"Adventures with the Ambersons," Episode 2!

Hey kids! Check out the latest chapter in the AMBERSONS saga, posted this morning by SuperDeluxe.com!


This was an exciting, challenging piece to create, and I couldn't have done it without the following amazing people:

The lovely and talented LISA GUARINO, who gamely jumped in to voice the Slave Girl both in the show and in some hilarious BLOOPER footage, coming soon!

My good friend and after-effects guru, BEHN FANNIN, who inspires me to incorporate digital effects--something my old-school mentality fights against sometimes.

College buddy and brother in every sense of the word, SCOTT SIMPSON for his catchy themes and musical stings...

TOMMY KEISER , who is rapidly becoming one of my favorite people. TK created the awesome Maddus Maximus puppet, complete with horse-drawn chariot from hell that was so much fun to animate! He built over a dozen additional puppets & sets, helped me animate group scenes and did several on his own (all of which made the final cut).

My producing partner DOUG DRAIZIN, whose instincts and storytelling skills I learn from with each new project. I've seen my work improve because of his input, getting more streamlined and less self-indulgent. Doug's a pro's pro, knows the business and understands the hard work required to cultivate success. I'm honored to be associated with him.

And of course, my GG, whose enthusiasm for all-things-Polly spurs me to work faster than I normally would (his rafter-shaking queries of "WHERE'S MY POOL??" keep the tempo up, too!)...love you, GG!

New friends!

Just spent the most awesome afternoon with two of my favorite artists in the online stop-mo community, Justin Rasch and Shel Wagner-Rasch. They are the geniuses behind STUNT PUPPET PICTURES, whose work you can follow thru their blog, Stop MOTION Mission. What a couple of gems. Together with the jewel in their crown, Aedon, we spent April Fool's eating great Indian food, talking shop, digging thru Red Hatchet Films sets, puppets, and props (good God I have a lot of crap) and hiking Runyon Canyon where, as you can see in the pic, the Hollywood sign still hovers protectively over us, unscathed by her recent brush with fiery destruction (see previous post). Anyone interested in stop-mo production from the inside-out can find great inspiration from these two (I certainly do). It's quality work from quality people, and the love they put into it shows onscreen. Can't wait to hang out with them again over at THEIR cool-ass studio/garage (which I totally covet) and learn more about how they make those beautiful puppets.