Dragon's Lair Pitch (Indiegogo)

[Rodney]

I'm posting this here not so much to plug the kickstarter but to highlight one of the interviews/demonstrations that relates to it.

 

Over on the Traditionalanimation.com site, Lavalle Lee conducts an interview with Don Bluth, then one with Gary Goldman and then raps up with a few question with both that dovetails into the announcement of the kickstarter. The main event however is saved for last and that is an animation demonstration by Don Bluth with him breaking down a simple animation of DIrk the Daring swinging his sword. A few highlights of the video include:

 

Don demonstrates the traditional art of animation

Don uses an exposure sheet and metronome as an aid to timing out his shot

Don works through the whole process and then follows up with a review of the results.

Don drops all kinds of useful tips throughout.

 

This demonstration is much like Don use to run during his weekly seminars which unfortunately he had to stop.

Sadly, there just wasn't enough interest to make the continuing effort worthwhile.

 

BUT... perhaps the primary reason I'm posting here and not on my blog is that the high definition version of the interview/demo is available for download and given that it is well over 1GB in size I wonder how long they will be able to justify keeping that online. So before I post anything on my blog I wanted to give everyone here a heads up.

 

*There is also some interesting insight on the kickstarter related to Don's theater in Phoenix Arizona "First Row Theater" which has been his focus outside of animation since stepping away from animation.

 

Should you support the kickstarter? Hey, that's your call.

I'm not a big Dirk the Daring fan but I'm likely in for a few dollars. Those Toon Talk magazines alone are well worth $10 bucks.

 

Interview Link (vimeo direct): xhttps://vimeo.com/143663609

 

Tradition Animation site: (look for interviews with Aaron Blaise and Dominic Carola as well as a host of other resources)

 

http://www.traditionalanimation.com/

 

And the Dragon's Lair kickstarter:

(with just shy of 800 backers they've raised $70K out of their goal of $550K to perfect their pitch)

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/donbluth/dragons-lair-the-movie

 

 

Disclaimer: I have a feeling Don and Gary will try to make the film regardless of the outcome of the kickstarter but a successful kickstarter will get the ball rolling faster. Also consider that while I am in no way affiliated with Lavalle Lee or Don Bluth I am acquainted with both. As such I don't wish to persuade you one way or the other whether you should donate money to any kickstarter; this one or any other.

 

 

Edit: Looks like I'm backer #800

[detbear]

I was always a big fan of the first(original) game.

 

Remember my Sculptris to Hash project where I modeled Dirk? :

 

https://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=45294&hl=dirk

 

I think there will always be an audience for Dragon's Lair. Hopefully they will be able to

get the project done.

[Rodney]

Don and Gary have sweetened the pot of rewards considerably since I first posted and they've been posting regular updates, feedback as well in an effort to show they are serious about their project.

At present, with 24 days still to go, they have 1,175 backers who have contributed $114, 393 toward their goal of $550K.
It's looking to me like they're gonna get it done.

Don and Gary have been listening to feedback from folks that say they would contribute it this or that and so they've added a few resources to include original art, etc. Of possible interest are a few new lower teir rewards such as a digital copy of the 39 page 'Animation: One way to approach it' which was handed out at Don's masterclasses. As mentioned before in another topic I believe this collection includes notes Don has pieced together over the years and passed out to aspiring animators to include Eric Larson's series of notes. I'm not entirely sure about this... Edit: I just check the document I have locally and it contains about twice the number of pages, some of which included material often seen before (Walt Disney's notes to Don Graham about starting up a training course for animators to get their talents up to the task that eventually they could animate 'Snow White' and more). It's possible this document might be the same minus the material technically owned by others... that would bring the page count closer to the advertised 39. At any rate, I'd say the document is sure to be well worth the price of admission as a reward at the $5 tier for contributions.

I haven't seen his name mentioned but I'd guess that poor ol' Dave Monahan, who has long been Don's trusted technical assistant behind the scenes will be involved in keeping the flow of information (video feedback, etc.) going. Hat's off to you Dave if that is the case.

I may not be especially into Dragon's Lair but I have to say I'm excited to see Don Bluth animating again. What a joy it is to see a master of animation at work.

For those that didn't care to watch the interviews above, the results of the animation demo with Dirk swinging a sword has been posted: Link to video.

[Rodney]

Remember my Sculptris to Hash project where I modeled Dirk? :

 

https://www.hash.com...c=45294&hl=dirk

 

I do remember that!

Nicely done!

[fae_alba]

Well I'm in. I used to play that game, loved it!

[Rodney]

For those interested...

 

Don and Gary halted their Kickstarter just prior to it failing to meet it's goal and moved the entire endeavor over to Indiegogo.

 

Will they be more successful? Hard to say.

They are currently at 20% of funding 6 hours in with 617 backers and 45 days to go.

 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dragon-s-lair-returns/x/9070129#/

[Rodney]

Interesting...

 

In two days their new campaign has taken in more than the total amount for their entire Kickstarter... and they are over half way to their goal with 44 days remaining.

 

I'd say that the press and initial interest from the Kickstarter jumpstarted the new campaign.

Perhaps someone needs to start a 'Jumpstarter' site just to get the word out -before- folks launch a campaign?

 

One oddity... Don and Gary appear to still be posting on the Kickstarter which makes me wonder about the rules o' the fundraising game.

Do the folks at Kickstarter care?

 

There are a lot of movng parts in any fundraising effort and while the initial fundraiser did get some decent coverage it did seem to have a few things working against it. One of which was that its final days fell smack dab in the middle of the Thanskgiving week where folks were busy with other things (to include saving their money for Black Friday sales?)

 

At any rate, the jury is still out on whether the campaign will be successful but at the current rate of funding I'd say Don and Gary will hit their goal this time around.

[Rodney]

Unless there is something significant happening (such as free stuff being given out) I will probably post updates to this project only on my blog. That way I won't spam the forum with other folks desire for you to give them all your money. The occasional exception may be made such as when/if the project is funded or if some reward is added that is significantly relates to Animation:Master.

 

It is worth noting the new project is now just 50K away from it's goal of $250K with 39 days remaining. Quite a difference from the slower fundraising over at Kickstarter.

As such I can't foresee any reason the project will not be funded.

 

Unless I missed something there does appear to be one casualty of the move over to Indiegogo and that is the digital course notes I mention above, 'Digital Animation: One Way to Approach It'. That seems to have fallen off the list of rewards. Oh disregard. Gah. I see they've added that to the $5 tier reward. I'd say that the info contained in that 39 page handout will be well worth five bucks.

 

I see at the $15 tier they are giving out digital copies of the now out of print books 'The Art of Storyboarding' and 'The Art of Animation'. Both of these books should be in every animator and cartoonists library.

[Rodney]

Just a note to say that with 13 days remaining this project has less than $3000 to go.

Looks like Don and Gary are about to have to get to serious (animation) work, making the pitch for the movie, etc.

 

Update: The goal of $250K has been reached with notice stretch goals soon to be released.

.

[detbear]

I have the art of animation. It's a fairly decent book. Has a bunch of keyframe sequences from Dragons Lair in it....As well as many others.

 

I would like to have the "Storyboarding" title. That would be very good as well.

 

I want to work on the project. Wonder if they're hiring

[Rodney]

I want to work on the project. Wonder if they're hiring

 

 

I note that one of the guys that was heavily involved in the Bluth forum. weekly seminars and attended the masterclass was asked if he wanted to move to Phoenix to help with the project.

 

It's a fairly decent book.

 

In today's terms the book doesn't seem to dig quite as far as one might hope but back when it was first released it was a very welcome guide as there were very few books available on animation. While it has a lot of good visuals it's strength (as I recall) is mostly in word; practice and theory of hand drawn animation. For instance, a page or so devoted to more obscure topics as inspiration such as listening for 'the blue note' and courting the muses. Speaking of muses... music is covered very well in the book too and up until the time of Don's book music hadn't been emphasized much.

 

While Don is certainly a master of animation my personal interest in Don's work tends to gravitate toward Layout. Don is an amazing layout artist.

Once upon a time when I asked for a quick sketch, other folks wanted drawings of Banjo, Mrs Brisby etc. but I asked for a simple 'layout construction' sketch which Don happily assented too do. In a few seconds he'd captured a tiny sketch that captured more about layout than I recall every seeing in an animation book; just a few quickly placed lines of a thumbnail drawing in a tiny little sketchbook.

 

As for working on the project, I'd say that if it does get going (the film.... not just the pitch) then a whole lot of folks will be vying for the opportunity.

I admit to being jealous of Lavalle's opportunity to work with Don (assuming he chooses to do so) and I hope that if the opportunity arises there will be work there for you and many others too.

One of the reasons I went to Don's master class was that I felt that if I didn't go I would never again have the opportunity.

[Rodney]

It looks like Don and Gary will easily hit their current $300K stretch goal.

 

What does that mean?

For all backers pledging $5 or more there is additional free stuff (digital copies of the Dragon's lair comic books, more color animation).

The $250K stretch brought with it some more animation footage and new models sheets.

For those into original art they are having regular drawings for original sketches by Don too. (posting a comment/like on Facebook required for entry).

To date there have been a few Christmas themed sketches and a Star Wars sketch featuring Dirk and Daphne gifted off.

 

For those keeping track, I see from the team photos/listing that Lavalle is signed on as the team's technical guru.

Congrats to you Lavalle!

[Rodney]

I figure I should post an update as this thing is now into it's last day of funding, has hit all of the stretch goals thus far and looks to easily hit the next one as well.

They are almost funded at 1/2 million dollars which is pretty impressive considering all things (such as the initial kickstarter not getting off to a great start at the very beginning).

 

5337 people contributing....20 hours left as of this post... $442,206 raised...

I can't see them adding another stretch goal with so few hours remaining but it could happen and might be well worth watching in case they drop something well worth the last minute submission.

Also, keep in mind that many of the stretch goals apply to the $5 level.

 

Linkage

[Roger]

Dang Rodney, Don may have me eating noodles and tuna this month. I am really tempted by those animation cels.

[Rodney]

Looks like they moved over the half-million mark just prior to the campaign end.

$518,781 raised.

 

It'll be interesting to see where they go with the project from here.

 

Don and Gary have been involved in a lot of videos related to this campaign.

Here's one with 'the rotoscopers' that is well worth watching to get some background and insight:

 

xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMnRKij0PTU

 

Don gets into 'the heart' of the matter about 3/4 of the way into the video.

[Roger]

Hmmm ok the 500k + is going towards a minute pitch reel. I guess I didn't really expect they would be able to make the whole movie for 500k. I'm getting some nice stuff so I can't complain. Hope they get the rest of their funding.

[Rodney]

Hand drawn features are a hard sell these days but someone backing Don Bluth stands to be involved in a 'new renaissance' of hand drawn animation... not unlike when Don spurred something similar back when he departed Disney in 1979. I recall that timeframe (somewhat after the fact as Don was being interviewed about his projects) as a suggestion that other people besides those at Disney could produce animated films. And of course I distinctly recall when the Dragon's Lair video game hit the arcades. I wanted to play it to see the animation but didn't waste a lot of my money because I couldn't get past the first few stages!!!

 

It wasn't too long after that the Disney started hitting their stride again and with 'The Little Mermaid' they were back in the biz again.

 

The 10 years between Don departing Disney and the release of TLM were inspirational years for me as I was bound and determined to get into comics and animation. I didn't know enough about animation and information was sparse in those days so my focus was on comics and I collected almost everything I could get my hands on (mostly Marvel... I was heavily inspired by John Byrne's style of of illustration.

I even taught a few classes at the local extension center to kids; the first was 'Basic Cartooning' and the second 'Beginning Animation'. Ah, those were the days. (I had no clue back then what I was doing either)

 

But... the point...

The biggest win (in a para-perfect world) would be if Disney convinced Don Bluth to rejoin the fold and fully backed him on some feature films.

This would heal all wounds, turn back the clock and set everything up for the next golden age of animation.

This is not likely to happen because A ) Disney wouldn't likely do it B ) Don wouldn't likely do it either.

But Bob Iger... if'n you are listening, it'd be a wise decision. Not lucrative like buying IP of Pixar, Marvel or Lucas but from a historical view it'd be worth a reasonable investment.

The underlying issue (as far as I can guess) would be intellectual property rights. Disney requires them to be signed over to them... Don has spent most of his career producing films that he doesn't have any rights to leverage.

The exception to this appears to be... Dragon's Lair.

 

Okay, enough blather from me.

I'm not a big Dragon's Lair fan but I'm a very big animation fan and given a good script/story I might even become of DL fan.

As such I hope Don and Gary can get some serious backing for a new round of classically drawn animation.

If I calculate right, Don will be 78 this year. This is the prime time to get Don fully back into the spotlight of animation.

 

minute pitch reel.

 

I think the pitch reel is up to 4 or 5 minutes *of animation* now (by hitting the various stretch goals that added additional work to the reel)

 

 

They've already got an impressive list of talent joining in just for the pitch and/or that have committed to join a feature film production.

Some of those include:

John Pomeroy - He was with Don and Gary when they departed Disney in 79. He's was back at Disney in '95 and moved mostly to story artist as feature films moved to CG. John has also been working with Tom and Tony Bancroft (and others) teaching animation through 'Taught by a Pro' - most of their video lessons are around $10 each.

Kathleen Quaife - well known effects animator - you should check out her website - lots of great examples there.

Michael Cedeno - I am embarrassed to say I don't know much about Michael's work... I'll try to remedy that! He's been in the biz for over 25 years and teaches animation at Otis College of Art and Design

Dominic Carola - owner/animator of Premise Entertainment - has found a excellent way to pair with the major studios and yet keep a freelance/small biz approach in animation

Vera Pacheco - left Disney with Don, Gary and John back in '79 and has been animating on many of the major animated features since

Sandro Cluezo - I was a little surprised to see Sandro listed as he's been busy of late creating a new short (and rumor has it... animated feature) 'Klaus'. If my memory serves correctly Sandro left South America for Ireland as a teenager with the goal of working for Don and Gary and after traveling to Ireland... made that goal a reality.

James Lopez - another surprise listing - He's an independent filmmaker who lately has been deeply involved with the crowdfunded 'Hullabaloo'

Carmen Oliver - yet another talent that left with the crew back in '79? I need to find out more about Carmen and her craft as well... Character Color Stylist!

Christopher Stone - Score Composer - created the original Dragon's Lair score!

(with apologies to anyone I left out!)

 

WIth the number of talented 2D animators out there there shouldn't be a lack of artists available to produce a Dragon's Lair film.

[Rodney]

For those that don't have a good grasp of the background of Don Bluth and how he has impacted animation this video gives a lot of background.

It's of an interview/visit Don had with AnimationNation about two years ago.

 

xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYExFX3X19g

 

Set aside some time if you want to view this. It runs about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Get some great tips on drawing, work ethic, lighting, composition, color/music scales, business and more.

 

One of my favorite quotes: "Stay in preproduction as long as you can."

[Roger]

Hand drawn features are a hard sell these days but someone backing Don Bluth stands to be involved in a 'new renaissance' of hand drawn animation... not unlike when Don spurred something similar back when he departed Disney in 1979. I recall that timeframe (somewhat after the fact as Don was being interviewed about his projects) as a suggestion that other people besides those at Disney could produce animated films. And of course I distinctly recall when the Dragon's Lair video game hit the arcades. I wanted to play it to see the animation but didn't waste a lot of my money because I couldn't get past the first few stages!!!

 

 

Okay, enough blather from me.

I'm not a big Dragon's Lair fan but I'm a very big animation fan and given a good script/story I might even become of DL fan.

As such I hope Don and Gary can get some serious backing for a new round of classically drawn animation.

If I calculate right, Don will be 78 this year. This is the prime time to get Don fully back into the spotlight of animation.

 

minute pitch reel.

 

I think the pitch reel is up to 4 or 5 minutes *of animation* now (by hitting the various stretch goals that added additional work to the reel)

 

 

 

 

I could have sworn I typed "4 minute". Anyway, I hope they get their funding. If I'm doing the math right, every finished 10 minutes would cost them about million dollars, so they need maybe 10 million to make a feature?

Dragon's Lair was a game designed to just eat your quarters. I could never get very far. Usually, I would watch someone else play and then drop in 50 cents or a buck at most. And die within 2 minutes.

[Roger]

For those that don't have a good grasp of the background of Don Bluth and how he has impacted animation this video gives a lot of background.

It's of an interview/visit Don had with AnimationNation about two years ago.

 

xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYExFX3X19g

 

Set aside some time if you want to view this. It runs about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Get some great tips on drawing, work ethic, lighting, composition, color/music scales, business and more.

 

One of my favorite quotes: "Stay in preproduction as long as you can."

 

 

I knew Don worked at Disney at one point and I very much liked "Anastasia" and "The Secret of NIMH"

I will have to watch the video, looks like good stuff.

[Rodney]

I didn't realize what was going on with their campaign but apparently Indigogo has a feature 'in demand' that allows campaigns to continue on past the deadline of the campaign.

What does that mean? I guess it means that folks can still contribute and receive rewards related to the campaign.

Interesting.

 

It sounds like the folks behind Indigogo themselves had a hand in getting Don and Gary over to their platform.

 

Much to learn about those crowd sourcing thingies.