The Moving Box Blog

We've moved our blog...

2010-03-16T23:29:00.004-04:00

About The Studio
OUR MISSION: To provide individuals and businesses in the local and national communities with the tools and expertise required for expressing their messages creatively, through the highest quality multi-media production capabilities.

Visit our new blog: http://movingboxblog.wordpress.com/

Warrior VS Stormtroopers

2009-10-17T21:31:00.000-04:00

New Blog!

2009-10-16T16:47:00.002-04:00

Movingbox has a new blog over at WordPress, check it out!

The new Movingbox Blog has a ton of fun stuff from Movingbox members, including videos, behind-the-scenes peaks in the studio, and cool stuff we've found online.

http://movingboxblog.wordpress.com

This Blogspot blog will still be updated, but with information about our productions exclusively. For more of an up-to-date look inside Movingbox, visit our Wordpress Blog.

Ayurveda @ Grassroots '09

2009-08-21T01:00:00.002-04:00

Ayurveda @ Grassroots '09 from Moving Box Studios on Vimeo.

Hey everyone, really proud to have this up. Two camera shoot with me and my man Nicoli. We got treated to an amazing performance from Ayurveda and am glad to be able to show it to all of you through our onstage eyes. Hope you enjoy and stay tuned for more content from Moving Box!

- Joe Zohar

Zampus.com Campaign

2009-08-17T15:46:00.002-04:00

Hey Everyone, Just got done producing these three promotional videos for Zampus.com.

Zampus is doing some wonderful things to help acclimate incoming and current students with their campus. Zampus is a place where you can "Learn" about whats going on around campus, a place where you can "Vent" about anything bothering you without being censored by any administrators, and a place where anyone, including business's, can "promote" themselves to the student body without any bias. All in all a pretty powerful website that is fused with you existing facebook account so you don't have to reinvent your social networking wheel.

One of the most fun projects I have worked on in a while. Enjoy!

- Joe Zohar

One More Saturday Night

2009-07-27T23:17:00.017-04:00

Moving Box Studios would like to send a special thank you to the Lost Dog Cafe and all of the amazing performers at our fundraiser event, One More Saturday Night.

Check out Moving Box Studios' very own DJ BEAT BOX performing Video Games.

We especially would like to thank the band AyurvedA for an incredible performance.

Watch our video of AyurvedA's Planck Time, live at the Grassroots music festival.

Moving Box Studios Presents

2009-07-22T00:16:00.007-04:00

Moving Box Studios Presents
One More Saturday Night
July 25th 10:00PM - 1:30AM
Last Night of Live Music at the Lost Dog Cafe.

Lost Dog Cafe
106-112 South Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY

Music by:
Members of AyurvedA - 11:30PM
Open Jam Session (All are welcome) - 10:00PM
A final opportunity for a recorded open jam at the legendary Lost Dog Cafe!
Dr. Z - DJ/VJ in between sets
DJ Beat Box
& More

$4

More information available on our Facebook event.

Update 5/29

2009-05-29T15:09:00.017-04:00

It's been a while since you've heard from us. We have lots to tell you. Ready to listen?

Nick Schweip has finished rotoscoping for the film noir, Chalk Outlines. The finished product will be online soon, but until then check out the trailer above. If you really want to be caught up with the film's production then watch Repentance, a precursor to Chalk Outlines.

We should also mention that we can breathe now. Our recording booth finally got proper ventilation which means no more coughing, headaches, and dead employees from the poisonous air. Next week we plan on starting the setup of our vocal booth. Our little recording studio is growing up so fast...

Film noirs, breathing, what could be next? How about film festivals! With the help of singer-songwriter Tom Knight and a website called Withoutabox we are now ready to send out The Elephant's Lullaby to film festivals across the country. We're very excited at the opportunity for audiences to watch the music video on a big screen. We're also excited to win first prize at every festival. You know that's what's going to happen.

Hopefully that was enough info to satisfy all appetites? It wasn't? Well, check back with us soon for more updates.

Volunteering at Cinemapolis

2009-05-20T19:25:00.010-04:00

Here at Moving Box Studios, we not only believe in creating independent media, but also in supporting our local community in Ithaca, NY. Today a large group of the Moving Box team volunteered our time painting and cleaning the new Cinemapolis theatre. We had a great time and highly recommend it.

They still need more volunteers before they're grand reopening.

For more information go to http://www.cinemapolis.org/.

MBS Summer 2009 Interns

2009-05-13T21:34:00.004-04:00

Moving Box Studios is proud to welcome our new internship team. We have a talented group working with us and look forward to a productive summer.
Keep checking the blog to see what develops.

Oh, and have you seen the new video player on MovingBox.tv?

From left to right
Dan Curtain, Kevin Schultz, Steve Gillingham, Chris Davidson, Emily Benning, Nancy Foytho.

Interested in joining the Moving Box Studios crew?
Send resumé and work samples to MovingBoxStudios@gmail.com

Moving Box in The Lansing Star

2009-05-04T19:59:00.003-04:00

What do you get when you put together a video studio with a recording studio, animation, wedding videos, and media transfer services? The answer is Moving Box Studios , an Ithaca based multi-media studio hidden away in the Community School of Music and Art building.

Read more...

We've submitted the Olympus Burger pilot to Adult Swim!

2009-04-27T18:32:00.006-04:00

Today, we mailed the Olympus Burger pilot episode and bible to the late-night Cartoon Network block, Adult Swim! Getting onto Adult Swim has been our goal for Olympus Burger since the beginning (which was almost four years ago) so we're keeping our fingers and everything else crossed.

This picture was taken six minutes before the post office closed, but Chris* turned into The Flash and got it there just in time. He was locked in the post office for a couple minutes afterwards, but then he turned into the Hulk and...asked the lady at the desk to let him out.

Unless the mail gnomes get at it, the package will arrive in Adult Swim's submission box tomorrow. We'll put up another post when we hear from them, so check back soon!

*Even though that little sign says "Connor," that's Chris. Trust me.

Behind the Scenes: Interns!

2009-04-27T17:27:00.011-04:00

Hello, world.

This is Steve, a current all-purpose animation intern at Moving Box Studios. My creative director Chris Davidson wants to give you all some insight into what us interns actually do (i.e. not watch cartoons all day), so here's some insider info.

I had my hands on the pilot episode of Java, correcting colors and whatnot. Java refused to "pop" against the background in his drab duds. We can't have our title character blending into the background, so I created a bunch of alternative palettes. I consulted with Chris on what the final color choice should be, and after picking it, I went to town in Adobe Flash changing each instance of Java to the new palette by Cmd + I'ing and Cmd + K'ing everything into submission. Repetitive? Eh, maybe, but it seriously helps develop an eye for color, attention to detail, and, well, using Flash in general. Java will be coming to your screen this summer... so I better hop to it.

That's all for now. Cheers!

Update 4/20

2009-04-20T21:19:00.007-04:00

Here's some more content to make you drool - it's a short animation titled "Meet Java!" where you'll "meet" Java, Heidi, and Maddie - the three main characters from the upcoming series created by Danielle Chillemi, Java!

Watch it on Newgrounds too, and remember to vote 5!

The Java pilot episode is coming out this summer, so stay tuned.

Controversial Easter Video

2009-04-09T00:18:00.007-04:00

Cartoonist and MySpace Whore Tony Glitz has recently released a controversial Easter video called Easter Is Gay. You can watch it over on YouTube. He's also posted an Extended Version for his alleged fans. Love it or hate it, you gotta admit Tony Glitz is one audacious character.

Coming Oh-So Soon: Purgatory Pizza

2009-03-18T21:04:00.007-04:00

The flash version of Purgatory Pizza is coming soon!
Creator Christian Taranto, AKA MC Death Bear, took a twelve-hour bus ride from Virginia up to our studio last Friday, and he’s been working non-stop since he arrived.

Talk about dedication! But what would you expect from a guy who’s almost finished with a concept he started in ninth grade? That’s right, Purgatory Pizza was first conceptualized when Christian was a freshman in high school. Back then, it was a comic strip. It’s gone through many revision since then. At the beginning, it was known as “Outcasts,” and there wasn’t even a pizza place! But over the years, he’s worked at several pizza places, so he eventually decided to put his work experience to good use (or bad, who knows? It’s Purgatory).

Now at 22, Christian’s thrilled to see his teenage doodles come to life in magnificent moving media magic, not to mention that he’s at the helm of it all. But Christian isn’t the only one working. Chris Davidson’s been leading the animation, and he and Jeff Hellman have been hard at work on the sound design.

In fact, it was because of Chris Davidson that Purgatory Pizza got started on the road to cartoon-dom. Back in December 2007, Christian had an art show at Pixel Lounge. During the show, he mentioned how he had an idea for a cartoon and wanted to make it, and he was referred to Moving Box Studios by local DJ Chris Capulet. Christian had always be interested in animation, but he never got the chance until he and Chris teamed up.

Just like The Elephant’s Lullaby, Moving Box will be putting together a “making of” video for Purgatory Pizza. It’ll include commentary from those already mentioned, plus Christian’s cousin Law Tarello, the co-writer of the cartoon. Law will be arriving at the studio this Saturday to share his thoughts.

We're in the final pruduction stage of the final cut, but if you need something to do before Purgatory Pizza is released, head to SickDamage.com where Christian is a staff writer. No kidding, Christian isn’t just an artist and budding animator; he’s a talented writer as well.

Need something else? Get a Purgatory Pizza refresher – watch the teaser for the cartoon on Newgrounds.

Update 3/16

2009-03-16T18:42:00.008-04:00

Oh boo it's Monday...

Wrong! I mean, it's still Monday, but there's nothing to "boo" about because there's a new release out from Moving Box, and boy do you wanna watch it!

By now you've seen Tom Knight's "The Elephant's Lullaby," and you know that it's one of the cuter things online, up there with that sneezing baby panda. Now you can get a behind-the-scenes look at how the animation was created, by watching...

The Making of "The Elephant's Lullaby"!

This featurette includes commentary from the team behind the animated video. With interesting and insightful words from Nutmeg Doherty (Executive Producer), Chris Davidson (Producer/Director), Wright Rickman (Production Designer/Lead Animator), Liz McLelland (Art Director), and Tom Knight (the Singer/Songwriter himself!), you'll probably want to go back and watch the original animation with all of your newly-acquired appreciation.

In other news, Ithaca Tape to Disc is up and running. Check it out if you need your old video tapes converted to high-quality digital video.

Purgatory Pizza is in heavy production this week. Check back here soon for further details!

Update 2/11

2009-02-11T20:06:00.010-05:00

Whatever the weather's like outside, you can be sure that inside Moving Box Studios, everything's coming up roses. (forgive me, please)

The Making of The Elephant's Lullaby has reached it's second cut, and the final cut is expected by the end of the month. Wanna see how the cutest animation you ever saw was put together? This'll be the one to watch.

Don't forget about Java! The pilot has gotten a sound-lock and the picture-lock will be finished next week. Plus, we've gotten some awesome additional art by Emily Benning (see the image above). Java will be out this Spring!

We have a full inventory of everything we need to complete Days of Our Lamps 2 - General Popsicle. We just had a shoot at a local hospital and have a new action sequence planned - it's gonna be epic! Don't let the sequel status fool you...this Summer blockbuster is gonna make you think in a whole new way about lamps and popsicles.

We're working on a cut for a highlight reel of completed Moving Box productions. It'll be featured on our website when it's done, so keep a lookout for that!

Moving Box Studios is launching a new service called Ithaca Tape to Disc. If you have any old home video tapes, you probably know by now that they wear down, and this service is the perfect solution - we'll convert your tapes to digital format! More details to follow.

Pushing Flash Animation (Escape from Nevara)

2009-01-24T15:25:00.003-05:00

Check out Escape from Nevara by Zeurel over at Newgrounds. It's an animated continuation of a his online comic book on deviantART. Awesome art direction, animation and sound, this is definitely one to look out for.

Escape from Nevara: Episode 1 on Newgrounds.com

-Chris

Update 1/20

2009-01-20T12:59:00.016-05:00

Happy New Year! Long time no update, but the weekly updates are starting again, and we here at Moving Box have got a lot of exciting stuff coming your way.

Our studio is in its last week of construction and we're excited to show it off! We'll be having an awesome opening event, and will post a date for that soon.

We've entered production for The Making of The Elephant's Lullaby, which is (as you've already guessed) a behind-the-scenes look at The Elephant's Lullaby. We expect to release "The Making" next month.

Dave Livingston has finished recording with Mike Brindisi and the New York Rock. Their new album, Counting Pennies, has entered the mixing stage with Alex Perialas of Pyramid Sound Studios. Counting Pennies is slated for release this March!

Joe Zohar's film noir, Chalk Outlines, is nearing completion! Haven Cousins from Nonfx has come aboard as visual effects supervisor, and Joe feels that this collaboration takes the film to a much higher level. Just check out that still from the film at the top.

Also working with Joe is Dillon McCarthy, a talented, on-the-rise student at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Dillon is working on the effects for one of the most visually challenging scenes in the film. Keep an eye out for this incredibly dedicated artist in the future.

Joe is delighted to have Eric Spangler, AKA DJ Dubble8 as composer for the film's score. Eric has worked with Joe and Moving Box Studios before, and Joe couldn't be happier to be working with him again on this project.

Ryan Mauk of Digital One is head of sound design for Chalk Outlines. Like Eric, Ryan's worked with Moving Box before, as sound designer both for the Chalk Outlines trailer and for Olympus Burger!

Chalk Outlines has been in production for a number of years now, and now with all of these talented people, Joe feels that he's found exactly the right team and is pleased to see everything coming together just right. He estimates completion in 2-3 months, and we're seriously pumped. We'll be having screenings here in the studio and elsewhere - check back here for updates!

Elephant's Lullaby

2008-12-16T21:40:00.004-05:00

It’s refreshing to see a bit of childhood in the midst of adult life.

Tom Knight’s children’s music video The Elephant’s Lullaby has culminated its production with Moving Box and can be seen on Newgrounds and Youtube.

The animation was featured on the Newgrounds homepage this weekend. The Elephant’s Lullaby is a children's ballad about a small elephant that won’t go to sleep.

Purgatory Pizza Premier!

2008-12-06T16:02:00.005-05:00

Hey Everybody! Christian Taranto aka MC DEATH BEAR is back in town and we're going to be finishing the Purgatory Pizza Pilot! Some of you may have seen the rough cut of Part 1 on Newgrounds. The premier will be the first showing of the full first episode, so be there!

The Premier is at 9:00PM, a Pixel Lounge in Collegetown! If you plan to attend, let us know on Facebook!

The Internet release of the full Purgatory Pizza is scheduled for later this month, so SEE IT FIRST AT THE PREMIER THIS TUESDAY! We're looking forward to seeing all of you there!

Just a taste...

2008-12-04T16:52:00.004-05:00

It's going to happen... but don't hold your breath.

Update 12/2

2008-12-02T14:59:00.014-05:00

Winter has brought us festivities, happiness, camaraderie, and snow. Clearly this is a big change for Matt Lenz and Joe Zohar after returning from the tropical paradise of Costa Rica.

Matt and Joe have been gone for just over a week filming the pilot episode of Eco-Spots, a Co-Production of Moving Box Studios and GA.GA Productions. This show about environmental awareness; it includes shots of breath-taking deserted beaches of the Pacific Ocean, completely self-sustaining eco-lodges, national marine parks, and the mountains of Costa Rica. After a week of filming, the team walked away with great footage and production stills. The pilot episode is scheduled for completion this week and it will air in March in LifeStyle TV.

Joe has recently started using Photoshop’s animation timeline sequence for Chalk Outlines. It has allowed the artists to work more effective with each other. Nicoli Schwiep and Liz McLelland have just breached the halfway point with rotoscoping for the film. It’s looking as if a first fine cut will be complete for December 15th, and will be followed by a first trailer. Liz will produce promotional material using graphic design.

Nicoli's Robobots is coming to fruition. He is currently putting the final touches on the first draft script of the origin story of the gigantic killer Robobots. The character designs are also on lock and some images will be posted on the blog soon.

The Java promo is also almost completely done, but a release date has not yet been set.

The principal photography of Tom Knight’s Elephants Lullaby is complete. All that’s remaining in production is the shading of the characters, which will be finished soon by Liz.

Olympus Burger HD is more than halfway converted, with 8 of the 15 scenes in HD. According to Joe and Chris, the fight scene is almost completely converted to HD and is looking awesome.

Looking towards the future, Days of Our Lamps 2 is going back into production THIS WEEK and is looking at a tentative release date of early 2009.

Stay Tuned.

Days of our lamps Promo

2008-12-02T02:00:00.004-05:00

Update 11/11

2008-11-11T16:33:00.012-05:00

C
A hard beginning makes for a good ending, especially when you’re looking at Moving Box Studio’s new digs.

With only a few touches left, construction is soon coming to a close. All that remains is paint touchups and trim on the doors, and what a time to start finishing up, with all of our projects traveling towards their conclusions.

Chris Davidson has just brought Ryan Mauk back on board to work on sound design for Olympus Burger HD. Dave Livingston is composing new music for the show and Joe Zohar is re-animating the epic fight scene of the pilot episode. Everything we have learned in the last three years will be put into this pilot, proving what we are capable of.

Our very own Matt Lenz and Joe Zohar are flying to Costa Rica tomorrow as the production team of a new pilot produced by Lifestyle TV. The off the charts tourism show called Eco-Spots takes the viewer to secluded places in popular areas and teaches them how to not leave their environmental footprint.

Tom Knight’s Elephant’s Lullaby is nearing completion, with 99% of the main cartoon done. Tom’s rotoscoped intro is now being colored and synced, and the main characters are being shaded by Liz McLelland.

As for Java, Danielle Chillemi has just green-lit a short promo for the show. Megan Corsen has already completed the art, now it’s Chris’ turn to composite it. Matt has been working on the syncing for the pilot, but the promo will be released first.

In addition to working hard at the construction of the studio, Dave has been recording Mike Brindisi and the New York Rock. He is almost finished with the lead guitar and the vocals are the next step.

Chalk Outlines is getting close to having a full cut to watch all the way through after Joe added a few more shots last week. Nicoli and Liz has been working extremely hard with the rotoscoping of the film so it can be finished as soon as possible, and the 3D components are almost complete, thanks to Evera Lovelace.

In addition to all of this, Chris has just finished the introduction credits for the ICTV program, The Quasi Late Program with Joe Para. Click here to take a look.

Stay Tuned.

Update 10/28

2008-10-28T14:59:00.014-04:00

This year, Halloween is anything but scary for us here at Moving Box. Between Olympus Burger, Chalk Outlines, Java, and Mike Brindisi, the studio is more exciting than ever before.

Mike Lazzo of Comedy Central’s Adult Swim wants to see the pilot for Olympus Burger, so we’re putting together a press kit for him. Chris is returning to all of the source files of Olympus Burger, fixing any problem he ever came across. He is adding new music composed by our very own Dave Livingston, including Joe Zohar’s smash hit, Dewey Dewey. The most exciting part is that Chris is reanimating the pilot to a true widescreen 1920 X 1080 HD video.

The first trailer of Joe’s Chalk Outlines is coming soon. All but one or two shots are complete, and the film is in for sound design touchups with Ryan Mauk. Joe is working hard with Nicoli Schwiep and Liz McLelland to finish the Rotoscoping for the film.

Matt Lenz is finishing up the lip-syncing for Java. The front shots are complete and the only thing left in this fun for anyone film is a few profile shots.

In addition to all of this, Dave is working hard with Mike Brindisi and the New York Rock. The group has been in and out of the studio for a few weeks now. There are only a few songs left to record guitar on and the album is pushing ahead.

Possibly the coolest thing going on at the moment is the show reel being compiled for the Olympus Burger press kit. A show reel is roughly 20 seconds of each project Moving Box has completed, chronicling the last year of our progress. The show reel will be released online and will include Java, Chalk Outlines, Olympus Burger, Repentance, Bacon Samurai, Purgatory Pizza, Girls will be Girls, and a selection of documentaries.

Stay Tuned.

HD Olympus Burger

2008-10-26T21:22:00.008-04:00

LINKS: Short Trailer, Full Pilot (15m).

We just got off the phone with Mike Lazzo at Adult Swim!! He wants to see our pilot, so we're getting a press kit together. I'm going to be counting all the hits and ratings The Pilot has received over all the video sites. NOWS THE TIME TO SHOW YOUR FRIENDS! Head over the new OlympusBurger.com or watch it on NG!

So to the point of this post, I'm back in the murky depths of the Olympus Burger source files, resetting camera angles to true 853 X 480 widescreen for our Press Kit DVD. My Question: Should I upload this new version to newgrounds, or just the HD Video Sites (Crackle, Veoh, Blip.tv)?

I've weighed the PROs and CONs here,

PROs
Edited Shorter, aprox. 11 minutes (Currently 14:45)
Widescreen sexiness (853X480, will fit HD-TV)
Better composed shots (I can now brave the madness)
Animation enhancement (naturally, with Enzyte)
No copyrighted music

CONs
Yet another "Olympus Burger" release but no new episode (Soon! Purgatory Pizza too!)
No copyrighted music

So what do you think? Tell me with your words. They are like vitamins to me! buahahaha!

-Chris
Cronker of Olyomper Bomper

P.S. Another big thanks to our focus group members! Couldn't have done it without you.

New Olympus Burger Trailer

2008-10-26T15:06:00.008-04:00

Moving Box Studios is really moving.

A meeting is coming between Mike Lazzo, an Executive Producer of Comedy Central’s Adult Swim, and the staff of Moving Box Studios regarding the flagship animation, Olympus Burger.

Olympus Burger is Moving Box’s longest animation; an award winning full length pilot. Recently, lead animator Chris Davidson released a new trailer with the help of Dave Livingston and Alex Belzer. Dave and Chris also completely re-designed the MySpace page.

The music for the new trailer was done by Dave in Moving Box’s state-of-the-art audio production studio and the first cut of the trailer was completed by Alex. The new trailer contains green screen composite silhouettes of Chris, filmed in Moving Box's Green-Screen liveroom.

“It’s a good taste for the series,” said Chris. “And the MySpace features some of the characters that are not in the pilot.” The trailer can be viewed on the MySpace page, as well as newgrounds.com.

All of us at Moving Box are extremely excited. Check out the MySpace, add us as a friend, and leave us a comment with your thoughts.

Stay Tuned.

OnlyCORP - Olympus Burger

2008-10-18T17:18:00.005-04:00

World-Wide Mega-Company ONLYCORP sells you Olympus Burger on Newgrounds!

Watch and VOTE 5!

Cute Hungry Baby Elephant

2008-10-12T22:07:00.002-04:00

This was too cute not to post.

Platypus!

2008-10-12T15:29:00.002-04:00

Screenshot from Purgatory Pizza

Elephant's Lullaby image

2008-10-12T00:00:00.002-04:00

Java Flash Promo

2008-10-07T01:32:00.006-04:00

Can you tell what project I've been working on?

Java Promo img

2008-10-05T22:41:00.000-04:00

Charm City Remix

2008-10-03T14:42:00.000-04:00

Charm City Remix is part of a series of site-specific narratives created by Kianga Ford that offer a portable audio soundtrack that guides listeners on a walk through a city, neighborhood, or location. The Story of this Place: Charm City Remix is a fictional narrative informed by the stories shared with Ford by people in Baltimore during her residency at the Contemporary Museum over the past year. Fords Baltimore narrative features a new musical score by Baltimore-based Erik Spangler and Brian Sacawa and is influenced by the areas rich history, architecture, geography, social climate, and diverse demographics.

Featuring Java!

2008-09-30T15:51:00.012-04:00

The last day of September is upon us and we’re working hard on Java. We finished recording the voiceovers this weekend and now we’ve moved on to sound design and mixing. This is very exciting for all of us here at the Box because Java was our first commissioned project, the baby of Danielle Chillemi.

Danielle, a former classmate of Chris, contacted him in the summer of 2007 and asked him about an idea she had. She had been thinking about her pets when she came up with the brilliant concept for Java, an animated TV sitcom based on the life of three playful dogs.

After the planning process was complete and artists and animators were selected, production began. Crafting the personalities of the three dogs Java, Heidi and Maddie was a challenge, but the animators of Moving Box surpassed expectations.

Java, the main character of the series, proves his charm with each loveable phrase he barks. Not only is he a working model, but also a performer at a nightclub on weekends. He is living every man’s nightmare/dream of having a love interest as a roommate.

Maddie is a crazy Golden Retriever pup who loves to cook. She is haunted by a Rastafarian Duck who steals her baked goods, and is such a frantic pup that she can never sit still. Maddie, without thinking about it, provides much of the comic relief for her roommates.

Heidi is a cute mutt, but often is annoyed by her two roommates antics. With Java always trying to dance with her and Maddie always making messes, she plays the role of the homemaker, balancing out the trio. With those two in play, Heidi is a necessity. The three pooches together is a recipe for fun.

A 30 second promo is coming soon, and the first episode is to follow, so be ready. These characters are too much fun for you to miss.

Stay Tuned.

Elephant's Lullaby Background

2008-09-30T01:41:00.001-04:00

By Liz McLelland

Chalk Outlines Teaser

2008-09-26T16:45:00.001-04:00

What's going on at the Box

2008-09-21T22:29:00.029-04:00

As wedding season comes to an end, festival season begins. With that said, Moving Box Studios is ready to show what we've got, and we've got a lot.

M.9. is a major project of the video department at Moving Box. They have entered their final stages of sound recording and music this week. Dave is alternating days between the two until they are complete, which should be sometime in September.

Chalk Outlines, is in the hands of Nick and Liz, who are making the first test images look great. The whole team here at Moving Box is really excited about the project, a contemporary take on the classic film noir genre.

Joe has taken the lead in pursuing festivals for the coming year to show off all the projects we've been working on this past year. The festival Fundraising Party is still in the works.

[Charm City Remix] is an interactive walkthrough of Baltimore told through stories, and was produced by Matt and Joe. The film shot entirely in Baltimore with a mix of musical composition and a conversational tone, leaves the viewer with the state of mind of having actually taken the tour. The video can be seen anytime in the next two months at the Contemporary Museum of Baltimore.

[Java], an animated pilot produced by Chris Davidson, will begin voiceovers on the 27th of September, and is projected to be released sometime in October. This is big news for all of us here at Moving Box, because [Java] was our first commissioned project and it is nearing completion, causing a lot of excitement at the studio.

[Purgatory Pizza], created by [MC Deathbear], is flying through production. The script has been edited and scene one is completely animated. Scene two is in the process of being synced, but what really shines in this animation is the character development. The piece is scheduled to be released in volumes, one of which should be available for viewing sometime next week.

All of the backgrounds have been completed for [Elephants Lullaby] and the shooting has begun for the upcoming video, The Making of Elephants Lullaby. We're ahead of schedule for this one and really excited about it.

We have just finished a commercial for The House of Zohar that came out great and are looking to make more. We also do wedding videos, all in HD.

our studio has been in motion for months now, with construction and work all at once, but an end is in sight with the final touches being completed.

Stay Tuned.

Purgatory Pizza Pilot Part 1 (rough cut)

2008-09-20T18:55:00.004-04:00

Check out the all-flash 1st part of the Purgatory Pizza Pilot!

Ayurveda - Universal Mind

2008-09-19T11:39:00.002-04:00

Check out Ayurveda's music video for Universal Mind, by Joe Zohar. For more info on Ayurveda, check out www.AyurvedaMusic.com

Girls Will Be Girls

2008-09-16T11:09:00.003-04:00

I'm posting a video a day (or so) with the cool Revver player. Send to your friends or embed it in your blog!

Olympus Burger Pilot (send to your friends!)

2008-09-14T21:47:00.004-04:00

We've decided to go to Revver for embedding videos. Send this to your friends! New content coming soon, I promise.

Elephant's Production Still

2008-09-14T01:35:00.003-04:00

Ellie and Marika (not yet shaded)

2008-09-12T12:22:00.003-04:00

Here's a screen grab from the upcoming "Elephant's Lullaby"

Update 9/9

2008-09-09T23:57:00.015-04:00

Hey everyone, September is here! Most people associate September with the start of school, the start of fall, the start of a new year. Well, along with all that, Moving Box Studios has a few new projects we’ve been working on.

[Olympus Burger] is the flagship project of the Animation department here. The pilot episode has been on the web for over a year now, but if you haven't seen it yet [Watch it Now]. Everyone has been working hard and the trailer for the new episode is almost complete. The editing is all set and we’re working on sound design and music.

Chalk Outlines, the thesis project of Joe Zohar while at Ithaca College, is humming according to Joe. The work is being completed quickly and Joe will be placing some of his screenshots online, asking the viewers what they would like to see. Joe is really driven to get this project complete and release a trailer.

We are also planning a Festival Fundraising Party! Word will come soon as to the location and day of this event.

Nikolai has created Robobots. He is currently refining character designs and working on a backstory in order to put together a really solid foundation. We have a writers meeting set for this week to discuss script ideas.

M.9., a short experimental film directed by Joe Zohar, is almost complete. Sound production is scheduled to begin this coming Monday, September 15th.

[Java], an animated pilot produced by Chris Davidson, has voiceovers scheduled for later this month. All art and animation blocking is complete. It is projected to be released in October.

[Purgatory Pizza], created by [MC Deathbear], is coming along splendidly. The pilot episode is projected to be complete in September-October and a trailer can be seen at the website.

We here at Moving Box Studios have our work cut out for us, with seven projects currently in production. However, things are moving faster than ever with the renovations nearly complete. A studio warming party is also planned, but no dates available.

Stay tuned.

Purgatory Pizza Promo

2008-09-09T23:48:00.002-04:00

Serving soon.

Saturday Night and Java promo

2008-09-07T00:24:00.005-04:00

So instead of going to a keg party at a lakehouse, I stayed in and drank redbull. Tween and I are at the studio, working on stuff (she's mostly working on meowing). New backgrounds by Nick featured here, and I'm loving that wallpaper texture.

OB Commerical

2008-08-29T04:20:00.000-04:00

Chris here, late at night on friday morning, working on the FOURTH version of the Olympus Burger backstory for the official trailer. Now it's a commerical format that I think is more loyal to the show. I just finished a rough cut, so here's a screeeenshot

The Papper from the Court

2008-08-24T03:36:00.007-04:00

Sometimes the internet makes people so angry they can't even take the time to spellcheck. I hope we never have to see their "papper from the court". Don't like me none papper.

This is how we do it

2008-08-18T15:08:00.007-04:00

Check out some of the stuff we've been up to the past months.

Building a Box

2008-08-12T21:13:00.004-04:00

We've been making some serious progress with the studio renovations, things are really starting to take shape. The ETA for functional renovations is August 15th, with a tentative release party date of September 1st. I believe it so much I posted it publicly, just like we posted the first opening date of December 1st, 2007. Whoops. Just in case this bothers anyone, I'm not going to sign it.

xoxo
Your Honeybunn

Purgatory Pizza Teaser

2008-07-26T16:13:00.003-04:00

Watch (and comment!) on this video on your favorite video site! Newgrounds, YouTube, Yahoo, MySpace, Metacafe, Google, AOL Video, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, Veoh, Crackle and Stupid Videos

Pilot episode in production.
PurgatoryPizza.net

Epsilon - Killer game by Armor Games

2008-06-15T17:17:00.005-04:00

Woah, I just played through Epsilon on Newgrounds, and I am impressed. Challenging but not overly hard, this is a simple portal game with high production value. Great sound, visuals and gameplay, Epsilon is worth checking out. Just another example of how developers are raising the bar on Flash games. xBox Arcade, anyone?

Java: Featuing the art of Megan Crosen

2008-06-12T00:36:00.006-04:00

Chris here, with a look at what's coming up from the box.

Created by Danielle Chillemi
Coming soon from Moving Box Studios

Paid Intership - Web Design

2008-06-08T17:00:00.001-04:00

Moving Box Studios is currently offering paid internships for web design.

http://ithaca.craigslist.org/web/712540760.html

AuditionHQ needs your help!

2008-05-30T09:17:00.003-04:00

AuditionHQ needs your help! We're in the process of a total website overhaul, from an optimized back-end to a new user-friendly interface, and we're looking for donors to help fund this revolutionary project.

AuditionHQ is a free online network for independent filmmakers, graphic artists, actors, animators, sound designers, editors, and production crew. Nationwide, regional or global, AuditionHQ hosts public auditions for a diverse range of projects, both creative and technical. Anybody can host auditions quickly and easily, and talented people can find work in their field.

To donate, Click Here
Any donation would be indispensable.

If you're interested in learning more about AuditionHQ, visit www.AuditionHQ.com.

Moving Graffiti

2008-05-15T18:37:00.003-04:00

This is probably one of the coolest things I have seen in a while.

It's a short film called MUTO by Blu. Every frame of the animation is painted onto a public wall to create moving graffiti. The camera is a little to jerky for my tastes, but you can't beat the concept.

Enjoy it.

FlashDen

2008-05-11T14:20:00.005-04:00

Hey there, Chris here, just wanted to tell you about the sweet new site FlashDen.net. It hosted a plethora of user-created flash components, actionscript code, effects, and plug-ins. And they're cheap! Some files are as low as a dollar, and considering the time saved, FlashDen can really help on projects.
The MP3 player on AyurvedaMusic.com came from a coder on FlashDen, I'm really loving it. All files come with full source code to modify. Maybe I'm just a nerd, but I think it's so cool.

The Story of Khale 2

2008-05-10T13:08:00.004-04:00

Kevin Okulolo, a 19 year old animator out of UC Davis has released the second episode of The Story of Khale. The first one was the closest thing I've seen to the work of Adam Phillips, the guy who is probably the best Flash animator out there. So check it out. Kevin has a bright future in animation ahead of him.

Practicing The Elevator Pitch

2008-05-04T00:22:00.003-04:00

Tim Ferriss, author of the bestselling book, The 4-Hour Workweek, has just posted this on his blog. Its three tips on how to give a good elevator pitch. Being able to pitch a TV show in under a minute is a useful skill in the entertainment industry (or any industry for that matter) and should be practiced. There isn't much instruction on the blog, but his tips are a really good starting point.

The first video is Mr. Ferriss giving his elevator pitch. The second is only useful if you speak German.

Enjoy.

Venture Bros. Season 3 Trailer

2008-05-02T20:02:00.003-04:00

We here at Moving Box love Adult Swim and The Venture Bros. is probably our favorite show on it, so when we saw a link to a new trailer for season 3 on adultswim.com we almost soiled ourselves.

There are a few, let's say, weird moments, but we're pretty excited.

Watch it here.

Magazines & Cruel Jokes

2008-05-02T00:16:00.007-04:00

The May issue of Video Maker Magazine, where our cartoon, Bacon Samurai, won animation of the year has hit news stands everywhere. Wright's name was left out as the creator by mistake, so we'll give him a shout out here while we wait for the correction in an upcoming issue.

We also found this a little while ago. Its called Spider by Blue-Tongue Films, a small group of film-makers based in Australia. Enjoy it, as well as all their other work.

The new Flash vCam has Awesome Features

2008-04-25T21:30:00.003-04:00

Bryan Heisey has released a friggin' sweet new Flash vCam based on the original created by Sham Bhangal and Dave Dixon. It is compatable with CS3 (the old one wasn't) and has some really awesome new features, including blur and tint. Also looks like it's compatable with different blend modes. I love Flash.

V cam and CS3 - BryanHeisey.com

Be sure to watch the two demo movies, it's quite powerful.

-Chris

Cornell University

2008-03-25T00:03:00.001-04:00

Chris has just completed a pro-bono job for the Dean of Students at Cornell University as a creative consultant.

Olympus Burger - Best of Week at NG

2008-03-15T14:23:00.002-04:00

Thought I'd post this screenshot, both parts of OB in the top 10 of the week!

Olympus Burger #5 of All Time!

2008-03-14T16:15:00.003-04:00

It's since changed, but for a day Olympus Burger was #5 of ALL TIME on newgrounds. They cycled Part 2 to the homepage, which brought the scores down (some people saw part 2 before part 1) but I figured I would post this screenshot because it's awesome.

OB kills it on NG!

2008-03-12T13:29:00.003-04:00

Olympus Burger is doing very well on NewGrounds this week! Part 1 has been featured on the homepage since Friday, and Part 2 has won WEEKLY USERS CHOICE and REVIEW CREW PICK for this week! It's also ranked #5 of all time for score, with a 4.41/5.00 ! (it peaked last night at a 4.44). Apollo's Webcast is getting less attention, but it hanging steadily atound a 3.5.

If you've got a minute, head over to Newgrounds and VOTE to support us! You can vote once a day and you don't even need an account!

Olympus Burger on NewGrounds.com

2008-03-10T16:47:00.003-04:00

Olympus Burger and Apollo's webcast have been released in an ALL-FLASH version on NewGrounds.com! Show your support by voting on the pages below. It only takes a second and you don't even need an account!

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/428909
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/428928
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/429456

March Update!

2008-03-06T14:46:00.003-05:00

The dust has settled here at Moving Box Studios; we’ve almost finished with renovations and are awaiting inspection. Assuming all goes as planned, we will be having a grand opening gala in early April! Yay for progress! Despite the sawdust in our laptops, we’ve managed to keep the ball rolling on our current projects. A meeting is being scheduled with Adult Swim to discuss Olympus Burger.

In addition, Joe has brought the long awaited Chalk Outlines to its final stages of post production! He has also finished M.9 and, after consulting with our sound designer Dave, will be submitting it to film festivals. All preliminary interviews with the staff at Ithaca Health Alliance have been completed and we hope to finish the documentary within the next 6 weeks.

After an impromptu photo shoot at Cayuga Medical Center, Wright and Chris have gotten the second episode of Days of our Lamps under way. Entitled ‘General Popsicle,’ its release date is expected to be in late spring or early summer. Finally, next week we’ll be getting two Sony EX1 HD cameras! Check back with us soon for final release dates and information about our Grand Opening Gala.

Bacon Samurai wins at Video Maker Magazine

2008-02-24T23:47:00.003-05:00

BACON SAMURAI created by Wright Rickman and produced by Chris Davidson has won Video Maker Magazine's 20th annual video content for BEST ANIMATION.

More info as we know more. Our friends over at OurStage.com entered Bacon Samurai for us.

Credit bump for ICTV

2008-02-24T23:44:00.005-05:00

Check out the opening titles I just finished for Joe Pera's 1950's episode.

http://www.movingboxstudios.com/chris/joepera/JoePeraCredits.swf

-Chris

The Making of Wright Talks About Yams

2008-02-09T13:24:00.002-05:00

New Animation! A special Behind-The-Scenes look at the making of Wright Talks About Yams.

Check it out on newgrounds, and please VOTE FIVE!
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/425040

The Last Time We Built a Studio

2008-02-07T17:46:00.001-05:00

Here are some photos of Moving Box Studio #1. Hope this will serve as fuel for the fire that is Moving Box Studio #2 in the CSMA. If you have any photos, you can log in with the Google account and add them to the album.

Click Here to view the history.

Days of our Lamps 2

2008-01-30T21:56:00.002-05:00

Wright Talks About Yams

2008-01-10T03:47:00.001-05:00

It's been a while, but we have a new cartoon, "Wright Talks About Yams!"

Wright, the guy behind Bacon Samurai, teaches you the difference between sweet potatoes and yams.

It only took us three days (and the webcam was not turned off once for the entire duration, we have 3,122 pictures) and we managed to put a fight scene in a non-fiction film. Awesome.

Watch it over and over at Newgrounds!

- Wright

Coming Tomorrow

2008-01-09T03:19:00.000-05:00

The creator of Bacon Samurai is fixin' to learn you sum'tin. Includes behind the scenes bonus features.

"It's the most genius thing ever." - Laura Zdan, Intern

Promoting on the blogosphere

2007-12-30T14:34:00.000-05:00

Chris here. So apparently blogosphere is a 'real' word, according to blogger.com. I made a bunch of behind the scenes changes to the blog to boost hits, as well as redesigned a spiffy new logo for the top right.

Chris hax to show his loyalty

2007-12-26T02:17:00.000-05:00

Chris here, I decided to leave my laptop at home in hopes of detoxing from the internet while away on family vacation. Well, turns out Grandma got a cable modem, so much for that. I did learn how to speed read, which is pretty grand, but more importantly I hacked my Verizon RAZR to show a logo that I care about rather than verizon's red checkmark that really should be a giant corporate boner ramming you in the wallet. So much good information over at HackTheRAZR.com.

OurStage.com & FilmMaker's lounge

2007-12-21T22:12:00.001-05:00

Hey, OurStage finally released the embed code for our video interview with them in Boston. This is when Olympus Burger won #1 in Animation. Check it out.

it sure is crazy time

2007-12-14T02:34:00.001-05:00

Hey so it's about 2:34 AM and Chris has been working all day and was just looking for a reason to post this. His name is SeatBelt, after his layer's name. He was drawn by wright, colored by me, and loved by god and all his children. he is a fuzzy muffin.

DailyMotion loves Bacon!

2007-12-07T17:08:00.002-05:00

It just keeps getting better! DailyMotion.com has just featured Bacon Samurai on the top spot on their home page, giving us that big f*ck off block for all to see.

Bacon Samurai FEATURED on DailyMotion!

2007-12-05T18:42:00.002-05:00

This is exciting! Bacon Samurai has been featured on Daily Motion's Film & TV Home page.

Online Video Update

2007-11-28T18:37:00.001-05:00

Chris here, here's some cool news. Yahoo! Video really likes Moving Box, and after a few month void of new content from us, we continue to get between 300-700 hits per day. Our most popular video is still Girls Will Be Girls. Cool!

Wow. Stop-Motion Ad for Sony Bravia

2007-11-22T23:53:00.000-05:00

Chris here. This ad is insane. Serious stop-motion. Must have been a challenge defending the sets. Check it out.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CLUAbkRUvVQ

Moving Box Update!

2007-11-16T18:39:00.002-05:00

Hey! Chris here, it's been a while since the blog has been active, but a lot has been going on and I hope to catch you up.

1. We've receieved our investment. This is a huge step for us as a company, it allows us to pay our full-time department directors a small amount, as well as start construction. Actually, I'll make that it's own number.

2. Construction has started! This is so exciting, considering we've been working since august in a huge white sound-tunnel that when someone farts all the keyboards rattle. We'll be turning our three rooms into an Audio Control Room, Green Screen Shooting space, Two isolation booths, an Animation room, solo editing suite, business meeting room, and lounge.

3. Internships! With construction underway, we're now looking for bright motivated individuals to work at what will soon be the coolest place in Ithaca. Interested in an internship in Animation, Video Production, Web Design or Audio/Music production? Drop us an email: Contact [AT] MovingBoxStudios.com (replace [AT] with @)

Now that we're getting paid and things are working out, I'll be able to keep a focus on Moving Box's web activity, and we won't have any more 5 week lapses of blog posts. Sorry for that! Stay tuned for more from us!

Blow Me featured on OurStage!

2007-11-16T18:00:00.001-05:00

Blow Me is seeing a lot of success online, last month it won #1 on OurStage's Documentary category. Today it was selected as a home page feature right on OurStage.com.

We're currently in pre-production for a series of instructional glassblowing DVDs, so stay tuned for updates!

GlassBooth

2007-11-16T16:43:00.000-05:00

Our short documentary on the young founders of Glassbooth.org is cruising on schedule for its debut on Current TV in early December. And Glassbooth is blowing up! Katie Couric personally recommended the website last night on the CBS Evening News, and it was recently featured on the New York Times blog. Look out for this piece soon, and in the meantime take the Glassbooth quiz.

2007-10-07T04:01:00.001-04:00

Hey, Chris here. AuditionHQ has had some upgrades, including an awesome new file uploading solution from the cool dudes over at Encodable Industries. It's super sweet Ajax with upload bar and in browser FTP (not currently enabled). Way more reliable than the old PHP script that didn't work for anyone except me. The JAVA AUDITIONS have been extended an extra week for the people who've had trouble submitting.

Bacon Samurai looks better on break!

2007-09-27T16:33:00.002-04:00

Hey, Chris here, just uploaded Bacon Samurai to Break.com. Looks way better than metacafe's version, also the aspect ratio is right. Still feeling out the best video site for animated content, metacafe isn't too into it (although do-it-yourselfer KipKay is making a killing). I'm hoping the 18-35 year old male audience that Break servers might be more into this kinda thing. Only time will tell.

"Ew, Fry! Is this a carton of cheese behind your bed?"
"Well, it used to be milk, but ya know. Time makes fools of us all."
-Futurama

Bacon Samurai - Watch more free videos

AuditionHQ.com Launches!

2007-09-19T22:33:00.000-04:00

Hey, Chris here. Just launched a new website, AuditionHQ.com! It's a site made for artists, actors, and creative people. Think of it as an online database of local auditions for hand selected work, including paying gigs. I'm having a little trouble with the form (500-Internal Server Error bullcrap), but once I get that figured out you'll be able to submit auditions directly from the site.

Currently it's been only released here and to my Facebook friend's list. Soon to be flyered in the town of Ithaca, and eventually posted as a bulletin on our mySpace.

We've got two auditions running right now, check em out. We're looking for Character Artists for a new 60 second animation created by Danielle Chillemi, and we're offing a $250 Contract to the artist who wins! Head over to AuditionHQ.com now!

-Chris

AWESOMENESSSSS

2007-09-14T16:12:00.000-04:00

Today, Moving Box Studios L.L.C. signed off on all paperwork, and is now a fully operational and recognizable entity. Translation, time to get busy!

-Cdogn

New Website!!!

2007-09-12T19:51:00.000-04:00

Holy crap did you hear? Moving Box Studios FINALLY has a website! It's as if God parted the heavens and said "Alright guys, I've fucked with you on the internet enough. Let there be webs!"

And there was.

-C

Olympus stolen by Asian YouTube clone

2007-09-06T19:11:00.001-04:00

Well this is pretty crazy. While Googling Olympus Burger to see where we're at on the rankings, I ran across this Japanese YouTube clone, known as 1stYouTube, with Olympus Burger on it. Sorry I couldn't include the big breasted CG girl at the bottom asking you to frantically sign up for MMORPGs.

-Chris

Chalk Outlines - Director Photo

2007-09-03T20:16:00.003-04:00

Hey guys it's Karim. This is the first completely processed and digitally retouched picture from the recent photo shoot I had with Joe in Ithaca in preparation for the completion of "Chalk Outlines". You'll notice the iconic "Cyrus Painer" door from the movie in the background. Joe looks pretty at home in a trenchcoat and fedora, maybe he should get his own spinoff series. "Joe Zohar: Private Director"? :) Any comments are well appreciated, as always.

-Karim

Chalk Outlines - Banner

2007-08-23T04:15:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone, Joe here with another banner from Alan that I think looks pretty phenominal. Let me know what you guys think.

BACON SAMURAI

2007-08-20T14:08:00.002-04:00

Oh man I can't believe it's actually here. Yes the rumors are true, Bacon Samurai has made it off of Newgrounds.com and on to the rest of the Internet! If you have an account, please DIGG IT!

Bacon Samurai

Chalk Outlines - Cover Art

2007-08-18T13:54:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone its Joe again and just wanted to get everyones feedback on this piece of artwork for Chalk Outlines. It is going to be the DVD cover and Movie poster for the film. The text is not on the poster yet, but I am wondering what everyone thinks of the painting. Would like your opinions. Thanks

- Joe Z.

Blow Me...Yeah thats right, you heard me.

2007-08-18T13:36:00.000-04:00

Hey whats up it's Joe Zohar. Just got done producing this podcast for Current TV. IT was a really fun project to make and Steve Gelb is the man. Please support Moving Box, register with Current and vote for us. It takes all of about 2 minutes to register and would like your support. If you like the music, which is amazing by the way, check out Erik Spangler a.k.a Dj Dubble8 online at www.dubble8productions.com Thank you all for you support and hope you enjoy it.

DIGG THIS!

- Joe Z.