VAMPIRE GIRL: The Second Season Begins October 19

 

Some of you may be able to remember back when I had written about the 10th anniversary of my webcomic miniseries VAMPIRE GIRL that although I had wrapped up Levana's story and arc in those initial seventeen strips, that I did have an idea for a continuation of a second season of sorts, but I had never bothered following through with it for a couple of different reasons, one of which was because it didn't seem necessary to follow up on after happily ever after . . . that, and because when VAMPIRE GIRL was in its original run on Smack Jeeves in 2011 and 2012, nobody read it - and that in and of itself was due to a couple of different reasons, but now is not the time to discuss this.

Now is the time for the announcement that since January 2021, I have finally been working on the second season of VAMPIRE GIRL, which will begin next week, October 19, and run weekly on The Duck Webcomics . . . unfortunately, it was going to be hosted by the premiere site for webcomics, ComicFury, but that fell apart, and I lost that deal (so please disregard the references to ComicFury in the cover art).

Why finally work on this project now after all these years later? Well, for one thing, the idea continued to rattle around in the back of my mind all these years, and never necessarily left me . . . plus, for whatever reason, there seems to have been something of a renewed interest in Levana and VAMPIRE GIRL in the last couple of years or so, even I'm not sure why. Taking this into consideration, now seemed like a good time to revisit the idea of the second season, and just do it! It's been a long and somewhat tiring process (as opposed to the first season, which was clearly a rush job), but I have a little bit of confidence that the second season will actually do relatively well - especially since the reruns of the first season having been on The Duck (and briefly on ComicFury before I got banned) have gotten much more attention and retention than the original run of the comic ever did on Smack Jeeves!

In closing, if you are interested in seeing more of Levana and some of her friends, like Laura, Dr. Charmin, and the Wizard, or are curious to see if being mortal lives up to her expectations, or even what sort of consequences becoming mortal may have on her life, then be sure to read VAMPIRE GIRL: The Second Season, every Wednesday on The Duck!

www.theduckwebcomics.com/Vampire_Girl

Summer of Scarbrough: My Creative Process

 This week on SUMMER OF SCARBROUGH, I discuss the various different ways that my creative process has inspired the projects and productions I have made over the years, ranging from some of my better ideas being mined from my dreams, to occasional whims providing bursts of artistic inspiration.

Summer of Scarbrough: Moron League

 Today kicks off the beginning of the Summer of Scarbrough, where I will discuss what went into the making of some of my significant creations and productions over the past 15 years, and this week's Summer of Scarbrough episode kicks off with the one that started it all back in December of 2007: MORON LEAGUE!

A Complete Creative Breakdown: Why I've Canceled MORON LEAGUE 4

I really do hate this, because this seems to happen far more often than it really should, and I get so frustrated when I have to frequently inform people that a project that I've been working on and they've been looking forward to will not see the light of day after all - but what's especially bothersome is that this wasn't just any project I was working on, this was a huge project that's already been over three years in the making, and one that I was hoping would achieve more beyond its expectations . . . I'm speaking of, of course, MORON LEAGUE 4: the biggest, most elaborate, and most spectacular entry in the series to date.

What was supposed to be so spectacular about MORON LEAGUE 4? Well, if you've seen the previous MORON LEAGUE entries, you'll note how incredibly shoddy and cheesy they were . . . now, don't get me wrong, of course MORON LEAGUE 4 was still going to be incredibly cheesy - after all, this isn't exactly cinematic gold or anything (not to mention the inspirational material that MORON LEAGUE pays homage to), but part of the reason why the previous entries were cheesy and shoddy was because of such limited tools I had to work with at the time. The first two were shot in a linear manner on videotape with hardly much editing involved in post-production at all, since it's not entirely easy to edit videotape footage on a computer with only a less-than-basic program like Windows Movie Maker to work with; MORON LEAGUE 3 was shot digitally, albeit with a basic consumer digital camera that had a function for shooting video in standard definition. Since then, I have been able to obtain much better tools to work with, namely an HD camera for filming, and Adobe Premiere for editing, so technically speaking, MORON LEAGUE 4 was certainly going to be a step up from previous entries; I had every intention of making MORON LEAGUE 4 as visually interesting as possible.

The unfortunate thing is MORON LEAGUE 4 was a troubled production from the start, and for a multitude of different reasons. . . .

Archive photo of partial set for the "new" Moron
Headquarters inside an old, abandoned
convenience store.

For starters, unlike previous entries which only had some incredibly simplistic sets (or, in the case of the original, no sets whatsoever), MORON LEAGUE 4 had some rather elaborate and intricate sets . . . and therein laid one of the problems. The sets had to be constructed in such a way that they could be dismantled into pieces to allow for changes in camera positions and set-ups as dictated by the script - that wasn't the problem so much as it was that these sets were small scale, which made it incredible difficult to adequately and efficiently puppeteer the figures and characters within the confines of these tiny little sets - not to mention the smallness of the sets were also incredibly challenging to frame in ways to make them look good on camera - this is where the cheesy factor was coming into play, regardless of how well the sets looked to the human eye, somehow the HD camera only emphasized how cheesy they looked. This is also another reason why canceling MORON LEAGUE 4 is hurting so much . . . believe it or not, I ended up spending a lot of money out of pocket on constructing these sets: over $200! Yes, between materials needed to actually construct the sets, as well as procuring necessary items and props for set decorating, it all ended up running over $200, making this, without a doubt, my most expensive production to date . . . so, to cancel it feels essentially like I just threw that money out the window. It also didn't help that because of how poorly the economy had been doing for the past several years, I would keep running out of money at various points during pre-production, so that accounts for one of the reasons why the entire process of the production was being prolonged, delayed, and interrupted.

Delays and interruptions also brings us to another reason why this seemed to be a doomed production from the start: because this particular entry had a number of characters appearing within, this one was going to require the addition of other voice actors to play the characters . . . and certain voice actors I'd bring on would eventually drop out of the project altogether, putting me in the difficult position of having to find replacements; at least some would have the courtesy of providing me with notice as to why they would be bowing out the project, but others not so much. This was, perhaps, one of the biggest headaches of this production - it's not that I couldn't do all of the voices myself like I had previously, it's just that after a while, all of my voices start sounding the same, so I really wanted to avoid it again this time around . . . I would still be voicing each of the Nerdlucks, but the other characters would be voiced by other actors.

There were also other complications that arose making this such a troubling production, including what has been, perhaps, the most perplexing problem, and that was location scouting for exterior filming. Again, with this being an HD production, and this being the biggest MORON LEAGUE entry yet, I really wanted this to be such a visual improvement over previous entries, and since the script called for certain scenes to take place outdoors, I would go location scouting to try to find a most adequate spot where such filming could take place . . . unfortunately, this is where Google Maps would fail me. I would use Google Maps to scout out certain locations that looked as though they would provide the perfect backdrop for the exterior shooting, and then I would physically visit these locations to figure out where I could set the stage, so-to-speak, how I could position it within the location to look good on camera, and even figure out what would be the best time to film based on the position of the sun in the sky for adequate lighting. Alas, because Google Maps would not have recent updates for these locations in their Street View, I would be unaware that the locations I would scout would turn out to have been fenced off, have new structures added, or be inundated with Private Property and No Trespassing signs since Google Maps had last photographed these locations until I physically visited the locations myself. You're probably thinking if I had already spent so much time, effort, and money constructing miniature interior sets for the production, why couldn't I just construct such an exterior set that would suit my needs for filming? Well, I could have . . . but again, with this being an HD production and a step above previous MORON LEAGUE entries, I wanted to bring a certain amount of cinematic scope to the production.

Promotional poster noting
MORON LEAGUE 4's release date
as being July 23, 2021 - a week
after the release of SPACE JAM 2:
A NEW LEGACY

MORON LEAGUE 4 was, perhaps, going to be my first production that was almost like an actual movie . . . and in hindsight, I think I may have bitten off more than I could chew with it. I first began the project in 2017 when it was announced that the SPACE JAM sequel, which was previously rumored to only be an elaborate hoax (which MORON LEAGUE 3 was taking a jab at), was indeed real and happening, and when it was announced that it would be released in 2021, that's when I had planned of having MORON LEAGUE 4 completed and ready to release - preferably at least within a week of the release of SPACE JAM 2: A NEW LEGACY, because I just knew that the timing of the release would help generate a much-needed boost in traffic to my YouTube channel (and I can see, based on my current channel analytics that previous MORON LEAGUE entries have seen spikes in clicks and views). That's a period of time spanning over three years, so surely I would have been able to actually complete the project within that amount of time with a lot of breathing room, wouldn't I? Well, you'd think. I first wrote the script sometime in 2017, and the fragmented production first began in the fall of 2018 . . . during that time, MORON LEAGUE 4 gradually dropped down my priority list, mostly due to the above-mentioned complications (running out of money, losing voice actors, location scouting difficulties, the challenges in camera set-ups, etc.), but also partly due to the fact that given the expansive window of time, other projects would crop up that would divert my attention away from the production of MORON LEAGUE 4 . . . and, if I'm being perfectly honestly, whenever these new projects would crop up, my interest in MORON LEAGUE 4 would drop considerably. 

Meme imitating art
imitating life

What can I say? I have commitment issues with my own work: I find I can't work on the same project for too long because I eventually lose interest altogether in the project because of the extended length of time it ends up taking to try to complete the project . . . so much work with very little results over a long period of time - this is exactly why, after I dabbled in animation for a couple of years, I realized it was a medium that was not for me (which is why I also maintain the highest respect for animators who have the willpower and patience to stick with it out their very passion for it). All of this and more is what lead to my final decision to cancel the production altogether: I ended up finally suffering from a complete creative breakdown . . . after working on this one single project for over three years, producing minimal results each time, and just how frustrating, complicated, and difficult the actual filming process was, I just finally broke down - I just couldn't go on with it any longer. I actually trashed the specific set I was still filming in at the time of my breakdown (which, admittedly, wasn't a total loss, because the script called for this particular set to be trashed anyway with Blanko flying the Moron Airship directly into it). As I said, in hindsight, I believe I ended up biting off way more than I could chew . . . this was probably going to be an entire half-hour production produced from a 30-page script with well over 140 different shots and cuts . . . I know that doesn't seem like much from a major production perspective, but for just one person, it was overwhelming, and I just didn't have the drive, stamina, or energy to go on any further - especially after I had already missed my July 23, 2021 deadline anyway.

Now, that's not to say that I'm just throwing out all that I have already accomplished with MORON LEAGUE 4 altogether (especially not the sets that I spent so much time, energy, and money on constructing); everything is being meticulously archived for safekeeping, from the sets that were constructed, to the actual camera footage that's been shot (nearly half of the script had been filmed), and even a blooper reel that was being compiled. Does this mean there may be a glimmer of hope that maybe, one day, I may change my mind and try to resume completing the project one day in the future? Sure, there's hope, but I would not hold my breath . . . still, that doesn't necessarily mean my mind may not be changed. After all, once upon a time, I was enthusiastic about the project, and wanted to see it towards its completion - even in spite of my breakdown, I felt compelled to pick myself up, dust myself off, and get back up on the horse and try to push through and still finish this thing before the year is over . . . unfortunately, that enthusiasm fizzled out over the period of time it was taking to produce this, thanks largely in part to all of the complications and stumbling blocks that arose. What can I say? I certainly suffer for my art.

Spoiler alert: Bupkus got a promotion in
MORON LEAGUE 4

Coming Soon: TECHNICOLOR DREAMS

Back in September, I made the announcement on my Facebook page that I was coming out with two new short projects, one of which was my artistic short, THE WINDMILL - which was released back in October - and the other is an experimental film. You've seen THE WINDMILL, so now, here is an introductory post for my upcoming experimental film, which is entitled TECHNICOLOR DREAMS. I would also like to say that I didn't steal the title from the BeeGees' album with the same name, this is entirely coincidental.

All things considered, TECHNICOLOR DREAMS isn't an experimental film in a literal sense: I'm not experimenting with filmmaking, I'm not playing around with new and/or unfamiliar technology, nor am I playing with any kind of stylisitic editing (well, okay, actually, I am, somewhat)... in fact, this is an experimental film in the sense that this is a departure from my more traditional work in the past, such as Steve D'Monster's YouTube series. TECHNICOLOR DREAMS really does not fall into any specific genre: it's not really a comedy, it's not really a drama, it's not really a documentary, it's not really any of that, it's just a short with a story: a story that has a beginning, a middle with a situation, and an ending with a resolution.

Are you confused yet? You might be. You may be asking what, exactly, is TECHNICOLOR DREAMS about? I don't want to give away too many spoilers before it's released, but I will clarify some things up to make it a little less confusing when you do see it: this is a rare project that takes a look into my mind, from the fact that I regularly have unusual, trippy, and borderline disturbing dreams, and yet, every once in a while, it's from those kinds of dreams that a lot of my best ideas come from. In a sense, this is about my creative process.

Conceptual artwork

This film is really something I am doing on a creative whim: I honestly felt compelled to do this film, so I've been working on it for the past several months; the script has gone through a couple of drafts, puppets and props have been built, and now that other pre-production tasks have been completed, the camera is ready to roll. This is totally a personal piece.

If you're interested in seeing this, make sure you're subscribed to my YouTube channel, and keep your eyes peeled for its February 22 release date.

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.