2007 has come and gone and that means it's time for another "A Look Back" article! Last year when I did these articles, Lilredhead Studios was still an animation only site and therefore only animation stuff was covered. Now with the recent merger, this article will focus on animation and live action works from 2007.
If you're new to this, "A Look Back" basically reflects on the previous year and offers insight on the events that occurred. It also acts as guide to all things released from Lilredhead Studios in a certain year. So if you've missed anything, this is a good place to catch up.
Previous A Look Back Articles: 2007- The Year of The Walken
The year 2007 was a great turnaround when compared to 2006. Although to be fair, 2006 saw the birth of Roomies, and that wasn't covered in the 2006 article due to Lilredhead Studios only being an animation site at the time. However, if you're a fan of animated stuff, 2007 stood out as one of the best years for Lilredhead Studios. And if you like Lilredhead Studios' live action works, then you have a big movie to look forward to in 2008.
A Slow Start...
2007 had all the signs of being another slow year in the beginning. It wasn't until early summer when things actually started to be released. The first part of the year started off with me writing numerous scripts for the new Enterprise: Flashed episode. After about three scripts, nothing really seemed to stick and so I set the project aside for awhile. This was a bit of a slip up on my part due to advertising the episode for a Winter 2007 release, not to mention advertising the now deceased story with posters of George W. Bush and Tim Brazeal. One thing I still need to learn is to keep my damn mouth shut until I know for certain when a project will come about. This is something I have always done and one of the reasons why I now have so many MIA articles to write. On the bright side, Enterprise: Flashed did return in 2007, just not in the exact form I had advertised it.  Who could forget this awesome display of advertising?
It's Time to Take a Walk...
The first big development of the year happened in February when Josh Nichols (co-creator of Roomies) and I ventured to Las Vegas for a week of antics. If one were to overhear a conversation between Josh and I, they would mostly end up questioning our sanity, for we come up with the stupidest shit on a whim. For some reason, Josh was doing his Christopher Walken impersonation randomly during the beginning of our trip. One night, when we were on the tram going to a hotel, something started to click and we began to tinker with the idea of doing a series based on the popular movie star. As the trip went on, so did the ideas. And when the trip was finally over, Josh and I had concocted an idea to do an animated talk show starring Christopher Walken. The catch is the man always walks and never stops. Furthermore, to keep the viewers engaged, people could submit real questions that Walken would answer. Work slowly began on the series with the first episode premiering June 24th, 2007. The first episode featured a video game theme and was submitted to the Xbox Live Originals contest. Sadly, we didn't win but that episode was the perfect launching pad for the series. A second episode made its way onto the Internet on December 21st, 2007. This episode had a Christmas theme and was created in less than a week due to random brain farts between Josh and I. It's humorous how Josh and I can come up with ideas using little to no effort. This seems to be the way how all of our projects operate.  Christopher Walken gets his groove on in the second episode of Walk'n With Walken.
The Showcase of Good...
In April the DSU Filmmakers held their first annual film festival. The festival pretty much turned out to be a Lilredhead Studios showcase due to limited entries. The festival was setup and ran by four people (myself included) and a ballroom was reserved for the occasion. The ballroom was decorated with a red carpet and floor lights and to top it off the workers wore some snazzy theater-esq costumes. With free popcorn and soda waiting outside, who would not want to attend such a groovy event? It was free and open to the public and we had a day's worth of films. On top of this, the DSU Filmmakers obtained the rights to show a full length indy film entitled Call of the Cthulhu. Troy Sterling Nies, the man who composed the music for the film, generously came to the event and talked about his experiences and answered the audience's questions. Films ranging from two new Roomies episodes, to I Am Ahoyager, to the surprisingly popular Beans in a Can were shown. And even though I hardly set foot inside the ballroom (I have this weird phobia where I can't watch my own films in front of an audience), it was an exciting and fun day. We had a great turnout and even though Justin Huber set off the fire alarms with the popcorn machine, things went very smooth.  From left to right: Chad Troftgruben, Josh Nichols and Justin Huber. Notice my puffy cheeks due to my wisdom teeth being yanked out a few days prior (sigh).
The Captains Return...
2007 also marked the return of two beloved series, I Am Ahoyager and Enterprise: Flashed. I Am Ahoyager, which was only one episode long until July 15th, 2007, featured the story of a star ship captain stranded on a strange planet. The second episode continued the story arc and threw the confused captain into an even more sticky situation. I realize in two years only two episodes have been released of this series. I promise I won't try to make this a habit and start to release episodes more regularly. And as mentioned earlier, Enterprise: Flashed returned in the summer with a new story. While not featuring President Bush or Tim Brazeal, the episode did manage to grab the attention of hungry fans by introducing a new and darker storyline. The series also saw a makeover, with Captain Archer looking a bit more polished. Not to mention the animation was the best it's ever been in the series. 2008 should bring more episodes of Enterprise: Flashed. So don't worry fans, there's more to come!  Captain Archer awaits his death in the fifth episode of Enterprise: Flashed.
Sabers II Ignites...
Early in the year, Amy Tichy and I had started working on concepts for a sequel to the 2005 short film Sabers. Some details were tossed about and we even set up two audition days in early March to grab a cast for the movie. While we had a fairly good turn out, the movie was sort of put aside after the auditions. Just when the project seemed dead, summer hit and so did a new found interest. A group of actors had come to our area to put on a play in hopes of getting it sold somewhere. Amy got involved with the play and it turned out the majority of the cast were Star Wars fanatics. One thing led to another and before I knew it Amy and her new friends had concocted a very cool script and eight stage combat experienced actors were itching to start lightsaber dueling. I outlined the details of the film day in another article: click here to read it. To be honest, this was probably the most fun I had shooting a live action film. A teaser trailer of the film was released on December 31st, 2007 and was shown to audiences who came to view the footage of the summer Robin Hood play in Mott and Hettinger, ND. Even though the movie didn't make it out in 2007, I think it's going to be the best live action film from Lilredhead Studios in 2008.  A shot from the Sabers II Teaser Trailer.
And Now For a Toast...
Boozy the Bottle, an alcohol awareness movie created to be shown at Dickinson State University's Alcohol Awareness Through the Arts program was released on September 28th, 2007. This movie was actually meant to be put out at the beginning of the year, but due to things coming up, it just kept getting pushed back. What this movie does is take a different route than what most alcohol awareness videos do. Instead of directly preaching about not drinking, Josh Nichols and I concocted a more sneaky way and actually sprinkled hidden messages throughout the movie. While most alcohol awareness videos have an emotional impact, we tried for an intellectual one. This brought up some controversy and the movie was almost not shown at the alcohol awareness event. Many of the critics were afraid people wouldn't "get it". I'm not sure what changed their minds, but the movie was shown and it had a good reception. This movie is also important because it marks the last movie released as a DSU Filmmakers production under my administration. It's a recommended watch, if not for the plot, then for the groovy theme song sung by Josh Nichols.  Dave takes on a beer mug in Boozy the Bottle.A New Beginning... Not only have the film productions evolved over the past year, but Lilredhead Studios has seen many changes as well. In mid-summer, the website was revamped (yet again), however the difference this time was that Lilredhead Productions merged with the DSU Filmmakers website. The old Lilredhead Productions website focused primarily on animation while the DSU Filmmakers site, being the focal point of the university organization, showcased live action works. Since all live action works had my involvement in one way or the other, I thought it only made sense to merge the two sites. This merger formed Lilredhead Studios, a company that focused on both animation and live action projects. So far I think this has been a very good and beneficial thing (and hell, I only have to update and maintain one site as opposed to two). The other change came in the form of me stepping down as President of the DSU Filmmakers club. This happened in November of 2007 and the website now excludes all current DSU Filmmakers news. This decision was made so that I could focus on my own affairs rather than trying to maintain the university organization. And while some people questioned the decision, I think in time everyone will realize it was for the best. Looking Forward...
Well, I think that about wraps up 2007. It was really a great year. Even though I ended 2007 by resigning from the DSU Filmmakers, I don't think people should see this as a bad thing, but more of a sign of good things to come. I am more committed than ever to my work and I plan to take Lilredhead Studios as far as I can. This year expect new episodes of Walk'n With Walken, I Am Ahoyager, and Enterprise: Flashed, along with some new stuff thrown into the mix. Only time will tell, but I think 2008 is going to be a very full year. And really, we have 2007 to thank for that. Movies Released In 2007 (In Chronological Order): |
