DIRECTOR'S BLOG

Sat. March 5, 2011

2011-03-05T21:50:00.000-08:00

Time for a quick production update! We filmed Marlin the Elite episode 57 today. Kevin came up with the idea for this one and has been pushing it ever since the move to Reach. Sort of like the Dental Dilemma episode, this one will further help integrate the main trio of characters into Reach. As of now, this episode is next in the production pipeline and will definatly be out in the month of March (most likely sooner than later).

In other news, we'll be releasing a new live-action video tomorrow. We filmed this one last month, but didn't get around to editing it until recently. It's a sequel to a video that we made at the beginning of 2010, so that might narrow it down for you.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who played in the TP Community Game Event we held this past Sunday. We had a lot more dedicated players this time, and led a full party for most of the event. In case you weren't able to make it (or just wanna catch a glimpse of yourself), I've been posting gameplay videos of some of the games (Team Slayer on Town & Team Slayer on Collision). I've got at least one more to post, so be on the lookout.

Layne out.

Thurs. Feb. 17, 2011

2011-02-17T17:26:00.000-08:00

Guess who's back! It sure hasn't seemed like half a year since my last blog post... actually it has. There's so much stuff that's happened in the last six months that I'll just list the most recent stuff.

Off Road Awesome:
At the end of January, we came out with a little machinima video called Off Road Wraith. It was picked up by padraig08 and posted on Halo.Bungie.org. A few days later, it made it onto Bungie.net (with a little helping hand), where it was received a little less warmly.

Editor's Note - It also demonstrates some of the worst singing I've ever heard. - Urk

Haters gonna hate. The majority of the comments on YouTube are very positive, and at the time of this blog post, has more than 14,000 views. Check it out for yourself.

New TPCast:
Along the same lines of this blog, it had been a while since we recorded a new podcast episode, and we finally got around to putting out a new one. In this latest episode, we review Halo Reach's multiplayer (maps in particular). We also speculate on the (now officially unveiled) Defiant map pack, and talk about future video plans. Speaking of which...

Future Video Plans:
Like we mentioned during the podcast, we filmed a new Marlin episode (which has since been captured and is being edited) and a new live action video, more specifically, a sequel to a video we did last year. Both are expected to come out this month if everything goes as planned.

Livestream + TP:
Back when it was still known as Mogulus, we created a account that played TP videos non-stop and was occasionally used to stream live events (mainly the premiere of a particular machinima series). Since then, the content has become out-of-date, unorganized, and the URL was a real challenge to remember (7h0mas_pr0duc7i0ns_inc, anyone?). So we created a new one. Now you can visit our fresh Livestream channel without killing your brian (livestream.com/thomasproductions), watch our awesome videos 24/7, or access the content you want on-demand. There's even a chat room for you guys to talk to each other! We'll be using it for live events as well, so you shouldn't forget about it.

And finally...

Website Fixes:
If you visited our website over the past couple of months, you probably saw that our Twitter and blog widgets were broken. Not anymore! Now you can see our latest posts and tweets on the front page!

Later, everyone (and when I say later, I mean in more 6 months).

Mon. Aug. 9, 2010

2010-08-09T22:17:00.000-07:00

Enough of this hiatus crap! It's update time!

Things have been very busy around here lately. We're prepping/planning/editing multiple videos at once. It's exciting, and a little overwhelming at the same time. Here's what we got on our plate:

Detective Awesome 5 (yeah, it's coming): We filmed what we could around here before we go on location again.
Marlin Ep. 51: We filmed that yesterday, so it's all ready to capture once we finish up Detective Awesome.
New video series: We're expanding a video we made a while back into a series of shorts. We filmed a total of 13 episodes while we were off filming Buffy and the Tuesdays. Starting this week, we will be airing new episodes on Sundays. Have an open mind. It's probably not what you're expecting.
Halo News 4: Kevin has written a script for it. We're gonna try and squeeze filming in after Detective Awesome and Marlin 51.
Reach launch machinima: I've had an idea for a while of a standalone machinima we could make before the all-mighty Halo: Reach launches on September 14. If things aren't too crazy, maybe it can happen.

Quite a lot. You're some lucky folks. You've got some good stuff coming your way.

TP Community Game Event:
Surprise, we're having another TP Community Game Event for you all. It's going to take place on Friday, August 13, 2010 at 1:00 P.M. (Pacific Standard Time). Watch this announcement video to see how you can join in on the fun.

Social Networking Plug:
It's that time again when we plug our Twitter and Facebook pages and tell you to follow/like them, but this time, we have a new addition. Detective Awesome now has a Facebook page and his own Twitter account. Be sure to check it out. I'm sure he has a lot of awesome stuff to say.

And that wraps things up for now. See you in another two months!

Fri. June 4, 2010

2010-06-04T22:22:00.000-07:00

Not too much new stuff to report, but thought I better make a post (it once again has been a while). We put out a couple new videos since my last blog post: Sean Connery's Gaming Corner - Halo 3: ODST, In the Beta, and Halo News - May 2010. I was hoping In the Beta would be posted on Bungie.net, but I guess they just don't like the Village People. We also put out a new podcast episode, where we talk about the Reach Beta and review Iron Man 2 and Prince of Persia.

As for what we're working on now, it's just Marlin episode 50. We're getting close to voice over time. It won't be too long now before you will see it on your screen. Keep an eye out on our Twitter account for a release date. Until then, here's a screen shot of what I'm editing:

And that's it for this update. Smell ya later!

Sun. April 25, 2010

2010-04-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome blog followers! It's time for another long overdue update!

Yesterday we held our live episode of the TPCast where we unveiled the winners of the Fourth Annual Thomas Productions Movie Awards. I must say it went rather well. We actually had some people tune in (unlike last year). For those of you who missed out, the episode has been posted to the TPCast feed. It's an hour and thirty+ minutes long and 80+ megabites (compression is for wimps), so if you're desperate for hard drive space, you might just wanna listen through the handy player on the website.

In other news, we had the 2nd Marlin the Elite fan episode about 2 weeks back. I must say, what with my mic going out and all, it went rather well. Thank you to those who came and participated. So when are you gonna be able to see the fan episode (in HD, I might add)? Sometime around May/June.

Looks just like my family portrait.

Now for video news. We released Marlin the Elite Episode 49 and a live-action video called Kyle the Axe Murderer. You might note that the Kyle one has a pretty shnazzy tune. Guess what? You can download the extended version of that song free of charge from our website.

Another video we released is Light at the End, a short machinima I made to test out the shiny new HD capture device that is the Hauppauge!. On a whim, I submitted it to Bungie.net, and wouldn't you know it, they posted it! Halo.bungie.org soon followed and posted it to their site. The video now has almost 10,000 views; that's a lot for little old us. Thanks Bungie.net, you continue to be awesome.

It gives me the warm & fuzzies inside

Our next video is coming out on Wednesday. What is it? Well lets just say we're not quite done with ODST.

Now for a little bit of house cleaning news. I made some slight tweaks to the website. The Coming Soon page is now gone (I didn't update it) and the Featured page is gone (didn't have much of a purpose). The pages listed under those that I deleted have been moved up to the main navigation menu. Who knew we had a calendar and made original music! Well now you do thanks to us. Another change I was thinking of making is getting rid of the search bar on the main page. It doesn't seem to work, and me being my website savvy self, I don't know how to fix it. It runs on Google Custom Search, so if someone wants to help figure it out, be my guest. If not, expect it to go bye bye.

Now we've come to the end of the blog post. This is the time where I usually tell you to follow us on Twitter. This also the time when you say to yourself, "Layne, I'm already following you on Twitter". So instead of rehashing that, I'm telling you to fan us (or I guess it's "Like" now) on Facebook. Just like on Twitter, our latest news is automatically posted there, sometimes even faster than our Twitter account. We have 24 followers. Lets make it 25. Peace out.

Thurs. March 18, 2010

2010-03-18T23:09:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all cool cats! Seeing that it's yet again been over a month since my last post, I thought I better break the ice once again. This is the point in the post where I tell you that if you really want more content, you should follow our Twitter account. We update that puppy so much more often than this blog (wish it weren't so, but it's a fact).

In line with social networking, we launched a TP Facebook Fanpage recently. Some of you may know that we have a Facebook group. Well the group's out and the fanpage is in. Reason? The fan page has the ability to update automatically whenever we post a new video or tweet a new tweet. If fact, some of you may be reading this very post on Facebook. If you aren't, please fan us. Our first goal is to get to 25 fans (mainly so we can get a custom URL for the page). Let's make it happen.

So what has been happening? Well, we put out some new videos as usual, including one little gem for St. Patties Day. If you haven't seen it yet, it's never to late. We also dropped a new podcast episode (episode 62 to be exact). We discuss the latest tidbits on Halo Reach, review a couple games, trash one, read some emails (yes, you read that correctly), and announced the 4th Annual Thomas Productions Movie Awards. "Wait", you say. "What was that last part?". Well I'll tell ya!

Every year we have hold the Thomas Productions Movie Awards. It's where you, the viewers/readers/listeners/whatever you are, get to vote on which of our videos you liked the most from the previous year. Just click here to go submit your vote (1 vote per person please). The deadline for submitting is April 18 at midnight. So get those votes in sooner than later. We will announce the winners on a special LIVE episode of the TPCast (date & time to be announced).

Lastly, a bit of Marlin news. Episode 48 is out the door and on the you tubes, and work has begun on episode 49. Expect 49 sometime in April. Remember we're trying to space things out a bit. We hope to have episode 50 out around May/June. Speaking of episode 50, we're cooking up something special. Nothing official quite yet, but you guys should love it.

Anyways, that's the post. Surprisingly long considering I'm writing this at such a late hour... or maybe that helps... oh never mind.

Why on earth is Layne wearing so much green?

Sun. Feb. 14, 2010

2010-02-14T16:45:00.000-08:00

Hello one and all. Happy Valentine's Day to you. We decided to pick today to dump our newest stuff, so lets get right to it.

We have a shining new video out for you called "Forbidden Love". Trust us, it's not what you think. You'll like it. Of course, we've released a few other new videos since my last blog post, like The Audition Show, Groundhog, and Marlin the Elite episode 47. All of them deserve some love today.

We've also got something for you that you might not have been expecting...a new podcast episode! Yes, that's right, we recorded episode 61 of the TPCast. As you can imagine, it's brimming with all our thoughts on the latest Halo: Reach news. Plus we review the new movie Wolfman and a littel video game known as Modern Warfare 2. It's 1 hour and 20 minutes long, so you should be able to squeeze a lot out of it. There's only one thing we ask from you: send stuff in! Seriously, send anything in and we'll read it. Podcast@thomasproductionsinc.com. Or if you're the more vocal type, you can leave a voicemail at 208-474-2690.

Now one thing I haven't yet mentioned is a new "mini-series" (I guess you could call it that) dubbed Marlin the Elite Highlights. It's basically taking clips from Marlin episodes 1-30 and putting them on YouTube. This description should help better understand:

As you may know, we've been creating Marlin episodes for quite a while now, and many of the original episodes (1-30) had to be taken off of YouTube because of copyright crackdown. I found that it was a shame that these awesome classics had to be sort of "shunned" if you will. So while we can't show the full episodes on YouTube, we can show you clips from the episodes, hence "Marlin the Elite Highlights". I thought it would be great to at least put up some clips to draw the attention of more casual fans. Look for more Marlin Highlights coming soon!

So there you have it. We'll be spacing these out through the spring and summer, so keep an eye on our channel. And that's about it! Hope you cats have a happy Valentine's Day. Don't eat all that chocolate at once... wait... never mind.

Wouldn't you know it, we actually had a shooting script for our Valentine's Day video (courtesy of Kyle).

Thurs. Jan. 21, 2010

2010-01-21T19:22:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, and welcome to two-oh-one-oh! Got lots of exciting stuff to talk about, so let's get to it.

Our most exciting piece of news (at least to me), is that we now have our own Wiki! Kyle was able to create it a few Saturdays ago. It's basically a little Wikipedia just for Thomas Productions stuff. Go and check it out here! We've been slowly adding articles for our videos, and you can help! If you see that we don't have a page yet for your favorite TP video, you can make it! If you find that a page is out of date or has wrong information, you can edit it! We're really hoping it'll take off.

Next up, we got some new videos that we've released: A Message from 2010, The Tige, and My Pet Monsta. Another video is coming tomorrow, and we've got one more video we're still working on. Plus, we did happen to film a new Marlin. No set date for that yet, just sometime in February. So there's lots to look forward to.

A photo that may or may not be from our next video.

Also, a few things to note. Lemon Man now has his own Twitter account! Do him a favor and follow him. In fact, follow all TP related Twitter accounts. You can find a list of all of them here.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! We finally recorded a new episode of the TPCast. We talk about video game stuff like ODST and Halo Reach, plus what we're up to. So please check it out.

And that my friends is it for now. See you whenever!

Wed. Dec. 23, 2009

2009-12-23T11:42:00.000-08:00

Kevin & Layne in "Sunset Old Folks Home"

Hey! Long time no see! About time I made another blog update. We've got a few new videos to wrap up 2009 in style: We have Marlin the Elite episodes 45 & 46 and a new live-action video called Sunset Old Folks Home. We even have the shooting script for you to take a look at.

We had planned to do another podcast before the end of the year, but Kevin has a cold, so we are unable to record. Who knows, maybe we'll feel like recording one over the break.

Also, we recently had another TP Game Event. Very fun as usual. You can check out video from one of the games here.

Now I know it's a little to late for Christmas present suggestions, but if you happen to get some cash this holiday season, might I suggest the TP Store? You can get a nice shirt or mug with our logo on it. No pressure of course :)

One last thing. There's only 1 thing we want for Christmas, and that's some more Twitter followers. So follow the TP Twitter account. It gets updated as soon as we post a new video or podcast or blog post.

So that's it. Have a happy holiday season guys! I'm gonna go eat a cookie.

Wed. Nov. 4, 2009

2009-11-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I figured you've gone on long enough without a decent update. So here it is!

New VidAwesome:
Since my last blog post, we've pumped out 2 releases: Detective Awesome and the Day Job Whodunit and Marlin the Elite - Episode 43: Space Invasion. Both are very good (if I don't say so myself) and deserve a watch.

Upcoming Plans: Due to the little setback with the Xbox (it red ringed), we are very behind schedule on our Marlin episodes. Seven more episodes by Christmas is a tall order, especially considering there are only about seven weeks left. We're going to do everything in our power to try and make that happen, but no promises. And this tight schedule pretty much means you can kiss a 2009 episode of Project Blackknight goodbye. Besides Marlin, we have another live-action video in mind. We're working on the script, and it's turning out pretty funny. If we follow through, you can expect to see it sometime next month.

Game Event = Win (even without Kevin & Kyle):
We recently had our second Community Game Event this past Sunday, and it was just as good as the first. Thanks to everyone who was able to come! The only thing that could have made it better was the presence of Kevin & Kyle, who were sadly absent. Don't fret though. We'll have another one this year with all of us.

Website Troubles:
Some may have noticed that the home page of our website is lacking in the "What's New" department. We're having some troubles with the HTML. Hopefully, we can get it solved pretty soon. If you're fuming that you can't get out blog and Twitter updates straight from our homepage, blame Microsoft.

And Speaking of Twitter...
Follow us on Twitter! No, seriously. Follow us. We post updates pretty often, some even contain exclusive and fun content. For example:

"TP Fun Fact: All the footage filmed for Marlin the Elite Ep. 43 took up approximately 26.08 gigabytes of hard drive space."

And our special Halloween present to you guys, a cool Lemon Man wallpaper:

So check out our Tweets. Please?

Also, if you're a Twitter user that has access to the Twitter Lists Beta, you can check out our TP Twitter Accounts List. It has all of the Twitter accounts that are somehow related, like my Twitter, or our band's Twitter. This feature should become available to everyone else eventually, so don't worry if you can't access it now.

MachiniAwesome:
While surfing Twitter, I came across this thing called the MachinExpo. Basically you submit a piece of machinima that you've made, and if the judges think it's good enough, they'll include it in a special online screening. And if the judges really really like you're video, it could be nominated to win an award. Well of course I had to submit something. I sent Friend their way and waited for a reply. Turns out they liked it, and will be screening it along with 40 other machinimas (chosen out of a pool of 150+). But alas, it didn't receive an award nomination. Still, it's something, and from what I can see, we were the only Halo machinima chosen.

The MachinExpo will be taking place on Sunday, November 22 in the game Second Life. Now I don't have play Second Life or know much about it, so I won't be attending. If you do however, consider dropping by. The specific time and location has yet to be announced, so stay tuned to the MachinExpo website for further details.

Update Go Bye-Bye:
So that concludes this surely record-setting update. Make sure you're tuned in to our YoyTube channel. You never know when something might pop up.

Sun. Oct. 11, 2009

2009-10-11T09:57:00.001-07:00

In case you haven't been following us on Twitter, I thought I'd better give a little production update.

Our plan was to start filming Marlin episode 43 last week, but unfortunately, the Xbox we use to film on decided to Red Ring. So it's been sent off to be repaired and should be back within the next week. In the meantime, I've started some post-production work on a live-action movie we filmed back at the beginning of September. We hope to have it done by the time we get the Xbox back so we can start work on Marlin right away. Expect a trailer in the coming week.

Another bit of news, you might have noticed that our YouTube channel has been switched over to the new layout. Feel free to message us and tell us what you think of the color scheme.

And with that, I leave you with a sneek-peek photo from our new live-action movie.

Fri. Sep. 25, 2009 - Quick Update

2009-09-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

Hello guys. Just a quick update. We released a video entitled "ODST OST Rap" (check it out if you haven't seen it), and submitted to Bungie.net hoping they would post it. And low and behold, they did! Here's what they said:

This is awesome.

"Here's some new music for ODST, not from Marty! Thomas Productions has created a song about the new music from the ODST OST, so click the link to watch the music video!"

(You can check out the link here for yourself)

And if that wasn't enough, Bungie posted a tweet about it!

And then Martin O'Donnell (composer of the Halo music) re-tweeted it!!

I have to say this really made our day (as if finally playing ODST wasn't enough).
And thus ends this blog post. Happy Birthday, Halo 3!

Sat. Aug. 29, 2009

2009-08-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks! It's been a while. Let me start out by saying that if you've just been getting your TP news from this blog, then you've been left in the dark for quite some time. I highly recommend that you go over to our Twitter pa ge and follow us there as well. It's a lot easier to make a post there than it is to write a post here.

So time to fill you in. We went on location and filmed 2 videos, which will be coming out in the following week or so (one's 28 minutes long!). A short trailer for one of those will be coming in a couple days. We plan on filming another live action video at another local next weekend. We don't have an estimation on when you'll get to see it, but I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it :)

In machinima news, we have filmed 2 Marlin episodes. We are currently on track to start releasing them on September 4th. The next one should be out on the 13th. After that, we don't know; I'm pretty sure we'll be occupied with a little game coming on the 22nd. Now unfortunately our goal for getting PBK out this summer isn't going to happen. We've just been busy doing other things. If all goes super well, we might get it done before the release of H3 ODST, but I kind of doubt it. Just know that it is coming, and we're not just going to drop the series.

Now a few of you have been asking about Halo 3 Dance TV 3. When is it coming? Is it coming? We're casually planning it out. We want to find songs that YouTube will (hopefully) let us use. If you have any suggestions, please send me an email. So we don't have an estimation on when we'll be getting to that. Possibly January '10?

In other news, I hope you've noticed that both Marlin and Cotton Swab have Facebook pages and Twitters:

They both have some very interesting stuff to say... maybe even clues to future episodes?

And that's it! I leave you with a brand new picture from our 28 minute-long movie.

Tues. July 14, 2009

2009-07-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Time to fill you in on what's been going on. First off, we finally put out a new podcast episode! In it, we talk about PBK, the new Mythic maps coming with ODST, plus our reviews for "Up", "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", and "Public Enemies". Right after we finished recording the podcast, we acted out some stuff for the next episode of Project Blackknight (which, by the way, should be coming out before the summer ends).

Next up, we had our first Community Game Event on Bungie Day (7/7). It went off spectacularly! We will defiantly have another one of these before summer ends. If you were one of the unfortunate few who were unable to attend for whatever reason, don't worry. I made a little video of it so you can see what went down. One more, longer video of the event will be coming...very soon.

Something that also took place on Bungie Day was the release of The Essential Marlin: Volume 1 CD! If you've been keeping up on the blog, you'll know that it is a CD of original music (and an exclusive outtake) created by me for Marlin the Elite. The CD will set you back $12.99. Most of that goes to Cafepress for the supplies, but the rest (all 3 or 4 bucks a pop) goes to TP so we can make cooler videos for you guys! There are 20 tracks that last around 40 minutes, so it's kind of a win-win situation. So head on over to the store (cafepress.com/marlintheelite) and pick up your copy. If you want to hear some samples of the CD first, we have a few songs up on our YouTube page for you to check out.

Also, we've been releasing episodes of "Random Sauce". The latest one (which was just uploaded 30 minutes ago) happens to be my personal favorite. This leaves us with only one more episode that we haven't aired yet.

To conclude, I will be going away on a trip for about 4 or 5 days, so there won't be any new videos during that time. However, I will try and post one more video tomorrow before I leave.

So now, I leave you with some awesome Marlin fan art by Morgan :)

(click the images to make mongo)

Sun. June 28, 2009

2009-06-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Guess what... it's time for an update!

Lately, we have been pumping out videos like you wouldn't believe. We've accumulated a nice little queue that you have yet to see. When will we get to see these videos, you may ask? In due time. We want to spread them out and make 'em last. However, I can give you a little insight on some of them. One video is very (dare I say it), patriotic, and the other (which will be released this upcoming Tuesday) is a new take on an internet video involving a cat (and some keys). And then, we have 4 complete Random Sauce episodes all ready to go. I don't believe you'll see any this upcoming week, but the following week should bring more crazy. In the meantime, enjoy the latest video: Random Sauce: BR.

Aside from new videos, we have some more exciting news. The Marlin CD I've been talking about now has a release date. The Essential Marlin: Volume 1 (that's the name of the CD) will be available July 7 (a.k.a. Bungie Day). It will retail for $12.99 (plus shipping of course) through the Marlin Cafepress shop (www.cafepress.com/marlintheelite). The CD contains 20 original music tracks composed by none other than... me. Some of the tracks have never been heard before, including a little voice outtake. The money that we earn (about 3 or 4 bucks per CD) will go right back into TP to help us purchase stuff like props, supplies and equipment. I will be posting a few tracks on YouTube so you can get a feel of what you'll find on the soundtrack.

Also, we're planning a Community Game Night/Day event, where fans can play custom games with us. That's right. Us. We'll feature some maps that we've created, plus some old favorites.
The whole goal is to have fun. So when can you expect to get your fun on? July 7 (a.k.a. Bungie Day, a.k.a. Marlin CD release day) at 1:00 P.M. (PST). Keep an eye out on our YouTube page for an informative video with more details on how to join in.

So, that's it for now! Quite a lot compared to my usual posts.

Sat. June 20, 2009

2009-06-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

Well well well! Here we are again to bring you another TP update. We have finished up Marlin Season 4, and have been working on other stuff.

We finished our Behind the Scenes of Marlin the Elite video a while ago, but we just recently put it out. So our first video is a promotional ad for our friends at Gruntsrus.com. Check it out if you haven't already. We have a few episodes of our new machinima series Random Sauce in the can, and will be releasing the first episode within the next few days.

Also, we're close to setting a release for the Marlin the Elite music CD that I've been talking about, which will contain original music that we (and when I say "we", I pretty much mean "me") made for the series. It will have 20 tracks and will sell for about $14.00. I will post a few of the song on our YouTube account so you can get a sampling of what you'll be getting.

So that's it for now! I'm gonna go look for some Game Fuel!

Tues. June 2, 2009

2009-06-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Time for another little update! We just released Marlin the Elite episode 39, as well as 38 and 37. Marin episode 40 will be coming within the next few weeks. This will be the last episode of the season. Like last year, we're going to take a break over the summer to work on other stuff. We'll then resume making Marlin the Elite in the Fall (most likely September 4).

We've already started making and planning some other machinima videos as well as live-action videos. One of those videos is "Behind the Scenes of Marlin the Elite", where you'll see how we make an episode of Marlin the Elite. We will also start up a new machinima series called "Random Sauce". Like the name suggests, each episode will be very random and very short. The series won't have a set run, so production will be very casual (basically whenever we feel like it). And then of course, we'll be working on Project Blackknight ep. 2. It will most likely be posted to just Vimeo.com and not YouTube, but of course we'll have more info on that when the time comes.

Also as a last note, I tweaked the website a bit to make it a little bit cleaner. Thanks to those who gave feedback on the forums. So that's it! As usual, please follow us on Twitter. You know you want to!

Sun. May 10, 2009

2009-05-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hey readers! Here's a quick update from the land of TP. Marlin the Elite episode 36 is now out. Please head on over to YouTube and watch it. This week there will be no new TPCast episode (sad face). There just wasn't a whole lot of new stuff to talk about. However, we just filmed Marlin episode 37 today, and I can say that it's going to be rather awesome. Expect to see that this week. To close up, please go vote in the TPMAs. Only one week left to get those votes in!

Above Photo: Marlin, Grandma, and Lemon Man in Marlin the Elite - Episode 36

Fri. May 1, 2009

2009-05-01T23:07:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day folks! It's update time! YEA!

First up to the plate, we have Marlin the Elite Episode 35: Trip to the Mall. It's fresh up on YouTube, so go and check it out! Next up, we have some production updates. We plan on filming Marlin episode 36 very soon and getting that out the door within a week (give or take, of course). We also have a new live-action video planned. Also, keep an eye out on the new TPCast feed for another episode of the TPCast. You guys actually had sent in voicemails, so now we're gonna get a chance to actually play them! If you want to send in voicemails for future episodes, just leave a message at 208-474-2690 (you'll hear some weird robot lady answer, but don't worry; it's the right place).

Next, we're gonna take a little time to highlight YOU: the reader/viewer/listener, and of course when I say "YOU", I mean the people who sent stuff in and made themselves noticed. First, I would like to thank the two followers of this blog: "Platnumeye" & "Jeanjean". May they be an example to you fellow fans. Please subscribe when there is a subscribe button... please follow when there is a follow button, that way we know you're listening to us (and we sure like that).
Next we have our loyal Twitter audience ("TKG14", "Swayyd", & "oranOneedle" to name a few). Thanks to these people for giving into our spam campaign. For the rest of you, give in and click this cute little linky. To finish off our little fan highlight, we have these fan pics sent in to Lemon Man by Toby C. These truely make us feel special.

And finally, to round off this update, we have a BLOG EXCLUSIVE! That's right! This is a short video of Kyle recording a line from Marlin episode 34, which was shot by Kevin on his cell phone (hence the Ye Olde Quality). I believe this is the first video ever that shows us doing the actual voiceovers. I have a feeling it won't be the last. So here it is. And remember, vote in the TPMAs!

Thurs. April 30, 2009

2009-04-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well, happy almost May everybody. Don't really have an update for you. But what I do have is a sneak preview picture from Marlin the Elite episode 35 (which, by the way, should be out either tomorrow or Saturday). Enjoy!

Sun. April 26, 2009

2009-04-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well folks, we've got quite a bit of news to dish out. First up, we have Marlin the Elite Episode 34: h311. Please go watch and rate. Next, we have a new episode of the TPCast out! Rejoice! However, it's on a different RSS feed than the old one. Why you may ask? Well, because we have a new TPCast website silly! Head on over to tpcast.blogspot.com to subscribe to the new TPCast RSS feed and listen to TPCast episode 52. Remember, the old TPCast feed will no longer be updated with new episodes, so you MUST subscribe to the new RSS feed if you still want to get new episodes. For you iTunes aficionados, the new feed should be coming to the iTunes Podcast directory soon.

Lastly, we've just opened up voting for the Third Annual Thomas Productions Movie Awards! If you've been hanging around TP for the last year or so, you know what's go'n down. For those of you who haven't, it's basically where you vote for your favorite Thomas Productions videos from the past year. Well voting's open, so just click this link right here to go vote! We set up a poll for you to take that's a lot easier than previous years where you have to send in an email. The downside is that we're only allowed 25 submissions (one of which has already been used up). So to make sure you're vote's counted, go and vote right now! The deadline for getting votes in is Sunday, May 17. The plan is to announce the winners on a special LIVE episode of the TPCast. More details will be coming as we get stuff solidified.

So that's it for this update! We'll be capturing Marlin episode 35 and getting it ready in the following week or so. Until then, keep being cool :)

Fri. April 17, 2009

2009-04-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome update readers! It seems like I haven't posted an update in a long time. I have however, been posting quick updates via Twitter. You can follow these updates by joining Twitter and following us. With that, time for some updates!

Marlins on YouTube
Unfortunately, all older episodes of Marlin the Elite (1-30) have been taken off of YouTube. However, you can watch them all on the Videos page of our website. New Marlin episodes will continue to be posted to YouTube.

New Videos
We have a few new videos out since the last blog post:

So please go and watch those.

Website Updates
I've made a few website updates in the last couple days. On the main page I've added a Twitter widget so any updates will display there. Also, the Photos page has been updated, so that the Photo Archive will display right on the page. New Marlin photos have also been posted there.

Future Video Plans
I've been getting a few questions about Project Blackknight. From an outside point of view, it would seem like we've forgotten about it. Of course, we haven't. We had planned to release episode 2 in the Spring, however, we have shifted our priorities to resemble last year's. We plan on first finishing up Marlin the Elite Season 4. We have an internal goal of finishing them up by around June 10th (or around when school gets out). Then, we will complete and release PBK episode 2 over the summer while Marlin is not in production. Remember that we're going for sort of a mini-movie vibe from PBK, so it takes a lot more time to produce.
So inkeeping wth that schedual, I captured Marlin episode 34 yesterday, and we filmed Marlin episode 35 today. Episode 34 should be out by next week.

And with that...
As a special preview for Marlin fans, we have a screen shot to share from Marlin the Elite Episode 34. Enjoy!

April 11, 2009

2009-04-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a long enough wait! Marlin the Elite episode 33 is finally out. Click here to start watch'n! We already have episode 34 filmed, so there won't be a very long wait in between. We might do a live action Easter movie today, but if that doesn't work out, HAPPY EASTER!

"Friend" Machinima Featured on Bungie.net!

2009-03-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

The other day I submitted our "Friend" machinima to the Bungie.net Blog, on the off chance they would post it. Well low and behold, they did!

This is what they had to say:

"This machinima is quite the eye full, clocking in at one second shy of a full ten minutes. But the editing is nice, it's in High Def, and the premise is pretty unique. Give it a watch."

You can see the article for yourself here.

Sun. March 15, 2009

2009-03-15T23:54:00.000-07:00

Well finally, Marlin episode 32 is out. Please believe me when we say we'll try and get the next one out sooner. Since the last blog post, Halo Wars has come out along with the limited release of the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack. I'm sure you've seen our Mythic Map Pack video... right? (well for those of you who haven't, here it is). We've come out with a few other live action videos, so please go check those out. There's at least one more that I have in mind for this month.

And so, this blog post comes to an end. If you feel ripped off, you don't have to be. Follow us on Twitter and you'll get lots of little status updates like,

"Marlin the Elite Ep. 32 will be captured sometime this week."

Or,

"Finished making song for the next Marlin episode. Can someone say ORGAN?"

Or even,

"Finished voiceovers for Marlin 32 exporting for YouTube now!"

And maybe even,

"Layne just took a giant poo which got clogged somewhere"

Well, now that you mention it, not all of those are true.
I just made up the first three.

Thurs. Feb. 19, 2009

2009-02-19T15:46:00.000-08:00

Well well. It's been a while. We've had quite a few videos come out since the last blog post. Sean Connery's Gaming Corner, Running Riot, Marlin episode 31, and our latest, The California Weather Report... just to name a few. We've also acquired a Twitter page. This will enable you to get news on what we're doing in between blog posts. We've embedded our Twitter updates on the right side of the blog page, so you can get updates without even going to Twitter. However, if you join Twitter, you can press the "Follow" button on our Twitter page, and every time we post an update, it will be sent to your Twitter account. Neat-o! So please do that.

An update on current stuff. We recently did the puppet work for Marlin ep. 32. That should be coming in the following weeks. We've also been putting little live-action videos. We might continue to do that. As for Project Blackknight (don't worry, we haven't forgotten about it), we've filmed a few scenes for it. We still have quite a few more to go. Like we said, we're not trying to crank these puppies out ASAP, so there are going to be breaks in between... rather... lengthy breaks. But we're still continuing with it.

So the moral of this blog post is...
Follow us on Twitter!

Fri. Jan. 30, 2009

2009-01-30T23:13:00.000-08:00

Our new machinima has been finished up and has been thrown onto the interwebs for you to snatch up. It's titled "Friend". Click here to view now! Here's a little background on the video:

For a while, I've been wanting to do a "deep" machinima that leaves the viewer open to interpret the film. This is that machinima. The film defiantly has a sort of moral to it. If you wish, you can read the intended moral below, but I recommend that you watch it first. Enjoy!

Moral:
Even life's greatest joys seem dull when there is no one to share them with.

That's it for this post. Marlin # 31 is coming soon!

Thurs. Jan. 22, 2009

2009-01-22T18:55:00.000-08:00

It's time for an update! Yea! We're working on 2 machinimas right now, one being Marlin ep. 31, the other being a stand-alone. We're going to finish up the stand-alone one first, then Marlin 31. I've captured about half of the footage and edited it, so tomorrow I'll capture the rest. I'm not going to officially announce what it is yet(although I can tell you that it is not Halo 3 Dance TV 3). However, I have provided a screen grab of the movie being edited:

Isn't technology great?!

Fri. Jan. 16, 2009

2009-01-16T11:41:00.000-08:00

Well, a lots been go'n down that I thought I should inform you guys about. Our Marlin videos are being taken down from YouTube because of a deal that fell through between YouTube and Warner Music Group:

From the YouTube Blog:

"We work with the music industry worldwide -- with major and independent labels and publishers, rights collecting societies, and with artists and songwriters directly -- to build user-friendly licensing arrangements. With these partners and our cutting-edge Content ID technology, we've created a win-win situation the likes of which never existed before YouTube: a system that gives artists a brand new revenue source and a great way to connect with their fans. That said, despite our constant efforts, it isn't always possible to maintain these innovative agreements. Sometimes, if we can't reach acceptable business terms, we must part ways with successful partners. For example, you may notice videos that contain music owned by Warner Music Group being blocked from the site."

So contrary to the last post I made, expect all the Marlin videos to go away for good on YouTube :( However, we're working on getting all of them up to our site. We will be updating the links on our video page as we get more of them up. New Marlins will begin as usual in February, and we will upload those to YouTube, the only difference is that we'll be using almost (if not all) original or royalty-free music so that this doesn't happen again. If you wish to see older Marlins, Seasons 1 & 2 are now on the Video Archive section of our website. Just scroll down and find the Marlin episode you cant to watch. Season 3 will be coming soon.

On a happier note, we pumped out a few new live-action movies: Horse's Horrid Hairdo and McJuice. Both have a heavy case of the randoms, so expect insanity. Please go watch them!
That's it for now!

ATTENTION TP FANS!

2009-01-04T12:50:00.000-08:00

Some of our videos are being taken down because of the music they contain. Just know that we are reworking them with original music and they will come back up when they are done. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Wed. Dec. 24, 2008

2008-12-24T10:16:00.000-08:00

Well merry Christmas to one and all! We've had a very successful year. The live premiere of Project Blackknight went off without a hitch. It's up on YouTube and Vimeo now, so please go watch! We've been getting a lot of questions on when/if Marlin will be returning. Marlin will not be going away. We are taking a holiday break (like we did last year). Marlin will resume around February. As for Project Blackknight, we're playing that totaly by ear.

A few people have been asking on the forums and other places about Detective Awesome, saying that they want another one. Well, it looks like it's your lucky day! Behold! Detective Awesome and the Mystery of the Christmas Murder! Think of it as our little Christmas present to all of you dedicated viewers. Of course, we wouldn't have done it if we didn't want to do it in the first place. So watch and enjoy!

As a final bit for this blog post, I must inform you of the lack of a "Year in Review" video. To help compinsate, I thought I better inform you of the number of movies we produced in 2008. Last year we produced around 35. This year, we produced around...wait for it... 41! We produced a total of 41 movies in 2008. Some of the highlights include Halo 3 Dance TV, Detective Awesome, Project Blackknight, and of course, the continuation of the Marlin the Elite series.

So now go and grab some egg nogg, an extra helping of Chriatmas cheer, and watch our special holiday playlist (sorry, that was a little cheasy). HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Participate in our Live Premiere!

2008-12-18T21:08:00.000-08:00

We have the first episode of Project Blackknight coming to YouTube this Saturday. However, you can see it early!

We're hosting a live event on our website, where we will air the first episode ("Prologue") a day early. The live event will take place on:

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19 @ 7:00 P.M. (that's PACIFIC STANDARD TIME)

CLICK THIS LINK WHEN IT IS TIME, AND ENJOY!

Sun. Dec. 14, 2008

2008-12-14T00:33:00.000-08:00

Just here to give a quick midnight update. Today (or more like yesterday) we finished off all the voiceover work for PBK: Prologue (see last post for info on the live show!). Only the final touches need to be made and it's set for Friday! Hope you're all enjoying Marlin episode 30!

Fri. Dec. 12, 2008

2008-12-12T10:20:00.000-08:00

Marlin the Elite ep. 30 is now up on YouTube for you all to enjoy. One thing you might notice: at the bottom of the screen, there's a button you can press that says "HD", and you can view the episode in... well... must say that it's not true HD, since the episode was only captured in standard def. However, the quality is still good. Be sure to click that button when watching episode 30.

Next up, we have the first episode of Project Blackknight coming to YouTube December 20. However, you can see it early!

We're hosting a live event on our website, where we will air the first episode ("Prologue") a day early. The live event will take place on:

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19 @ 7:00 P.M. (that's PACIFIC STANDARD TIME)

I'll put a video up with all this info and an exact link to the live page next week. So watch our YouTube channel. Hope you all can make it! In the meantime, be sure you've checked out the two new previews that came out: the "Mystic" trailer, and the "Prologue" trailer. That's all for now!

"Were it so easy..."

2008-12-10T11:04:00.000-08:00

I regret to inform you all that our cat Jack (otherwise known as "Big Kitty") passed away today around the age of 14 or 15. During her time with us, she appeared in such movies as "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", "Detective Awesome", and others. She has without a doubt contributed greatly to the realm of Thomas Productions... especially in the firearms department. She will appear in at least one more of our films and possibly even a second. She will be missed.

Thomas Productions Now on Facebook!

2008-12-09T16:30:00.001-08:00

Thomas Productions is now on Facebook! Click here to go to the page.

Fri. Dec. 5, 2008

2008-12-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

Marlin episode 29 is now out. Go watch it and love it! Nothing else new at this time. Stay tuned!

Sun. Nov. 30, 2008

2008-11-30T17:39:00.000-08:00

Hello. Today, Kevin & Kyle came over and we worked for something like 3 hours on voiceovers for Project Blackknight. Episode 1 is coming along very nicely. We just have to capture a few more scenes and finish those off before it's all done! If that wasn't enough, Kevin and I recorded a new podcast episode! Click here to listen to it now! That's all!

Fri. Nov. 28, 2008

2008-11-28T11:14:00.000-08:00

Marlin 28 is up and active, so please go and watch if you're not duking it out at the Black Friday Bonanza. Great news! We finished up all the Marlin episodes on Tues. So now we can work on Project Blackknight. The Marlins will be released every Friday until episode 30 (the end of Season 3). That's all for now!

A Scripting Update from Kyle

2008-11-26T00:11:00.000-08:00

Kyle posted this in our forums a few days ago talking about the development of various episode scripts for our new machinima series Project Blackknight. Here's what he had to say:

Well, Friday was a pretty busy day for me. I wrote up a script for an episode of Project BlackKnight. Layne liked it. Always a good thing when Layne approves.

Anyway, rewrote the episode today because Layne wanted me to change a few things. I also wrote up another episode that Layne wanted me do.

Layne had written up a script and he didn't like where it was going, so he gave it to me so that I could rewrite it. I did that today. I'm pretty sure that next time I see him, he'll have me rewrite it some more, but I don't mind. Just as long as I don't end up writing the whole show.

Kevin also wrote up an episode, but I think it seems like it should just be the end of an episode. It's too short. I'm sure Layne will tell him how to fix it up.

This is the first time that I've written a script in a while, so it's a good thing that Layne likes it so much. The last time I wrote a script for Thomas Productions, it was for Pirates of the Backyard.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how things are going with PBK.

Be sure to check back for more updates, and don't miss Marlin the Elite episode 28 this Friday!

Mon. Nov. 25, 2008

2008-11-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Marlin the Elite 27 is and has been up, as well as the announcement trailer for our new machinima series Project Blackknight coming this December! We were able to film and capture Marlin 30 as planned, and it should be done by Thanksgiving...as planned. The only other thing to talk about is YouTube.

As you may have noticed, YouTube has come out with their bigger and better widescreen player. As of now, we will be putting out our videos to take advantage of this format (as I'm sure countless others are planning to do as well). Future episodes of Marlin the Elite, our new series Project Blackknight, as well as the rest of the stuff we do, will take up the full width of the screen, which is pretty magrawsome. Here's what it should look like:

That's it for now! Don't forget to catch Marlin 28 this Friday (a.k.a. Black Friday).

<*>

2008-11-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

91237r*&*%#***R%
//TRANSMISSION ERROR->>> MESSAGE_INTERCEPTED/445

one human trial.>35906295

enhancers went into effect with
results far greater than we had
ever anticipated.>23688

the rogue subject have failed.>

7777777-145

the project has been reopened.>\
-/end///

Tues. Nov. 18 , 2008

2008-11-18T23:39:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday we finished up Marlin episode 27 (the one you'll be seeing this Friday) and filmed episode 28. Just today I captured the footage and now awaits editing. If all goes to plan, we should have Ep. 28 completed this Saturday and have Ep. 30 filmed. So it looks like we're on track for our Thanksgiving deadline. Stay tuned!

Fri. Nov. 14, 2008

2008-11-14T23:40:00.000-08:00

Marlin episode 26 is now up for your viewing enjoyment. Marlin 27 will be coming next Friday. As I said before, it's a rather short episode, but don't worry... we have an extra special something to help substitute :) That's all for now!

Sun. Nov. 9, 2008

2008-11-09T19:44:00.000-08:00

Another very productive day for Marlin the Elite. We finished up Marlin Ep. 29 and filmed Ep. 27. While you won't be seeing episode 27 for about 2 weeks, I still must caution you that it will defiantly be the shortest episode in the serie's history. It should be rather funny, however. We plan on getting that finished up this Saturday, when we also plan on filming Ep. 28. We then hope to cap off the series by filming episode 30 the following Saturday and polishing it off during that week.

Our goal is to get all the Marlins done by Thanksgiving. Then the rest of November and December will be dedicated to getting the first episode of our new machinima series presentable. Again, we hope for a mid-December release (Dec. 19 looks like a good contender). One thing that I don't think I've mentoned about the series is that it will play out more like a short movie rather than "little" episodes like Marlin. I'm guessing the first episode will be at least 15 min. Also, the episodes will create one big story arc that will span at least 5 episodes. Once the overall storyarc is done, that's when the series will end. So it's a limited series. However, I expect it to end Winter of 2009 at the soonest.

Anyway, that's where we currently stand and where we are headed.

Oh! And that trailers release gets closer and closer...

Fri. Nov. 7, 2008

2008-11-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

Marlin episode 25 is now out for you to view. Please watch and enjoy! Marlin ep. 26 coming next Friday!

Wed. Nov. 5, 2008

2008-11-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

More news from the world of Marlin the Elite. Ep. 26 has just been completed. Editing for Marlin 29 is to commence immediately so it can hopefully be finished by this Sunday. Coming back to what you'll see in the near future is the already completed Episode 25, which will be released this Friday. It's only appropriate that I give you a little teaser pic.

Have a nice rest of the week, and we'll see you on Friday!

Nov. 2, 2008

2008-11-02T18:44:00.000-08:00

Lots of stuff going on. We're ramping up on our production of Marlin the Elite in order to make our 10 episodes by mid December. And due to the upcoming holiday season, we're trying to get as much done now as possible. Here's what we've been up to this weekend:

Captured, edited, and finalized Ep. 25
Filmed and captured Ep. 26
Filmed and captured Ep. 29

We usually don't like to film episodes out of order, but we did it this time for convenience. You may have noticed that Ep. 25 is complete. It will be released this Friday. Hopefully we'll release an episode every week until we're done with the season.

Another reason we're pumping up production is so we'll have time to finish up our first episode of our new machinima series. We are going to release it this year no matter what. The optimum time at this point would be mid-December. Expect a trailer this month. Until then, check out the website banner for a teaser image. So long!

Fri. Oct. 31, 2008

2008-10-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

Marlin 24 is out now for your viewing enjoyment. Please watch and rate. And don't forget to check out our website! Happy Halloween!

Wed. Oct. 29, 2008

2008-10-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

The Mac is back! After a week of waiting, my Mac has finally been returned from repairs, meaning that we can finally finish Marlin 24! The episode should be out for your viewing pleasure on the most spooktacular day of Halloween (although the episode has nothing to do with Halloween). There may also be surprise for those who visit our website on Halloween (*hint hint, wink wink*).

Tues. Oct. 21, 2008

2008-10-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

Unfourtionatly, Marlin 24 is being delayed. Basically a CD got stuck in the disc drive of my Mac. So right now it's getting repaired. I should have it back within a couple days, but that means that ep. 24 won't be coming out this week like I had thought. Sorry. In the meantime, we might film episode 26 or something like that so we're actually making use of the time.

Fri. Oct. 17, 2008

2008-10-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

While Marlin episode 24 will not come out until next week, I quickly made this little machinima: The Real Joe the Plumber. Enjoy!

Sun. Oct. 12, 2008

2008-10-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

The smell and the chill of Fall is now in the air. And with it... more news! The first of many promos for our head partner Gruntsrus.com is now out. Please go watch and rate. Also, while it is technically not our video, Marlin was recently interviewed by Glandorray, who has been an avid fan of the series. You can watch the interview here. As for our videos, Marlin episodes 24 & 25 have been filmed, however, it has yet to be officially determined which one will come out first (or more like, which one will be 24, and which one will be 25). I'm hopeing to capture and start editing this week.

I must tell you though, that we're starting to try and simplify the plots a little more and make them straightforward (mainly for our own ease). We haven't been doing our other machinima project justice... because we haven't been working on it! So this will hopefully free up some time so we can work on that. Right now with the way things are, the first episode is looking at a December release date, with episoede 2 following suite the following year. It's not what we innatially planned, but that's what is going to probably happen at this moment. In addition, we probably won't get to have the "2-3 episode in-the-can" deal with the first one's release, this meaning more space inbetween episodes.

On the up side, those who visit our site may start to see some special things pop up hear and there. Just another insentive to visit the hub of Thomas Productions. That is all for now...

...actually, I was lieing. We have a new partner: KnowHalo.com. Visit there site please. They too deliver news about the Halo community. And what with Halo 3: Reconz coming out, it would be wise to visit often.

Sat. Oct. 4, 2008

2008-10-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

Well, nothing really new with us. However, Glandorray has posted his interview with Marlin the Elite (which was recently recorded). Watch the video goodness below!

Mon. Sep. 29, 2008

2008-09-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

Well after some complications, Marlin episode 23 is now online. Please go check it out right now! So far, it seems that people are really liking it. Also, to add to your enjoyment of this Marlin episode (and in light of the recent release of Bungie's new trailer), something has been added:

Lastly, due to the recent events with the new Bungie trailer, the SI (Superintendent) has hidden himself in the episode. See how many of him you can spot! Feel free to post how many you spotted in the comments. When the next episode is released, I'll post the times where he is hiding. If people seem to be having a hard time finding them, I might post how many there are, but finding them will be up to you! Some are easy, and some are hard, but there are UNDER 10. That's all I'm gonna say.

So have fun looking for those! No more work or thought as been put in on Treus or Marlin 24 yet (sorry folks). Lastly, here is a piece of "concept art" when we were planning out the Sale Con '08 poster featured in Marlin 23. Enjoy!

Kyle came up with the design of the logo, and then you can see we were trying out different slopes for the graphs.

Wed. Sep. 24, 2008

2008-09-24T22:28:00.001-07:00

I believe it's been a little while since the last update. Marlin Ep. 23 has been captured and is starting to be edited (it will hopefully be out before the end of September). We also did some more vocieovers for "Treus". In more minor news, Marlin the Elite is still being uploaded to Machinima.com. Ep. 1-13 are currently up and more are on the way. Also (after many technicle difficulties), Halo 3 Dance TV 2 is also up on Machinima.com. Even though you've probably already seen it, watch it and rate it. Lastly, I was finally able to figure out how to get a custom bookmark picture for our website (see grainy picture below). It's not much, but I've been trying to work around some problems preventing me from doing it for a long time. So for me, it's a big relief.

AND DON'T FORGET TO REFRAIN FROM PLAYING HALO 3 TOMORROW (Sep. 25)!

Thurs. Sep. 18, 2008

2008-09-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

Today, we did the "puppeteering" for Marlin the Elite Ep. 23. This weekend I plan on capturing it and start putting it together. Also, we might do some more voiceovers for Treus. Still no planned time for the release of the first trailer. However, members of our forums will be delighted to know that they can see a sneak peek of something featured in Marlin Ep. 23. Just sign up and go to the Marlin the Elite forum to check it out!

Sat. Sep. 13, 2008

2008-09-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

Well folks, it's been a while since I've posted. I've been busy editing Marlin 22 (which is now out) and recovering from a cold. But we're still rock'n!

I would like you to help spread the word about Marlin the Elite as well as our new forums (which you should join right now!) We want to have the community and the series grow to it's maximum height.

We're going to try and get Marlin 23 out before the end of September, but no promises. The Treus trailer will NOT be coming out this month (that goes for any sneak peek pics too). We did do our first batch of voiceovers and have added them into ep. 1, although I think I already mentioned that in my last post. Since the Force Unleashed is coming out in a few days, I imagine we won't end up on working on anything for a couple of days after that. But as I said before, you can join our forums and chat with us there (come on...please?). So long, internet!

Sun Sep. 7, 2008

2008-09-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems that everyone is enjoying Marlin Ep. 21. We filmed episode 22 and captured it, along with some footage from Treus. And then today we just started doing the first batch of voiceovers for the first episode. We're using Audacity this time around because we can lower our voices with ease. However, it is much more time consuming, but I think that's okay because we want to make sure our voices are exactly the way we want them. We used the new microphone I mentoned in my last post (which came in the mail with great speed. Thanks Amazon!). No doubt we will be using it to record our future podcast episodes. To finish up, I would like to announce a happy piece of news I recieved: Gruntsrus.com is back! As you may recall, they were our first partner and helped promote the Marlin the Elite series until they were shut down due to haxorz (otherwise known as hackers). But now they're back. We are going to "pick up where we left off" so to speak, meaning we will/have become partners again. So congrats to Gruntsrus for not letting the haxorz get in your way.

Tues. Sep. 2, 2008

2008-09-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

Some quick stuff to update you on. More work on Treus has taken place (just dialog mainly). Preparations are starting to get underway for the grand day that is September 4th. Since this will be the last update before the grand launch, I'll go over what's happening:

Marlin the Elite Ep. 21 premieres
The launch of our "revamped" site
The grand unveiling of our new logo
New t-shirts that you can buy with our new logo on them
A new episode of the TPCast (our podcast)
And finally (the newest announcement)... we will be unveiling our new forums

That's a heck of a lot for one day, so you might start to see some little changes start happening tomorrow. To conclude, let's wish Kevin & Kyle a happy birthday!

The final picture from Marlin 21. Don't forget to look for it on Sep. 4th!

Mon Sep. 1, 2008

2008-09-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day everybody! With an extra day free of school and other obligations, I worked more on Treus. To be specific, I edited a little more as well as worked on some of the dialogue for the talking scenes. In addition, I developed the voice of what will be the main character in the series. It has become apparent, however, that we may need a new mic. The built in one on the computer picks up the hard drive noise, and the other one only seems to record in mono. I'm looking into getting a Logitech USB mic. Hopefully that will come to pass soon. So here's the 5th picture from Marlin the Elite Ep. 21:

Sat. Aug 31, 2008

2008-08-31T11:15:00.000-07:00

Silly me! I forgot to write a blog post yesterday! Kevin, Kyle, and I were working on more Treus stuff as well as filming Marlin 21, plus recorded a new podcast (for future release); so it's a good reason. Anyway, here's two pictures from Marlin 21.

Fri. Aug. 29, 2008

2008-08-29T23:34:00.000-07:00

Today, I actually got some work done on Treus. Yea! I edited a few minutes together with music (voices still have to be recorded when the ep. is done). It looks pretty good, and will look even better when the big chunks that we've filmed get linked up with little scenes that we have yet to film/capture. Tomorrow we might actually record a podcast! To conclude, here's pic number 4 (I think that's right) of Marlin ep. 21; coming Sep. 4th!

Fan: "Damn you Thomas Productions! It's just another picture of Lemon Man on a Mongoose!"
Thomas Productions: "Don't worry. This is the last one of those."

Thurs. Aug.28, 2008

2008-08-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

Well, today I can shamefully say that I did absolutely no work on Marlin or Treus. What with school starting and it being about 100 degrees today, plus watching the Dem. convention, there hasn't been much time for anything else. So, behold the third picture from Marlin the Elite ep. 21:

Wed. Aug. 27, 2008

2008-08-27T22:41:00.000-07:00

Not too much to update you with today. No new podcast... now new editing/filming on Marlin 22 or the "Treus" project. Really the only thing that happened today was some more script writing and plot developing for Treus. There were some main things that I wanted to have included in the series (mainly cool battle sequences) that I was able to tie in and get sorted out. But sorry! Can't show you any of that. However, as I leave you for today, I will show you the second image from Marlin the Elite ep. 21: coming September 4th.

Mon. Aug. 26, 2008

2008-08-26T01:41:00.000-07:00

Kind of a normal update today. I finished editing Marlin 21, we did the voiceovers, and it's all exported and ready to go. The only thing we need now is September 4th (the 1 Year Anniversary of Marlin the Elite). Need I remind everybody that on September 4th, we are also releasing our new logo, revamped website, and a little bit more. Now I'm going to do what I didn't get to do for Halo 3 Dance TV 2... and that's to release a new picture from Marlin 21 every post until Sep. 4th. These will only be available here until Sep. 4 hits. They as we get closer to the release date, the pictures will get more revealing. So keep your eyes fixed to this blog! Without further ado, here's picture #1!

Sat. Aug. 24, 2008

2008-08-24T01:33:00.000-07:00

Another Flash Update: More Marlin editing, plus this little gem. Just made it quickly for fun. Till next time...

Fri. Aug. 22, 2008

2008-08-23T00:17:00.000-07:00

This is what I call a Flash Update! Editing began today on Marlin Ep. 21. The intro has been shortened, but still contains the same song and most of the old footage. Nothing to mention besides that!

Thurs. Aug. 21, 2008

2008-08-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of news today. We did film Marlin ep. 21 (rejoice!). Plus I modified the site a little bit. It's just barely starting to take the shape of what it will soon become. On a less exciting note (at least for you readers), I got a new external hard drive, which means I'll be able to store a lot more movie stuff. Yea!

Wed. Aug. 20, 2008

2008-08-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

Not a lot to say. We've been working a little bit more on Treus and that's about it. We should start filming Marlin season 3 pretty soon. Don't forget to watch Halo 3 Dance TV 2 if you haven't already.

Fri. Aug. 15, 2008

2008-08-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

Another quick update. We worked a lot on Treus yesterday and today. Filming is almost complete for one episode. One of the things we filmed was a very complicated scene, and we were able to get it done... barely. Oh! And the Clone Wars movie was awesome. Go see it. Along with this.

Thurs. Aug. 14, 2008

2008-08-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. As you can tell, the YouTube feed is working thanks to the miracle of patience. Yea! Still not sure if we're gonna do a podcast or not. We plan on working on Treus more today before we go see Star Wars The Clone Wars tomorrow :) . And so, I end the post by saying, "I Believe in Dave Filoni".

I made this. Yes; I am awesome aren't I.

Mon. Aug. 11, 2008

2008-08-11T22:45:00.000-07:00

Hello there. I'm hear with a much needed update. Halo 3 Dance TV 2 is now out on YouTube and awaiting release on Machinima.com. Please watch and love. Again, like I said in my last post and in the director's notes, this one's a little different from the first because of the time I took on each song. I just had too many ideas in my head. I'll try and have more short snipits in number 3. In other news, we've been working a little more on Treus: mainly just working out plot details. So there's nothing really I can say... except that I almost now know for sure that it will not be released this summer. I'm guessing late fall or even winter, but no matter what, you will have seen the first episode before the year is out. Again, we'll have a trailer and teaser pics when the time is getting close. Now, here are some small things you should know: Our main YouTube channel widget isn't working for some reason. Hopefully it's only temporary. The other was that now you can Digg/bookmark each post I make on this blog. See the little button on the bottom of the post? That's it! Please click and enjoy. Lastly, our now "monthly" podcast (the TPCast) is overdue for an episode. Maybe we'll get one out this week, but no promises.

P.S. As a side note, I recently starred in a couple videos from Bone Rice Productions. You can find them here, here, here, and especially here. And subscribe to them if you please (especially if you're into Stargate).

Mon. Aug. 4, 2008

2008-08-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

Quick update. The bonus footage for Detective Awesome and the Case of Vial Three is up now, so go check it out. The only other thing worth mentioning is Halo 3 Dance TV 2. It's coming out a lot sooner than I anticipated... tomorrow. The reason being is that I had too many ideas to fit into 10 minutes, so I decided to save some of those ideas for Halo 3 Dance TV 3 (yes, it's inevitable now) and release Dance TV 2 with the stuff I had. The movie comes to a runtime of 9:59 minutes, so it's in no way lacking. This time around, I had more "visionary" ideas, which lead me to spend more time on each song (in the movie). That's just how it came together. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it. To conclude, here's all the pictures I was going to show you with each update:

Sat. Aug. 2, 2008

2008-08-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

Update time! Kevin and Kyle are on vacation right now, but while they've been gone, I've been working hard on Halo 3 Dance TV 2. I've filmed a good 3/4 of it so far and have edited a little less than half. So expect it in the next couple weeks. In the meantime, I'm going to post the outtakes from Detective Awesome and the Case of Vial Three soon. Please watch it the actual movie, too. Now for some more news. I've been saying in my last couple posts that there might be a site revamp on the horizon. Well, that's pretty much surly going to happen (approximately 99.97%). The revamp a will take place on September 4th, with the release of the Marlin the Elite Season 3 premiere. Some of you people might also know that that's also the day that we're switching over to our brand new logo. And who knows! There may even be more ;)

So here's the first photo from Halo 3 Dance TV 2, because I'm feeling so nice.

I know it isn't much, but it's something. Stay tuned for more pictures!

Wed. July 30, 2008

2008-07-30T01:51:00.000-07:00

Detective Awesome and the Case of Vial Three is now on YouTube and Vimeo. Here's the description:

Detective Awesome is assigned to preventing Vial Three from being delivered to the factory for mass-production. But could it be a trap?! Find out!

So what are you waiting for?! Go check it out!

P.S. The bonus footage is coming soon.

Tues. July 29, 2008

2008-07-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

Great news. The trailer is out for the new Detective Awesome movie: Detective Awesome and the Case of Vile Three. Check it out now! The actual movie will be released this week (sooner than later). And a last little bit of news, the site has been tweaked ever so slightly (mainly just having to do with our new partner: Halo3Montage.com). So keep an eye on the YouTube channel!

Sat. July 26, 2008

2008-07-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

A bit of exciting news for you. We're just about to go off and filmed Detective Awesome 2, so it now is happening for sure. I can also say that the website (thomasproductionsinc.com) will probably get a face lift with the launch of our new logo in September. Exciting stuff.

Oh, and some Bonus Footage from OMG HAX is now on YouTube. So check it out, will ya?

Thurs. July 24, 2008

2008-07-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

Well, not much is new...except for one thing. Those of you who were fortunate enough to visit our website today may have glimpsed a "preview" of what the site might look like in the future. Nothing I can say for sure, but if there's a change made to the overall feel of the site, it will be with the release of the new logo. So it just goes to show you you never know what goodies you might find when you come to our humble internet home.

Tues. July 22, 3008

2008-07-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

Hi. We have a new movie called "OMG HAX" out now on YouTube. Go check it out. The only other thing that I have to tell you is that it's even more likely that we'll do a sequel to Detective Awesome. So stay tuned for more news.

Sat. July 19, 2008

2008-07-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

Marlin the Elite episode 20 is now online. This is the last episode of Season 2. Season 3 will begin in September. Next, we're going to work on a fake documentary about hard core Bungie fans. We're also going to be working on Halo 3 Dance TV 2 & our "untitled" action/drama machinima series. And maybe...just maybe, there might be a Detective Awesome 2. So just because Marlin the Elites over for now, doesn't mean you should stop checking for new (and magrawsome) videos from us. So look out!

Fri. July 18, 2008

2008-07-18T00:08:00.000-07:00

Yo! Here's what's new. MTE 20 is still in the works, but it should be out by this weekend. We recorded a new live-action movie (no, it's not the Detective Awesome sequel). We'll start editing that when MTE 20s finished. Lastly, we recorded a new podcast episode, which is up right now. So please listen to it...it's almost an hour long!!!

(Awesome podcast artwork if I don't say so my self...)

Mon. July 14, 2008

2008-07-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

Marlin the Elite is now on Machinima.com along with Assault on the Citadel Parts 1 & 2. Expect more MTE episodes to appear there in the future.

Sat. July 12, 2008

2008-07-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

Hello. Marlin 19 is now up on YouTube as well as the outtakes from Detective Awesome. I've been starting to upload videos to Vimeo.com and continuing uploading to Machinima.com. The final episode of MTE Season 2 will be out late next week. There's also been talk of a sequel to the Detective Awesome movie, so we'll see about that. Lastly, we (meaning I) designed a new all-original logo for Thomas Productions. The new logo will be debuting with the launch of our fall season of Marlin the Elite as well as our yet-to-be-revealed action machinima series. It will then take the place of our current Lucas-like logo on our website, movies, and merch. So all of you out there thinking of buying a shnazzy TP shirt, it might be best if you hold off for now. So lots of stuff is in motion. Be sure to watch all our videos and goodies!

P.S. The Marlin the Elite Xbox Live account is now full. Sorry peoples.

Fri. July 4, 2008

2008-07-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hello. After much trouble, our latest Message from Marlin is up. Unfortunately, the quality is kind of bad compared to the last Marlins. I was having some difficulty with the YouTube Multiuploader. So sorry about that. I just wanted to get it up. Anyway, happy Fourth!

Wed. July 2, 2008

2008-07-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

Our new live action movie (Detective Awesome) is now up. Please go watch it and rate it. A new Message from Marlin is coming soon. Until then, bye!

Sun. June 29, 2008

2008-06-29T17:34:00.000-07:00

Yo! It's been a while since I posted here. Marlin eps. 17 & 18 came out, as well as some bonus Marlin videos. The new Marlin eps. had to be divided into two parts because they had too much "pwnage". I really don't want to make this a habit with the Marlins, so I'll do it only when necessary (so this isn't gonna be a normal thing). We have the plot details for Marlins 19 & 20, plus a "patriotic" Message from Marlin. We also filmed a new live action movie which should be out this week. So that's it!

Tue. June 10, 2008

2008-06-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: I've been doing more work on the site and am now able to "embed" webpages. An example can be found here.

Summer is so close, you can almost taste it! Anyway, I made some minor tweaking to the sites front page. The most notable is adding the little bar under the search box in which you can submit the front page to DIGG.com and other news sites, which should help get more site traffic. I also added one to the blog page. So please use it! Also, I am happy t say I'm now in the editing stage of MTE 17. We'll try to get it out by the end of this week.

P.S. I just got some sad news that Gruntsrus.com will be closing down for good due to hackers. Sorry to hear that.

Sat. June 7, 2008

2008-06-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

TPCast #47 is up now with our review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. You can use the player at the right to listen or you can click the link above.

Fri. June 6, 2008

2008-06-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hello. The short movie that I've been talking about is up on YouTube now, so please go check it out. Tomorrow we are planning to record a new podcast episode so keep an eye on the feed. Other then that, that's it!

Wed. June 4, 2008

2008-06-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back from vacation, and I have to say it feels good to be back. Some quick news for today. We now have a new partner: H3Artificer.com . They're a Halo 3 Forge site (much like ForgeHub) where you can show off your Forge maps and switches. So go check them out. Also, they have asked me to help out with some machinima videos showing off the website, so I will most likely be doing some of that over the summer. And that's about it! Now HOPEFULLY we'll be able to get a new podcast out as well as that mini machinima sometime this weekend (followed up by Marlin 17 next week of so).

Mon. June 2, 2008

2008-06-02T23:34:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Vacationland! I'm coming back on Wednesday, but until then, here's some pics that Mr. Red Spartan took of himself (click on the image to see the whole thing):

Wed. May 28, 2008

2008-05-28T23:50:00.000-07:00

Hello. Like I said in my last post, I'm going on vacation for about a week, so there won't be any new videos :( Even worse is that I was unable to get a podcast, or that short machinima video, OR the new Marlin movie up. As I also said in the last post, I'm helping some people with a movie project for school, and that had to come first. But once I get back, we should be in full swing! I'll try and take some pics while I'm gone (and if I get internet access, you might see me commenting on YouTube videos and stuff). Bye!

Mon. May 26, 2008

2008-05-27T00:10:00.000-07:00

Hello there. Here's the low-down on what's happening. I'm helping some friends out with a film project, so that gets first dibs as far as what I work on. I'm also going on vacation on Thursday for about a week. I'm not sure if there will be internet access where we're staying. If there is, I'll try and update you on stuff. The chances of releasing Marlin Ep. 17 before leave is getting less and less likely (this one requires a little more work/time than the others due to what we want to do). I'll probably at least capture it to the computer. So if we can't get ep. 17 done, I'll go ahead and finish up and post that short film that we made during Ep. 15 & 16. In other news, we started work on Halo 3 Dance TV 2. We hope to have it done by mid-summer. It might even turn out to be more than ten minutes long. If you have any ideas for songs to use, just email me. We also came up with some great new episode ideas for MTE (one in particular got pushed up to ep. 18 because we like the idea so much). Also, I'm almost certain that we will be able to record another podcast episode before I leave, in which we'll review Indy 4 (if you haven't seen it, you're missing out). In the meantime, check out our voice outtakes for MTE Ep. 15 & 16. So that's it. And please go and check out the Halo Amplified Podcast as well as Gruntsrus.com.

Tues. May 20, 2008

2008-05-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

Indiana Jones 4 is upon us, and what better way to get in the mood by watching our latest video, Waiting for Indy . This actually isn't the additional short video I was saying that we made while filming Marlin Ep. 15 & 16. I just made this on a whim. So you can still expect that and the voice outtakes coming soon. Another new thing, myself (as well as Kevin & Kyle) have signed on to lend our voices (and possibly Halo puppeteer skills) to a new machinima series that's sprouting. It is essentially about a Burger King restaurant and the people who work there. They still need more people for the series, so if you want to get involved, post a reply here. Again, check out out website that just got a fresh coat of shine, as well as vote in the new poll at the top right of the blog page. Alright, that's it!

Sat. May 17, 2008

2008-05-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

Got a surprising amount of updates for you guys. First off, we were able to lay down the gameplay for Marlin episode 17. Second, we recorded a new podcast episode, which is up right now. If that weren't enough, I tricked out the website even more with a search box. I customized it so that it'll search all our main websites, like this blog, Kyle's blog, the POTB fansite, the Marlin Wikipage, etc. I also added one up at the top of the blog which does the same thing. So try it out. Also, I put up a poll on the side of the blog. It has to do with the Marlin the Elite series, so please go and vote. So that's it. Later!

Fri. May 16, 2008 (Pt. 2)

2008-05-17T02:39:00.000-07:00

Hello. On a whim, I decided to pimp out our site more with a new banner and some overall trimming. I also added the results from the TPMAs for those of you who haven't listened to our podcast (yet!). In addition, I've had a few more people ask me if they could be affiliates. So go check them out at the site. Please note that you need to have a website or community to become a partner (sorry Cheddar). So if you run a Halo community/website/podcast, contact me.

P.S. I accidentally made the above link to thomasproductions.com and was throughly surprised by what I found...

Fri. May 16, 2008

2008-05-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

Marlin the Elite episode 16 is now up on YouTube. Go check it out. Also, something that I didn't mention in my last post... I' m starting to upload some of our stand-alone machinimas (videos not attached to a series) to Machinima.com. Hopefully that'll bring in some new fans.

Thurs. May 15, 2008 (although techniclly Fri.)

2008-05-16T00:08:00.000-07:00

Hello. Time for an update. Marlin the Elite episode 16 is uploading right now. I'll probably post another entry "tomorrow" when it's up. As reads the Director's Notes in the video description:

We have voice outtakes from Ep. 15 & 16 that we will post sometime next week, as well as a short little movie that we made while filming 15/16. We're hoping to film Ep. 17 sometime this weekend as well as put out a new podcast episode.

In the podcast, we would most likely review some of the Summer movies starting to appear, such as Speed Racer and Prince Caspian (we already covered Iron Man in our last ep.). So I think that's it for the updates. Now time for something fun.

The fellows over at Bungie.net (creators of Halo) had a little contest going. They gave us two pictures of one of their employees (Frank O'Connor) and told us to "Photoshop" him into some stuff.

Pic #1

Pic #2

Then they choose some of those pics and the people who get them get the All Mighty RECON ARMOR (also commonly referred to as "Reconz"). While I don't have Photoshop, there's a free program called Gimp that I decided to try my hand at. So, here are my entries: (SOME OF THE PICTURES GOT CUT OFF. JUST CLICK ON THEM TO SEE THE FULL IMAGE)

This is my first one. It looks like crap. I ended up redoing it (you'll see later on)

I made this one with the built-in editor on Photobucket.com. It's not half bad.

This one I didn't bother to enter because it again looks like crap. But I did learn how to cut around heads using the scissors :)

I like this one a lot, and it turned out pretty decent.

Used the Photobucket editor for this one...

...and this one

I'm very proud of this one. This includes some other people from Bungie like Marty O'Donnell, Luke Smith, and others.

Didn't submit this one either. Was a good idea, but the lines just didn't look good.

I didn't spend long on this one, and I didn't expect it to win anything. But it was fun :) (you can see Marty's head peeking into the pic)

I like this one a lot, too.

These last two I didn't get a chance to submit, but here they are:

Frankie Racer: (again with other people from Bungie)

And finally, the re-done Indy 4 pic. This is one of my favs as well. (once again, Marty's peeking in!)

So I probably won't get squat out of these, but you never know (fingers crossed!)...

Fri. May 9, 2008

2008-05-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

Marlin the Elite Ep. 15 is up on the tubes now, so go check it out. So far, it seems that people really like it. Episode 16 will be released next week (most likely Friday).