Roboculture

"The original score of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, is scheduled to be released on February 13, 2007, exactly one week after the film's DVD release by Funimation Entertainment."

This is the official statement released by Tommy & Pals on the  Robotech website. What does this mean to me? Well, if you haven't known by now, I've been planning to make a Robotech: Shadow Chronicles fanfilm. Wow!! Huh?? NO IT'S NOT! I've been trying to ask Tommy or whoever whether I'll be able to see the Soundtrack or the DVD from where I live (outside US, not in Europe or Australia) but the guy really hates to reply to me! Sheesh. It's kinda sad, but without a DVD or a Soundtrack, how the heck am I going to make a fanfilm!? Rely on the original Soundtrack, Spoiler Forums and Prelude of the Shadow Chronicles Comic Series? Hahaha!

If you've been following the Happy Clappy Tales of MedMapGuy in the Big Bad Robotech Site, you'd have encountered this thread - http://www.robotech.com/community/forum/read.php?id=1683178&forumid=31

It was about me asking whether these TSC merchandise would see a release in Asia. My last post was around January 31, 2007 6:50 AM before I made one last double post at around 3:50 PM.

Now, if you check out this thread about the Robotech featurette -  http://www.robotech.com/community/forum/read.php?id=1672025&forumid=31 you can see Tommy Yune posting a reply at approximately January 31, 2007 9:48 AM and later edited it a few minutes later.

So... What the heck am I getting at? Tommy Yune, master of the Robotech universe, I don't know! You tell me!

Okay, here's my paranoid theory - Harmony Gold is still mad at me for ranting sometime during November 2006 about the ineptitude of how they're handling the franchise. While this might be valid, Tommy is a professional - but don't debunk this theory just yet. Resident Robotard Darkwater has also made a similar rant in his blog at www.robotechnews.blogspot.com wherein he says that he wasn't included in the Robotech Documentary which came with the Shadow Chronicles feature because it was possible that Harmony Gold staff took what he said a little too personally. (He mentioned that his appearance could've been removed from a creative standpoint, but you know me, I love conspiracies)

One more thing to add to this inconsequential fire, look at this thread folks - http://www.robotech.com/community/forum/read.php?id=1651351&forumid=31 It is a thread dedicated to Robotech: Shadow Chronicles release in Australia. Australia of all f-- flippin' places. And to make matters even more irritating, here comes good ol' Kevin McKeever officiating it by announcing a distributor, thereby assuring Australian fans that they would be able to see the film. Oooooh! And the mods even stickied the thread in the Robotech Production forum.

Yep guys and possibly gals, you guessed it, what about an Asian release? What's that HG? None? Oh, that's right! Great, guys, just flippin' great. I post a thread with the statement "DVD Release Around the Rest of Asia" and do I get stickied? No, I get... ignored. Oh, I thank Cyc and a few others for replying, but the fact that Tommy Yune ignored it or even Kevin means that the Asian market WILL NOT be seeing any sort of release.

Again, it wouldn't be so bad if Tommy or someone replied saying that they're working out a deal, but that is not the case. They ignored it because the news of a Birth of a Sequel featurette is waaay, waaaaaay to important.

Help me. Someone. 

While I try to see if anyone is interested in helping me out with my latest fanfilm project, I suppose I could talk about my good acquaintance Aaron, creator of the Robotech Live Action Novel.

The poor guy is busy taking care of his cute little baby at the moment, so who knows how long it would take for him to get back at the production track. For now though, lets take a brief look at this lil' project.

BACKGROUND

The Robotech Live Action Novel (RTLAN) is oddly enough, not Aaron's first foray into this sort of thing. He's done quite a few projects in the past on stuff not related to Robotech. You can find some of this previous works on his main weblog thing (http://digitalcole.net/main.htm). His works are visually interesting, with an emphasis on the gritty aspects of the characters and backgrounds. You can also look at his very distinct art on his real blog (http://digitalcole.blogspot.com/). There's something about the man's style that's really cool, and I really admire it a lot. Kinda like that wavy-style artist who drew a couple of covers for the failed Robotech: Invasion comics and other Genesis Climber Mospeada art.

As for the RTLAN, it's a project that's shaping up to be one of the best looking fan-made production to date. Its vivid colors manages to capture the spirit of the anime in a way that no fan project could. 

Good ol' Aaron achieved this beautiful effect by compositing live action elements, action figures, and Photoshop backgrounds. The end effect is quite beautiful. The guy once asked me whether I could play a guy in a CVR-3 armor, but I politely declined! Man, that would've been cool though.

Story-wise, there isn't much that's been revealed so far. Suffice to say, it takes place during an assault on a massive hive. I had the privilege of seeing an extremely early version of the project, and it shows a lot of promise. The action sequences were a bit rough, but the promise of seeing Hovertanks fight alongside classic Destroids and Alpha fighters is not something any true Robotech fan would want to miss. Since this isn't official or anything, Aaron could afford a helluva lot more creative freedom than say, Tommy Yune - and that's not really a bad thing. 

I truly recommend you to check out the links I mentioned, as well as his blog. It doesn't seem to be updated at the moment, but we can hope that it would be in the near future. Good job, Aaron!!

Robotech: Live Action Novel Flash Menu
https://home.comcast.net/~aarondavidcole/robotechlagnovelbio.htm

Robotech: Live Action Novel Blog
http://robotechlagnovel.blogspot.com/

(The only original art you will ever see for the show. This is the only art being used for the DVD, the coffee table art book, the soundtrack, the poster, theatrical release, mousepad - okay, scratch the last part, there isn't any merchandise yet)

The most hyped film of the millenia is here, Robotech: Shadow Chronicles. People have begun to receive their preorders from almost out of the blue. Darkwater, a highly influential fan of the Robotech world, has reportedly gotten his copy and is probably toying with it at the moment.

What the hell does this mean to future Studio MMG? I'm not sure. But given the current Shadow Chronicles bandwagon is charging at full steam, I might actually hitch a ride.

Bad puns aside, it means I might actually make a fan film for this fucking movie. Yes, I want to achieve the title of 'first' Shadow Chronicles fanfilm. I know I originally planned to make a film based on the oft-ignored season of Robotech, The Masters Saga / Southern Cross section of the show, but hear me out.

BACKGROUND 

If you aren't familiar with the Masters Saga / Southern Cross section of Robotech, I won't blame you. The show is often shrugged off as the most badly written and unlikable of the three parts of Robotech. (The most popular being the Macross and Mospeada / New Generation) These criticisms might be true to some, but in my opinion, its probably the darkest, deepest of the three, and the epicness appeals greatly to me. The others are also great, but the idea of being a Southern Cross fan sets me apart from everyone, and I don't mind that one bit.

OKAY, SO WHAT? 

Alright, I said I wanted to make a Shadow Chronicles fanfilm. And I said I'm a big Southern Cross fan. I now want to make a film which reunites characters from Southern Cross during the set timeline of Shadow Chronicles. I want a film which has (probably, since I haven't seen the film yet) Admiral Reindhart giving orders to reestablish the 15th Squadron as a premiere tank division thingy (I don't know the proper designation). This would bring back certain characters like Angelo, Dana, Sean Philipps, Bowie Grant and maybe a new cast of unknowns. It's in the drawing board at the moment, but the story would probably involve the 15th handling a possiblity of civil war on Earth with the return Robotech Expeditionary Force. It would probably have little to do with the overall story of Shadow Chronicles (the conflict with the new alien menace), but this remains to be seen. 

Basically, it all comes down to whether I enjoy the new story of the new film. It's difficult to say at this point, but we'll have to wait and see. For now, I will work on sketches for old Robotech characters with the new Shadow Chronicles gear. While I'm not that good an artist, I will try my best to copy the look of the new film...

DID'YA KNOW?

Before I came up with this idea, I was going to work on a South Park-style Robotech show? It was going to be a dumb comedy which stars the Southern Cross characters and their bitter rivalry with the Macross and New Generation characters. It's also in planning phase, but I got some interesting ideas... If you've got suggestions, why don't you post a comment?



As you know, I'm not much of an animator, but man, if I do something as cheaply as South Park, it would be a hoot! If only I could get the comedy right now...

Terrible, terrible news (and terrible headline, I'm afraid) - RDF Underground, the home of elite Robotard, Justy Ueki has just collapsed! The man has sadly lost interest in Robotech, after having been burned out by all this Shadow Chronicles hoopla. I feel terrible.

*This news is kinda old, I know*

Justy Ueki, in an
undated photo.

No I'm just kidding.

I really enjoyed this guy's way of reporting the nonsense news that goes around Robotech. It really is a shame that he has quit the franchise, and I place the blame on Harmony Gold's inept handling of the franchise. (Even though Justy was pretty adamant that there was no reason for his quitting but that he just lost interest).

WARNING: IGNORANT RANT

If only the damn company had placed more emphasis with connecting with the fans during the beginning of 2006, this wouldn't have happened. People are so burned out with the constant delays and lies that it has come to this.

SERIOUSLY THOUGH...

The man lost interest simply because it wasn't fun to do the show anymore. It felt like work he said. You had to hunt for news. (Blame HG..? Alright I'll stop...) Damn, I'm starting to feel this way with this whole flash thing. I really feel bad for RDF Underground, and I do hope it rises from the grave or something, but anyway - lets move on to more pressing matters. Namely, me, since this is after all, my blog (No offense, Justy).

Damnit, Justy lost interest simply because he felt that his radio show felt like work.

Me? After three fairly successful fanfilms, I do feel a bit burned out, especially considering what little fanfare they got on the official Robotech site. But then... despite being ignored by the site's Commanders... making these films gives me a great outlet... I get to bring out my somewhat limited creativity to these pictures, and I get this really warm, fuzzy feeling when I see the product taking shape.

When I finally finished Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, a film I've been wanting to do ever since I saw the Do You Remember Love game PS1 intro, I really felt like I accomplished some lifelong passion, and it felt great (kinda). My next thing might be to do something based on Southern Cross, the most underrated series of the franchise and another big passion of mine.

In order to not make the tedious process of animating feel like a job, the key is to try to keep focused, and know that you are doing a great service to an otherwise uncaring community. Wait - that sounded wrong. Apparently, even I cannot justify the tediousness of what I do... Oh well, lets just go with what I said earlier, that I do this cuz' I like Robotech and I like accomplishing stuff like this.

Well - more or less. The final statistics are out and the film has topped my last 'hit' Robotech: Sentinels Part II.  Take a loof at it and see for yourself!

Super Dimension Fortress: Macross

Ranked # 1,387 for Score
Ranked # 9,121 for Popularity
1,370 votes, 26,613 views

Robotech: Sentinels Part II

Ranked # 6,332 for Score
Ranked # 9,559 for Popularity
985 votes, 24,514 views

Great, huh? Now we can all get on with our lives -- Hey wait! Not so quickly there! Yes, I am readying myself for my next film and damn, do I want it to be an even bigger success than these two films combined! But how? Based on initial reactions from my flash, people mentioned the story being a bit on the boring side. I know they're just folks who don't appreciate sci-fi (and think fart jokes are the height of humor) but sheesh. How do I combat this? Yes, I think its time. I need a writer. But where? Where can I get a writer? Oh well. I plan on posting some kind of Wanted ad on Robotech.com. Wanted: Writer! Or something. But knowing the state of that place, and the current disinterest in all thing fan-made (f*** you Shadow Chronicles, wait, is this the right thing to blame?) would people be interested in signing up and helping me write a great Robotech screenplay? Only time would tell...

Anyway, thanks for the folks who took the time to watch my film!

Today's feature is the fairly impressive trailer by one-man fanfilm juggernaut, Nanashi. It features decent Computer Generated Graphics of VF-1 Valkyries doing what they do best - transforming into humanoid robots and shooting stuff.

First of all, who is Nanashi? Well, as you might not know, was once known as ARMY_Ranger in a fairly popular site called Newgrounds. Newgrounds is a repository of all things Flash. Flash is basically a web movie of sorts.

Army Ranger basically began the whole Robotech series on Newgrounds back early 2001. He has since produced such classics as "Birth of Robotech" and "Macross: Unsung Heroes", and many more.

Here's a short list of the current Robotech flashfilms available on Newgrounds:
http://www.newgrounds.com/collection/robotech.html

ARMY_Ranger/Nanashi's more notable contributions:

Macross Classic Revisited - A fairly entertaining dogfight sequence between a VF-1 Valkyrie fighter and several battlepods. Heavily influenced by Macross Zero.
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/344395

Birth of Robotech - An interesting reimagination of the first two or three episodes of the Macross Saga. Fairly entertaining with great dogfights.
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/search.php?terms=birth+of+robotech&kind=j&x=0&y=0

Nanashi is also one of the key founders of the United Earth Group:

The group is best known for the Robotech: Genesis project. A project which last I heard, was cancelled due to internal conflict among its members. I have heard it said though that a new project is being developed, and it is only a matter of time when it would be released.

What is Gamma Crisis then?

Macross Gamma Crisis is a short (15 min +) video OVA based off of the anime SDF Macross, Macross Plus, Macross Zero and Macross DYRL. Knowledge of these anime is not necessary to apply for this part! The story is set around 2015, and covers the growing friction and dysfunction in a society of humans who are trying to adapt to living with and integrating with a species of alien.

Youtube Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk7mrVE56zc

Based on what I saw in the trailer, the project is light years ahead of whatever I can achieve at this point. I don't know anything about making CG, so this stuff is pretty impressive - for a fanfilm. A lot of Pearl Harbor influences can be seen in the trailer, with some interesting action sequences involving one VF-1 Valkyrie Battroid.

Currently, the film is wrapping up casting voices for certain roles, if you are interested in how that went, check it out at:

Voice Acting Club
http://voiceacting.proboards62.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1164671128&page=1

For more details on the project, as well as Nanashi, check out his website (It's a flash-based website, so you'll need a Flash player)

Robotech Flash
http://www.robotechflash.com/

Hello! After the relative success of my latest flashfilm, Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, I thought it would be nice to go and discuss what's up with the fandom these days. As you know, the Robotech fandom is in a relatively bad rut now, what with the imminent release of this "Shadow Chronicles" thing. (More on the fandom in a couple'a days.

First we have the Fandom & Events forum, which suffocates art-related threads. If they don't appear in the main forum, they're considered as good as gone forever. I doubt any fan would actually search for the bloody things. There doesn't seem to be any end to the stream of 'sticky threads' posted by HG's rep since they're already posting events that would a happen as late as August.

After nearly three months of development (and an additional month of post-production), my latest and possibly nicest flash film is complete. I’ve tried my best to stay true to the property in terms of sound, music, art and story. I do hope you enjoy the fruit of my labor, the film may not be based on our much-loved Robotech franchise, but c’mon, who doesn’t love Macross? (If you don’t, you still might enjoy it!)

Based on the events of the Macross: Do You Remember Love and its 15^th anniversary videogame adaptation, my film follows the events of the initial invasion of the evil Zentradi and the valiant efforts of Skull Squadron to stop those ‘alien bastards’.

Super Dimension Fortress:Macross
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/359458

The film features a DVD-style menu with a fairly interesting look at the production of this film. There’s also a more detailed letter I made regarding the source material used.

Bonus Material - The Art of Macross
http://blog.com/photos/gallery/10860/

*I think I may have made a mistake in Hikaru Ichijo's VF-1 Valkyrie's designation. I think it is supposed to be a VF-1S...  Sorry for the error* 

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

This site is a collection of concept sketches, concept art, backgrounds, character designs and still images for MedMapGuy's fan works. Most of the stuff mentioned can be found in the gallery section.

MedMapGuy will also discuss the various going ons in the Harmony Gold-controlled Robotech world, as well as the fan-made content for the franchise (other people's fanfilms, etc).

Hey there! I'm MedMapGuy, you may have heard me produce such Robotech fanfilms such as Sentinels Part 1, Sentinels Part 2, as well as Super Dimension Fortress: Macross. I've also produced quite a number of fan art, most of which you can find on the official Robotech website.

You may be wondering...

How the hell could I like something like Robotech?

(What is Robotech? Go on over to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotech)

Why? Y'see, there is something in Robotech that shows nowadays don't seem to have. Corny/lame dialogue? Well, we'll always have that for these cartoon/anime shows. I'm talking about the story.

In Robotech's case, it's this feeling that the story could be so much more. Popular mecha anime shows such as Gundam doesn't really appe

al to me... (it's still a very strong and admirable franchise, though) Maybe I don't enjoy it as much because the franchise has just too many installments! Robotech on the otherhand hasn't had anything in over 20 years, (except for that Shadow Chronicles OVA/movie) and it is therefore a fertile ground of creative possibilities.

I guess it all comes down to the fact that I grew up with Robotech. Despite all the crap the franchise has had to put up with, what with the cancellation of several potential properties, games, and novels in recent years - not to mention the recent incident I like to call "The Shadow Chronicles", I still love the show!!

AND SO...

As was stated earlier, this blog is dedicated in providing you an interesting perspective in what is going on in the Robotech fandom. I will try to focus on the 'creative' side of the fandom, since Harmony Gold doesn't seem to care about what's happening. I will put attention to certain fan projects currently in development, and whatnot.

I'll also provide updates on my current projects, such as flashfilms, fan art, etc. I'll be updating the gallery section, filling it with all sorts of junk that would probably interest quite a few folks.

I will be adding more content in time, such as more of my production / concept art, as well as news from the fandom.

So... Enjoy my meager offerings!

POSTER

To honor the creation of this blog, I created a... poster. I guess I was just bored.

The main idea of this piece being the lack of any fanfilm being created for the Robotech franchise. There are at least... Ten people in this planet making stuff for the show and it saddens me such a small amount of people care about the franchise. I don't know if my poster will achieve anything, but who knows? Perhaps if someone gets my message they'd do something to get this franchise out of its depression.