Yesterday (Feb. 7th, 2012) was the three year anniversary of that fateful day we shot the greenscreen elements in my living room for The Many Maladies of Marty Mitchell. Time really does motor by. It brings me great joy to say the show is mostly done. Ben is currently working on the music. It took me three years to finish all of the visuals so I can’t reasonably expect him to hustle through the audio in record time. He never disappoints so I’m expecting something great as soon as is feasible. In the meantime, I’ve posted an image above showing how a frame of the show progressed from a storyboard to a final image. Enjoy.
That’s right, malady lovers, the new “Light Teaser” is online for your enjoyment. Besides completing this new teaser today, I also finished rendering the last frame of the show. What does that mean? Visuals are done. Ben is chopping away at the audio and when he is done, The Many Maladies of Marty Mitchell: Of Maggots and Meat will be complete. We. Are. Almost. Done!
All initial animation and compositing is complete. Audio Master Ben Chan is now working on the audio and music. The next thing I need to do is review the footage and make all the necessary adjustments and tweaks to the visuals. We are getting very close to completion. We are currently on schedule for mid to late January. In the meantime, you can watch a new teaser video called “The Dark Teaser.” How sinister! Expect a “Light Teaser” in the near future.
So, get to watching it and send it to everyone you have ever met. Seriously! Stop reading this! Watch the video! Why are you still reading this?!!
The Fridge Landers warn Marty of the troubles ahead
Whoa. There has been a big gap in updates. Thankfully I had lots of work this summer and could pay my bills. Unfortunately, that meant I took an almost three month hiatus from Marty. Hopefully, I can start working on it regularly again without going broke.
The primary Fridge Landers have all been created. They are now ready to be animated and inserted into their kitchen environments. The image above is a first peek at the primary Fridge Landers—Captain Squash, Avery Apple, and Missy Melon—as they appear in Scene 4, shot 2.
Other good news: Avery Apple will be voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. If you think Avery sounds a little like Ben 10 or Sasuke from Naruto, that’s why. With Tara Platt as narrator and Jon Gormley playing Dr. Enzyme, the pilot episode should sound great.
That’s all for now. I hope to have more to share soon.
No more staring at still images and imagining how they move and sound. A new Many Maladies of Marty Mitchell preview video is online! Three minutes of preview clips and storyline information is all yours if you simply click the ‘play’ triangle above.
Work continues on Scene 11 wherein Marty visits Pancreas Island and meets the Enzymes. Thus far, this is the only part of the short that includes actual 3D CGI animation. I am using a really old version of  Vue Infinite (I only barely know how to use it) to create the island and its environs. Everything else that has been done so far has been traditional 2D or After Effects 2.5D (flat planes distributed in 3D space).
Here are a couple of samples of Marty composited into the CG world. Higher quality versions and other fun stuff are available at the Marty Facebook Fan Page (it’s where all the cool cats are hanging out these days).
Marty unleashes his battle-cry (or is it a leg cramp?)
What is the best place to visit after learning about digestion? The Land of Gastros, of course. Work is moving forward on scene 11. Jon Gormely has been nice enough to lend his voice to two digestion-based characters, Freddy Foodstuff and the heroic Dr. Enzyme. I completed the initial editing of the scene a few minutes ago. Compositing and animation begins shortly. Mr. Meat better watch out!
Marty learns many things on his quest to confront Mr. Meat. One of those things is why you shouldn’t leave food out for long periods of time. It gives bacteria like botulism the opportunity to invade your leftovers.
Work continues on the Pilot Episode. Here are two screenshots of Marty meeting with Mr. Dumb Waiter and being transported to the Intergalactic Bathroom.
INT. DUMB WAITER ROOM – DAY Marty enters the room and approaches a small DUMB WAITER.
MARTY Open up, Mr. Dumb Waiter. I must visit the Intergalactic Bathroom.
The Dumb Waiter opens and Marty climbs inside.
DUMB WAITER (mumbling) How rude.
The Dumb Waiter launches into outer space with Marty inside.
Mr. Dumb Waiter travels to the Intergalactic Bathroom
