Merry Christmas from AntiKaiser Productions...

Here is a little gift from AntiKaiser Productions to you:

In Studio with DvK

Wednesday night we FINALLY got in a recording session for DvK! Aaron and I figured it had been almost a year and a half since we first came up with the idea to now actually laying down some tracks!

We had a lot of fun with our new sound engineer and our two talent.. Who oddly enough were two people we pulled from our first audition about a year ago!

Aaron never ceases to freak me out. It's unavoidable, get a microphone and a reason.. and Aaron more than likely is going to be pulled like a moth to the flame to the odd shape sitting on a stick in the middle of the room.









Dr. Sapphire
About a year ago we did a botched audition for the show... BUT some good things did come of it. We found two talent for our roles "Dr. Sapphire" and "Dr. Nemesis". Both Scott and Secunda are talented enough to play different roles... *insert sinister laugh here*

Dr. Nemesis/Dale Burns
Scott and Secundas' enthusiasm towards the project made it really easy to direct... I hope they didn't realize it was my first time actually trying to direct. During my day job I am usually setting a light or running a camera not actually directing the show. I found myself doing a lot of the same things the Producers I work with do though. --Getting them to read the lines a couple times first, taking it section by section, dealing with the back seat driver (Aaron).

There is a reason you want your engineer there doing the recording. It also helps to have a ProTools certified engineer doing the recording while you are at it! Things just go smooth... without technical difficulties.

A Major Milestone...

This upcoming Wednesday night, a major milestone will be reached for Team DvK and the entire Dr. von Kaiser production. We are conducting our first audio recording session!

The recording is for our promo episode, which has changed a bit since our initial conception. Instead of creating three 30-second viral videos, we are creating one three to four minute "mini-episode" that contains and introduces all three characters.

Providing the voices for this episode will be Secunda Rogers as Dr. Sapphire (as well as a single line for a female crewman) and Scott Kinney both Dr. Nemesis and the clip's special character, Dale Burns (a Walter Cronkite-esque cable news anchor).

The script has us laughing, but we might be biased. With any luck, we'll have it done in July and can premiere it some time during Comic-Con!

NOTICE: Updating the DvK Blog URL...

We will be updating the blog tonight (Sunday, May 17th, 2008) around midnight with a new URL. After tonight, the new address will be http://www.dvkblog.com/

and this should hopefully help with search engine optimization as we build the viral marketing websites (it has to do with how Google sees links between subdomains) as well as being easier for people to remember and pass along to new readers.

We will be doing what we can to make the transition as seamless as possible. With any luck, all RSS feeds should still resolve and the old address will forward to the new one.

In order to test for everyone, a new post will be made precisely at noon on Monday afternoon. If you do not see the new post come in automatically, please visit http://www.dvkblog.com/ and resubscribe.

We apologize for the inconvenience. And make sure your keep getting the blogs, because Monday's post will be full of bug news and will be kicking off a couple of months with a lot of exciting news!

A Picture For You...

Someone asked me today "Mike... what are you doing... I mean... what are you really doing on this project" ... and I said... "Telling other people to do my dirty work."

While Aaron rewrites the script... again... I've got the guys drawing away on script elements. Most are locked away on unreleased versions of the script... but I found a storyboard page that gives you a short snidbit of the anarchy that ensues on Dr. von Kaiser.

It's a scene where the Jade Laser of Doom erupts on an unsuspecting DvK and audience.

A Trip To Starbucks...

I just ordered a vanilla bean frappuchino from Starbucks at the Fashion Valley Mall. I gave the barista my last name (Kaiser) as I normally do since "Aaron" is common and can be confused with "Karen" and other names (plus, it's cool to hear my last name said out loud).

The barista asked, "Like the doctor?"

Now, I knew she was referring to Kaiser Permanente (which is ironically the advertisement on the table I am sitting at and can be somewhat seen under the cup in the picture), but I couldn't resist saying, "Well, Dr. von Kaiser."

After a brief exchange of explaining who DvK was and who I am, she pressed me for an autograph. So, since I wasn't carrying any postcards, I signed a Starbucks cup with my typical "Don't do anything too evil" tagline. (I was unsuccessful in getting her phone number in exchange.)

Anyway, I laughed and waited for my drink to arrive. Soon enough, my name was called and another customer (yet again an attractive, young female) asked, "Kaiser? Like in the cartoon?"

I did a double-take.

"You mean Dr. von Kaiser?" I clarified.

"Yeah," she responded. "Isn't there a cartoon called that?"

It turns out that this young lady was at Comic-Con last year and picked up one of our postcards from the freebies tables and the sight and sound of my last name triggered her memory.

This event made my day. Actual street recognition makes the entire effort worth every drop of sweat.

Well, I reminded her of the website (http://www.whoisdvk.com/) and told her to add our MySpace accounts and the Facebook fan page. In any case, this proves that viral marketing (and marketing in general) works and remains ingrained in the minds of those who view it.

This gives me hope for the future and reminds me that we need to one-up what we did last year at Comic-Con. We must have more to show for ourselves than just a 4x6" postcard with some artwork.

Build Your Own 'Laser of Doom' for $50...

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Brent Altomare at Groovy Like A Movie. You may have noticed his comments on many of our blog posts, so I think it's safe to say that he is addicted to what we have in development and will likely be a founding member of some type of 12-step program.

Anyway, I digress. Brent's email contained a link to a video hosted on Indy Mogul titled, "Backyard FX: Giant Death Ray". The email also contained the comment, "this sounded very DVK to me."

Now, I'm not sure just how much information my co-conspirator, Michael Callahan, has given him about the series, but the ironic thing is that the pilot episode (and even our virals that lead up into the pilot) have to do with death rays... except that we call them something slightly different. It's already been announced that the pilot is titled "Dr. von Kaiser and the Jade Laser of Doom", so that's got to give you some sense of plot for the episode.

After reviewing the video on Indy Mogul, I agree that it is VERY much DvK. Not only does it slightly resemble what we're putting together in development, but it's actually right around the price range of what Dr. von Kaiser would be able to afford: $50.

I'll let you see the video for yourself. Perhaps, after watching, you'll be able to build a "laser of doom" of your own and compete against Drs. von Kaiser, Nemesis and Sapphire in the industrious competition of global domination.



Note: If you have trouble with the embedded video, please visit http://www.indymogul.com/backyard-fx/episode/bfx_20080331