What You've All Been Waiting For!!

It's here. It's time. It's part five of Animus Cross Season II and let me tell you, it is quite revealing! :P Thanks to Ravenous Studios for their hard work and to our latest addition to the cast, Christian James (Vicky Vixen web series).

Our travelers, Henry, Judith and Sarah have been through hell on their way to Animus Cross and there's no going back. Their lives are forever changed after the events in this episode.

So, I hope you all enjoy the latest addition to the Animus Cross story. As always, comments are welcome here on the blog or over at our Facebook page.

Thanks,
A.L. Steen
writer\director

Part IV of Animus Cross, "Hell For The Company" is NOW PLAYING!

It's the last Wednesday of the month and you know what that means: new Animus Cross episodes!! Head on ever to the Animus Cross You Tube Channel to view the latest part in the series and learn a little bit more about the characters.

Also, be sure to check out the store for new items. New graphics are coming soon.

I hope the summer is treating everyone well. Take care all,

A.L. Steen

"Hell For the Company" Part III is LIVE!

Hey all,

Just a quick note before we go offline for the holiday to tell you that Part III of Animus Cross "Hell For the Company" is now LIVE on the Animus Cross Website! Whoo hooo!

Check it out and let us know what you think about this action packed episode. Thanks to all who showed up to try and put a hurt on Sarcous and Henry.

Happy Independence Day to all. Let Freedom Ring!

-A.L. Steen
writer\director

So much Animus...

If you missed the launch of "Hell For the Company" Part I at the end of April, be sure to catch up on our YouTube and MySpace channels before Part II goes live at the end of this month.

As always, we'd love to hear your feedback on the second season of Animus Cross. You can leave your comments and creative criticism here on the blog, on the forum or at our new Facebook page.

Also, I've gotten quite a lot of requests from actors to be considered for future Animus fun. I'd like to thank you all for your interest. Please feel free to send your headshot and resumes to info@animuscross.com

In the meantime, a HD version of Part I will be up on our Vimeo page soon. Be sure to keep your eyes out for an Animus Cross "Hell For the Company" Part II teaser trailer!

ACTION!

We're busily putting the finishing touches on Series II, Hell For The Company. As I go through the amazing footage that our DP Andy Batt captured, I can't help but marvel at how good the action sequences look.

Most of you know that our star (and my husband) Jerry is a seasoned stunt coordinator. One of the reasons he wanted to help me produce Animus Cross was to raise the level of action available to viewers on the web. We’ve got the experience, the equipment and the personnel (including local stunt players who appeared in the TNT Television show Leverage ) to help put together some really kick ass action sequences.

We were really lucky to get the help of our friend and noted martial artist Guro John Bruce Daniels. "JD" is a 7th dan Black Belt in Arnis Demano and a certified instructor in Jeet Kune Do under Dan Inosanto, Bruce Lee's number one instructor. He's also worked on a number of film, television and video projects as a trainer, stunt performer and fight choreographer. We were in very very good hands. Working closely with Jerry, he helped make everyone look great during the big fight sequence with the creatures!

We also got to work with other seasoned stunt performers like Keith Cox (also a black belt and member of the Inosanto Academy), Derek A. Sasaki (a third-degree black belt in Kajukenbo) and Scott K. Hills (a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and Wun Hop Kuen Do kungfu).

JD's expertise in the Filipino art Arnis is also a perfect match to one of the signature weapons we use in the series - the Igorot headhunting axe wielded by Sheriff Sarcous and provided by Ron Kosakowski at Traditional Filipino Weapons. I chose the headhunting axe because of it's organic and deadly look. In JD's hands, it became very deadly and he was able to pass that aspect along to Jerry.

I'm really excited for you all to see the fight scenes we've cooked up for Series II... I've seen the footage many many times and it's STILL fun. :)

-A.L. Steen

IMDB Page, Trailers & Teasers, Oh My!

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 Family Affair

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