STORY BOARDS!!!

Gosh, I am a procrastinator. After all this time I finally sat down to do the boards and it only took me a day. I've got to work on that. Anyway, here they are! These drawings are a rough idea of the staging and acting of the final commercial. They are read left column first, top to bottom and then right column top to bottom. I am going to try to get an animatic ( a movie of these images cut to the audio track ) posted sometime between now and New Years. Until then, click on the title of this post to download the entire board. Enjoy!

Best,
Chris

THE SCRIPT

Okee doke. As promised this is the first official post on my BLOG. And to start things off I would assume that if you are reading this blog you are interested in my project. So therefore you might be interested in reading the script. It might make following along here a bit easier. The idea of Adventures In Milk was originally going to be a pitch for an animated series. A talented fellow by the name of Paul Fisher came up with a concept for a hyper active, sugar high induced kid addicted to cereal, named Cereal Boy. I developed it further and pitched it around to no avail. I thought it might make a cool feature length live action film so I ran with it but found that my discipline to write 110 pages left a lot to be desired. After 10 years of kicking around ideas (and avoiding the actual work) I realised that if I wrote it as a short film I might actually make it as well. After I made that decision it took me about a week to write the current draft. Im sure it will change along the way, but I like where it's at now. I purposely wrote the script to include some of my favorite film techniques including animation and stop-motion. Basically, I'm trying to make a calling card, albeit an expensive one, to hopefully make a transition into doing other live action projects. Im none to good at this "computer" stuff so if you are interested, please email me and I will send you a PDF of the script. It's only 24 pages. You could read it on the pot. And, as always, feedback and comments are very much welcome! Enjoy!

Chris

BLOOPS COMMERCIAL VOICES

Hey all! Well, I finally got the voices recorded for the commercial. Okay, I still need to redo the voices for One-Eyed Clyde, but I was too excited not to share it. I'm really lucky to be working in the animation industry because I have access to some very talented and generous folks. The voice cast is as follows: The ever talented, voice virtuoso Tom Kenny (of Sponge-Bob fame et al) generously donated his time and talent in playing Captain Bloop and One-Eyed Clyde as well as the Announcer and sung the male parts for the Jingle. James Arnold Taylor, the voice of Johnny Test, donated his voice talents to Billy. The super talented Aliki Theofilopoulos(...yes) stepped in to play the voice of Suzie as well as singing the female parts of the Jingle. Finally the part of Wienerdog was played by yours truly. I can't thank these wonderful people enough for being a part of my film. So, just click the title of this post and enjoy the commercial!

Best,
Chris

P.S. Next up: Storyboards!!!

JINGLE ALL THE WAY

Well, I've almost got all of the voices recorded for the Bloops Cereal commercial. I have only One-Eyed Clyde left to go. In the meantime I thought I might give you a sample. Click the title of this post to download a really rough mix of the Bloops Cereal jingle (Thanks to Jeff Shiffman). Here are the lyrics:

Bloops is the cereal that's worth its ilk,
'Cuz its super secret formula's powered by milk!

Again, this is a rough mix that needs some "sweetening"... Enjoy!

Chris

UPDATE: I fixed the download issue...enjoy!

$$$$

This will probably be the most obligatory (and funniest) post I will make. I figured while waiting to finish up recording the voices for the commercial (hopefully this week!) I should mention the matter of funding. As I posted earlier, I estimate this short costing around $40,000 from start to finish. Finding backing for a short film is a hard thing to do. Especially this amount. So, if there happens to be anybody out there reading this blog who (and here is the funny part) is interested in Executive Producing a short, you know where to find me. There. I've said it. This will be the first and last time I mention the need for funding on this blog. I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

THE SCRIPT...AGAIN

Okay, so i figured out a way to give you all access to the script. Click on the title of this post and you will be taken to a page for downloading. I hope you like it.

Best,
Chris

THE COMMERCIAL

If you've read the script (or even if you haven't) there is an animated cereal commercial at the beginning introducing BLOOP'S Cereal. (That's the brand that the main character eats). Im thinking that this entire short will cost around $40,000 to make and that's including pulling favors. My thought is to produce the animated cereal commercial now in hopes that its completion will help convince potential investors that I am serious about making this film. This is where the favor pulling comes in. It will probably be done in flash. So, hopefully the next few posts will be dedicated to the process of making this commercial including designs, color, storyboards and (if I can figure it out) audio clips. When it is done I will have a link to the final commercial for your viewing pleasure. I am a big fan of the early Jay Ward Studios Cap'n Crunch commercials so that is the style I am trying to ape. Here are the initial designs, done by me and my talented friend, Clayton Morrow. Some of you may recognize his name.



This is Captain Bloop. The mascot of Bloop's Cereal





Here is Bloop's "crew". Billy, Suzie and Wienerdog.



This is the Villain of the commercial: One-Eyed Clyde

ADVENTURES IN MILK

Welcome. My name is Chris Savino and I am embarking on my first live action/animated feature project, a film called Adventures In Milk. A story of a boy, obsessed with cereal, who gets a "special deluxe edition submarine" by sending in the necessary 4000 boxtops plus $1.99. It turns out that it is a real sub so he and his pals embark on a fantastic adventure. My goal here is to my chart my journey through the writing and film making process and let you tag along for the ride. I hope you will enjoy it. I think you will. And thanks in advance for coming along.

See you on the other side,
Chris