About this project

My name is Orlando Rivera; I am the director and one of the creators of "FrankNson". The intro above will show you a preview of a short animation that will introduce two of our characters to the world. The Short animation we feature in this KickStarter campaign is about a Father and Son relationship. A Son who has discovered his Father and wants to be closer. A Father who has always been alone and has never worried about anyone else.

The feature Movie which goes into production next year has this Father and Son relationship at its core but it is also about friendship. It is about a forgotten group of Monsters that get a second chance and a village that needs redemption. To see a high resolution (720p) version of the preview, please go to http://digitalsummit.info/aa-trailer/. You can also see a lower resolution version at the end of the brief intro above. This short 3D animation is a proof of concept of the world we are creating for our full 3D animation movie. This short will be part of the gift we will give all our Backers who help us make our Independent 3D animation project.

We are in the early stages of a project for a feature 3D animation which we are hoping to get into production next year. The final animation short will have new animations done in Maya with brand new rigs (3D models with bones). This is a self-funded project so far but we have a strong core team and have made lots of progress. As much help as I am getting from my fellow friends & artists, just getting through this critical development phase is getting very expensive. Some items and services I just need to pay for and that is what I am hoping to get from this great web site and community. Our target is $12,000 which is about half of what we need but that will keep us going. This is an all or nothing goal. We can go above (please) but if we don't hit our target we will get nothing. I believe we are all creating a road map that others in the Independent animation community will follow (& improve on). After working on various Independent film productions, it became clear that Independent filmmakers could create Hollywood caliber visual effects or animations without the mega dollars budget.

Our evolving process can become a model that will allow others to make a full animation feature at a fraction of the cost of a big studio project. The teacher in me will also make sure we capture and share this process with anyone who wants to understand how this can be done. We need to get development dollars to get us past this project development phase so can begin to showcase a professional Independent 3D feature. We will also have a stereoscopic version.

While the overall project is a long term effort, this KickStarter campaign is very targeted. Our focus is a fully finished Short Animation Film. It has a great song and will be part of the prize that the Backers will get. We will also have lots of art work, designs, DVD, and books (more below on prizes). It takes many elements to make a 3D animation film including a great Script, Production & Character designs, Storyboards, Animatics, Model making, Rigging, Textures, etc.

In the past when I started on this long road of wanting to be an artist & filmmaker I needed to take some side roads (to pay the bills). Now many years later after having done 2D & 3D work, Art, VFX, Game & IT development, Motion Graphics, Corp Videos, Feature Film & Shorts, and waiting for the right moment - it appears like the time is now. I hope you see the value in what we are trying to do and join us on this 3D film adventure.