Production Update 167: Screening Information

Episode one is getting closer and closer to reaching our premiere date. I thought I would take a quick moment to share confirmed appearances and screenings of the first episode at conventions this year. I am still working out what an online release looks like so don’t worry if you can’t make it to a convention to see it. I will share more on this front when things are a little clearer.

Anyways, the premiere will be in my home-state South Dakota at Siouxper Con. I am very excited to be able to share the first episode here. The following week, I will be at Anime Detour for a screening on Friday. No better way to kick Detour off than seeing some original animation in my opinion. Cosmic Rage has also been confirmed for Tokyo in Tulsa in Oklahoma as well in July.

There are a few more I am working on and still looking at more conventions in the midwest and south to get to, so if you know of any, feel free to send some info my way!

On to the production update! It has been a very good week in terms of production. I received more audio files for scenes and we are only a few scenes away from having the audio work all wrapped up. There is some fine tuning going on for a couple scenes that had more animation and artwork added to them during the process.

In terms of animation, I wrapped up a few scenes that I had some edits to and also wrapped up a new scene that required more extensive artwork and compositing than the other scenes that needed extensions. I have one scene remaining that has more extensive work on it, the other scenes are more minor tweaks and edits.

More updates and news coming soon!

Introducing Gianni Matragrano

Where are you from?
Depends on how you look at things! Born in New York, but brought to Florida when I was four and raised by my very New Yorker Italian-American family.

Why do you want to be a voice actor?
Like many, I’ve been into animation and video games since I was a kid. It was all I ever wanted to spend my time on. I really love the projects I get to be a part of from the bottom up, every perspective. Be it the writing, art, message it spreads, the design philosophy, or even just a fun little romp for the viewer/player. I really love the creative energy I get to bring to the table with the addictive power of acting. Honing my skillset and seeing the finished projects come to life, as the many talented people behind them envisioned, is something that has been a thrill for me for five years. I can’t see myself stopping now.

Who is your favorite VO actor?
This is just a mean question! What they’ve each brought to the table through the years has undeniably been a pleasure for so many like myself. I really love the work of D.C. Douglas (Wesker, Resident Evil 5, with most notoriety). Steve Blum is a name that’s been said to me hundreds of times through the years in reference to my sound. Truthfully, when I listen side by side, I can sort of hear what people mean, but for the most part I hear how many leagues above me in skill he is, and I hear the many differences to his voice.

Still, that being said, I have studied his work to get inspiration more than most other voice actors. I don’t attempt to impersonate his work though. It’s been a big focus of mine to try to create my own style to things through the years. I don’t want to be “the next Steve Blum”, as prestigious as the title would be. The world has a Steve Blum and will only ever need that one Steve Blum. I want to be the next Gianni Matragrano.

The truth about me is that when it comes to naming voice actors, shamefully, I’m one of the worst. You’d think in five years I would have done more research about the most famous ones, but I guess I’ve actually been more focused on recording for my own projects hahah.

Who is your favorite anime/game/cartoon character?
Max Payne. No question.

If you could voice any character, who would it be and why?
I voice him. A character named Legend in the series called Eden. Eden had been a webseries for some years, and has recently launched into becoming a game you can check out at www.edenbluethegame.com. I’m really hoping for the best with Eden, it’s been a series I love being a part of.

The gist of what I’m trying to say is, back to my point about being “the next Gianni Matragrano”, is that what I want the most is for a new character to be tied to me in that way where folks just go “Yeah, that’s what that character sounds like. That’s his voice.” I’m not thinking I’ll be famous overnight, it’s a long road ahead and I know that.

To answer the question in a more forward way, Max Payne. Max Payne is a character whose game-style bleeds through every sentence spoken, and due to the really fascinating nature of the writing, each line brings a lot of creative opportunity for the actor playing him. If you ask me though, James McCaffrey will always be the only Max Payne, and even I’d be a little mad about me “officially” replacing him.

What drew you to audition for Cosmic Rage?
Uh oh. I can’t remember. Haha! Oops! It was probably posted to an audition board or forwarded to me by a friend, and I probably looked at it and said “This seems fun, interesting, and like it has some potential at a glance! Good enough, let’s jump in!” I really think the world is full of surprises, and if I even get the slightest feeling of a project having potential, I can’t resist jumping on it. It’s like I can hear opportunity knocking and I’m compelled to answer the door. Not to mention, this project has been fun to work on, and one thing about its style is that even from the audition info I was probably able to tell that it was going to be fun.

Where can fans follow you at or find more of your work?
http://giannimatragrano.wix.com/voice
(the website has links to past role playlists)
www.twitter.com/Gianni_VM
https://www.youtube.com/c/GianniMatragranoVoiceActor
http://gianni.newgrounds.com

I know, I know “Newgrounds? What is this, middle school?” But that’s legitimately where I started off, and I have to say, it’s an absolutely great place for beginning creators (and experienced ones too!). You’ll find a community of fellow creators ready to love and constructively critique your work, and a site staff ready to support up and comers by posting their latest work to the front page and even enabling artists to make front page news posts themselves! It’s not all hentai and jabs at celebrities (though that’s loveably still there), there are many beautiful animations, songs, voice demos, art, you name it, residing on that website.

Thanks for reading!

Marik_1

Production Update 166: Audio Work

The premiere of Cosmic Rage is getting closer! Production is going through some final edits and audio work. All of the voice over work is wrapped up. I really have been fortunate enough to work with such a great cast, and I still haven’t revealed all of them to you yet. The cast has been super amazing in bringing the characters to life and handling revisions.

Audio production is entering the final stages. There are a few shots that need some minor edits and three scenes that need some additional sound effects added in. Audio production is very close to being wrapped up.

From an animation standpoint, I am closing in on wrapping up the first episode. There are some minor edits to a handful of scenes. I do have two scenes that I need to finish fleshing out the animation for. My goal is to get those two scenes wrapped up this week so I can get them sent out for final audio polishing.

Thank you all for stopping by. I have many more announcements coming in soon. Very exciting time and news upcoming. Thank you for all of your support!

Production Update 165: Recharged

It’s been a little while since I have given a production update so let’s all get caught up to speed! First off, it was spring break week, so I traveled and took some time away from work, school and the computer. I spent some time working on Cosmic Rage, primarily in the regard of making sure I have things lined up and making notes of where the holes are yet.

On the voice over front, I took time to go through the episode and render everything out as it stands and as a whole and the voice over is all good to go with the exception of two lines from side characters. I hope you all have been enjoying reading about the VO cast for Cosmic Rage on the Wednesday posts, they are all very talented and I am so fortunate to have all of them on board with the project.

On more of a behind-the-scenes front, I have been working on applying for some panels and screenings to conventions this summer to get Cosmic Rage in front of more people. I’ll have more information on the Con Appearance page when I have more info since con season is getting underway.

Let’s talk about audio production. Things are going well, I have cuts of all of the scenes sent out for audio work to get done. Audio production is about half finalized at this point. There are two scenes that need backgrounds created but the remaining scenes need to be extended so they can fit the timing of the VO.

Finally, on the animation front I have a quarter of the scenes finalized. The remaining scenes are all timed out and need some final animation and compositing. Many of the scenes have some small edits to them so I haven’t marked them as complete yet. There are two scenes that need to be animated, the same two that need audio work.

Things are starting to come together nicely and I am very excited to have been watching a rough cut of the first episode. Stay tuned for more updates!

Introducing Katy Johnson

Katy_headshotWhere are you from?
Alabama
Why do you want to be a voice actor?
I have always loved acting!  I have been doing live theater since middle school.  I also love cartoons/video games/anime, so getting to work behind the scenes on something that has brought me so much joy would be an honor.
Who is your favorite Voice Actor?
I could probably make a list a mile long of all of the Voice Actors that I love, but if I had to narrow it down…  For male, I’d go with Steve Blum and for Female I’d go with Tara Strong.
Who is your favorite Anime/Game/Cartoon character?
Anime:  Rock Lee from Naruto
Game:  Kirby
Cartoon:  Currently every Steven Universe character
If you could voice any character, who would it be?
That’s easy.  HARLEY QUINN PUDDIN’!!
What drew you to audition for Cosmic Rage?
I saw the auditions, and saw there were female roles available.  It looked fun, and I was looking to become a part of more projects, so thus I auditioned!
Where can fans follow you at or find more of your work?
You can follow me onTwitter:
KitKaty5Instagram:
KitKaty5Facebook:
Cosplay page:  KaniDay Cosplay
Acting page:  Katy Johnson
 Jani_1 Jani_2

Introducing Finn MK

Where are you from?
Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, though I now live in Ottawa.

Why do you want to be a voice actor?
It’s hecka fun. I’m a dungeon master for a D&D group and I’m always coming up with crazy characters and kooky voices. I realized just doing the voices was fun enough on its own and given that I already had the audio gear and know-how (I’m a music composer by day) jumping into voice acting was a no-brainer!

Who is your favorite VO actor?
Wilhelm. Of Wilhelm scream fame.

Who is your favorite anime/game/cartoon character?
Philip J. Fry, although closely followed by Zoidberg. *woop woop woop woop*

If you could voice any character, who would it be and why?
I don’t have a specific character I’d like to voice…I’m always more in the vein of trying to be new characters rather than do fanimated films. But if we’re talking character archetypes, I would really, REALLY like to play a good-guy-slowly-turning-into-bad-guy or bad-guy-slowly-turning-into-good-guy. To be a character that is established in one manner and then slowly changes a huge part of themselves really appeals to me. The internal struggle, how much of it they show on the outside, how they work through the change – that’s the kind of role I can really sink my teeth into and get into the mind space of.

What drew you to audition for Cosmic Rage?
The animation style is really interesting; I’d never seen anything like it so that was a big draw. I also like how all the documentation and how everything is run is very organized. I’m the kind of guy that would be unable to function without a calendar and spreadsheets, so careful organization really appeals to me haha.

Where can fans follow you at or find more of your work?
My website – www.finnmk.com – is the go to place for all Finn-related news, music, credits, etc. but fans can also visit me on my other sites around the web.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FinnMKMusic
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FinnMertinsKirkwood
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/finnmk
Newgrounds: http://finnmk.newgrounds.com/
Jamendo: https://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/478254/finn-m-k

N2-3B_DuncanShot 13 Duncan Hallway