I’ve just posted the first of two blogs about John Mayer over at Jay Droppings. The second will be posted Tuesday when his latest album, “Battle Studies” is officially released.

So I can finally talk about one of those “secret” projects I referred to in a previous post!

Myself and a very talented cast and crew came together to film an entry for the “Doritos Crash the Superbowl” contest. And our spot is now LIVE for you to check out!

This was all thrown together very quickly, so naturally it was a lot of fun. Jim Cloney – who I co-produced the spot with – came up with the original concept, which I then took and polished into our script. I then threw together an animatic (animated storyboard) just to get a feel for how it could be edited together. Time being limited, I only drew a handful of sketches, so the animation is very basic and not quite exactly what I was visualizing. It was just to give us a sense of how the spot might play.

From this, I then created an actual storyboard that we could have on set to help guide us through the filming.

Casting-wise, I knew from the get-go who I wanted involved. I am blessed to have a stable of very gifted actors that I regularly work with, so casting this thing was a breeze. Funny side note: if you look to the left of our opening shot you’ll see Jim making a cameo. I too was supposed to be in that shot, but the house we filmed in (Jim’s) had dogs, and I am allergic to dogs, so my face was not quite camera ready by any means that night (neither was my breathing. Thank you, Asthma!). Hugh’s lovely wife Alida – who originally was just my stand-in while I set up the shot – ended up making her commercial debut in my place. And she rocked it!

Hugh is the bearded fellow reacting to the off-camera fight, along with Doug. Hopefully you recognize these two from my comedy group, Troupe Dynamic. They were the faces I saw in my brain from the get-go. Its not hard to see why; their reactions to the fight speak for themselves!

Brett is a long-time friend who I have worked with off and on throughout the years, and he was perfect as our Doritos guy. His brother Jake is our muscle man, who also blew this sucker up (and totally Hulked it out). Jason rounds out our cast, and is a face Jim brought to the spot. He did just fine getting the Hell outta harm’s way, yes?

The spot itself looks so awesome thanks to the crew at Heroic Age Studios. We filmed this sucker on the Red One digital camera, which, for those of you who have read my articles on “The Informant!” is the same camera Steven Soderbergh used on that film. I can’t tell you  - as the spot’s director – how great working with this crew was, and how sincerely hopeful I am that we get the opportunity to work together again at some point!

Tim Lynn, our Director of Photography, additionally came and helped import the HUGE files into our editing software and tweaked all the colors after our edit so they looked their best.

Jim and I co-edited this puppy, along with some helpful feedback from Hugh, and I additionally had the pleasure of working on the sound mix. Mixing the fight alone was a blast! Jim engineered the whole thing and, after some last minute tweaking I felt was needed to bring it all home, submitted it. As of this writing there are only 4000 and some entries…!

So without further ado, check the spot out!

Hugh is working on putting together a breezy “Behind the Scenes” look at the filming of this thing. Hopefully I’ll get that posted soon for you to check out, too!

The only other thing I can think of saying right now is: WHOO HOO!

I took photos of my cousin Will and his fiance Lindsey this past weekend, capturing several really nice moments. I have yet to spend a lot of time with the pics (editing), but couldn’t wait to share one of my faves. This is Will and Lindsey as I know them best: playful, a little bit goofy, and a whole lot of fun!

Thought I’d write a bit on Troupe Dynamic.

Troupe Dynamic is, for those who may not be aware, my comedy group. We focus on character-based comedy, typically playing somewhat exaggerated versions of ourselves in various situations. The best example of this is in the monthly Top Ten videos we produce for thrivedecatur.com. Our November video is on their site now (exclusively till December) and I urge you to go and check it out! Older Top Ten vids can be found on troupedynamic.com.

I love the versions of ourselves that we play, and I’ve made no secret of the fact that we have organically morphed into a Muppet dynamic: me = Kermit; resident diva Janet = Piggy; loveable loser Timmy = Fozzie; nutty-to-the-core Doug = Gonzo; and Hugh is sort of a combo Rizzo/Pepe/Bean Bunny (Shawn, when around, is our untethered Id, Animal). These versions really are characters unto themselves, and it’s a blast playing ourselves in this way.

But its just not the same as completely losing yourself in a different personality, which is what we built Troupe Dynamic on.

Enter Milt.

Keep reading →

So Halloween night I agreed to help zombify my good friend Tori. This was the thanks I got!

Always fun zombifying someone. Even when they try to eat you.

Good times!

MAN I’ve been busy lately!

What sucks is that I can’t really share any details about any of the projects I’ve been working on. Not yet, at least. In the coming months the finished products will be out and I can share more about the processes and such, but for now I’m stuck leaving you in the lurch due to the nature of the work.

I didn’t want to keep you completely in the dark, though! Below I’ve posted some frames from a commercial animatic I threw together. For those who may not know, an animatic is basically an animated storyboard that allows us to really get an idea of how something might look cut together. In a couple of weeks I’ll actually post the animatic itself – and eventually the final spot – but I have to hold off for now.

I’ve also been posting over at my blog, Jay Droppings. Check it out if you get a chance!

Someone's in trouble...

Big and Angry

Unimpressed

Side Commentary

Just posted this to the Troupe Dynamic site. This is a fun little joint we threw together FAST for a youth conference my good buddy (and fellow Trouper) Tim Haworth spoke at. It’s not an official Troupe Dynamic project, but it is a Dynamic (Troupe) Production.

Tim – at the last minute – thought it might be fun to include this PSA in his speech. He also ended up handing out “Emergency Undergarment Kits” to some lucky participants. Everybody had a great time, and I guess a couple’a kids thought it was real!

We put this all together fast and furious; meaning we shot fast and I edited furiously. Had there been more time I probably would have done a couple of things differently (clean the lens, for starters), but I’m pretty happy with how this turned out. For making it all up pretty much on the fly (based off an original idea by Tim) with a GO GO GO momentum, I think it works really well.

Starring Alex Bishop, Doug Bishop, my Mom and Dad (their preferred stage names), Marla Christensen, and Tim Haworth as “The Doctor.” Logo designed by Kat Smalley of Showcard Studio.

Remember: “You never know when your undies will show.”

I’ve recently updated my Facebook icon after using the same one since signing on. I’m really happy with it: a sketched version of yours truly.

Those who know me well know that I have always preferred animator’s original sketched versions of characters to the final ink & paint versions. I’ve actually worked that style into various projects over the years, and I’ve seen additional folks who have had luck turning original sketches into the actual final product (Mike Kunkel, for example).

So I thought it might be fun to show you the “finished” version of my Facebook self-portrait, along side the sketched version that won out.

I’ve had the pleasure recently of working with Ayn Owens on her “Night of the Living Zombies March” event, set for October 24th in Sullivan (in cooperation with the awesome Shotgun Manor, whom I had the pleasure of working with on a promotion while at The WB). In addition to the T-shirt design above, Ayn asked if I could come up with a “history” for her main zombie, Arbogast B.A. Zombie. I couldn’t say “Yes” fast enough! Keep reading →

The latest from my comedy group, Troupe Dynamic, has been posted to thrivedecatur.com!

This month’s list – “The Top Ten Things that Scare Us Silly” – features us Troupers attempting a seance in honor of Halloween. It doesn’t go as planned.

Troupe Dynamic is a comedy group that excels at creating unique characters and situations. We have worked in venues large and small, from a restaurant’s banquet room to the Buffalo Bill’s stadium in New York. Now focusing on video content, we have recently completed a workshopping phase – where new ideas and characters were born – and are now busy writing stories, character breakdowns, and scripts for future bits, sketches, and short films. In the meantime, we continue to produce a Top Ten list video for THRIVE magazine’s online edition. A version of the Top Ten list appears in the print edition, too.

THRIVE is the premier monthly entertainment guide for the Decatur, IL area. Each monthly issue promotes local artists, entertainers, retailers and organizations through articles, community spotlights, calendars and more. It is produced by Showcard Studio, a full service graphic design agency located in Downtown Decatur and serving the Central Illinois area. They are good friends, and I have enjoyed working with them from the beginning of this publication!