11-19-2010
( Reply#: 6247 ) |
Tom J |
Larry, that's GREAT! You should be in Hollywood!
Tom |
11-20-2010
( Reply#: 6248 ) |
cartoonguy |
Here is another version from fellow animator Doug Compton;
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/nuttin-for-christmas.html
Enjoy |
11-20-2010
( Reply#: 6249 ) |
Tom J |
Enjoyed that one, too, Cartoonguy! Thanks for sharing.
Tom |
11-21-2010
( Reply#: 6254 ) |
Jim Plummer |
Except that I didn't recognize OLPH in the background this time, I loved it!!! DO MORE, PLEASE!!!!! |
12-08-2010
( Reply#: 6279 ) |
LegulusQ |
Great stuff, Larry! Another holiday classic for our amusement. Thanks for sharing your talents as a producer and actor with us!
Craig
LegulusQ |
12-11-2010
( Reply#: 6281 ) |
Jay |
I tried watching the video, but it would freeze at the 1:19 mark. I tried multiple times, all with the same result.
But from what I did see so far, I'm impressed. |
12-14-2010
( Reply#: 6284 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
Jay--
I can't imagine why you've encountered this problem; haven't had any other similar reports. I hope you'll try again (maybe from another PC or Iphone) and see if you can make it to the bitter end!
Merry Christmas
Larry
quote:
Originally posted by Jay
I tried watching the video, but it would freeze at the 1:19 mark. I tried multiple times, all with the same result.
But from what I did see so far, I'm impressed.
|
12-14-2010
( Reply#: 6285 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
It's not like my new video is exactly setting the world on fire (last year's Mel Blanc "Christmas Tree" did MUCH better in terms of views), but, since Christmas is almost here, I'd still like to give a little background info on how this new one was produced, in case anyone is interested.
Incidentally, the title of the video has been changed to:
Nuttin' for Christmas - a live cartoon!
Here's the link again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9XHEUTvVAc
------------------------------------------
The real thrill is taking these classic songs from my childhood and actually putting myself "back in time" as it were; since I always used to pantomime these tunes back then, it's now like living out a childhood fantasy, inserting myself into the songs as the main character. It's also a blast to try to recreate the SETTINGS so they look as much like a 1950's childhood vision as possible.
In "Nuttin for Christmas", I play the part of the moronic kid AND his stressed-out father. The intention was to recreate as much as possible the way my own dad looked during the mid '50's (jet-black hair, the same glasses, the pipe, etc), which is the way I remember him when he brought this record home to us (we still have the original DJ promotional copy). My own wife Celeste, who plays the mother, went for as much of an "I Love Lucy" look as possible. The opening kitchen scene used a real table stocked with all authentic items (most borrowed from a private collector); the sugar bowl is actually from my parent's china set they received for their wedding in 1947; I found it in my late father's belongings, and decided to immortalize it onscreen!
That's an OLD baseball bat used for the first shot with "Johnny", and it took FOREVER to chisel and saw the damned thing apart for the shot; those old hickory bats were practically indestructible! I finally hacked it up, then nailed it back together so it would balance in a "V" position on the young boy's head.
I visited many thrift shops to find those old '50's-style striped t-shirts that we all used to wear; I barely fit into the one that I wore in the video. I also had a plaster cast made of my face, on which I modeled a latex rubber mask, with nose and big round cheeks; the intention was to create a Howdy-Doody/Alfred E. Newman look for the kid...but the mask ended up looking too creepy (it's bad enough having a 59-year old guy playing a 10-year old kid without having the face look like some sort of mutant rodent). So we canned the mask, and went with a simple rubber nose, a pair of plastic horn-rims, painted freckles, sprayed orange hair, and a pair of rubber buck teeth, cut from a Sponge Bob mask.
A number of the backgrounds were painted in water colors by me, in a simple "Golden Book"-type style, including the sunny landscape for the opening "broken bat" shot, the teacher's classroom (incidentally, those are my original, authentic K-through-6th grade report cards on her desk!), and the final fireplace/Christmas tree set. The haunted house was taken from Disney's "Thrills and Chills" record jacket cover, and the opening KITCHEN set was actually a color ad from a collection of 1950's magazine ads...pretty convincing, isn't it?!
Jim Corey, the guy who shot and edited all of the video (and who makes his "screen debut" as the burglar---perfectly cast, I'd say), was able to work wonders with his PC. We filmed everything in his living room in front of a green screen, which made it possible to drop in all of the backgrounds during the editing phase. Jim was also able to speed up the action to make it look more cartoon-like, use a split screen during the final duet (with a big burglar and midget-sized kid), create "thought balloons" when the kid sings about Santa, create multiple images of me as "back-up singers" during the chorus, etc....all of which results in a very make-believe, kid's world type of look.
The parent's Frankenstein-like march, first seen in front of the haunted house, then trampling through a 50's-style giant atomic monster-movie backdrop (which I also painted), was intended to depict the parents in the WORST possible way that a kid in the '50's might have imagined them.
Anyway, that's some of what went into producing this thing. I'm disappointed that it's getting so few views but, then again...there are many more important things to deal with in life. Also, there are MANY different versions of this song on You Tube; plus....something tells me that this version of the song is too bizarre for people to pass along and/or share with their kids. I actually spoke with Freberg himself on the phone in 1989 when he was a guest on WGN radio; I asked about this particular song of his, and it was obvious that he didn't think very highly of it. Puzzling. Maybe he got into trouble back in the '50's, since the suprise ending of his version is not exactly "family fare". But I clearly recall, at age 4, yucking it up with my late brother Mike over the ending; even at that tender age, we were able to see the humor in it----we never took it as an endorsement of a life of crime!
Anyway, I want to wish a Merry Christmas to everyone at Sheptalk; hope everyone is in good health and that things will pick up again soon.
Larry R |
12-14-2010
( Reply#: 6286 ) |
Tom J |
Larry:
Wow! There was SO MUCH work put into making that video. I watched it again after reading your story of how you created it, and all the things I took for granted the first times I watched it jumped out at me this time.
You are a very talented, very creative, and very resourceful person, Larry.
I liked the video the first time I ever saw it, but I REALLY appreciate it now that I know how much work went into producing it.
Thanks for sharing not only the video but also the "behind the scenes" info on it.
Tom
|
12-14-2010
( Reply#: 6287 ) |
Jim Plummer |
Larry, please keep in mind that "The Christmas Story" didn't do all that well when released to theaters. I suspect your cartoon will grow as time goes on. It gets better with each viewing! |
12-14-2010
( Reply#: 6288 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
Guys---
Heres'a few more fun tid-bits about the video:
1.) When you use the "green-screen" background technology, you can't have ANYthing that's actually GREEN in the live action, otherwise it will get absorbed into the green background and become "invisible" (my beanie-copter hat originally had a green brim, which I had to paint over to avoid this problem). HOWEVER--if you look closely at the GUMBALL MACHINE shot (at 0:48), you will notice that we used a few GREEN GUMBALLS in the machine itself; they are on the right side of the plastic dome, and they are almost completely invisible, since they were "absorbed" into the original green-screen background.
2.) At around 1:43, you can clearly see that my fake rubber nose was slipping off; we filmed the kid/burglar scenes on July 1st, and even though Jim's house was air-conditioned, those camera lights still got mighty warm----not good for fake rubber appliances!
3.) The big cartoony eyeballs I used when the kid goes insane (which Freberg's vocal clearly tells us is the case) were simple ping-pong balls that I cut in half and colored with felt-tip pens; I wonder if the guy in the sporting good store in Highland that sold me that box of ping-pong balls had ANY idea of their ultimate fate....
4.) It's almost IMPOSSIBLE to find a newspaper that does NOT USE COLOR these days! The opening kitchen scene absolutely needed a black-and-white only newspaper for '50's authenticity; even the Wall Street Journal now uses color. I finally found a financial periodical/newspaper of some sort which was B&W only, and thankfully bought multiple copies, since the paper would get trashed during the opening action. Celeste and I did about 10 takes of the scene, and we were on our very last newspaper in the shot which we ultimately used (incidentally, that's the kid's BEANIE hat that goes whizzing by in the opening).
5.) There's something immensely satisfying about portraying a kid AND his dad and kicking your OWN SELF in the ass, as happens in the introduction (actually it was Jim Corey's hand that grabs my belt and his shoe that kicks me).
Anyway, thanks for the nice comments, guys. I hope everyone has a GREAT CHRISTMAS and New Year!
Larry r |
12-14-2010
( Reply#: 6289 ) |
Tom J |
Larry, I plugged BOTH of your videos in Planet Hammond on Facebook.
Tom |
12-14-2010
( Reply#: 6290 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
I promise this will be the last post on this video.
Here's one of my original quick sketches we used to "storyboard" the video while in the planning stages. It's dear old mom and dad at the kitchen table, with a beanie hat whizzing past them.
[IMG]http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af12/HassoBenSoba/Storyboard30001.jpg[/IMG]
And here's the finished product...a portrait of your average atomic-age family ABOUT TO GO BALLISTIC!
[IMG]http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af12/HassoBenSoba/01.jpg[/IMG]
I'd rather be back in the 50's!!
Merry Christmas to all.
Larry r |
12-15-2010
( Reply#: 6291 ) |
Jay |
quote:
Originally posted by HassoBenSoba
Jay--
I can't imagine why you've encountered this problem; haven't had any other similar reports. I hope you'll try again (maybe from another PC or Iphone) and see if you can make it to the bitter end!
Merry Christmas
Larry
quote:
Originally posted by Jay
I tried watching the video, but it would freeze at the 1:19 mark. I tried multiple times, all with the same result.
But from what I did see so far, I'm impressed.
Well, today I made another attempt using the same computer, and this time, I was able to view the entire video. Your chroma keys were near perfect. And I'm glad that Billy May took time away from his infomercials to give you an assist (judging by the credits).
Gosh, I had not heard that song since I was a kid! Thanks for the trip down memory lane. |
12-15-2010
( Reply#: 6292 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
Jay--
The Billy May who did Freberg's arrangement was not the same guy who did the infomercials (wasn't his name Mays?). Anyway, Billy May was a trumpet player from the big band era (1940's) who then became a very succesful band leader and studio recording/arranger/back-up guy in the 50's through the 70's. He was a rather brash guy and his musical arrangements were usually very brassy and raucous---which is why he was the perfect guy to work with Freberg on this song (and many of Stan's other famous parodies, such as the classic "Green Christmas", which ends with the band blasting out "Jingle Bells", accompanied by a jangling cash register).
Glad you enjoyed this blast from the past!
Larry |
12-15-2010
( Reply#: 6293 ) |
tom w |
Larry et al:
Seasons greetins from sunny Florida!! Just thought I'd chime into this string since I also did a BUNCH of parodies at dear old Irving. The first was "Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen By The Sea" I figured with a title like that, The Four Lads were begging for parody. Take Care Tom W |
12-15-2010
( Reply#: 6294 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
OK, so I lied. Here's a few more pics. It's Christmas time; why not live a little?
Here's my original quick-sketch storyboard version of the "Nuttin for Christmas burglar and kid:
[IMG]http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af12/HassoBenSoba/Storyboard20001.jpg[/IMG]
HERE, FOR COMPARISON, IS THE FINISHED VERSION OF BOTH CHARACTERS IN THE VIDEO:
[IMG]http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af12/HassoBenSoba/071.jpg[/IMG]
JIM COREY---the technical wizard (and Hammond resident) who portrays the burglar in addition to having filmed and assembled the video.
[IMG]http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af12/HassoBenSoba/06.jpg[/IMG]
YOURS TRULY----a face only a mother could love, spreading Christmas joy by wreacking havoc on a 50's-style cityscape.
Larry r |
12-16-2010
( Reply#: 6295 ) |
Jim Plummer |
Larry is your hat in the video a tribute to Rootie Kazootie? He was the first person on tv that I ever saw wear his hat with the bill to the side? Just askin' |
12-16-2010
( Reply#: 6296 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
Jim--
I had hoped to find a beanie with NO brim; I ordered this one from the Internet and was going to chop the brim off of it for the look I wanted, but it was too sturdily made; I would have destroyed the hat trying to remove the brim. So I used the hat as is and turned it to the side.
Any resemblance to a Rootie Kazootie (living or dead), is purely coincidental.
Larry |
12-28-2010
( Reply#: 6380 ) |
Jay |
Watch out HassoBenSoba, here is a kid after your job!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0REJ-lCGiKU |
12-28-2010
( Reply#: 6381 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
Yeah...but can he lip-synch to music on camera with ping-pong balls
stuck in his eyes?
LR |
12-29-2010
( Reply#: 6382 ) |
Jim Plummer |
Larry,might we have a picture of you without all the make-up etc. |
12-30-2010
( Reply#: 6384 ) |
BobK |
Loved it, Larry.
Bob
|
01-06-2011
( Reply#: 6400 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
Larry,might we have a picture of you without all the make-up etc.
JIM--- Modesty almost prevents me, but since you asked...here's a pic of me and a dear friend of mine named June Bug.
Larry
[IMG]http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af12/HassoBenSoba/MeJune0001.jpg[/IMG] |
01-06-2011
( Reply#: 6403 ) |
Jim Plummer |
what a transformation with make-up you made for the film!! |
