Mindy Madison and the Cockroach Man - A Cowboy Scene Film [Archive] - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking

jasonthewho

10-15-2009, 06:07 AM

Mindy Madison and the Cockroach Man

-A Cowboy Scene Film-

WATCH (http://www.dvxfest.com/monsterfest/index.php?id=3600628)

A children's film, shot stop motion with construction paper cutouts.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn311/jasonthewho/MindyMadisonPoster.jpg

jasonthewho

10-15-2009, 06:08 AM

Reserved

jasonthewho

10-15-2009, 06:20 AM

Just doing this as sort of a solo project. I've been wanting to do a movie for kids, and this will be my first attempt. Should be a short little film, just around a minute.

I've got most of the characters and objects cut and ready to go. Already tracked the audio as well. I'm going to New York today, and when I get back on Tuesday I should be able to finish everything else fairly quickly. That includes shooting all the images, editing it, and writing and recording the music. Should be fun!

Sarah Daly

10-15-2009, 06:34 AM

Ooh look at you sneaking into the fray! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with Jason! Brave of you to go solo :)

Marlon Ladd

10-15-2009, 07:39 AM

Hey, Jason. Whaddya' goin' to NY to do? This sounds like a worth-while project. I hope to do something for the kiddies one day as well, so good luck.

jasonthewho

10-15-2009, 08:18 AM

Just to see a crapload of shows with my wife and mother-in-law.

Hope this actually is appealing to kids, it's hard to know what kids will like when you aren't one anymore...

TMerry

10-15-2009, 08:38 AM

Love the title. On the title alone I want to see thing one.
I just talked to an 8 year old the other day that loves Saw
and the Hostel films. I guess kids just aren't kids anymore LOL!

Best of luck on your entry :-)

Susanne G.

10-15-2009, 10:37 AM

Kevin E. Curry

10-16-2009, 01:52 PM

Sweet! Really looking forward to what you do. Can you put a little more on the thread about your process?

jasonthewho

10-20-2009, 03:14 AM

Hi Jason,

Nice to see you back here. A film for children!? Where is the inspiration come from? Are you going to be a daddy - now after the wedding?

I am still remembering your lovely film 'The five worst .........' - so I am looking very much forward to this little project :).

Susanne

Thanks for stopping by Susanne! No, no babies on the way, thank goodness. We're definitely not ready yet...

I just wanted to try an animated kids movie to try something completely different - really stretch out of my comfort zone. I also like the freedom of children's films. You're not as held back by reality and logic.

jasonthewho

10-20-2009, 03:16 AM

Sweet! Really looking forward to what you do. Can you put a little more on the thread about your process?

Definitely. I want to get a little further on first, since this is my first time doing anything like this. Once I actually do some shooting, I'll explain better what I'm doing and how.

jasonthewho

10-23-2009, 10:05 AM

Added a poster to the first post.

Marlon Ladd

10-23-2009, 10:15 AM

I think the poster really goes along with what you're goin' for, Jason. How's the film coming?

jasonthewho

10-23-2009, 10:25 AM

Thanks for the comment!

Still got a lot to do, but I think I'll make it in time.

I have found that it's really hard to keep the camera perfectly still when taking the pictures. The slightest movement affects the smoothness of the movement on screen. I've been trying some editing tricks, and in some cases they've worked. But there may be some jittery movement in the film, I'll warn you now.

cinealma

10-23-2009, 11:02 AM

But there may be some jittery movement in the film, I'll warn you now.

Yes, but, that's what will give it its charm! :thumbsup:

Looking forward to it.

John G.

Michael Anthony Horrigan

10-23-2009, 11:58 AM

This will be very different. Looking forward to it.

Good luck!

Dick Campbell

10-23-2009, 12:18 PM

Jason - great to see you in the mix.

Kevin E. Curry

10-23-2009, 12:58 PM

This is one I'm definitely looking forward to because of the unique approach.

TMerry

10-24-2009, 12:07 PM

LOL - loved the poster, especially since I needed to scroll down to see the second half, the cockroach man and the blackness were a great payoff. Digin' it!

Shaun Patrick

10-25-2009, 09:51 AM

Stop motion wise, what are you shooting on?

Poster is awesome, BTW.

jasonthewho

10-25-2009, 03:25 PM

Thanks for all the comments guys!

I'm shooting on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28, nothing special.

I'm finished shooting now, just have to do add some more music and sound and do some more color correcting.

Shaun Patrick

10-25-2009, 04:18 PM

Ever since they opened up the fest to cameras other than the DVX/HVX, I've toyed with the idea of an animated film but never had the guts/time. Can't wait to see it.

Rodney V. Smith

10-25-2009, 05:43 PM

Jason! Welcome back to the madhouse. THis sounds promising!

jasonthewho

10-27-2009, 07:29 AM

Thanks Rodney!

I think I'm done... but I'm going to show it to a few people first. My wife gave it the okay though, and she's a tough critic.

EditPhish

10-27-2009, 07:51 AM

Hey Jason,

This looks fun! I did some stop motion a LONG long time ago and it does take patience! You need a remote shutter release so you don't have to touch the camera (and potentially move it even a tiny bit).

I'm excited to see it! Good luck in the fest!

jasonthewho

10-27-2009, 09:00 PM

Yeah, a remote shutter release is definitely the way to go. I didn't have one, so I did the best I could and tried to fix it up some in post. If I ever do a longer project like this, I'll definitely get a remote shutter release.

jasonthewho

10-29-2009, 08:31 AM

Uploaded!

Michael Anthony Horrigan

10-29-2009, 08:32 AM

I was just about to check out this thread.
Congratulations! I hope to be in your shoes tonight.

MAH

Arturo Sanchez

10-29-2009, 09:12 AM

Love your poster

JTyner

10-29-2009, 10:11 AM

Yea....the poster rocks!

Looking forward to some fun with this one!

Dustin R. Rogan

10-29-2009, 01:32 PM

I always wonder why Jason hangs with us lowly film makers here in Waco (Me)...This guy is 110% raw original talent. Anything the guy puts his mind to I'm a huge fan. This film is AWESOME! Jason remember me when you hit the bigs!

Rogan

ps Did I mention this film is AWESOME!

Marlon Ladd

10-29-2009, 01:42 PM

Great!!

jasonthewho

10-29-2009, 05:27 PM

Thanks guys!

I'm glad you liked it so much Dustin. I hope everyone else likes it as much as you...

Matt Harris

10-30-2009, 10:39 AM

were you able to keep the movie at a minute length as intended? that can be tough! i always try to make a short short but then it ends up being 6 minutes.

jasonthewho

10-30-2009, 11:35 AM

Yeah, it did end up at around a minute. There wasn't much probability it would go long... when you see it, you'll know what I mean.

But my films usually end up longer than I expect them to be.

BeccaBee

10-30-2009, 01:52 PM

Congrats on yet another film!

This one is really cute, especially the music! :o)

Om Nom Nom

10-30-2009, 02:18 PM

Ahh, can't wait to see this one! nice change from the other films

jasonthewho

10-31-2009, 10:54 AM

Thank you wifey!

And thanks Om Nom Nom!

EditPhish

11-01-2009, 02:32 AM

Gotta give you props for the inventiveness and uniqueness of the movie. It was very cute. At least you showed a monster which quite a few films didn't!

jasonthewho

11-01-2009, 10:27 AM

Thanks for watching EditPhish! Yeah, one of the nice things of doing an animated film is that creating a monster is a lot easier.

I have a request for anyone who has children. I would love to find out what your kids think of the movie. So if you get a chance to show it to them and get their reaction, it would mean a lot to me. Thanks!

Denis Haineault

11-01-2009, 11:56 AM

I'm a sucker for stop animation, so there's really nothing negative I can say about this one. I just loved it.

cheers mate!

Edgen

11-01-2009, 12:20 PM

I have a request for anyone who has children. I would love to find out what your kids think of the movie. So if you get a chance to show it to them and get their reaction, it would mean a lot to me. Thanks!

Jason,

Cool film! Very different from all the rest. I have my two year old and 5 year old nephew... i'll make them watch it and get their reaction. :)

cheers!
/j

jasonthewho

11-01-2009, 01:32 PM

Thank you Denis!

And thanks Justin, I look forward to hearing what the kids thought.

AmyO

11-01-2009, 02:10 PM

Very well done animation. Cute story. I'll let my girls watch it today or tomorrow and give you their reviews as well.

Charli

11-01-2009, 08:06 PM

I couldn't believe it was a cartoon that was so simply done and a bit entertaining - it made me smile.

Michael Anthony Horrigan

11-01-2009, 08:14 PM

Justin has a great idea. I'm going to do the same with my daughter. I enjoyed the first pass but I'm definitely not the demographic you are aiming at. :)

Still, it was simple (if you can even say that about stop animation) and effective.

Nice work.

Mike

namelok

11-01-2009, 08:25 PM

I loved this one, top 5 :)
Wish it lasted a bit longer, that is my only complaint.

Chris_Keaton

11-01-2009, 10:04 PM

This was mighty short and I didn't see a large amount of movement that would justify that. Of course I don't know how damn hard filming that really is. It was cute story. Good job!

TMerry

11-01-2009, 10:47 PM

I really like that this was so different from the rest, the change was refreshing, BUT it was soooo short. I would have love to see the story evolve more, maybe a part II will loom in the future?
I'm guessing you started late and didn't have a lot of time for the animation. I believe reading earlier in another post that this was your first animation flock, so good work! ;-)

cinealma

11-02-2009, 12:44 AM

Nice little film. We have Verizon FIOS at home, and in the On Demand area in the kids section are storybooks that are made into little films. This felt like one of those.

My 3yo twins watched and I got an immediate "again, again" after it was over, so you must have done something right.

I would say that it probably needs to be a little longer storywise with some more structure to it. I liked your simple animation technique, focusing on just the key characters and props. For kids, this is perfect, especially if you keep those things interesting.

I'd definitely like to see more.

Good job. Thanks for sharing!

jasonthewho

11-02-2009, 12:51 AM

Thanks for all the comments guys!

In regards to the length, I deliberately wanted to make something really short, to try out the style, in addition to the fact I started just a few weeks ago. I knew this wouldn't appeal to everyone, and I don't blame anyone if it affects their enjoyment.

The largest amount of work went into creating all the figures, set pieces and props. The actual shooting didn't take too long, but editing was a PITA because I had to do a decent amount of work to make the motion look better.

As for a Part 2, TMerry, I don't plan on one, but I definitely might do a different piece in the same style.

jasonthewho

11-02-2009, 12:54 AM

My 3yo twins watched and I got an immediate "again, again" after it was over, so you must have done something right.

Well that is exactly what I wanted to hear! Kids were my target audience, so I'm so glad that you're twins liked it!

Thank you for your other feedback as well, it's always appreciated.

Rodney V. Smith

11-02-2009, 03:28 AM

Dude this was a huge change of pace and it was one that was sorely needed. It made me smile so much that I had to watch it again. Real feel good piece. I'm gonna have to get my wife to watch it with my 18month old and get his reaction. Stuff like this get his attention immediately and the reading voice is perfect!

Great little piece. High marks all around. Easy for the favorite list.

jasonthewho

11-02-2009, 06:07 AM

Thanks Rodney! I'm really glad the movie made you smile!

Richard J. Johnson

11-02-2009, 11:34 AM

Well done. Not exactly my cup of tea but VERY well done.

Gord.T

11-02-2009, 02:08 PM

That was a nice surprise. I wouldn't have guessed stop motion but now that you mention it, it makes sense. The V.O BTW was perfect. I didn't see credits so I don't know who it was. But again, great V.O. If that was you then you have an additional talent, otherwise grats to whoever it was.

It reminded me of a book. And, I'm guessing here, is that kids in your target range do have a pretty short attention span, and from the kids T.V shows I've seen that seems to be the case.

So a 1 min short may be just right for the very young. On T.V I think they run around 10min or a bit less for the older-youngsters and I'm not sure about the youngest but your 1 min is cool and well done. You know what your doing.

Yeah, that was good, annnnnnd also a first on dvxuser to my knowledge. A double congrats.

NOBELO

11-02-2009, 02:09 PM

Awesome. Makes me want to do something like this. How long did it take to shoot all the pictures?

jasonthewho

11-02-2009, 03:28 PM

Thanks Richard!

Thank you Raptor, that was indeed me on the VO. I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I don't know if you've seen something like Yo Gabba Gabba, but that kid's show has lots of little short segments from 30 secs to a few minutes.

Thanks Nobel! As I've mentioned previously, it didn't take too long to take the actual pictures. The biggest time was making all the construction paper cutouts. I shot everything in my spare time at home, so I don't know exactly how long it took, but once I got everything set up within the camera framing, it would only take a few minutes per scene.

Sarah Daly

11-02-2009, 04:49 PM

Hey Jason, Lovely, cute, refreshing little short - just the right humour and tone. You've totally inspired me to do something similar (but probably not as good) :)

Thanks for doing something different - this has tons of character. Kudos!

jasonthewho

11-02-2009, 11:54 PM

Thanks Sarah!

Geoff_R

11-03-2009, 01:44 AM

I like that you tried something original here. I don't have kids or anything but I admire the guts it takes to go a completely different route and try and make something for a very different audience. Thanks for sharing.

hoz

11-03-2009, 06:12 PM

great stuff!!!

loved the narration too, nicely done. BUG SPRAY! cool!

just the right touch for a kid's book. congrats!

Blaine

11-03-2009, 08:40 PM

Well, that was certainly........different. Not entirely sure how I feel about it but I applaud you for going outside the box......WAY outside the box.

jasonthewho

11-04-2009, 03:56 AM

Thanks for the comments guys!

If anyone else has kids, I'd love to hear their reactions to the film.

Rakesh Jacob

11-04-2009, 03:31 PM

Out of all the entrys this one really felt flat.

HA A PUN... or something...

Actually I really liked it, a nice change of pace, and you have the perfect voice too, it must be really creepy for adults to watch you around kids :)

Horncastle

11-04-2009, 03:35 PM

Fun entry Jason, and good on you for widening the boundaries.

Michael Anthony Horrigan

11-04-2009, 07:13 PM

Watched this with my daughter. She got a real kick out the bug spray part and seemed really enraptured by the entire thing. I asked her if she would want to watch it again and she said yes. I think that speaks for itself.

On the technical side, how long did this take to make?

Thanks,

Mike

jasonthewho

11-04-2009, 07:31 PM

Thanks so much for getting your daughter's opinion, Mike! I'm really glad she liked it.

It's hard for me to estimate how much time I spent on this, because I would work on it at odd times. I'd be sitting at my computer, and I'd cut out a character. Then I'd do something else for an hour. I really didn't spend that much time on the shooting, couple hours tops, because of the limited number of stop motion sequences. But because I didn't have a remote shutter release, I spent a lot of time cleaning the motion up in post. The best thing about this project for me was the freedom for me to work on it whenever without having to schedule crew and cast.

jasonthewho

11-04-2009, 07:35 PM

Actually I really liked it, a nice change of pace, and you have the perfect voice too, it must be really creepy for adults to watch you around kids :)

I'm glad you liked it Johnny! I was putting on a voice for this, so hopefully I'm not actually as creepy in real life.

jasonthewho

11-04-2009, 07:35 PM

Fun entry Jason, and good on you for widening the boundaries.

Thanks Jason, for checking it out! Hope you and Susanne are doing great!

Sprocketboy

11-04-2009, 07:44 PM

Jason, thanks for making this film. My 6 year old son loved it, but he wished that Mindy was a boy named Mikey. We watched it twice on my HD set. This short played the best out of all the shorts. Very little compression artifacting. The narration sounded like a VO in a Tim Burton film. Excellent work.

jasonthewho

11-04-2009, 07:55 PM

Thanks! I'm glad your son loved it, and I'm not surprised he wanted it to be a boy.

The advantage of a 1 minute film is I didn't need to compress it nearly as much.

I was going for a Jack Skellington feel for the VO, so I'm glad that came across for you!

ramsaur

11-05-2009, 04:10 AM

Oh man I wasn't expecting an animation film. "Unfortunately she kept bug spray underneath her pillow" hehe funny.

Nice little story. I enjoyed it.

jasonthewho

11-05-2009, 08:34 AM

Thanks ramsaur!

I'm heading out to a wedding for the weekend, so I won't be able to reply to any comments until Sunday/Monday. See you guys then!

Marlon Ladd

11-08-2009, 11:12 AM

Man, I thought I'd been here already. Sorry, Jason. The was a very cute film. I can definitely see it working for the kiddies big time. Keep at it, because making shows and films for kids is a very important thing. You get a big thumbs up for that. Great story here. One that we can all sort of relate too.

Very nice!

Susanne G.

11-08-2009, 02:42 PM

Very sweet this simple story. I like how you draw the Cockroach Man and I absolutely adore the voice over. I think you used it already for Bartholomy Saxton. The voice has presence and it is a pleasure to hear how he delivers the lines.

Susanne

jasonthewho

11-08-2009, 07:24 PM

Thanks Marlon!

Thank you Susanne! The voice over for this one is actually me, for Bartholomew Saxton I had a different actor do it. I'm glad you liked it!

ZazaCast

11-09-2009, 06:30 AM

Jason... very cute little film! You did a great job capturing the storybook feel.
Very different and original approach to this fest. Great job!

Chris Messineo

11-09-2009, 07:29 AM

I loved the look of this animation. This was a lot of fun. Great narration. Well done.

lawriejaffa

11-10-2009, 07:05 PM

This film had a simple but visually appealing aesthetic, a charming voice over (only mine could have been more camp) and a sweet little story!

I think more could have been done with the story never-the-less - and that it perhaps lent itself a little too much to simplicity. However as i understand this film is itself an experiment in animation, and overall its a positive and pleasant little film that young children would clearly enjoy!!!

So a welcome addition to the festival in my book!

Rodney V. Smith

11-10-2009, 07:07 PM

my 18 month old LOVED this movie Jason. He kept saying "again" every time it ended. You should do a childrens story book version and publish it.

jasonthewho

11-10-2009, 07:19 PM

I'm so glad to hear that Rodney. I'll definitely look into the story book version idea. I'm actually still working on a The One Hundred Worst Days in the Life of Bartholomew Saxton book, that I hope to publish next year, thanks in part to your encouragement.

jasonthewho

11-10-2009, 07:21 PM

jasonthewho

11-10-2009, 07:22 PM

Thanks also to Chris and Zaza for your comments! Appreciate it!

Rodney V. Smith

11-10-2009, 07:22 PM

Excellent! I'm sure there's a series of childrens books in there revolving around the adventures of Mindy Madison. And I'm very glad we haven't heard the last of Bartholomew Saxton... :thumbsup:

killacam

11-16-2009, 06:06 PM

cute film- I could definitely see this on pbs or something as one of those quickie shorts they used to show on sesame street or something. handmade animation definitely has a charm that you can't get on the computer sometimes. loved the spray that came from the bug spray can for example. good stuff.

jasonthewho

11-19-2009, 07:33 PM

Thanks Killacam!

So, there have been various questions about how I made this, and I've said a few things about it, but I think I'll post a more detailed description of my process in making Mindy Madison.

Here it is:

I storyboarded first
Then drew the figures, props, etc. on regular white computer paper
Cut those out
Taped those to the proper color construction paper, then cut around them
Some of the figures were multiple pieces, taped together. This allowed me to have multiple heads for Mindy, that could be switched out, and two arms for the mother.
I would arrange the pieces on my floor, with my camera on a tripod pointed straight down at them
Had one light lighting the paper
Framed the shot, then start taking the pictures
I didn't have this, but ideally you'd have a remote shutter release so as not to shake the camera
Fixed all my mistakes in editing, including some minor Photoshop fixes to images, and aligning the images to increase the smoothness of motion