The Insect Has Landed

Have finally finished the animation for episode one, and synchronised the sound and music. I took the decision to sub-contract on the music, which has now been recorded by Joe Gooch, who is also the lead actor in the cartoon. Hurrah.

I have also made a decision regarding release dates. The first episode will be launched on October 31st, because it seemed a good idea to go for a Hallowe'en launch. The next two episodes will also be released on red letter days - Episode Two on Gazpacho Soup Day (November 25th) and Episode Three on Christmas Eve. Having hit three 'big date' releases, the remaining seven episodes will be released on the first Monday of each month, with Episode Ten due on Monday 7th July 2008.

Why all the changes? Well, it turns out that even when you are making a very simple, rudimentary animation, it takes a bastard long time. There is a 20-second bus crash sequence in episode one, which consists of over 100 pictures in 40 layers, and it took almost a full week to make.

Now, site details. InsectNation.co.uk has been stagnating for some time, because I've been too busy to finish building it. Now that the episode is done, I am compiling the various sections of the site and hope to publish it by the end of this month (September). I will be providing a big package on the site - scripts, artwork in various stages, character biogs, downloadable art (including desktops, icons, posters and more), an mp3 player full of Joe's brilliant music, and (possibly) a download centre for high-quality copies of the episodes, for which there MAY be a small charge.

It's all up in the air, of course, but I have to keep reminding myself of why I started this project - I wanted to make a horror film, and didn't have the contacts or resources to make it properly, so I decided to do it as a cartoon.

Anyway, the new trailer is on YouTube as of today (www.youtube.com/benshillito) and more is coming, including a music video when I've got some more artwork done.

More to come ...