Dogpatch Press

Interview series:  Artists, animation directors, DJ’s and event organizers, superfans, and more…

Continued from Part 1, here’s more from Justin Murphy, director and producer of Dawgtown. It’s an ambitious 2D animated, indie feature film in pre-production that just announced casting George Foreman as voice actor. Here’s part 2 of his thoughts about movie making and more.

DAWGTOWN’S CASTING:
Casting choices so far indicate confident directing. IMDB shows:
Mauler (voice) – Jason Beghe – “Trademark: Deep, gravelly voice”.
George Foreman is “Vicious Vic”- a dog with a warm personality behind the name. Foreman’s bio promises depth for such a character. He grew up from childhood poverty and constant trouble with the law, making a monumental rise to heavyweight boxing champion of the world and olympic gold medal winner. His retirement led to preaching for 10 years (not a bad credit for a voice actor). An unlikely boxing comeback re-captured a World Heavyweight Champion title at age 45, bringing a real underdog to the acting part.

Quoting Foreman:
“I grew up in the Fifth Ward of Houston – the Bloody Fifth, we called it. Every weekend someone got killed.”
“I never did anything for personal gain. When I was a boxer, I wanted to be champion of the world, not the richest man in the world. If you can maintain that integrity in whatever you do, you can’t go wrong. That’s what I tell my kids, anyway.” (Not bad advice for indie film making with hand-drawn animation…)

PATCH:
Can you tell me about your experiences with casting?

JUSTIN:
Jason Beghe, star of NBCs Chicago PD, was my first casting choice for the lead nemesis Mauler. It’s always great to get validation from an experienced actor, and he told me that he read the script in one sitting and had me on the phone to accept the role immediately. As a writer, you never know how your work will be received, and that gave me the confidence to approach other talent. It also stresses the importance of having a strong script, and making it the best it can be before sending it off to be considered by eyes that will be much more critical than your own.

PATCH:
How important is your George Foreman announcement to the development you’ve done- is it no more important than any other step, or does it make key progress towards wider respect?

JUSTIN:
George is an international brand and a respected champion, so I can’t stress the value of his involvement enough. He also brings a sense of reality to it since he was a real-life warrior himself.

PATCH:
How much did you consider George’s bio to match actor and role?

JUSTIN:
Vicious Vic is idolized by the other dogs in Dawgtown as the undisputed champion, and I needed an actor who would command that respect from the audience as well. Vic is also brought back out of retirement for one more fight, which is reminiscent of George when he won the Heavyweight Title again in 1994 at the age of 45.

PATCH:
Will you try any certain methods to work with him- and would you ask him to sing?

JUSTIN:
The most important thing for directing a voice actor is getting them to connect with the emotion and tone of the scene. George is so right for his character that he just needs to be himself.

As for singing, there was one number in the script called ‘Let Us Go’, and it was to be performed by the wicked talented Adele Dazeem, but I couldn’t afford her after ‘Frozen’ came out, so I had to nix it. Sadly there will be no singing, fighting dogs.

THE ARTIST TEAM:
Notable talents have negotiated to join the team. Artists often complain about being overshadowed by voice actors, who share little of the visual creation… but those concerns seem balanced by an experienced artist producer. This is what many animation fans demand.

PATCH:
Can you talk about building a team so far?

JUSTIN:
Because I am still in the casting and storyboard phase, and I am storyboarding the entire picture myself, I have a wish-list of team members that I plan to approach once all my financing is together.

PATCH:
Would you like to praise who you’re working with, or discuss who you hope to assemble?

JUSTIN:
One animator who has worked with me on a few scenes is Erin Humiston. He’s based out of Orlando, Florida and extremely talented with a strong sense of acting and draftsmanship. As for artists I hope to assemble, I can’t say their names, but many are former Disney animators with a lot of experience, and they have expressed interest in working on this project. Hand-drawn animation is a vanishing art form in the US, and there are still artists wanting to do it. Dawgtown is an opportunity for me to get top-level talent, and for them to work in a medium that they love. The best part about creating an animated film with today’s technology is that none of my artists will have to relocate to Florida. They can work on their own equipment, in their home studios, and I can direct them via web-conferencing and email. The scenes are uploaded to the FTP and I pay them by the foot. It’s a convenient and cost-effective system that makes indie animation more plausible than ever before in history.

PATCH:
Will you hire any time soon?

JUSTIN:
Within a year. I have to get the storyboards completed first. Until that is finished and the layouts are begun, animation cannot happen. I have a few scenes animated, but the boards and backgrounds for them had already been completed during my thesis.

PATCH:
Do you have advice for artists who would work on a chance-taking indie movie?

JUSTIN:
Yes. If you see potential in the project, do it; if for nothing else, for the experience and the demo reel material. I know most artists coming out of school want jobs at Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks or Blue Sky, but those positions are extremely competitive and can take time to get. I don’t believe any one of those companies would hire me, even today with an MFA from AAU. I believe in the Ralph Bakshi philosophy that indie animation looks for artists who are passionate but are still learning their craft. There are also a lot of studios out there doing commercials, and that would be a great start. Don’t count them out. Or for the really insane, you could follow in the steps of Bill Plympton and make your own movies. That’s what I’m doing. Ultimately you have to ask yourself how important is your creative vision? At the Majors, you will have to give that up, but when you’re independent, your vision can remain your own. A lot of artists don’t realize the importance of this fact until they go to work for a major studio only to realize that they’re still unfulfilled, even though they are working on blockbuster films and making great money. We all have a need to express ourselves without a filter, some just more than others. Bill Plympton turned down a million dollar offer from Disney to stay independent. That’s saying something. It’s got to be about more than just a big paycheck people.

ON ART MEDIUM:
“From a strictly budgetary point of view, a low budget hand-drawn feature looks 100 times better than a low budget CG feature.” – Interview With Justin Murphy

PATCH:
Have you felt a natural move from comics to indie movies, or have you ever felt like an outsider in that world?

JUSTIN:
Like the comics world, animation is a pretty small community, especially when it comes to hand-drawn, so yes, I’ve had to play catch-up by getting to know many of the people I’ve read about in the Disney books for years (thank you Facebook). What’s great is how supportive they are. They don’t look down on me because I never worked at Disney. They really respect what I’m trying to do with Dawgtown because they truly love the tradition of hand-drawn animation, and don’t want to see it die. Some of them knew old legends like Frank and Ollie, and I’m sure they are saddened by the wealth of knowledge and personal mentoring that have now disappeared into a CG void. I predict in twenty years, very few people will have the skills to create hand-drawn animation. Here’s hoping the schools will continue to teach it, but with the jobs disappearing, many young animators are forced to go the CG route for their own survival. I understand it, but I don’t like it at all.

On a positive note, because of the overabundance of CG, hand-drawn animation is finally starting to get respect as a high-art form. Just look at the films of Silvain Chomet and tell me that isn’t art? His work is amazing in its subtlety and beauty, and everywhere I go I promote films like ‘The Triplets of Belleville’, ‘The Illusionist’ and Tomm Moore’s ‘Secret of Kells’. Europe is doing a great job carrying the torch for hand-drawn feature animation. I’m hoping to rekindle a tiny spark in the US if possible.

PATCH:
Does the medium of low-budget animation promise advantage for telling an animal story, rather than a human focus you’ve done before?

JUSTIN:
Animals can take longer to animate than humans because you’re dealing with four legs instead of two, but what you don’t have to deal with is clothing and props, so it is a tradeoff. Technology is the only reason I can pull this off. If I had to do this the old-fashioned way with painted cels and multi-plane cameras it would cost too much time and money. But because of the Cintiq Tablet and software like TVPaint and After Effects, feature quality animation is now feasible on a desktop computer. It’s faster, cheaper and it looks great.

INDIE FUND RAISING
IMDB lists a release for 2018. A commitment of years is a challenge to anyone, but Justin has noted plenty of successes in live action indie film making, few in animation. Budget is a major concern for artists who may be used to working with just a desk and their own tools. To acquire funding, he put out a credible effort with Kickstarter last October. 108 backers and $20,000 didn’t make the goal. He did beat a $10,000 goal with 128 funders on Indiegogo later.

PATCH:
Besides your crowdfunding campaigns, have you explored other funding possibilities?

JUSTIN:
Crowdfunding was great for getting a little start-up cash, but it only goes so far. We are now soliciting private accredited investors to buy Units in Dawgtown Productions LLC (NOTE: This is not a public solicitation for funds, but merely an answer to the question). The SEC loosened regulations recently and now equity investment sites are popping up that operate just like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, but solicit investors instead of donors. Even though investing in film is risky, if the budget is kept under control and the concept has strong marketing potential, the risk can be lessened considerably. Also, because of the Internet, distribution options have never been more plentiful. A theatrical release is always the goal, but even without one, a film can still make a profit.

PATCH:
Have you spoken with investors or bigger producers?

JUSTIN:
I have some investors yes. I am producing this with my company partner Bruce Bullock, who was the former Director of Education at the Digital Domain Institute in Florida, worked at Cinesite in Los Angeles, and is a graduate of the film school at FSU. As for involving any studio producers, that is unlikely, because then the studio would have to take over the project, and there goes my whole reason for going independent. That is why this film must be funded completely from private investors. We intend to complete it and then sell it for distribution. The truth is, only an independent set-up like mine could make this film. The infrastructure does not exist anymore at the Major Studios since they have mostly fired their hand-drawn animators or moved them over to CG. The way I’m doing this is, in my opinion, is the only way it can be done.

PATCH:
How about distributors- does that come after financing, or would support from that end help acquire it?

JUSTIN:
Make it and then sell it. That’s my plan.

PATCH:
Do you think your recent progress is taking you towards a full budget, and is it anywhere in sight yet?

JUSTIN:
Yes, though I can’t cite specifics. There’s a reason why ‘Dawgtown’ has attracted the talent that is has so far. People are looking for great stories that engage audiences, and a little social awareness is never a bad thing either. I believe in this project and so do many others in the movie industry. Like it says in ‘Field of Dreams’…’if you build it, they will come.’

Good luck Justin… wishing you huge support and love from animation fans. Can’t wait to see you succeed!