Hey all. It's now about a year since we started this journey, and I wanted to update you on what's going on.

The Frog in a Suit shorts are getting a good response ( that you helped fund). Thanks to the help of Kickstarter backers Kevin Johnson, Suzanne Kasch and Wade Goyens, we have upgraded the KaboingTV site with new features and pizazz. They are helping to maintain the site while I'm busy creating new content, and scouring the landscape for indie animation talent. We also have other plans in the works. Check out the site.

www.kaboingtv.com

I'm happy to say that the DVD's are finally at the factory and should be ready early May for mailing to those in the category. I've added a bonus film of "My Dog Zero" which has never been released on video or DVD, and has not been shown in it's full version on the web.

Thank you all again for your support. It's a slow road but a worthy one.

Best:

Joe Murray

It's Official. The website and Frog in a Suit episodes you all backed are going up starting March 11th.

We will premiere episode 34 ( the first one which most of you have seen already), then the other two that you paid for on March 18th and March 25th. They will also be super syndicated via YouTube and others to get maximum viewership and exposure to our project.

The future will rely on the response to our episodes and KaboingTV as a whole. I have decided to keep the site and cartoons advertising free for now, and build up viewership. I would like to remain viewer supported and free, although we may offer subscriptions that offer up cartoons  before others see them, as well as "bonus features".

These episodes cost more than the amount raised ( which was offset by my own funding as well as many favors from industry "friends". ) But that is the way it always seems to go. The Kickstarter money went directly to the animation studio who did most of the actual animation. ( as well as thank you gifts). Of course , I could not have done it without you.

For those who are getting DVD's of the completed episodes, you will be getting those soon. If your address has changed in the past year, please update me at joemstudio@earthlink.net.

Thank you to Kickstarter backers and overall supporters Suzanne Kasch and Kevin Johnson for all of the hard additional work.

Thank you again for all of your support. Please tell your friends, email lists, etc about our launch!

You are the best.

Hi All! I wanted to give you an update on where we are with the Frog episodes and KaboingTV.
As we speak, the episodes are finished ( they both ended up being 5 minutes long rather than the original 3, so I've put quite a bit of my savings into trying to get these out. We are doing some last minute sound polish on them, while my web guy and I are fine tuning the KaboingTV website. It will be very simple at first to get the episodes out to as many people as possible.

We are shooting for an early March launch. I've been holding off a bit on it since I have been working on some funding sources, but I feel we need to get this up and out.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Joe Murray

Thanks to Suzanne Kasch, Frog In a Suit and KaboingTV now have their own facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/froginasuit and http://www.facebook.com/KaboingTV respectively. There you will find more info, fan talk etc. about the upcoming progress.

We recently recorded Tom Kenny and Carlos Alazraqui for the second episode of "Frog" that is being produced with the backers from Kickstarter, and the first episode is in it's animation stage. Check out my blog at http://joemurraystudio.com/blog/ for early animation tests.

I am in the process of putting together another behind the scenes reel coming soon.

Thanks again for all of your support!

Joe Murray

My Friend Cory Choy has a animation project on Kickstarter called "The Champion" http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thechampion/ It started out as a play by his mother and it looks pretty cool. He is 75% there and only has 4 days left.

Check it out, and maybe you can throw a some backing his way.

Joe Murray

Getting those thank you gifts out. You may find some of yours in this video. If you have not responded to my request for info ( shirt size, character selection for drawing, address) please do so, as I am trying to get these out the door while work progresses on the episodes.

Please allow a few weeks for the tee shirts!

Many thanks!

Joe Murray

I believe I may have posted that we were ending at 3 pm US west coast time, so I was surprised as anyone that it ended on east coast time ( my mistake) so I discovered while stopped at a stoplight in my car that it was over!

So $20,875. Fantastic! I am so grateful beyond words for your support of my vision. I am taking all of you along on every step of the journey.

Now I begin getting thank you gifts out and getting the episodes done.I have a huge list of thank you's but I'm on my iPhone away from the office.

Again thank you. We will be in touch!

Plans for KaboingTV have always been to have free advertising supported content, but also sponsor memberships to view episodes without commercials, and with access to bonus features.

So of course, all of my backers, at every level, will have sponsor memberships for the first year. ( And I'm sure the cost for a year membership will be more than $5.00)

Just another added benefit to being the coolest backers on the planet!

Thanks again!

Joe Murray

Down to the last day! Past the $20,000. mark. Would love to get up to 20,500. by the end of the drive tomorrow. I keep seeing how an extra $500. or $1000 could be well used for additional quality, marketing muscle, and just enhance the backings so far! But very happy and grateful for what has come in.

I've had some inquiries about delivery of thank you gifts. Once our drive is completed tomorrow, Kickstarter will send me the list and contact info of backers. After sending out thank you's to all of you, I will start on collecting tee-shirt sizes, which character you want on a drawing if that is applicable, etc.

The drawings I will try and get to as soon as possible . ( Give me a couple of weeks.) The tee shirts need to be printed so a few weeks on those,and of course, the DVD's won't be out to you until the next two episodes are completed. We are working on the end of summer or sooner. I'm working on at a least a soft launch of the site by fall. Those are the plans as of now. Most of all, I'm working hard to get the episodes out and the site launched that you all supported me on.

Nudge others if you know someone who wants to get a backing in before the deadline. Otherwise, many thanks as always.

Can't wait to connect with all of you.

Best!

Joe Murray

How's this for three updates in one day.

One of my backers Ryan wrote to ask a question. In my last update, I mentioned that more money raised was being able to expand in other areas, for instance more into the site itself. He said he gave his money for KaboingTV not so much for the cartoon. Did he back "Frog" or "KaboingTV"?

I just want to clarify, that the whole reason I'm doing the cartoon Frog in a Suit is to get KaboingTV up and running. My philosophy is that, if the cartoons are not good, no one will come to watch. So that is my first priority. The goal I posted for Kickstarter was bare minimum to get the episodes done, but I have the people and resources to get the site up and the business going. It will all be bootstrap, so any money on top of the goal increases the quality of the cartoons, the start up quality of the site itself and increased marketing. It will be slow growth.

So, yes, to all of the backers, all of your backing is going towards KaboingTV. That is my goal. And funding the Frog in a Suit episodes is designed to launch the site. If you have any other questions, please write to me at jmurraystudiosupport@gmail.com.

Thanks!