Wednesday, December 28, 2011

  RECORDING NEONI  
    With Actress Mary McElree    

Mary performs the voice of Neoni LeLuni. Check out a few of her lines for the Pilot Episode Animatic.

NEONI
Cap, aren't you forgetting something?

CAP
Sandwiches!

NEONI
No.

CAP
Doggie Snacks???

NEONI
No. Your flashlights...

CAP
Flashlights! LIGHTastic. Glad I reminded you!


(Mary McElree, Neoni Leluni; Rod Butler, Captain FlashLight)

Hear Mary as Neoni in the Smooth & Steady video at

Monday, December 26, 2011


  CREATING SOUND EFFECTS 


PILOT EPISODE ANIMATIC, PAGE 7
Neoni's Sliding Chair

In the pilot episode, "STOP EVERYTHING," enemy robots surround the SkyLighter, ready to attack and destroy. Neoni slides her chair to the center position, ready to fire LumaBlasters.


And what sound should we hear when that chair zips over to the center position? 

ZOOP!  or a  ZZZRRR-KLINK!  or a cool WHOOOOOSH?

Since I'm the Sound Designer, I've got to decide AND figure out how to to make the sound.

Welcome to the world of making sound effects. It's the art they call FOLEY. Foley artists come up with sounds for footsteps, swishing clothing, laser blasters, all kinds of stuff.

Sometimes, like now, they have to invent the sound, using stuff you might have around the house. Like this stuff.



I'll be using the shoe and the pan to make the Captain's footsteps climbing down a ladder. And I think the power drill could work for the sliding sound of Neoni's chair. I'll grab the drill and give it a try.



I start recording on Pro-Tools an pull the trigger.

ZZZZZZRRRRRP! 

Hmm. This could work. 

So I keep the recording, which looks like this shaded block on the screen, with a pink waveform over it.


Then I look back at Parker's drawings, and re-read my script, which look like this:


Now I'm starting to think, it sounds too much like a drill. It's gotta sound cool and unique. 

So maybe I'll make the sound thicker, maybe add some delay, like doubling the sound, or mix in a musical sliding sound, making it more cartoony.

I guess I'll have to play around with it for a while, until I feel like it sounds right for an episode of Captaaain FlashLight! 

Check back soon, I'll tell you--and show you--how it turned out!

Keep Shining! Keep Praying. Leave a Comment!

As we work toward this LIGHTastic new series called

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Darkness Doesn't Stand A Chance...with
BLINKIE THE LUMADOG!

Wishing You A Bright & Merry Christmas From
THE BRILLIANT ADVENTURES OF
CAPTAIN FLASHLIGHT

Thursday, December 8, 2011


     SNEAK PEEK!    

Chapter One
Darkne-Bob!

The midnight streets of Filament City stretched out in every direction. Street lamps lined the sidewalks, glowing through the mist, and a neon CLOSED sign flickered in a store window. All was well. But not for long.
       The sound of a speeding vehicle grew louder and louder, becoming a full RRROOARRR! Screeching around a corner came the Broken-Bulb Cycle, a three-wheeled dragster with a cracked light bulb for a cockpit. Rattling and shaking, it sped down the street and off into the darkness.
       Around the same corner, a brilliant beam of light came sweeping into the street, followed by the silvery flying flashlight known as the SkyLighter. With a WHOOOSH! it flew past and disappeared into the night, its sharp beam cutting through the fog.
       In the Broken-Bulb Cycle, the short, frizzy-haired professor known as Low Voltage held a remote control and yelled out commands. "Faster, faster, faster Bulbus!"
       "I could go faster, faster, faster Boss if I had some pizza, pizza, pizza," replied Bulbus, his huge henchman and personal driver, with his stomach growling in agreement.
       "Eungh!" snorted Low Voltage, "Keep driving! We've almost got them now..."

TO BE CONTINUED...




Sunday, December 4, 2011

  COOL NEW SHOTS 
  from
  "STOP EVERYTHING!"
  CAPTAIN FLASHLIGHT PILOT EPISODE ANIMATIC
    Artwork by Parker Ott
    All Images Copyright 2011 Filament City Media

          Captain FlashLight

          Neoni LeLuni in the SkyLighter

          Blinkie fires his LumaLight

Friday, December 2, 2011


Cool
artwork 
by
Parker
Ott.
Thank You Lord for such a great artist!
Who
is
also
an
animator,
a
story-
crafter
and
a
great
friend,
too!

Monday, November 21, 2011


ONE-derful Ottwork for the One Sheet by Parker!

Sneak Peek: One of these villians is featured in the Pilot Episode, "Stop Everything!"

(Yes, we changed the title. Again.)

                             Rod B.

Friday, November 11, 2011


THIS IS COOL! (what is it?)

Parker and I are creating a "one sheet," a two-page (that's funny) quick look at the the Captain FlashLight animated series. 

It gives a summary of the show, synopsis of the pilot episode, plus schedule/cost info, and it's usually used as a promotional piece.

R     The image on the right is the front cover, done in movie poster style.

 L The page on the left shows the logo, with space for text at the bottom. 

PROGRESS is YAY!!!

NOTE FROM ROD:
I am script-writing, please: PRAY!!!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

BRAND NEW!!!
Shots from the pilot episode "Don't Walk... RUN!!!"

Cap and Blinkie exit the SkyLighter, walking forward in the light...

I can't tell you WHERE they are, or WHAT'S happening, but
 you're gonna love this first episode!!!

>> BUT WAIT...
                         here's one more scene...

HINT: Suddenly, a ____-_____ bursts through the ground!

(Sorry. Can't tell you what it is. Any guesses??? cptflashlight@gmail.com

Keep praying as we keep working on this 3-4 minute animatic that will be posted on the website, early 2012.

>>>Rod and Parker...

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Here's Parker Ott, drawing rough sketches for a 4 -5 minute animatic.

The pictures are from the proposed pilot episode, "Don't Walk... RUN!" It features the villain STOP-LIGHT, and his minions, the Don't Walks.

Here's a great sketch of Blinkie, thrown into action!

Parker keeps drawing and drawing! And sipping Dr. Pepper.

Over 150 pictures so far, each one numbered by Act and sketch.

Wow, that's a lotta pictures! Parker will re-draw them for the final animatic, which can be used to pitch the show to people who can help it become an animated series.

Keep praying... that one day soon, it will be "Time to Shine!"




Thursday, September 29, 2011



WEBSITE EXCLUSIVE!!!
Right now, this is the first scene of the pilot episode. (The red arrow shows that the SkyLighter is zooming toward the camera.) Where are they going? And why? Can't tell you that... not yet...

STORY BOARD BY PARKER OTT
OK, I could NOT come up with a story idea for the new show pilot.

I tried and I tried. :0(

>AND THERE'S THE PROBLEM.

I was trying too hard.
And, I was working by myself.

So, 2 things changed.

1. I asked PARKER to work with me.

(WOW! We prayed, and together we got lots of ideas!)  and

2. We wrote the story in PICTURES. Not words.

(And now, the pilot story has taken off!)

that would be

ZOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!

Found out that's how Walt Disney did it. Had to see pictures first.
And then he said, "Let's develop this story."

Big Grin.

BIG GOD!

Check back for exclusive sneak-peeks of the story as it develops!

rOd

Monday, September 5, 2011

Concept Art: Stop-Light
Concept Art: Stop-Light
Concept Art: Stop-Light
Concept Art: Stop-Light
Concept Art: Stop-Light
Sketch By: Parker Ott
Sketch By: Parker Ott
Sketch By: Parker Ott
Sketch By: Parker Ott
Sketch By: Parker Ott




SLAMMING 
INTO
WRITER'S
BLOCK!


OUCH! OK, so like I'm the guy who's written over 200 Captain FlashLight radio episodes, right? (Actually it's true.) :o) And now I can't come up with EVEN ONE idea for an 11 minute animated episode. BUMMER. I've been here before, though. The problem is, I'm trying to write this ultra-funny, super-cool, perfect-in-every-way story...
            INSTEAD OF:
   Just having fun with the characters.
      Or drawing pictures I'd like to see in the story.
      Or, best: letting the characters tell the story.
      Most times I just hit record and let Cap take over.
      Time to do that again. Yeah. Yeah...
It's like the Lord is saying:  DUDE. Let Me handle this... 
And I say, "OK. It's Yours anyway, Lord."
            THEN I START PLAYING:
    OK. Maybe it should have Louie Dah Lampshade in it. 
    Yeah. And if Louie's in it, then you gotta have:
    Yeah, so she can say:

AUNT CHANDELIERA: Louis, Louis! I can smell your breath from across the street!

LOUIE DAH LAMPSHADE: I think you're smelling bus exhaust.

AUNT CHANDELIERA: Louis. Did you brush your teeth this morning???

LOUIE DAH LAMPSHADE: Can't really do that with this lampshade on my head, now can I?

    And stuff like that... Hey I'm having fun!
        Maybe there's a story hiding around in here. 
        SO MAYBE:
             WRITING IS NOT WORK...
         IT'S JUST PLAYING WITH WORDS.

    OK. Well, I've got the munchies. Dude! It's almost 12 noon!
    You're not supposed to talk with your mouth full... so ttyl. 

                    Keep Shining,
                         rOd






Thursday, July 21, 2011


SNEAK PEEK: New Filament City Logo!

Special thanks to Parker Ott for working with me through many revisions, (the drawings above are only a few of them!) and arriving at such a galaxy-rockin', darkness-bashin', cartoony-cool logo! Look closely and you'll see that the filament wire inside the light bulb is shaped like a heart--Parker's idea--which is great: it's like the light of God's LOVE shining through us. I'm so grateful for our new logo, as we work toward our goal:
Shining God's Light
into the World of Mass Media

All names, text and images copyright 2011 Filament City Media

Wednesday, July 20, 2011



Funny Cartoon/Sketch of SkyLighter
This sketch is funny! Parker does all kinds of stuff: he animates, draws, paints, designs, and loves to make cartoony drawings like this one. Here we see a scene from the Pilot Episode, an early storyboard panel, showing Cap flying his ship right through the wall of the Laboratory of Light. Neoni doesn't look too happy. (AND: check out the show logo, which dates back to the artwork from Janimation in Dallas/Fort Worth.)

Digital Color Sketch of SkyLighter
Is this cool or what??? Parker was working to get the feel of a silvery SkyLighter as it rises out of the Laboratory of Light. Also he was working on Filament City building shapes and colors. Cool stuff.

Monday, July 18, 2011



Captain... FunLight???
Yup, Captain FunLight! This goes way, waaay, waaaaayyyy back to 1993. Captain FunLight was the official superhero of my first radio program, FunLight Radio, with Mr. Rod and Flower. This Captain had a cape and could fly. And his side-kick was a boy named Blinkie. But he did battle Low Voltage and Bulbus, and he was the same goofy, clumsy, clueless but powerful hero he is today. LIGHTastic!
Cap With Helmet & Goggles
Waaaaay back around 2002, artist Daniel Miller drew the Captain with a long coat, helmet, goggles and a big flashlight. Funny nose and mouth, too! But this look just didn't seem right. Back to the drawing board!


Which One Is Captain FlashLight?
We had to ask ourselves, "OK, what does this guy look like?" So Daniel drew a bunch of faces, and I put little x's by the ones I kinda liked. But really none of theme seemed like THE FACE for the Captain. So we had to keep drawing... 

Wednesday, July 13, 2011


Niblett's Night Light Motel
OK, so I still use crayons. But I love crayons! These are pictures I drew in 2008. This one shows the Night Light, where Fred Glowberg works as Chief Custodian. That's him polishing a light bulb. The owner is Spindle Niblett, along with her daughter, Vanella. And...there's something very strange...very unusual about Fred's custodial closet. It's a hidden passageway to the...oops, I almost gave it away!



Evil Warehouse/Laboratory
Hidden (or not hidden!) by the small Tuna Taco stand next to it.



Early Drawing of Filament City