Watchcat Weekend in Burbank!

 This just in...

Watchcat 2 has been accepted to the Comicpalooza Film Festival which will be held on May 12 - 14th in Houston, Texas! Chuck Norris is one of the special guests, so you know its going to be great! If you are in the Houston area or have heard of Comicpalooza before, please let us know.
This weekend (April 29 and 30th) is the Burbank Arts Festival in beautiful Downtown Burbank on San Fernando Blvd., between
Magnolia Blvd and Angeleno Avenue. The event is free and fun!

Greg Bradley and myself will be sitting at a table, under a tent promoting Woodbury University and introducing lucky passersby to Watchcat and various Watchcat merch. We've got Watchcat T-Shirts, Collector Pins and free Watchcat postcards and stickers!

So look for us near the CTN tents, stop by our table and let us know if you are a Watchcat fan, follow our Watchcatfiles blog or subscribe to our Watchcat Films channel on Youtube? We can't wait for the weekend!

Below are 3 Watchcat episodes. Please subscribe to our Youtube channel Watchcat Films and follow this blog to show your support. Thank You.

Thanks for Clicking! 

Did you know that by clicking on the ads, Google will give us money so we can donate it to a local animal shelter. Everytime you visit this blog, click away on the ads to show your support and help us help some animals in need! 

Right now, were only at $26 bucks and Google won't write us a check until they get $100 in clicks. So click the ads whenever you visit this blog! Thank You!

Watchcat Wednesday 4/19

This Week:  
We submitted Watchcat 2 to Comicpalooza film festival held at the Comicpalooza Con in Houston, Texas on May 12 -14th. We will let you know if the episode gets in or not. It looks like the Texas version of ComicCon and would be a great place to find an audience!

I met actor Ahmed Best at my school and he gave a talk about acting. Afterwards, I handed him a Watchcat business card. Now, go Google him and guess what character he made famous in 1999?


Button, button, who wants a Button?

Last week, 3 pin designs were posted and we asked which was best, which came in second and third place. And here's the results of our Pick a Pin Contest.

 Design A received  3 votes

 Design B received  6  votes

Design C received 6 votes

We will have all 3 designs available for purchase at the Festival...

Our Watchcat T-shirt designs are in the process of being printed and we hope to have them by the weekend because....

Next weekend: The Burbank Arts festival and we will have a limited amount of XL T-shirts available for purchase.  

https://www.facebook.com/events/1421983464529413/

Come meet us, Greg Bradley and Jim Richardson, the creators of Watchcat. Visit our tent and if you mention the "Watchcat Files", we'll give you a free autographed Watchcat postcard to go with any Watchcat T-Shirt purchase. If you are really nice, you might even get a drawing of Watchcat!!!

Click Watchcat Weekend! to let us know if you are planning to attended: 

Subscribe to Watchcat Films!
Visit our Youtube Channel Watchcat Films and click to become a subscriber to see future episodes and show your support!
 
Thanks for Clicking! 
Did you know that by clicking on the ads, Google will give us money so we can donate it to a local animal shelter. Everytime you visit this blog, click away on the ads to show your support and help us help some animals in need! 

Last week we got 4 clicks which yielded .39 cents which is the most clicks we have had in a while. Right now, were only at $26 bucks and Google won't write us a check until they get $100 or more in clicks. So click the ads whenever you visit this blog! Thank You!

For Watchcat Wednesday 4/12

We just hit our 13,000 blog view this weekend and we will  officially be celebrating when we hit 15,000 views.

This week, we are getting ready for the Burbank Arts Festival on the weekend of April 29 and 30th.  

PICK A PIN!

We need your vote!  

Which Pin design is your favorite, from these 3 designs? We are in the process of printing up these Watchcat collector pins and need your vote.

Design C

Design A

Which design wins first, second or third place?

Design B

The Burbank Arts festival is still a few weeks away, so please let us know your Design choice and if you might be visiting Burbank soon. Please leave a comment below and as always, click on an ad to show your support!.

We hope to sell a few Watchcat T-Shirts too...

T-shirts 

on sale for $15 !

Subscribe to Watchcat Films!
Visit our Youtube Channel Watchcat Films and click to become a subscriber to see future episodes and show your support!

And Thanks for Clicking! 
Did you know that by clicking on the ads, Google will give us money that we can donate to a local animal shelter. Everytime you visit this blog, click away on the ads to show your support and help us help some animals in need! 

This week, we got 4 clicks which yielded .39 cents which is the most clicks we have had in a while. Right now, were only at $26 bucks and Google won't write us a check until they get $100 or more in clicks. So click the ads whenever you visit this blog! Thank You!

KEDI

Here is a new documentary from a cat's perspective called "Kedi" by Ceyda Torum.

KEDI - Trailer 1 from Termite Films on Vimeo.

This is the  story of seven cats living in Istanbu and here is a letter from the director of the film...

A Letter to the Audience

For those of you who may not have visited Istanbul or know anyone from there, there are a few things you should know before watching our film.

Cats — tabbies, calicos, angoras, norwegian forest cats; ginger cats, grey cats, black  cats, white cats, black and white cats — all kinds of cats, roam the city, free, without a human master. Some fend for themselves, scavenging from dumpsters, living in abandoned buildings, others are cared for by communities of people, pampered with the best cat food and given shelter for the cold months. Cats have been a part of the city for thousands of years, and so, everyone who grows up in Istanbul or lives in Istanbul has a story about a cat. Stories that are memorable; sometimes scary, sometimes spiritual, but always very personal. Street cats are such a big part of the culture that when US president Barack Obama visited Istanbul, part of his tour included a stop at the Hagia Sophia to visit its famous cat. Cats are as integral to the identity of Istanbul as its monuments, the Bosporus, tea, raki and fish restaurants.

Kedi - Official U.S. Trailer - Oscilloscope Laboratories from Termite Films on Vimeo.

I grew up in Istanbul and I believe my childhood was infinitely less lonesome than it would have been if it werenʼt for cats - and I wouldnʼt be the person I am today. They were my friends and confidants and I missed their presence in all the other cities I ever lived in. This film is, in many ways, a love letter to those cats and the city, both of which are changing in ways that are unpredictable.

When we set out to make this film, I had many ideas about what it should be. I wanted to explore philosophical themes that would make an audience ponder about our relationship to cats, to nature, to each other... I hope the film succeeds in doing that but more importantly, I hope this film makes you feel like you have just had a cat snuggle up on your lap unexpectedly and purr endlessly for a good long time, while allowing you to stroke it gently along itʼs back, forcing you, by the sheer fact that you canʼt move without letting go of that softness and warmth, into thinking about things that you may not have given yourself time to think about in the busy life you lead.

Hopefully this film will be that cat for you, and that youʼll leave with a tingle in your hands.

This film is now playing at a theater near you, check screenings. Let us know if you have seen this film or plan on seeing it. This film has been Watchcat Approved!

Watchcat Wednesday Screening

Columbia Alumni Filmmakers Night
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
6:30 p.m. – Arrival and seating
7 p.m. – Screening and Q+A

El Cid
4212 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90029

Featured Short Films:
G Eazy "Downtown Love", Dillon Schneider ’12
Dumbfounded, Diane Baldwin ’05
Watchcat Episode 1 & 2, Jim Richardson ’86
Portrait of My Mother, Sophia Nahli Allison ’14
Seven Miles, Daniel Pico ’02
Dino Now, Matt Brookens ’99  
The Outcast, Bucher Almzain MFA ’15
Setting Son, Rachel Rosen ’15 
Paré, Myra Casciato ’15
Perfect Day, Jessica Huggins ’12

We gathered at the El Cid, a mexican restaurant on Sunset near Los Feliz. Everyone was a stranger, even though we all went to the same college in Chicago, years ago. 

The turnout was pretty good and I want to say this politely, but there were a lot depressing stories presented that evening. All the films were well done in production value, but so many downer endings or setting up characters to fail or die were shown. 

Watchcat fit in well enough, because we had a lot of gun play in our story. It was a great opportunity to watch our film with an audience and hear the reaction from the crowd. This was very helpful for us to hear, since you don't get that kind of instant feedback when posting your film online.

After the screening, the filmmakers were ask to stand on the stage with a little Q/A from the audience.

Afterwards, many were working the room, networking with business cards and iphones. Here we handed out our cards and met some of the other filmmakers. Even though I was the only animator in this land of live action filmmakers, I felt somewhat at home with them.

We gotta work on our candid posing for photos. Ha ha...
https://www.facebook.com/81523290672/photos/a.10154910643950673.1073741848.81523290672/10154910644385673/?type=3&theater 

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Watchcat Episodes screening in Hollywood!

Watchcat episodes 1 and 2 will be shown as part of the Columbia College Alumni Filmmakers Screening held this Wednesday, March 22nd. We have been asked to help promote the event and so, if you are in the Los Angeles area, like to watch movies and love Mexican food,  please click on this link for more info.

If you sign up, please mention in the email that Watchcat sent you. Greg and I will be there, so please say hello and enjoy a lot of other filmmakers who went to our school in Chicago.

We will post about the event next Watchcat Wednesday.

Rigging Watchcat

March. In like a lion, out like a lamb. Here’s a lion, built in Adobe Illustrator, animated in Adobe After Effects by Joe Gast. 

We got .33 cents in ad clicks last month from viewers clicking on the ads to help us donate the money to a local animal shelter. Unfortunately, I did the math and at this rate,  we will have a $100.00 check from Google in about 20 years from now.

The only way to up this number would be, if every viewer of this blog clicked on the ads, everytime they viewed this blog. Then maybe, it would only take 10 years to get a check.

This week, we found out that Watchcat episodes 1 and 2 will be shown on the big silver screen at the El Cid on Sunset Blvd. The episodes will be screened at the Columbia College Alumni Filmmakers Night on March 22nd, 6:30 - 9pm. You can purchase tickets here.
 

After making several episodes now by myself, I have decided that the only way to continue this process is to create a character rig. The above animation is a simple rig where different parts are attached to one another allowing simple movement. The best thing about creating a character rig is that the character will always look the way. This is called " Being on Model" and is the biggest problem with 2D animation. 

A hand drawn animation character must be drawn the same way throughout as if only one person created it. Animators were given model sheets showing how the character looks in different attitudes, poses or angles; side view, front, 3/4 and even from the back. The Animator relied on this information to be able to draw the character as close to the design as possible.

In computer animation, your character is a digital sculpture which can be moved and posed in the computer, without worry of ever "being off model". This process now allows more Animators to be give different scenes to be worked on as a group, rather than worrying if your character is on or off model.

Here is a good example of puppet animation in Flash by Richard Murray of RichToons.

If Watchcat is ever to be made into a TV series, the characters would need to be rigged so that anyone could animate them. And so, I am putting on my rigging hat this week and working on adding a skeleton to my drawn designs. This is a bit of a challenge, because the main character is a 4 legged cat. I will post some test in the next few weeks.  

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