Animus Cross

IMDB Page, Trailers & Teasers, Oh My!

2009-11-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

Good morning,

A couple things to inform you about on this stormy Monday...

We now have an IMDB page for Animus Cross featuring the original trailer. More content will follow.

The first episode of Animus Cross is now playing on the new Animus Cross Vimeo Channel. Again, the rest of the series and the new teaser will be added as soon as possible for your viewing pleasure.

Our editor is busy logging footage and sound files and getting ready to cut together an exciting behind-the-scenes video featuring the awesome Igorot Head Hunting Axe from Traditional Filipino Weapons!

Thanks for your time and I hope you're staying dry wherever you are in the world!

-A.L. Steen

A Quick Note...

2009-10-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

Just dropping in for a short post to inform everyone of a few things. First, we now have a simple forum up for Animus Cross discussion (see also the link in the Links section of this blog)! I'm new to this whole thing, so please let me know asap if there are any issues.

Also, Episode 2 has been fixed on the Animus Cross YouTube channel. Episode 4 is still being stubborn but will be fixed soon. The Vimeo Channel is also still in the works.

Lastly, I'm very excited to announce that a teaser for the new season will go live this Saturday on Halloween!

Have a super creepy and safe Halloween,

A.L. Steen

Technical Difficulties

2009-10-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

Just a little note to address an issue that some fans have brought to our attention concerning the Animus Cross YouTube Channel. It seems that the sound has mysteriously disappeared from episodes two and four of Hell Runs This Way. Episode four also seems to be gone from the channel (it's still there, just not on the main channel page for some reason).

This is an especially annoying problem, since some of our fans in Asia have trouble watching the show from the Main Animus Cross Site, and they've been heading to YouTube to get caught up before the second series launches in April of 2010.

Rest assured, we are in the process of fixing the problems on YouTube and also gearing up to create a new Vimeo Channel. We will let you know as soon as the changes are made.

In the mean time, if you haven't already subscribed to our mailing list, send an email to info@animuscross.com and we'll be sure to add you. You might also want to follow me on Twitter - we'll probably update our mailing list subscribers and Twitter followers about the fix before we get a post published on the blog.

Thanks for watching and letting us know when things go bump.

-A.L. Steen

"Hell For The Company" Was a Hell of a Ride!

2009-10-18T08:10:00.001-07:00

It's official, we made it through! Principal photography on Animus Cross "Hell For The Company" wrapped several days ago and we are looking forward to getting into the editing suite.

With four new cast members (Curt Hanson, Christian James, Ira Kortum and Mercedes Rose), a group of nasty gnarly stunt performers and several new crew members, the days were quite a bit longer than the first season of Animus. However, as promised, I believe that the action is quicker, bigger and better and the characters are more developed. The moving pictures are super pretty with the help of the Canon Eos 5D MII and the new Canon 7D.

Coming on board this time around were award winning photographer, Andy Batt, sound man extraordinare, Brian Mazzola , AC Galvin Collins and special effects makeup artist, Amber Arpin. Along with the help of Christina Kortum at Ravenous Studios, Chris Calvert and Zac Goodwin we've got one hell of a show to bring you near the beginning of next year!

A big thanks to Kelly Jo Horton at The Portlander for the wonderful article on our show. Also to Harold Phillips for his help spreading the word through press releases. Thank you my friend, you are a life-savor!

As always, thanks to Cindy and David Steen for once again doing everything, all the time (aka, producing). You're both amazing people and I'm so very lucky to call you my parents.

To returning cast members Harold Phillips, Trish Egan, Jeff Hime and Kathryne Bukowski, your continued support means the world to me. :D

And to all the stunt performers who jumped on board this time around. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Each of you brought a new level of production value to the series.

Mr. Buxbaum, you are my greatest love and without you, Animus Cross would not exist.

To all you lovely viewers... please stay tuned. This is going to be fun!

-A.L. Steen

Animus Cross, “Hell for the Company” Update

2009-05-26T17:21:00.001-07:00

“Hell for the Company” is the official title of the new series of Animus Cross. We are now in pre-production for several more episodes to finish off this year. Thanks to everyone who watched the previous series. Your continued support is much appreciated. Animus Cross Series 2 promises to ramp up the action, give you more character development and bring the audience ever closer to finding out the mysteries of Animus Cross.

As of right now, the first two scenes have been loosely storyboarded and a second draft of the script has gone over big with the readers.

I’m also looking forward to letting the local community know when we are ready to cast two new characters for the series.

Until then, thanks again for your continued interest in Animus Cross and it’s inhabitants! Stay tuned!

-A.L. Steen

May Day! There's a New Interview!

2009-05-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day everyone!

It's a beautiful morning here in Scappoose, OR and the second of three cast\crew interviews are up and ready for viewing at animuscross.com. Thanks so much to Trish Egan and Dave Steen. It was good fun, but could have done without my silly face! :P Haha, I'm not a big fan of seeing myself on camera, but Trish and dad looked wonderful. I love hearing Trish tell stories. She has such elegance and a glorious voice. Both she and dad have great presence. I'm so looking forward to really digging into the lives of Judith and Pastor Carver.

Once again, thanks to Mercedes Rose for the great questions (LOVE the site update). Thanks to mom, Jerry and Kathryne for being our crew for the interview. Dad, once again, a nice edit. Thank you.

Have a bright day everyone and enjoy!

Cast Interviews with Mercedes Rose.

2009-04-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

It is a bright and sunny day here in PDX. As I sit here at my computer, I look out at the river and it reminds me of the GREAT cast interviews we did a few weeks ago with the lovely Mercedes Rose using this same river as our backdrop! The first of three interviews is now live on the Animus Cross Website. Look for the new button on the main page.

Thank you again for the wonderful interviewing, Mercedes! It was a lot of fun and we hope to involve you more in future Animus Cross endeavors. Check out Mercedes' online radio program, The Quasi-Glamorous Life, the ups and downs living as a working voice-over talent and actor.

Also, please check out the Animus page on the StoryGas blog. StoryGas is, "a place on the web for people who work in, and fans who watch, online drama... " Here you'll find lots of online shows, some you've probably not been watching, but might want to check out!

A big thanks to Harold Phillips and Dave Steen for all their hard work in recent days. We'll get there, I'm sure of it!

Take care and I hope it's sunny where you're at!

-A.L.

The Animoose is Loose!

2009-03-18T10:09:00.001-07:00

Hey all,

Head on over to the Animus Cross website to check out our Animoose in the episodes section. The moose was named Oscar after he stopped production for about fifteen minutes to head down to the lake to have himself a drink. We tried to take advantage of his appearance by putting him into a scene with Jerry Buxbaum and Jeff Hime, but he proved to be more of a distraction to the shot than anything, so sadly, we had to cut him out. Now here he is in his own little clip, with a few extra bloopers thrown in for good measure. Have fun and keep checking the site for updates! Thanks and happy spring!

-A.L. Steen

Thank you all!

2009-02-13T11:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in blog posts everyone. I have about a million stories milling around in my jumbled little brain and wind up being a horrible journal keeper! Excuses aside, I wanted to thank each and every person who viewed Animus Cross, passed on the link or wrote about us! The hits to the site this month have blown away all previous months. We have several new opportunties for the show and the new site has been well received. Thanks dad! Please be sure to keep checking back for new additions to the site.

I am quite confident that the story will continue with some even more exciting twist and turns... maybe even a glimps at our nighttime attackers... :P I've spoken a bit about that subject to RAD special effects make-up artist Christina Kortum, so keep your fingers crossed for us folks.

We really had a bunch of fun with this show and I'm looking forward to putting the characters through some new tortures... uh, I mean experiences.

Have a wonderful weekend,

A.L. Steen

p.s. In previous posts I have neglected to give my lovely sister Laura Steen credit for some of our behind the scenes photos! Thanks sister Lou, you rock!

-A

A Family Affair

2009-01-17T11:15:00.001-08:00

Part 4 of Animus Cross, "Hell Runs This Way" is now in the hands of Troy Gunter, our sound designer. Dad (Dave Steen) is hard at work on the new site. Speaking of dad, episode four will be the premiere of his character.

It's never easy having crew members double as main characters in a story, especially when one of those crew members is the only other guy in your grip\electric\camera department! One of my only regrets during the shooting of Animus was that we didn't have a designated still photographer or behind-the-scenes camera. I would have loved to capture Dad and Jason running stingers, setting lights, building dolly track, moving generators, swapping P2 cards and choreographing the many camera moves, all by themselves for the most part. We were very lucky to have Joe Aimonetti visiting with his camera!

It's a good thing we didn't have an on-set wardrobe person. They would have been pulling their hair out watching dad do all those things in costume, just before stepping in front of the camera! Of course, Jerry was doing the same thing; coodinating stunts and special fx while in full costume. At least his wardrobe was a lot more rugged and held up to all the abuse.

When I speak of wardrobe, I have to give so much credit to my mom, Cindy Steen. She was amazing! She helped me keep track of all the costumes and even found time to sew a shirt, a vest and Sarcous' leather tunic! When it comes to leather clothing, the high prices are definately reflecting all the labor put into each peice. All said and done, I think we spent less than $200 on the materials to make the tunic. The time mom put into it would have jacked that price up considerably!

I don't think you can tell from this post that this production was a family affair, can you? :P Not all the family was blood however. I've been very fortunate in my career to meet folks who have become family through the trials of production. I think we added some more on this show too.

Thanks everyone for a great time. I can't wait to get back on set!

-A.L. Steen

It’s all in the edit.

2009-01-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

Animus Cross “Hell Runs This Way” Part 3 went live on the 5th of January and is being very well received. We have a little surprise for those viewers wanting more; during the latest edit, we realized that we could get a 4th episode out of the deal! Essentially, this buys us another month to gather funds for future episodes of Animus Cross.

So fans, please help us spread the word!

With a bit of hard work, the new website will coincide with the uploading of the 4th part of Animus. The new site will bring you great information, access to this blog and some fun freebies!

There’s some new music in the latest episode, done by our own Troy Gunter. Please take a peek at the Quickskits page for more of Troy’s fun work!

I’ve had a few comments about the structure of Animus Cross that I’d like to address. I’ve been told it looks like a television pilot (Thank you! :) ), that it doesn’t look like other web series. Again, I thank you. We wanted to be different, not only with the content of the story, but with the quality of the video. Animus Cross is a serial in the old style (think old Doctor Who's :P ) NOT an episodic like the majority of tv and web shows you see today. What does that mean exactly? Simply put, episodes are stand alone stories where as serials have a story arc that spans several episodes and\or an entire season or series.

Why did I go with the serial format? Well, to be completely honest, I write better that way. That’s not totally an excuse, as a growing writer I will someday try my hand at an episodic story. Not Animus, not this time. The serial format really seems to fit the old timey feel of our show and so far has rewarded us with many ‘I wanna see more!’ comments.

So that is that. Thanks again for all the kind words about the show and please stay tuned!

Hope you have great successes in 2009,

A.L. Steen

Second Episodes and Articles

2008-12-12T08:07:00.000-08:00

Whew! I think Christmas this year is taking up all my mental powers. Trying to figure out what friends and family might need or use when you're wanting to make everything yourself is tough!

However, despite the slowness of thought, the second episode of Animus Cross went live on the 5th as promised. Those that have seen it seem to be enjoying it. If you still haven't viewed it, please be sure do let me know what you think when you do.

Our second write-up on the show can now be read in the Ceour D' Alene Magazine. Unfortunately, they don't make their articles available online, but the magazine is worth picking up. It is really well done.

Dad and I are still working on website stuff. We've got some really fun ideas as I mentioned earlier and I've been learning a great deal more about Photoshop. I must say, I have a soft spot in my heart for Adobe products! :P

Once again, please have a look at the new episode of Animus Cross. Have fun and a Merry Christmas to you!

-A.L. Steen

Now on Myspace

2008-11-21T13:27:00.001-08:00

Animus Cross can now be found on Myspace and Youtube! Come join us as we await the exciting second episode coming in December.

We are also working on more website updates. We've got some fun new ideas and a more user friendly interface on the burner.

While Jerry was home from "In the Pines," an action packed movie co-starring our very own Leslie Garbett, we had the chance to do some Animus brainstorming. Having a stunt coordinator for a husband is so handy for writing action! Some crazy action is in the works for future episodes. I can't wait to shoot more!

Until next time,
A.L. Steen

Worlds' First?

2008-11-12T00:54:00.001-08:00

photo by Joe Aimonetti

'... appears to be the web series worlds’ first historical thriller.'

Yeah, I can live with that.

Earlier this week I was contacted by Brady Brim-DeForest, co-founder of Tubefilter News about doing an article on Animus Cross. Naturally, I almost had a heart attack, then I replied with a very calm and collected, "of course I'd love to answer questions about the show!" The resulting article, written by Lindsay Stidham is fantastic! Very nicely composed and researched.

A heartfelt thank you to Mr. Brim-DeForest and Ms. Stidham!

On a second note, be on the lookput for another article about Animus in the CdA (Coeur D' Alene) Magazine Winter\Spring 2009 issue, set to be available mid-November! Dave Kilmer, a wonderful guy to sit down with, interviewed us in August and tells me that copies of the CdA Magazine are available at Hastings, Borders, or the front desk of The Coeur d'Alene Press.

We've been getting visitors to the site from countries all over the world. The word is spreading folks and its all thanks to you (and some pretty picture making on our part! haha)!

Here's wishing you a wonderful weekend. I'll do my best to keep the updates coming.

-A.L. Steen

Returning the favor.

2008-11-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

I was going to wait until next week to post more ramblings, but this is just too great.

Ron Kosakowski of Traditional Filipino Weapons, the company that I purchased our lead character Sheriff Sarcous' wicked axe from, has been kind enough to give us a plug on his homepage, so I thought I'd return the favor.

Please check out the great site for "Beautiful handmade swords and knives from the Philippines." I'm keeping my eye on that new sword cane for future Animus Cross episodes!

-A.L. Steen
writer\director\producer

Every time you stop...

2008-11-06T15:01:00.000-08:00

We get closer and closer to a dream come true.

Animus Cross, our new web series set in a dark 1867 Inland Northwest, is the result of three years in development. Those years seemed very long with the 'should we's' and 'shouldn't we's' bouncing back and forth between myself (A.L. Steen) and myself. Oh yeah, and the whole not having a lot of money thing...

It all started coming together very quickly after the filming of The Outbreak. Chris and Lynn Lund put together a great cast and I used their show as a screen test. Harold Philips, Trish Egan and Kathryne Bukowski fit the characters I'd written like gloves. Add stunt coordinator extraordinaire\lead actor Jerry Buxbaum and an amazingly talented actor from Nashville, Jeff Hime and we had ourselves a boat load of talent!

I'm not sure what I would have done if our Director of Photography, Jason Satterlund had turned me down. He is just one of the many people who became a guiding force behind Animus Cross. His talent is inspiring and he really does make pretty pictures. It wouldn't have happened at all if not for Dave and Cindy Steen (mom & dad). They never hesitated and their intense support is unfailing. Not to mention they worked their butts off on camera, grip, wardrobe, locations, editing, website, financing, lifting, carrying, smiling and sooo much more that I could take an entire blog post to list.

And then there's Jerry. The love of my life and the one who keeps me forever moving forward toward my dreams.

Thank you to all who participated in Animus Cross. We wouldn't have done it without you. I hope everyone enjoys the first part of, "Hell Runs This Way." There's two more after this and hopefully a full "season" to come!

With joy and hope,

A.L. Steen - writer\director\producer

p.s. to check out the who did what, see our blog on our Myspace page!