July 23, 2013 : Watch Out! Samurai Jack Comic Coming Out
Solid news for Samarai Jack fans – a new comic book is due out this fall, which will pick up where the series (abruptly) ended. It’s not a movie (or a new season), but it’s better than nothing… even if it’s 9 years late. Below is one of the covers, and as expected, it’s pretty bad ass.
I’m not huge into comic books, although to see Jack again, I’m willing to make an exception. Of course, the bigger picture is that it might be successful enough to gain enough traction for a movie, something that Genndy Tartakovsky still shops around. One can only hope.
posted by Pi Visuals at 11:58 pm
Tags: Genndy Tartakovsky , Samurai Jack0 Comments | Post a comment
July 22, 2013 : Happy Pi Approximation Day!
It’s not the real thing, but it’s a damn fine substitute… Happy Pi Approximation Day!
On this spectacular (and needlessly nerdy) day, have as much fun with 22/7 as humanly possible – just please don’t do any serious calculations with it.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:19 pm
Tags: Pi0 Comments | Post a comment
July 10, 2013 : A New Batman Series… Sans Kevin Conroy
Cartoon Network’s DC Nation block will premiere a new Batman series this Saturday, Beware The Batman. Different from previous reboots, this series will be CGI.
The bad news is Kevin Conroy isn’t involved with the show. Yet again, he hasn’t really been in any of the recent versions so it’s not all that surprising. However, the CGI element sounds interesting, and I’m curious how the show will look with this new medium. I was a fan of the recently cancelled Green Lantern CGI series, and Batman definitely has more name recognition than his Justice League associate so hopefully this series will fair better.
posted by Pi Visuals at 11:08 pm
Tags: Batman , DC Nation , Kevin Conroy0 Comments | Post a comment
July 2, 2013 : FX Expanding… With More Channels?
If you’ve seen any of the recent promos for It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, you might have seen mentions of ‘FXX’. Apparently, FX is expanding it’s programming in September with a new channel, FXX, along with expanding their movie channel nexwork, FXM.
Both channels are intended to target a younger demo – with FXX targeting the same 18-34 demo that Adult Swim goes after. With the bulk of the original programming heading over to FXX, I am not quite sure what FX will be airing – Â probably more syndicated episodes of Two And A Half Men and How I Met Your Mother (I just vomited a little in my mouth).
However, I am more concerned about whether or not cable/ satellite will make this channel available right away. I personally do not get FXM, which is fine with me, but there are a few shows I watch that presumably will be on FXX – The League has already been mentioned, and I am betting Wilfred and Archer will as well.
Hopefully the new network will result in an increase in original programming… preferably solid ones (and maybe a few that are animated), but I’ll believe it when I see it.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:35 am
Tags: Adult Swim , It's Always Sunny1 Comment | Post a comment
June 25, 2013 : R.I.P.D. Looks A Lot Like A Lot Of Things
I’m not sure how long trailers for R.I.P.D. have been airing; but seeing as how it comes out next month, I was surprised I saw this for the first time tonight.
R.I.P.D. is based off a comic by Peter Lenkov, but many critics are claiming it to be a rip off of Men In Black and one of several other properties (ranging from Undead to Ghostbusters). While I can see the similarities, one could easily draw parallels to countless shows and movies. If I had to, I’d channel my love of anime and say it’s a mash up of Bleach and YuYu Hakusho.
While it isn’t completely original, it still looks interesting enough to me; and I’d like to think it’ll have its own personal spin on the genre. Plus, I have been a fan of Ryan Reynolds ever since Two Guys, A Girl, And A Pizza Place – so you can’t go wrong with that. Also, I am really glad they went with Jeff Bridges versus the original choice of Zach Galifianakis – but that’s just my irrational dislike of the guy. That notwithstanding, you can’t top The Dude so good casting call.
posted by Pi Visuals at 9:26 pm
Tags: Bleach , YuYu Hakusho3 Comments | Post a comment
June 10, 2013 : Robotical’s Soundtrack
I made sure Robotical had a lot of music throughout the short; and not only did I want the music to sufficiently match (and add to) the mood, I also wanted a variety of the types of music. The end result was music that I am very pleased with.
I created an mp3 that plays the music as it is heard throughout the short, and it is embedded below. Bare in mind that the file is nearly seven minutes long.
[audio:http://www.pivisuals.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Robotical_Soundtrack_Compressed.mp3|titles=Robotical Soundtrack]Besides the generous use of cymbal swells, you’ll notice a few tracks are repeated (or revisited with slight variations). Just know that it makes more sense if you’ve seen the short. As expected, many of the tracks were edited in Post to better match the flow the accompanying animation. As such, I replaced some of those tracks with the full recorded version for everybody’s enjoyment.
By the way, if you stomach through the file, you will also get a chance to hear yours truly singing. I guarantee it won’t make any sense and will leave you utterly confused without seeing the short, but it’s still a cool song that I am proud of.
posted by Pi Visuals at 2:48 pm
Tags: Robotical0 Comments | Post a comment
May 25, 2013 : Robotical Trailer
Finishing touches are being put on the new short, Robotical. In the meantime, a trailer for it has been put together and can be seen on Vimeo. Check it out.
The trailer was more of an obligatory thing (more on that later), but overall I’m very happy with how things are shaping up.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:56 am
Tags: Robotical0 Comments | Post a comment
May 13, 2013 : San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum
During mid-April, I got a chance to go to San Francisco for a few days (yeah I know, I’m a little late relaying the info). While there, I found out the hotel I was staying at was very close to the Cartoon Art Museum. So naturally, I made sure to check it out.
To be honest, I wasn’t overly impressed – however, after thinking about it since I went, I’m pretty sure a lot of that can be attributed to me being spoiled with Chicago’s Museums. It did feel like many genres were left out; and they seemed to focus more on comics than animation. Still, there were some cool pieces. Below are two pieces I liked by comic book writer/ illustrator Sam Kieth.
I like most drawing of The Joker, but this one was particularly sweet and clearly needs to be followed by:
Kieth has created his own comics but has also been involved with DC properties. With this artwork, I am curious to check out the five issue Batman series he wrote and drew.
The museum rotates and changes out exhibits periodically. At the time of my visit, they did have a good portion of space dedicated to Chuck Jones, which was pretty cool. There was a great deal of artwork by him – in various steps of production:
The Chuck Jones exhibit was by far the most informative. Among other things, I learned that he directed the TV adaption to How The Grinch Stole Christmas! – a personal favorite of mine.
Overall, the museum was worth the few bucks I shelled out… but I wouldn’t recommend having incredibly high expectations. Although, I’m willing to bet your experience is dependent upon when you go. If they have a really great exhibit when you’re there, then it will be that much better.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:24 am
Tags: Batman , Comics , Joker1 Comment | Post a comment
April 25, 2013 : Animation Complete… Sorta
The first pass of animation for the short finished up a few days ago. It’s definitely a big milestone in the production process.
Of course, things are far from wrapping up. In addition to the expected Post-Production duties, there are numerous edits within animation. After reviewing each scene, an extensive list was made of all the necessary changes… eighteen pages long, to be exact.
Still, things are moving along.
posted by Pi Visuals at 3:41 am
Tags: Robotical0 Comments | Post a comment
April 12, 2013 : Stop Motion With DBZ Action Figures
This video is a little longer than it needs to be, but it’s still pretty sweet. The stop motion in itself is impressive, but adding in the additional effects afterward is just icing on the cake.
Not sure why Piccolo is fighting Trunks, but you have to love the fact that it isn’t filled with annoying, time-consuming flashbacks.
posted by Pi Visuals at 6:19 pm
Tags: DBZ0 Comments | Post a comment