2D Animation and the new system

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8goOxI3THiw


This was a two week animation that I created as a final project for my 2D animation class. I used a combination of flash and photoshop to get the visuals.


I've finally got some time to work on the comic. Though things have taken a turn for the worse I intend to get as much done as possible. On one hand it is good that people are asking me to create for them, on the other hand it is starting to come in at a very high volume. I'll need a better filtering system for future commissions. One of said filters is that I do expect to be payed. A lot of work goes into what I do, and I don't ask for much. Charity work is beginning to eat up my time.

Yojimbo

Yojimbo is an interesting film to me, primarily because it shows how hypocritical the people around me are. I watched the film with my father, who quickly dismissed the movie, saying that the story seemed pointless. Keep in mind that my father is a big fan of westerns. When I told him the movie influenced Fistful of dollars, he outright denied having ever said anything. As far as he was concerned it was just a Japanese attempt at a spaghetti western, to him.
The movie takes place in a town ruled by two warring factions. While each side is gathering their army, a wondering samurai walks in and offers his services to the highest bidder. From there on, the whole movie becomes a delightful guessing game as to who will stab who in the back next. Long story short, our hero retaliates against both factions, by pitting them up against each other, then promptly gets captured, beaten, then returns to slay the remainder of his enemies.
My favorite character had to be the wondering ronin, played by Toshiro Mifune, who I immediately liked due to being a fan of anime. Seeing the forerunner to all of my favorite heroes was quite a treat, and the character did not disappoint. It's worth noting that many of the actors in this movie seemed to have characters in anime today that mimic the characters in this movie. This is really fun for me, since I will be looking at anime in a new way from now on.

Japan and Such

So, yah, I haven't been on in a while. Preparations for SXSW bogged down web development quite a bit, but you'll be pleased to know that there are plenty of things to show. I've taken to animation as of lately and have resumed development of my own game. (At quite a zealous pace I might add.)

THE BIG NEWS IS:

There was recently a major tragedy in Japan. A tsunami hit a large part of the nation with devastating force. This all happened, ironically, while we were all having fun at SXSW. (The ironic part being that many of the games we were playing were developed in Japan.) The point of all this is simple:

If you are a gamer, and otaku, anime fan, ect., you owe a lot to Japan...maybe this is the time to give a little back. Check out redcross.org.

Mega Man - Fan Film

I’m usually a little hesitant to watch “indie” films, though I can’t really figure out why.  The low budget doesn’t really bother me, and the writing is sometimes shockingly superior to that of your average AAA movie. Top this with the fact that it’s a movie about a video game, a dark corner that has rarely been visited successfully, and you could have made a solid bet that I would never ever watch this movie. One night, however, I was feeling really adventurous and started it up.

The plot of Mega Man, the fan film, is what you’d expect. The ingenious Dr. Light has created a series of robots, in order to assist humanity. Dr. Wily, impressively portrayed by Dave Maulbeck, is here to do exactly the opposite, and reprogram the robots to enslave the world and do his bidding. Mega Man, Dr. Light’s latest creation steps up to stop the “evil” robots, and does so using a variety of abilities he gets from each enemy he defeats.

While it’s no surprise that Mega Man wins in the end, it is surprising how well all the characters worked out in a live action setting. Smalltime stars, Jun Naito and Edward X. Young, do impressive jobs as Mega Man and Dr. Light. Sung-Mo Cho even pulls off a convincing Proto Man. The only actor that falls off a bit is Jeanie Tse, who plays Roll…but it’s debatable whether it’s bad acting or the characters dopey demeanor.

It would be easy to say my favorite character was Mega Man, but that really isn’t the case. Dave Maulbeck is easily one of my favorite villains this year. Wily has always been a very stereotypically evil bad guy (angry at the world, wants to take it over, monologues excessively, ect.), yet he does it quite well. I really do think it takes true still to take a goofy guy like Wily, keep the goofiness, and still make him appear threatening.

            In short, it’s good stuff. It’s video game movies done right. Directors should take notes.