Roboculture

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Hey there, the Robotech world is again brimming with life over the release of not just the Art of Shadow Chronicles book, but of the introduction of the Super Dimensional Fortress 3 Pioneer in the Mecha Size Comparison charts!

Nah, it's still dead as a doormat.

But hey, everybody's gotta pay the bills, eh? Who has time for Robotech? Or better yet, fanworks?

Yep, reality is also catching up to me, and I realize that since only a small portion of the fandom actually appreciates this kind of stuff, (and after that Steve Yun, Web Guy thing last week -ed) I'm really thinking of branching out beyond Robotech, hopefully before Christmas.

As one Commander so lovingly put it "Grow up and go away" (Med added that last bit, but I know he's thinking it -ed). Sure, why not? What can do that is original?

Hmm... Ah! I know! I'll draw cute little school girls in cute little outfits (Ya f**king pedophile -ed)! Or I'll draw a lusty babe in skin tight leather! No... no... ah, I'll draw Cthulu-inspired monstrosities!!

Oh right. That's all been done before. I won't leave Robotech in this pursuit outright, but... ah, what is original nowadays anyway? How do you set yourself apart from all the Toms, the Dicks, and the Harrys, out there? I know! I'll make a post-apocalyptic wasteland set in an alternate timeline where the Cold War ended in nuclear fallout!

Shit. It's been done too.

Well, I learned a lot in Singapore about the creative industry, and it can certainly be said that creating something original now is quite a challenge. You are competing with hundreds and thousands of artists, all with their own sometimes uninspiring or sometimes brilliant ideas.

Hmm... So... Hmm... What if I start throwing ideas around this blog... See if something inspires me...

REVOLUCION GENERIQUE 2130

The year is - 2130. Earth has finally succumb to global warming and powerful countries are scrambling to maintain peace as thousands of refugees are displaced and fleeing to the habitable areas all around the planet. Mankind has tried and repeatedly failed to establish colonies within the solar system so there is no hope in throwing these lowlies to the stars. Peace is maintained through militaristic means, and nations are far too involved in these duties than anything else.

The story begins with a young girl who travels to visit her grandfather, but for one reason or another, is thrown into a band of refugee rebels thinking they can overthrow the government and finally establish an order which would deal with all of the planet's woes in a very radical manner. Flashfilm, can be broken into at least five parts of five minute intervals.

THE HOLY WAR

The year is in the near future, an alternate dimension where a certain God-like deity is totally real and interferes with mankind from time to time. The world is in shambles and a chosen city lies waiting to be taken by the jealous non-believers who think that this god is a scam or something. War takes place and it sure as hell ain't gonna be pretty, especially if you have God at your side. This idea can be used for a short film.

WAR IS CUTE

In a bleak far future, the planet Earth is reduced to craters by a giant meteor Deep Impact style, and mankind is left with only a few hundred thousand people are left hanging out on the barren Earth. A cute little story about young kids finding out Earth's lost war technology and beginning a nice new war which would eventually lead to the implosion of Earth.

THE TRIALS OF A FAN ARTIST

Set in the near future, a young female fan artist tries to make herself known for her art for this 1980's cult television show. She's pretty good, but its not her art that gets her recognized, but her blog! She's so pissed that she decides to just start a soft-core website. A guy who really admires her art see this site and goes absolutely bonkers for her. A short film which leads to a very disturbing conclusion.

Gosh, man is it tough to design new ideas! I'm pretty sure everything written here has been done by some French guy, or perhaps some South American guy. Damn. Who knows? 

Ah, in any case, I am working on a brand new website - an online portfolio dedicated to my ego. Sort of like how Robotech.com caters to that Web Guy, Marketing Guy and Creative Director's ego! (And their wallets -ed)

It's a draft, rougher than Chris Meadows' beard, but I'm working on it. The template of the site will allow for easy changing in case Robotech fans don't want me anymore (When have they? I didn't get any feedback on Robotech.com's message boards! -ed).  That means the banner of the site can be switched to say... One about sexy poses of an anime school girl. Or a cute highschooler in a push-up bra! (F**king pedophile, don't go to Japan dipsh*t or they'll arrest you for saying stuff like that -ed)

Hey! Didn't MedMapGuy mention that he'd quit the Robotech fandom when he got angry at Steeeeeve? Well, y'all got yer' wish, cuz Mr. Nutty, I mean, MedMapGuy, won't be hear for the entire week! Hyuk hyuk! So in a way, he wasn't lyin'! Hyuk hyuk!

AAAAAAND, THE GEEK SPEAKS!

That's right, Buster - I won't be here for the next five days, so the fandom will thrive (as it always has)! Yes, thanks to the great Robotech Master, he has shown me the light! Nobody cares about what fanboys says, especially Harmony Gold's Creative Director! It's all about making money since we all live in a material world!

MORE CONVENTION STUFF

Got some funky photos of that con I went to.

Sure saw a lot of strange stuff in the convention, but not surprisingly, nobody gave a crap about Robotech the series! It's all Transformers and Starwars, baby! 

The new trilogy may have been kinda crap, but damn - don't these guys scream "Our fandom is cooler than yours?"

But... Well... I'll talk about that stuff later...

Whoa, damn those Stormtroopers look cool. The guy on the left seems a little short though! And what's this? That toy on the right looks pretty cool... Robotech to the Rescue!!

Hey guys and gals! Look! A freedom wall! You don't see that on Robotech.com!

Gee, I wonder what was this guy's inspiration in drawing this? Perhaps Gundam? Patlabor? Evangelion?? Haha! Viva Robotech Masters Saga! Not just Macross and New Generation!

We have a thing for Voltes V. It was a cool cultural thing back in the 80's. Optimus Prime too. Damn, too bad I thrashed my toy when i was a kid. I heard it costs ten times its original value now.

Finally, this man's father was awarded post-humously (guy with glasses) for designing the armor of Boba Fett back in the 70's. Yes, he's my countryman. He was a talented national artist, and one we can all be proud of. Too bad we have the likes of Harmony Gold's Creative Director running Robotech, who is so proud of creating his own VF-1 Valkyrie design. God help us.

THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Space Fortress Macross 2012 Fanfilm

Mind you, this film is a preview, its very short, and the story is nothing to write home about, but hey, I'm an artist, and like I said, I know my limitations. I'm one man, damnit! I'm not a three man Creative team or something. I don't work with Koreans animators!

AND FINALLY

 That Singapore thing. Why the hell am I going there? Well, duh! I'm going to Asia's largest Computer Graphics Conference! Yeah! Sponsors include Wacom (which I currently use now), Square Enix (who?), and many more. Oh wait,

Lucasfilm Singapore is going to be there! Woohoo! Maybe I'll get to see some more of that new Starwars Clone Wars TV show! That trailer wasn't bad... Also, damn the internet. I can't find a single pic of the new show. So, enjoy Mace Windu kicking droid can.

CLOSING STATEMENTS

Is Robotech really all about the fans? Or is it all up for Tommy and his crew to have the final say? What Mr. Meadows pointed out is distressing, yet, true. We, the so-called 'fanboys', are looked down. And with Robotech fans not caring about each other other than when the next Harmony Gold product will come out, how can Robotech survive?

Sure, we are at the mercy of this evil Copyright holder, but does that mean that it is the end of fans having fun with Robotech and playing with its universe?

Welcome back to Part II of the Dummies Guide To Whining like a little b**tch about everybody's favorite franchise - Robotech!

SMALL RECAP

Yesterday, I discussed in detail how to be a fair "whiner" - All ya gotta do is simply have a well-backed up rant. Your research data however, must be one of logic and not stupidity. Determing that The Shadow Chronicles or TSC is a failure due to little or no increase in web activity (and basing your facts on web-activity research site Alexa.com -ed) is not logical.

Simply because that casual fans are not like hardcore fans, who would go out of their way to seek Robotech, especially after watching something like Shadow Chronicles, which, in all fairness (again -ed) isn't that spectacular a film. Please. THINK BEFORE YOU ACT. I've learned my share.

What the Creative Director sees himself in the mirror
every morning.

"Don't screw with the Robotech Adonis."

SHORT LESSON FOR TODAY:
PITFALLS IN RANTING ABOUT TSC

When ranting about TSC, there are several "ratholes" (term courtesy of Mr. Ueki -ed) that you must avoid or face another "shoot yourself in the foot" scenario. Mind you, the issues may have been discussed yesterday.

"It's not Robotech enough!"

This may have been discussed yesterday, but don't say that without proper backing. People would assume all you want from Robotech is more Macross-ness.

Simply put, TSC fans would go on a rampage complaining on how everyone seems to want TSC to be more Macross. Elaborate. Why is it not Robotech enough? It has the music, the mecha and the characters - you decide on why is it not Robotech enough. Just don't let the TSC fans say that all you want out of any future Harmony Gold products is more Macross. I find that deeply insulting.

"TSC's CG is bad."

Duh. We all know that.

Problems arise though, when people say they actually like it.

"TSC is not comparable to other franchises"

This is the "motherload" or the comment in which to end all comments. Stating this comment will lead you to the "Gundam Rathole" in which the ranter would whine about why TSC cannot have as much movies or series or toys as the ever popular Gundam franchise.

I find this to be the (sorry -ed) dumbest thing a fan could say in defending his or her position on why TSC is not a good piece of animation. God, man - don't the people who say these have the brain as to why this isn't the case with Robotech? You don't have to be an anti or pro Yunetech fan to understand that Robotech will never be a Gundam. Or a Starwars for that matter. And that leads me the other related rathole...

"TSC is a failure, it should not be continued"

This is yet another comment which I find to be rather... sad, when used by fellow ranters of The Shadow Chronicles. First of all, whatever your position is to TSC, it will continue with or without your approval. Suck it up. You know who you are.

This statement would also be fodder for ardent fans of TSC to use the "Would you rather have Robotech 3000 or Sentinels" defense. Do not answer that with a yes or a no - it is a trap set by fans in order for them to gain the upper ground by stating that they would prefer TSC since it continues the storyline of Robotech.

You will face a losing battle here. I'm sorry, that's reality.

OTHER LESSONS

One thing I noticed, but will not specify, is the ranters... well... not very good grammar. I don't want to name names, but how can one defend oneself if one cannot articulate one's position? (that's a lot of ones -ed) You don't have to be a master of the English language, you just have to construct sentences better. This is more of a pet peeve actually.

Childish insults - will also destroy whatever shred of credibility you have. That is the truth, and yet people keep doing it. It is not helping anybody. How do you stop this? By being open-minded. Just because somebody supports TSC, doesn't mean he has to be the enemy. That is life, and that is what my philosophi teacher, Mr. Leoncini, taught me - that everybody has a different belief system and set of opinions.

If you're going to remain closed minded about that prospect, then nobody will rally to your support.

The only real enemy to humanity is of course, the Creative Director. But - do not fall into the rathole by branding fans of his works as Yune-fans or some other derogatory term. Not good.

WHY SO MUCH HATRED TOWARD THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Well, aside from having his own rubber stamp to approve bad merchandise such as the comics and the Masterpiece Collection toys, he is also running the show with TSC. Any directing decisions have to go through him - and many of decisions happen to be bad ones.

Yes, the directing chair of TSC is most likely run by a committee of Tom Bateman, Creative Director, That Web Guy, etc, but I'm pretty sure that the Creative Director has final say.

So yes, this is the man who decided to off a comic relief like Alex Romero. Brilliant move - I bet you Robert Rodriguez would be proud. He definitely took a page from Rick MacCallum's wonderful directing.

BTW, this my analysis isn't fool-proof - so expect people to still hate you for what you represent!

"No, please... I beg of you - Don't touch my... AAAAAGH!"

STATE OF THE FANDOM

The fandom is... well, dead again. Most people are still pretty burned out by the Shadow Chronicles "hoopla" since this March. And yet, here we are. If you were... dilligent enough to go around the Robotech blogs, and the podcasts, and the message boards - you may have noticed something - an upsurge of a small group of vocal, whiny fanboys (lay off of me for a second).

While it's pretty much a given that every franchise has got em' (I wonder how many people ranted about Starwars?) Robotech's fellows are kinda funky. And loud.

First of all, you all know me as a big non-fan of Harmony Gold and Shadow Chronicles. My opinions about HG are constantly being modified and reworked, but it's always been the same. Harmony Gold disrespects Southern Cross.

DUMMIES GUIDE TO EXPRESSING DISPLEASURE ON TSC 

Getting back on topic - this new crop of vocal naysayers, while I agree with some of their sentiments, are sadly, (oh boy) making the wrong approach. Why? Well, look at the Robotech.com boards. There are some threads there filled with anti-HG sentinement - but there's little or no sympathy at all.

And that's the problem with vocal fans - more often than not, fail to gather sympathy. It’s laughably pathetic at times (I am human, and I’m no exception to this). Take for example "SazabbiChar", the latest in the tiny wave of vocal anti-HG fans.

LINK:
http://www.robotech.com/community/forum/read.php?id=1740973&forumid=11&pagenumber=1

It's a long thread, but it's simply about SazabbiChar expressing his disdain for Shadow Chronicles.

The first mistake, I think, is that SazabbiChar immediately goes for the kill - he says that The Shadow Chronicles or TSC sucks. Wrong. As usual, everybody rallies to prove this man wrong. TSC, like any product, has good and bad points. Stating that crude sentiment will get you nowhere.

When explaining the faults of that mediocre piece of animation, you should never, under any circumstance, say that it sucks - without proper, well researched explanations.

POINTS FOR EXAMINATION

Let’s say you hate Shadow Chronicles because...

1. "It's not comparable to other anime OVAs in the past."

                Explanation: Do not say this without staying Robotech's origins. Remember Robotech's Americanized roots, and how it may not compare to other anime OVAs because of the cultural difference,                          storytelling, etc.

     POSSIBLE COUNTERS BY TSC FANS

• "I've seen more then my fair share of anime, and I can tell you that in my humble opinion, even Robotech the Movie, arguably the WORST incarnation of Robotech yet created, blows many of them away. Just because something is anime, does not mean it is good."

        You can counter such an argument by stating on why must Robotech be constantly compared with                 previous Robotech projects. It is a well accepted truth that Sentinels and RT: Movie are not very good             productions. Please, always refer to the troubled productions of these projects.

          REMEMBER: It is not good to compare a mediocre product to two bad products to make the former look good.

          If someone compares the troubled productions of Sentinels, RT: Movie to TSC's troubled productions, tell         them you understand, but that it's an insufficient reason. If a man certainly has a good vision of Robotech,         then the movie's storytelling wouldn't have been so meh. (More on that later)

    2. "It looks like crap!"

            Explanation: Never say this without stating the "zero" budget of Harmony Gold for that film else you will           appear ignorant. Provide visual evidence. Be sure to delve deep into the stiffness of the mecha in the               "Earth Battle For Reflex Point". Also, refer to the ugly, crude metallic sheen of the Haydonites.                         That also looks dated like 90's CG.

    POSSIBLE COUNTERS BY TSC FANS

• Zero-budget = Bad CG. I believe this is nonsense. If I'm not mistaken, during a Space Station Liberty interview, the Creative Director claims to have willfully adopted this CG style thinking it would look true to the anime. It does not. The best counter is that to explain on why nobody told him that many of the action sequences looked "Animatic" in quality?

            Animatic - In animation and special effects work, the storyboarding stage may be followed by simplified           mock-ups called "animatics" to give a better idea of how the scene will look and feel with motion and               timing.

    3. "Why is there all Mospeada and no Macross or Southern Cross influence?"

Explanation: This is a very dangerous topic, one that will easily destroy your position. Do not be ignorant. Give a good explanation why this is a valid argument.

    POSSIBLE COUNTERS BY TSC FANS

• Old technology, mecha not in use - The first thing any logical fan would tell you is that Hovertanks and Valkyries are each, outdated technology.
  
  First of all, please, forget frickin’ Macross. It's illogical to have VF-1 Valkyrie design influences in New Gen's period. It’s not a case of old technology. Remember the lawsuit of HG with Big West, and you will be set free. State it so you will not appear ignorant.
  
  In any case, I accept this fact. But how about design influences? Remember to refer to Robotech's past! Use that to your advantage.
  
  
• Remember that Robotech is the product of merging of 3 different anime shows (do not lose sight of this). Now, tell them - why is Mospeada all that we see in Shadows? Is it because the animation in New Gen did not show (or splice in) Southern Cross mecha?
  
  "Bollocks" is all I can say. Explain how TSC ret-conned several elements of NewGen's final episode "Symphony of Light". Now explain why the retconning of certain elements cannot be applicable for the mecha? How about modernized Southern Cross fighters alongside the Alphas and Betas? What? Southern Cross mecha sucks? What if I said that the Beta fighter is a bad fat turd of a mecha? What? You're offended? Well, I'm offended you would dare say that about Southern Cross stuff. It's all in the eyes of the beholder.

• No cameo of Macross / Southern Cross characters – Understand this harsh fact. TSC is a different monster, and any cameo of old RT characters could ruin chance for development of newer characters. The problem then is simply on how they introduce old characters. Did you really care about Scott Bernard in TSC? Was his behavior out of character?

    4. "TSC is simply a bad movie with a bad story”

Explanation: This is the most interesting. You may be amused as to how people would defend Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, like it is the Second Coming or something. Below is a list of several prepackaged "defence quotes".

POSSIBLE COUNTERS BY TSC FANS

• “I have waited 20 years for any Robotech – Shadows is a decent follow-up.”

TSC then, might seem decent to some, primarily due to the visuals. Good visuals has a way of masking flaws in a film – look at French animation and some of their films. Remember this. The glossy anime style may have just clouded people’s judgment.

I am not complaining about TSC's direction - Haydonites are okay. Whatever. My beef is simply that TSC is just a bad movie with bad story telling elements. Explanation expanded below.

• “It’s better than nothing.”
• “It’s the best thing since sliced bread.”

            Praise TSC all you want, but how would the Creative Director learn from this experience if all he gets is "I love             you" notes from fans? And their only viable complaint would be the bad CG? To quote Samuel L. Jackson from                 Pulp Fiction "Exactamundo!" The sequel will have better visuals, but still retain amateurish storytelling.

• “It promises great things for the sequel. Epic story, uiniverse, etc.”

Okay, first accept that what is done is done. Shadow’s is out. You can’t change it. You’re only goal now is for a more competent director to take the reigns of the sequel rather than the Creative Director.

With that out of the way, let me say this – I rewatched Shadows, hoping a second viewing would improve my experience, but it did not. The cheesy dialogue stood out even more, the flow of the narrative is just so so-so. Like an amateur fanfilm maker storyboarded this film.

There is no dramatic oomph to any of the scenes. The death of Taylor and Romero are infamous scenes of crappiness that surround TSC. Marcus meeting his long dead sister Marlene could’ve worked – but it felt cheesy in the end because Marcus Rush proved himself equal, if not worse than the Masters Saga’s Bowie Grant. Basically, you just don’t care. 

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW

I say again, the reality is that it is simply an impossible task to change public opinion – still, it is better to let it out and let yourself be heard – if the Robotech world were filled with people who just supported TSC, the sequel might just offer us more of the same mediocre story telling. (said that earlier, I know) 

I’ll say this though – about Shadow Chronicles haters – NEVER BE ANTAGONISTIC – do not attack fans. It’s of bad taste, and it will ruin your credibility. Only attack those that matter – such as the Creative Director. If you are indeed attacking fans and mocking their opinions, then I’m sorry – you will not have my support or sympathy.

Be a smart ranter. Do not fall into any traps without research. I fell into that trap back in 2006 when I mocked Harmony Gold’s poor marketing. I had to have the Marketing Guy intervene. Big mistake.

Tomorrow – PITFALLS OF RANTING AGAINST TSC! What vocal and ignorant Robotech Ranters must avoid! Or else!

Special thanks to Invid Future.

Art by Pilin

Am currently looking for a good fanfic writer who can help me finish up my script for my fanfilm. I will also
welcome people who can provide me with ideas on how to better plot the story.

Details on the film:

Timeline: Late 2031, between Masters / Southern Cross Saga and New Generation
Characters: Col. Wolfe
Scenario: Initial Invid Invasion

Possible Plot Points:

- Evacuation of mankind's more important citizens to Space Station Liberty
- Defense of Evacuation Site from da Invid
- Large scale city battle

1       FROM MACROSS BROADCASTING SYSTEM -- NOTICE – ENLIST NOW!

        Proud YOUNG PEOPLE in various Southern Cross uniforms.

 YOUNG PEOPLE 

We’ve beaten the Zentraedi, and the Robotech Masters, I say, bring it on!

        The Armies of the Southern Cross logos appear:        

                                          OFFICIAL VOICE

Join the Armies of the Southern Cross and protect our future from the 
alien enace! 

The survival of the human race is in your hands.

2        MARS DIVISION REINFORCEMENTS:

Behold several stills of the arrival of reinforcement from various colonies.

Graphics – Display solar system, and several arrows from Moon Mars, Venus and 

Jupiter all leading to Earth.

                               OFFICIAL VOICE

Invasions from the past have always involved long-drawn out combat in the 
stars, but now we are ready! 

Planetary defenses are better than ever!

Already, colonies from around the solar system have sent aid in the form 
of Point K, the argest forward base whose sole purpose is to annihilate 
any potential invader.  

As you can see, Starship Troopers The Movie is one of my biggest influence. I thought the film captured
that essence I thought Southern Cross was supposed to embody. Nevermind the campiness in that
film - It's not like Robotech's any better.

So, if ya'll got any suggestions, or wanna help, please do! Comment on this page, or leave your email, or
what the heck have you. If nobody helps, well, what the hey. That's the Robotech fandom for ya'!

With the entire Robotech world going ga-ga over superstar Kevin McKeever (Harmony Gold's Marketing Guru) announcement over the Masterpiece Collection Beta Fighter (They treat his arrival like the Second Coming, really) a lone fan-made project emerges from the dark, cold void of the internet...

Yes, my dear readers (Whom I thank for my declining viewcount!), you can now witness, the second Flash-based project to come out this year, apart from my Space Fortress Macross Flashfilm. I've seen it, and boy does it show potential. It was short though, but damn - every scene in this project is lovingly detailed by the talented Aaron Cole. Considering the guy has a cute little kid crawling around the house, it's amazing that this project is so polished and stuff. It's funny looking at it now since I sort of covered it a few months back in this blog.

Well, here's to Aaron Cole, for providing this "wonderful" community with this project! Don't give up!! HAHAHAHAHA

FEATURED ARTISTS

Well, since I have nothing to show for the Robotech fandom, I might as well share with you the art of a Robotech artist. This is certainly one of the more interesting Robotech... Aw hell, they're all interesting! But this guy... well, he's different. He's quite opinionated about world politics and stuff - that's one thing. And the other is his immense amount of Robotech stuff.

The image is Sayuki, Valkyrie's character of choice.
(Mine's is Marie Crystal...)

To the left was made in 2004, and the
image to the right is made 2007. Interesting evolution of style. Very unique.

I mean, the guy's been doing stuff since 1995. He and his brother have created some very exciting directions in the universe. I would go so far as to say that Valk and his brother are like little Carl Maceks, since they've produced not one, but three Robotech spinoff projects (sorta like Macek's Sentinels and Odyssey) -

Robotech X: Nations

Robotech X: Legends

Robotech X: Frontieries

All spaning from 2053 to 2065 of a self-made "Robotech X Timeline". What exactly is Robotech X? Well, according to Valk, Robotech X is simply a hodgepodge of Macross, Macross II, Macross Plus, and even a little of Macross 7. Different, huh?

As you can see, the man is quite capable of illustrating some really wicked mechas. Also, he provides some entertaining "light fiction" (as I like to call them) about his mecha designs.

The image on the left is known as the " The Cosmic Unit of the Armies of the Southern Cross"

http://valkyrie1981.deviantart.com/

Real Mayer, hero of Ergo Proxy
StudioMMG, 2007

REBIRTH OF AN INTRO

The preview film that nobody wanted is finally here, in all its brevity. Behold, the revised intro to my future fanfilms!

What was my inspiration for the intro? Quite a number of things actually. The number one reason being that I wanted an intro that would be more faithful to the original 80's show than anything else available so far on the net.

Watch and tell me what you think.
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/52296267/

I took the basic idea I had with the intro from the Robotech: Sentinels Part II fanfilm, because I saw its potential. I refined this intro by increasing the dimensions of the film to almost twice its original, which led to an increase in the quality of the images. I also took the new "techniques" I learned in the past months (drawing all those naked women helped after all! -ed) and drew myself a few fairly impressive city backgrounds and simple lineart to test out the animation.

I have to admit, when I saw the moving VF-4 Lightning in the first few seconds of the intro, it sort of scared me into realizing how daunting this project actually is. Until that point I was just blabbering in this blog about how I dreamed of making great fanfilms and stuff, and there I was making actually animating - and boy was it frightening (the same feeling Med felt when he first started Macross -ed). I know I have three other films in my belt, but sometimes when you're back to square one with these projects, you feel this... hopelessness, like it will never be finished.

Things proceeded more or less on schedule after that, and if you've already seen my intro film, you'd notice the little changes I made such as removing certain stiff aspects of the original Sentinels intro and replacing them with more 'anime magic' action segments. I just wish I had a better background in animation, but perhaps... watching a lot of anime would be enough..?

In the end, I'm pretty happy with the results and I'm excited on the possibilities for the film... Now if only I could get a decent script to work on and fulfill this insane vision of mine.

To relive the awkwardness of my original animation:
Check out Robotech: Sentinels Part II yet again at http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/347613

ANIME SOUND PACK
I've heard some clamor from fans of an anime sound pack. Fear not for I have made one, gathered from various sources I actually forgot. As far as I remember, the Gundam sounds were taken from a website, whose link I found in a person named CavScout and his forum.

The rest of the sounds were taken from Macross: Do You Remember Love, and the Playstation game of the same name. These sounds were mostly used for my Super Dimension Fortress: Macross fanfilm and they sound pretty neat. I have to say a special thank you to Digital Cole, the man who provided me with some Robotech Battlecry sounds, which helped a lot with my work.

I don't know what you, my dear readers, would use these sound effects for, but maybe, one you would be inspired to create your own fanfilm. That would be a great day indeed and you'll do me proud.

NEW BLOG HEADER

It's harder to edit this blog than I previously though... I keep getting these error messages when I try to modify some aspect of the blog. Oh well, such is life and all that. At least I have a new banner up!

A few words, my dear audience, if you please. I have found a little show deep in the dark corners of the interweb that discusses the state of the Robotech franchise. No, my friends, not the inimitable RDF Underground, I speak of another program. A show that goes by the name "The Roboblog Chronicles" and it stars the mysterious Captain JLS. A man who until now, has not shown himself to the fandom due to unforseen circumstances...

Now... Now he has come out of his hiding to tell us and those creatures that live in Robotech.com the truth. He is the RoboProphet. He is Captain JLS!

http://sdf5x.blogspot.com/search/label/Roboblog%20Chronicles
If you want to be saved from the firey hell of Harmony Gold, go visit this link.

PRE-PRODUCTION BLUES

Since I'll be leaving in less than a week to a land that doesn't allow me to use a tablet, I might as well draw this and that and get my business over with. The time is coming and I thought I'd draw that "AGAC Transport" chopper I've been blabbering about. It's a design not a lot of people would be happy about, but that doesn't really matter. I wonder if I was inspired by the Mi-8 Hip...

TOMORROW

Big announcements and the worldwide release of my 30 second intro video! If you've got nowhere else better to go to, check out Studio MMG. And try to show some support! Thanks to those who do support me! I salute you!

... You see signs of your hard labor. You think to yourself - yes, nobody cares about your work that much - but then you watch the video, and despite looking really rough, there's that feeling. That warm, fuzzy feeling of personal satisfaction that I find so wonderful.

Mind you, these screens are from the intro. So no VF-4's for you! Mwahaha! Annoy Harmony Gold's Creative Director if you want to see it in Shadow Chronicles.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHA!

The main film will begin production on May.

WARNING, INCONSIDERATE RANT UP AHEAD, HARMONY GOLD LOVERS BEWARE!

I'm not Harmony Gold, and I don't try to be. I am me. I don't care about Shadow Chronicles anymore. It can rot for all I care since the DVD hasn't arrived to my area yet. The original series shall always rule!

RANT OVER!

BTW, if y'all love seeing lil' ol' slutty Minmay in my previous post, please prepare yourself for my next photospread. It involves Big Green Men.

Again, y'all been warned!

Since I won't be around for the greater part of April (some of you might know that), I'm going to make a little promotional video which would basically be the new intro movie.

It's still very rough, and I just realized that animating can be a bitch!  

By the days end, I would've pulled out all my hair trying to get this sucker to look and animate right. Wish me luck!