CaptainDisillusion

Cast/Crew Group Shot

Couldn't have asked for a better team!

Publicity Shot

Two professional actors and some silver YouTube douche.

All Good and Ready

Ok, the video link has been updated in the original "early access" post. And here it is again, just in case.

Big thanks to patron FirworksYT for spotting the mistake.

I also took the opportunity to capitalize "The" in the disclaimer note at the beginning, tweak the fade of the music cue when the time capsule is taken out of the bag and change a couple of frames from black to white during the flashing as Beakman first appears,

I JUST CAN'T LEAVE THIS THING ALONE. Someone...

Video Swap

Just a quick note: I'm having to re-upload the new video because a sharp-eyed patron spotted an significant error in one of the animations (the magnetic polarities in Ellie's explanation of electric motors were backwards).

I had to delete the original video first in order to upload the new one, so if you're trying to watch the early access link at this time, it won't play. With it went all your lovely early YouTube comments, but I still have them as email notifications.

Sorry for...

New Video Early Access

Well, the big secret can now be revealed exclusively for you, my dear patrons:

Beakman from the hit 90s educational kids' series 'Beakman's World' is in my new video! And we crammed about a cubic ton of that show's whimsical nostalgia into 12 minutes of the most elaborate production I've ever done.

Hope you like it and tell others about it (starting tomorrow at 3PM EST, that is). Also, hope Sony doesn't sue me.

Thank you, as always, for making it possible.

Toon Time

The animated segments of this month's video are being done in a particular artist's hand-drawn style. I'm finding it both challenging and fun to create the artwork. Here's a work-in-progress of one of the backgrounds. Tools: Photoshop with a Wacom tablet (traditionally occupied by a cat when not in use).

Set Aftermath

I have 2 animated segments left to do before picture on the episode is locked and I can get into sound. There's been so much post work, the shoot already feels like a distant memory. Here's what the room looked like at the end of day two.

Rough Cut Completed

The first stage of my paranoia has been alleviated: all the pieces fit together and the video makes sense. It runs about 11: 30, a good duration considering the script was 14 pages. Now comes the hard part.

The workflow for this episode is unusual because after a couple of intro scenes, most of it was shot with a different kind of camera. Before proceeding with VFX, I had to color-grade that part of the video in advance. I did this last night and BOY, it looks good.

In the pictur...

Everybody Dance Now

This month's episode is SO secret, there are very few images I can post without spoiling stuff. But here's a weird little blurry still :P

Once the video is released, I'll have lots of interesting behind-the-scenes footage to share!

I Survived

The makeup has just been removed via an intense soap-and-water scrubbing process and I am recovering from 2 days of the most elaborate and challenging filming I've ever done for Captain Disillusion. All I can think about is the talent, patience and generosity of my collaborators and the amazing creative opportunities you, patrons, make possible for us with your support. I can never say it enough - thank you.

Props

Furiously building various props in time for this weekend's shoot. Somewhat dreading to see the Michael's charges on my credit card next month.

All Aboard the Speed-Rail

Finally building a lighting grid, of sorts, above the set. I'll be able to hang lights from there and free up floor space in the room. I'm using Hollywood standard Speed-Rail fittings, but I couldn't get the correct kind of aluminum pipe in time for this month's shoot, so I'm using PVC instead. Let's hope it doesn't all come crashing down on my guest's head. Also, it turns out drilling holes into concrete is really, really hard, even with an AC powered hammer drill. My entire body hurts. 3 pip...

April 2016 patron supported

Thank you so much for the support this month!

My Bad!

Folks, in my daze finishing the episode at 3AM last night, when I posted the "early access" link, I accidentally set it for $5+ patrons instead of $2+, so a whole bunch of you never got it :(

I apologize! To make up for this, I've made this $5+ level "behind the scenes" bonus video from last month (featuring Erica Linz) accessible to all $2+ers.

Please enjoy!

https://www.patreon.com...

New Video Early Access

Here's this bunch of fast-paced silliness. Please enjoy!

Let's see if I can...

...do this in a day! I've got just 1 more graphics sequence to make + sound design in order to finish tomorrow's video.

It's not a complicated episode - another Quick D - but I've been dividing my time between working on it and making preparations for NEXT MONTH'S *VERY SPECIAL* episode. Will tell you more about that once I get this one posted.

Thank you all for your remarkable patience.

It's gon' get crazy up in here in the month of May!

Tutorial: 3D Logo - Part 3

In this final video we master the node editor and create all of the logo's material surfaces from scratch.

Tutorial: 3D Logo - Part 2

In this second video we dive deeper into the modeling process to prepare our freshly constructed logo for the shading process.

New Tutorial! 3D Logo - Part 1

Here's the first of three very, very detailed, some might even say mind-numbing, tutorial videos on how to create a high quality Captain Disillusion logo in Blender.

More Fun With Sound Design!

Here's the most recent video with the dialogue tracks removed - just sound effects and music. Quick D episodes are particularly packed with sounds and fast-changing tunes so I thought some of you might enjoy hearing all the aural details in this one.

I mix in Pro Tools after the visual side of a video is finished and it typically takes a couple of days.

Pop on some headphones and enjoy!

March 2016 Patreon supported

Thank you so much for the support this month!

Erica Linz Changes Her Mind

Just a simple matter of due diligence. 

Awkwarder, Awkwarder!

A behind-the-scenes moment from the new video.

New Video Early Access

Guys. This one was a monster, post-production-wise, but I'm so happy with the result. There's techy talk, pop culture nostalgia, humor and a fun guest cameo!

This might officially be my personal favorite episode to date. I feel like I say that every time, do I say that every time? Sorry, I went to sleep at 3:30AM last night, I'll shut up now.

Please tell me what you think (and if there are any typos ;/)

It goes live this afternoon, 3PM EST!

Meanwhile...

Since we last left our hero, me, various things have happened!

• The YouTube channel reached and surpassed 100,000 subscribers. I made a lil video joke to mark the occasion, in case you missed it - https://youtu.be/5FCL2V2FyDQ. Apparently YouTube gives you a plaque for this. This will be the first plaque I get for anything Captain D related. Cool!
• I received a lovely card and some gifts in the mail f...
  2016-03-18 15:42:16 +0000 UTC View Post

February 2016 patron supported

Thank you so much for the support this month!

Prop Cash

For the part in the new video where I throw cash at the tube and say, "take my rubles!" I made some prop Soviet era rubles by finding high-res images and printing them in exact dimensions on both sides of regular printer paper. I cut each one out, crumpled them, straightened them back out and carried them in my actual wallet for a couple days. The resulting bills look surprisingly convincing, don't you think? (minus the repeating serial) They do to me and I used real ones as a kid! They seem a ...

New Episode Early Access

Here's a lovely alternative to the Oscars tonight!

Quite a challenging ep. Glad to be done. Please enjoy!

The Gap

Some episodes just kick my butt. Nothing about them feels easy. This month it's one of those. It's a bit longer than usual and I made the foolhardy decision to put a rather complicated CGI element into all the shots of me hosting on-screen (which normally have few or no effects at all). It took me over a week to get just those shots finished. Yesterday I completed the shorter of the two "breakdown" debunking segments. Now just the longer one remains.

It's the last gap to fill in the visual...

Behind the Scenes: Shoot Timelapse

Hope you had a pleasant Valentine's... We spent it filming the next episode! Here's a timelapse video of the entire process with some notes (if you manage to pause in the right places). This is pretty much how a shoot typically goes.