Hearing Voices, New T-shirt, Gross Splats
over 6 years ago – Mon, Oct 16, 2017 at 08:26:27 AM

Hello There!

Wanna hear something gross? 

Those are the dulcet tones of one of your fellow backers, Brian M. making unbelievably hard to find 'gross splats." (There is lot of audio from other backers sprinkled throughout the film, thank you!)

Ever sound in Frank & Zed has to be added in post. Below is just a small hint of that process. 

I would never have guessed, we would end up doing more takes on some of the audio then we did during the filming. 

Kickstarter 2017 Update: $3,250!

We have launched out the doors and hit 20% of our funding goal in the first 48 hours. Many of you have pitched in again and I am so grateful for your continued support. We've got a new t-shirt design to celebrate.

What do you think? I was so excited with the concept of a puppeteer being chewed on by Zed! 

Also, let's name this bad boy something better than 'Design B.' What is your favorite movie where the 'student/disciple kills their master?' Comment, Msg, FB and we'll choose one at random. 

• New Reward Tier just for you guys: Shirt + Prop + Storyboard + Digital Download (Goodies Package 1)

I've added a new reward tier just for you guys. To make it more affordable, it does not include the Blu-ray but does include the Digital Download. 

• More non-movie rewards coming to new campaign! Pledge at $1 or more to the new campaign to get all updates. 

MURDER VILLAGE: This is where we're going

Our villagers live in a little place called, 'Murder Village' and I need your help populating it. We will be doing loads of fun stuff on the new campaign involving everyone in the creation of our little town and the castle that sits above them. Streets, props, portculliss'esis (sp?) will all be created from scratch.

Join us on Facebook to get involved in the daily naming contesty stuff. 

As always, that you so much,

Jesse 

Extra Bits:

Cool Samurai Comic Book Project

The Dead series author and fellow backer runs awesome 'Naming Rights' promo for new campaign. 

Live Frankenstein Puppet Performance This Weekend

Final Kickstarter (Free Zombie Goo & Earlier Shipping!)
over 6 years ago – Thu, Oct 12, 2017 at 09:45:39 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Open House, Deleted Seconds, Rewards, IMDB, & K.S. Launching Next Week.
over 6 years ago – Fri, Oct 06, 2017 at 11:11:05 AM

Hello There Zed-ites,

Where does the time go! I've got my head buried so deep in this film, I forget what day it is. 

Ok - LOTS of fun stuff to share. 

Most films have deleted scenes, Frank & Zed has deleted seconds. I recently went through the film with the goal of trimming out one minute. I found that extra sixty seconds of fat sprinkled throughout the film. Watch the link below for all those tiny snips strung together. 

Beware! This will fly you through most of the movie.  

Our film has started to crawl out of the shadows and into the light. How fitting that it happens on a Harvest Moon. 

 

IMDB: Frank & Zed

It is an absolute thrill seeing some of your names listed in the credits here. (Please note, IMDB credits are a big process and the page is only partially complete. In fact, the majority of the credits are not yet approved by IMDB.) 

I have been frustrated because I have rewards ready for many of you but shipping costs have prevented me from sending them until the Blu-Rays are done (the very LAST step for the film, ugh). 

I discovered how badly I had undercharged for shipping last month when I started sending puppets to their rightful homes. 

Then I had this idea...if I can't get the rewards to their backers, maybe I can bring the backers to the rewards. 

So, we are having an open house at Puppetcore studios next month and you are all invited. All rewards that are ready (no Blu-Rays or shirts yet, boo!) will be available to pick-up. If you don't have a reward to snag, you are still welcome to come. 

Meet Frank & Zed, meet the team, and see some of the props and set pieces up close. 

Our studio is in Portland, Oregon. We will also live-stream some of the event so all of you unable to make the trip can still join in the fun. 

NOTE - Everyone will get ALL of their rewards regardless of the success of the Second Kickstarter OR if you come to the open house; this is just a means to get them to you sooner and say 'Thank you' for being so understanding.   

You are all very important  because, without you, Frank & Zed would have withered and died in 2015.

The primary reason I have not done another Kickstarter is that I thought it would somehow diminish your contributions. Eventually, I pulled my head out of it's (warm, cozy, stinky) hole and realized that finishing this film faster AND at the level of quality you deserved does not reduce your contributions. 

In fact, this just lets you prove to more people how awesome your are. (You were here first, right!?)

• Puppet Building One-on-one
• Props from the film
• Zed makes you Brain Sushi

I have some ideas for new rewards that I'm excited to share with you when the campaign launches. However, I value your input.  If you have something you think would be sweet, please let me know in a message or the comments below.

Thank you so much!

Jesse

Prologue & Pick-ups
over 6 years ago – Sat, Aug 26, 2017 at 01:55:43 PM

Hello there Zed-ites!

I feel that about 6 months ago we had about a B film (maybe a B+) but that was just not good enough.

So, we have been hard at work polishing and fine-tuning the beast in order to deliver the puppet gore fest you deserve.

The biggest breakthrough came with the prologue. This was a way to do a whole bunch of stuff at once: give us the backstory, introduce the villagers (and get them out of the way), and bring us into the world of Frank & Zed with a little more cinematic pizazz. 

But how do we convey all that info and make it look cool? My answer - stained glass. 

The Curse of the Dark Maker

The end is in sight! (A dim blur in the distance.)

Kickstarter Finishing Funds Campaign:

I have resisted doing another Kickstarter for different reasons. However, I've come to realize that the best way to get this film out sooner is to get some help; I am simply spread too thin and that is the primary reason progress is relatively slow. 

I hope to have the campaign wrapped in less than two months AND we will be working on the film simultaneously. 

There will be some cool goodies from the film in this last campaign. If possible, I am going to give all you amazing people first crack at them should something strike your fancy. 

In the meantime, thanks for your patience. Please, feel free to contact me or post comments with any thoughts or questions. 

Jesse

Production Diary: And That is How You Explode a Brain
almost 7 years ago – Mon, May 22, 2017 at 06:46:36 AM

Hello Zed-ites!

Production Diary #10: The Double Battle

The battle was supposed to take two weeks but instead took over two months. See for yourself how this madness happened!

Step into the midst of the Double Battle and learn how we gleefully destroyed many of our lovingly handcrafted puppets. Beware: there are spoilers in this video. No major plot points, but you will learn the fate of a few of the villagers. 

 

Dan, Dan, He's Our Man:

We have been blessed with many fine people donating there blood, sweat, and knees to our film. If you're ever stuck to the floor with fake blood, I hope you are blessed with someone like Dan to be stuck beside you.

Dan came to us last summer right before the big battle and was a huge influx of talent and energy day-after-day. Every shot could use that little extra to bring it to life and Dan was that in spades. (Keep in mind, if a puppet uses both hands - that's two puppeteers at work!)

Miniatures: Big Progress on tiny stuff

We are chipping away at the monolith that is this film and, I am happy to report, we have begun work on the miniatures. 

We have been looking forward to the miniatures for years (and you have too at this point!). It has been an absolute joy to start work. So far, we have begun to cobble together Frank's Lighting Rod Tower with which he draws power from the air. Greg has done the heavy lighting carving the foam and Jason Ropp knocked out the awesome paint job.

When will it be done?

Unknown. We want you to see the movie and, quite 'Frank-ly, we are excited to make another film. I am giving great thought to how to speed things up.

Anything I can do?

Yes! Start bragging. Share the battle update & the project. Let people know you were here first but there is plenty of room for other people with fine cinematic taste! 

We will be launching another Kickstarter (or similar) soon to fund completion of the film; this is the easiest way to accelerate finishing the film. We have had many people come to us bummed out that they missed the first campaign. Help us find more of these lost souls and you will have a tremendous impact on accelerating completion. 

So, more details to come. For now, please know we are working hard to finish the film and get it to you.

Thanks so much!

Jesse & Team Puppetcore

P.S. - This is where we were a year ago.