Mad Lab Productions- Review of 2012

2012 was our first year, and much like bull riding, it was exciting and exhausting.

Unlike bull riding, no bulls were involved.

 As a small animation production company, we don't have a heap of admin or infrastructure, and that gives us the advantage of being pretty nimble and able to respond and react quickly to feedback, and to what we learn as we put stuff out. We can make essential decisions quickly, and that keeps things FUN, and exciting.

The flip side of that is, well- we don't have a heap of admin or infrastructure! That means all the heavy lifting, creatively and admin-wise, is done by the two idiots (wait, wrong word- geniuses) who head the company up, Geri and Chris. Thank goodness both guys possess incredible amounts of energy, passion, talent, and most importantly- good looks.

 We spent the year pursuing TWO things: service work for clients, and development of our own animated content, made entirely from within our company. This is a pretty classic pair of objectives for media production companies, so why should Mad Lab reinvent the wheel?

 In the realm of providing animation services, we found ourselves working with a fantastic client in Inhabit Media. This company has offices in Toronto and Iqaluit (which is in Nunavut, which is in Canada's far, FAR north). Inhabit Media focuses on telling stories of the north, with a focus on Inuit legends, myths, and tales. And so Inhabit and Mad Lab are working together to create a stop motion tale of childhood friendship, bravery, and child-eating ogres.

The use of stop motion, with its tactile, physical quality, works wonderfully as a way to tell these tales that are honest, primal, and very, very magical.

The project is ongoing, with Mad Lab overseeing storyboards, puppet fabrication, sets, and animation, under the direction of Neil Christopher of Inhabit Media. We'll post more information about the project over time...  but it's looking wonderful so far, and is truly exciting and inspiring to work on.

Another client we worked with was the Burlington Animation Festival. We created their signal film that was shown around online and at the event itself. Here it is.

This little project was a great chance to do some NON- stop motion work, since the animation is drawn.  It went over with a big bang (pun certainly intended).

 As for our second objective, making our own content- we spent the year making MORE zombie shorts, which played in festivals like TAAFI (Toronto Animation Arts Festival International), we created  a mini-series using drawn animation called Vampire Instructionals, and we created a couple of  "secret projects"- these are short animated pieces that we're very proud of. We're planning to reveal these pieces over the course of 2013. Based on audience responses, these could be the projects we continue to pursue over time.


We'd like to thank a bunch of folks for their efforts in 2012, namely Noam Sussman, Peter Grecco, Phillip Stamp, Rich Duhaney, Pete Emslie, Ben McEvoy, Alex Gorelick, Nora Keely, Daniel Baker, Carla Veldman, Max Racz, Larry MacDougall, Patrick Sweeney and Amy Pagnotta from SPACE.  All these folks have websites/blogs, so look 'em up!

Thanks also to SPACE, Rue Morgue, Fangoria, Daily Dead, and Strange Kids Club, for the great coverage of our new business and our various projects.

 Extra special thanks to Jason "Thumbs" Burch for his work as our intern. He created fabulous stuff you'll see in 2013... and to Phil Postma for his continued (and amazing) Mad Lab-inspired artwork that can be seen via our Facebook page, and our Twitter feed.


Best and last thanks goes to our families. Without their support and love we'd still be lying on a couch just watching cartoons, instead of out in the world, MAKING 'em.

What does 2013 hold? Invasion by alien overlords? The rise of a bizarre superbug that will crush the human race beneath its feet? Perhaps a new album from Justin Bieber? We really can't say.. but regardless of how crazy the new year gets, we'll just keep making with the Mad Lab goodness...

Vampire Instructionals

If you are a fan of Mad Lab Productions, you probably know that just yesterday we launched a little mini-series called VAMPIRE INSTRUCTIONALS. The first episode is called HOW TO BECOME A BAT.  

The premise is a very simple and direct one: a kid vampire takes it upon himself (itself?) to create little instructional animations to school OTHER kid vampires on key aspects of vampire life (unlife?)

With the first episode only being online for 1 day (as of writing this), we have nearly 100 views. Considering we're a small company who is just promoting this via our own FB page and Twitter, and doing it in a fairly quiet way (since the series is just a cute little thing, not some big blockbuster project), that's not bad at all. The clip is getting around, and people are watching. Thank you, internets.

So things are good, but there is ONE area that's proving to be a bit of a challenge. It's a tricky situation, but there's no way around it. It's sure to be an ongoing issue, but what can we do? We made our bed (coffin?) and now we have to lie in it. The challenge is: dealing with this little vampire we have making these things.

Catching him (it?) was the first trick. Never underestimate the fangs of vampire, even a little one. And working within his hours of productivity was the next hurdle. That kid is a night-owl, to say the least.

But he's clever, and other little vampires seem to be able to relate to his (its?) take on things...and the little critter has a pretty good sense of humour.

He (it?) doesn't bite- as long as you keep his fridge stocked with the red stuff.

And we DON'T mean Kool-Aid.

So let us know what you think, and be sure to check our YouTube Channel next Monday, for Episode 2. Here is Episode 1- HOW TO BECOME A BAT:

Alexander Gorelick- Stop Motion Maestro

 This pic is from Alex's website, and features non-Mad Lab work he has done (just to be clear).

We have a larger stop motion project that we are developing, that is full of spooky goodness. We've been working very hard on it, to say the least.

Essentially, we're getting a promo package together that we hope will WOW everyone, and give the world complete assurance that this project is going to be a wonderful thing to behold.

Part of that promo package is a piece of promo animation, that shows off a central character, the tone of the project (funny and spooky), and the overall production value we are capable of achieving.

To that end, we reached out to a remarkable stop motion animation talent, Alexander Gorelick, to tackle the actual animation of the promo piece.

Alex is, in the truest sense of the word, a maestro. The life he can bring to a puppet borders on the uncanny. We're beyond excited to have him bringing our creation to life.

IT'S ALIVE!!!!

If you are a stop motion fan, you MUST check out his website, and his demo reel.

You can watch check it all out, here.