Hello Interwebs! I’ve got to admit: after so much time in lock-down, the end of January sneaked up on me… How are we a month into 2021 already? Anyway– the world at large may be shut down, but TPM is still up and running! Read on to discover what we’ve been up to this January:
Pre-production Projects
This month TPM focused more on brainstorming new ideas than developing our old ones. However, we’ve made progress on plenty of old works too. I’ve written extensively on our Graphic Novels since the New Year (see that section below). Meanwhile, Matteo has conceptualized dozens of fresh plot-points for his films, such as Coming of Age. Justin, for his part, has temporarily put Below Zero aside to devote himself to a new project, which we’ll announce at a later date.
Matteo and I recently batted around multiple ideas for comedy sketches. Such short works often get the team excited because of their relative ease in production. So far, we only have notes and concepts, but we’re looking forward to them! Here’s a tease: we’d like to develop a limited series based around the “Thought Plane” (our company’s namesake). That’s all I’m gonna say for now.
Production Projects
Ontario is under mandatory lockdown this month, so I’m afraid we’ve got nothing to talk about here…
Post-Production
Our good news: the audio editor we hired to complete Manimal Food finally received TPM’s USB in the mail! The package took a while to arrive because our poor postal workers are overloaded lately. But the files have safely reached their destination and are ready to be edited!
Our bad news: there was a Covid-19 outbreak among the staff at our editor’s studio, so the place has been locked down until further notice. In other words: we’ll be lucky to see any progress on that for a while. What can we do? This pandemic is so… Ugh. Who doesn’t feel that way at this point though, right?
Our neutral news: Though production has halted on Retribution Isle, we’ve still got clips to work with. I’ve spent this last month sorting through our footage. I plan to have every shot labeled and sorted by the end of tonight. I might even do some editing, though I’ll likely save that for tomorrow.
Graphic Novels
Matteo and I threw most of our creative efforts this January into our graphic novels. I completed the first draft of the first Guild of Gallantry story, and I’m super excited about that! Starting a new creative work in earnest is always a rush for me. This particular tale in our heroic anthology follows a character named Spectrum, loosely inspired by heroes in DC Comics’ Green Lantern Corps.
LINK TO GUILD OF GALLANTRY ANNOUNCEMENT ARTICLE
While Matteo reviews my draft, I’ve already moved on to a treatment for my next GoG story: The Sheep Man. Funny story about that character’s origins: during our last Planet of the Beavers shoot, Matteo joked that he looked like a sheep in his costume. This spurred him to improvise a rough concept for a vigilante named Sheep-Man on the spot! He proceeded to deliver this long in-character monologue, which I was supposed to catch on film. Unfortunately, I became the villain in that Sheep Man story because I forgot to turn the microphone on… I’m still sorry for that, Matteo.
Here’s a new graphic novel announcement for you!!! Matteo has begun a new Fantasy epic about an orc named Skog and his misadventures in a world dominated by human heroes. Matteo sent me the following tease to include for you:
What do you get when an Orcish wizard, his drunken uncle, a femme fatale more fatele than femme, a fallen Paladin, a Dwarven musician, and a Dark Elf ranger must rescue the prince of Akronia?
An unlikely family of lovable outlaws? Very angry and violent cosplayers? Some really sick joke?
The only hope that humanity has against the return of an ancient Dark Lord?
Yes, that one.
Embark on a tale of laughs, action, and magic; of unity, of hatred, and of Wizards and Wyverns in Skog: The Orcish Odyssey.
So many questions, so few answers. Curious yet? Find out the answers to these queries and more when the novel is complete. I’ll be providing periodic updates on the project every month till then.
Of course, Matteo is also chipping away at Tales of Sesom. That story has been his baby for six years now. We can’t wait to show you more glimpses of the mystical lands, intricate lore, and grand legacies of heroism which Matteo has thought up! All Matteo’s stories are labors of love, but this one is loved a little more than the rest (please don’t tell them I said so).
Other
Finally, TPM plans to develop a role-playing video game based on Planet of the Beavers. This would be a long-form project and almost assuredly wouldn’t release for many years (so don’t expect to see any updates for a while yet). I’ve got grand visions in mind already! This game is currently based around the story we’ve created thus far (focusing on Gorn, Doc, and Alex). However, your choices will determine the game’s true path. You can play through the plot exactly as we intended, or end up with something new entirely.
Plot, character, and choice will be the driving forces of this game. Truth be told– our development capabilities are limited on the technical side of things, but I hope to produce something enjoyable nonetheless. That’s part of the reason I don’t anticipate the game releasing for maybe 5 years, if not longer. I’d like to see if we can get our hands on better technology in that time. We’re also only a 3-person operation, so that impacts speed of work as well. It’s all ambitions– I know. Let’s see how it turns out, shall we?
This has been TPM’s January news. If you have any questions about what I’ve written today, or have something you’d like to see addressed more in-depth in next month’s update, let me know in the comments. Also, if you have any ideas for future articles, or any general questions, let me know that as well. Be sure to like this article on Facebook and share if you enjoyed!
Till next time
Joe Morin
