Animation and Video Life

I haven't heard of Domo before but apparently this cute little monster (he's the one with the big, red gaping mouth and sharp teeth) is big in Japan. My research reveals he started out as station mascot for a popular Japanese TV network and has kind of spring boarded into other things from there including ads for the shopping variety store, Target. Domo has his own web site called Domonation where you can learn more about him and his friends , Mr Usaji (Grey Rabbit), Maya and her son Mario (the two bats), Tassanna (yellow 17 year old female weasel) and others. The Domonation site has partnered with GoAnimate to create a section where you can create your own animations, using the GoAnimate Application, called Domo Animate . It's completely separate from GoAnimate's main site but works exactly the same (except that you can't upload your own custom props, backgrounds or sounds). I was recently invited by GoAnimate staff to join the site and contribute to some already ...

I was laying in bed one night and I had this brainwave of chroma keying GoAnimate characters with live action video. I was sure it could be done but how effective would it be? Obviously there are many limitations with this idea but for the moment have a look at my very rough experimental video below and I'll get onto explanation after. Firstly if you are not familiar with what Chroma Keying is then you may be more familiar with the concept of green screening in relation to movie special effects. The terms are almost interchangeable. Both record their subject against a single background colour, usually green, which is then keyed out and replaced with another video image. In the case of my video above I created a GoAnimate Animation which animated GoAnimate's character, Kate, on a green background. See the animation below. GoAnimate.com : Chroma key test by etourist Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com . It's free and fun! I then used CamStudio to screen capture th...

The continuing saga of Lieutenant Uhura's underwear (or at least the washing machine that contains them). If you have yet to watch previous episodes then here are the links: Part 1 , Parts 2 and 3 , Part 4 . In this latest installment the crew of the Enterprise attempt to retrieve their errant washing machine by boarding the Klingon's ship undetected. Laundry Day - Part 5 Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com . It's free and fun! This particular episode is almost double the length of previous episodes and, in my opinion, is not quite as funny. One of the complexities of writing a series is keeping the ideas flowing. I had hoped this might be the final episode but the way things worked out it looks like the story may just continue.

The continuing story of my Men In Black parody staring Barack Obama and AKON . If you have yet to see the first episode , it's not essential but does set up how Barack happens to be a MIB agent. I'd recommend you take a look. In this second episode Barack learns the truth about the former President and Vice President and attempts to play a practical joke that goes wrong. MIB - Part 2 Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com . It's free and fun! Paul Dini's, Rashy , once again makes an appearance in one of my animations as the boss of everything (well almost). After being foiled by Underdog in The Copier , Rashy continues his scheme to graduate from being the boss of a corporation to world and universe domination! When I started this series I had no idea Rashy would make an appearance but that's just the way I work. I start with an idea and see where it takes me rather than scripting the whole thing from beginning to end. As soon as I wrote Cheney saying "Th...

GoAnimate had an informal competition on their message board forum to guess the next license they'd release on their site. Willie Nelson was definitely not on anyone's radar. Not even close. If there was any doubt that GoAnimate is not just a 'kids' site then the recently launched Willie Nelson theme should lay that to rest. The only way Willie could possibly be known by kids in the 10-17 year old bracket is if they've seen the some-what below average Dukes of Hazard movie from 2005 in which Willie appeared as a weed smoking Uncle Jesse. Since this theme has nothing to do with the Dukes of Hazard movie and everything to do with Willie Nelson, his music and his touring show, then only die hard country music fans and Willie's own fan base are going to be really excited by Willie's appearance on GoAnimate. There aren't too many of them in the 10-17 year old age bracket. To try and make Willie a bit more appealing to the younger market there is a Super Wi...

To understand what's going on be sure to watch Laundry Day - Part 1 and Laundry Day - Parts 2 and 3 before this latest installment. In this episode things get more serious as a Klingon Ship snatches the Enterprise's jettisoned washing machine before it can be vapourized. Captain Kirk is concerned for the Enterprise's schematics (accidentally left in Scotty's pants pocket in the machine) and Lieutenant Uhura is concerned for the fate of her underwear. Watch for the 'Klingon underwear' joke that has been begging to be used since I started the series. Laundry Day - Part 4 Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com . It's free and fun! Be sure to watch Star Trek: Laundry Day - Part 5 .

In a previous post I mentioned that GoAnimate's AKON character would make a great stand in for Will Smith in any Will Smith movie parody. The AKON animated character is dressed in a black pinstripe suit so the obvious movie parody has to be Men In Black (MIB). With all the conspiracy theories (alleged) linked to George W. Bush and his administration one would imagine there's a lot of classified information that the new President, Barack Obama, needs to know - hence his appearance here. This is the start of yet another series and simply sets the scene for the story ahead. MIB - staring Barack and AKON Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com . It's free and fun!