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Author
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Topic: Living the dream...
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Steve G
IE # 12
Member # 169
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posted
I know it's been discussed before, but since it's being released Oct 27th I thought that it was worth bringing up again.
A friend of mine, Phil Nibbelink, has done something most of us in the animation industry only dream about: making a feature film single handed! Can you imagine making a 78 minute film all on your own? I can't even fathom it. yalk about "the Independent Economy"!!
The name of his film is Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss . It's a retelling of the classic Shakespeare play using seals in an underwater setting. Not only has he completed this amazing feat, but it's being released Oct 27th! I know Bill Plymton (and probably others) have done this before, but I suspect that this might be the first time a one man production is a more typical family film and not an 'art' film.
He animated all 112,000 drawings ona graphic tablet in Flash and painted the backgrounds with Painter and from what I can tell from the trailer it doesn't look like typical flash, but looks like normal 2D. He also used a program (that I've never heard of before) called Moho for some limited shots and crowd scenes.
He recorded the dialogue in his basement studio using himself, his children and friends for the voices. Hmmm...He never called me for a voice..oh, wait...I can't act...maybe that's why.
I've known many animators over the years who have dreamed of doing this and some have even started the process, but I don't know many that have actually been able to see it through to the end and then manage to get it released to theaters.
I don't know about any of you, but I'm going to go to a theater and support this with the hope that this could happen again.
If you're so inclined also here's a list of theaters it's playing in. .
And here's the web-site for his film for more info and a trailer.
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http://stevenegordon.blogspot.com
http://stevenegordon.com
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jupeykrusho
IE # 273
Member # 3227
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posted
...just got a few e-mails from Phil regarding this.
i met him a few years ago when we both served jury duty. we spoke, excitedly and endlessly, about our dreams and ambitions.
best of luck to the film!
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http://www.jupeykrusho.com
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tstevens
IE # 234
Member # 801
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posted
When most of us heard about this we initially thought it had a full crew on it and we said a few not-so-cool things about it. But after we found out that it was quite literally a one man effort, most of us had a different take on it. I know I did. It floors me to know that one guy was able to pull this off.
Best of luck to Phil!
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http://www.foogersnarts.blogspot.com
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Striker
IE # 210
Member # 470
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posted
Hey! Good to see we get a chance to see it here in Ontario, Canada! ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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Minds are like parachutes - they only function when open.
- Thomas Dewar
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eboles
IE # 266
Member # 917
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posted
Here's a different(better looking, I thought) trailer for the film:
Romeo & Juliet: Sealed With A Kiss
I'm a big fan of Nibbelink's animation work at Disney in the eighties and on Roger Rabbit. His Creeper character in Black Cauldron stole the show. But animating an entire production at this level, what an immense achievement.
![[bow]](graemlins/bow.gif)
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Greg B
IE # 118
Member # 886
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posted
Sheesh! Talk about an achievement! Here he's done what we all dream about!
I'm impressed by guys like him and Noogy and Otterslide. They go the whole 9 yards and then some!
What a mindblowing gift he's got. Just astounding!
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http://www.boonestoons.com
http://www.spacefool.com
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Jasen
IE # 129
Member # 2721
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posted
Oh man after reading all of this, I feel like a lazy slob. ![[bawling]](graemlins/bawling.gif)
Phil also has some of the best lectures about animation, he explains things in a clear-cut way. Check it out if you ever run across a video, I think Amblin shifted all of their videos to the Dreamworks library, at least that's where I last saw one.
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http://jasenstrong.artstooge.com/
http://jasenstrong.blogspot.com/
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EustaceScrubb
IE # 37
Member # 862
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posted
This is really an amazing accomplishment.
Steve G wrote:
"He animated all 112,000 drawings ona graphic tablet in Flash and painted the backgrounds with Painter and from what I can tell from the trailer it doesn't look like typical flash, but looks like normal 2D. He also used a program (that I've never heard of before) called Moho for some limited shots and crowd scenes."
I agree, it sure doesn't look like typical Flash work.
Phil, if you're reading this I'd be very interested to read about your production process. How did you utilize Flash, vs. how much did you use Moho ?
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Charles
Administrator
Member # 7
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posted
Remarkable.
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Steve G
IE # 12
Member # 169
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posted
Eustace, this is what he exp[lained to me...though I'm not sure I understand it but maybe you will...
He rendered the Flash files out to 2048 x 1234 bmp files and sent them to his own film recorder. Everything is hand drawn on a graphics tablet except some shots where he used Moho which enabled him to take a single Flash drawing and rig it with bones and animate the character in limited ways. Which was fine for distant crowd scenes and the "over-the-shoulder" characters.
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http://stevenegordon.blogspot.com
http://stevenegordon.com
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Steve G
IE # 12
Member # 169
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posted
This is more of his explanation about the film:
He chose to set the movie in the undersea world because to complete the film before his bank account ran out, he had to populate the movie with characters that didn't have too much line mileage. Aquadynamic being what it is...mother nature has streamlined marine life. Allowing him to make a drawing every two minutes.
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http://stevenegordon.blogspot.com
http://stevenegordon.com
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Noogy
IE # 18
Member # 705
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posted
Incredible achievement, and kudos to Phil for seeing it to the end! Here's to hoping he finds great success!
Too bad it's not showing outside California, I'd definitely see it out here in Colorado, but of course distribution is a beast in itself. The DVD will be a welcome addition to my library though.
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-Dean Dodrill
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Noogy
IE # 18
Member # 705
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posted
That FLURL video is a higher quality teaser, and I'm amazed that everything appears to be on ones. And there are plenty of shots with multiple characters. Now that's dedication.
I agree, I think this is the first time a commercially viable film of this caliber was animated by a single hand. Truly inspirational. Any idea how long it took?
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-Dean Dodrill
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JDC
IE # 116
Member # 1993
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posted
simply astounding. The discipline it must of took to work on a project alone.. really alone is amazing. I would waste too much time watching cartoons and calling it research..
amazing.
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Http://bluemonstereyes.blogspot.com
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Steve G
IE # 12
Member # 169
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posted
quote:
I agree, I think this is the first time a commercially viable film of this caliber was animated by a single hand. Truly inspirational. Any idea how long it took?
Five years...not too bad considering most features from DW, Disney and Pixar can take close to that.
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http://stevenegordon.blogspot.com
http://stevenegordon.com
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knowledge
IE # 258
Member # 462
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posted
what seems, at least, somewhat doable for most everyone on this board, is to make your own short, that can make it into festivals and maybe even win an oscar!
Kudos to Phil - "the madman"!! He's going to go down in history for this acheivement!
I agree that the newest trailer is much better!
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roger
IE # 141
Member # 2352
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posted
Now this is amazing... if a one man crew can produce this in only 5 years, now that is a "feature"!
(i wonder how many wacom tablet tips he went through)
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http://www.canvas.nl
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EustaceScrubb
IE # 37
Member # 862
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posted
Not wanting to go off-topic, but Steve G mentioned that he hadn't heard of Moho before, and I expect he's not alone. A lot of people haven't been exposed to this remarkable little application, which recently underwent a name change , now known as Anime Studio. (which is sort of funny, since I don't know of anyone using Moho to do "anime" style work, but hey, I guess the new distributors of Moho did their market research and decided that Anime is "hot")
Take a look:
Anime Studio
The original Moho was developed by a small company called Lost Marble, but now the software is being distributed by eFrontier (the same company that makes Poser)
They have some sample clips of work done with Moho in their Gallery
section. Some of the best work being done in Moho/Anime Studio is by a Hungarian studio called Grey Kid Pictures . On the Anime Studio Gallery page look at Grey Kid's "Gone In 60 Seconds", "Pepsi", "Sony PSP", and "La Reine Soleil" to see Moho in action.
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Greg B
IE # 118
Member # 886
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posted
5 years! How come one man could animate an entire feature by himself for the same length it takes these studios to do and millions of dollars and his stuff is better than most?
It really is a monumental achievement. Even if he only did a 5 minute short I'd be bowled over.
Independent producing is where things are going. Althogugh he's an established pro already it's still cool with a major 'ool'.
People are publishing their own novels, vids, CDs, etc. nowadays. Some make a profit and some don't.
If he just sells 100,000 copies at $10 each he's made a million. Rentals etc. and self distribution, who knows where he'll go with it.
He funded it with his savings? He must be confident in sales. This is a story to watch!
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http://www.boonestoons.com
http://www.spacefool.com
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Gagne Michel
IE # 40
Member # 365
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posted
Congratulations to Phil. Very inspirational. The new trailer looks very nice. In fact, I like it more than most of the big budget animation trailers I've seen in recent years.
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Ganklin
IE # 14
Member # 1864
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posted
oh wow! i remember seeing that poster image someplace online and i wanted to vomit. however, seeing it in motion and with the understanding that it was done by one guy is simply amazing and very humbling. i seriously feel like a jerk for even thinking that.
this is just another example that flash is a very capable application in the right hands.
awesome stuff. i wish phil great luck with it!
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http://fsummers.blogspot.com/
www.shamoozal.com
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EustaceScrubb
IE # 37
Member # 862
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posted
quote:
BTW if anyone can think of a way to spread the word I'm sure Phil would appreciate it.
Phil, three words: "making-of blog"
Write about how you did it , your work flow, how did you discipline yourself to keep going, finding distribution, etc. (was it really 112,000 drawings done over a 5 year span? ...but then you also had BG's to paint and editing it ---
Holy Wearing of Many Hats, Batman! )
Get your blog picked up by Technorati and the vast animation blogging community. Does Cold Hard Flash know about this film being made using Flash ?
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EustaceScrubb
IE # 37
Member # 862
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posted
And I'd get that second R&J trailer (the one on Flurl.com ) up on YouTube.com , with a link to your website and the theatrical distribution schedule. YouTube is a force.
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Eric Hedman
IE # 84
Member # 2453
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posted
I was watching the Great Mouse Detective last night.
And in the making of section Mr N, was talking about doing the fight scene and using CG properly to make the gears in the clock fight.
I hope this trailer is up on YouTube soon.
Stuff to bring attention...Word of mouth? Guerilla Marketing?
He should patch together the cornier jokes and do a trailer that skews toward date movie as well.
Just speaks of fun. You can have different messages...Mermaid had a dual campaign for "family" and "date" I think I recall.
Maybe he could also put up a full, charged scene from late in the first or early in the second act.
Something that leaves us hanging....but isn't too saccharine. When they did that for the Incredibles at ComicCon...I was totally sold.
Maybe the scene where the heroine comes up with the resolve to fake her death. or some such.
Maybe make some cool sticker stickers from an avery template, and ask in the blog if people would put up posters on bulletin boards around school or work. You can use the stickers to put up the posters or use them to decorate.
Fun TShirt iron-ons to download.
As many good pieces of simple appealing art.
With a bad pun each!!!!!
C'mon...seal, puns....
Have a contest like Draw Tippy.
The winner gets a seal costume.
Whatever you do, don't go this direction.
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http://www.radiodismuke.com
20's-30's music
Come see my Second Life Stuff
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Chilispoon/128/80/39
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Noogy
IE # 18
Member # 705
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posted
SteveG, does Phil have an email address that we can contact him with? Or perhaps I could send him something through you? Just a congrats type of thing. Thanks.
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-Dean Dodrill
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Steve G
IE # 12
Member # 169
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posted
Noogy, send your message to me and I'll pass it on to him...
Apparently for the next month his plate is full so I'll act as the inbetween....
...he's so grassroots that he's been spending every weekend walking up and down in front of theaters with a Romeo & Juliet sandwich board hanging around his neck, passing out R&J coloring books.
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http://stevenegordon.blogspot.com
http://stevenegordon.com
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Eric Hedman
IE # 84
Member # 2453
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posted
quote:
Apparently for the next month his plate is full so I'll act as the inbetween....
...he's so grassroots that he's been spending every weekend walking up and down in front of theaters with a Romeo & Juliet sandwich board hanging around his neck, passing out R&J coloring books.
Sounds like he needs a mercy publicist.
Or maybe he can go to MSN/MSNBC and AOL and tell them to cover his story because it is family friendly.
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http://www.radiodismuke.com
20's-30's music
Come see my Second Life Stuff
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Chilispoon/128/80/39
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Noogy
IE # 18
Member # 705
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posted
Thanks Steve, I've sent you an email.
quote:
...he's so grassroots that he's been spending every weekend walking up and down in front of theaters with a Romeo & Juliet sandwich board hanging around his neck, passing out R&J coloring books.
That's dedicated. I'd love to shake his hand. Again, here's wishing him the best of success.
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-Dean Dodrill
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Greg B
IE # 118
Member # 886
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posted
Everytime I go to his website I get bowled over!
He did all that himself??? Is this a world's record?
Has anyone single handedly done this much work?
Just by default I would make it mandatory that EVERY school and college in the U.S. have a copy of this film with a 'behind the scenes' DVD just to show the kids what can be done when you set your mind to it. Also showing that we artists have to know a variety of arts and sciences and humanities. Everything from math, history, biology, physics, etc. are packed into a project like this.
What's more is although it's a bit on the doric design-wise, it's got pro-level acting impact.
I'll bet he enjoyed every minute of it Just think, being so pro that you could do that at home! Amazing!
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http://www.boonestoons.com
http://www.spacefool.com
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knowledge
IE # 258
Member # 462
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posted
i hear ya greg - I used to get blown away by the whole richard williams "thief" film being a one man effort (which it actually wasn't)- but this... ...what can one say, this is an astounding feat, and to top it off, I think this is his 3rd feature he has made! I'm sure he also did "Puss n Boots" and another one inbetween. Maybe Steve G can confirm?
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Dan P.
IE # 248
Member # 893
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posted
Totally blown away over here! Great job mr.N!
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Steve G
IE # 12
Member # 169
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posted
I know I said it took Phil 5 years, but apparently that's not completely accurate...
The animation actually took 4 1/2 years to complete. He finished exactly when he calculated he would, 4 1/2 years earlier. Then it was 6 months of post and searching for distribution. 6 months of haggling over contract terms. Another 6 months of cutting trailers, making posters, coloring books, foreign credits, HD and PAL masters, insurance, copyrighting, Dolby optical tracks etc.etc. etc.
Sounds like making the film was the easy part.
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http://stevenegordon.blogspot.com
http://stevenegordon.com
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MikeD
IE # 262
Member # 3271
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posted
Wow. So this was entirely self-funded? Do you know if he was doing other work on the side to pay the bills, or did he float all of his overhead from savings for five straight years? Either way the guy's a hero.
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