Happy Birthday, Ozma!

It's August 21, and it's Ozma's birthday once again. Before I fire up the CTC production of The Marvelous Land of Oz on my DVD player (first non-Russian Oz movie I've watched in awhile), let's do some quick updates...

Wonders fans, Movie Maker now refuses to save video files. I'm about to try out yet another video editor, wish me luck!

I'm also considering doing a re-editing of the series after the finale episode... But, just to answer a question I get from Oz fans, I can't sell you a DVD of the series. I could claim that I'm charging for labor and shipping, but still, Wonders does contain material I don't own the copyright for, and selling it is illegal.

That's why my next big video series project will only use original or public domain/royalty free material...

And speaking of that, I might as well announce that the project will be an Adobe Flash animated adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Enchanted Island of Yew, tentatively retitled Prince Marvel. If you haven't read the book, the series will follow the adventures of Prince Marvel and the Lord Nerle as they journey the Island of Yew, righting wrongs and bringing peace to the island. The only thing is, no one seems to know where Marvel has come from, and he plans to only be on the island for a year.

And now you may want to know "Will you ever animate Oz?" The answer... Yes! The opening titles for the "Wonders" finale, if I can get a handle on Flash by that time, will be animated and set to a special cover of "The Wonders of Oz" song. (Ever wanted to see an animated Ork?)

I got the finished version of the song yesterday. It was rearranged and performed by Alan Cook, an Oz fan, illustrator, and singer who lives in Glasgow, Scotland. And well, I think it sounds great! Al is quite excellent at his crafts, in fact, I got acquainted with him because he's working on an Oz-related illustration project.

And, while I'm mentioning him, today he put a video on his YouTube channel, he's the "clown" at the end...



And one last thing... It was Al's suggestion I publicly reveal my e-mail and instant messaging identities. It's the blog post linked at the top of my blog's links called "Contacting Me," but in case you can't see the link from here, here's a link to the entry: Contacting Me. Please use wisely.