It has been a while since I have done up a blog on the "Outcast" project, in fact it has been a while since I have done much work on the project. But now it's February and I had to make a decision on the future of the project before the decision would be made for me by letting too much time pass.
So as of Friday the 10th of February "Outcast - Episode 1" will be back in production, with the hope of a July release. Yes, this is a bit later than I had originally planned, but the delay has pretty much set me back by 2 months of development time. Hopefully all the kinks are now worked out and I won't have another delay.
So why did it get delayed anyway?
Good question. Why did it get delayed? It really boils down to 3 main things. Script, Voice overs and a 1 man team.
Script and Voices
One of the problems I came across was having too many characters and not enough voices to present them. This includes letting myself and others double up on the voices...I just wrote far too big. Parts that were intended as small, turned out to play enough of a role that if I cut them it would affect what the audience knew in the course of the story.
So the solution was to go back and re-write a few things in order to give those lines to other characters, and still keep the flow of the story the same. Basically cut the character, but not the lines. This took a bit of work, because I had gotten attached to many of the characters I wrote, and I never like taking things out that I am attached too.
But sacrifices needed to be made, and so they were.
Also I am now focused on getting the remaining voices recorded, and soon, for all of the episodes. This way I don't have to chase people down unless there is a sudden re-write, making the entire production move along much faster.
One Man Team
I'm not sure how many people who read the blog actually know this, but I am pretty much writing, animating, editing, scoring and rendering the entire project on my own. Yes, I have a lot of help with the voice overs, but they get the easy job really. Come in and let me direct them as they record their lines, then go home. When they leave everything else begins.
I also have to maintain a couple jobs outside of this project, and have something that resembles a social life (which lately consists of netflix, Doctor Who nights with my friend Sunny (voice of Prudence) and playing The Old Republic online.
You don't know how many times I wish there were just a few more hours in the day....
But that said, I am now in determined mode, to get this project finished and released so people can see it! I will be updating the production blog more frequently as well as the facebook page!
So here is my pledge to everyone excited about the project: I will get this project released within 2012 if it kills me! Most likely before or during the summer!
Thanks for your continued support!
Jon
