to go.

Progress Update - You just obtained the Micforce! do-do-do-doooo

2010-04-27T18:38:00.003+01:00

It's been a few months since I last wrote an entry here - waiting about in recording limbo. But the winds have changed, and I've finally found a decent microphone for Outcast Hero's leading VA!

Remember kids - determination goes a long LONG way when making an indie project.

Speaking of which...I implore you to get on the fundraising bandwagon of Rocko's Modern Life and Camp Lazlo creator Joe Murray's latest project to open a site for independently-animated material, including his own works. Even if you aren't able to give any money for whatever reason, spread the word! This has potential.

Click here to read more about it.

That being said, its time to get down to business and finalize all of Muxlowe's lines. Reegan's lineset still also needs doing, but that is pegged for early June.

Chris Nelson of Multimedia Mouth was kind enough to interview me again on the status of the movie earlier this month. You can read the results of that interview here.

Now the Fun Begins

2010-01-04T23:24:00.003Z

A kind word from a friend has compelled me to write the first OH blog of the year! So, to recap...

Outcast Hero is still hanging around in preparatory limbo at the moment, unfortunately. This is not the same as a hiatus - I am still making use of the wait for main cast voice actor lineset finals by fine-tuning the script, character designs and all those little details which make such a big difference to the whole project. I have also been doing a lot of animation warm-ups, particularly action stuff since scene one pretty much throws me straight into that zone from the get go.

I've also had to reshuffle the VA cabinet again. To try and lessen the disruption as soon as possible, I'll likely recast Mukesh later in the year.

The HUGEST of thanks to everyone who has supported the project this far, whether it be verbally, monetarily, with artwork or even contributing your voice. Your belief in OH has been both astonishing and encouraging.

There's a lot of things to be done, so its time to get to it!

Vocal Processing (Cont'd)

2009-12-11T13:07:00.004Z

Since starting animation on the final movie requires having all the character voice clips in my possession, I'm going to be somewhat at the mercy of other people for the next couple of months or so. Every one of my VAs has their own set of challenges to deal with, so its quite the feat balancing consideration with application to deadlines.

That being said, the quality of the work given by the VA team is at an awe-inspiring high. This in itself is very encouraging.

Not much else to report at the moment - have practised some more animation techniques and updated the bio section of the main site with new images and revised descriptions of the main character line-up.

Vocal Processing

2009-11-24T15:14:00.004Z

I'm currently in the midst of vocal processing for the final version of the movie. To those of you confused as to what that means, I'm sorting and relabelling every single character line according to scene, content and what character is speaking it. Yes...its as time-consuming as it sounds - but a nice polished result is what we end up with =D

The voice lines of one of four of Outcast Hero's main main cast have been pretty much finalized. At the same time, we've been working out the minor glitches and off-personality moments throughout the script. Getting to speak with a character's VA - who essentially becomes one with said character - you gain yet another level of insight into how this character might function. Improvised lines, suggestions on reactions and behaviour...all these things contribute to making a character more realistic and relatable to.

Gonna wait until I start processing Tim's lines to start auditioning for background cameos.

Also discovered another masterpiece made by just two people - its a game called Aquaria. While I don't have time to play it, the music was also very beautiful and inspiring, so I got a copy of the soundtrack to encourage me onward.

Exclusive Animatic Footage now at OHBL

2009-11-09T16:28:00.003Z

15 minutes of exclusive animatic previews have been uploaded to the Outcast Hero Benefactors Lounge. Financial supporters of the project can now gain a little more insight into the movie's development.

As the final production gets underway, they will also be the first to see content in its preliminary sketch, ink and colourwork stages, along with special behind the scenes video footage.

Interested in becoming a benefactor for Outcast Hero? Go here.

Sc 1 Vocal Auditions Resuming...

2009-11-06T01:06:00.004Z

...at the end of November. Just a heads-up.

I'm going to be looking for people to participate in being members in an angered crowd. Other positions include a female commercial VO, likely also a news programme introducer and news anchorman.

Auditioners for the crowd won't have to worry as much about mic quality as those for the other parts, as they are part of a group and any excess background noise will be drowned out.

So yeah...if you've been hoping for a part in this movie, now could be your chance! And if none of these parts appeal to you, don't fret. We have 22 other scenes to get through before its done.

Production Date

2009-10-23T00:17:00.002+01:00

Something curious and kinda neat that I realised about this project.

Back in its early days when I wasn't truly aware of just how much effort goes into making a movie, I had pegged its final release date at 2010. Now I'm at this stage, 2010 has become the date I start work on the final. A little thing, maybe...but it made me smile.

A combination of watching "Up" and discovering that the game "World of Goo" was made by two people is spurring me onward. PIXAR is a great source of inspiration to me, and even though their creative tech arsenal is miles more impressive than mine - I believe that the heart poured into Niftihalo Studio projects by myself and co-workers equals that of the amazing men and women that work on PIXAR's movies.

I'm feeling less panicky and more comfortable with vocal orchestration now. We'll get it done, one way or another. =)

Letting off Steam

2009-10-02T02:16:00.003+01:00

The project currently feels like one of those telephone extension wires that manages to get tangled even when you've done nothing with it. Still fretting over audio related nonsense, and wondering if I should be caring this much about it. I figure I should be, since if I do something and know I could have done it better, it'll bug me afterwards.

VA team members tied up with all manner of issues ranging from missing microphones, dodgy microphones, lack of time/space to themselves and lack of confidence. On top of that, I ponder whether to even attempt to recruit additional members to do inkwork. I don't know - the perks would only be perksome if the inker worked with me and not against me.

Sorry if this seems ranty, but I had to vent somewhere. I love my team to bits, but when you're having to deal with everyone having difficulties at the same time, it grinds you down somewhat.

Here's hoping we can untangle the phone line of audio before I start work on scene one in January.

Progress Update - OH on Hold

2009-09-06T18:36:00.007+01:00

Alright, here's the current state of play.

Production of Outcast Hero's finished version is now on hold until January 2010. This is to give me a chance to get to grips with my equipment, sketch a few more refsheets, gather final voice takes from my cast for the first scene and generally psyche myself up.

In the meantime, I've been putting the animation station through its paces and its looking mighty good. For example, loading Flash in 5 seconds and rendering a 2.5 hour long 320 by 240 res video in 1 hour and 40 minutes.

No comparisons please - it's good to me (and far better performance than the laptop, as awesome as laptop is).

Having a few issues with Premiere Pro which are hard to explain, but will likely figure out the reasons for them in time. That version is full of surprise and complication XD

Progress Update - Refs, Station and Studio

2009-08-14T21:01:00.005+01:00

"Status report!" she cries.

The background sheets are actually getting done. Curiously, the more fictional ones such as the inside of spaceships have been easier for me to design than the normalesque houses and cityscapes. Thankfully a book of stock photography, IKEA's website and screenshots from the awesome "Titan AE" haven't gone amiss. Mum's offered to colour coordinate the backgrounds which has taken some weight off my shoulders (she's good with colour, she's painting the backgrounds, it works!).

In other news, I've updated OH's movie site with production notes and a revised teamlist. The animation station is halfway built and my room is entering its first stages of regeneration. I say 'regeneration' and not 'redecoration' because I doubt it's going to be recognizable when we're done with it. Insert evil laughter here.

But I want to take this thing seriously. Therefore, my room is being repainted, carpeted and made with more of a studio feel in mind. And if I'm repeating myself, I apologize...I'm rather excited about the whole shebang.

Also, its good to see people still showing interest in voice acting cameo parts. While casting is on hold, I'm keeping all potential VAs on file to get back to once I resume that stage of the production.

Sheets and Tweaks

2009-08-03T16:01:00.002+01:00

Seeing how time is passing so very fast with many additional events and projects cropping up, I get the feeling OH's main production isn't going to start until early next year. But that's just a feeling...we'll see how it goes.

I am glad to be having a little space between stages, though - it's given me the chance to develop individual species in the Outcastverse and get a better idea of what certain locations will look like. Reegan and Tau's species are among the few that have been tweaked. Hopefully my short break will throw some new inspiration to light.

Also, I should be ordering the animation station this week.

...

...8)

I Feel Like a bit of a Dip

2009-07-20T15:57:00.004+01:00

"Why?" you might ask?

I just realised I never needed to ink those reference sheets like that. Cue forehead slap.

Anyway, I've continued on the sheets - this time only colouring in the ballpoint sketches - and my work rate has been good and steady. All the main characters have references now. I'm devising a few height chart sheets and minor character/prop stuff now.

Pretty much all of the reference sheets that aren't on DA are available for viewing at the Outcast Hero Benefactors' room. For those of you who are unaware, this room is a place I've set up for those who are able to help contribute to the movie budget. There, a wide array of advance previews and in-progress documentation will be viewable.

Some of the things I'm hoping to showcase at OHB in the coming months are the results of my scouting trips and various production experiments.

But don't worry if you haven't become a benefactor - I'll still be sharing production snippets with non-donators =D

Let's Get Referential

2009-07-15T14:14:00.005+01:00

Back on the road! The road to further productification.

I'm hoping to set out on the first of my location scouting trips next week in a bid to finish off these reference sheets before the final gets underway. Some people have wondered why I need reference sheets - well let's just say its a lot to keep consistent by memory alone.

Especially when certain buildings and transportation-related props are involved.

And this is where you (might) come in!

There's an open spot going for those interested in designing and drawing vehicles of the land, air and space variety. I am not one with an imagination or an artistic finger for such things, so I could really use the help.

Your job would be to create reference sheets for a specific list of transport featured in "Outcast Hero". You won't be expected to animate the props in the final - we'll find ways of getting around that. These will all need to be drawn up by the end of this year at the very latest.

If you're up for that, get in contact with me and have some examples of similar past work (I mean, drawing transport, not necessarily reference sheets of them) to hand.

Similar positions are also open for designing and drawing weaponry, buildings and clothing for many different species. These too have specific instructions, but you will be allowed freedom to improvise where your creativity takes you. Designs will then be finalized accordingly.

Progress Update - Beta DVD Created

2009-07-04T21:22:00.004+01:00

It took 7 hours and I lost a few brain cells but it was finally made.

Unfortunately I forgot to add Mayor Newland's lines in two scenes, and my inner perfectionist will be nagging at me about that for months to come. But I don't want to play with the animatic any more. In my mind, the animatic is over. Finished. Completio. I want to move on to the final production now.

Well not NOW now...it feels like my skull was sidesmacked with a mallet.

I may see about rendering a better version later in the month or just forget it entirely. An animatic's an animatic - it tells me what I need to do and reminds me of what I want to tweak when it comes to making the finished piece.

Gonna take a little break before I attend to all the reference materials, do a spot of writing =)
Not sure about whether to put the vocal recruitment on hold for a bit also.

Betas, Location Scouting and More

2009-07-01T20:42:00.005+01:00

No sooner do I mention about voice booths in wardrobes, mum suggests me turning my own one into a booth and sticking my clothes elsewhere.

NOW WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT?

Genius. XD

Anyhoo! I've finally got all the voices I need to be able to render the Beta DVD. Chief Gajulo's been giving a visual upgrade in the process. Won't say much on that front, 'cept that it sure augments a different personality in him.

Aside from character reference sheets, I'll be needing to design the locations that Outcast Hero's scenes will take place in. Therefore, I'm planning to travel to a few relevant places and photograph useful material to inspire me. Hopefully in the process I'll take some video too.

Speaking of which, I've opened up a special area for those who donate to Outcast Hero to gain backstage insight into the deeper things that go into creating this movie. Documentation such as location scouting is just some of the media I hope to feature there in the near future - alongside movie snippets during various stages of creation, interviews, that kind of thing. All donators gain access to this area, but anyone who donates £50 or over will be guaranteed a nice shiny signed copy of the finished movie on DVD once its done. Mmmm...incentives. 8)

Looking for an ol' Wardrobe

2009-06-26T23:49:00.005+01:00

Now while this might seem entirely random, it does have a movie related purpose! You see, I'm taking the vocal recording trick Tyler Gibb used and moving it one step further.

I plan to create my own sound recording booth!

Yes, inside a wardrobe.

Minus clothing, of course. To dampen the echo, I'll clad the innards in something nice and thick like an old duvet or thick blanket. Put a little light inside, and hey presto!

So yeah...I'll be checking around charity shops n other such second hand places for a wardrobe that isn't raised off the floor, and that I can fit inside. (They're gonna wonder what I'm up to, a-hurr)

If any of you would be interested to see my endeavours on that front, lemme know. I'll post photos or somethin'. And maybe some of you VAs -in my team or not- may be inspired to make your own boothdrobe XD

On the same vocal front, auditions have been going very well. I've already got four people pegged for roles, but I'm leaving some more time for others of you to try your hand (or maybe mouth) at participation.

Vocal Recruitment Phase 1

2009-06-24T14:23:00.003+01:00

Well, Phase 1 of this particular attempt, anyway.

While I have managed to recruit a few more additions to the cast, important characters are still missing voices. So I'm going to tackle this in chunks.

Phase 1 shall deal with semi-cameo and cameo characters which make a solid impression.
Phase 2 shall deal with smaller background characters.
Phase 3 will deal with improv and crowd characters.

Depending on what you think you excel in, feel free to audition for one or more of these phases.

Click here to view Phase 1's casting list.

PLEASE NOTE I am now auditioning with the final production in mind. To avoid disappointment, make sure the quality of your microphone is good. Read the notes at the top of the casting list for a better idea of what I mean by 'good'.

I look forward to welcoming more of you on to the team!