|
01/05/13
It's the first of May, the first of May, out door fucking starts today!
Ok so that line will only made sense if you're familiar with Jonathan Coulton, and if you're not then you should be!
Aaaaaaaaanyway. Todd. Yes. Well. Still stuck at the same point I'm afraid. Still hunting for the new voice of Lane. However other work is still going on behind the scenes. Colin is still writing the second episode for this series. Luke is still working on the Series 1 'George Lucas' remastered edition gettng ready for the DVD release. Jess and Mark are still working behind the scenes on our promotion and Ecky and I are still doing what we do, which is drawing and designing.
But...we're aso working on something new and secret so shhhhh don't tell anyone yet. It's still in the early stages but it's entertaining us so we hope it entertains you too. I hope to bring you more info on it very soon.
So that's about it for now...
But if you've not already then you really should go and watch the whole 1st Series of the Todd the Zombie over on our YouTube channel.
Also be sure to go check TeamTodd Minion Richard Irelands book.
See you all soon!
10/2/13
Hi Toddites
First off a few words about our friend Sam. If you're a fan of Todd on Facebook you will know that he was in a serious car accident on the night of the 5th February. Despite odds being against him at first, he's now fighting through his injuries and is on the road to recovery. He's still got a way to go but he's now awake and talking which is a great relief to us, his family and friends. Don't forget that you can leave him a message of support over on his old blog page here on the website. Several people have already left comments, sent messages via Todd on Facebook or emailed me directly to express their well wishes and messages of support. I thank you all and I'm sure once Sam sees all those messages he will express his thanks himself when he's up to it. I'll do my best to keep you updated with his progress.
Now onto episode news. All animation is now complete, and voice recording is coming along well. Richard is also already starting to produce some music for the episode. We've hit a few snags alone the way of creating this newest episode which is why it's taking us a bit longer than usual. But it also means that we can take a bit longer on other stages of the creation and produce it better. If you've not already done so, check out the preview that's now online.As I've said before, the release of the new series will be done slightly different to before. I've still not worked out the particulars yet but episode won't be thrown up onto YouTube as soon as they're completed. Previews and trailers will be put up on YouTube but not full episodes. Myself, Jess and Mark are all looking into different solutions for the release of series 2 and also for the release of the remasters of series 1 which Luke is working on and will be coming very soon.
I think that's about it for now. See you all real soon.
11/12/12
How do?
So I decided to do a new blog and thought it would be a bit different to do a bit of a Q&A instead of the usual drivel I talk. I asked on Twitter for people to send me questions either on myself, Todd or the team. Here is a few answers to some of the questions I was asked...
Why do you use the name Gax?
Simple, back in the days when games gave you 3 letters to register your highscore, Gax is what I would use, on the odd occasion when I actually managed to place on the highscore list that is...I still use it on games on my mobile and whatnot that have a highscore table. It seemed a bit different than use Gaz.
PS3 or 360?
360 all the frickin' way!
You've got a few tattoos, which is your favourite? Would you get any more?
The first one that I got, my zombie is my favourite. Mainly because it's a zombie and cause it was my first. Pretty sure I'll end up getting more as time goes on. Some people don't really understand it and neither did I before I started getting them, but it is addictive. Not sure what about it is addictive but it is, it's hard to explain.
Do you really live in a haunted house?
Well I live in a flat where strange things happen. Some I can explain. Others I can't. All I know is that there is something here, whatever it is.
Does it bother you hearing your voice when you watch the episodes?
It did at first. But now I don't really think of it as my voice. Obviously I know it is, but after listening to each line multiple times over and over I tend to forget it's me. I do like to occasionally watch the full episodes through, so I guess if it bothered me that much I wouldn't be able to do that.
You've got a pretty big collection of Zombie movies, which is your favourite?
A hell of a question! There are so many in my collection that I love. Of course, the original "of the dead" trilogy are probably among my most favourites but there are others that I've either discovered recently or that are new release that have made their way into my favourites, like Deadheads, Zombibi, Extinction and Cockneys vs Zombies. I've got a couple that are a bit lower on my list but as they're zombie movies they belong in my collection, I'll just not watch them as often.
Well, I hope you enjoyed that little Q&A and if you've got any more questions for me then ask any time, either at Gax@ToddtheZombie.com or @GaxTZ on Twitter.
See you soon!
17/10/12
Howdy folks!
I think it's about time to let you in on what the craic is with the team and the series.
There are still some wrinkles to be ironed out but the team for series 2 stands as follows:
Writer - Colin
Animation - Ecky, Gax
Voices - Michael, Paul, Emma, Gax, Kylie
Music - Richard
Planning - Bill
Website - Mark, Luke
Admin - Jess
Unfortunately we are losing Sam. Due to other commitments he is unable to continue his work doing the story boards and animation. Which is a great shame as he has done some excellent work for us and he will be missed. But we're leaving the door open for him and he may return when things calm down for him. Lukes role will also change from doing animation, to working with Mark on maintaining the website, this again is due to other commitments and the lack of time available to put into the series. So, all this means that I may actually have to do something other than direct...best refresh myself on what to do. The good news is that some of the remaining members of the team have expressed interests in trying other roles, so we'll see how that works out.
As far as the actual series goes, I got a rough outline from Colin as to where he sees it going and what the basic plan for each episode is so far. Gotta say, looking forward to it. Some of the ideas may cause some issues but I've thought that from some of the previous scripts and we've got through them pretty well if I do say so myself.
All in all I'm really looking forward to what is coming. I hope you guys are too!
See y'all soon.
19/9/12
Howdy Ho Toddites!
It's been a while...hope all is well...it is? Awesome!
Anyway enough of that,let's get down to business...
Todd. Series 2. work has begun. It's as simple as that really. Writer Colin has put together a bit of summary as to where he sees the series going. I've got to say, it's looking like it's going to be a treat for you. There will be more zombies/geeks/movie & game parodies and yes even more engineers killed!
There will be some changes to the way the team is going to work, with some changes to roles etc. These are being planned at the moment and as soon as things are sorted and finalised and all parties are happy, all will be made clear. But I will say, with the rearrangements, I could be recruiting soon so keep an eye out if you fancy joining the team.
In other news, Luke is still doing some work on series 1. Doing what I like to call our "George Lucas cut" and getting it ready for it's future release. Ecky is working on some redesigns that will be used in series 2 to give a bit of a shinier and cleaner look. Paul is playing with some of our character and room templates and doing a little bit of experimenting.
So as you can see we're all plugging away quietly in the background and are gearing up for series 2 really kicking off. In the meantime...go watch series 1 in it's entirety on our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/toddthezombie
See you real soon!
4/8/12
Greetings
So....we've done it! We've finished series 1 of Todd the Zombie. This post is a little bit later than I was planning on doing it because I've been pretty busy since the last episodes release a couple of weeks ago. With the end of series 1, it doesn't mean that it is an end to Todd, and as the last episode says, Todd WILL be back. We're already planning series 2 but in this downtime between the 2 series we're still working on the show. Some of us are working on a re-release of the series, remastering and doing what I like to call the George Lucas cut of the episodes. At the moment this consists of re-recording some of the dialogue (especially from episode 1) as it was not of the highest quality and sometimes made it difficult to hear what was being said. And now we have some female cast members on board we're using their voices for the characters rather than using my voice that has been altered. Some of the team are also working on some re-designs for characters and rooms to give the second series a better look and feel. I was looking to do a completely different look for the new episodes but after talking with some of the guys about it, I've decided against it and am just looking to make it look a bit smoother and....let's use the term HD as seen as people like to band that term around quite a bit recently even though, let's face it, it means jack all. As far as re-designs go, you will already have noticed the shiny new logo that we have on the website. This will be part of the new opening credits that I'm working on and will also be used in our online promotion and fan pages, among other things. All credit goes to Ecky for this new design, as usual I gave him a job to do and he came up with some great ideas and made it a difficult choice for me to pick which one to use. So, as you can see, there is a hell of a lot going on at the moment, and although we have finished the first series we are by no means laying about and doing nothing. Jess will still be updating the Facebook/Twitter pages with what we're upto and Mark will still working on the website so be sure to come back regularly for updates on what we're upto and maybe for some news on series 2.
There is also a new playlist setup on our YouTube channel that consists of all series 1 episodes so head over there and watch it in it's entirity.
Let us know which is your favourite episode!
See you soon!
20/5/12
Evening all
Yes it's me, you're not seeing things. I'm still alive.....just. I've been having a pretty crappy time of late and haven't been in the mood to do anything at all. This is one of the reasons why Mark has taken the reigns on episode 5, the other being that he came to me and asked to be more involved with the series, so, after some thought on what role I could give him I decided to give him some major responsibility and make him Director which may have shocked him quite a bit, I don't think he was expecting that one. But I've got to say, so far he's really pulled it out of the bag and has done some truly great work. He's got the animators motivated (which is a job and a half) and even managed to convince them to take on more work, as we've lost Luke for this episode.
Luke hasn't gone completely, his last blog explained what was happening, but he's also working on something extra. It's a fairly big project for him to do on his own but as it's not something that is urgent I'm happy for him to chug alone with it until episode 5 is finished and the rest of us can jump on it with him.
As you should already know, Episode 5 - Deux Ex: Human Resources, it the last episode in this series and it promises not to disappoint. Colin has done another excellent job with the script and from what I've seen so far of the animation work, the animators are doing a bang up job too.
As I'm not directing this episode I've been doing other work on it. I'm doing some of the animtion, but my main job is to do all the sound recording and editing. Which means having fun with music and sound effects and of course recording the actors (this bit will begin very soon). So I've not got it easy even though I'm not running the show. Even this smaller role is a pain at the moment because I'm still not feeling 100% but I'm just trying to work through it.
I would like to say thanks to the team for pulling together around me and helping me through I know it can't have been easy, and also to everyone from Facebook, Twitter and else where sending me messages to try to cheer me up, sorry If I've been an ass.....but there's probably more to come I'm afraid.
See you all soon
G
7/4/12
....BOO!!
Yes we're still here. We've been quiet since the release of episode 4 for a few reasons. The main reason is me. I've not been with it for the past few weeks and haven't been able to get myself motivated, which means I either told the others to take a break, or they had no choice because there was nothing to do....but now....I'm back!
I had my first read through of the new script for Episode 5 - Deus Ex: Human Resources, and once again I'm very impressed and happy with it. Looks like a few things in there that will give the animation guys some fun. It's going to be an epic end to the series and we're going to pull out all the stops to make it our best episode ever.
So, at the moment I'm at the stage we're I'm planning in my head what we're going to do for this episode. I've made notes and split the episode up into 41 scenes. Once I've had a couple more read throughs and made a few more notes and got it all straight in my head. I will be marking up the scripts for the voice actors and passing them out and then it will be time for the first animation meeting. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks of this script and what we can do with it.
Keep on the look out for more updates and news on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
3/3/12
Gooooooooooood Evening Toddites!
Time for another episode 4 update from your Overlord. Things are progressing extremely well. This is episode out of the 4 that we have done so far has come together much better. we've really got the hang of putting things together and following a real plan. I still need to get dialogure recorded with a little more time to edit but I've done better at that than on previous occasions so I'm pretty happy. I've said the same thing for pretty much every episode, in that it looks to be really hard to do and is going to take ages to get it right, but again with this episode it's not been as bad as I and the rest of the team were thinking. Which kind of goes to show that we are gettings much better at what we do.
As for my work on this episode, currently I am editing the dialogue that was recorded the other night and some that has been sent over to me. Some parts of it easier to edit than others but overall I'm pleased with what's been done and I'm hoping that once I've done this editing I'll be able to put it together with some of the animation.
At this point I'd like to intruduce to you the 2 new members of TeamTodd who have joined the other 10 of us. Both of these new members will be doing voices for the show, Kylie Collins who will be the voice of Lane, and Paul Carroll who will be mainly doing any extra voices that we will require (at the moment he seems to do mainly engineers). It's great to have more doing voices for me, hopefully this will mean that we can expand the character base even more as we go forward.
We're slowly starting to put everything together now, so I don't think it will be long before I can announce a release date for it so be sure to look out for that soon.
Don't forget to Like Todd on Facebook and take part in both 'Top Fans' and ''Toddite of the Week'
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can get the bulk of the episode complete before the 9th March, because It looks like we'll all be taking a week or so off so we can kick some ass on Mass Effect 3...Except Sam who will be playing it from the 6th....damn youuuu!!!
That's enough from me for now, I'm off to do some more editing.
9/2/12
Good evening friends, family and Toddites. As you may well be aware, work on episode is now in full swing, Sam in buy creating storyboards, Ecky and myself are busy designing and we're also as well as Luke, creating cells. Some scenes are now complete cell wise, but this is one of our most complicated episodes and as such instead of having the usual 18-20 scenes, this one has 39! But we're really going for it now. As well as creating cells I have recorded all my dialogue for Todd/Stan/Jarvis, also been working out sound effects and music which again has been a bit different for this episode. It's great to see the team getting their teeth into this episode and seeing how I barely need to prompt them these days, they just get on and do what is needed.
Elsewhere in the world, I've now settled into my new flat and pretty much finished unpacking which is a big load off. The studio/spare room is now setup properly and ready for my voice cast to come and record their parts when they can and also managed to get another couple (hopefully) of people on board to record voices for the series.
I do however seem to have a guest in my flat, if you can see my Facebook timeline you'll already know that I have had some very strange occurrences in this flat, from people at windows, objects moving and shadows where there shouldn't be shadows. I've always believed in ghosts and whatnot and what’s happened of late is only confirming those beliefs. Thankfully other people have also experienced things here so I know I'm not completely crazy and imagining things....no more than I do on a normal day anyway!
It's also nice to see more people getting involved on the Facebook page, as you may know, if you comment/like/share or post on our Facebook page you could be voted Toddite of the week on a Sunday so don't forget to visit us regularly to see what we're up to.
20/1/12
Hey folks, just a quick Friday night blog from me today to give you an update of where we're at with episode 4. Well, as you may or may not already know, I finally received the scrpit from Colin the other day after his many re-writes and breakdowns during the process. I've just finished reading through it for the first time, and my first reaction is one of amused, shock and brain exploding confusion. But having said that, it's a bloody good script! And again I've got to hand it to Colin for coming up with something totally Toddesque. I can already see the challenges that myself and the rest of the design and animation team are going to face, but like with the other 3 episodes I'm sure we can conquer any problems we may face and bring you another awesome episode. At the moment I'm just adding a few notes and tomorrow I will probably split it up into scenes and once that's done the animation/design team can have our get together and they can divide it up between them and we can get started! Exciting times! Of course we'll keep you up to date with our progress.
8/1/12
Well hello there folks, tis I your benevolent Overlord here again for my first TtZ blog of the year. Guess I've been a bit slow but I've had a hell of a lot going on over the past few months and it's only now getting a bit more back to....well...normalish.
So what's happening then? After a pretty crap year last year (except for Todd of course) things are finally starting to come together for me. In December I moved to a new apartment in Eccles and I've spent the past few weeks unpacking, rearranging bills and such and decorating, and by decorating I mean doing it the other way a geek should....Pixel Art! Below is the wall so far in my Spare room/Studio, it shows a very unlucky city being attack by...well just check out the image and you'll see :)
Aiming to get my proper internet connection sorted this next week *Fingers Crossed*. At the moment I'm running off a 3G router which I "Borrowed" from work, it's not bad as far as connection goes, in fact it's probably better than what I had a my old flat but in theory the new connection I'm getting should be much faster. This should hopefully help Mark and myself a hell of a lot when working on the website, with it being built on my desktop/server machine.
As for Todd work....I'm awaiting the script for episode 4 from writer Colin, who says it should hopefully be with me by next weekend. Once I get the script, Bill our Planner can put together the episode production plan so we have some idea of where we are aiming for. I can then review the script, make any notes or changes that are needed and then myself and the animation team can get together and sort out the details for the producing it. I'm looking forward to doing this episode even though I'mm not really a great fan of what it's going to be based on, but it should be quite an interesting episode to work on and I'm looking forward to how we can progress with our style and quality as we've been steadily improving as the episodes have gone on.
I can tell this year is going to be a long hard slog but myself and the rest of TeamTodd enjoy the work so it doesn't seem like real hard work.
For the moment I shall leave you as I go off and see what I can be bothered to do today. Have a great day folks.
G
11/12/11
Hello to you all!
Just a quickie blog today to let you know that the last bits of music have just been added to the remaining scenes of episode 3 and the final compile is happening as I type this. Once that’s done I’ll be doing the first complete viewing of the finished episode and if everything is OK with it I will be announcing a release date to the team, who will update the online feeds. So keep you eyes peeled for it soon!
28/11/11
It’s the start of yet another week and yes, you guess it, I can’t be arsed! This time it took me a good couple of hours to come to this conclusion. However things may finally be coming together for me. Working towards new year and what it could bring is giving me something to do and is keeping my mind occupied a bit more to keep me from slipping back down again.
So what’s happening? Todd the Zombie Level 3 is coming along very well, at the moment it’s with Richard our musical genius who working on some of the main themes before we get together and put together the smaller parts and incidental tunes. Can’t wait to see how this one turns out, as usual it’s been a great episode to work on. So not long before release now. In my personal life…I’M MOVING!!! So I’m attempting to pack, but where do I start? I’ve got that much “crap” in my flat it’s unbelievable, but I’m getting there slowly. Got rid of a few boxes of stuff that I haven’t been through since I moved in this place, and I think if I’ve not seen the stuff in there for 3 years I obviously don’t need it, so it’s out!
So anyway, that’s me for now. Laters
1/11/11
Evening all
I figured that as seen as I’ve really not been in the mood to do a new vlog over on my YouTube page and by the way things are looking at the moment I don’t reckon I’ll be doing one anytime soon, so why not do a blog on our very own Todd site.
Got a few good updates for you on episode 3, it’s kicking off here at the moment. The episode is probably around 50% complete if not more which means we’re well on track for our release date as shown in our plan. With this episode we’ve managed to iron out a few more wrinkles in our production which is great, it’s good to know that the more we create the better we get at it and that we’re learning from our mistakes, our team are getting into their roles and producing some great stuff.
In case you haven’t noticed already the website has a new look and arrangement. Myself and Mark have done a lot of work to bring you a more organised site with more on it for you guys. One thing I’m happy that we’ve been able to bring you is the page dedicated to the music from the show. Richard our musical genius puts some good work into creating the the background and incidental music and I thought it was time to showcase it a bit. So if you click here you can head over there and listen to some music from the previous two episodes Office S.C.U.M.M. and SNAAAAKE!! and as we release the episodes the music from it will be available to listen to on here.
There are several other new parts to the site so while you’re here while not explore a bit and see what’s new.
I’m not going to go into it here but I’d just like to say a big thank you to those of you that have offered words of support or have helped out in the past few weeks. I’m slowly getting through things but it might take a while so I’ll just ask you to bear with me while I’m down.
One thing I’m still short off for the show are female voices. If you fancy giving it a go then fill in the form here and we’ll see what we can do.
I hope you all continue to enjoy the show and keep spreading the word of Todd
See you soon
G
|
