Production Update 204: Script Near Completion

Production Update time once again, let’s do this! I spent time this week working on the script and pushing it towards completion. My goal is to wrap it up this week before a local film-maker meet up so I can have a few people give it a look over and poke holes in the story. Since I am so close to the project it is good to have a few more sets of eyes and perspectives on it. I am very excited to meet up with the crew again and for us all to check in on each others progress and talk about each of our projects.

Once the script is being passed around to fellow film-makers to look at, I will be spending some time working on getting things ready for my art show in May, where I will be showing Cosmic Rage.

Outside of the script work, I have been pushing ahead on a freelance project which will go towards paying for voice over work for episode 2. I am very excited to be getting things near completion so I can begin storyboarding and drawing. Thank you all for your support!

Production Update 203: Script Work

Last week there was some work to do on the back end of the site, routine web maintenance, so I didn’t get a chance to update. So let’s get into it!

I started working on polishing up the script for the second episode. It has been a while since I had a chance to look at it so it was a nice time to work with it some more and get familiarized with the contents again. I got about half done with it this past week, so my goal is to finish it up by the weekend so I can get some more eyes on it to look at and see if they can poke some holes in it.

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While the script will be with a handful of people to take a look at, I will be spending the time after that to prepare for a local art show, giving Cosmic Rage the chance to get in front of more people but also to help explain the animation process to people who may not know. I am very excited to see my work hanging up in a venue again 😀

With convention season approaching, I’ve been working on getting a few panels submitted to some conventions I have planned out to travel to. Most of my convention season is going to be late summer and into the fall since this is a pretty busy summer but you will get a chance to see me at conventions in 2017!

I am starting another freelance project which is needed. Since my Patreon page hasn’t quite covered my VO costs for the second episode, I needed to pick up a project. This will also help with my convention travel this summer as well so it’s just a small price to pay. But in terms of timing it works out really well since the script will be making the rounds to trusted friends and writers and while some files will be at the print shop for the art show.

Thank you everyone for checking out the blog and as always, thank you to my Patreon supporters for their continued support!

 

 

 

Production Update 193: Con-Season Recap and the Future

The 2016 con season has reached it’s conclusion for Cosmic Rage. It has been a successful year debuting Cosmic Rage at a variety of conventions. I’ll recap the convention season and discuss what the future holds for Cosmic Rage as well as planning for Episode 2.

Production Update 180: SoDak Wrap Up

700 miles logged in a road trip over the weekend and it was worth it! As you may know, SoDak Con was this past weekend, which was actually my first time attending it. Over the course of the weekend I held my History of CGI in Anime panel and also had a screening for Cosmic Rage. I had an awesome time at the con. The staff was incredible and the guests were very friendly. I enjoyed my first SoDak con and the convention had a very friendly vibe to it. I hope it is the first of many more.

My panels went really well. I always love sharing the history of CGI in anime, most people haven’t seen some of the older applications of CGI in anime. It’s a blast seeing the crowds reaction to some of the early uses.

The screening of Cosmic Rage went off really well too. It is always humbling to see people show up to learn about the project and watch it. Especially when there was such a good line up of panels throughout all of SoDak Con.

A huge thank you to all of the SoDak staff and to all of the new friends I made at the con. I hope to see everyone again soon!

Now, it’s dive into the production side. I wrapped up the rest of my art grant paperwork, so that will get sent in and be cleared. While filling out the paperwork, it was sort of nostalgic seeing how far the project has come in the last year. I also spent some time on freelance work.

This week I am getting back into the production side. I am going to be working on something special for my next convention, Tokyo in Tulsa! The e-book cover is still at the top of the list for this week to get wrapped up as well.

Another update will be up Wednesday!

Production Update 179: Sketching

I started working on sketching the e-book cover. I have things roughed out right now so this week I am going to refine it and hopefully get it inked so I can color it in the car on the way to and from SoDak Con! The original plan was to try to finish up the cover, but I picked up a freelance project so I was working on that over the weekend outside of class. My plan is to use the freelance project to help cover the cost of VO for the second episode. I am currently still pushing forward on the script, but it has taken a little bit of a backseat to the e-book cover so I can get that into the iBooks store for people to see.

Outside of that, photography class has been going pretty well, I believe I have about 6 weeks left until I am all done with school. My grant paperwork will be in the mail later this week. Once again, I need to thank the South Dakota Arts Council for their support in Cosmic Rage. This past year has been an amazing ride and the grant has helped me so much with getting the first episode wrapped up.

Finally, I have been spending a bit of time in our garden this week getting caught up on weeding and just unplugging for a bit. Our weeds were getting a little out of control, but we had to let the plants grow so we knew what a weed is and what isn’t. Hopefully we get caught up on weeding this week as well.

Next week I’ll have a recap from SoDak Con!

Introducing James Larabee

Where are you from: Born in Toledo Ohio, grew up in Danville Illinois and then Grove City Ohio.  Moved to Texas and never looked back!  I love living in Dallas!

Why do you want to be a voice actor: Voiceacting is acting-pretending-and gives me a chance to be people I could never be in real life.  Also, as a voice actor, I can be cast in many more roles than a film or stage production that is looking for someone who has a look or age that I might not fit.
Who is your favorite VO actor: Todd Haberkorn is a great actor, and is amazing!
Who is your favorite anime/game/cartoon character: I gotta go with Mr. Incredible from The Incredibles.  Great acting, voice acting, and I identify with being a dad, a husband, and heck…he’s Incredible!
If you could voice any character, who would it be and why: The Joker!   I have a great version of his voice that I think could go toe to toe with Mark Hamill!
What drew you to audition for Cosmic Rage: The art style always pulls me into a project, then it’s the story; both of these hold true with Cosmic Rage!
Where can fans follow you at or find more of your work: Well, you can always follow me by watching my IMDb or check out some of my art and demos at: www.thehomeofhappiness.weebly.com

Production Update 172: Finals Week

I took the most of the week off from doing much work. I have finals the first couple days of the week so it was needed to get some rest in before hand and to just unwind overall. It’s been a super busy year so far with school, wrapping up Cosmic Rage and more. This week I got to experience the wedding of one of my closest friends and I also got outdoors for the first hike of the year considering how busy I was and also the rainy and cold weather we have been having lately. I am excited to get a chance to catch up with everyone now that school is wrapping up.

But enough about that. Let’s dive into what we have going on next week! There are two items I am going to be kicking off next week. The first thing, storyboards for episode 2. The second episode is planned out, but they need to be fleshed out a touch more. I will get the current boards posted up on the Patreon page this week for supporters to check out. The dialogue scenes need to be expanded a bit.

The second item is finishing up the e-book of Episode 1. The e-book is fleshed out, I need to design a few pages yet and the cover. The plan is to have this wrapped up by the end of May, but I will keep everyone posted.

Looking forward to getting back into things this week!

Production Update 169: That’s a Wrap and a New Home

What an incredible week. Episode one of Cosmic Rage has been completed! The final audio edits have been completed and artwork has been revised. I will give it another viewing this week to make sure there isn’t anything that I missed today, but it is looking good. So what’s next?

Well as you can see, we moved to a new web domain with a few new features for you to check out. A donation button has been added so you can support the project as well as a few new social media outlets. On instagram I will be releasing clips from the first episode, in order, starting pretty soon so if you can’t make a convention for a screening you can still view the episode. After the episode has been released in pieces, I will get a full version uploaded. No time table has been set in that regard.

The other social media addition you may have noticed, is the addition of Patreon. You can now donate to the project on a consistent basis and get behind-the-scenes content and access for the second episode.

In 7 days I will be holding the first screening of Cosmic Rage at Siouxper Con in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and the following week in Minneapolis at Anime Detour. I will be working on getting a few thing sup to speed on the site, but thank you for your continued support. I am so excited to see what the future holds.

Welcome to the new Cosmic Rage home!