The Nightly News at Nine

Hello all you loyal NNN fans! I know we are long past my original estimate for the release of Chapter 2. Fear not! Things are still moving forward. The two robots pictured above are for one of the upcoming episodes. They, along with other sets and characters are under construction as we speak.

This summer has been unexpectedly busy for me and I have not had much time to animate. However, I am moving to a new apartment soon, where I will have a dedicated animation studio! I am also preparing to attend BrickCon at the end of September. In addition to selling Chapter 1 DVDs there, I am going have the first segment of Chapter 2 ready to show there, and hopefully will get back to a normal release schedule after that. Thanks for your patience!

P.S. I am sending out the very first NNN Newsletter today. Sign-up if you want to receive e-mail updates about the series.

Once again Brickworld has come and gone all too quickly. I had a great time at the event this year and wish it had lasted longer. For the very first time, I was registered as a vendor so I was able to sell Chapter 1 DVDs. Over the course of the weekend Bert and I sold 51 DVDs! We also handed out a bunch of fliers and business cards and got a lot of people to sign up for our newsletter. But the best part was getting to meet so many fans of the series:

There was always a good crowd of people around the iMac watching Chapter 1 and many people knew the words so well they were mouthing along with the video. At one point a boy came up to the table and when I introduced myself he said, “You’re the David Pickett?!” and started jumping up and down. Many people commented on their favorite characters (ROBOphelia, Leggsly, and Cornelius Crocogator all rated high) or scenes (the Anti-Green Commercial still takes the cake). During the closing ceremony we were sitting next to a mother who told us, “my kids found your series on iTunes and have it on their ipods. I went to check it out and I said ‘hey, this is actually good!’” It’s moments like this that make me feel like all the hard work I’ve put into the series has been absolutely worth it.

You can see more photos from the event on our FaceBook and flickr pages. We will be traveling to BrickCon in September, so hopefully I’ll get to meet even more of you there. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to animating Chapter 2!

The wait is over! You can now purchase Chapter 1: New Beginnings on DVD. Click here to go to the CreateSpace store and order a copy for $8 (+S&H). I will also be bringing copies to Brickworld in June and BrickCon in September, if you want to buy them in person and save on shipping. Woohoo!

The CreateSpace printing is really great, I just got my proof copy and absolutely love it. These pictures were taken on my iphone so they doesn’t really do it justice, but the packaging is really fantastic. I tested the DVD on several DVD players and computers and didn’t encounter any problems. It’s set for all regions so you should be able to watch it anywhere in the world.

If you aren’t sure whether you want to purchase this DVD, let me remind you of all the great content it includes:

Chapter 1: New Beginnings
+Director’s Commentary
+English subtitles
Deleted Scene
Chapter 2 Trailer
Original NNN Teaser
Choose Your Own Storyline: The Fight for Paradise Hills
Stuck in the Mud
And even though you can view all of this content for free online (except for the commentary and subtitles) buying the DVD will let you watch everything on the big screen in the comfort of your living room. And you can feel good about yourself for helping to support an independent production. What are you waiting for? Go order your copy now! Tell your friends!

Also, there’s now an NNN newsletter you can subscribe to.

The past week has seen a lot of good press about the series. Tubefilter News posted an interview about series. David M Pickett was profiled as part of the “Inspiration Collective” series by Lindsay Champion. And NNN won “Best Series” in the 2009 Bricks in Motion Awards.

Meanwhile, work on the DVD of Chapter 1 continues, almost done animating a “Deleted Scene” and have one more trailer to finish up before they’re ready for production. Stay tuned!