Dear Basketball, a remembrance of Kobe Bryant

I never got the chance to meet Kobe Bryant , but I did have the opportunity to see him at an animation awards show for his film, “Dear Basketball,” which won an Oscar for best animated short in 2018.

I watched this kid grow up on television and we both came to Los Angeles the same year, 1996. He always wanted to be one of the greatest basketball players that ever lived, even better than Michael Jordan. And after 20 years with the the Lakers, five NBA Championships, two MVP Awards and two Olympic gold medals, he did just that.

I always had the upmost respect for Kobe as a basketball player, even though I would sometimes root against him. I really appreciated his "Mamba Mentality", as he liked to call it. His incredible work ethic pushed him to be even better than anyone ever thought he could be.

The tragedy that happened to him, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people on that fateful helicopter flight is unimaginable. Our hearts and prayers truly go out to their families.

And although Los Angeles is feeling the pain and grief, I would like to take a moment to reflect on one aspect of his life which I had the privilege to be a part of.

My animated short film, “Watchcat,” was selected to be a part of the animation festival which meant competing against “Dear Basketball.” I had the opportunity to meet the film's director, legendary animator Glen Keane, at the premiere and it was all so truly amazing!  In Kobe’s own words, "It’s a love letter to basketball," a poem on his love of a sport that, even as a child, he believed he could be a part of. The animation was amazing and the music by John Williams was nothing less than spectacular.  It was deep, personal and moving.

I would like to share this short gem in remembrance of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and the rest of the people on that helicopter.

RIP Black Mamba

 

 

Where's Watchcat?

Why have we stop posting updates to this blog? Where is Watchcat these days? Let's just say, Watchcat has the ability to time travel, just like you do!

You can review past posts of this blog to see where we've been and when Watchcat returns, you will be able to see where he is going now.


Along your journey into the past, you can click the ads on your favorite posts and help Watchcat return to find your present. 

Does Watchcat have a future? Let us know in the comments below.

NOIR final days

Several days, hours really, the NOIR Indiegogo campaign will end and we need to raise as much funds before it closes. We have seen a lot of viewers who have discovered our videos and have responded, maybe even for a second time. We are truly thankful for everyone who has supported this 3rd Indiegogo campaign. 

We have been pushing this last campaign to the point where Greg even reached out to Kevin Smith and Mark Bernardin of the FatMan Beyond show. See Greg sweat!

The benefit to all backers of NOIR at the least, will be that they will have a copy of the film when its finally finished. Our only fear is that we haven't found enough people to help with the funding.

As of this post, NOIR has 19% of its fund raising goal and 48 backers so far. We hope if you have recently been following our posts, you will consider donating to the NOIR campaign. At this point, every pledge will help us finally finish this project and you will be apart of helping us to get it done. It all ends on Friday, June 14th. Pray Good triumphs over Evil.

Like this post? After your donation to NOIR, click on the ads to fill up our blog tip jar. Or subscribe to Animateducated.

One last roar for Noir

Enjoying a NOIR moment and poster, Greg with Comicbook artist Neal Adams!

The Noir Indiegogo campaign is starting come to an end and we still need your help.This project has been funded through previous Indiegogo campaigns and is now seeking funds to finish the film's special effects and sound work. 

Self Promotion is the key for getting anything in front of an audience. Greg got a chance to talk about NOIR on the FatMan Beyond show with Kevin Smith and Marc Bernardin.

The above promo has been seen by 1035 viewers so far on the Animateducated channel to inform everyone about the Noir Indiegogo campaign. We have been pushing these videos to gain public interest in this film and seek the funds for post-production. From the very beginning, this has been a labor of love project with a small budget, showcasing a great cast of talent in front and behind the camera.

“NOIR - Let’s Finish It!” Indiegogo-Pitch-2019 from Lee Anthony Smith on Vimeo.

Here's the Indiegogo link to help us finish NOIR, so we finally complete the film and won't have to beg you anymore. This project started about 5 years ago and has taken longer to complete than anticipated. Making a low budget feature in 1940s Hollywood, combining it with classic horror Universal type monsters from that era and presenting it as a B&W Film Noir detective story was always ambitious from the start. 

Lee and Greg knew what they lacked in production budget, they discovered a very talented cast to help bring their unique story to life. In a sense, they have been making a film in the same way Hollywood films were made during that time.

This is independent filmmaking at its finest and we hope as the days grow shorter for the NOIR indiegogo campaign that final donations will be made. Please show your support, share this post with a friend and help us finish it.

Thank You,
Orson Welles

Watchcat started around the same time that NOIR was starting up. And so, Watchcat Films will send an original Watchcat drawing to everyone who makes a pledge to NOIR. Be sure to mention "Watchcat sent me".  

This week, we also found out that Watchcat was accepted and will be screened as a part of the Florida Animation Festival on Saturday, June 15th @ 1pm. If anyone goes to this festival, please let us know what you thought of the show, below.

 

Show your support for this blog by clicking on the ads. Its our internet tip jar.

Thank You! 

Watchcat at CTN Roadtrip

The Burbank Arts Festival was held on San Fernando road between Magnolia and E. Angeleno Ave or also known as beautiful Downtown Burbank. We set up our table as a part of the CTN Roadtrip to let people know we have a project on YouTube called Watchcat and attempt to build more of any audience.

The weather was fine over the weekend and even though it rained over night, everything dried out by mid-morning when the event resumed on Sunday.

We came to sell Watchcat T-Shirts, Coloring books, Pins and gave away a lot of Watchcat Postcards directing people to our Watchcat Films YouTube channel. We also handed out flyers for our NOIR Indiegogo champaign.

Welcome to the modern way of Self Promotion. Having a website is fine, however any event where you can actually meet your future audience is a very special place to be.

Oh sure, most of your audience is passing by your booth, walking their dogs or pushing their kids in strollers and often at the same time. They're looking around for something new and there were a lot of artists to see this weekend.

We learned a lot about displaying artwork to the audience passing by the booth. We need to invest in a large banner which will hang behind our table of wonders. The passersby often are looking up to see what is at the tent they are approaching. Any signage taped to the front of a table is often missed or only seen by small children, who can't read yet.

Walking around to see the other booths was a real education, some people used the wires above their tent to display artwork. Others created simple displays to hold prints or books they created.





We learned a lot about exhibiting artwork this time around and have a whole year to see if we want to do this again or not. 


We had great weather, met a lot of people, handed out postcards  and even sold some T-shirts, Coloring books and pins as well.

 And so, until the next Burbank Arts Festival.

If we met you this year or enjoyed this post, please let us know. You can also visit and subscribe to Watchcat Films or learn more about animation at Animateducated. Or at least, click on the ads to show your support.

Burbank Arts Festival 2019

The weekend of May 18th and 19th, Watchcat Films will be a part of the CTN Roadshow at this year's annual Burbank Arts Festival. 

We had a table a few years ago and had a great time meeting everyone who walked up to ask, "What's Watchcat"? At the time we only had XL T-Shirts to sell and learn not everyone can wear an XL shirt. So this time around, we have a variety of official Watchcat shirt sizes in red and black. And we will also have Watchcat pins for sale.

We met a lot of young art collectors...

And famous characters like Captain Hook and...

The Hand known as "Thing" from the Addams Family liked our pin which belongs to Burbank Magician, Christopher Hart.

Stop by Booth #10 for official Watchcat T-Shirts, pins and we have a new Coloring Book for sale. 

Or pay for an original drawing, drawn right before your eyes! 

Everyone who stops by will get a free Collector's Watchcat postcard. So make your weekend plans today and share this with a Watchcat friend!

Can't make it? Then support our friends at NOIR the film.

See you later.

NOIR's Indiegogo Campaign

Eric James of Neal Adams Crusty Bunkers Comicbook shop in Burbank

The final Indiegogo campaign for NOIR began on Sunday, May 5th and has 38 days to go. A fund raising party occurred on the same day to kick off the campaign, premiere the new trailer and screen a rough cut of the film to invited cast, crew and friends. 

The film has been completely shot and the funds received this time will be going toward special effects shots, finishing up the editing and sound process. Take a look at the new trailer below, without giving away any of the awesome story, enjoy.

Noir-teaser-2 from Lee Anthony Smith on Vimeo.
If you would like to learn more about this film and how you can help fund it, please visit their Indiegogo page today.