Bluestarultor
01-28-2012, 06:59 PM
I'll be requesting the old thread be deleted or... something, but I can't expect people to sift through that mess.
One of you might remember the thread in Off Topic where I mentioned the show I was cooking up (and was hoping to make into a 3D CG production). Well, things have solidified a bit, I have a few VAs from my friends and family, and reality has struck a bit more on how this could get made (barring me finding a 3D artist). The show setup hasn't changed from my initial sketch, but for the sake of not making anyone dig, I'll just bullet it.
3-Stage setup:
Center stage:
- 5 main characters (left to right):
-- Henry (drummer)
-- Daniel (/Garret, but only briefly in the game project that spawned the idea) (bassist)
-- "L" (keyboardist)
-- Gordon (lead guitar)
-- Corey (female singer)
- 2 prop characters:
-- Barry (above Daniel, animal-style bat which comes from hole in ceiling)
-- Diamond (jumps onto speaker nearest Corey, her "normal" musically-inclined pet cat)
- real speakers as needed/will fit (2 sitting on stage, one for each guitar)
Left Wing Stage:
- 4 partitions:
-- Bil and Gil (comedy twins)
-- D.J. (mascot, disc jockey, rapper, scratcher, and guy in charge of lights and sound)
-- empty Scratch Machine stage for "Live" shows and skits
-- Faith (female singer)
Right Wing Stage:
- 4 partitions:
-- Faith (duplicate, as she was originally intended to be quite important (she's in limbo now with no VA and hasn't developed much further))
-- Faith, Bil, and Gil (for big production numbers like birthdays, mechs are more stripped down than solo counterparts)
-- guest 1
-- guest 2 / empty
The setup takes major points from the RAE in terms of arrangement and design, due in part to the fact that originally DJ was intended to be another Uncle Klunk-style guest in terms of the game I was making before I decided I was better than that and built my own show around him. The characters are rather steeped in the mythology of the game that spawned them, but I'll do my best to avoid using in-game lore in describing them. All characters have some way of vacating the stage. In the case of the rotating stages, one stage is left more or less empty, and in cases where two guests are present on the right wing, I have enough sitting guest characters planned so at least one at any given time can be "asleep." All characters also have at least one speaker built in (in general on the upper chest) to create the illusion of voice and on instruments (mostly guitars) as needed.
As for the characters:
David Jacob "D.J." Del Gato - 19, bouncy guy, orange cat with shades, kind of a hornball, is not as good with "the ladies" as he thinks he is. This one is voiced by me (he's basically my normal voice) and has a "cat and mouse" relationship with Corey, while his rivalry with her cat is played for laughs. He's the main mascot of the band and has unparalleled utility due to the fact that he has his "Scratch Machine," which is similar to a DJ station you'd expect at an expensive party, with lights built in, turntables, sound controls, etc. He's perfectly capable of doing full solo shows just playing music and doing the lights, has his own birthday songs based on age and gender, and also claims to be responsible for the lights and such on all the shows, either doing them manually be he either onstage or backstage, or by setting up the pre-programming himself.
Corey Rockwell - 17, tomboyish, brown mouse with a brunette bob and blue-dyed bangs, likes to tease D.J. without giving him anything. I was hoping to use software to voice this one myself, but that's not working out well and she needs a VA (I only know one girl IRL I'd trust to flirt back and forth with without it getting weird and she was non-committal just on the band aspect, so I never explained the character). Corey was originally intended to be more like Mitzi (under the name Suzie Singer), but there was a split when I started looking at other people to voice her and Corey evolved where Suzie didn't. Corey is a much more modern take on a teenaged girl and toes the line a bit into rave/goth territory visually without losing her upbeat personality. If you know anyone who'd be willing to take the role as-is with the understanding of what it entails, by all means point her to it. I'm just not holding my breath on getting anyone for it until I get another girlfriend. >.<
Diamond - Corey's cat, a gray tabby with a white diamond on his forehead. This one has a VA planned, once Tank cooperates and gives me some decent singing meows. Yes, I'm serious. He's a damn smart cat and even speaks English ("milk," "momma," "Philip" (my brother), etc.), but coaxing him into meowing into a mic still needs work. After that, it's software. Diamond simply doesn't like D.J. and often hisses at him in skits, which is played for laughs in that D.J. often hisses back and treats him like a human rival despite Diamond being a normal cat (who just happens to understand English and sing by meowing).
Barry - a "funny animal" bat which lives in the attic of the building. Unlike Diamond, he can actually talk (and is voiced by me). Barry likes music he can sing prominently in and thus favors stuff in the falsetto range like disco (which is a running joke in that nobody else likes it nearly as much as he does). (For reference, that's not ripping off Rolfe inasmuch as I actually like disco and have a good selection to work with.)
Henry Acres - 21, wild and crazy, hulder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulder) with a prehensile tail (possibly to be changed to gray wolf tail) which is almost always in motion and cropped black hair, plays the drums WITH GUSTO! Not much more to say about this guy. He's got a full drum kit and is easily the worst technical nightmare in that he's pretty much Aaron's dream for Dook, able to play his drums like a real person, as well as having various other percussion things like disc bells, chimes, etc. for added utility. His tail is more easily handled than you'd think. Plans call for a swivel-base lever on the ceiling connected to the end by fishing line and a flexible skeleton inside to allow it a wide range of motion without sacrificing solidity. If I go gray wolf, then even that could be reduced to just wag based out of his backside. I can voice him if need be (I have voices set aside), but my brother offered to do it along with Gordon in absence of finding anyone else. Or, if anyone is interested, Phil is doing it more as a favor than out of any burning desire.
Gordon Ru Den - 24, down to earth, leopard guy, rather quiet, but people tend to listen when he talks. He's the lead guitarist and is a lead singer of the band, but doesn't talk much. When he does, it's generally something quite wise or intelligent and people tend to listen. The name is part of the lore of Jerako, the game world these are based on. I'll just leave it at the fact that the animal-people in it are genetically human and gain their appearance by magic, and those that come from lines that have been that way for long enough tend to reflect the naming conventions popular at the time. Gordon was originally intended to be black (inasmuch as I was hoping to find someone to help round out the band's sound, not in that I needed a token ethnic character), but given my area is pretty much white and Asian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wausau,_Wisconsin#Demographics), my brother offered to take him, too. On the other hand, I don't think Phil would mind letting him go if someone else were interested (note: this is an equal opportunity role; I'm not being picky about it anymore).
Elijah "L" Brown - 25, a main presence, is a hybrid beast-man with a human face and pointed ears, brown skin, and a whippy short tail, acknowledges he's a half-breed and doesn't care, quite laid-back, but has good leadership skills, too. L is based on another character in Jerako and to keep things short, the magic didn't quite take on him. L really doesn't care, though. Being the oldest of the main crew, he often puts his hands behind his head, kicks back, and watches the others' antics for his own amusement before reining them in for a song. He's a big guy, much like Fatz and Munch, and has the same position and instrument, but has a very different personality compared to either, being much less vivacious and much more of a gentle giant. He's also voiced by me and was one of the first voices I worked on getting right.
Daniel Pickett - 18, a bit of a prankster, race similar to a D&D Gnome, is the newest member of the band. This one is a bit more complex because his creation is specifically tied into the game that spawned this. The "production" explanation is that he's simply the band's newest member, but the game's explanation is that the person who created all these made one of himself, decided against it, and simply bleached the wig for a quick and easy change to protect his own popularity. Daniel will be voiced by either myself or my friend Matt, based on how much Matt as a guy with no musical experience can handle. If Matt can handle part work, he'll be pulling double duty as Bil and Gil, but if not, and if he still wants to sing, he'll be getting Daniel. As such, Daniel's character is a bit in flux right now.
Bil and Gil Rupee - 22, resident terrible comedy act, elves, identical twins in pretty much every sense of the word. I created these two with Matt in mind so he could bounce terrible puns back and forth to himself, but eventually I realized there was a good deal of potential in having them sing. The thing is I've never heard Matt sing before (EVER) and I don't know if he'd be comfortable recording different parts, so I formulated a voice that could probably pass in case he wants to keep them, or if he'd rather just take Daniel, well, yeah. In flux right now.
Faith Fields - 21, represents a much more feminine influence, human with long, raven hair, was originally intended to be the main female vocalist. Faith poses a problem because despite her being intended to be THE main female vocalist, I have no one to voice her and no way to hack it in Audacity based on my own voice (the same issue I had with Corey). By all means, if you know a woman who can sing (preferably the type who can sing ballads), point her in my direction. Unlike the Corey role, this one is totally safe. I just don't know anyone who's good for it.
and finally, one of my guest mechs, listed only because I have a voice for him that's not me and he was always intended to be quite important and recurring
Glenn Ru Gre - 19, a friend of D.J.'s, puma guy, more laid back than his showboating friend and can snipe with the best of them. Glenn is going to be voiced by Max, who's more my brother's friend, but is halfway mine at this point, too. He was originally intended to be the "cool" type when I thought I'd be taking him (he was originally visioned as casually arrogant and his stage is designed as an outdoor scene with him leaning against a tree literally right next to a "keep off the grass" sign), but with Max interested in taking a character, I thought his voice would be a best fit and I'll be playing it more by ear depending on where Max wants to go with him.
That's the novel so far on band and dream making-the-show-real junk. On a technical level, I'm not banking on getting a 3-D artist at this point, since I already tried hitting up a friend for models and she said she wasn't prepared for this kind of thing, nor do I have the money (being a young adult with bills to pay) to hire a decent artist for this type of commission. Nor can I really do it myself because I don't have the time to start from scratch nor the money for the stupidly expensive male and female bases I've found so far for Blender (seriously, WTF?). What I do have and know how to work in is Flash, and while it's not likely to be shaded as well as I'd like, I'm anal enough that I can maintain depth and positioning with near-3D accuracy given the time and effort. I'm still calling that my backup option, though. For music, I have and am comfortable with Anvil Studio, which does MIDI, but should suffice for now, and can even be used to write the sheet music for the vocal parts.
I'm posting all this in hopes that maybe someone here would be interested in helping. I'm hoping mostly for getting interested voices, but if anyone can offer anything in the art department, that would be fantastic!
One of you might remember the thread in Off Topic where I mentioned the show I was cooking up (and was hoping to make into a 3D CG production). Well, things have solidified a bit, I have a few VAs from my friends and family, and reality has struck a bit more on how this could get made (barring me finding a 3D artist). The show setup hasn't changed from my initial sketch, but for the sake of not making anyone dig, I'll just bullet it.
3-Stage setup:
Center stage:
- 5 main characters (left to right):
-- Henry (drummer)
-- Daniel (/Garret, but only briefly in the game project that spawned the idea) (bassist)
-- "L" (keyboardist)
-- Gordon (lead guitar)
-- Corey (female singer)
- 2 prop characters:
-- Barry (above Daniel, animal-style bat which comes from hole in ceiling)
-- Diamond (jumps onto speaker nearest Corey, her "normal" musically-inclined pet cat)
- real speakers as needed/will fit (2 sitting on stage, one for each guitar)
Left Wing Stage:
- 4 partitions:
-- Bil and Gil (comedy twins)
-- D.J. (mascot, disc jockey, rapper, scratcher, and guy in charge of lights and sound)
-- empty Scratch Machine stage for "Live" shows and skits
-- Faith (female singer)
Right Wing Stage:
- 4 partitions:
-- Faith (duplicate, as she was originally intended to be quite important (she's in limbo now with no VA and hasn't developed much further))
-- Faith, Bil, and Gil (for big production numbers like birthdays, mechs are more stripped down than solo counterparts)
-- guest 1
-- guest 2 / empty
The setup takes major points from the RAE in terms of arrangement and design, due in part to the fact that originally DJ was intended to be another Uncle Klunk-style guest in terms of the game I was making before I decided I was better than that and built my own show around him. The characters are rather steeped in the mythology of the game that spawned them, but I'll do my best to avoid using in-game lore in describing them. All characters have some way of vacating the stage. In the case of the rotating stages, one stage is left more or less empty, and in cases where two guests are present on the right wing, I have enough sitting guest characters planned so at least one at any given time can be "asleep." All characters also have at least one speaker built in (in general on the upper chest) to create the illusion of voice and on instruments (mostly guitars) as needed.
As for the characters:
David Jacob "D.J." Del Gato - 19, bouncy guy, orange cat with shades, kind of a hornball, is not as good with "the ladies" as he thinks he is. This one is voiced by me (he's basically my normal voice) and has a "cat and mouse" relationship with Corey, while his rivalry with her cat is played for laughs. He's the main mascot of the band and has unparalleled utility due to the fact that he has his "Scratch Machine," which is similar to a DJ station you'd expect at an expensive party, with lights built in, turntables, sound controls, etc. He's perfectly capable of doing full solo shows just playing music and doing the lights, has his own birthday songs based on age and gender, and also claims to be responsible for the lights and such on all the shows, either doing them manually be he either onstage or backstage, or by setting up the pre-programming himself.
Corey Rockwell - 17, tomboyish, brown mouse with a brunette bob and blue-dyed bangs, likes to tease D.J. without giving him anything. I was hoping to use software to voice this one myself, but that's not working out well and she needs a VA (I only know one girl IRL I'd trust to flirt back and forth with without it getting weird and she was non-committal just on the band aspect, so I never explained the character). Corey was originally intended to be more like Mitzi (under the name Suzie Singer), but there was a split when I started looking at other people to voice her and Corey evolved where Suzie didn't. Corey is a much more modern take on a teenaged girl and toes the line a bit into rave/goth territory visually without losing her upbeat personality. If you know anyone who'd be willing to take the role as-is with the understanding of what it entails, by all means point her to it. I'm just not holding my breath on getting anyone for it until I get another girlfriend. >.<
Diamond - Corey's cat, a gray tabby with a white diamond on his forehead. This one has a VA planned, once Tank cooperates and gives me some decent singing meows. Yes, I'm serious. He's a damn smart cat and even speaks English ("milk," "momma," "Philip" (my brother), etc.), but coaxing him into meowing into a mic still needs work. After that, it's software. Diamond simply doesn't like D.J. and often hisses at him in skits, which is played for laughs in that D.J. often hisses back and treats him like a human rival despite Diamond being a normal cat (who just happens to understand English and sing by meowing).
Barry - a "funny animal" bat which lives in the attic of the building. Unlike Diamond, he can actually talk (and is voiced by me). Barry likes music he can sing prominently in and thus favors stuff in the falsetto range like disco (which is a running joke in that nobody else likes it nearly as much as he does). (For reference, that's not ripping off Rolfe inasmuch as I actually like disco and have a good selection to work with.)
Henry Acres - 21, wild and crazy, hulder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulder) with a prehensile tail (possibly to be changed to gray wolf tail) which is almost always in motion and cropped black hair, plays the drums WITH GUSTO! Not much more to say about this guy. He's got a full drum kit and is easily the worst technical nightmare in that he's pretty much Aaron's dream for Dook, able to play his drums like a real person, as well as having various other percussion things like disc bells, chimes, etc. for added utility. His tail is more easily handled than you'd think. Plans call for a swivel-base lever on the ceiling connected to the end by fishing line and a flexible skeleton inside to allow it a wide range of motion without sacrificing solidity. If I go gray wolf, then even that could be reduced to just wag based out of his backside. I can voice him if need be (I have voices set aside), but my brother offered to do it along with Gordon in absence of finding anyone else. Or, if anyone is interested, Phil is doing it more as a favor than out of any burning desire.
Gordon Ru Den - 24, down to earth, leopard guy, rather quiet, but people tend to listen when he talks. He's the lead guitarist and is a lead singer of the band, but doesn't talk much. When he does, it's generally something quite wise or intelligent and people tend to listen. The name is part of the lore of Jerako, the game world these are based on. I'll just leave it at the fact that the animal-people in it are genetically human and gain their appearance by magic, and those that come from lines that have been that way for long enough tend to reflect the naming conventions popular at the time. Gordon was originally intended to be black (inasmuch as I was hoping to find someone to help round out the band's sound, not in that I needed a token ethnic character), but given my area is pretty much white and Asian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wausau,_Wisconsin#Demographics), my brother offered to take him, too. On the other hand, I don't think Phil would mind letting him go if someone else were interested (note: this is an equal opportunity role; I'm not being picky about it anymore).
Elijah "L" Brown - 25, a main presence, is a hybrid beast-man with a human face and pointed ears, brown skin, and a whippy short tail, acknowledges he's a half-breed and doesn't care, quite laid-back, but has good leadership skills, too. L is based on another character in Jerako and to keep things short, the magic didn't quite take on him. L really doesn't care, though. Being the oldest of the main crew, he often puts his hands behind his head, kicks back, and watches the others' antics for his own amusement before reining them in for a song. He's a big guy, much like Fatz and Munch, and has the same position and instrument, but has a very different personality compared to either, being much less vivacious and much more of a gentle giant. He's also voiced by me and was one of the first voices I worked on getting right.
Daniel Pickett - 18, a bit of a prankster, race similar to a D&D Gnome, is the newest member of the band. This one is a bit more complex because his creation is specifically tied into the game that spawned this. The "production" explanation is that he's simply the band's newest member, but the game's explanation is that the person who created all these made one of himself, decided against it, and simply bleached the wig for a quick and easy change to protect his own popularity. Daniel will be voiced by either myself or my friend Matt, based on how much Matt as a guy with no musical experience can handle. If Matt can handle part work, he'll be pulling double duty as Bil and Gil, but if not, and if he still wants to sing, he'll be getting Daniel. As such, Daniel's character is a bit in flux right now.
Bil and Gil Rupee - 22, resident terrible comedy act, elves, identical twins in pretty much every sense of the word. I created these two with Matt in mind so he could bounce terrible puns back and forth to himself, but eventually I realized there was a good deal of potential in having them sing. The thing is I've never heard Matt sing before (EVER) and I don't know if he'd be comfortable recording different parts, so I formulated a voice that could probably pass in case he wants to keep them, or if he'd rather just take Daniel, well, yeah. In flux right now.
Faith Fields - 21, represents a much more feminine influence, human with long, raven hair, was originally intended to be the main female vocalist. Faith poses a problem because despite her being intended to be THE main female vocalist, I have no one to voice her and no way to hack it in Audacity based on my own voice (the same issue I had with Corey). By all means, if you know a woman who can sing (preferably the type who can sing ballads), point her in my direction. Unlike the Corey role, this one is totally safe. I just don't know anyone who's good for it.
and finally, one of my guest mechs, listed only because I have a voice for him that's not me and he was always intended to be quite important and recurring
Glenn Ru Gre - 19, a friend of D.J.'s, puma guy, more laid back than his showboating friend and can snipe with the best of them. Glenn is going to be voiced by Max, who's more my brother's friend, but is halfway mine at this point, too. He was originally intended to be the "cool" type when I thought I'd be taking him (he was originally visioned as casually arrogant and his stage is designed as an outdoor scene with him leaning against a tree literally right next to a "keep off the grass" sign), but with Max interested in taking a character, I thought his voice would be a best fit and I'll be playing it more by ear depending on where Max wants to go with him.
That's the novel so far on band and dream making-the-show-real junk. On a technical level, I'm not banking on getting a 3-D artist at this point, since I already tried hitting up a friend for models and she said she wasn't prepared for this kind of thing, nor do I have the money (being a young adult with bills to pay) to hire a decent artist for this type of commission. Nor can I really do it myself because I don't have the time to start from scratch nor the money for the stupidly expensive male and female bases I've found so far for Blender (seriously, WTF?). What I do have and know how to work in is Flash, and while it's not likely to be shaded as well as I'd like, I'm anal enough that I can maintain depth and positioning with near-3D accuracy given the time and effort. I'm still calling that my backup option, though. For music, I have and am comfortable with Anvil Studio, which does MIDI, but should suffice for now, and can even be used to write the sheet music for the vocal parts.
I'm posting all this in hopes that maybe someone here would be interested in helping. I'm hoping mostly for getting interested voices, but if anyone can offer anything in the art department, that would be fantastic!