Catching up to the Now - Lonely Ep 3

So yea, its been a minute (or five).  Since last I spoke I released the third episode of Lonely (Ep3 - Widows, Orphans and Pioneer Daughters) back in June 2025.  I think it was pretty good but what do I know.  

I was having a good time with the Lonely series and decided to push on with Episode 4.  For this one I had the idea of the Ranger switching places with a senior citizen in an old folks home for a bit of R&R while the "Old Ranger" set about living life.  Hijinks would ensue and maybe the OG Ranger would learn a thing or two about aging in America.

So I slowly pecked out a draft of the script but in the meantime I tore tendons in knee and had surgery and missed out on a summer vacation (to Europe - sad face indeed) while I hobbled around and felt really old and the script became increasingly depressing and not so fun.   The draft was completed but I had no motivation to film it.  Maybe some day.  It does feature subway rat busker and Death so its got that working for it.

The fall of 2025 I put out several shorts including this dinosaur eating a little girl...

...these boy scouts and a bear re-enacting 1980s sexual harassment training video scenes...

...and this little Halloween treat that mixes the Tall Man with the Great Pumpkin (and spent the spooky season watching Phantasm 1-4 - BOY!!!)

Finally in October I came up with an idea that is my north star for 2026.  But that's a story to tell in the soon. 

Picture Day

Walking along with my son listening to him complain about having to get a haircut for his upcoming high school senior photos.  Went home and drafted this dialog and then recorded my voice over.  Then forgot about it for a couple of months.  Well, summers almost gone and I dove in and shot this Roald Dahl styled shorty.  Also shot it vertical to upload later as a YT Short but this version is definitively superior.  Enjoy?

 

Lonely X 3

Its been a while since I asked Hobos or Ghosts and it turns out the most likely answer is a return to the loneliest ranger.   Lonely Ep. 2 was a fun project and some of the best parts of the project were writing the script, casting the characters and then adding the voices to the project and seeing everything come alive.  The hobo project (See the World...) and the ghost project (Windows) are much more visual projects with limited dialog and I just couldn't find enough enthusiasm once the scripts were written (also been playing far too much Fallout 3/New Vegas since I picked them up on sale on Steam).  I'm setting them aside for now. 

I had a few ideas for a new Lonely Ranger adventure and after a month of thought (and post apocalyptic gaming) I managed to draft a new script about Ranger participating in a Laser Tag tournament.  A second draft managed to pare down from 10 pages to a lean & mean 7 which I think is the sweet spot for my projects (6-7 minutes of run time and approximately 4 months of production).  Some of the action will be a challenge but I think the humor is solid.

While scripting I managed to find/kit-bash a suitable laser tag harness and I'm currently hard at work on creating the laser tag arena.  Once I'm convinced that the setting is doable I'll review the script again and then look to get started casting some of the characters.  

Hobos or Ghosts?

All right, Lonely Episode 2 is done (Long Live Lonely Episode 2! Death to the new flesh!). What's next? My daily script idea exercise from January birthed two short scripts that I'm equally excited about. However, both have significant challenges.

 
See the World By Rail - Hobos ride steam trains in the 1930s (ish). It's a simple set up with a tiny twist at the end. 3 page script. Not a lot of dialog with 3 or 4 key visual moments. Would require some detailed small terrains (maybe the purchase of the terrain generator), an animated steam train (recently purchased) but the biggest challenge would be animating a hobo convincingly playing a guitar in two scenes. Also while it will be short (< 5minutes), the lack of dialog, my failings as an animator and decision to stay in IC8 as opposed to UE5 will likely make this a "one for me" project. Well, let's face it. They are all one for me projects...haha.

Windows - This one is a workplace horror (a common theme from me...) focused on a window washer working on a skyscraper haunted by ghosts of Covid's past. Not a lot of dialogue but I think the post-covid theme is strong (and that's coming from someone who does plenty of eye rolling at the term post covid). Three or 4 difficult special effects and the set pieces would be exteriors 40 stories high in a city with some significant interior sets on the other side of the window.

Earlier in the year I thought I would finish "Lonely Ep2" and hit the ground running fast and furious on "Windows" to get it out by Halloween. Now, I'm pretty sure that's not possible and have opted for a more relaxed schedule. So..."See the World by Rail" looks like the next.

At this point I've worked up 5 hobo characters (hobo clothing is hard).

Also been researching the Terrain Generator for some custom exterior sets. I'll likely purchase it and get busy living on the holiday weekend. More news soon.

Lonely Episode 2 - The Package Thief

Amidst all my social media neglect I managed to complete and upload my latest project!

It was a fun project with outstanding voice actors, some amusing moments, a reasonable runtime  and project length (4.5 months of hobby time).  Almost time to move on to the next...

The Idea Log

This year I started keeping a journal of daily story prompts/ideas.  I'm about 30 days and its been a pretty good exercise to get my creative juices flowing.  Since I'm re-reading the list every day many of the ideas have been reworked and (hopefully) improved several times over while other ideas have evolved into totally different stories using various pieces from the journal.  

So far I have managed to complete 1 short draft and have outlined several other ideas.  It also gives me an excuse to post to twitter on a daily basis (social activity!) and I might try to post a weekly group on this blog.  To wit:

1. While digging up dinosaur bones a paleontologist finds the bones of a murdered man.
2. A pet cat meows every time a person in the room tells a lie.
3. 
   A shared box of valentines chocolate turns a class of second graders into rabbits.
4. A haunted storefront window becomes a viral sensation.
5. A son rides the rails searching for his hobo father. 
6. A building cleaner finds their life in danger after leaving a silly/harmless note on an employee's desk.
7. A man is obsessed with confronting an awful middle school child.

Lonely; The Package Thief (WIP 1)

As I mentioned in my last post, my first project for 2024 will be a new episode of Lonely, tentatively titled "Tough Talk and the Package Thief".  In this one the Ranger's mask gets him mistakenly identified as his apartment building's package thief.  Mild guffaws ensue.

The script was finalized early January (7 pages) and I then posted a casting call on CastingCallClub.com with 4 speaking roles; An elderly couple, a sexy widow and a man making a funeral speech.  I decided to pay 10$ per role (sunk costs for a project that will generate zero dollars) which pumped up the number of auditions and I got a good range of actors for each role with a total of 93 submissions.  Last weekend I selected the actors and now I expect to receive the lines by the end of February.

I've got a draft of my three sets and all speaking characters complete.  Hoping to have a completion date mid 2024 if I'm lucky.  More news as we go!