Tues. July 14, 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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:

• Marlin the Elite - Episode 33: 1337
• The Story of Peeps
• Pop

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

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!

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

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.