The blog went a bit quiet.  But not from laziness. We are just snowed under. But we are and remain committed. I am that committed that I withdrew from a diploma course in animation that I was just accepted for so that I can focus on the project and at the job at hand.

Since the start of February (in fact since September) We have done nothing but work work and work and it’s paying off. Our goal this year is not massive.  It’s definitely do-able and I have established a few in roads.

Over the last two weeks we had a few rejections  from a few US Producers and a well known Aussie Producer but it’s not an issue and when you are in this game, rejection is a big part of your day.  Believe me it’s not negative and if you can’t deal with a couple of thousand no’s then this business is not for you.

Besides, when it comes down to it, we are only interested in working with people who can see the potential in our project.  If they don’t then it’s just a waste of time for everyone.

This week we moved it up a notch and have several groups of potential investors looking at material. The weeks ahead are very important.

Two weeks ago I asked Chris Wahl the amazingly talented illustrator to help us rebrand the image of Spellsinger. We researched influential guitarists from Slash to Jimmy Page, Hendrix, Keith Richards, Ritchie Sambora, and Van Halen.

We also looked at the Duar and the whole image of the series.  Chris originally stuck faithfully to the book but the problem was that it never resonated with people.  Thankfully Alan is not one of those authors that  is precious.  He has been very good to work with!

The new picture looks amazing.

We were so pleased that we nearly shared it with you tonight.

But we’re not.  The first time that people will see the new picture will be at The Gold Coast Film Festival and Supernova. We will print off a couple of hundred and the first Gold Coaster that enters our Competition (see previous blog entries) will get a big signed poster!

So stay tuned. It’s getting interesting.

Well done Ben!

Here is a link to the entry which is on our Facebook Page.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150864679686729&set=vb.174385275973432&type=2&theater

It has been brought to my attention that I have been  “spamming” on our twitter account.  That we have been annoying people.

This is not on.

We have made a mistake.

I want to sincerely apologise

I apologise for the oversight that I have made

I apologise for upsetting or annoying people.

I wholeheartedly apologise to Cheetah_Spottycat and thank you for your advice.

We are Twitter newbs and had no idea that there was a science and an etiquette to it.  We just wanted to get our message out about this awesome film.

I promise that it will not happen again.

For those who don’t know anything about us, we are just two ambitious and enthusiastic producers, working from home.  We are not a vast company with a marketing division.

Now that we know that there are rules, we will obey them and we are not going to tweet until we have something to tweet about.  To ensure this does not happen , we are disabling Twitter on our blog until further notice.

Thanks again for your patience.

Sincerely

Trevor H

OK Furry Fandom

Now that you know that there is going to be a Spellsinger film, we want you to know about our competition.

We want your support!!!

Could you use a spare $100?

All we want you to do is tell us why you like Spellsinger.  It can be a single word, a sentence whatever you are comfortable with.  It can be a voice recording , a video recording, using your phone, your webcam, whatever you want to use to get your message across .  It could be you in your furry costume with a placard as a jpeg.

Pretty easy huh?

The winner with the most creative , daring, unusual or unique entry will win the grand prize of $100.  We know it’s not much but that’s all we have at the moment.   I’m sure we can throw in some cool stuff as well. You tell us what you want and if we can do it we will .   We are meeting with Alan in April so an autographed copy of Spell singer might be a possibility.  Or a T-shirt with one of our drawn by our artist Chris Wahl.  These could make great runner up prizes.

All of the entries will get used to create awareness with the Fandom and fans of Spellsinger, so everything you give us is valued and won’t just sit in a drawer!

SEND ALL ENTRIES  TO info@vinceroproductions.com

We look forward to your entries

Go Furries!!!!

I had no idea what a Furry was.

Wikifur suggests that Furries “particularly enjoy media that includes fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics.”

Then I realized that as a fan of Spellsinger, Blacksad, Chewbacca, the Muppets and those cute little Ewoks I was a furry fan.  I just had no idea that there were lots of groups of people around the world that felt the same way.

When I discovered that there are legions of people out there that are fans of anthromorphic characters I was stoked beyond belief.

Here is a niche fan base for Spellsinger.  There are only three main human characters in SPELLSINGER and THE HOUR AT THE GATE.  The majority of the characters are Anthromorphic!

A whole world of them.

And what a cool world it is.  There are such a variety of Anthromorphic Animals from gibbons to otters to raccoons, beavers, Koalas, she wolves, ocelots, rats, possums, rabbits, bats turtles and I have not even got to the dragon yet!

With each book come more characters, a tiger warrioress, A rune casting Koala, A demonic Kangaroo and a wily cuscus!

Best of all, the characters all have unique personalities.  They are interesting to read about and have been well researched by an Author who loves animals and their habitats.

That’s why the fandom will love spellsinger!

His name is Sam and he has been out there on the blog and the facebook page supporting us from the get go.

A True Fan.

Does anyone else have what it takes to enter out Spellsinger competition?

All you have to do is say why you like Spellsinger.  It can be as simple as one word!!!

Send all videos/Webcams/Mobile pics /everything to:   spellsingerthemovie@gmail.com

There will be a $100 AU prize for the best video sent to us!!!

Entries close soon!!!!

I rarely fail when I put my mind to something.

When I ask for something and I don’t get what I need, I change my approach and keep changing until I get the desired outcome.

We really need the support of our fans to drive this project forward.

We have an opportunity in eight weeks time to show just how popular Spellsinger is to the world, when Alan Dean Foster and I do a presentation at The Gold Coast Film Festival.

Two Weeks ago I posted the following:

“This is a terrific opportunity for us to promote the film to potential fans and investors and it would be amazingly cool to have something from the legions of fans to show their support on the big screen, so we are asking you to send it a video starring yourselves or holding a placard in your furry suit saying what Spellsinger means to you and why .  It can be a wav file, done on a mobile, anyway you can!!!

All we need to do is show people your support.

There will be a $100 AU prize for the best video sent to us!!!

Please send your  video to spellsingerthemovie@gmail.com”

Despite offering a prize there has not been a response.  Not a cracker. Not one of the 500+ people out there following the FB Page and the Twitter account and the blog took action.  Not a solitary fun loving furry in sight!

I have to ask myself: Why?

We must have done something completely wrong to not get one single response.

So we are going to ask you guys what you want?

How would you like us to connect with you and with others?

All replies and comments are gratefully appreciated.

On a lighter note maybe we should hire this guy…

The Muppets moved into guest stars on The Jimmy Dean Show, Saturday Night Live and The Johnny Carson Show, before Jim Henson got Lord Lew Grade to commit to THE MUPPET SHOW.

From 1976-1981, the Muppets ruled television and have been a part of my life since childhood.

Then came the movies.  The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, Muppets take Manhattan.  The world knew who the Muppets were.

Kids loved the Muppets.

Henson moved on.  He had other worlds to make and other achievements to pursue.

Other than The Muppets celebration of 30 years (1986)  The Muppet Family Christmas (1987) and The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990) , a few video shorts and the Cartoon Muppet Babies (1984-1991).

That was all the world had to remember the franchise other than lots of repeats and videos.

After Jim Henson passed away, there was a revival of the franchise

A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Muppet Break Out (1993)

Muppet Classic Theatre (1994)

It’s not easy being green (1994)

Muppet Treasure Island (1996)

Muppets Tonight (1997-1998)

Muppets from Space (1999)

The Muppets were bought for $680m in 2000 by the German media company EM.TV

EM TV sold them back to Henson’s family for $89m in 2003.

These were produced during this time.

Kermit’s Swamp Years (2002)

It’s a very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)

The Walt Disney Company bought The Muppets in 2004.  Under Disney there has been:

The Muppets Wizard of Oz (2005)

Statler and Waldorf from the Balcony (2005)

A Muppets Christmas letters to Santa 2008

After four long years, The Muppets came back in a movie simply titled “The Muppets”.

At first I was a little skeptical.  The storyline sounded a lot like “It’s a very Merry Muppet Christmas movie”, which I must say was terrible.  It was worse than terrible it was without soul.  It was a nasty little movie

But nevertheless I was curious.  This time there have been viral campaigns being muppet videos like Bohemian rhapsody since 2009, which have been crazy and designed to create awareness to the adult audience, a reminder that the Muppets had not left the building and to attract the same crowd that they did on Sam and Friends all those years ago.

Here is a link to a very good article with some of the videos

http://socialtimes.com/how-the-muppets-made-a-comeback-on-youtube_b17820

When we went to the cinema yesterday, I saw giant muppets in vending machines and muppet movie deals with drink holders and Kermit keychain clips.  All sold out.  We kept the popcorn holder…

As the lights went down we saw that there were lots of children in the audience and secretly hoped that a new generation would be interested in the muppets.

The movie was perfect.  It was very cleverly designed.

The Muppets are a faded old brand.  They knew it and pointed this out a lot in the film visually (Dilapidated theatre, characters separated for years, dissention, and a chart from a TV network showing how off the chart they were in terms of relevance/pop culture)

However what separates this old brand from others is their message.  The Muppets brand message is strong.  Family, Hope, Togetherness, Friendship.

Then finally the Muppets were being Muppets and their unique craziness and violence reigned supreme from the Swedish Chef to Gonzo and Marvin and the Muppetones.  There were many scenes paying homage to The Muppet Movie including Rainbow Connection and even Sweetums at the same used car lot!

There were lots of songs including a flock of Chickens singing Forget You (Cee Lo)

There was also star alignment from Whoopi Goldberg (A stalwart supporter) to Jack Black, Selena Gomez, Emily Blunt, Neil Patrick Harris , Judd Hirsch, David  Grohl,  and Rico Rodriguez.

Having Stars on the Muppets and brand association is a part of their original success

Kids loved it.

This movie was a lot stronger than anything the Muppets have done since Muppets from Space.  It has brought the brand back into the public eye.

The reason that I have taken the time to write this is that we are facing a similar challenge with Spellsinger. And the Muppet case study gave us quite a valuable insight into rebranding and reconnecting with our audience.