Doomin Toons || Matt Lee

2011-12-03T21:34:00.001-05:00

I've moved: here.

"Pinhead" is playing at the CineBeasts screening on Saturday 9.10.11

2011-08-23T16:10:00.008-04:00

End the summer with black magical mayhem!

Check out Pinhead on the big screen at the CineBeasts Wonderdonk Movie Series Saturday 9/10/11.

It plays with a collection of short films before The Point.

Take the L train to Jefferson.

More info is here.

Zombie sketch

2011-08-20T19:26:00.001-04:00

Still trying to see how stylized the zombies will be. Here's one-

"Pinhead" on YouTube

2011-07-06T22:34:00.004-04:00

Uploaded my short film Pinhead to YouTube.

Midsummer Night Toons III Event pics

2011-06-14T15:22:00.004-04:00

MIDSUMMER NIGHT TOONS III -held at Slate NY this summer-was a huge success with over 170 people in attendance!

Photos courtesy of Mike & TJ Carlo.

Midsummer Night Toons III: This Friday

2011-06-06T11:06:00.002-04:00

MIDSUMMER NIGHT TOONS III
-Free Event
-SLATE NY 54 West 21st Street b/w 5th Ave+6th Ave
-Doors 7 PM, Show 9 PM
-Happy Hour Til 9 PM / 21+ Over To Enter
-Guest DJ Pensatore

2011-05-30T09:01:00.001-04:00

2011-05-26T11:52:00.001-04:00

FUBAR van

2011-05-23T20:14:00.003-04:00

Banks and windows

2011-05-17T18:26:00.004-04:00

ABOVE: The bank that the heist takes place in

ABOVE: Alleyway Window

Sent off the rough cut to my composer this week. Sound edit next week.

ROUND THREE!

2011-05-11T15:53:00.002-04:00

FRIDAY JUNE 10 2011, Midsummer returns.

@ SLATE NY on 54 West 21st Street b/w 5th ave and 6th ave.

Doors 7 PM.

Happy Hour 7-9 PM.

Screening starts at 9 PM.

Guest DJ Pensatore.

Note: This event is not currently affiliated with any organization.

drive

2011-05-10T14:49:00.000-04:00

Manager

2011-05-06T10:40:00.001-04:00

Alley wires

2011-05-05T09:30:00.001-04:00

Cash grab

2011-05-04T11:20:00.001-04:00

Inside man

2011-04-30T16:47:00.002-04:00

spin the dial

2011-04-29T08:36:00.001-04:00

suiting up

2011-04-28T18:00:00.001-04:00

safehouse

2011-04-27T21:46:00.004-04:00

Safehouse background-pencil+digital. This is where Denny and his crew prepare for the heist and work on their inventions.

A lot more stuff to be added--more wires on the floor and hanging off the ceiling; opened crates, boxes, etc...the final look will be really messy...which is a key story point. And of course- a few Tesla coils thrown in there for good measure.

Bank overview

2011-04-27T08:46:00.001-04:00

I've been staring at the Chases and TD's for the past several months so I am sure the friendly employees believe I plan to rob em.

quick color tests

2011-04-15T12:55:00.002-04:00

Shortcut Characters

2011-03-19T16:08:00.007-04:00

An image from The Shortcut. The character is "Denny," the ringleader of the robbers, voiced by Joe Cappabianca.

"Lenny" voiced by Albert M. Pardo.

"Benny," voiced by Mike Carlo.

There's about three more weeks of animation left for this one, and then it's off the coloring, backgrounds, sound edit.....making a short film isn't a sprint; it's a fucking marathon.

I haven't been updating as frequently as I would like to because this is the first short film I've written that has a twist ending. What you think is the punchline of the story is actually the set up. I think the more images or animations that I post, the more it'll be a dead giveaway, not to get too precious about it.

My last film "Pinhead" was easier to give away animations on this blog because it was just two characters stabbing dolls.

Halfway there

2011-03-11T20:04:00.004-05:00

Animation is 50, 60% complete. At the moment I'm still animating the heist sequence. Above images are rough layouts. Ever since college, I've been designing rudimentary environments in Maya. It's just a great tool to test out different camera angles to tell a story. It's fun, and it saves time, too!

Color test

2011-02-24T21:47:00.002-05:00

Color test of Benny. Benny, Lenny and Denny are all going to be dressed in black during the heist sequence. Good thing I made them small, medium and large in size so you'll be able to tell them apart!

On 3....

2011-02-22T23:11:00.000-05:00

2011-02-20T17:58:00.003-05:00

Who's bear is this? from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

I gotta stop giving dolls important roles in my films!

rough layout

2011-02-19T10:06:00.000-05:00

Rough layout of the bank

Security.

2011-02-10T21:12:00.004-05:00

Rough sketch of a security guard, who has a small part in the story

2011-02-07T23:16:00.001-05:00

sly. from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-02-05T23:51:00.001-05:00

raise from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-02-02T22:58:00.001-05:00

drop from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-02-01T23:40:00.001-05:00

throw from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-01-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

lift! from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-01-21T22:45:00.001-05:00

Production on my film is chugging along at a steady pace...

2011-01-19T18:50:00.001-05:00

point from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-01-18T05:39:00.001-05:00

masks from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-01-17T16:51:00.001-05:00

Heads from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-01-17T13:19:00.001-05:00

Midsummer Night Toons III Announcement Spot from Midsummer Night Toons on Vimeo.

2011-01-13T05:48:00.001-05:00

yet another turn from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-01-12T13:11:00.001-05:00

another turn, pt 3 from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-01-10T06:42:00.001-05:00

Turn from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-01-09T15:29:00.001-05:00

remote from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-01-08T15:58:00.001-05:00

evil plans from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

2011-01-05T22:20:00.004-05:00

Beam. from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

Pencil test of Benny firing his gun. The gun(s) are going to be the last items that I place in the shots because their design is still in progress (and the beams that fire out will be animated in After Effects, hence the chicken scratch beams in this clip)

2011-01-04T21:02:00.003-05:00

bear hug. from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

Benny gives his oversized stuffed teddy a goodbye hug.

2011-01-03T10:25:00.002-05:00

How I've missed animating in Toon Boom.

Midsummer Returns.

2011-01-03T10:13:00.000-05:00

"Throons."

It begins again-Day 1

2011-01-02T16:37:00.005-05:00

Fire! from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

First day of animation on The Shortcut. Usually I like to animate the small shots first, because it gets a good momentum going.

Around New Year's Eve, I finally locked the first minute of the animatic, which I've been reworking for God knows how long, because it needs to hold up to scrutiny on a second viewing (the story plays with perception and reality). The remaining parts of the story are set in stone.

Yesterday, I wrote a new sequence that will hopefully be a funny set piece. Unlike my last film, "Pinhead"- which was a slow-burn thriller in which the comedy intentionally ramped up towards the end--Shortcut is meant to be a silly film.

Onward! Let's own 2011!

2010-12-30T17:38:00.001-05:00

2010-12-29T18:20:00.001-05:00

2010-12-28T15:38:00.000-05:00

2010-12-28T10:09:00.002-05:00

2010-12-27T10:17:00.003-05:00

It's one of those warehouses that you always see during your commute---you're never sure what exactly is going on in there.

2010-12-24T16:55:00.004-05:00

Doing some more sketches before animation begins 1-2-11.

Walking away and returning to the animatic after a week has helped a lot; it put a lot of story points that I was concerned about, into perspective. The pace was leaping from mountain top to mountain top, which isnt really healthy for a 5 minute story.

At one point in the plot, there was a double cross. In keeping with the conventions of the heist genre, that's what is expected. I decided to cut it because the story was overcrowded. In doing that, some things need retooling (an understatement!) but hopefully it'll feel like 1 story and not 2.

So I'll be doing more revisions before the year's end. Can't wait to start animating!

2010-12-23T14:45:00.001-05:00

2010-12-22T09:55:00.002-05:00

2010-12-21T11:06:00.001-05:00

2010-12-20T13:32:00.003-05:00

Plotting an action setpiece in Maya with simple shapes. If it works, it should play like a 16 year old's Four-Loko fueled version of a car crash.

Tech.

2010-12-15T07:44:00.001-05:00

2010-12-14T10:23:00.001-05:00

"Pinhead" screening at NewFilmmakers this Winter.

2010-12-07T09:35:00.003-05:00

Pinhead is screening at the NewFilmmakers Winter screening series in NYC February 23, 2011. It'll be playing 6 PM along with several animated shorts. More information here(click past January).

2010-12-06T12:57:00.001-05:00

2010-12-05T17:52:00.000-05:00

Big gun

2010-12-04T22:52:00.000-05:00

2010-11-28T16:03:00.002-05:00

Halfway done with my first pass at the animatic...

Make a hole

2010-11-26T18:04:00.001-05:00

2010-11-23T09:29:00.004-05:00

2010-11-21T14:11:00.000-05:00

2010-11-19T15:57:00.001-05:00

2010-11-18T22:19:00.002-05:00

For those who care, Benny is a midget.

2010-11-17T20:31:00.005-05:00

2010-11-15T08:19:00.001-05:00

Another screenshot from the animatic. Rough drawings. Don't judge me.

2010-11-14T00:05:00.001-05:00

Fire!

2010-11-13T20:11:00.001-05:00

I swear to you that this is a comedy.

Chicken scratchy

2010-11-11T21:49:00.003-05:00

Coffee & Sketches

2010-11-09T09:33:00.002-05:00

L to R: Lenny, Denny & Benny

I'm not into architecture.

2010-11-08T21:08:00.008-05:00

I've modeled crude sets in Maya before (most recently for Pinhead, which took place in an office).

This time, there are going to be four locations, all of which will be challenging. However this is the most fun part of making a short film for me, because I can place multiple cameras around and explore. As a teacher at college imparted to me, (one of the cool teachers, not the douchebag teachers) "geography and clarity are the most important parts of storytelling."

Below is a rough overview of the engineer's apartment.

Interesting read.

2010-11-05T14:56:00.000-04:00

How to train an animator, by Walt Disney.

Animatic Shot 004

2010-11-03T21:51:00.009-04:00

The Shortcut, Animatic shot 004 from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

For those who are curious..."The Shortcut" is a dark comedy about three dysfunctional engineers that search for the American dream in the wrong way.

I think that's vague enough...

I want "The Shortcut" be as funny and as my last film "Pinhead", but also have it go to some darker places. If you've seen the end of "Pinhead", you'll know that the ending was a little dark, which is what I was always concerned about while writing/animating/directing it, but the audience really went for it. So I want to see if I can push things a little further this time out...

Animatic, shot 002.

2010-11-01T20:58:00.001-04:00

The Shortcut, Animatic, shot 002 from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

Gun show

2010-10-28T23:57:00.012-04:00

Close-to-final version of the gun.

The character of Denny holding one of his high tech laser guns.

I built a crude model of the gun in Maya to get a better idea of how it'll truly look.

It's supposed to operate/work like an oversized handcrank camera.

The shoulder brace isn't added to the model yet, so it looks pretty weird.

Gun

2010-10-28T22:18:00.005-04:00

The Gun. It's about the size of an HD film camera (HD film cameras that you'd find on a film set, not the small ones you'd find at J&R).

"The Shortcut", first shot.

2010-10-27T22:06:00.002-04:00

I don't have any sardonic headlines yet. Just wait until Day 100...

"The Shortcut" Animatic, sc 001 from Matt D. Lee on Vimeo.

I changed the title of Beam to The Shortcut because it just works better. It's a title that will work two-fold after you watch the film, on a thematic and literal level.

2010-10-27T20:19:00.003-04:00

To all the bullies (a.k.a. keyboard cowards) out there, you can learn something from reading this.

more sketchin

2010-10-26T00:09:00.001-04:00

I don't know if I'll use the head on the left for a character. Maybe the bank manager. Or a bank customer.

Denny, v2

2010-10-25T17:13:00.002-04:00

A little less caricatured than the last post.

sketchin

2010-10-24T22:38:00.004-04:00

Early sketches for The Shortcut. It's a sci-fi heist comedy thing. An oddity, I know.

Two of the 3 main characters (Denny, Top; Lenny, Bottom)

Some Silhouettes.

2010-10-21T22:18:00.005-04:00

Silhouettes of the three main characters in The Shortcut.

Well ok then...

2010-10-19T22:51:00.001-04:00

Quick thumbnail sketch of a comp from "The Shortcut."

Midsummer Night Takeover!

2010-06-15T11:17:00.011-04:00

Check out President Of The Universe by Mike Carlo on Cartoon Brew.

Check out The Adventures of ManChild, Episode 2 by Joe Cappabianca on Cold Hard Flash.

Check out the Outro by Albert M. Pardo on his blog.

I'm already mailing my film out to festivals, however if you want to see the collection of Pencil Tests from it, the link is here.

I'll be starting up this blog again in a month or so as pre-production on my next film, debuting at Midsummer Night Toons III gets underway.

Looking to the very near future

2010-06-13T09:21:00.003-04:00

Looking to the very near future:

11 months go by much quicker than you think.

Midsummer Night Toons 2 Trailer on LineBoil

2010-06-02T15:55:00.002-04:00

The Midsummer Night Toons 2 Trailer has debuted on LineBoil here.

Midsummer Night Toons 2: Thursday June 10 2010

2010-06-02T07:26:00.007-04:00

Kick off Summer with 7 new shorts by New York City's indie animators-Mike Carlo, Matt Lee, Kat Morris, Joe Cappabianca, Gary Doodles, Albert M. Pardo, Matt Burnett & Ben Levin.

Thursday June 10 2010, @ the M1-5 Bar, 52 Walker St.

Doors Open 7 PM, Free Screening 8:30 PM
Guest DJ Pensatore
1/2 Price Beers Wines Wells til 10 PM

Check out the Cartoon Brew post.

Check out the Midsummer Night Toons website.

Production complete

2010-05-22T00:05:00.004-04:00

Production on "Pins & Needles" (title destined to change) has been complete for the past several weeks. Thanks to those who have been keeping up with this blog, enduring some wretched pencil tests and traveling through the various bowels of an indie production.

With the help of some honest cats, I was able to clear up some parts of the ending and tweak a few bits here and there, a luxury I haven't had since "Road Test" (2006).

Currently I am tinkering with the sound mix and tidying up a background or two. I'm still deciding on Music---if the story needs it or not. I've been watching "No Country For Old Men" over the past several months and studying how the Coens used sound editing and effects and little to no music.

I know I've got an amusing story in "Pins", I'm very interested in seeing how an audience will react to it. I am using the framework of a mundane workplace/office comedy to balance out the fantastical, somewhat darkly humorous events that occur. I hope it doesn't come off as schizophrenic. I'm more happy with this one than my last short, "Road Rage." It's certainly more accessible.

Anyhow, thanks to all for keeping up. I'll probably post some more stuff in the upcoming weeks. Check out the new film, along with several brand-new kick-ass animated shorts, at Midsummer Night Toons 2 June 10th in TriBeca.

Day 129

2010-05-09T01:10:00.003-04:00

This is the image I had in my head to begin with: two grown men stalking each other in a dark office with dolls..

Day 128

2010-05-08T12:43:00.001-04:00

It's gonna be a loooooooooong night. Energy drinks or coffee?

Day 127

2010-05-06T07:50:00.000-04:00

Day 126

2010-05-05T21:19:00.001-04:00

Day 125

2010-05-04T21:41:00.000-04:00

Day 124

2010-05-03T21:21:00.000-04:00