One of the the final projects I worked on with director Matt Osterman was on an ambitious marketing piece called Bring People Back. We wanted to create an alternate reality game that extend the fiction of the film. Something fans, and random internet users alike could enjoy and be a part of. Working with a budget of however much a couple of beers cost, we set about writing and ultimately making this thing.

Made to live on the web, it tells the story of an amateur blogger named Jeff and his discovery of odd happenings going around his town. He eventually gets in contact with Franklin (what a handsome bastard!) who claims that his dead father is wandering around his house. The story is told through blog posts, some of which encourage users to dig deeper into made up websites to gather clues and to ultimately get involved in the story.

We made everything in WordPress, employed some interesting tricks and work arounds, and I think produced a pretty good little story. It would have been nice to have more game elements throughout, but like every indie movie we were fighting a losing battle against time and money. The original goal was to have users discover the blog organically via another marketing campaign we were running called Ghost Machine 3000. Jeff has a “testimonial” where he mentions his blog. Going to that blog would start the game and so forth.

I don’t know if anyone other than myself and Matt ever saw the finished project, which is a shame, we put a good deal of time in to it, made due with what we had, and told the best story we could. The cool thing though, everything about it still works,  preserved on the internet.

www.bringpeopleback.com 

-Dane

MTIB Post 1/4/12

The first time I heard Cage the Elephant was during a commercial for the fantastic FPS/RPG Borderlands. The song, “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” fit the tone of the game perfectly- manic, unstoppable action, with some very harsh grunge. And the slide guitar, for whatever reason,  screamed desert wasteland. Although the song was great, there was always a feeling that that would be it. Cage the Elephant would fade away…

Thank You Happy Birthday disproved all of that, doing what a good second album should: retain what made the first so great while changing just enough to draw in even more listeners. It wasn’t as harsh of a sound, it was a little more indie, a little more poppy. It was exactly what they needed to do. With songs like “Aberdeen” and “Shake Me Down,” it would storm the indie scene, all the while retaining the followers from the first album. I was hooked.

And what great luck! Cage the Elephant opening for the best band around today: The Black Keys. It was amazing. The lead singer of Cage the Elephant stage dived during the first song, and would do so six more times. Showmanship in spades. That show, that borderlands song, and hell, their very active Twitter account are why I love Cage the Elephant. 

With a twangy guitar, bellowing horns, and just enough whistling to call on the spirit of The Man With No Name, it again does a great job of melding the old and new. And setting the tone of the movie of course. Give it a listen.

More importantly, I got to make the gameplay video for it. Check it out!

2011 has been a landmark year for video games. What life I had left has been spent surviving hordes of zombies, battling dragons,dying over and over again, and finding out just how hilarious a robot inhabited potato can be.

Video games as a medium are a collection of parts working in tandem. Graphics, art, animation, story, voice acting, and music all have their role to play, and studios are learning more and more just how important it is that all of those things work well, and work well together. Bastion, from Supergiant Games, is a game that has everything working like a well oiled machine. A unique art style, fun gameplay, killer voice acting and most impressively, a fantastic original soundtrack.

What makes Bastion’s soundtrack so great is that it plays an integral part to the story. It’s not just filler, plugging up the aural void as you run through a dungeon. Every scenario, set-piece, and story arc has a song associated with it, and relies on it. The soundtrack is an odd mix of old world blues guitar, wispy strings, techno beats, and a splash of middle-eastern flavor. “Build That Wall (Zia’s Theme)” is a reprieve in the soundscape of the game, a moment that forces you to slow down and listen. Up until you hear “Build that Wall” you’ve been on fast paced mission after mission, and the sudden slowdown forces the ear to listen.

Not only is Bastion a fantastic game, it has one of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard, and if you give one a shot, I guarantee you’ll want to check out the other.

Supergiant Games

Bastion Original Soundtrack

Phasma will be taking part in the most excellent Fantasia Fest in Montreal, Canada. A top tier genre fest where Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards had its North American premiere. KILLER.

In addition to that, Phasma will also be playing at Another Hole in the Head, in beautiful San Fran, CA. And play locally at the all new Twin Cities Film Festival. Yeeeeaarrrragghhh!

Rock on.

-D

Good stuff eh? I was so inspired by it that I had to add some narration and pictures, as seen here:

Had to share.

-Dane

Maybe two months ago I started sending out a collection of questions to various paranormal experts and leaders for Phasma’s Ghosts 101 section. The response has been really good, and I think offers a very unique collection of stories and opinions.

Whether you believe in the paranormal or not (I personally tend to lean towards being a bit of a skeptic) I suggest checking them out. Its always fun to hear people talk passionately about what they love. And it is interesting as hell to boot.

So check out “6 Questions With…”

-Dane

Check out The Phantom Menace reviews The Phantom Menace reviews here.

And the recently posted Attack of the Clones review.

Again, these suckers are LONG. Like, 90 minutes. But so, so good.

-Dane

Its like Chat Roulette without the wang! And things that are actually interesting! (I’m looking at you contemplative hipster…)

Pretty simple concept: You rate things you find on the web as “cool” or “not cool.” Stumble Upon then shares this with all its other users, and they do the same. If its truly cool, it gets more play.

Does this tie into web marketing? Hell yeah! Its the perfect place for Phasma to live. So I’ve been stumbling the penguins out of it! Hopeful people take the time to check out the trailer.

Man technology is cool…

-D

http://www.stumbleupon.com