sometime last week i started noticing some strange things popping up around on the net. if you are reading this blog i'm sure you have realized by now that i am watching the evolution of coraline's marketing campaign pretty closely. in one of my standard coraline searches i came up with this link. over the next couple of days more boxes were showing up elsewhere, and there seems to be a steady stream of them showing up every day or two now. it goes like this: random internet guy gets an email from "the coraline team" asking for a mailing address. if internet guy complies he gets a mysterious parcel a few days later. he opens up the box to discover a varied assortment of detritus from the movie: stills printed on aged paper, props, bits of puppets, or costumes, a personalized letter, henry selick's autograph, and a key with a password to unlock hidden content on coraline.com. they are each numbered in an edition of 50, so there are still potentially lots of cool bits yet to be delivered. i knew something like this was in the works, but i am quite impressed by the execution of this campaign, not to mention pretty damn envious of the people who are designing and assembling these packages.
since i've been digging around looking for more of these packages online i figured i'd just keep a list of them here for you lot. hopefully all 50 will surface before all is said and done. maybe i'll copy this list to the section on the right for better access in the future. have fun looking at this stuff, it's pretty cool.
::1::2::3::4::5::6::7::8::9::10::
:::11::12::13::14::15::16::17:::
:::18::19::20::21::22::23::24:::
:::25::26::27::28::29::30::31:::
:::32::33::34::35::36::37::38:::
:::39::40::41::42::43::44::45:::
:::46::47::48::49::50:::::::::::::
as for the passwords to coraline.com, these are the ones that are known at this time. i'm pretty sure there are at least a couple more that have yet to surface. most of the content you will see was shot during the last few weeks of shooting. the crew that was hired to shoot these spots did an amazing job. not only did they document what is already inherently cool, (stop motion, duh!) they added a whole other dimension of coolness with how they photographed and edited the footage. i got to help them out with props, and build some little rigs and stuff for some of the shots and it was a real pleasure to help out. my hands are in there somewhere.
stopmotion
an overview of "stuff". the point is its a "handmade" film.
buttoneyes
an introduction to the cast of the film. that's my sketchbook in the beginning!
puppetlove
henry talks about what a puppet's inner life might be like. includes a great piece of animation/pixilation/time lapse by, and featuring phil beglan.
armpithair
suzanne moultin talks about hair. she and jess were miracle workers. mad props!
moustachio
bo henry was the set construction supervisor. i guess people think his mustache is funny. we wired it up. there's an interesting story that goes with this one.
sweaterxxs
this lady knitted some crazy tiny sweaters for coraline, working from her home. its a shame there is no mention of deborah, margaret, paloma, elodie, heidi, fiona, or any of the other foxy costume gals working with us at the studio.
11.28.2008
11.26.2008
JETLAGGED!
i just got back from england last night and i am so out of it. my pay-as-you-go cell phone's alarm just went off... i should be getting up now, but i'm just about to go to bed... i'm OUT of it.
but it has been a busy and exhilarating week or so, and i'll go into it in greater detail on my trip here very soon. a lot of coraline related stuff happened during the time i was gone, but i'll just mention the trailer for now. you can go here for high res and downloadable versions, or just watch it below. they pretty much show you the 2 minute version of the first two acts, which is kind of spoiler-ish if you ask me, but hey, nobody did. i hope you enjoy it. tons of awesome people lost their minds so you could see this!
but it has been a busy and exhilarating week or so, and i'll go into it in greater detail on my trip here very soon. a lot of coraline related stuff happened during the time i was gone, but i'll just mention the trailer for now. you can go here for high res and downloadable versions, or just watch it below. they pretty much show you the 2 minute version of the first two acts, which is kind of spoiler-ish if you ask me, but hey, nobody did. i hope you enjoy it. tons of awesome people lost their minds so you could see this!
11.11.2008
Meanwhile...
i just found the new international poster for coraline. i guess you kinda have to expect goofy looking stuff like this to come out, but considering how decent the previous poster looked this is kind of a shocker. i DID say this was going to be interesting.
okay, i was going to just leave it at posting the image, but i couldn't walk away. i'm reverting back into my 3 hour critique school days. i can't just say "that looks goofy", and move on. let's get in there! i think what bothers me the most is how she's just plopped down in the foreground giving you that look. what is that look all about? the image is all about saying "hey, look at this crazy world we've got in store for you!", but she's not really reinforcing that. obviously the two sides are depicting the two worlds in the story; the real world and the other world. it's too bad she doesn't appear to exist in either one of them. there are some things wrong here that i won't go into, but i think it would bother me less if she were more integrated. possibly further back on the sidewalk, looking around or something? you know, exploring. Something as simple as having here stepping toward the "dark" side of the poster would speak volumes. there's my 2 minute hack critique.
okay, i was going to just leave it at posting the image, but i couldn't walk away. i'm reverting back into my 3 hour critique school days. i can't just say "that looks goofy", and move on. let's get in there! i think what bothers me the most is how she's just plopped down in the foreground giving you that look. what is that look all about? the image is all about saying "hey, look at this crazy world we've got in store for you!", but she's not really reinforcing that. obviously the two sides are depicting the two worlds in the story; the real world and the other world. it's too bad she doesn't appear to exist in either one of them. there are some things wrong here that i won't go into, but i think it would bother me less if she were more integrated. possibly further back on the sidewalk, looking around or something? you know, exploring. Something as simple as having here stepping toward the "dark" side of the poster would speak volumes. there's my 2 minute hack critique.
11.04.2008
10.31.2008
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
the first official one sheet for coraline was released on neil gaiman's website today. the artwork is based on the illustrated poster that was given away at san diego comic con back in 2007. this time with puppets! it is exciting to see promotional machine starting to kick into gear.
focus features recently launched their website to promote the film. a quick look around tells you there's going to be a lot more content eventually, but is kind of empty at the moment. still, there is enough to explore to make it worth a visit now. meanwhile, at the official coraline website things are a lot... darker. i look forward to seeing how all of this develops.
focus features recently launched their website to promote the film. a quick look around tells you there's going to be a lot more content eventually, but is kind of empty at the moment. still, there is enough to explore to make it worth a visit now. meanwhile, at the official coraline website things are a lot... darker. i look forward to seeing how all of this develops.
10.29.2008
new Red Fang video
well, i am apparently a terrible friend and bandmate because i completely forgot about red fang's video premier last night. oops. for those of you who don't know the connection, here goes. i play bass in a band called ancient age. my friend aaron is the band's leader. aaron also plays in red fang. red fang are totally awesome! got it? anyway, pitchfork tv just posted the video. local director whitey mcconaughy really tapped into some magic for this one.
watch it.
watch it.
10.27.2008
ahem...
it looks like i started this blog in may of 2006. if my math is correct, that's over a year ago. i'm trying to put myself in the shoes of the person i was on the day of that first post, and what my expectations for this blog might have been at the time.
i had just returned from a trip to the pacific northwest. it was a vacation with the added benefit of being able to visit a couple of animation studios. back in atlanta, i felt like i had been stagnating for several months, waiting for jobs to come along, and not really taking an active role in my success (or failure). when i learned that one of my former housemates had been hired in LA to work on a new stop-motion tv series for cartoon network (which turned out to be robot chicken") i was suddenly inspired to do a little research of my own. los angeles was right out. i know, i know... but i just don't want to live there. next! another city with major ties to stop-motion is portland, oregon. as a kid i loved the "claymation" california raisins, and noid commercials done by will vinton studios. over the years the studio built up a large community of stop-motion practitioners, and they had recently seen a major corporate overhaul including a name change to laika, and a shift toward an emphasis on feature animation. this was probably going to be my best hope to work in stop-motion and stay out of LA. so i went ahead and planned a vacation to visit portland, seattle, and vancouver, b.c. eventually i secured interviews at two studios in portland. the first was at bent image lab, a small-ish animation studio with an impressive body of work, and the second was with the puppet fabrication department at laika's (then in pre-production, currently in post production) stop motion feature "coraline". i felt really fortunate to get a firsthand look at both of these studios. i had certainly been involved with all kinds of animation and film related projects before (showbizzz!), but i was really impressed with what i saw at both studios. however, once i found myself back at the hotel, i felt like i had probably just wasted everyone's time! who did i think i was, walking in there expecting them to be blown away by my crappy little reel? these guys are pros, man! i should have known things would not go well when the puppet i had brought to show off actually broke in the hotel room the night before my first interview. quite impressive, indeed. in retrospect, it was better to have it break beforehand and not while being inspected, but still... jeez.
so i came home defeated. my services would not be required by the seasoned professionals out west. i decided that if i wasn't going to be working professionally in stop-motion, i was at least going to make some cool stuff at home. that is why i started this blog: to document the process. i guess i got as far as watching "the big lebowski" with my roommate because the only thing i ever posted was a quote from that movie.
now i'm rededicating myself to the blog. my basic goal is to share some cool stuff, and stay inspired to do more cool stuff of my own. i have tons of ideas at the moment, and since i am currently unemployed, my guess is that i will be fairly active in the beginning, and less so later on down the line. but yeah, i'm going to try to shoot for at lease one post per week in the long run. we'll see.
i had just returned from a trip to the pacific northwest. it was a vacation with the added benefit of being able to visit a couple of animation studios. back in atlanta, i felt like i had been stagnating for several months, waiting for jobs to come along, and not really taking an active role in my success (or failure). when i learned that one of my former housemates had been hired in LA to work on a new stop-motion tv series for cartoon network (which turned out to be robot chicken") i was suddenly inspired to do a little research of my own. los angeles was right out. i know, i know... but i just don't want to live there. next! another city with major ties to stop-motion is portland, oregon. as a kid i loved the "claymation" california raisins, and noid commercials done by will vinton studios. over the years the studio built up a large community of stop-motion practitioners, and they had recently seen a major corporate overhaul including a name change to laika, and a shift toward an emphasis on feature animation. this was probably going to be my best hope to work in stop-motion and stay out of LA. so i went ahead and planned a vacation to visit portland, seattle, and vancouver, b.c. eventually i secured interviews at two studios in portland. the first was at bent image lab, a small-ish animation studio with an impressive body of work, and the second was with the puppet fabrication department at laika's (then in pre-production, currently in post production) stop motion feature "coraline". i felt really fortunate to get a firsthand look at both of these studios. i had certainly been involved with all kinds of animation and film related projects before (showbizzz!), but i was really impressed with what i saw at both studios. however, once i found myself back at the hotel, i felt like i had probably just wasted everyone's time! who did i think i was, walking in there expecting them to be blown away by my crappy little reel? these guys are pros, man! i should have known things would not go well when the puppet i had brought to show off actually broke in the hotel room the night before my first interview. quite impressive, indeed. in retrospect, it was better to have it break beforehand and not while being inspected, but still... jeez.
so i came home defeated. my services would not be required by the seasoned professionals out west. i decided that if i wasn't going to be working professionally in stop-motion, i was at least going to make some cool stuff at home. that is why i started this blog: to document the process. i guess i got as far as watching "the big lebowski" with my roommate because the only thing i ever posted was a quote from that movie.
now i'm rededicating myself to the blog. my basic goal is to share some cool stuff, and stay inspired to do more cool stuff of my own. i have tons of ideas at the moment, and since i am currently unemployed, my guess is that i will be fairly active in the beginning, and less so later on down the line. but yeah, i'm going to try to shoot for at lease one post per week in the long run. we'll see.
5.09.2006
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