TECHNICOLOR DREAMS: Redux

February 22, 2015 saw the release of my most personal project to date: an experimental film that conveys how sometimes in the midst of unpleasant mental imagery, some of my most significant and better ideas are born. In a sense, TECHNICOLOR DREAMS is an alegory of one of my creative processes, in which many of my ideas come to me from strange, lucid, trippy dreams that seem to invade my sleep on a nightly basis.

So, what's this redux all about then? Well, as it turns out, the initial 2015 release of TECHNICOLOR DREAMS was met with mostly mixed reviews, and a common complaint that it received from viewers was that it felt too long, dragged out, and redundant (I've been told a former show-business professional even looked at it and didn't like it). I suppose even a personal, pet project has to be done in such a way that pleases everybody else.

With that said, I've been working on a recut of TECHNICOLOR DREAMS: shortening it and cutting out a lot of the so-called long, dragged out, and redudant moments that were apparently bogging down the special; the end results being a redux of the original special - what was once eighteen minutes has now been condensed down to thirteen. Hopefully, people might find that this is an improvement:

Top 5 Failed and Unrealized Projects

I'm sure a lot of creators will tell you they have a number of different projects that they were unable to get off the ground for one reason or another. With myself on the other hand, it honestly seems like virtually every other project that I come up with seem to never come to fruition - either that, or I only get so far, and some kind of complications arise, resulting in the project ultimately being shelved. I can't even begin to tell you the frustrations and the headaches that come with trying hard to create something, put it out there, and then it turns out it was all for naught, but it's even more aggrivating when it seems like it just keeps happening over and over again in some kind of a vicious cycle; and it has happened all throughout my so-called career.

This post is a countdown of five of what are, arguably, some of my more ambitious and elaborate projects - or projects that have had some significance to my creative streak - but were not meant to be.

#5. BUN: DEFENDER OF THE BUNNY PEOPLE

 

Title card for BUN: DEFENDER OF THE BUNNY PEOPLE

Scene from BUN: DEFENDER OF THE BUNNY PEOPLE

 

During my high school years, one of the electives that I chose was Flash animation (back in the Macromedia days, before the Adobe buy-out/takeover, when Flash wasn't the norm in the animation industry), mainly because I've always loved to draw, and I've had a history of doing comics and cartoons all throughout my childhood; Flash animation sounded like a great elective to take. I had two years of Flash: my sophomore year, and my senior year - my first year of Flash really only covered the basics, but I really took to it quickly (for the record, that year, I did three little mini ED, EDD N EDDY animations). My second year of Flash was a lot more involved, as we really delved deeper into creative processes for cartoons, including storyboards, character designs, script writing, etc. For my animation project, I decided to revive a concept I had since middle school: a humorous little sci-fi short about a planet of super evolved space bunnies.

 

Storyboard page from BUN: DEFENDER OF THE BUNNY PEOPLE

Storyboard page from BUN: DEFENDER OF THE BUNNY PEOPLE

 

To backtrack, Video Production was an elective I took in middle school, and we worked on a variety of different projects, ranging from just basic slideshows, to taping and editing the footage in iMovie, and claymation; following NICK & ZUSE [sic] (a claymation short I helped a classmate with), I decided I wanted to do a claymation short of my own, and this was the idea I came up with. I don't quite remember why it never happened (it may have been lack of supplies available, I'm not entirely sure), but during my second year of Flash, I resurrected the idea and ran with it.



 

This was my class project for that year, and I did end up working on the short for just about the entire school year, but something happened: burn out. At the time, I was also still doing my own comic strips on a regular basis, between that and the grind of working on this animated short (and a bout of depression, anxiety, and paranoia brought on by governmental acne medication - another story for another day), I had it. I couldn't take it anymore. I had to stop. I got as far as I did with BUN for the school year (and I did get graded for it), but after graduation, I swore off cartoons forever (VAMPIRE GIRL is a special case of an exception): I just didn't have the patience for it.

The reason why this is at the bottom of the list is because, all things considered, it is mostly finished, just not completely; in fact, you can view what has been completed of the short on YouTube:

 

#4. ANYWHERE YOU LIVE IS HOME

 

 

This is actually a film project that I just shelved a few months ago. So, what is this all about, then? Well, those of you who know me know that I've moved a lot growing up, and for some reason, I had this wild idea of doing a "road movie" where I drive around town, and document all the different places I've lived over the years. Why I thought this was such a great idea, I have no idea, and looking back on it in retrospect, it really doesn't even make any sense to me why.

The reasons why this project ended up getting shelved are... well, pretty ridiculous: the weather would not cooperate with me. There, I said it; the weather would not cooperate with me. In my opening introduction (which is among the only footage I actually got filmed), I say that I took a day for myself to do this... however, realistically, it would have taken more than one day to film all that I had to. I wanted cloudy weather. Not rain, not thunderstorms, just cloud cover. There's two reasons why: 1) For my own personal preference; I actually like cloudy days, I find them to be soothing and relaxing, and I'm not particularly a fan of driving, so if the weather is cloudy, that would certainly help keep my nerves calm; 2) With the camera I use, sunny conditions would not be ideal: driving around, sun shining through the windshield would certainly cause unwanted glare, and depending on the angle, the sunlight would wash out the picture. So basically for two months, the weather was either completely sunny, or completely rainy (and the few just plain ol' cloudy days there were were on days when I was busy with other things to do). Finally, I was fed up, and scrapped the idea.

 

Notes and outline for ANYWHERE YOU LIVE IS HOME. The road movie was to also include musical time lapse sequences for lengthy drives throughout the communities of Knoxville.

 

This is also further down on my list, mainly because, as I say, I honestly don't even know why I thought this was a good idea. Nobody would want to watch this anyway.

#3. Untitled Ella the Elf Christmas special

You know what recently occured to me? Ella the Elf is a lot like Corporal Klinger in a way: on M*A*S*H, Klinger was intended to be a one-shot character, yet became part of the show's regular cast for all eleven seasons. It's kind of the same with Ella: she was only intended to be a one-shot character for STEVE'S INEFFICIENT CHRISTMAS (itself would probably fit on this list, but it doesn't need to be, you are familiar with it by now), then a year later, she suddenly popped up again in the entry, "Jingle Jangle All the Way," in which her jet pack conks out at Steve's place, and needs to fix it to continue on her flight route.

 

So, what's the deal with this special, then? Well, I was once in discussions about bringing STEVE D'MONSTER & COMPANY to television, and during those discussions, the offer was presented that I could also do holiday specials, if I wanted to. I toyed with the idea, and thought perhaps Ella could carry a special of her own - since she's already been established as Santa's Head Elf In Charge Of Stuff, I thought the basic plot would involve how she actually got the job in the first place (long story short, the previous Head Elf In Charge Of Stuff retired, and Santa hired Ella for her efficiency, work ethic, determination, and seriousness).

 

Other elves conceived for the special, each the head of their own separate departments at Santa's Headquarters

The biggest problem, however, was no matter how much I worked on the story, the whole thing just screamed trite and cliched: Ella gets the job, she lets her new position go to her head, she has a little power trip that causes the other elves to walk out on her, she has to learn her lesson about teamwork, and they all must work it out before Santa has to leave for his Christmas Eve flight. As quick as the idea sprang up, that's how quick I decided this special really didn't need to happen, so it never saw the light of day.

#2. Untitled Steve D'Monster anniversary special.

Yep. Here it is, 2014, it's Steve D'Monster's tenth anniversary, as you may have already heard. Wouldn't it be great if there was a special we could exploit from all of this? My thinking was to have a mock celebrity roast special, with Bethany Crystal as the Mistress of Ceremony (or, would that be Monstress of Ceremony?), and a retrospect, ranging from clips of Steve's early days at ETPBS, to fan-favorites of Steve's YouTube series (including specific clip selections from MONSTROCITY NEWS entries and Steve's 2012 presidential campaign), and, of course, Steve's hosting duties for PUPPET POWER. Maybe even have Steve do a couple of show-stopping numbers. Wouldn't that have been an awesome special? But, alas, twas not meant to be.

#1. Anything. You name it.

PUPPET POWER is Here!

Whatever you're doing tonight - delivering a baby, attending a huge meeting, solving world hunger - drop it, because you don't want to miss PUPPET POWER!

PUPPET POWER, as I mentioned earlier in the year, is inspired by KABLAM!, the "new kind of cartoon show", where different shorts in varying styles of animation (hand-drawn, claymation, stop-motion, cut-out, Chuckimation) were featured in one show. PUPPET POWER takes the concept, and puts it to work for puppets, because puppetry comes in various different styles as well.

The special features four different segments: Zook and Max, an alien and a meanie who have all sorts of wacky and odd adventures; Harmony Hound, a grande dame of a showdog whose performances are a throwback to the 1920s; Casey the Muppet, who is such a big Muppet fan that he's actually a Muppet himself; and SCRAPSTV, a puppet troupe consisting of Freddy J. Frog, Kodiac the Bear, and all kinds of different funny characters. All segments and characters are introduced by Steve D'Monster, who serves as host for the show.

 

To learn more about some of these segments, and their characters, check out some of these links:

 

Zook and Max (Created by Tim Kelly)

http://www.angelfire.com/ny4/timkelly19

http://www.youtube.com/timkelly

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Zook-and-Max-Show/153731884726142

 

Casey the Muppet (Created by Casey Daron)

http://www.youtube.com/CaseytheMuppet

 

SCRAPSTV (Created by Julio Robles)

http://www.youtube.com/PuppetsonScraps

http://www.facebook.com/ScrapsTV

PUPPET POWER Promotional Poster

My Unfinished Thoughts on THE CUBE

Promotional ad for THE CUBE

If you're a devoted fan of Jim Henson, like I am, then you're probably familiar with, or at the very least have heard about one of his earliest television ventures, a special entitled THE CUBE.

For those who aren't as familiar with Henson's work outside of the Muppets, THE CUBE was an "experimental" television special for NBC in early 1969, that really put the "mental" in "experimental"; in a nutshell, the hour-long special was about a man trapped inside a containment known simply as "the cube".

Again, that's basically the plot in a nutshell, you have to really see this thing in order to really get an idea of just what's it about... that, and it also helps to read some summaries for a better understanding. THE CUBE focuses on a man, simply identified as "The Man in The Cube", played by character actor Richard "Dick" Schaal, who is imprisoned inside a cubical room that's composed of grids of white rectangles, he has no idea why he's in there, but he desperately wants to get out, even though apparently he can't.

I managed to finally see this special, in its entirety, earlier in the week, thanks to a posting on YouTube (excerpts have been available on the official Jim Henson Company YouTube channel for quite some time), it's really interesting to see one of Jim's rare earlier works, and one of his even rarer works that feature absolutely no puppetry whatsoever. One thing to start of with, is that this special seemed quite ahead of its time - there's actually quite a bit of swearing throughout the special... now, I know there's a number of people out there who have this idea of Jim Henson being a saintly fellow who would never allow such obscenities in his work, but that's a bit of a stretch (let us not forget this little verse from the "Happiness Hotel" song - "Still the management is cheerful, though the whole joint's gone to hell") - I'm not surprised so much that there's swearing in a Henson production, I'm just surprised he got away with it in 1969, when Practices and Standards were still observed, and such language really wasn't the norm until the early 1970s, when shows like ALL IN THE FAMILY came into vogue and paved the way for edgier television.

But, I digress, I find this special to be highly disturbing. I don't mean that it's disturbing to watch, but rather, the whole story itself is disturbing... both Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl (who not surprisingly co-wrote the special) really captured human anxiety really well: you feel just as frustrated and confused as the Man does whenever he's continually visited by an array of really bizarre and eccentric characters, ranging from an unnamed owner/manager and a maintenence worker named Arnie who provide him with advice that is of no help to him whatsoever, to Gestapo officers who place him under arrest, to hippy musicians who sing about containment and death, to a black man who dislikes the cube for how "white" it is, to a young woman who transform into an old hag while ragging about not trusting people, to an escaped prisoner of another cube who had obviously become institutionalized to his own cube (though he turned out to be an actor hired by the aforementioned unnamed manager) to even a monk whose spiritual advice offers no guidence at. All the while, the Man grows more and more desperate to get out of the cube, and like feeling his frustration and confusion, you also feel his desperation, and as much as he wants to get out of the cube, that's how much you want him to get out of the cube.

Behind-the-scenes, with Jim directing. Note co-writer Jerry Juhl in the background.

So, what exactly is this special all about? It's kind of explained in the twisted ending of the special, of which I won't spoil, but if you read summaries and descriptions of the special (remember when I suggested you do that?), the underlying message of the special is that apparently, The Man in The Cube isn't really trapped at all, he just THINKS that he is... in other words, he's not trapped in reality, he's trapped in his mind. Like I said, this really puts "mental" in experimental.

Both Jerry Nelson and Jerry Juhl make onscreen cameos in the special as well.

Check it out for yourself, and see what you think of it:

PUPPET POWER Coming October 4

This is just an official announcement letting everyone know that a release date has been set for PUPPET POWER, and it will be released on October 4, 2013.

Coming Soon: PUPPET POWER

I'll go ahead and tell you now: remember for the past couple of years or so, I've been talking about wanting to do a television series with Steve, Bethany, and The Squirrely Squirrels? I was going to call it STEVE D'MONSTER & COMPANY (well, it originally was friends instead of company, but I decided company worked and sounded better)? It was going to be a half-hour series with short segments in each episode of the different kinds of escapades they would get into? Steve and Bethany doing their own little thing, and The Squirrely Squirrels pestering them along the way? Steve and Bethany were going to have a little clubhouse for themselves, while The Squirrely Squirrels would live in a hole in a tree, completely furnished and everything?

Well guess what? Steve's new TV series is FINALLY going to happen! Except for a few things: it's not going to be called STEVE D'MONSTER & COMPANY. It's not going to be a half-hour series with short segments in each episode of the different kinds of escapades they would get into. It won't have Steve and Bethany doing their own little thing, and The Squirrely Squirrels pestering them along the way. Steve and Bethany aren't going to have a little clubhouse for themselves, while The Squirrely Squirrels won't live in a hole in a tree, completely furnished and everything. In short, it's NOT even going to be the show that I wanted to do. At all. I really don't want to talk about it, so, if you're really just itching to know just what Steve's new TV series IS going to be... well, then just make sure you're subscribed to my YouTube channel, because I'll be uploading the episodes of this new show there eventually anyway.

So, what is this particular post all about then? Well, I AM excited to announce a project I'm working on the side this year! Now, who else besides me, of Generation Y, is familiar with the old Nickelodeon cartoon, KaBLAM!? The "new kind of cartoon show", that was like a televisual comic book: different cartoon shows in a cartoon show, all in different styles of animation: hand-drawn, stop-motion, Chuckimation, etc.? Earlier in the year, I got to thinking that such a concept would work well with puppets, especially considering many people out there, who aren't necessarily followers of puppetry, tend to think of the Muppet style as being the only style of puppetry there is, when that is pretty much not the case. YouTube has been a wonderful tool for puppeteers, like myself, to showcase their work in puppetry, and I know there have been a few of these puppets who have expressed interest in some kind of a special project that would bring all of our different work together in one video, so I believe this is exactly scratching everybody where they itch. In short, this is going to be different puppet shows in a puppet show.

PUPPET POWER, as it is currently entitled, is going to be a half-hour webspecial, hosted by Steve D'Monster, featuring the work of various different YouTube puppeteers. My goal for this special is to not only help gain more exposure for myself and other puppeteers who post their work on YouTube, but to help spark more interest in the art of puppetry in general, and let people know that not all puppets are just like the Muppets. Who knows, if this does well, there may be more PUPPET POWER specials in the future.

At the moment, I haven't set an official release date for the special, but I'm thinking I'll aim for a late summer/early fall release. So far, three of my fellow YouTube puppeteers are on board for the project, and I'm really looking forward to seeing their submissions, and I certainly hope this will be a most excellent program.

So, keep your eyes peeled, and make sure you're subscribed to The Joseph Scarbrough Universe On YouTube!

Steve's Holiday Hullabaloo

We all love the holidays, some moreso than others, like Steve, who has decided to take a shot at celebrating as many holidays as he can in one hour.

And if you got to this post from the link in the video description, below are the original holiday artwork, divided by holiday, in order from oldest to newest; just click the previews for larger versions.

Happy New Milk 2010

Stuffed Animals 2010

Pimp D'Addy D'Monster 2010

Valentine Chocolates 2011

A Visit from the Easter Squirrel 2010

Beware of the Easter Squirrel 2011

Wrong Easter Egg 2011

Rolling on the White House Lawn 2012

Uncle Steve 2010

Steve D'Monster for 2012

Why Are There No Holidays in August? 2010

Boomsday 2010

Steve Pumpkin 2009

Halloween Scare 2010

Call Liberty 2011

Candy from Strangers 2012

Pumpkin Pie 2009

Savages 2010

A Great Big Turkey 2012

The Gift that Keeps on Giving 2009

Mistletoe Monsters 2009

Snow Monsters 2011

Nuttin' for Christmas 2012



Hoping Your Holiday is TOPS 2012

Steve's Inefficient Christmas May Be Canceled **UPDATE AGAIN**

Because my computer has been hit by a nasty virus (our old friend XP Security has returned with avengence, and is even bigger and badder than ever), and I'm having a very difficult time trying to remove it: with that said, the technicans at the repair shop feel it's pretty much a matter of time before it succumbs completely to the virus... and since I still don't have a new computer yet, and production isn't ready to begin on the "special", I may have to cancel it, unless some kind of God-given miracle can happen very soon.

UPDATE AS OF DECEMBER 11, 2011

Sorry folks, I'm having to completely cancel the "special": my computer has no sound, and Sound Recorder and Audacity have been corrupted, which means I can't do any sound editing, and my computer also no longer recognizes my digital camera, which means I can't even edit any of the actual footage I may have been able to shoot.

I'm terribly upset about this, as I was really looking forward to sharing this "special" with everybody, I was sure it would've been a funny one.

UPDATE AS OF DECEMBER 19, 2011

Actually, as it turns out, apparently Windows Movie Maker still works for some reason, I'm going to do my best to bypass this virus and continue working on the special, so Steve's Inefficient Christmas is back on, it just may not be uploaded to YouTube on Christmas Eve as was originally planned.

Coming Soon: Steve's Inefficient Christmas

Ella the Elf concept art

It doesn't sound like a very positive title, but honestly, what do you expect from a chaos-prone little monster like Steve, a completely smooth-running Christmas? But, that's besides the point, the point is this is an announcement for Steve's new YouTube-exclusive Christmas "special", due to be released next month (obviously).

We're still presently in pre-production, but here's what you can expect to see: the "special" will be presented in a series of three or four minute installments, as Steve keeps watch over Santa's trip around the world on Christmas Eve; hilarity is to be ensued leaving Steve in Santa's workshop up in the North Pole.

On an unrelated note, the 15-minute limit has been lifted from our new YouTube channel again, so hopefully in the future, we can share lengthily new footage with everyone in its entirty.