All the way back in 2007-2008 the Writers Guild of America staged a Writers’ Strike. This mass refusal to work brought the entertainment industry to a standstill for it’s 14 week duration. One of the main goals of the strike was to balance the diminished monetary compensation the writers got in comparison with the profits of the larger studios. Among the many proposals from both sides regarding the new contract, there were several key issues of contention including DVD residuals, union jurisdiction over animation and reality program writers, and compensation for “new media” (content written for or distributed through emerging digital technology such as the Internet). As an example, a writer would receive residual income for their work in writing a script for the tv show The Office, but not for the short episodes that would appear exclusively the internet.

Out of this bitter conflict sprang a HORRIBLE idea (that’s a joke).   Joss Whedon, writer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and FIREFLY decided to do something about it. Here’s what he wrote the following (as posted online here).

“It is time for us to change the face of Show Business as we know it. You know the old adage, “It’s Show Business – not Show Friends”? Well now it’s Show Friends. We did that. To Show Business. To show Show Business we mean business. (Also, there are now other businesses like it….Once upon a time, all the writers in the forest got very mad with the Forest Kings and declared a work-stoppage. The forest creatures were all sad; the mushrooms did not dance, the elderberries gave no juice for the festival wines, and the Teamsters were kinda pissed. (They were very polite about it, though.) During this work-stoppage, many writers tried to form partnerships for outside funding to create new work that circumvented the Forest King system.
Frustrated with the lack of movement on that front, I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single-handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few.
The idea was to make it on the fly, on the cheap – but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first.”

And he did it.  He made a 3 part web show called Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog.  He posted online for free, and then people bought it from iTunes, and then they bought the DVD, and comic book, and they dress up like the characters at conventions, and so on and so forth.  So what’s my point then?

New media was one of the sticking points of the writers strike.  Joss Whedon and his friends were just as successful as the big Hollywood studios were.  New Media has power.

 Around March 25th I learned that one of my favorite new animated shows was being canceled.  The internet rumors are swirling that this is not due to terrible ratings, but instead due to the fact that the show doesn’t have enough merchandising potential.

Sym-Bionic Titan debuted Sept. 17, 2010 on the Cartoon Network. Billed as “an exciting hybrid of high school drama and giant robot battles”, Sym-Bionic Titan features “the adventures of three beings from the planet Galaluna who crash-land on Earth while attempting to escape their war-torn world.” The series follows the lives of Ilana, Lance, and Octus, two alien teens and a robot in the form of humanoids who arrive on Earth while fleeing an evil general who has taken over their home planet with the help of monstrous creatures called Mutraddi. (via)

The show’s creator, Genndy Tartakovsky, is best known to me for his work on the original animated micro-series Star Wars Clone Wars as well as Samurai Jack and Dexter’s Lab.  In the video below Genndy describes that the premise for the show came from he and his son watching Godzilla movies, and then re-enacting them with little soldiers and Barbies!

I loved that these aliens had to try and figure out a way to fit in to this new world AND they had to try and fit into High School too.  The show had some scary moments as well as a scene where the head cheerleader tries to convince one of the characters to do her homework by dancing around the room, BUT I really enjoyed it.  As Newton (robot disguised as a big nerdy kid) refuses to do Kimmie’s homework (head cheerleader just mentioned), and helps her figure it out for herself she gives him a kiss.  Shes never felt that she was smart enough to do this work, and Newton helped to build her confidence.  This video takes place right after this scene (thank you Flock of SeaGulls for just the right song!).

So there it is.  I really enjoyed this show, but now, it looks like it’s gone.  I’ve been thinking quite a bit about how this could have been avoided, but I’ll save that post for later.

The other day I saw a random post inviting me to follow a link and check out the way that Disney made cartoons “Back in the Day”.  I love animation, and more specify, I love Disney.  I grew up watching the live action and animated features as well as the Wonderful World of Disney TV show.  I loved drawing and decided that I would someday work for the Disney Animation Studios.  I went to art school at Arizona State University, got a degree, and interviewed at Disney… and I didn’t get in.  I came back to Phoenix and interviewed at Fox Animation Studios… and didn’t get in.  There’s quite a bit of competition in the animation and film industry and (I can admit now) that I just wasn’t good enough.  In fact, there are LOTS of people that are better at this stuff than me, but when I saw that link, and I watched Walt at the studio, I remembered what it felt like growing up on Disney animation, and it makes me happy.  It makes me want to go out and fulfill that dream of being an artist and storyteller.

That link started me on a bit of a quest.  I’m working on a project right now that has its roots in traditional animation techniques (more to come on that later).   So I started to look into what I found and I’ve decided that I would use this post to catalog my findings.  It’s going to be long and drawn out, so if you’re interested you can check it out after the break.

(Read more…)

Sorry for the delayed update, but I thought this was over, and then it wasn’t, and now it is, so we can move on.  For all the bravado that I exuded in these posts and my various personal retelling of this drama, I have to admit, I was shaking like a leaf when I got to court.  I drove up early and drove back through the Photo Enforcement Trap a couple of times to record how difficult it is to see them.  Then I checked in at the court house, and walked right in with my tri-pod and my video camera.  I started to set things up and a court clerk said that the judge would have to give approval before I could record the proceedings.

She came back and said the judge did not want me recording, but that I could buy a DVD of the proceedings.  I decided to leave the camera set up in the corner but not have it recording.  When the prosecutor came in he said, “Whoa!  If I would have known that I was going to be on TV today I would have worn a jacket.”  Shortly after he left the room, two officers came in and asked me to remove my camera and my bag from the court room and secure it in my vehicle.  Then they asked to see my identification.  I gave them my license and asked why they needed it.  They said they wanted to make sure that I wasn’t a terrorist.  thanks, not a terrorist!

There was somebody else there in court and the prosecutor cut a deal with him and then offered the same one to me.  When I introduced myself he said, “You’ve caused quite the stir around here.”  I thanked him and then told him I was probably not interested in the deal, but I was curious as to what it was.  He offered to take $20 off my ticket and charge me with “Wasting a finite resource” so that I wouldn’t have any points on my license.  I refused the deal and we started the hearing.

I have never been in court before, so here’s how it works.  The prosecutor lays out all of their evidence against the defendant and the numbered photos and documents get filed with the judge.  Then the defendant asks questions of the prosecutor and the witnesses and then presents their own evidence.  The prosecutor asks their questions of the defendant and then both parties make a closing statement.

Here are the highlights… He asked for a continuance so that they could address the issues of my subpoena,  I refused to comply stating that I have already traveled up to Payson twice to appear in court and wanted it over with.  Then he laid out all the evidence, (photos from Redflex, calibration records, etc.).  I stood and asked if the the person who signed the complaint against me was going to testify against me and was told that she wasn’t coming.  I then said that I objected to all of the evidence asking that it be thrown out as heresay because it was made by a For-profit, non-governmental, third-party vendor.  Then judge said that heresay was admissible.

I quoted Star Valley’s website saying that they were out to crack down on dangerous drivers and presented my driving record as evidence that I was not a dangerous driver.  I sited court cases where these tickets were thrown out because a representative from Redflex was not there to authenticate the evidence.  In a standard traffic stop a police officer has to verify the drivers identity and then fill out the paperwork properly so that it stands up in court.  THEN they have to actually show up in court as a witness to the complaint.  Since none of these things happened, I asked for the case to be dismissed.

For the prosecutor’s cross questioning, he realized that he had no witness and he retrieved the photos from evidence and asked me if that was my car.  I said it looked like my car.  Then he asked if that was me driving, and I said, “I believe that I don’t have to answer that.”  He pressed some more and the judge said that I was there to testify and I said that I didn’t have to say anything that would be self incriminated.  The judge then asked the prosecutor to have a seat.  In his closing statement, the prosecutor said that I needed to slow down for my safety, the safety of the people around me, and for the safety of the child that I had with me in the car.  I reiterated that there was no witness against me and that this photo enforcement system was just a commercialization of law enforcement.  I also said that on the day in question I was on my way to a boy scout leadership training camp and there were no children with me in the car.  If the prosecutor could not tell from the photo whether or not there was a child in the car, then how could they attempt to identify me as the driver?

The judge said that she thought that I probably was speeding, “but in the interest of justice, I find you not responsible”.  exhale! the end… or is it?

I got all the information, sent off my $24 along with a self-addressed stamped envelope for the DVD of the hearing and was SHOCKED when an audio CD showed up.  I wrote them a letter demanding my DVD or refund my money, so they sent me a check.  the end.  Here’s a video summary that I shot in my car right after the hearing.  Maybe some day I’ll make a mask of Mayor Bill Rappaport to wear through Star Valley.  If they send me a photo enforcement complaint, I’ll identify the driver as the mayor, and see what type of fun we can have next time around!