Wed. May 28, 2008

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

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

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

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)

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

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.)

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

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).

Tues. May 6, 2008

Hello everyone! Here to give you an update. Well, the live TPCast episode went pretty good. A few people had trouble getting the player to work for them, but other than that, it went well. The episode is now up on the feed for those of you who didn't get a chance to listen live. In the way of Marlins, I'm happy to say that we were able to get episodes 15 & 16 filmed over the weekend. Since then, they have been mostly edited and I have voiced over most of my parts, so all that's really left is Kevin and Kyles' voiceovers and a few minor changes. You can expect episode 15 sometime this week and episode 16 most likely following suite the next week. Also, I've been trying to get more people to listen to the TPCast as well as use our forums (which I'm hoping to get back up and running). So if you're a fan who likes our stuff, please listen to the TPCast and post on our forums! That's it.

Fri. May 2, 2008

I don't have any updates, but I thought I could serenade you with some pictures from the fan episode:


Above: Marlin and the fans


Above: Ready to teach the fans how to make "candy"


Above: The slaves escape on Hornets (from India)


Above: A Coming Soon promo for the fan episode


Above: Another fan episode promo

And while I'm at it, I'll post some more pictures!


Above: A favorite of mine, a classic Marlin pic pimped out with orange garb.


Still Above: Another retooled classic, this time with a speech bubble.


(Do I even have to say): A Marlin userbar to use on forums or what have you.

You're welcome to download all of these pictures and "Marlinize" yourself. Just as long as you personally don't take credit for it (in other words, just don't say that you made it).

And one more thing, I was surprised to find that we now have an official knockoff of the Thomas Productions YouTube page. I'm flattered.

Remember to tune in for the live episode tomorrow @ 4:00 P.M. (PST). See our website for more details.

Thurs. May 1, 2008

Hello peoples! It's time for some updates! Marlin the Elite episode 14 (a.k.a. The Fan Episode) is out on YouTube now. It seems that it is being received well, which is good. Please go check it out and tell all your friends! It was only put up yesterday, and already it has 20 sum odd comments and 200+ views! Keep it coming! As I believed I stated in my last post, we're hoping to start work on Marlins 15 & 16 soon, so those will arrive later this month. Just as something I thought I should clarify, I saw on Kyle's blog that he said that the first episode of Treas (the codename for our new machinima series) would come out early this summer. That is false. As much as I would like to give you people the series that soon, I want to make it perfect, and have a few episodes in the bag first. Therefor, I believe it is more reasonable that you can expect the first episode in LATE summer or early fall. This could all change too, it all depends on how much we get done this summer. Now for something more interesting.

We now have a date and time for the live TPCast episode! Here's the info:

TUNE IN FOR A SPECIAL LIVE EPISODE OF THE TPCAST ON SATURDAY, MAY 3 @ 4:00 P.M. (PST)

WHERE THE WINNERS OF THE SECOND ANNUAL TPMAs WILL BE ANNOUNCED!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!

This info has also been plastered on YouTube and our website. So please tune in and listen! Speaking of the website, I noticed that our friends at Gruntsrus.com have added us to their affiliates section. But instead of posting a picture for your lazy eyes to look at, I'm gonna make you go their yourself (their website is rather nice, and they have the latest Halo news). As for Halo Machinima Wiki, we are still undefeated in the Editor's Choice and have crept back to the top of the Highest Voted section. So I think that's it! Don't forget to tune in for the live show!