Baby Update

Hey all! Just thought I would drop by and let you know how OPERATION: THIRD DRAFT is going.

In one word: slow.

That's not a bad thing though. Like I said, after the reading we evaluated what people liked and didn't like and we're trying to expand the humor of the show. This means we're re-thinking alot of the arcs and angles of the show and characters. So the first episode which really needs to explain the style and tone of the show is being carefully and meticulously created so as to make it as good as it can be.

After it's done I think I'll upload it so you guys can tell me what you think. Sound good?

Other than that there's not a ton of news to go off about. Most of the Imaginary Trends crew are either on tour or getting ready to embark to NH for some work so updates may be a little more scarce than usual, but keep checking back because we're about to get to work on some big schtuff!

FOTO FRIDAY! - Looking Back... Edition! - 4/17

Another week goes by and another FOTO FRIDAY goes up! The start of the third draft was a little rocky at first, but after a while it really picked up speed. I've found that in starting a new draft, I get a little anxious to get to ideas that I know worked previously. The challenge I made for myself was to find new, interesting ways to get to the major plot points of the episodes. I'm sure I'll blabber on more about it later, but for now look at these new pictures!Izzy looks on as Natalie recaps the first dream she's ever had. Damn I love that Mummy shirt...This is the only shot we got of Christian's sister, Penny (played by Lauren Morrison). Lauren was really great as Penny, but this is the best shot we got of her performance. Sorry LaMo!

Izzy, Christian, and Natalie rocking out to "Here & Now," one of the original songs composed for LAN'ded by Ryan Cavanaugh.

Just some DLC...

I stumbled across this thread over at the NeoGaf forums and just got thoroughly inspired.

The reason? It seems like more and more each year interactive media takes bigger strides towards becoming a veritable artform. Mass Effect seemed to really give gamers a run for their money as far as providing an entirely open-ended narrative and Bethesda does some incredible stuff as far as creating a illustrious landscape for which a person to use paint on.

As I looked on and saw some of my favorites (like the Mirror's Edge, Tetris, and Persona 4 ones) really evoke alot of creative attention. It just seemed to be like Christian would devour this stuff. Frankly, I do, so Christian would. ;) Not to make his character indulgent, but nobody can deny that some TLC went into creative some of those knock-off Criterion Collection covers.

This just adds to the argument that interactive media is making a stand in becoming art. Look at The Guild. Besides opening the door for alot of webseries out there, Felicia Day has also created a show that centers around interactive media. Two birds with one stone. Nice job. She's cute too, can't fault her at all for that.

In other news, a few members of Imaginary Trends are making the move to New Hampshire for the summer to do some work. While we will be in the middle of nowhere, I think we'll be publishing some...interesting works online. I'm personally packing up my comics and games so that I'll still retain a good amount of dorkness even a few states away from home.

Also...we've been getting good responses to the trailer script that went up last week. I'm going to begin formally writing our third draft in the coming week. Got any suggestions? Send them in...

FOTO FRIDAY! - Staged Reading Edition! - 4/10

Hey LAN'ders, Aaron J. here!

I finally got off my lazy butt (too much Pokemon Platinum...) and am posting these pictures from the staged reading in March. Some great stuff here. I especially love Lenneth's costume and the way the mime fight turned out. Check out the pics below and 5 points to whoever can catch the Shaun Of The Dead reference!

Lenneth complains about another noise violation while the Mime Boss slinks into the background.

Watchtower Tom and his Rockers record their commercial.Christian, Izzy, and Natalie prepare to enter a MimefieldIzzy has a laugh with his Zombie friends

Download "NEW GAME", the first piece of the third draft of LAN'ded!

I figured it's almost Easter...so what would the Last Supper look like in Christian's world?

A few people in the reading cast have requested that they see this "new script" I just drew up over the last week and so I figured why not just post it? After reading through this short 11-12 page script with Kyle, we've decided that this works really well as a "trailer" of sorts. A precursor to the first episode. Something that sets up the characters and universe better than trying to cram it into the first episode.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD "NEW GAME" AS A PDF FILE!

On a side note: I was lucky enough to receive a Sony PSP (I named her Peach, my DSi is named Daisy) over the weekend, and I decided that it would only be fitting that I get the game that inspired the character Lenneth in LAN'ded: "Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth." You may wonder why I decided to name the creepy landlord after a Norse Goddess in a video game, well, to be honest it just felt like it fit. Also, I'm a big fan of VERY cryptic/far-fetched references. Speaking of references, the entire third draft will concentrate on a larger variety of references. Emulating Spaced, I was aiming to insert references to things associated with Christian's world throughout the first season and while I was successful with that, most of the references were video game based. In this third draft a bigger concentration will be placed on referencing every facet of his dork culture. Working at a GameStop, I'm prone to have gaming on the brain, but I have to remember to spread that out. :)

Some ideas that I expect to explore in the third draft of LAN'ded include, but aren't limited to:

1. Christian holds a funeral for his broken Xbox 360, candles, priests, and all.
2. Izzy brings an (imaginary) pet home.
3. Natalie forms a coalition for imaginary friends. Sort of like a union for imaginary friends.
4. Dr. Cortex and Wally take over the kitchen. (Cut from initial reading script, will be more developed.)
5. More songs. We had 5-6 songs for the entire first season. We received some feedback asking us to have a theme song and some fill-in music and tunes elsewhere. Let's see what happens...

There's been talk of storyboarding "NEW GAME" so people can get a better idea of how everything will look. Think you guys would want to see those?

I'll leave you with two things:

1. If Carmen Sandiego and Where's Waldo had a child, would we ever find him?

2. Here's a picture of our Dr. Cortex, Wally, and Natalie taken from the reading staged last week at the Rauh Theatre. There's more to come later...

~ Aaron J.

The Workload Ahead...

Would you believe that it has not even been a week since the reading and we're already hard at work on the 3rd draft? Believe it folks!

One of the main concerns that rose from the reading was the backstory of many characters. We had written complete backstories for characters and even incorporated all of these backstories into the script. However, as time drew nearer and nearer to the reading we ended up having to cut many pages from the final reading script. Roughly 30-40 pages were cut and a good amount of those pages were dedicated to backstory. Having thought that a quick pre-show explaining the state of events would totally inform the audience, we weren't too worried about not having the history of the universe and characters included in the reading but it seems as if that was a poor assumption.

A few nights ago Kyle and I were discussing ideas for how to begin the series differently, possibly incorporating people's notes, and that's when it happened.

It's funny how one small suggestion can spark an entirely new approach to material. Needless to say, I ran with the idea and (incorporating the feedback we received Sunday) wrote up a short 10-page prologue of sorts. The prologue shows Christian's normal day routine, how introverted he is, and the interruption of that routine. I'm actually pretty happy with it for the most part. It's merely a first draft and doesn't have anyone's eyes looking at it besides mine, Kyle's, and a few select others but the response has been largely positive. What I really like about it is that it shows off Dr. Cortex and Wally much earlier, and also incorporates TheTallestGnome into Christian's daily rituals much sooner with a bigger emphasis on what the relationship actually is.

We had talked earlier in the year about filming a "trailer" of sorts that would show off the basic premise of LAN'ded and I think this may be one direction we can take that trailer in. Maybe once I touch it up a bit more and digi-stamp it I'll post it on here for everyone to peruse through? :-D

One bit of sad news: Now that the reading is over, I have to say goodbye to Dr. Cortex and Wally and ship them back to their owners. And I was having so much fun with them.

Catch you guys next week! Expect a slew of pictures...