SLUG ON A RUG Production Blog

Mtg. 03-16:

In attendance: Chandra, Sean, Sorrelle, Hammer

It has been an incredibly productive last several days here for Slug on a Rug!

We had our W.I.P. on Wed., where we distributed surveys (based of focus group samples) and had the class give us feedback on what little soundtrack we had completed assembling at that point. Very helpful feedback overall — we tallied the results of the questions and on average, 10 out of 13 questions varied between “Strongly Agree” and “Agree”, which was validating! In all, our class found the sample to be interesting, amusing, unusual, and clear. The only 3 questions that had a 50/50 outcome pertained to whether or not we should include more music, if there was a variety of jokes, and if those jokes were offensive, which reflected our expectations for those responses, anyway. We are also divided at this point as to how to best feature a musical element, but more than likely, it will be used in a transitional context and for intro / outro credits.

We also got a lot of individual feedback on the surveys. While they were generally supportive and helpful, there were some remarks that would have benefited from more specificity (i.e. “more funny“, “could be written better“, etc.), but in all, they gave us a lot to discuss and think about. The two most prominent issues raised by the class were that of Zee’s voice / look, and Sarfraz’s look.

Six people in class stated that they had a problem with Zee’s voice. Of those six, four had a problem with the combination of Zee’s voice and physical appearance (the other two cited pacing problems). After a surprisingly brief discussion, it was decided that we’d keep Zee the way she is, as we love her this way. She defies people’s expectations of what she should be, like Dr. Girlfriend from Venture Bros. or Alice from Superjail. She is what she is, which is a strong, intelligent, empowered (if not to the point of preachy), feminist female who likes ladies. If her look seems weird, it’s only to point out the strange hypocrisy that can occur when a person subscribing to one ideology subconsciously adopts the mannerisms of the very cause they’re fighting against. In Zee’s case, it’s her extreme dislike of all things male that is hypocritical, for as she points out all the problems with masculine assertiveness and aggression, she embodies these qualities herself, to some extent. (At least, she does for now!)

BUT, we did take a second look at Sarfraz, and agreed with the four people who thought Sarfraz should be “hella aliened out”, as one survey said. After trying several different voices with Sean, he is now doing a hybrid of Jennifer Coolidge from A Mighty Wind, and Kermit the Frog. It’s kinda sassy, too, and has Sorrelle and Chandra laughing a lot now. Sean just has to re-record all Sarfraz’s vocal tracks.

(ALSO — someone misspelled Sarfraz on their survey (Xarfraz), and we liked their take better, so we’re now changing him to Xarfraz. It ties in with Xylonia better, too. Thanks to whoever came up with that one!)

Speaking of vocal tracks, Slug on a Rug hit a milestone last night when it knocked out four scenes’ worth of vocal soundtracks and completed the soundtrack (phase 1)!!!!! Woo-hoo! At this time, the vocal track of the episode runs 12 mins. 49 secs., which is where we wanted to be (and way less than the previously assumed total of 17 mins.). If we can keep it under 13 or 14 mins., we’ll be in good shape.

So, in all, the W.I.P. went swimmingly, and much of the feedback was put to use in one way or another. We may move on to some animating this week, as we simply cannot wait. Until next time…!

Sean, ever the delicate artist.

Sorrelle learns there is no more pepperoni.

Whatchoo talkin' 'bout Chanders?

So, today’s normal Mon. evening meeting wasn’t able to happen due to work conflicts. Bah. But in lieu of that, we met on Fri. after our meeting with Sally, and had a very productive session!

Sorrelle started looking up burlesque films for rotoscoping. Chandra drew up two new extras and helped Sorrelle pick the burlesque clips featuring the biggest juggies. Sorrelle and Chandra worked through more soundtrack stuff with Sean, but not before they forced him to take a nap due to overworking. Many snacks were consumed along the way, and many laughs were had by all.

We also set out a plan for the WIP and prepared COOLYMPIA for Hometown. Still waiting on more info about entry fees, as there are possible discounts we can get for being TCTV members. A video documenting this week’s meeting misadventures is soon to follow.

In attendance: Chandra, Sorrelle, Sean, Hammer

After a week away, we had a fun time of sharing everything we’d accomplished while apart! Sorrelle brought in some footage she captured of locations in Cali, which she may use in her Meshes parody. There were some lovely shots that may do well as backdrops for her scenes with Jahla. She immediately started experimenting with it in Final Cut, on her new Mac Book Pro.

That’s right. Sorrelle has a Mac Book Pro now. Weeeeeeee!

Chandra showed the group the characters she had been working on. Then she and Sean played the soundtrack for the first scene, which had been assembled earlier in the week. Hammer and Sorrelle offered feedback and helped tweak and refine it, so that scene’s track is now prepped for animation. Music, if any, will be added later in the game.

We also reviewed the Flick and Zee test together as a group and decided not to make any major changes to their vocal tracks. Flick was pitched up a bit, and that, combined with the visual suggestion of their characters, was enough to make them different to everybody we’ve shown ( including Freddy )! We don’t plan to rerecord or recast the roles, though there may be some additional post production work on the tracks in the future.

We’ll be meeting soon to finalize our plans for the Work In Progress presentations. By the end of the week we hope to compile another scene’s worth of vocal tracks…! Until then, Sorrelle will be working on her Meshes stuff, Sean will be tracing, and Chandra will still be drawing.

During the last Slug on a Rug meeting, Sorrelle, Chandra, Sean, and Hammer took a close look at how the soundtrack was structured.

The voices of Zee and Dr. Flick are played by the same talented actor, Eli Piatt. We made a quick test to compare the voices. Sean pitched up Dr. Flick’s track a smidge to create some differentiation.  What do YOU think?

Here is an audio sample of some of the work that Sean has done with the voice recordings. He is using both Digital Performer and Garageband. This clip features Sally, Chandra, and Sorrelle.

And, a short video of the production meeting from Feb 16th.

Hello, all! Sorrelle, Sean and I would like to start by thanking everyone for a great time at auditions. We had a lot of laughs, and a lot of fun. We also need to stress how completely difficult these choices were to make. Sorrelle, Sean, and I put ourselves on the chopping block along with all of you, and we’re sure you’ll be just as surprised at the results of the cast list as we were. Everyone brought something fresh and unique to the audition — we’re only disappointed we can’t write roles for each of you, as you all absolutely deserve to be included. That said, here is the cast list for the Film School University pilot:

Amber: McKayla SnowMassara

Dottie: Sally Cloninger

Marla: Chandra Farnsworth

Zee: Eli Piatt

Darci: Sorrelle Dooley

Adam: Matthew Hammer

Chase: Sean Parker

Jacob: Matt Olson

Dr. Flick: Eli Piatt

Sarfraz: Sean Downey

Xylonian #1: Matthew Hammer

Doug: Sean Downey

Again, congratulations to you all on some amazing auditions!

Here is a new test featuring some additional characters drawn by Chandra. The test includes manual lip sync and eye blinking. Sean is still getting used to the bone movement of the 2D puppets, but it’s a good start! The video is compressed with H.264 and is 480 x 270.

Here is a short animation that tests the bone structure of the characters and how they can move. Also, we have decided to go with black and white characters to avoid racial implications and to give it a unique look. Also, the characters won’t compete with the colors of the backgrounds or with each other.