Silly Human Sounds

  Well, it's been over a year since production started on AXES, and we're about to meet a major milestone: The halfway point! That is, the first act of two is very nearly done, and I don't think I find that disheartening. The good news is, this 15-minute chunk works nicely on it's own, perhaps even as a standalone pilot. More on that as it develops, but in the meantime, who wants to read a lil' filmmaking lesson?

  For those unfamiliar with the dialogue recording process for animation, there is an odd yet necessary practice of recording various grunts, groans, and screams for each character. On top of sounding like bizarre pornography outtakes, these miscellaneous exclamations do serve a greater purpose.

  Without these noises, our fight scenes would be awkwardly stoic, smaller moments would seem empty, and our characters would lose some of their personality. Without them, AXES wouldn't feel right, and you, our devoted audience, would notice. Also, I wouldn't have been able to make the following embarrassing little compilation featuring our talented cast. What good sports, I assume. Enjoy.

Screening with an Audience

  This past Sunday, against the stiff competition of the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, the AXES OF EVIL pilot preview screened in front of a crowd of one solid dozen! Featuring the footage submitted to that pilot competition I've been droning on and on about, the screening was organized quickly, before AXES could possibly be eliminated from that pilot competition I've been droning on and on about.

I forgot to take pictures, but this was pretty much how it went down.

  Composed of AXES fans and members of the cast, the audience was a great group, and the response was indeed enthusiastic. Some highlights: "Congrats, it looks awesome!""So funny, can't wait to see what happens next." "I laughed my axe off!""Where's my credit?"

  Most gratifying was the flurry of unforced laughter throughout the nine-minute preview. It's tough to step back after spending an hour matching mouth movements to a joke you could have sworn was funny six months ago, but regardless of where AXES goes from here, there's no better measure of success than a reactive audience. That and money.

  In all seriousness, though, thank you to everyone who made it! Your laughter is why we're doing this in the first place. To those who couldn't make it, this won't be your last chance - there's definitely more to come. Much love.

Full-Frontal Nerdity

To those who are unaware (i.e. those who don't live with me), my average day is broken down as follows:

9 hours: Working for money/barrel-bottom scraping

2 hours (If I am lucky): Rotting in the subway

7 hours: This Axes thing

5 hours: Sleeping/Dreaming

1 hour: Eating/Bathing/Misc.

   Now that you know far too much about me, prepare for a little more. A few weeks ago, I used some "Misc. Time" to help direct a music video for good buddy and AXES OF EVIL voice-actor Joshua Desjardins, pictured below.

Bow-tie: Straight
Wearer: Not so much

  More recently, the video itself was unleashed upon the world, and has already made all of us very rich... in spirit or something. But yes, it's gotten some great responses, and even been featured on a few websites and blogs, including TV Addict and a meticulously detailed breakdown from FizzyPop. It's an unabashedly silly song and video, but it's also kind of an anthem of joy and pride and being yourself and there are lots of pretty colors, so watch it. I'm proud to have been involved.

Oh, also, the video itself:

Recording Complete

Great news: One phase among the multitude has been completed. After a rousing session earlier this week, all of the voices have been recorded! There for the occasion was another member of the AXES family, Matt Portman, who came all the way from the West Coast just to make sure everything went smoothly. Actually, he just happened to be in New York this week, but it was nonetheless great to have him. There were only two actors for this final round of recording, but jeepers did we ever have fun!

First, we had reigning "love-meister" Nate Chapman of Dateocracy fame as the Slumberjack...

Pending proposal for a live-action adaptation.

...and ABC Family heartthrob Zander Eckhouse in the role of God.

Seen here posing for a Windows XP background.

Both gave great performances, and really took the care to bring actual depth to their characters. I would like to take this opportunity to semi-publicly thank all those who have volunteered their time and talents to AXES thus far. Everyone, without exception, has given it their all, which will make my job much easier as I continue to animate this thing. With every session, I've been increasingly happy with my decision NOT to do all the voices myself. The next update, (hopefully) later this week, will be the BIGGEST EVER, so hang onto your modems!

Bible Comics!

Guess what? There's been progress.

   Last week, we successfully recorded even more voices, and there's just one more session on the way, most likely mid-September. In the meantime, there is kind of a lot of other work to be done, so I've begun some storyboards and - as referenced previously - actual animation!

   I may post some videos soon, but since posting pictures is far less complicated/labor-intensive, here are the completed storyboards for the opening scene, gloriously off-model. (Note to self: Make model sheet.)

As can see (if you do that whole "click and enlarge" thing), it is a very lovely recreation of everyone's favorite Old Testament romp. Now that I have it as a reference, I know that it will at least sort of work on screen. Only 1400 more drawings left before it's animated, so I'd better get moving.

Sound Studio Success!

What a week! The first recording session for Axes is over! Lots of fun, fantastic cast, but I'm glad to be through it. With production ramping up, there may be some changes to this here blog, which might mean fewer updates, but rest assured: progress is happening. And now, as a partial non-sequitur, here's a poster from Finn's room. Is there anyone out there who would NOT want to see this movie?

Friendship, Love, and Meat

  Amazingly enough, we actually got some responses to our casting call, and it looks like we may be on track to record within the next two weeks. Don't let that discourage you or your thespian comrades from e-mailing us, though, as there are still some choice parts remaining. There's still a chance to join our talented cast.

  Speaking of our talented cast, (segue alert!), our very own Nate Chapman has just unleashed his own project into an unsuspecting world. Since he's been working so darn hard, and it's turning out really incredible, here's a link to Dateocracy! As the host, Nate explains the concept pretty succinctly, so I won't overdo it here, but it's a more-than-nifty online dating show with a bunch of fun, interactive twists. Go support Nate and Dateocracy with your participation!

  Back to Axes, though, because that's really why we're all here, (unless you are one of the many who got here by mistake). All you media-lovers may now sink your teeth into this freeze-frame worthy background, unless you're a vegetarian, in which case you may silently disapprove.

  Don't forget to click the picture in order to get a full-size view. There are a lot of mediocre sight gags and details, and five seconds of eventual screentime won't justify the thought and work put into them. Okay, that's all for now. You have our permission to have a good weekend.

Make a Choice: Contribute Your Voice

   The script should be completely finished by the end of this week, so we are about to enter a new phase of production: VOICEOVER RECORDING. We already have a talented handful of performers confirmed, but there are still a few parts, both major and minor, that still need to be cast. We have super-professional recording facilities available as well, so it won't be long before we have an aurally transcendent vocal track. In the meantime, we've got this blog space, so why not use it to extend a casting call to our biggest fans!?

   If you or anyone you know, (based in either the New York or Los Angeles areas), are interested in participating, please send an email expressing enthusiasm to axesofevilofficial@gmail.com, subject line: CASTING. We've got characters of all ages, genders, and nationalities, so even if there's no place for you in the pilot, who knows who we'll need down the line. Résumés and links to reels are encouraged, but not necessary. Headshots... significantly less necessary, but who doesn't like pictures?

   Speaking of pictures, what would these updates be without some sort of visual stimulation? Thus, here is a forest floor background, which will be integrated into the previously posted Canadian vista shot. In fact, it already has! We'll be sure to post it once some additional elements have been added.