It dawned on me a few weeks ago that Madness Heist officially turns 10 today. For once, I'm still happy with something I made so long ago. I detest most of my previous work, but something special happened specifically with the voice actors and the music that I, to this day, have not been able to recreate.
To celebrate, I've done two things:
Released an official 4K version on YouTube. Back when I first uploaded it, I had a crappy 720p version that didn't even take up the whole frame. It makes due and I'm happy people still latched on to it, but its 2021 and people want HD. The "new version looks great IMO, aside from it highlighting when I'd forget to change my line thickness consistently. Here's the original trailer upgraded to 4K so you can see.
I've also created a special "Heat" inspired poster with multiple variants. You can purchase prints of these in my shop if you'd like!
Thank you to everyone who still supports this dusty old thing! Hope you guys enjoy it and have a HAPPY MADNESS DAY!
The annual Filmsupply EditFest is going on right now and we decided to throw our hats in the ring. The task is to take stock footage from the website and build a 60-second trailer, title sequence, or ad with it.
We really wanted to tell a story with this and put as much of our own spin on it as we could. MrRedstone not only did the music for our submission, but the voice-over as well.
If you want to help support us, check out the trailer and give us a vote (if you like it, that is)!
I'm wondering why I don't see much 3D art in the portal? I read that there's a rule against Source Filmmaker, but beyond that I'm not sure. I've been producing a lot of art in Cinema 4D using Kitbash3d and Reallusion characters and I'm hesitant about uploading it. Thoughts?
I can say that now since I live in Texas. Just kidding, I'll never say "ya'll" again, promise. I thought I'd take this time to celebrate a few milestones. I didn't want to jinx it while it was going on, but I recently finished my first commission job since moving to Austin!! Rejoice! Had a really good experience with the client and have been told there will be future work from them so that's pretty solid.
I've also been getting in to 3D software recently. I started off playing with pre-built models and messing with their textures, but recently I've been watching basic training videos to learn about all the different capabilities. As I was learning how to actually sculpt and make my own models, I kept seeing Portal cubes in my head (fantastic game btw). I then came to realize that building them is good a beginners level test without getting too complex...and it's also surprisingly fun. Check out my MOC Cubes below! I'll probably make one or two more, then start playing with physics, then rigging, then actual animation (maybe make a MOC ATLAS bot?)
Speaking of commissions, I may open up for business on here as well...maybe. I'll make a post for it if I do.
I promised more updates so here they are. I've recently been focusing a little more on art now that I have a draw tablet like a real boy! Check out the most recent one below, then head to my arts section to see other scribbles!
On another note, I know Flash is going to die soon so I need to reach in to a bunch of old trashy hard drives to convert my old stuff to video. What is everyone using for that these days? I know Swivel wasn't bad years ago, but I'm assuming something better is around now. Suggestions?
It is my pleasure to announce the re-branding of MOC Productions. What's been happening the past 3 years? Adulting mostly. I took some time away from animating and ended up working a sales job to pay off some debt. I don't necessarily regret it, but knew it wasn't a career I wanted for the long haul, so I left. It has been my dream to one day run an animation/post production company and I decided to take the risk and work on making it happen. So I packed up my stuff and moved to Austin, Texas. I'll miss Chicago (until the winter hits, then it can piss off).
Once things kick back up, I'll eventually open for commissions. As I said, I plan to legitimize this company, but there's a lot of legal paperwork to get through first. Hopefully not everyone has given up on me as the people of the internet are what motivated me to try this stuff out to begin with.
In any case, I have a barrel full of content that I worked on over the years (footage from the old vision of Madland) that I was always too timid to release to the public. I think that's actually what held me back all this time, so I will be releasing some new/old stuff in the coming weeks for everyone to criticize! We can start with the new logo and animation. Let me know what you all think!
Also, I'm working on amping up my social medias. If anyone can help me understand Twitter-speak, I'll give you a crisp high five.
For the second time in my animation career, I made a more traditional comedy animation. Originally, I wrote it for sarcastic jam, but couldn't complete it in time. Since it was Christmas themed anyway, I figured I'd spend a little more time on it than I would have and submit it just in time for the holidays. Plus I'm trying to generate content a little more consistency to re-establish an internet presence. I've been gone for quite a while.
Here it is, nice and embedded so you don't have to go anywhere. Watch it in the highest quality possible if you want to spot the Easter Eggs I threw in there.
Props to Saminat for doing both voices in this one. It was actually really fun to work with him. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed that it didn't get front-paged. And I don't wanrt to sound pompous by thinking that it automatically SHOULD end up there. It's not like I'm bitter or anything. I've been inactive for a long time and this type of toon is most certainly not my MO. It also might ruin Christmas for some youngin who happens to stumble upon it (although I can think of far worse for him to stumble upon on this site). I just created it thinking it was my most "Newground-ish" short and tried to do it in the style of all the comically inappropriate toons on this site that I grew up loving. So in a personal sense, I'm still glad I made it because it was an interesting experiment stepping out of my bubble. Hopefully those who watch it will enjoy it just the same.
Once more, I have returned after months to bring you news on recent developments. Let us jump right in to the burning question among my remaining fans...
WTF is up with Madland?
Is it ever going to happen? What's taking so long? It's been four years!
The simplest answer I can provide is yes, it is still happening. However, it has become much more grand scale since I originally came up with the idea. The script has been redrafted 4 times already. The reason for this is now that I'm a 27 year-old college graduate, any time I create art, I want it to really mean something. I want there to be a true purpose behind all the blood sweat and tears I put in to a project. I think as you get older, you learn more about the world (mostly the shitty things about it) and realize that exploring those things is the true motivation behind all art. It's the only way to find solace (for me, at least).
Originally, Madland was meant to be an homage film, paying tribute to various genres and styles of action that I've grown to love over the years. And to an extent, it still is. However, after letting the idea fester inside my head for so long, I began developing a story that gives true meaning and purpose to all of these visions (yes, I know how trite that sounds). I want people to connect with this story the same way they would with the films that inspired them. And at the same time, I do want the audience to also be blown away by the visual style. I've always approached animation like film. I want it to look and feel like a film, not a cartoon.
I know all of this sounds kind of ridiculous when talking about a Madness Combat tribute, but that's why I'm so intrigued by it. It's a very personal project in every way I can think of and I'm going to do everything I can to make it happen. I've spent the last few months simultaneously rewriting the script and working on a few key action sequences (the ones I know I'm not going to rewrite).
Part of me is considering bringing on a team of animators to speed up the process and improve on the style, but I need the funds to do so. I start a pretty high paying job next year in February, so we'll see how much of an option that becomes by then.
Want to see some Madland footage?
This goes against my better judgement since I don't like showing a work-in-progress, but I feel bad for the people who still care about this thing and I think they deserve to see SOMETHING after four years. And what I have to show looks pretty fucking good. So I'm going to make everyone a deal...
I shot this commercial for Doritos Crash the Superbowl 2016. Realistically, I'm sure it will lose to something more "industry-standard" that someone spent $10,000 producing. Nonetheless, I'm trying to campaign to get this thing more "on the radar" so that it may have a fighting chance.
So here's the deal, if this commercial reaches 10,000 views by January, I will release two clips from Madland. They'll be good clips too, with violence...and a sweet car chase.
So please like it, share it, whore it out and you will be rewarded. Maybe you guys could try and convince Tom to put it on the Newgrounds FB page or one of his news posts. I plan to message him regardless since he's always been helpful with that stuff in the past, but I always feel like a douche asking.
As always, feel free to comment with questions, concerns, hatred, trolling, whatever. I'll respond.
Sorry it's been forever since my last post. Even now, I'm strapped for time. But I wanted to share my new demo reel with everyone. There are even a few never-before-seen shots from "Madland".
More updates on everything soon (and more consistently). Promise!
