Game changer/Name Changer

I have not posted in a while- it has been a crazy busy time full of wonderful change and growth!

In brief- the amazing studio that I have been a part of for the past few years, Buddy System Studios, has partnered with the creators of Robot Chicken to open our new SUPER STOP MOTION FACILITY!  The new shop is called Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and our first big project out of the gates is Robot Chicken Season 6.  I doing my part to help set-up the studio, overseeing our construction and serving as co-producer on the show.  Very exciting times for all involved and we are blessed with an amazing crew of artists to fill our new space with creativity and fun!

With all this action going on,  I haven't been paying attention to my domain names,  and I lost my 11 year old angrypuppetfilms.com address.  No worries-  I've never really been an angry person so maybe it's time for a name change.  From here on out my blog is going to be simply "Puppet Pusher"

Check back for more news as the new studio and projects grow!

New Dinosaur Office.........RAWR!

This recently came out on CollegeHumor.com

New Dinosaur Office "Asteroid" I directed at Buddy System.  Thanks to animators Alex Kamer and Pete Levin for their funny-mation!

CLICK TO WATCH!!!

Kitchen Nightmare Before Christmas on MAD!

My buds at Buddy System and I scared up some fun recently for our friends at MAD!  We had the honor of creating a spoof of Nightmare Before Christmas, mashed up with Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.   The result is a Halloween treat we are proud to dish out!

It was posted on YouTube- I don't know how long the link will last so have a look!

Mad : Kitchen Nightmare Before Christmas on YouTube

Dinosaur Office!

Here's a fun little project I got to animate at Buddy System Studios for CollegeHumor. We tried to give a slight flavor of the original Dinosaur Office videos by adding some enthusiastic shake to every line! We shot it in 3d using Dragon and the Iota 3d slider.  It is available to view in 3d on the Nintendo 3ds.

Watch it here!

Stoopid Monkey Behind the Scenes!

For the last few months  Buddy System Studios has been cranking away to create the new Stoopid Monkey web series from the creators of Robot Chicken! We are super-excited that the first four webisodes are now online, with more coming in the weeks ahead! The series uses our patented "stop-live" animation technique to bring Stoopid Monkey and his friends into our world, interacting with people just like you.  The puppets are all flat down-shooter style that are made from a combination of paper, cardstock and felt.  Each character is made up of over 60 pieces!  Follow the link below to see the Stoopid Monkey channel on YouTube, and then check out my behind the scenes photos.

Get the full press-release on AnimationMagazine.com!

then

CLICK HERE to be transported to the Stoopid Monkey Channel!

Here are some behind the scenes pictures from the build and animation:

Me and my Buddies help slay some Monsters!

We recently had the pleasure of collaborating with director Caskey Ebeling on her live-action/animation hybrid "Monster Slayer".
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"Every morning, Ben is visited by a motley crew of imaginary playmates, products of his psychiatric disorder. Embodiments of the best and worst in Ben, these hallucinations both bring him comfort and create chaos. This forces Ben to make a difficult choice: continue to live in his fantasy world, or confront reality, by taking a pill that will destroy his imaginary world."


The creative team at Buddy System Studios handled all aspects of the stop-motion animation in this piece, from character design through to final composites!  We are very proud of our crew and the work we did for this great short film.


View the film here!

Animation ByBuddy System Studios

Animation Directors - Eric Towner and John Harvatine IV
Producer - Nakia Trower Shuman
VFX Producer - Eric Towner
Director of Photography - John Harvatine IV

Character Designer - John Sumner
Director of Operations - Mario De Jesus
Animation Supervisor - Ethan Marak
Animator - Cameron Baity
Animator - Elizabeth Harvatine
Puppet Fabricator - Mike Murnane
Puppet Fabricator - Lauren Horoszewski
Compositor - Andy Windak
Production Assistant - Sofia Iffla
Puppet Intern - Melissa Bloom

SuperBattle full episode now on YouTube!

Well- due to underwhelming DVD sales I figured I'd get Episode 1 out to the world for free.  Have a look and let me know what you think!

I've embedded it on the right hand column of this blog, down about half way.  Make sure you watch it in 720p and expand to full screen!

http://youtu.be/aAuTF9EGdIE?hd=1

SuperAdvanced art show!

If you are in the San Francisco area, be sure to check out my buddy Mike Murnane's  SUPERADVANCED art show!  I've bragged on Mike's top tier design and sculpting abilities in past posts, and now is your chance to see his personal vision of SUPERADVANCED up close and personal!

SUPERADVANCED April Fool's Day @ Bluxome Point

The Fantastic Mr. Star Fox!

Me and my buddies at Buddy System Studios recently shot an animated piece for the folks at CollegeHumor.com.  We created sets, puppets and animation for their hilarious mash-up of Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr.Fox and the Star Fox video game.

View the video here!

Exclusive behind the scenes photos!

SuperBattle DVD on sale now!

My short film SuperBattle : Episode 1 is now available for sale on DVD!   I had it professionally duplicated and printed and it contains a great behind the scenes photo gallery that takes you through the puppet and set build.  Help support independent stop-motion filmmaking!

View the trailer HERE!

Buy it now at SuperBattleMovie.com!