Tech Upgrade in Progress...

So, after the long slog, we finally have some good news. I think we pretty much have the parts for the new computer build locked in! (Woo hoo!!! *applause* etc.) We should hopefully be able to verify all that within the next couple days and put an order in.
In other news, work has started on the 3D models for some of the ships, but here's a sketch to tide you over until they're presentable.

In the down time this week, I played around with the recording from the last party game a bit, and discovered that I've really missed editing. Now I'm doubly anxious to get the parts, build the system, and get back to work.

So, until next time!

A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Blog…

Let’s just get this out of the way right off. I hate shopping. So it stands to reason that I would be doing nothing but for the last three weeks. First off, looking for a computer, then the realization that I’d probably be more comfortable with one I’d built myself. That led to hours upon hours upon days of research, reading up on the differences between chips, reading the reviews on motherboards. ‘Tis enough to drive one mad.

Our stunt team, with no specific project to pursue, (but with more than enough passion for beating up on each other to go around,) has returned to the beginning to refine the fundamentals of our collective art.

So what’s the funny thing, you ask? Pretty much the discovery of how many ways you can creatively say “this week same as last.” The number one rule of blogging is consistency, regularly putting stuff out in the public arena at a consistent time every week. (Gatewalkers took a huge hit when a technical glitch made it 14 hours late, further underscoring the principle.) Sadly, until the new computer is here and built, I really can’t even begin to work on the postproduction aspect of the project. It’s honestly kinda frustrating to me. I would cave to the desire to just but one pre-made if it wasn’t for the fact that I want to make the best use of the resources I have, and most pre-builds are a bit over-produced and under-engineered. So… here we are. Until that happens, I’ll continue to accost you with shiny pictures of people with weapons, and regale you, (to the best of my ability,) with whatever random stories happen to float on up from this wacky group. Deal?

Until next time!

PARTY!!!

 Ahem… Sorry about that.

While the hunt for the right technology continues, the team got together for the celebration of a job well done. Zoe invented a dance, and the time before dinner was occupied with learning, revising, and performing it. Needless to say, most of the pictures from that endeavor turned out a tad blurry. After the meal, we proceeded to play the sequel to The Game from last year, (and, by extension, the sequel to our current film project.) Dunn has gone missing, and it’s up to our reluctant band of fighters and semi-legitimate businessmen to find him.

Awkward...

So... ideas?

A crushing revelation

"Hex, they picked up another one!"

"Sales pitch"

 Along the way they stumble into some of the great mysteries of their universe, and poke a few bears for good measure. It all ends on a pretty big cliffhanger, one that they won’t let sit for another year. Tentative plans are being made to finish this story over Christmas break.

Well, that’s about all for this week. Until next time!

Step 1: Research

Well, now that principal photography has been completed, we move to a somewhat different first step.

 

The new technology has brought with it new issues to resolve. My old editing computer was straining to handle the workload for "Gatewalkers," and now we're shooting in true HD, so this new project could prove to be a bit much for the system. With that in mind, I've been doing some research, and making some new discoveries about old technology along the way.
The build for the new computer has almost been completed, and the proper method for transferring the editing suite has been uncovered. To top it all off, I have finally discovered (after far too many years,) the answer to a problem that has been plaguing my sound sync process. Simply put, the sound recorder divides the takes into, well, takes, but the software uploads them all as one file.This makes finding and syncing the audio a pain to say the least. The solution is somewhat tedious and repetitive, but it takes far less time than the alternative. The down side, I only discovered this after we'd already uploaded the most dialog heavy parts of the "CotF" project. Ah well... hope for the future, anyway.

This coming Sunday the cast will be getting together for a party, and we'll be playing out the sequel to this story. Hilarity will doubtless ensue.

That's about all for this week. Until next time! 

Duels and Dunes

This week we tied up principal photography on our tentatively titled “Chaos on the Fringe.” Most of the filming centered on the climactic confrontation at The Vault, with two days being dedicated to that alone.

Quite happily, after all those days sweltering in the shop, we went on our only location shoot of the project: the dunes behind Fred Meyer in Florence, OR. Funny enough, that’s the same location that internet celebrities Lindsey Stirling and Peter Hollens used for their collaborative music videos. I think the results speak for themselves:

Well, that’s about all for now. Until next time!

"So... What Are You Doing?"

A very excellent question. Having an incredibly short pre-production that overlapped the release of the final “Gatewalkers” episodes left little time for project build-up, leading many people to ask the above question. Here, then, is the answer.

When a survey vessel goes missing an overtaxed planetary government sends an incredibly odd team to find it. Rogers, the ranger with an abysmally poor record; Dunn, the agent of an ancient military order; and Maya, a trigger-happy pilot and heavy weapons enthusiast; embark on a quest to find their missing people. However, someone else knows the whereabouts of the missing ship, and has dispatched an assassin to make sure that word of what it discovered dies with its crew.

That’s the plot in a nutshell; 45 pages of people who are very bad at their job narrowly dodging death on a regular basis as they try to ferret out clues and complete their mission. Written and acted by a team of brilliant nutballs, and directed by the biggest nut of them all, we hope that this will be a hilariously madcap ride for you all to join us on.

Now, with that put out there, we’ll give you the weekly peek into the goings-on on set.
 

  We’re about done with the filming this week, final shots will be revealed in our next update. Until then!  

Mission Commencing

Seeing as we're in the middle of an intense shooting schedule, this will be a text-brief, picture-long update.

After only a few days, we've already taken a good bite out of the script, with scenes ranging from a warehouse, to a Federation lander. On top of the full scenes, many parts were captured, to be composited together at a later date.
 

 

 Highlights: Keith as an arms dealer in a pink shirt and trench coat, Zoe and the Really Big Gun, and Nathan as multiple members of the "Echie" clan. Thus far the mood has remained light, and we've gotten a remarkable amount done, even with only one camera.

We'll keep y'all updated as the events unfold. Until next time!