The latest on Going Cardboard

Here’s the latest for you all on everything Going Cardboard.

First, I recently checked in with the Ninja vs. Pirate podcast to discuss board gaming and the film. You can check that out here:

http://ninjavspirates.libsyn.com/nv-p-6x10-going-cardboard-with-lorien-green

In the past month, the final proof for the DVD packaging (with Reiner Knizia's Shoot-Out board game insert) arrived, and it looks fantastic. Not to be out-done, the proofs for the components to the game arrived a few days later. Did I mention that the DVD comes with bits for the game? There are bullet counters, a D-20, two little cowboy meeples, and the cards you need to play, illustrated by the talented Mr. Rick Schmitz.

A lot of my current efforts are surrounding the Kickstarter campaign rewards. The first box of autographed board games has arrived, and the coasters, of course, which come in two designs created by my animator, Kerry Hutton.

This week I’m looking into the right shipping boxes to buy, for both the different Kickstarter tiers, and the regular retail shipping of the DVD. Editing is progressing on the film as well, of course.

Among other things, I’ve been working with my editor to select additional music for the soundtrack. I can’t be sure how long before I‘m actually holding the finished DVD in hand, but the many parts of this machine are falling into place to support that goal.

In related board gaming news, there’s this nonsense going on with a board game collector claiming a record collection size of just over 1,500 board games.

http://newssun.suntimes.com/news/6863421-418/lake-villa-man-wants-to-be-chairman-of-the-board.html

Needless to say, that’s not even CLOSE to the record. As per my teaser trailer of over a year ago...

Collecting Designer Board Games from Lorien Green on Vimeo.

James and Sheila Davis’ collection was hovering around 11,500. They’ve passed 12,000 since then, and THEY are not even the largest-known collection out there. What‘s up with that, Guinness?!

SPIEL fair expands to fill an additional hall for 2011 show

I just received the SPIEL 2011 newsletter, and according to this:

Once again the steady growth being seen in the international games market will be reflected at the world's largest trade fair for social gaming. This year a further hall is being added to accomodate the increasing number of people who come to the fair. The additional hall (hall 7) will house the part of the fair where board and card games are exhibited. This will bring the overall total of exhibit halls in use at the fair to 11.

That's right. This one goes to 11! Those who have seen the halls know, this is a BIG addition. The halls are HUGE. If you've never seen them, well... you WILL, when Going Cardboard: A Board Game Documentary debuts. Which should be sometime this fall. Or at least this year. ASAP, believe me.

Notice, they are now calling it "social gaming" which I assume encompasses board and card games, as well as other tabletop games. Interesting way of categorizing it, though I would say video games are often social, too.

The latest

Hope everyone is enjoying their 4th of July holiday! Just a quick update on things...

- The subtitle translations for German and Spanish have been completed. There are a couple others being worked on.

- Editing continues. I've seen some of the updated footage, and it looks GREAT! However, it's looking like the film will not be ready in time for PAX Prime. I'll keep everyone posted.

- The art for the DVD cover, board game insert, and the DVD disc itself are DONE, baby! If I haven't mentioned, the case will be transparent, so the inside cover art will show through when you open it up.

So what's left? Once the editing is done, there's that whole process of building the DVD menu and mastering the DVD. I'm both excited and fearful about that, as I think it represents the largest remaining hurdle/learning curve to getting this thing out.

Until next time, true believers!

The Legend Continues

I wanted to share some updates about what I've been doing on the film, as it's been a while. Time flies!

As you know, the DVD comes with Reiner Knizia's Shoot-Out, a 2-player board game. I'm also pleased to announce that all DVDs will come with the components for Shoot-Out, rather than having to pillage them from some other game or buy them separately. A do-gooder from Games on the Brain put me in touch with a great manufacturer that helped make this possible. It's very cool to get a little taste of what publishing a board game is actually like.

You'll also be able to order the movie directly from GameSalute.com (even pre-order it once I get them the stuff they asked for). More on that soon, but these are the guys that hosted the Going Cardboard teaser trailer in their booth on the GenCon show floor last year, and I'm very pleased to be working with them.

The DVD inside and outside cover are in final draft stage, and looking beautiful. I don't expect to make any more changes to those, so they are just about ready to print. The movie itself is still undergoing polish, and has a ways to go there. I'm very pleased with what I've seen so far on that, and I'll keep you posted on an ETA as one becomes clearer.

It's keeping a lot of plates spinning in the air at once, but so far none of them have smashed to the floor. :)

The Legacy of T-Cat

"My heart has joined the thousand, for my friend stopped running today." - Richard Adams

You may not want to read this one, it's not about the movie per se, but it is something I have to relate.

On Thursday, May 26, 2011 at about 6:00 PM, I lost my best friend and partner in crime, Toes. My cat. I think I've mentioned on this blog before that she'd been diagnosed with lymphoma back last October, and though they had operated to remove the tumor, it was likely only a matter of time. I thought that fact would help prepare me for when the day came. It didn't.

The tumor on her forehead had come back over the past month, and over the past week, her eye had swollen shut. I woke up yesterday basically knowing it was time. Her behavior had changed and she'd started hiding out in the basement. Pretty much the ONLY cue a cat will give you that they are in pain. So when I took her to the vet yesterday evening, I was not surprised to hear him in agreement with me that it was time. I said, "Just do it." I kissed her on the forehead and told her I loved her, and that was pretty much it.

I was fine for a while. But by last night I was not fine, and here it is Friday afternoon and I'm still FAR from fine. So I wanted to write this, to say as much as I could about what Toes meant to me. She was the reason I named my LLC "T-Cat Productions" and she's now my logo for the company, but there was so much more.

I had Toes for 11 years. She was really small, I called her Toes because her toes were so tiny. She talked to me and I talked to her. She rode around the house on my shoulders. Every single all-nighter I ever did for the film, she was there by my side. Or rather, getting in front of the monitor and interfering. She chattered at birds, and she loved eating yogurt. She either slept under the covers with me or in the crook of my arm, and would get so excited to know it was bedtime so she could cuddle. She was also just getting good with Maddy, my 5-year old daughter, to the point that she'd sleep on her too. She had no interest in escaping the house.

Here's a video of her I took while making the Hustream video presentation:




Note how she looks in the appropriate place where the action buttons would later be, and give you a direct look at just the right time. Yes, Toes had screen presence, she did, she was a natural!

And now she's gone and I wasn't prepared for how hard that is. I know I'll get through it, and she deserves some grieving, but right now there's a big empty hole in my life. I'll miss her. I wish I could have had her for another 5 - 10 years, even though I know it wouldn't have made saying goodbye any easier. I will never forget her.

Oh hai

So as I sit here tonight trying NOT to think about the presentation to the board of directors at work tomorrow, it seems a good time for an update. So I start the tea kettle boiling, and think.

Last weekend I finished editing the film, and last Monday morning, left my baby in the hands of the US Postal Service to deliver to my editor. For editing. It was one of those momentous introspective moments one is conscious of, as I got in the car and drove away from the post office. Big milestone.

And I'm happy to report that the package made it safely. The film is now under the scalpal of a skilled documentary surgeon, and I'm thrilled about that. It also lets me turn to other moving parts in need of attention.

The inside cover art for the DVD package is done. It is a menagerie of board game pieces from various board games. According to my count, you will see bits from 76 different games. I did this for a number of reasons. First, it'll be fun for seasoned gamers to try and identify the different games included, and will be an interesting bit of eye candy for potential newcomers out there upon opening the DVD. I also like the parallel it presents to opening an actual board game box, revealing all the cool pieces inside.

I was able to get MOST of them back to their proper boxes afterwards, too. ;)

What's been going on? What HASN'T??

There's the Kickstarter. As of this morning, 300% funded. CRIPES. Almost 300 backers, too. SPARRTAAAAANS! Oh, and 3 days to go. These metrics do appear in 3s they say...

That campaign brought a lot of attention to the film. For one thing, there have been interviews and writeups:


MTV Geek Blog
Cubo Magazine
IndieWIRE
Critical Gamers

I really need to get all those added to the website...

Now as for me, I was up till 2 AM again last night. This time popping in the final versions of 3 animations. Not actually editing really. After that, I made some tea and went downstairs to do the photograph for what will be the inside cover of the DVD. I think it turned out well, but I'll tell you more later. The basement is a MESS though. I told my husband not to go down there.

As I mentioned to the Kickstarter backers, a few of us have been toying with the #gamersgonewild tag on Twitter. Post something boardgamey and add it at the end to play along!