Entrepreneurship

The world of music is an almost terrifyingly large place that grows and dimishes (in almost equal measures) with time. As cultures change they both shed and develop styles and, unless older genres are documented, they run the risk of vanishing into the historical ether forever — even more so in cases where musical instruction is passed on almost entirely through oral instruction. Elder’s Corner, a documentary that understands the need to capture nearly bygone eras of music, is a film that is working to combat this problem by archiving the last of a generation of hugely influential Nigerian musicians.

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Getting a portrait of yourself painted has, traditionally, been a pretty arduous process. Meet the artist, strike the right pose (I always go, as I’m sure many others do as well, for a garden gnome tucked under one arm and boxer briefs worn over a pair of denim capris) then sit and wait endlessly while the painting is worked on. Well, the digital age looks to be changing the possibilities of portraiture, making it both more affordable and comfortable through the efforts of one determined artist’s Kickstarter campaign.

Janet Bruesselbach, the artist in question, has just launched Teleportraiture, an ongoing project that looks to redefine how we think of the portrait. Each piece is created through video software that allows Bruesselbach to capture her subject without requiring two people to share a single geographic location. Teleportraiture is meant to be something of a statement on intimacy in the modern world, Bruesselbach commenting on portraiture’s nature as an art based on “the intimacy generated during the interaction between painter and subject.” By removing the usual, immediately physical aspect of the process, these portraits will “examine the strange intimacy and charged emotions around communicating remotely, by making the archaic oil portraiture tradition site-unspecific and international in a way that, if anything, makes it more personalized.” The end result will be a series of 20 to 30 portraits, several recordings of painting sessions and an eventual show at a New York City exhibition space.

Sound exciting? I think so. Blending old methods with current technology in such an immediate manner is seriously interesting and worthy of attention. Better yet, those who pledge enough money to the Kickstarter campaign can actually be one of the subjects in Bruesselbach’s series.

Painting portraits, even digitally, still takes a certain amount of money but, as mentioned above, Teleportraiture provides one of the most intriguing incentives for donation to date. The most notable benchmarks are set above $50. From this point upward, contributers to Teleportraiture are able to either sit for a portrait painting that goes into the show and/or receive a framed and shipped copy of the end result. Certain tiers give access to videos of the other creative sessions or reward invitations to the exhibition. There are many other, less expensive rewards designed to allow for a peek into the process as well, smaller donations allowing entry to Google+ chat sessions during a painting.

Bruesselbach will use the generated funds for painting supplies (like oils, frames and canvas), studio and exhibition space rental, promotion, printing and more. A detailed breakdown of every cost can be viewed on Kickstarter, showing exactly where each dollar is headed for people that have issues with trusting others.

Bruesselbach’s work is impressive and well worth checking out. Luckily there are many different ways to do just that: head over to her official website, Tumblr page or, well, the Telportraiture Kickstarter to see examples of some of the artist’s past work (and some samples from the portrait series to date). If you like it, you may also like donating! Teleportraiture will be funded on Wednesday, October 12 at 8.00pm EST if its goal (of $5,000) is reached on time.

Hallowe’en is still almost two months away but Riddle of the Black Cat, a Kickstarter-backed short film based on a classic Edgar Allan Poe tale, is bringing the spook a little bit early this fall. Rather than simply look to the famous American writer for tonal inspiration (like, say, nearly every one of the works of Tim Burton) the group of artists behind the project are seeking to provide a more direct adaptation that gives viewers the opportunity to delve into some macabre mystery through a unique visual style.

Based on Poe’s The Black Cat, Riddle of the Black Cat is described by its creators as “a new interpretation” that retells the story with an intense “gothic feel”. The screenshots and teaser videos revealed thus far seem to do just that. Riddle‘s smoky black and white aesthetic is a perfect match for Poe’s gloomy brand of storytelling and the manic grandosity of the music provides an excellent backdrop that fits well with the subject’s time period.

This isn’t suprising, especially given that Riddle of the Back Cat is adapted by a verteran team of writers, artists and filmmakers, well versed in their respective crafts. The principal writer and artist, J.W. Rinzler is known for his work in TV scriptwriting and in providing concept art for numerous films and videogames. Illustrator Greg Knight, editor Dave Sidley (of Lightstream Animation Studios) and sound designer/composer Chris Vibberts round out the team with years of experience in their fields. Given the artists’ pedigrees, Riddle stands a very good chance of becoming one of the more memorable iterations of a Poe story to date.

Rinzler, Knight et al are now requesting help from those interested in seeing their ambitious short come to life. Any money that they’re able to generate through their current Kickstarter campaign will help to expand the vision of their film and finance its entry into various film festivals. The Riddle of the Black Cat crew are already at work but are in need of money that can be put into voice acting, further artwork, editing and sound mastering.

Through the miracles of modern internet science and a website created in the grim laboratories of Kickstarter Mansion, Poe and short film enthusiasts are able to grab up some tasty treats in return for their philanthropy. Pledging rewards include a DVD copy of the finished short, copies of original concept art signed by the creators, producer credits on the film and much more.

Samples of Greg Knight’s (very nifty) art are available through his official website while some of J.W. Rinzler’s work can be checked out through his webpage. While the current sample videos aren’t indicative of what the final film will look like (they’ve been hased out in iMovie) the Kickstarter video is also worth checking out for those who want to get a taste of what could be. Riddle of the Black Cat is aiming to raise $7,849 and will be funded on Friday, September 23rd at (the very scary hour of) 3.00am if this goal is met on time.

The story is a common one: an idealist artist moves to a major urban center (say, New York City) where they expect to be discovered but then must walk the shakey tightrope of balancing their financial and artistic ambitions. This is a tale that’s been well tread in film and literature but Art Wars, an indie game currently wrapping up a pledging campaign on Kickstarter, tells it in an interactive manner for the first time.

Art Wars takes the form of an adventure game where success is measured by the accumulation of “cred” (earned by proving yourself through activities like, for one example, “getting arrested while making art in China”) and, of course, cash money. Where this becomes most interesting is in the game’s forcing of the player to balance gaining cred with losing their meagre savings. Upward mobility in the art world is as much about reputation as it is about bank balances after all.

Nortd, the NYC team behind Art Wars, is hoping for the kind of cash influence they need to, in a fitting enough situation, bring their artistic effort to live. Money raised through Nortd’s Kickstarter drive will pay for the game’s programming (including the development of its own rendering engine), illustration, internet hosting and more. Generous folks receive pledging rewards that range from early access to the game and copies of its soundtrack to actual pieces of the game’s original artwork or inclusion as a character in its cast.

There is very, very little time left to donate to this worthwhile project so head over to its Kickstarter page straightaway (stop thinking about it, just do it!) to throw a couple of bucks toward the game’s development. Art Wars will be funded on Friday, September 2nd at 8.00pm EST — but only if it raises its total goal of $7,499.

As familiar as we all are with iconic cartoon characters like Garfield or the assorted blood pressure raising one-panel jokes of Family Circus, most us don’t know much about the actual women and men behind them. Stripped, a full-length documentary from Small Fish Studios (in partnership with cartoonist Dave Kellett and filmmaker Fred Schroeder) looks to change this by bringing together a series of interviews from a variety of notable names in comics.

The film is pegged by its creators, Kellett and Schroeder, as a “love-letter to the art form” and looks to be just this. Stripped features discussions with 60 of cartooning’s most beloved creators (like Kate Beaton, Scott McCloud, Jeff Smith, Roz Chast, Anthony Clark, Kris Straub and Scott Kurtz), presenting viewers with first-hand accounts of creating comics, opinions on the prevalent digital vs. print publication debate, and speculation on the medium’s future.

Stripped‘s Kickstarter campaign wants to raise money for all the usual production costs (like sound mixing, editing and the addition of animation and SFX) and is willing to reward your kindness with a number of great prizes. Donations net swag like signed DVDs, credit as an associate producer, access to screenings and more.

There’s plenty to read on the ins and outs of Stripped if you head to the Small Fish Studios website or the project’s Kickstarter page. If you’re interested in the film’s creators, check out Fred Schroeder’s IMDB page or Dave Kellett’s Drive or Sheldon online comics.

Stripped will be funded on Thursday, September 22nd at 2.44pm EST if it reaches its $58,000 pledging goal on time.

The most interesting game designs come from independent developers. Free of stockholder expectations and, in many cases, massively expensive design documents, indie companies are able to push the medium forward in a manner that their blockbuster siblings usually fail to. IndieCade, a Culver City, California based group that is dedicated to supporting indie videogame developers, is well known for its annual conferences (dubbed “the Sundance of games”) and is now looking to capture talks from the upcoming 2011 IndieCade Festival and Conference for a Kickstarter-sourced documentary series.

IndieCade has garnered an impressive reputation since their 2005 launch for their continual enthusiasm for the independent games scene, hosting massive international events that look to demonstrate the most exciting examples of innovation in the medium. The group has become a much-loved form of support for developers. Established design teams and burgeoning artists alike flock to IndieCade events to network, share ideas and show off their work.

The 2011 IndieCade Festival and Conference, set to take place from October 6th to 9th of this year, brings together some of gaming’s brightest minds and features inspiring talks about what’s possible for the medium. This year’s gathering sees indie game visionaries like Jonathan Blow, Brenda Brathwaite, Tracy Fullerton, Adam Saltsman and many others already confirmed for attendance, guaranteeing some interesting discussions.

IndieCade needs your help in order to put together a documentary series that will spread the interesting ideas shared at their conferences. The series’ goal is in bringing the fascinating nature of the event to the widest audience possible, allowing anyone interested in the future of videogames to check out the talks without having to grab a pass and a plane ticket to the Festival and Conference itself. It also provides the ideal way for making sure that attendees, too, are able to see everything from the show. The IndieCade Festival and Conference runs various discussions and lectures simultaneously, so even the fortunate masses at the event itself can go back and check out what they missed.

The money that IndieCade is requesting from its fans will go toward the shooting and production of the video series. Videographers, audio-visual equipment and online distribution don’t come cheap so interested Kickstarterers (that’s my new word, I’ll trademark it later) are being asked to pony up any spare dollars and cents for the cause. It’s a good one. The IndieCade guests are bound to provide thought-provoking discourse on their medium of choice and some food for thought for anyone that wants to see games progress beyond their current boundaries.

Want rewards? IndieCade’s got rewards, brothers and sisters. The smaller spectrum of donations will net pledgers exclusive access to conference videos, t-shirts and passes to the Festival (but not the talks) while the big money funders get full-access IndieCade Festival and Conference passes, entry to the event’s prestigious awards ceremony and more.

Check out the official IndieCade site for more information on the group and the upcoming documentaries. As always the Kickstarter campaign site has plenty of detail as well. The project is aiming to raise $15,000 and will be funded on Thursday, September 15th at 1.03pm EST if this goal is met on time.

We’re fast approaching the point of complete zombie media saturation but, when a fun enough idea featuring the walking dead comes along, I suppose it evidences that there’s still a bit of mileage left in the genre. FUBAR, an anthology of zombie comics set within the framework of the latter half of World War II, definitely warrants attention despite the fact that, at first glance, it may appear to be just another entry in an already heavily saturated form of entertainment.

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Sometimes something will come along that you’ve always been waiting for without even knowing how much you wanted it. This is the case with Metalachi, a Los Angeles based group that takes two great flavours — metal and mariachi music — and swirls them together into the sonic equivalent of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. If the idea of this combination — viheulas, trumpets and acoustic guitars rocking out hits from acts like Black Sabbath — brings a smile to your face then you’re the ideal target for Metalachi’s current Kickstarter campaign.

Metalachi are kind of a joke — but they’re the sort of joke that makes people happy.  And that’s exactly the angle the group is going for as they now attempt to garner some support for the recording of their debut album and accompanying tour. Aside from some of the faux-philosophizing going on over at the band’s Kickstarter page (consider: “We believe that just a few notes from your favorite song can transcend all that is wrong, unjust and unfair in this world and make us all realize that we really are all brothers and sisters living on this giant rock we call earth.”) the bottom line of the act’s approach is solid — laughing is good and blending up metal and mariachi is super entertaining.

Despite the fact that Metalachi is completely aware of their own silliness, they’re dead serious about growing their experiment into something more. In order to do this they’re looking to tackle the hard (and sometimes expensive) work of completing a full-length album that they can then support on a tour of their neighboring states. The band is planning to call upon the assistance of friend, Robert Sarzo (a member of Hurricane and Ozzy Osbourne), in engineering and producing the record but are also seeking help from their potential fanbase in paying for studio time, reproduction costs and more.

The money raised through Kickstarter goes toward getting Metalachi down on tape and on the road, as stated above. An approximation of the cost breakdown (in full detail!) is provided on Kickstarter but, summed up, will be used for recording the album itself, creating album/promo art, mastering the finished product and financing a ten city tour that will take the band through California and Nevada. Metalachi are paying part of the cost out of their own pockets but need a bit of a boost if they’re going to follow through of their quest to spread the joy of their metal/mariachi hybrid.

Metalachi have set up a decent array of prizes for their supporters. The rewards on offer range from the extremely modest (a pack of gum and autographed band photo) to the more extravagent (VIP tickets to a Metalachi show and even a private, home performance for serious pledgers).

Listen to Metalachi for yourself (that’s definitely something worth doing) by heading over to their YouTube channel. Otherwise, show your support through the band’s official website, Facebook or Kickstarter page. The Kickstarter campaign comes to a close on Friday, September 16th at 9.22pm EST and will be funded if a total of $6,500 is raised on time.

Ice cream and robots are two great tastes that, not unlike orange juice and mint julips, aren’t expected to go well together. Addo Games’ Burton and Becca Posey are reconfiguring our expections however, working hard on an iPad/iPad2 game that (at last!) combines sentient technology with dairy-based treats.

Robots Love Ice Cream has all the trappings of an indie development. It offers players a bizarre scenario, innovative play mechanics and is the lovechild of a small, devoted team of professionals who are creating out of a sense of passion rather than financial commitment. It’s no surprise then that Addo Games have taken to Kickstarter in an effort to keep their baby pure, hoping that enough interested funders help them in their goal of releasing Robots as a Apple App Store title sometime in 2011. Luckily, it sounds like a project worth contributing to.

The game puts you in the driver’s seat of an ice cream truck and gives you a simple, overarching mission to complete: stop the impending doom of the galaxy by pacifying robot invaders with tasty, frozen treats. Robots Love Ice Cream explains some of its premise in its title — by using “weaponized ice cream” (as pictured below) the mechanized colonists will eventually explode with sheer happiness and, thus, be neutralized.

From the footage embedded in Addo’s Kickstarter video, gameplay features a spin on the tried and true tower defense genre (think Plants vs. Zombies). Instead of remaining stationary, though, Robots utilizes a touch-based mechanic that allows players to spin a given level map on a 360 degree plane to better inform their plan of attack. The game comes complete with a distinctive, cartoony aesthetic and is meant to appeal to a wide audience, providing something for hardcore and casual players alike.

Addo Games needs help to get Robots Love Ice Cream released. Becca and Burton Posey have taken time off from their day jobs to hammer out the game’s development process but they require a few extra pairs of hands to bring their effort home. Funding will go toward hiring further creative help, purchasing development software and paying for the hours of work that go into maintaining the kind of high-production values that the title requires to look and play its best.

There are plenty of sweet (get it? ha ha ha) prizes available for the kind folks who toss a few sheckles toward Addo Games. The lower donation range inclues items such as post cards and wallpapers to free downloads of the finished game and soundtrack while the higher end of the spectrum provides personalized iPad skins, the ability to name one of the robot characters, a free iPad 2 and more.

Want to learn more about Robots Love Ice Cream? Head over to its Kickstarter page, the official Addo Games website or check out the company’s Facebook page and Twitter feed. If you’re already interested, make your donations now — the project will be funded on Sunday, July 31st at 3.00am EST if the $18,000 goal is met on time.

Madéleine Flores understands that the problem with Magellan, Drake, Raleigh, Polo and other famous explorers is that they failed to record their discoveries as comics. And so, to fix this issue, the intrepid cartoonist is setting out on her own to travel the globe and sketch out what she finds — through a Kickstarter campaign.

Flores’ project, Circumnavigate, will capture the places and people that she encounters throughout her trip. Leaving from hometown, Orlando, Florida and proceeding east (to London by plane, Moscow by train, Beijing via Trans-Siberian Railway, to Kobe, Japan on a ferry and back to the States on another plane) in the tradition of world travellers across history, Flores hopes to capture her unique experiences in comic format.

Circumnavigate needs a bit of the old crowd-sourced assistance to become a reality. Funding will help Flores to offset the costs of her trip, going toward various visa and travel expenses as well as the creation and publication of the comic book itself. Of course, since this is Kickstarter, all donations will be properly rewarded. Pledging prizes range from digital copies of past Madéleine Flores comics to personalized sketches, autographed copies of the finished book and original pages from the final copy of Circumnavigate.

Interested in helping Flores out? Donate at Circumnavigate‘s Kickstarter page or check out more of her work through the artist’s Twitter, blog and Tumblr (it’s really good stuff, I promise). Madéleine Flores’ Circumnavigate will be funded on Saturday, September 3rd at 11.53am EST if the $5,000 goal is met on time.