Whose idea was this anyway!?

OK, so over three years ago the idea for Crash Squad was born.  After some concept refinement and development, the idea for the series came about.  It took well over a year to develop into the series it has become today.  Another year of voice recording and character/visual development brings us to today.  The thing that is killing me now is the technological side of this thing.  I recently lost the hard drive where I store all my animation project files.  I was able to recover most of it….however, I have lost a lot of the work I had done.   The animation files themselves are missing.  This means that I am back to the beginning of the animation process.   On top of that…I am having trouble with my computer actually handling the animation rendering.  It is painfully slow…and when I wait 5 hours for a 30 second clip to render and Drake’s skin is PURPLE…I get frustrated.  Mostly because that is 5 hours wasted.  The result is that my cast and crew only know that I don’t have anything for them to actually see.  We have been in  the studio recording for 14 months.  I don’t have a complete clip to show them…regardless of the countless hours I have spent working on the show.  I worry that they are going to lose interest or patience and walk.  That’s why this week I have taken off work and am doing NOTHING but working on the show.  I need to get SOMETHING done for them to see.  After all the frustrations and complications, I am wondering….Whose idea was this anyway!

Well….Time to get back to work.

Luke
MADHouse Studios

WHAT HAVE I DONE!?

I have always said that I wouldn’t do it.  I have claimed that it is an evil the likes of which I have NO interest in being part of.  I believe in my heart of hearts that it is a tool created by Satan himself to more rapidly bring the downfall of man!!!  And yet…I have caved into the pressures of this modern world and I have done it!

Crash Squad is now on Facebook (again)!!!!  OK, so this won’t be as dramatic an announcement to a few of you out there….who were already fans on the CRASH SQUAD Fan page on Facebook.  To be honest…I had forgotten that such a page existed, as I was not a member of said demonic website until yesterday.  I then promptly created a MADHouse Studio fan page.  So…including the Crash Squad fan page…We are now on FACEBOOK…again…or, still…I don’t know.  Just go check us out…become a fan…share it with a friend.

I have to go to church now and ask for forgiveness…this whole social networking thing makes me feel icky!!

Later,

Luke Newman
MADHouse Studios

P.S. I am putting a Facebook badge here on the blog…I don’t know what that is or what it does, but if you click it and start hearing voices in your house and can send tennis balls through a glowing hole in your bathtub to the living room…don’t blame me. Blame the inter-web demons!!!

Luke…

Happy Birthday!

Today is our fearless leader’s birthday.

Last night was our last recording session for the next couple of months.

The question has been raised; is Luke getting too old to keep up the pace? Is he really going to be out of town on Army business, or does the old man just need some time to rest?

Kurt is concerned that future recording sessions will be cut short due to Luke having an earlier bedtime because of his advanced years.

Rich said, “Personally I think that it took him so long to tuck in the kids last week because he had to take a nap himself to make it through the night.”

Someone speculated that he was “as old as God.”

Pete had some helpful advice; “Speaking from experience, (I just turned 50 on Sunday) I,.. uhh… what was I saying?.. Well anyway, the party was freakin’ awesome!”

We’re just hoping Luke will animate the first episode before he’s lost all of his critical faculties.

~ ~ ~

From all of us on the Cast and Crew of Crash Squad; We wish you a very Happy Birthday, Luke.

New Faces for The Twins

Due to some…ahem… indiscretions (not on the actor’s part, but by the actual MAC models), The Twins have had to be replaced. It is quite scandalous and we are trying to keep the details out of the media.

Kurt will still be giving voice to the characters and the situation is in no way a reflection upon him.

I’ve taken down the images of the old models portraying this fun-loving duo on the website and put up the new ones.

One

Two

Known simply as “The Twins,” these two former semi-pro athletes became cops after deciding that extreme sports were not enough of a challenge for them. They are all about the next big thrill and won’t turn down even the most dangerous of missions. With their frat-boy attitudes, they are often the comic relief on the team.

Read more about One and Two on the Crash Squad Website.

~Jenny

Squad Profile Picture – Gibson

I am thrilled that we are back to recording on a regular basis! Hopefully Luke is cranking out some animation for your viewing pleasure even now. I can’t wait to see our voices come alive in these amazing characters.

Speaking of amazing characters, it’s about time I get back to introducing you to them…
Here’s one now.

Fans, meet Gibson.
Gibson, meet our three fans.

Lieutenant Gibson is one of a newer model of MAC that has only started widespread circulation throughout Delta City. He is Drake’s second in command, as well as his best friend. Neither really knows why.

Gibson’s strengths lie in analysis and criminal profiling. He is the team’s negotiator. His tendency is to talk his way out of situations. He will only run if absolutely necessary, and refuses to carry a gun.

Learn more about this very unique MAC here on the Crash Squad Website.

~Jenny

Technology…it’s never gonna catch on.

No kidding, there I was…getting ready to wrap up after a good session in the studio when I felt the urge to…well…DIE.

 We had started a bit late, but once everyone got there and we got rolling along we were rather productive.  It was a good night over all…

We were excited, since it was the first night that we were using our new sound mixer.  This piece of technological wonder was going to streamline the work flow and make the whole project run more smoothly.  It has the capability to save the voice over files directly to the laptop!  This is much easier and quicker than recording it on a digital VIDEO, then loading that video onto an editing deck….then stripping the audio into a separate file….then burning that to a CD for me to use.

NO…now we can record a few takes…click a few buttons on the audio program on the laptop…and then I have the audio files saved and ready to use.  Right?  Right…barring technical difficulties.  And by technical difficulties…I mean that I AM AN IDIOT!

OK…so the session wasn’t as productive as we thought.  Somehow…(because I’m an idiot) I clicked the mute button on the track for the voice over.  SO…we were getting sound through the microphones…it was registering on the mixer…and the files were showing the actual wave forms…BUT, as I saved each file it mixed down into a MUTED audio file.

We’ll just call this last RECORDING session a nice long REHEARSAL!!!  I just hope I still have a voice cast when we meet for the next session…I don’t pay them enough for this kind of incompetence on my part.

It’s just this technology stuff….I don’t think it will ever catch on!

Talk to you next time.

Luke
MADHouse Studios

That’s easy for you to say!

I believe that the people I work with are some of the most talented people I have ever been lucky enough to come across in my life. They are dedicated to this art form and strive for perfection in all they do. Each and every take in the studio is like watching a Michelangelo sculpt his David, or Van Goh paint his Starry Night. I am blown away by such staunch professionalism and seriousness that I just had to share some of it with you. The clip below is from our session last Monday. It shows how very business like the actors are, as well as how perfect they strive to make each and every take.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Thanks,

Luke
MADHouse Studios

Captain Hoffman

CAPTAIN HOFFMAN

Captain Earl Hoffman is the man responsible for Jacyn Drake and his team of hard boiled cops. No stranger to the action himself, he once led an MCU of his own. Knowing full well that Drake’s team is the best at what they do, he does all he can to keep the heat off of their often wreckless antics.

A father figure to Drake, he also seems to go through what all good parents go through…wanting to trade in his ‘children’ for some that are better behaved.

Captain Hoffman is an intelligent and respected leader. He wants Drake and his team to succeed, but isn’t sure how much longer he can cover for them. Will they be the legacy that he leaves behind, earning him a record of honor and achievement…or will the Crash Squad just leave another broken image in their wake?

Check back soon for more Squad Profiles, and behind the scenes action as we get back into the studio.

Thanks,

LUKE
MADHouse Studios

Drake’s Back!

There it is…that’s Drake’s back.  (A still shot from the new, upcoming trailer!)

OK, seriously…we are all back.  The hiatus is over, and we are very excited to get back into the studio.  Final revisions are being made to the last few scripts for the season.  Also of note is the addition of a couple more actors to the cast roster.  While I am not ready to reveal details yet…you will meet them and the rest of the cast as we post up “Actor Profiles” from time to time.

There have been a couple of minor setbacks…but we are trudging through none the less.  First…I am having issues with my computer shutting down durring renders…which makes it impossible to have any usable footage.  But, I am working to solve this problem quickly.  That, in conjunction with Michael’s hard drive crashing and, in effect losing all the digital dialogue we had…is causing things to go a bit slower than we had hopped.  The ACTUAL dialogue is there on the original tapes…but Mike may have to start over in converting it to digital format for use in the project.  Again…we are working to fix this ASAP.

All in all, though it has been quite a long break….I think we are ready to hit the ground running. We’ll keep you all posted as we go. Thanks for checking in…and keep coming back.

Thanks,

Luke Newman
MADHouse Studios

P.S. Also look for an all new trailer for the Crash Squad…coming SOON. (And I mean it this time!)

Take Five…

OK, so this is a bit late…but I feel like I should post it up so that no one thinks we have just fallen off the face of the earth.

With the holidays and what not upon us…MADHouse Studios and the Crash Squad team are taking a break until at least the first of the year.  We hope you all have a happy and relaxing holiday time.  Be safe and see you next year.

Happy Christmahanakwanzika….and a Merry Festivus.

Thanks,

Luke Newman
MADHouse Studios