Kyle showed me how to successfully embed these things. Silly me, I thought it was much more difficult.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Our first YouTube video!
Hey all! After making my eyes bleed by taking crash online courses in GarageBand and iMovie, I have finished editing our first Imaginary Trends Developer Diary!
We plan to release these every couple of weeks on YouTube and other outlets. Since Blogger won't let me upload the video to here, I can only link to it.
Click Here To Watch Our First Developer Diary!
We plan to release these every couple of weeks on YouTube and other outlets. Since Blogger won't let me upload the video to here, I can only link to it.
Click Here To Watch Our First Developer Diary!
Friday, June 19, 2009
"My Life Everyday" - First Draft Lyrics & Other News
I decided to post some lyrics that were written for a possible song in the first episode. These lyrics are a work in progress and subject to change. Right now we're tossing around different musical routes to take with these lyrics if we decide to use them. We're thinking about a rock n' roll vibe, possibly a Jason Mraz-type musicality, or even a David Yazbek like folky feel. We've got plenty of time though, we'll see how things pan out.
"MY LIFE EVERYDAY" (Lyrics by Aaron J. Amendola, first draft finished 6/13/09)
Christian
A SECTION
Any distance can be a journey
if you're not accustomed to the trail,
and I'd waltz right down that hallway
if I was sure I wouldn't fail.
So I'll stay inside and press continue
Just the same as yesterday.
Don't look at me with your pity
This is my life everyday.
I wake up and check my mail here
Look, everyone's my friend
And with all the work I've piled up
I'm afraid there's no room for pretend
And while I'd love to get fired up in a musical soiree
I'm more content with my comics
This is my life everyday.
B SECTION
Don't think that I'm sullen,
don't think that I'm sad.
This way of life isn't just passing through
and I don't see it as a fad.
C SECTION
The outside world is scary if you're socially unaware.
I'd rather sit at home & watch cartoons while enjoying Solitaire.
I'm a stoic member of my own army with a dorky croix de guerre.
I'd reject the physical challenge while playing Double Dare.
A SECTION
50 feet can seem like miles
if inside is all you know.
It doesn't bother me cause
I don't think that I have to grow.
So I'll chill inside with a red bull and all my superfriends.
Even if I have thoughts of breaking away,
this is my life everyday.
This is my life everyday.
This is my life everyday.
--------------
So the entire LAN'ded dev team is now hangin' out in sunny New Hampshire! We'll be here for the whole summer and maybe even longer depending on how things go. We're planning on getting a ton of work done, as long as nobody in our dev team gets swine flu...so we'll see. I'm currently listening to the broadway show "Next To Normal" and I have to hand it to Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey. They've just got a fantastic show on their hands. I've been amazed by Mr. Kitt repeatedly and this show is no fluke, he really writes music that amazing all the time. Do yourself a favor and check him out here.
And because a post here can't exclusively be about Musical Theatre and LAN'ded, I must mention that the Ghostbusters video game was released this week. I received the Ps3 version and Kyle opted to get the Wii version. I'm happy to say that we're enthralled with both copies and I can only imagine what impact our fanboyism will have on future scripts concerning ghost jokes.
Also, a special word has to be said about LAN'ded dev team alum Ashley Laverty, who's children's show "Dotty Dot" is going to be produced in NYC in the future! Ashley is, as I've said up and down before, a phenomenal writer and performer and this is just a testament to her gifts.
Hope all is well in the rest of the 49 states! And I hope you all have your dork clocks set to go off next week when Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen tears up theatres! Sayonara!
"MY LIFE EVERYDAY" (Lyrics by Aaron J. Amendola, first draft finished 6/13/09)
Christian
A SECTION
Any distance can be a journey
if you're not accustomed to the trail,
and I'd waltz right down that hallway
if I was sure I wouldn't fail.
So I'll stay inside and press continue
Just the same as yesterday.
Don't look at me with your pity
This is my life everyday.
I wake up and check my mail here
Look, everyone's my friend
And with all the work I've piled up
I'm afraid there's no room for pretend
And while I'd love to get fired up in a musical soiree
I'm more content with my comics
This is my life everyday.
B SECTION
Don't think that I'm sullen,
don't think that I'm sad.
This way of life isn't just passing through
and I don't see it as a fad.
C SECTION
The outside world is scary if you're socially unaware.
I'd rather sit at home & watch cartoons while enjoying Solitaire.
I'm a stoic member of my own army with a dorky croix de guerre.
I'd reject the physical challenge while playing Double Dare.
A SECTION
50 feet can seem like miles
if inside is all you know.
It doesn't bother me cause
I don't think that I have to grow.
So I'll chill inside with a red bull and all my superfriends.
Even if I have thoughts of breaking away,
this is my life everyday.
This is my life everyday.
This is my life everyday.
--------------
So the entire LAN'ded dev team is now hangin' out in sunny New Hampshire! We'll be here for the whole summer and maybe even longer depending on how things go. We're planning on getting a ton of work done, as long as nobody in our dev team gets swine flu...so we'll see. I'm currently listening to the broadway show "Next To Normal" and I have to hand it to Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey. They've just got a fantastic show on their hands. I've been amazed by Mr. Kitt repeatedly and this show is no fluke, he really writes music that amazing all the time. Do yourself a favor and check him out here.
And because a post here can't exclusively be about Musical Theatre and LAN'ded, I must mention that the Ghostbusters video game was released this week. I received the Ps3 version and Kyle opted to get the Wii version. I'm happy to say that we're enthralled with both copies and I can only imagine what impact our fanboyism will have on future scripts concerning ghost jokes.
Also, a special word has to be said about LAN'ded dev team alum Ashley Laverty, who's children's show "Dotty Dot" is going to be produced in NYC in the future! Ashley is, as I've said up and down before, a phenomenal writer and performer and this is just a testament to her gifts.
Hope all is well in the rest of the 49 states! And I hope you all have your dork clocks set to go off next week when Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen tears up theatres! Sayonara!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Never slime a guy with a Positron Collider.
Hey there everyone!
News is trickling out of the LAN'ded front more and more as the summer goes on it seems. A constant re-working of the 3rd draft gets more and more of my attention every day and the past week was no exception. After reading (several times) the way that the first episode sounds, I find myself constantly unhappy with the lyrics to the first major song of the show. After writing 8 different sets of lyrics (yes, 8) I think we may have found something that works or at least we're one step closer to what will become the final text.
I've been working on putting together a video-blog to keep track of our pre-production adventures and you guys can expect that sometime before the end of the month (hopefully, we'll see). As you probably know, the Ghostbusters video game comes out in 4 days and who knows how much work I'll get done after I get my hands on that. I've waited over 20 years to become a Ghostbuster, and I'm determined to relive every memory I have from Venkman, Stantz, and Egon.
Check back for more news next week!
News is trickling out of the LAN'ded front more and more as the summer goes on it seems. A constant re-working of the 3rd draft gets more and more of my attention every day and the past week was no exception. After reading (several times) the way that the first episode sounds, I find myself constantly unhappy with the lyrics to the first major song of the show. After writing 8 different sets of lyrics (yes, 8) I think we may have found something that works or at least we're one step closer to what will become the final text.
I've been working on putting together a video-blog to keep track of our pre-production adventures and you guys can expect that sometime before the end of the month (hopefully, we'll see). As you probably know, the Ghostbusters video game comes out in 4 days and who knows how much work I'll get done after I get my hands on that. I've waited over 20 years to become a Ghostbuster, and I'm determined to relive every memory I have from Venkman, Stantz, and Egon.
Check back for more news next week!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
We're gonna take it Step By Step...
...and Day by Day.
I have an exciting announcement for you all. You may have known that the three principle members of the LAN'ded dev team can be followed on twitter. You can follow me at this address, here is Kyle's twitter, and David was the last to succumb yesterday. Twitter has been a pretty valuable way for us to keep in touch with other companies and projects. People have been able to follow our recent developments on this blog as well as twitter and it has opened many doors to us.
Today, from the shores of Port Washington, Wisconsin, we added a twitter to follow out of sheer respect for our childhood prime time TV viewing. That man was TV's Patrick Duffy. You may know him as Frank, father of the Lambert family on the hit TGIF regular "Step by Step." It was a no-brainer to follow Mr. Duffy. As a matter of fact, Kyle and I put together a choral soulful version of the show's theme song our senior year. We thought it would be a fitting tribute.
Not even a day after I added Mr. Duffy's twitter to my follow list did I receive an e-mail saying that he was following my twitter as well. David, who was not 5 feet away from me felt my enthusiasm first. Almost immediately we rejoiced and soon Kyle was called with the good news.
Mr. Duffy, if you are reading this: thank you for your support.
If you wish to view some of Mr. Duffy's content on YouTube, I've linked to it right here. You can also follow his twitter here. I hope that you find it as amusing as we have.
And now, without further ado, the LAN'ded team is preparing for more readings of the script. We'll be sure to let you know how it goes! KEEP LAN'DING!
Monday, June 1, 2009
A Hearty Hello from the Hampshire!
Gosh, 3 weeks just sort of flies by doesn't it?
Well LAN'ders, let me just start by saying that this week is a HUGE week for everyone. There's a new Pixar movie, E3 is happening, and the Imaginary Trends team is getting together for read-thrus once more. After all, we're all up here in the beautiful roads of New Hampshire now, so we've got plenty of time to work! Personally, it's a bit of a departure in writing up here. Whereas I was surrounded by media outlets of all sorts in Pittsburgh, up here I have to drive at least 15 minutes to get anywhere. Just puts everything in a different mindset.
Truth be told, many different iterations of the episodes we used in the reading have been written and re-written and time and time again it keeps coming back to the basics: How can we get our point across, and how can be innovate it? The ideas, we think, are innovative enough with our concepts, but how do we have these themes and ideas identifiable? Rather than mining pop culture through and through using any and everything to get a laugh (Like Family Guy), we're relying mainly on things that make you think of childhood, like comics, Muppets, video games, and cartoons. It's expanded from just a dorky coming-of-age tale and has evolved into a celebration of childhood in a way.
Part of the difficulty in writing the content is merging those aspects with the adult themes of the characters. Christian is an adult, living as a scared child. Izzy and Natalie are manifestations of the sandbox best friends he's never met or had before. How do you relate the child and the adult? Well, luckily for us, we never really grew up. That's not to say we're men who behave like boys, but we're mature kids at heart. We still have our action figures, we still love our Looney Tunes, and we still would jump at the chance to play some good old fashioned Mario Kart. Merge that with a big desire to create and you've got something great and new on your hands. Hopefully when LAN'ded becomes fully realized later on in its development cycle, you'll be able to see that as well.
I'm editing the scripts one last time, fixing typos and such before we start doing read-thrus again tomorrow. Can you believe I mixed up Robin Hood and Peter Pan? Yikes...people have been killed for less.
One last thing - Go see UP! You'll love it.
Well LAN'ders, let me just start by saying that this week is a HUGE week for everyone. There's a new Pixar movie, E3 is happening, and the Imaginary Trends team is getting together for read-thrus once more. After all, we're all up here in the beautiful roads of New Hampshire now, so we've got plenty of time to work! Personally, it's a bit of a departure in writing up here. Whereas I was surrounded by media outlets of all sorts in Pittsburgh, up here I have to drive at least 15 minutes to get anywhere. Just puts everything in a different mindset.
Truth be told, many different iterations of the episodes we used in the reading have been written and re-written and time and time again it keeps coming back to the basics: How can we get our point across, and how can be innovate it? The ideas, we think, are innovative enough with our concepts, but how do we have these themes and ideas identifiable? Rather than mining pop culture through and through using any and everything to get a laugh (Like Family Guy), we're relying mainly on things that make you think of childhood, like comics, Muppets, video games, and cartoons. It's expanded from just a dorky coming-of-age tale and has evolved into a celebration of childhood in a way.
Part of the difficulty in writing the content is merging those aspects with the adult themes of the characters. Christian is an adult, living as a scared child. Izzy and Natalie are manifestations of the sandbox best friends he's never met or had before. How do you relate the child and the adult? Well, luckily for us, we never really grew up. That's not to say we're men who behave like boys, but we're mature kids at heart. We still have our action figures, we still love our Looney Tunes, and we still would jump at the chance to play some good old fashioned Mario Kart. Merge that with a big desire to create and you've got something great and new on your hands. Hopefully when LAN'ded becomes fully realized later on in its development cycle, you'll be able to see that as well.
I'm editing the scripts one last time, fixing typos and such before we start doing read-thrus again tomorrow. Can you believe I mixed up Robin Hood and Peter Pan? Yikes...people have been killed for less.
One last thing - Go see UP! You'll love it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)