CHALKBOARD STUDIOS

CHALKBOARD STUDIOS NOW HAS A MYSPACE

2007-04-18T00:13:00.000+10:00

that's right guys, you can check out sample pages and details of where to buy at:

www.myspace.com/chalkboardstudios

we'll be posting more on that site than here in the future, so if you have a myspace account, just add us to your friends list and you'll be the first to know what goes on at chalkboard studios.

some exciting news, at last! VOLUME THREE will be out in the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye out for it. but if you're on our myspace list, then you'll already know!

hope things have been well for everyone, till next time.

-LOki

VIENNA: VOLUME TWO OUT NOW.

2006-10-23T14:47:00.000+10:00

VIENNA VOLUME TWO

full colour throughout, 46 pages.

VOLUME TWO is out now, and is available from:

MINOTAUR
121 Elizabeth Street
Melbourne, 3000
(03) 9670 5415

ALTERNATE WORLDS
76 Chapel St
Windsor, 3181
(03) 9529 2255

VOLUME ONE is still on sale as well.

Thanks for reading!

-LOki

"VIENNA: VOLUME ONE" ON SALE.

2006-08-03T01:33:00.000+10:00

at long last, the first issue of the long-awaited VIENNA is on sale now.

you can go through the website www.chalkboard.com.au and get your hands on a copy that way, or you can get down to MINOTAUR (on elizabeth street, melbourne) and get a copy there. ALTERNATE WORLDS on chapel street are also stocking copies.

thanks to everyone who has continued to support us and be very, very patient! also, a huge (like really huge) thanks and kudos to vito for his tireless effort in completing the first volume literally cover to cover. also, our crazy gang of ideas people and marketing guys, hayden, christian, and mark. omer as well for taking time out of work to help us put together the best looking comic out there! and of course, our fearless leader who put us on this path in the first place, thanks jase.

again, VIENNA is on sale now - go get yourself a copy.

-LOki

Meeting 5 - 30/4

2006-04-26T00:35:00.000+10:00

Hi gents,

Not sure not how often this page gets viewed but i will personally contact all of you this week and do some inhouse cleaning.
Which means an organised file system, written up short term goals and plans.

We all know that Christian and his team: Evan, Hayden and Rodney is set to come in when Vol 1 is finished so it'll be good to clean up a bit.

At this meeting we could use the whiteboard and plot down some important dates.
I want to keep communication as open as possible...

So:

Time: 12 noon
Venue: Anyone's house? Mine even?

Bring along any computers u have, we'll be sharing mosto f the pictures and documents.
Any new files should be organised and kept as uniformly as possible.

I'll explain that when the meeting starts.
Is everyone open for the idea of lunch afterwards?

-Jay

PROGRESS REPORT

2006-03-20T20:42:00.000+11:00

howdy all,

for a while now its been looking like we weren't going to have a march launch, and now it's official. we are now set for an april release and that's that.

the website has been slightly updated for people's viewing pleasure.

we're working on a new, permanent website with lester but with school starting up again time has been a bit of a bitch. but we're getting there. it's been more work than we originally thought, but like i said, we'll get there.

apologies to all who have been waiting for this to come out, and also thanks for coming back and supporting us.

stay tuned, we're almost there.

-LOki

Meeting 3

2006-02-28T01:30:00.000+11:00

The rush for the end zone.

Months of blood, sweat, tears and coffee's consumed have led us to this point.

All the collective efforts of everyone is going to pay off, we're head strong about releasing at March and that's that.
The final product will be thick, full coloured, ass kicking whoolop of a "graphic novel".

The comic is going full speed this week, thanks to Vito and his determination.

Next week: Website design, a first preview at more completed pages and marketing.

Launch, project 2 will be delayed until these aforementioned things are out of the way.

-Jay

Progress report

2006-02-23T02:34:00.000+11:00

Hello gents,

Chalkboard is set for a march launch.

The script has been locked for 2 weeks and just today, i have completed the thumbnails and pending Monin's approval that'll be volume 1.

So far, we have about 61 pages of artwork and extra pages of our personal thanks, advertisements or something so it's really coming together.

For the partners who don't possess a copy of the final script please don't hesitate to ask myself or monin... as Volume 1 has been locked down we can expect it'll be the same from now on.

Volume 2 is a differnt ballgame, i've completed about 50% of the entire issue already but since it hasn't been finalised it may yet change (for my sake i hope it doesn't)

I'll see you all at the next meeting with lots of information to cover. Until then,

-Jase

MEETING 3|| SUNDAY FEB 26, NOON.

2006-02-20T22:31:00.000+11:00

howdy all,

it seems that last week's meeting did not go ahead.

vito is currently working on the colours for the first volume, and should be done by friday.

the next meeting will probably be held either at vito's or omer's place, and start around noon.

this will mainly be a brainstorming meeting for the website is in dire need of an update. i'll be sending out an e-mail with details later in the week, but for now please respond or place comments on the blog.

see ya's sunday,

-LOki

Meeting 3

2006-02-15T16:13:00.000+11:00

Hey all,

please check your chalkboard email for the details.
Items to be discussed is: Website and phase 1 launch.

Holla if anyone has any issues...

-Jase

Meeting 2

2006-02-03T02:09:00.000+11:00

Okay gang, here's the deal.

Omer seems to be in a bit of a mess with the events that i'm sure you all are aware of and he has requested we postpone the meeting until another day.

I suggest we hold a production meeting this Sunday that concerns solely the script and basic marketing (even though there will be no team for it) all because we're just too damn close to the opening day.

If we are to make the launch, we gotta start cranking and get the marketing ball rolling.

I myself have started to thumbnail volume 2 and it is coming along well. I hear the pencils are close to being completed and so inking will proceed as scheduled.

Therefore, Vito can you host this Sunday's meeting?

Reminder: Script lock on volume 1 by this Sunday... if anyone has ANY beta readers, feedback is now or never.

"i'll see you at the beach." - Cpt. Miller, Saving Private Ryan.

Guns blazing guys... guns blazing.

-Jase

MEETING: SUNDAY, FEB 5TH @ 3PM

2006-02-02T01:26:00.000+11:00

as stated in the chatterbox, at this stage it will be held at omer's house.

awaiting confirmation.

issues include the future of the partnership, production progress, and marketing strategies.

all ideas and issue should be brought also.

see ya's then.

-LOki

MEETING SUNDAY JAN 29 @ 3PM

2006-01-22T03:58:00.000+11:00

there will be a meeting on:

SUNDAY JAN 29 @ 3PM, VITO'S PLACE in STH OAKLEIGH.

refer to the previous post for details on what we'll be discussing.

any other issues can and should be brought along as well.

see ya's all sunday,

- LOki

WELCOME BACK

2006-01-15T14:44:00.000+11:00

howdy all,

first off i hope everyone had a good break over the christmas and new year period, its been pretty hectic for everyone i'd imagine and some time to relax and recoup would be exactly what we all need.

anyways, as march is getting closer it would be a good idea to start meetings up again and get the ball rolling. from speaking to jase and vito, the script is still going through minor edits, and the artwork vito assures me will be ready for a march 2006 release.

a meeting will be called in the next couple of weeks for progress reports as well as discussion on what we intend to do about the product launch, marketing etc. at the moment, i think it'd be best to launch the comic and release it at the same time (as opposed to our original idea of launching, then releasing later), but that is something we will talk about.

meetings from now on regarding our pilot project will be more intensive as we approach the release date, so i hope everyone will make the effort to come prepared and on time. i know its been a while since our last meeting, but we need to get things going again.

as for venue, vito's new place in south oakleigh is good, but anywhere is fine really. i know the travel distance might be an issue so we can have the meeting in between if need be, or even one night at your work omer? i'll be sending out e-mails soon and we'll finalise everything then.

as far as i know, mark will be in hong kong until jan 29 - can anyone confirm this?

see ya's soon,

-LOki

MEETING - 27/11/05

2005-11-26T22:35:00.000+11:00

howdy all.

i hope everyone got my sms last night, and again i apologise for the short notice. this meeting will mainly be a 'welcome back' kinda thing, but also cover a few things that we want to see done in the near future.

however, one of the main things we will be talking about is the READER FEEDBACK on the first final draft of the script. once we finalise this, we can rework the script and finally have it completed. vito has done some more artwork for us to see.

jase will add to this if need be, but if not, no prep for this meeting will be necessary. of course, if there are any issues you want to bring up, we can discuss them tomorrow as well.

vito's new house is about a 5 min drive from mine and jase's, so we can either meet here first then head down, of you guys can call me for the address. either way, we'll be seeing ya's tomorrow.

hope everyone's rested and ready to go.
meeting: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27 @ 3:30PM

-LOki

Meetings resumed

2005-11-21T14:49:00.000+11:00

Hey all,

Welcome back all, i hope everyone's been letting off a bit of loose steam.

The next meeting is on the 27th, venue is unconfirmed.
If people are busy on this day please let me know if it suits.

I'll confirm this as well as the materials needed to be covered closer to the date.

Thanks guys,

Jase

Emergency Meeting 16/10

2005-10-13T18:52:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

Sorry about the lack of notice but i have called a short 1-1.5hr meeting this Sunday @ Vitos.
Monin has kindly sent the template i have prepared for you all to look at and preparation this Sunday is a must.

I'll be mentioning a few tid-bits of information i have dug up and i will be jointly brainstorming the ideas we have.

I stress again that this meeting is short and help prepare us when we finish.

I'll see you all on Sunday. Let me know if anything comes up.

-Jase

"DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO START A FIRE?" - RAFE

2005-10-10T21:59:00.000+10:00

that's right. production is underway and ISSUE 01 of our pilot will be available to buy in march 2006.

-LOki

M18 : Closed for renovations.

2005-10-04T12:22:00.000+10:00

Gents,

As you all know we wrapped up a very successful final meeting until the exams are over.
After initial review of the progress Vito has made i can see a very promising final product.

The beta readers for me have been notified and i will keep in touch with Lester and also the events of 2006.

Until then, i thank all you guys for another very successful few months of hard work, effort and commitment.

Next items to be discussed at the mext meeting:

Launch venues, marketing dates and final editing and beta pritning.

Happy holidays!

-Jay

P.s: Chalkboard Studios man is cool.

M17: AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT.

2005-09-25T20:54:00.000+10:00

hey all,

i'd just like to thank everyone for a great bbq meeting this afternoon. we actually had a pretty relaxed time and still got down to business. thanks omer for having us over, and thanks in advance for the subsequent cleaning up you'll be doin ;).

we covered a lot of ground and seeing as next week will be our last scheduled meeting for a while, this is a very good thing.

stuff we discussed included:

website
survey
key dates
script edit
product launch
scoodie (keep it on, guys)

i'll be sending out e-mails shortly but i encourage you gusy to use the blog as viable means of communication. the next meeting is scheduled for OCTOBER 2ND @ 1pm at COOKIE. it's been a while since we've been there so it'll be cool.

until then guys,

-LOki

THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

2005-09-22T17:17:00.000+10:00

howdy all.

if you haven't checked your e-mail, i just sent one out regarding this sunday's bbq/meeting. the e-mail detials some of the thigns i want to go over, but here's a quick summary:

1) SURVEY
2) KEY DATES
3) SCRIPT EDITS
4) PRODUCT LAUNCH
5) WRITERS' REPORT
6) WEBSITE

from my understading, omer is providing the food + venue so the rest of us are bringing drinks and other bbq stuff? if anyone can, please confirm this so we all know what's going on.

any further detials or new developments, put em in the comments section or chatterbox.

see you all sunday at 12 noon,

-LOki

M17 - 10AM @ VITO'S PLACE

2005-09-17T17:03:00.000+10:00

howdy all.

tomorrow's meeting will be at vito's place at 10am. those of use participating in the run will meet up there at 7-8am.

some issues that will be discussed tomorrow include:

a) website finalisation
b) marketing brainstorm
c) product launch
d) organise bbq for next week
e) script

feel free to add anything for discussion tomorrow. i'll update this when i get back from geelong! :/

till then,

-LOki

M16: SUNDAY SEPT 11 @ 2PM

2005-09-03T10:05:00.000+10:00

tomorrow being father's day, meeting 16 will be postponed till next week, september 11. if you guys recall, this was also the date set aside for the activity. however, since we do still have a lot of ground to cover at the meeting, we might not have time to go through with the activity. but this is entirely up to you guys, as i'm pretty easy as to what happens.

as jase listed in the previous post, the following things will be discussed at M16:

(1) script recap
(2) roles and responsibilities
(3) website

as always, if there are other issues that you wanted to discuss, put them in the comments or chatterbox section of this blog and we'll add them accordingly.

i think it is safe to say that (1) and (2) will take little time, which leaves the bulk of the meeting about the website. lester will be coming to this meeting, so bring along any ideas or suggestions you want to put forward and we'll go from there. hopefully in the weeks following, our official website will be up.

anyways, we'll see ya's all on the 11th, and tomorrow for those who are part-taking in the run at 9am!

-LOki

M:16

2005-08-28T19:59:00.000+10:00

Greetings,

ACTIVITY
A recap from this afternoons meeting it seems that the present activity vote count would be a toss on indoor sports and life drawing.

Date set for this is currently: Sept. 11

WEBSITE
The website i will be completing a mock up sometime this week hopefully before sunday however time and resource can only permit so much. I will also release the official roles so long as people will email me what they're comfortable with and we'll go from there.
Unfortunately, Lester was not present this meeting but i have notified him and he will definately be attending next week.

MERCHANDISING
I've narrowed it down for mechandise for ourselves for now.
-Mugs
-Hats
-Lanyards
-Resin busts and marquettes.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
An excellent seminar by Mark. We've got our own goals and Mark has said it's up to us to act on it and our own responsibility to not have it be "cliche".

Here were some items we spoke of:

Drawing tables, production merchandise -> Omer
Mark -> Short break/holiday
Monin -> Camera and lighting (for 2 day production day)
Jason -> roles, website, thumbnails, bring in folder
Vito -> continuation of production.

Next week:

-Script recap.
-Roles and responsibilities
-Website
-Albert Park run
-More thumbnails (hopefully)

I should take about an hour max for these topics.
If there's anything anyone would like to add. Please come see me. Until then i'll see you next week.

-Jay, Director.

MEETING 15 - SUNDAY AUGUST 28

2005-08-27T13:06:00.000+10:00

based on what i'm reading off the whiteboard, these are the following things we're gonna be talking about:

website
as far as i know, lester will be coming to this meeting and showing us what he's got. those of you who haven't seen what he came up with a while ago will see it at the meeting.

merchandising
last week jase leaded a brain-storm re: what kind of merchandise we could have relating to the pilot comic. at the moment, they're jsut ideas and our primary objetive now is still to get the artwork and printing done, though a chalkboard mug would be nice.

script
there will be some very minor changes to the script to which jase and i have already discussed. these changes were made to accomodate a more realistic mode of storytelling, rather than a "happy family" thing.

more thumbnails
vito and jase have been working on the thumbnails as well as finals the past couple of weeks, so hopefully they'll have something to show us at the meeting. i understand that we've all got other stuff going on and that it is hard to set aside time for, what is essentially a second priority at the moment. we'll see how far we've gotten.

mini semininar
mark will be hosting a mini seminar - i don't know what he intends to do but i'm sure it'll be big.

also, i think we're doing some kind of activity after the meeting but i'll let jase elaborate on that if it's still happening.

business stuff will also be talked about, so let us know what you want to cover re: marketing, whatever... and allocate an amount of time you want to spend on it.

i anyone wants to talk about anything else, put in the the COMMENTS section (or the chatterbox) with the required time you need and i'll put an agenda together before the next meeting (sunday).

at this stage, it's gonna be at 3pm at vito's place. the activity (if it's on) will happen after all the things on the agenda have been adressed and discussed.

see you all tomorrow,

-LOki

Meeting 14

2005-08-15T23:26:00.000+10:00

As you all know, the hosting and domain is effectively up and running.

I'd like to announce official we've selected our website developer and administrator, Lester!

Lester's been an old high school friend to most of the crew here at chalkboard but those who are not familiar with Lester, he is a talented and creative little bugger and is close to completing his multimedia course. I have no doubts the success of the website will depend on us working very closely with Lester.

Any queries in regards to the email hostings please contact Omer on:

omer@agprint.com.au

And he will gladly help you out.

I understand Uni is beginning to put that stress again at this time of year and any problems you face please present it either myself or one of the partners.
I'm still working to find ways of building this team to be a very strong, tight knitted group and i will be following up on some of the ideas what we covered at meeting 12.

Another announcement is, the meeting now will only consist of production crews, having said that, the partners are free at their disposal to attend.

Meetings in regards to the operations of the firm itself will be posted at a set date and i will be following up on on of the things we discussed at the last meeting.

Ok, all that behind we are indeed on good track. Again, any questions please don't hesitate to ask me.

-Jay, Director.

PROJECT PILOT SO FAR

2005-08-10T18:52:00.000+10:00

it's been a while since we've blogged about the progress of meeting, but to sum things up (wihtout revealing too much), here goes:

-----

as jase has mentioned, PRODUCTION has started. this means that the script, whiles till undergoing some editing, is complete enough for vito and jase to get drawing. by M13, jase will have translated 20 pages of script into roughs - the entire first issue.

our WEBSITE will be up soon, so keep checking back and we'll let you know as soon as we can when it's online.

----

...come to think of it, that's basically all that's happened so far. well, as much as i can say on a public forum. but what i can say is that we're soildering on and getting there, albeit with a few obstacles.

the next meeting is SUNDAY, AUGUST 14 @ vito's place. we're aiming for the 2-3 hour mark, but we'll see what happens.

as always, i'm free basically all day so what ever time suits the majority of us will be it, subject to vito's availability also.

i hope you guys received my e-mail re: meetings; please get back to me asap about that and we'll go from there,

-LOki, writer.

Meeting 13.

2005-08-09T04:37:00.000+10:00

10 pages of script translates to 30 pages of comic.

Not good.

The second meeting will be held again at Vito's.
Probably same time as last week.

Here's a few issues that i've summed up:

Proportion / Sizing issues. We definately need to decide on the final size by this week i think.
Number of pages. Issue 1 is looking to be about 60 pages of pure comic (no adverts)
Webhosting
Thomas' project.
Non-comic related activities

-Jay, Director

Meeting 12

2005-08-05T01:21:00.000+10:00

Date: 7th August, 2005
Time: 4pm
Venue: Vito's Place.

Any problems?
Lemme know. I know u won't be free until 4pm Mark.
Omer, i will assume u will be free today like u have said. If anything pops up, just call.

-Jay

Production meeting 1

2005-08-01T20:13:00.000+10:00

Hi gang,

Pleased to report that production has started.

On sunday Vito, Monin and i held the first production meeting.
Thomas Bonin made a quick appearance but for all those who didn't attend i'll try to fill in the gaps.

We went through a small document i wrote in respects to the steps involved with getting the words from the script into living, breathing panels of a comic book.

Then we went through archieved photos from the camping trip and selected the best photos we could use as a reference. A good amount was selected which makes the trip a success.

From now on i will be turning 10 pages of script into thumbnails whereas Vito will be busy finalising character designs and back drops.

After the thumbnails we can begin to edit / add / modify existing scenes.

The next meeting will be at Vito's place again unless i'm mistaken.

I would like to extend my invitation to those who would like to see a comic being made which means Thomas, Jover, Chow... all you art people are welcome.

That is all i think.

Meanwhile, a message to the partners; we need to start maybe poking through our resource of contacts for a webdesigner... I will try but i admit my resource is stretched in this field.

-Jay

InfoShare

2005-07-30T01:04:00.000+10:00

For meeting 10,

Can everyone bring ALL the content they've collected?

This includes ALL photographs, videos, notes and the like.
This is so production can start with all the info.

I'm hoping we can share all the stuff we have...
from now on, please try to check this space as i will try to make regular updates from here.

Thanks.

-Jay

Meeting 9

2005-07-25T22:53:00.000+10:00

While meeting 9 was mostly covering mechanicals behind the firm, i'm pleased to announce that after looking through the initial schedule, project pilot is definately on time.

We've accounted for the fact thatp roduction could take longer than planned but it shuold not effect the release date which is March 2006.

The script is 90% finished: i'd like to thank all of you for a great pre-production journey. The concept of all of us working together, developing, building all the characters from ground up was definately a cool experience; not to mention all the movies, beer, laughs and trips we've had.

Meeting 10 will probably on Sunday, Morning / Early Arvo so we can probably take a breather at the pub later or something Mark would like is have a jog or something.

Date: 31st, July 2005
Time: 12 noon - 4pm
Venue: Unconfirmed.
RSVP: ASAP.

I'm posting this earlier and i hope i can expect people to start utilizing the blog, since the date is set early i welcome all who are and aren't working on project: pilot to attend.

Any conflict with prior arrangements please see me.
Btw, who ever is interested in going out after 12am for my brithday drink, please feel free.

Thanks,

-Jay, Director

MEETING NINE (or TEN)

2005-07-23T00:35:00.000+10:00

THIS SUNDAY, JULY 24.

4PMish

VITO'S HOUSE

-LOki

Marketing Meeting

2005-07-15T01:21:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone,

This meeting concerns all partners so i would appreicate all of the partners letting me know what times they are available.

I propose a meeting time of this sunday, monday or tuesday midday.

Confirm by calling me, otherwise I will call you within the next 24 hours.

Kind regards,
Mark

My first post

2005-07-08T02:35:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone,

First off I would like to welcome Thomas Bonin to the group. Based on my initial first impression and the work that I have seen, I believe Thomas will be a valuable asset to the firm and I look forward to working alongside him.

This is a long post, so I will include the notes from the small business development program in my next post.

Secondly, here are the minutes of the Camping Trip 2005.

Friday the 24th 17:30 Journey begings from Jason's house.
Car 1 - Omer, Jason, Brendan, Me (Mark)
Car 2 - Vito, Monin, Pete

18:02
Stopped off for alcohol
$109 man times have changed...
18:10
Our brillant navigator (Jason) falls asleep
18:12
We wake him to find he actually 'doesn't really know where we are going either'. Very reassuring...
18:14
I realise we are in Berwick where I thought I could possibly be transferring to in the coming month (I did yesterday). Omer remark's it doesnt look like it does in the brochures. I concur...

*Note the Berwick campus is actually quite impressive, they have had no history of vandalism or graffati in 10 yrs which is when it opened.*

18:15
I make a joke about starting drinking early. Brendan doesn't get it and proceeds to drink straight from the bottle of Jim Beam (In hindsight he probably did get it, he just thought it was a good idea).
18:17
Brendan realises its not the tasistiest beverage and puts the lid back on.
18:34
Toilet Stop, Pete feels much better.
18:36
Back on road.
19:40
KFC stop - extremely crowded, also followed by more toilet stops.
21:41
Stop for smoking and toilet. First sign of a lightsaer fight Vito Vs Jason. Also the perfect time for a photo opportunity.
ETA by Omer 15 minutes...
21:52
Back on road.
22:21
Another wrong turn, another U turn. 27ks from Cave.
22:44
Are those our cabins? Asks jason, pointing unbeknowst to as at some random houses.
22:46
Still debating/thinking are these our cabins?
350 km's done, yet we spend 10 minutes debating driving another 1km to check if they are actually our cabins.
22:50
Still looking.
22:51
I vaguely remember something about a key in the letter box? Hopefully I am correct.
22:53
We find our Cabin now wheres the key?
The last place we expected.. in the door handle
haha a little smaller than we expected, we need to talk turns sitting down.

Sat 25th:
13:01 - Royal Cave
Rules:
No toucing or you will be escorted out.
No food/drink, water permitted.
No smoking
*Video surveillance*
If you do touch anything the oil from your hands seals whatever you touch so that there is no more growth.
Pete volunteers to take up the rear.

13:05
Tour Begins
Iron Oxide (orange tint) - Limestone
Everything within the cave is made through the dripping of water over hundreds of thousands of years.

Keith Greenword explains that the caves are at a constant 17°C night and day, during all seasons.

1 hour and 10 minutes later we emerge into the daylight (The average normally takes 45 minutes, however the longest ever has been about 1 hr 15).

15:00 Fairy Cave Tour
15:55 Tour ends.

Keith Greenwood (our tourguide) poses with us for a photo as a memento.
He remarks we are 'the best group of people he has ever had the pleasure of touring.' This was a sincere compliment and we are grateful for Keith's great work and respect.

Keith shows us Stellatites from the caves and lets us see just how heavy they are, and actually examine them in detail.

We agree to send Keith a copy of the pilot when we are finished.

2005-07-07T13:12:00.000+10:00

Meeting 1: The beginning of Chalkboard Studios. From left: Monin, Brendan, Vito, Jason

MEETING THIS WEEKEND

2005-07-06T19:38:00.000+10:00

the meeting is on SATURDAY, JULY 9.

i understand that mark has an imporant 21st on at around 7:30, so we'll try and get as much as we can done before then. for this to happen though, i think it'd be safe to start the meeting at about 4-5ish?

i've yet to decide on a place for the meeting, but my house seems ok if you don't mind the cold. i'll let you guys know by friday where the meeting will be held.

jase has requested that everyone suit up for this meeting, be all business-like. it'll be cool :P.

also, for the benefit of brendan, i'll do a post about the meeting we had the past sunday later this week.

-LOki

Events

2005-07-01T02:17:00.000+10:00

Hi gang,

I propose the meeting being held at Cookie Bar, Sunday Arvo?
This is the easiest spot because Monin, Vito, Thomas can probably make it.

I won't reveal too much of it here, but i will email the meeting tomorrow.

Right now i need people to comment in the boxes about the times they will be available to best accomodate everyone.

The meeting will be pretty quick i expect this to not take more than an hour.

As we are indeed heading closer to the end of pre-production i do expect meeting to focus more and more on production.

This is a bit of a late notice, so i'm really sorry.

-Jay.

Breaking news

2005-06-29T09:24:00.000+10:00

Attention to all of Chalkboard Studios:

I have dug into some local government funding and i have discovered the following after calling in.

It is estimated that the 100 applicants who apply for the small grants, only 10% will recieve it.
The grant is based on product innovation and long term sustainability. This is for upper management to really put their heads in.

For the marketers; the entity will have to prove there is a market for this. Research and estalishing contacts is now a priority. Mark i will probably host a marketers meeting inconjunction with the overall long term business plan which means Omer will be attending. Dates will be decided soon and i expect this to occur within 2 weeks.

The grant is provided that the entity (us) is business ready. (with the compilation of the business plan and final draft of the first issue we will be.)

I was told that small juice bars and all that do not qualify therefore it will be imperative that we distinguish our final product.

There is an uncoming information session about this grant and i would like the partners and any chalkboard member who is willing to attend. I believe this will give us the momentum to open up early and well as finance the project for 2006.

Time is running out, the following is from the businessmelbourne website.

Funding round: August 2005.
Venue: 7th July 2005
Melbourne Town Hall
6:00pm
Applications close:
5 pm Friday
5th August 2005

The grant is approximately $50,000. Play time is over.
Any questions in regards to this matter please feel free to ask me.

-Jay, Director.

Welcome Aboard!!!

2005-06-28T12:32:00.000+10:00

It is with great pleasure to formerly announce that as of yesterday night Thomas Bonin has joined the team!

Thomas is the writer and artist of the self-published comic "Dicks: A collection of everyday events".
Without a doubt Thomas' experience in this field will provide the team with valuable experience and expertise.

The style of Thomas is distinct, effective and will definatley make a mark in the industry.

Thomas is assigned as an artist, expected to begin work when project 2 starts, I expect everyone to meet Thomas at the next official meeting which will be organised sometimes this week.

Let's all give Thomas a warm and welcome reception guys.

-Jay, Director

Buchan piece of CORN!

2005-06-28T12:15:00.000+10:00

Just when you thought it doesn't get any better...

Our firm and guest Pete McMahon just returned from our research trip in Buchan Caves, around 350 kms from Melbourne. Located near the small town of Bruthen the scenery was just exactly what everyone needed. Freedom, Fresh air and Caves.

I would also like to note this was the first time all members of Chalkboard Studios was present!

After months of initial planning we got there restless and exhausted but it didn't stop the guys from running amuck and letting the town know we have arrived.

We got settled and went for midnight walkabouts to explore our settlement for the next two days. Lightsabers and torches were our only light source and the entire encampment was foggy, cold and majestic. The state of mind in the group was relaxed until we realised how small our cabins were.

Claustrophobic would be the best word to describe it.

We rested up and we went to see what we've been planning for this entire time and that is the infamous Caves. We got exactly what we needed from the caves, how they were formed, to the temperatures at night and to top it off about 1 gig worth of images taken generously by Mark, Omer and Monin. Video was done by Vito and I had a chance to burrow Mark's camera for a few shots I thought would be useful to production.

We ended up touring an extra cave which was not on the agenda but this decision proved extremely useful because it had extra formations that wasn't apparent in the first one.

Beside the fact that this was meant to just be a research trip, Brendan found this to be an eye opener and I agree with him. The time we spent there was nothing but bliss beside the fact that we survived off canned soup and bread for the next couple of days and a BBQ which was yummy we also didn't have any cooking oil or butter! Danger! but thanks to the charm of our very own Mark Hollingsworth, this proved to not be a problem.

I got up to my usual antics and Omer and I filmed a "barf" scene with canned soup that looked like barf. Combine this with a camera and we have a movie! We had to take 2 takes luckily we had more crap soup to waste and it turned out exactly to what we wanted; gross, graphic and funny. No special effects was needed except "L337" acting skills.

I had a blast and on the ride home we stopped at Lakes Entrance which did not live to our expectations and Monin and Omer decided to make the best of it with their mock-up Lakes "McPuddle" entrance.

We arrived home safe and sound and I would like to forward my deepest thanks to everyone who came out and just had a good time, it was a blast and I can presume many more "research trips" will be planned for future projects, given that everyone doesn't get sick. Omer was already sick and so was Vito. Mark wore his red flash gordon jump suit and went for a run in the morning and caught a cold. This'll teach ya to be healthy!!!

10 Most memorable moments (In chronological order):

-Pete's 10 minutes piss outside Bruthen (We can still see the steam)
-Acrobatics of Pete and Brendan climbing Mt. Buchanhell. (While holding a beer and a smoke!)
-The Adventures of Flash Gordon and the flu. (He's still sick)
-Everyone walking on Kangaroo shit. (We can still smell it.)
-Mark loves corn scene. (Filmed)
-Jell-O Campbells "Chunky" Soup (Photographed)
-Puke scene. (Filmed, twice!)
-Jumping for joy at the gates of Buchan Caves (Photographed)
-Monin and Omer's puddle of joy. (Photographed)
-Jay and Brendan's play (recorded)

Special thanks to Carole, the park manager and Keith the tour guide for giving us a warm and welcome reception.

Now since we're back to reality unfortunately guys it's BACK TO WORK YA BLUDGERS!!!

Hehe. Just Kidding... about the reality part ;)

-Jay, Director

CAVES, CORN, + CANNED SOUP

2005-06-26T20:07:00.000+10:00

we just got back home a couple of hours ago, and it feels like the weekend didn't happen, that it was almost a dream.

and in some ways, it kind of was. as mentioned earlier, the members of chalkboard studios (and good friend pete mcmahon) went to do some field work and research at the buchan caves, about 350kms out of melbourne.

the main reason for traveling so far was to get references for the artists, as well give the writers inspiration and first-hand experience in a cave setting. and i can confidently say that we all gained a tremendous amount of information and appreciation for caves and their formations. this in turn, i believe, will allow us to create a comic/graphic novel that really stands out.

while we were there we did a whole heap of things, but i think for the blog, the most important thing is that we will definitely be going through the script again and re-write some parts to accommodate our newly acquired information about caves, how they're formed, and the just general terrain encased in them.

i would like to thank all members of chalkboard studios that attended this weekend. not only we were able to get a lot of stuff for the comic, we also had heaps of fun - and for that, i am ever so thankful. our firm's cohesion is on built on not only professionalism and respect, but friendship and trust. everyone's input over the weekend has been invaluable.

also, i'd like to thank pete mcmahon for coming along for the ride. even though you're not part of the firm, you're always welcome. seriously, even though he wasn't there for the 'business' side of things, he paid attention and contributed at all times. it was great having you along dude!

and finally, thanks to the guys who ran the buchan caves and tours. carol at the front office, and good ol' keith grennwood, out bloody legend of a tour guide.

that's it from me for now, again - thanks guys for all your work. but rest up - production is soon to begin!

-LOki, writer, project manager

TO BUCHAN WE GO!

2005-06-24T09:24:00.000+10:00

we're off to do some exlporing.

we'll be back on sunday and hopefully still have enough energy to post something when we do.

but until then,

-LOki

Writer's crunch period.

2005-06-22T02:38:00.000+10:00

We've made pretty good progress i think.

Production is starting very soon and i'm getting exciting and anxous at the same time.

The research / field trip is in 3 days and that's definately going to be something to look forward to.

All is well in the studios of Chalkboard.

-Jay, Writer

We're in business.

2005-06-21T03:52:00.000+10:00

Literally.

Tonight was a monumental event for the firm. This is day 1 out the planned 4 day crunch period for the writers. Vito is very ill from the fever (get well soon mate :) and mark was so tired he had to go home but still i think we managed to achieve a lot.

First and foremost i would like to officially welcome Omer Gokmen.

Omer is now manager of production and will handle all our business to do with printing and publication. Omer just graduated from Monash and majors in marketing and management. My long time friend, confidant and now business partner.

I'm convinced that this will add so much more value to the firm with his knowledge and expertise and help us make the right decisions for the firm.

Funny because i met Omer back in first year uni and we shared a lot of discussions about our future in terms of business and we sort of knew one day we'd be doing something together or related and it's strange because i expected this down the track.

Welcome aboard, and thank you for all those great years whether our lives were good or not so good.

Also, we have failed to mention we have officially chosen a title for our firm and that is *drum roll*

CHALKBOARD STUDIOS

Finally the last announcement is that we're officially registered as a business!!!

Australian Business Registry

To find us! type in "Chalkboard Studios"

We are excited to now present that we are actively looking for a studio apartment as well as releasing a press release promo sometime in the next couple of months.

Things have started to look more solid and i hope we can truly make the best out of these holidays so stay tuned.

-Jay, Director

Meeting 6

2005-06-18T17:36:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone,

We're back!!!

It's been almost a month since our last meeting and i hope everyone has had a good break.
I hope everyone is nicely relaxed, chilled, cruisin'...

because you in for a suprise.. A REAL PAINFUL SUPRISE! (Just kidding)

Crunchtime is coming and unless you're the production manager or head visual you can bet it's gonna be a real killer :P

Well yesterday's meeting was held at Cookie bar, and it felt as thought i haven't been there fore 6 months. I saw Jase the bartender and as always he was super about providing us with the best service as possible.

Thanks heaps to Thoma Bonin for coming along yersterday given the short notice; Thomas is an outstanding writer and artist of the comic "DICKS: A series of everyday events" and we pretty much spoke about our history, and other comic related tid bits.

Hopefully we'll be seeing more of Tom in the future. Thanks again for dropping in.

Let's get down to business, literally.

I pretty much covered capital budget and the partnership structure, if there is any question regarding these topic please feel free to approach me.

Mark, thanks for bringing forward the idea of a 'packaged' press release. I will contact you very soon and discuss this matter hoepfully by next week.

As you all know, i've been trying to get this firm registered in order to start the website. This has taken longer than expected and i apologise to the rest of the firm. This will be rectified by this week. I'm currently in the process of drafting up the business plan and finalising the capital budget. Speaking of the capital budget, i'd like to give a big thanks to Mark who provided an idea that could literally save us thousands. Excellent work.

I've shown Mark the distribution points we have and i noted there was about 2000 Australia wide (which included commercial and non commercial book stores) and if we could get into say 20 of them including 1 major bookshop i think we can be set.

All is optimistic and i suspect this will be harder than expected because of the nature of the industry.

talking back to comics, crunch day is set at 20th of June (Monday) until the 22nd. (Wednesday)

From these days i hope to expect the initial draft to be completed. I know its a big ask and looks impossible but i think as long as we plan it right and everyone pulls their weight we should be able to finish the majority of it.

Everyone the trip is taking place this Friday the 24th. Can everyone confirm this date and provide us with a time as we need to departure ASAP to set up.

Additional thanks goes to Monin for his work in his role as project manager. I understand it's not easy to get everyone fired up after a break and especially hosting your first meeting right after one.
So anyway after the trip (which ends on the 26th June, Sunday) Monin has to work and i will resume a temporary role of project leader for everyone during the day.

My mummy has cleared a room in our house that we can use, so it's happening!

-Jay, Director

MEETING SIX || welcome back

2005-06-18T15:48:00.000+10:00

after a month-long intermission, meetings reconvened at Cookie.

we mentioned earlier that jase and i had gone out looking at what was available in the aussie comic scene, and one that caught out attention was "Dicks", by thomas bonin. jase had contaced him via e-mail and he came for a brief moment to our meeting. jase did most of the talking, so i'll leave it to him to elaborate, but from i gathered thomas seemed genuinely interested in what we were doing. thanks for coming thomas!

the meeting covered both the managerial (admin) side of things, as well as production. during the intermission, jase, mark and myself had gone through some business stuff, working out budgets etc. so when we started production, we'd be ready.

again, jase is in charge of that aspect of the firm and i'll let him explain the details if he wants to.

on to the pre/production side, we discussed the following:

WEEKLY SCHEDULES
initially we had started off with monthly outlooks, seeing what we would have done every 30 days or so. however, now that things are a lot more clearer the group that a weekly outlook would be much more productive and efficient.

ALLOCATION OF TASKS
since we now have a clearer idea of what we're doing, the allocation of tasks was possible. each memeber, both in teh writing and the art department is now able to work on something that will all be brought together later as we near production.

CHARACTER FINALISATION
again characters were discussed, and it was voiced that we needed to really finalise them. i think we do have a final list of main characters, though the supporting cast and misc. background kinda people are still hazy. but i think we'll only need 10 mins to arrive at a decisive conclusion.

SCRIPT/STORY
this mainly concerned the writers; we worked out "crunch time" where we'd get together for a few days in a row and write our asses off, trying to get as much done as we can. here also, the story can be solidified and the artists will have a very clear indication of what is expected of them.

CAVE TOUR/CAMP
as mentioned earlier, the cave tours will be from 24 - 26 june. we don't know where we're headed just yet, but will have a location by mid next week.

that's about it from me. things are moving smoothly now and that's a very comfy thing. again, welcome back guys and good to see we're already back in action.

-LOki, writer, project manager.

CAVE TOUR + CAMPING TRIP

2005-06-12T00:58:00.000+10:00

...since i'm taking a break from study, i'll quickly post about the cave tour/camping trip thing.

at the moment, the best dates are between JUNE 24 - JUNE 27.. that's FRIDAY - MONDAY.

of course we won't have to go for that entire time; for instance we can go to the place (yet to be determined) on saturday day and comeback sunday night, or whichever dates suit the most of us.

after my last exam which is late next week i'll be looking into 4WD tracks that have camping grounds and HOPEFULLY have some explorable (non death-trap) caves to get reference shots and stuff.

the main purpose of this trip is to get reference shots for the artists of caves, the wilderness, and just landscapes in general. also, i think it would help the writers a lot if we were able to actually get out there and get first hand experience of being in the wildnerness, exhausting ourselves etc.

furthermore, i think it'd just be a nice getaway after exams and stuff - just so we can relax and take a bit of a breather.

more details will be posted as the date gets closer, but for now just let me know ASAP if these dates are cool.

back to studying....

-LOki

"DON'T WORRY, WE'VE ONLY JUST STARTED" - DAVE

2005-06-11T04:00:00.000+10:00

First of four teaser posters. The othes will be released every couple of months just to get people interested. -Jay & LOki; Director, Vice-President

Intermission

2005-05-24T03:26:00.000+10:00

This blog is officially closed for intermission.

We'll be back posting again on June the 16th!

-Jay, Director

Website...

2005-05-22T20:53:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

I've spoken to a web designer and a dear friend about the prospects about getting out site up.

Good news! She has informed me that this can be completed prior to my inital hopes of getting it up and running by october.

Now the next problem is deciding on a name for our firm and i can get started with the business site of things.

Anyway, this will be the last post by me. I hope everyone has a safe intermission and luck with their exams. I'll see u all at the next meeting.

-Jay, writer, Director.

COOKIE || you sneaky monkey

2005-05-20T21:47:00.000+10:00

as planned, we got the group down to Cookie to check the place out and have a few drinks (NON-alcoholic, thank you very much!). there we had a impromptu meeting and discussed the following things:

(a) timeline of events
(b) who was working on what
(c) plans for intermission
(d) script

i think i've sent out the timeline to everyone; it's very basic and things can be added and subtracted if, as a group, we think it detracts from the story, is too long-winded or just doesn't make sense. furthermore, we assigned which scenes each head writer would be working on. as it stands now, jase and myself will be writing a very raw script, then handing it over to mark and brendan to read through, add or amend, and make notes as to what can be improved etc.

at the meeting, i told the guys that after today (friday) we should stop thinking about the comic and get our heads into our uni stuff. of course, everyone (myself included) is free to work on the comic but it was made clear that any work on the comic during the intermission period was definitely not to be made top priority. for those of us who don't have exams, or finish exams early - of course it wouldn't hurt to pick up those pens (or pencils) and get the ideas flowing ;).

the script, as i mentioned above, is mainly jase's and my job. it's coming along alright so far, with abotu 10% of it done. needless to say, they still need a lot of work and plenty of objective and constructive feedback from our other writers mark and brendan. only then will be do a trial 'scene' which will hopefully be fully drawn with dialogue and captions filled in too.

apart from that, i'd just like to thank everyone for putting in the effort to come to the city today and check out cookie (and the number one contender place for our launch). thanks also for putting in time out of meetings and your busy lives to get as far as we have. we've exceeded our six-month plan goals and are actually ahead in our pre-production, so excellent work guys.

just so i know when we can schedule the next meeting, can you guys let me know when your last exam is on? we'll have a couple of days after the last one of us has our exam, then reconvene meetings so we can get back on track.

enjoy your break guys, and good luck with exams!

-LOki, writer, project manager.

Restructure

2005-05-16T01:41:00.000+10:00

After initial discussion and the conclusion from analysing the market the following changes have been made.

I will be stepping down as Project Leader. The title has been awarded to Monin and all questions and queries regarding our production will be forwarded to him from now on.

The Project Leader's role are:
-Planning, coordinating weekly meetings.
-Progress checking on the tasks at hand.
-Modifiying and creating new and existing procedures.
-Overlooking the project as a whole.
-Other ad hoc duties.

Congradulations Monin!

The reason behind this the restructure is the oppurtunity for me to give this firm with the highest chance of success on our post-production.

My duties now will be:

-Arranging the website and plan it's content and launch.
-Market segmentation and product placement.
-Stemming out business activities to include publishing etc. (can't reveal too much)
-Advertising streams and sponsorship/funding sources
-Organising and planning meetings with regards to the business aspect.
-Analysing the market outside of Victoria
-Estimating figures (break even estimates, capital expenditure and growth charts)

On top of my duties as; Head Writer, Art Coordinator and Supporting Visual.

I made this change because really it's impossible for my to do everything.
I thank Monin for accepting this stressful role. Any questions about this change please feel free to ask me.

-Jay, Director

PRE-MEETING DISCUSSIONS pt. 2

2005-05-15T05:43:00.000+10:00

tonight jase and i sat down with our publisher and good friend omer and described the project to him from conception till where we're up to at this present moment. i think omer was genuinely impressed with the depth of our comic as well as our very personal attachement to our work. i'm pretty sure omer sees his fair share of publications and it felt good that he seemed to really want to be apart of our one.

more to come soon, i'm tired :).

-LOki

Progress Check

2005-05-14T01:48:00.000+10:00

Hey everyone,

As you all know we're planning to have a progress check on Thurday night.
The plan is to leave around 5-ish at perhaps Oakleigh trainstation?

Any plan changes, please put it up in the chatterbox or comment in this post.

The aim is to collect as many city and structural and other misc. objects as possible.
Monin and i think we've found our opening venue so it'll be wise to come and see it!

After a quick check up on what needs to be done before the next meeting (a month away) we'll be set.

We have updated files and other character profiles and also we'll have ur folder ready by then as well Mark :)

God's in his heaven, all is right with the comic society.

-Jay

MEETING FIVE || can i get any of you cunts a drink?

2005-05-11T19:39:00.000+10:00

well the day did start off pretty interestingly. as jase had noted, we went into the city to check out what the australian indies were currently offering to the comic-reading public. and needless to say, there really isn't much out there. as i told jase, to which he agreed, the one thing they all lacked was a decent story. they drawings were fine, but beyond that the comics we picked up had very little to offer in the way of mental engagement or even slight stimulation.

and i have to admit, getting those free pints of coke was pretty awesome. the guys that were interested in our work seemed to be genuinely into the whole graphic novel scene, and seemed cultured and knew their shit. it was uplifting and inspiring that those kind of people were out in the world and were interested in what two kids from the 'burbs were doing.

anyhoo, after a short break (being filled with a 1.5 hour-long torts tutorial), we had our meeting. as jase mentioned, we had a bit of hitch; we were originally going to have the meeting at monash uni, clayton, but then moved to the pancake parlour at chadstone. we ordered our drinks: a pint of cider, a pint of cola, a choc-banana swiss mountain, and another banana swiss mounted with a good ol' VB, and the meeting got underway.

in brief, this is what was covered at that meeting:

S.W.O.T. ANALYSIS
Checking out what's available in the market. This section was rewritten due to the important findings and strategies that will be implemented by this firm. Sorry :) - Jay, Project Leader

MARKETING
as jase mentioned, we were thinking of having the comic launch at COOKIE, which is an awesome venue; vintage, but chilled. i noticed that jase said he didn't want to give too much away so maybe i'll tread on the safe side and let out as little as possible :).

STORY TIMELINE
as a writer, i undertook to come up with the basic timeline of events, key scenes, and character interactions. while at cookie, i was able to draw up a very basic timeline as to the events in the story, with help from a nifty little diagram drawn by jase the previous night. things are moving quickly guys...

CHARACTERS
again, chracters were discussed in depth and with vito's awesome sketches (which to many would seem like completed works), we were able to really solidify what we were traing to capture in each character. it's easy enough to write a character in point-form, but it is quite another to see them come to life as an actual being. kudos vito, you're gonna kick so much ass.

dang, i've written quite a bit. but to end off, i'd like to reiterate jase's welcome to MARK HOLLINGSWORTH to the group. i totally agree with jase that mark's enthusiam and motivation, and overall good-nature made it easy to offer him the position as a writer, and later down the track as a PR dude too. thanks for getting on board.

furthermore, i'm quite honoured to be given the title of "vice-president".. but rest assured, i'm still gonna do what i've always done. there's no hierarchy here, and that's what i love.

until next meeting,

-LOki, writer.

Fifth impressions...

2005-05-11T17:37:00.000+10:00

What an interesting day it was.

Kick started with a visit to the city and Monin and i gathered info about what the Australian market has to offer, which isn't very much.

We settled down in a bar in the city called "Cookie" despite the crap name it's an awesome venue. The waiters there were very interested in what we were doing not to mention they were just cool.

"What are you doing there?"

"We write and produce comic books..."

"NO WAY MAN! THAT'S AWESOME!!"

And the drink was also on the house... a definate spirit lifter. We also were thinking about hosting the launch party at Cookie. Hmm.

Last night was the last meeting until July because of the upcoming exam, with a hitch up with Brendan the meeting we held at pancake parlore in Chaddy. As always, Mark came to check it out and we're very grateful for his participation and interest in the project.

We covered ground about our recent character development and our script. Vito also showcased his character designs and i must say they were nothing but spectacular and i'm certian i'm not alone on this.

Two annoucements were made in regards to our team:

1) Monin is now appointed Vice-President in operations and project management.
A job it seems he was born to do because he's so naturally good at. I'm blessed he is on the team.

2)Welcome aboard, Mark Hollingsworth!
Thanks for your excellent support, the enthusiasm you have shown for our work is truly an honour to have you on board. When you took it upon yourself to write your own character bios and decide to get urself involved in our work made you a natural selection.

That's all this week without revealing too much about our inner-operations i think :)

We're still on schedule and everything's great!
Thank you to the team and the people who have supported our work so far, we promise it'll be worth the wait.
And to the guys, thanks for having patience with me, especially Monin...
I hope this intermission will provide the break you all deserve, until the next meeting...

-Jay, Project Leader

PRE-MEETING DISCUSSIONS

2005-05-09T00:59:00.000+10:00

in the last couple of days it was kinda obvious that things needed to be cleared up. we then decided to put this section in the blog where we'd post pre-meeting discussions here so it'd give the group somethings to think about prior to the actual meeting.

at the moment, the following things have come to mind:

CONSOLIDATION OF MAIN SEVEN CHARACTERS
* angus ("gus")
* bridget
HOW THEY GOT THERE
* how they fall
* the trials they face
* how they get out - and the consequences of it
KEY SCENES
* clare gathering stuff left behind at drop site
* bridget's song
* revelation of cause of fall
* angus' true nature
* terry's development
* dave's departure
* the calm before the storm a (when they finally escape)
CHARACTER HABITS AND ONE-LINERS
* used as recurring themes
* used as ridicule but others
CHARACTER INTERACTIONS
* bridget/clare
* clare/terry
COMIC SOUNDTRACK (subject to change)
* songs that will feature in the comic
* songs will be played at the comic launch :)

of course all the above are just ideas at the moment, and are open to interpretation and alteration. they can be taken out or changed completely if it ulitmately leads to a better outcome.

i guess all that is left to be said, we'll see you on tuesday!

-LOki, Jay (writer, project manager)

MEETING FOUR || we're coming to get you barbara!

2005-05-06T15:28:00.000+10:00

as jase noted, we didn't cover as much stuff as we had hoped. but i think, considering we had to cram two and ahlf meetings into one, we did alright as far as that was concerned. the main issues dealt with in this meeting included:

(a) review the framework
(b) discuss art directiom
(c) six-month outlook
(d) character finalisation

we had a look at the framework briefly jsut to get the feel of how the story was developing and where it was headed. unforturnately we couldn't have spent more time on it, but i think with the printouts we all have now, we can manage by jsut reading them on our own and contacting jase to clear up any confusion.

we spent a bit of time going over the six-month plan, plotting our projected progress on a timeline that would eventually lead to publication around mid decemeber. jase had broken the workload into mothnly intervals, as well as both pre-production and production stages. after having a look at what was proposed, all of us agreed that if we stuck to our guns, the timeline would be feasible.

art-wise, jase had done some panel drawings for one of the characters. basically, we were trying to see what kind of 'feel' we wanted to give off with the visuals, and as jase had told the group, the subject matter of the story is kind of serious and heavy, which meant that a certain drawing style would have to be adopted to accommodate that. as it stands at the moment, simple lines and shading are looking like a viable option. but at next weeks meeting, vito will prob have centre stage presenting his concept sketches of the main characters based on the writers' character profiles.

jase and i had come up with seven characters, two written by myself, three by jase, and one by brendan. although we had pretty much gotten the basics of each of these characters (well, as of yesterday only four characters had 'official' profiles), there were specifics that needed to be addressed. i understand that a lot of this expository stuff will go unnoticed by many readers, but i think it was mainly for our benefit that the characters had depth - but not only that, that they were also believable and not cliched. and i think, with last night's meeting, we acheived that.

i think jase has since written up two more characters to make a complete main cast of seven. at next week's meeting we'll be looking at supporting characters, and possibly gathering location references for the art guys.

next week, the meeting will be on tuesday, which means we've got two less days to get our stuff together before our month-long break from meetings to focus on uni stuff and exams. this also means that we'll have to try and cover a lot of our bases on tuesday night, so when we reconvene after exams, we'll be able to get right back into it and get the ball rolling a lot quicker.

-LOki, writer.

Fourth impressions

2005-05-06T01:38:00.000+10:00

We came prepared with our spiffy manilla folders with all our work up until today but we could'nt cover a lot of material.

I had about 2 hours to basically cover 2 weeks worth of meetings but i'm happy to report we have an idea of what we have to do.

I have moved the meeting to Tuesday 6pm at Uni because of Brendans vicious timetable on thurday. Next week will be the last meeting until the exam period is over.

I'm very tired atm, so i'll leave it at that until i remember more..

-Jay, Project Leader

one more time...

2005-05-01T04:24:00.000+10:00

I've started writing some of the opening scenes and revised the initial framework we have.

I can really start imagining where this is going to go and i feel very good about it. Now if only the others can agree with me :P

Things are coming along very smoothly at the moment and i think there will be a mention about our organisational structure that will be addressed at the next meeting.

I've taken the liberty of putting up this little chatterbox which allows us to have immediate feedback and reponses to miscellaneous topics not covered in the posts.

Until next time.

-Jay, Project Leader, Comic Writers Society.

MEETING THREE || and that is really going to exacerbate things for all of us

2005-04-29T17:16:00.000+10:00

heh well as jase said below, things didn't really go to plan last night. with two of us not being able to make it, it did seem like a bit of a waste of time to go down to our usual meeting spot in glen waverly to explain to each other what we already knew.

i knew jase was pretty heart-broken over it, but i thought since there were 'new' people coming along, it'd give as a good opportunity to get them up to speed as to waht we're doing etc.. turns out none of those guys were coming too and our only newcomer was good ol' chow.

as jase mentioned, we did eventually have the meeting and attempted to clear up some ambiguities and plotholes in the 'framework' story. we were able to think up some key scenes, as well as different ways characters would interact with each other. for example, how would one character affect the other, and what kind of themes or info could be revealed in dialogue exhanged between different combinations of characters.

and that's when rupert j. hollingsworth (a.k.a. "rafe") and bridget came into existence. i dunno if i should go into the details as to who these characters are, but i will say that with these two guys around, things in the cave get a little more interesting. i wrote up rafe's character and immediately found myself attached to him; his personality and demeanour are just things that came naturally to me and after writing it down, rafe became real.

the character of bridget is developing as i type, and with the addition of her and one more character, we have a complete cast. i think, as jase said, now that we've come up with solid characters, it looks as though the story will flow from them. things are in motion now, woohoo.

umm yeah it was a bit of a bummer that vito and brendan couldn't make it but i assure you guys that they had good reason. while brendan is working on the story/plot as lead writer, vito had done come concept sketches of some of the character profiles we gave him. after we all have a look at them and make suggestions or comments, vito will draw them in the way they'd appear in the final comic. but more news on that when the time comes.

furthermore, chow seems to be somewhat interested in what we're doing and was pretty inquisities as to comic style/direction we were taking. he also mentioned the idea of doing short comic strips, like three-pannel stories just for fun. i had this idea in my head for a while, and already had some comic stories in mind. it's something we might do once the website is up and running, and of course, chow will be a keen contributor.

the night started out pretty negatively, but in the end we've gotten something pretty cool out of it. i know that shit happens which we don't want, but we always have to make the best of it. especially in a group situation; one can't fall apart just because shit hits the fan, you have to look at what else can be done.

and i'm certianly glad that we were able to do that.. and all it took was a huge pepper steak, a bit of chicken parmagiana, some cheese and bacon cabonara, and some pancakes and ice-cream. brisk, indeed!

oh btw, foolscap sucks.

-LOki

Currently working on:

2005-04-29T04:36:00.000+10:00

[]6 Month outline for next week
[]Weekly schedules
[]Secondary draft framework
[]Offsite references

-Jay

Third Impressions...

2005-04-29T03:15:00.000+10:00

Well, nothing certainly turned out the way it seems did so tonight i'm afraid.
Gapper called in at about 6... and i knew it when i picked up the phone.

GREAT!

Oh well so i thought, i guess we could continue the meeting and give him the info later on in the week... about 8pm Monin yells "Jase, i have really bad news..."

.."what?"

"Vito isn't coming either."

Oh ... fuck!

Then came to the decision, do i carry on with the meeting as planned or... just throw in the towel tonight and go home all sooking and heart broken.
I knew i was kid of putting Monin on the spot and he really tried to get me 'going' but i knew that Monin knows everything i do already... what's the point?

After about 10 minutes of mopping around, i gathering my things and was serious bummed out. Everything i had worked for, everything i planned just went to the shits. Not to mention the guests that i invited to come down... I made the calls out and nobody picked up. I resorted to sending SMS' and felt like shit.

Sat in my car, and had a little think to myself... i asked "what is my role?"
A voice said, "You're the project leader". And immediately i knew i can't just quit when it got tough or when i just felt like it. Another voice now is Chow and he said "Stop being a little bitch nigga Chung!"

Whatever that meant, but all i know is... i didn't want to be one.

I called up Chow and Monin who were already on their way to eat and i tagged along, got some grub in me belly and went to chaddy for pancakes (that was awesome).

Here's the thing, i always wanted to fill the framework for the pilot and i know Monin and Brendan needs it. During pancakes Monin and i developed our remaining characters and now the story feels 'complete' with them in it.

I'm now determined to come back need week with a new sense of direction. Funny how a negative thing kinda opened the door to something i was missing on. I now dread the thought that had i not have gone for pancakes, Rupert J Hollingsworth (name after you Mark) and Bridget may not have come into being.

Brisk.

I've gain a positive from a negative because i didn't wuss out... harsh and important lesson learnt today. I've also taken it upon myself to lose something in the process, my foolscap folder. A kind gesture for a man in war with paper... you know who you are and thanks for making it great man. Don't know where i'd be without you. Awesome... truly fucken awesome...

"GAY!" -Ed

-Jay

Second impressions...

2005-04-26T05:44:00.000+10:00

Thing's seem to be surreal at the moment and I’m have difficulty grasping the idea of how 'perfect' things could be. The pilot is underway, spirits seems high and optimistic and thing's have started to crystalize.

This has easily surpassed any optimistic vision i even had originally.

Monin made a 'late appearance' to the first meeting which i thought was a big success and could we all give a big round of applause for Mr. Spell (toy story ref.)

Let's just say things turned for the better since my first post and find that Monin is side-by-side with me when i now plan and organise not just the group but on the side of business too. His advice and just being there takes makes me feel like i can achieve anything. Since i didn't write anything about our now 'head writer' i feel inclined to do so... it's only fair ;)

Monin; a figure-head in writing. His ideas are raw and combined with his personal touch it becomes flawless. His insatiable quest for perfection and his outstanding ability to narrate is second to none. Monin has this ability to understand complex procedures and give his opinion made him the ultimate and first candidate. We have Batman.

Oddly enough the idea that has now turned into a working reality started off as a simple walk in the park (or in this case, the local industrial strip).

I had envisioned a career that everyday at work i would fire up my creativity and do what i love doing; draw and write. Monin and i stayed up pretty late dicussing the simple format of it and i went home with the biggest smile on my face thinking "hey, this could really work!".

It's funny that this is happening... a dream come true really!

A quick summary of issues tackled in the second meeting:

1. Pilot ideas.
2. Project structure.
3. Short term objectives.
4. Medium term goals.

Like Monin has noted, we have chosen a pilot and we are definately off the mark. I have proposed the idea of a special event that will be held a secret until for the medium term and everyone has their sights on this. :)

IT's gonna be big!

The first meeting i covered:

1. Personal goals and objectives.
2. Pilot idea
3. Technical issues
4. Business strategy and marketing (overview)
5. Rough guidelines
6. The importance of honesty and critism.

I thank the team for being so patient with me thus far. Thanks to Trucey, tuyet and Mark for attending. A special thanks to my cousin Sunny who came all the way from Sydney and my cousin Avon in New York for ALWAYS believing me.

I'm currently planning the third meeting and we'll see where we go from there...
Until next time...

-Jay

MEETING TWO

2005-04-22T02:58:00.000+10:00

after the first meeting, which did go very well, i realised that there were issues that we needed to deal with - particularly when it came to the formal roles we would each hold. i voiced this concern to jase who actively took it on board and brought it up at the second meeting.

a few other guys came along as observers to the meeting; mark, tyuet, and trucy. i hto ught at first that i'd feel uncomfortable expressing my views and opinions around them, but they were cool and things went really smoothly.

also at the second meeting, vito and myself had brought along samples of our work to show jase. i brought along some stuff which showed off my formatting skills, and vito brought some samples of his photoshop colouring work. jase was blown away by vito's work, and said that it had greatly exceeded his expectations - and i was inclined to agree.

furthermore, brendan had fleshed out his post-martian revolution story and provided the group with key events, characters, and possible storylines that the concept could follow. it was good, i thought, that all our ideas were starting to become more than just bits of loose thought and actually started to become something tangible. i also presented my "Nathaniel" idea but at the same time told them that it wouldn't be a smart idea to take it on board just yet since it was quite complex and detailed. they agreed, thankfully.

what really was a bolt from the blue was jase's concept, temporarily titled "The Cave of Wonders" (thank god). he came up with this concept while half-conscious and it turned out to be what we chose for out pilot. i won't go into the details of it since that'll give it away, but i think this comic will capture what we're all about in this group - substance over style.

whoa shit, it's 4am and i'd best be heading off - especially since i've got class in just under 5 hours. woohoo.

-LOki

meeting one

2005-04-15T23:30:00.000+10:00

well, i actually went to the meeting one hour late. honestly, i wasn't sure if i wanted to be in the group to begin with. jase asked me to join the group as a writer and i was fine with that, but then i thought to myself - for who would i be writing for?

i had a backlog of story ideas, and even completed stories and i wasn't sure if i brought them to the group they would cease to be my own and have the authenticity of it diluted further down the track. so, initially, i didn't want to be apart of it.

but at the same time, my curiosity was boiling over. i wanted to jump on the wagon, but at the same time i was reluctant. that, and Law and Order SVU was on. but seriously, i knew that i would regret not going to the first meeting, and if i did miss it, i wouldn't have been able to catch up later one when i would (i knew it) inevitably join.

so i went to the first meeting, and i'm pretty sure jase and vito knew that i would give in and turn up. it was good that jase had prepared before the meeting with certain issues he wanted to voice to the group to get both an idea of why each of us wanted to be part of it, and how we would work together on a professional level.

also at the meeting we discussed possible storylines for out pilot comic - the comic that would say to the world "check this out you bastards, it's fucken awesome." it would also be a testament to what we were all about, and that is it is always substance over style, and that above all else, the final product would be as close as possible to the original idea. of course it would have to be marketable, but at the same time, it would have to be ours.

we threw a few ideas around; jase mentioned his Epic, and brendan talked about his post-martian revolution story. at this point, i wasn't sure if i should have pitched the idea of my "Nathaniel" story to them, since i thought it would be way to difficult to handle as the first ever project for our yet to be named comic firm.

so as the meeting drew to a close, we had discovered a few things:

a) jase was in it cos he had always wanted to do it;
b) brendan wanted to do something with his awesome writing skills and wanted a motorbike;
c) vito wanted to finally do something with his drawing, and this was a chance to do it and do it well - and get the recognition that his art deserved; and
d) that i was the batman of the group, coming in when they needed help but still being allowed to be on my own.

it was great that we could understand what each of us wanted, and better still, that we repspected each other. let's hope that the next meeting goes just as well.

-LOki

First impressions...

2005-04-12T03:45:00.000+10:00

I keep thinking back to the quote:

"and, when you want something, all the universe comspires in your favour" - Paulo Chelho

Incidentally, all the pieces moved together like a dream... eager to get my idea out i sought after the people who might be curious to hop on board.

Fast forward 6 months and i've got this team of dedicated and euthusiastic individuals whose talents are beyond anything i can imagine.

Vito is a natural choice; a drawing talent that is far superior to my own and a great visionary to transform words into living picture. It has been years since Vito and i worked together and our personal vendetta's divided us. I feel priviledged just having him sign on. Welcome aboard Superboy.

Brendan's ability to break paradime thinking is something that i feel honored to be a part of. His ideas are hard hitting and ground breaking. In high school i felt like i was walking in a big mans shadow in comparison to him. I made the mistake of letting him proofread my work and i remember him saying "yeh, not bad Jason" in the most polite manner of saying "whoa, what a piece of shit" and the "D-" i got really shows. I read it over again and compared it to the work of Brendan and realised he was holding a 24 carat nugget and i had poodle crap, not even deserving of a german shepherd shit.

The meeting is taking place this Thurday, i feel like im about to plunge into an ocean of the unknown. The back of my mind is exploding with all types of scenarios what can go wrong. I hate that Murphy guy.

My bestfriend, confidant and one of the world's greatest writers Monin dropped out last night and i felt like the group would feel extremly discouraged hearing this news and felt like everything i was planning is falling to pieces!
I stood tall and called up everyone cofirming their attendence and i was lucky to be relieved they still wanted to check it out. Fingers crossed, for my sake.

-Jay