Our ESPN Fantasy Focus Animation is finally complete! (If you scroll down to the Sept 3 blog entry, you can learn all the specifics about the video, why it was created, and why we’re nerds.) The animation that we completed is based on several inside jokes and guffaws from the 2-time award winning Podcast so I can’t assure that you’ll understand all the content per se, but if nothing else, I hope you can marvel at the ridiculousness of it. Special thanks to Nate Vanderplas for the animation skills and Randy Stewart for the drawings.
Every so often we get to work on projects that let us flex our creative muscles. Even better, when we get to work on something millions of viewers will see. This sort of thing has recently happened for Nate Vanderplas, our animator extraordinaire. AMC recently invited him to create an animated piece for their new show, The Walking Dead. Nate created the animated “outro” at the end of the piece – where you see a pistol being held in the foreground with blood running down it, while some gnarly zombies approach in the background.
Nate did a lot of Photoshop prep and animated this segment from the original comic book, The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman. It took Nate about 40 hours to create what you see–he started by breaking the artwork from the comic book apart from the backgrounds, and then had to animate the final product you see in the piece. This work demonstrates Nate’s great talent for not only animating, but prepping difficult imagery for animation.
You can watch the entire animated teaser on AMC’s website below:
So if you’re familiar with all things Gorilla, you know that in January we partnered with writer/director Caleb Slain and producer Jared Rummel to help bring to life THE LOST & FOUND SHOP. A copy of the Press Release can be seen here: Press Release – Lost and Found Shop
The 8-minute film did very well in an online film festival and is just now beginning its rounds in “real-life” film festivals, starting this weekend at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, Michigan. It’s playing both Saturday and Sunday. If you’re in the area and want to come support the film, click this link for more information on the when and where: Film Festival Favorites Short Film Program
And if you can’t make it out for our showing, well then a.) Shame on you and b.) come on down at any rate and support film production and exhibition in the oft-great state of Michigan! Hope to see someone besides us there!
Ladies and gentleman, we are pleased to announce that Caleb Alexander Slain’s “The Lost & Found Shop” has not only been recognized as a merited film on the acclaimed Doorpost Film Festival’s website but also is leading the pack with 2070+ views — nearly 1,400 views more than any other film on the site!
For those in the dark, Gorilla teamed up with writer/director Slain and producer Jared Rummel (among dozens of others!) to help bring to life the story of a girl searching for a lost memory – a piece of her identity. The production went swimmingly and the response has been overwhelming. If you haven’t had a chance, please go here (www.thedoorpost.com), click on the Identity tab on the left, do a little downward scrolling and find the Lost & Found tab. I trust you won’t regret it.
Thanks to ALL who helped make this film a reality. This is just the first step.
Ed’s Story is a series of five short films that tell pivotal points in Dr. Ed Dobson’s remarkable real-life journey with ALS. The series is based on Ed’s book, “Prayers & Promises”, published by Zondervan. The creative producer is Karl Koelling, who recently brought the project to Gorilla. This project has copious amounts of potential and we’ll be helping out by facilitating with RED cameras and Master Primes.
Film one, “It Ain’t Over”, is currently in pre-production and will be released in early 2010 for broadcast, DVD, and mobile device distribution.
