Post by Jeff on May 22, 2006 7:24:08 GMT -5
Ep 15: In the Hall of the Goblin King
By this point, I was really looking to expand the ACT Universe beyond just two teams of battling robots. This was a new, unexplored world with limitless possibilities. I had a near infinite supply of random action figures lying around, so it was just a matter of deciding who to use. I mentioned in last episode's commentary that I'd originally intended to use the Black Star Overlord figure as leader of the Goblins, though I honestly had given no thought to characterization at this point. I was just looking to introduce someone new.
Shortly before I made this episode, though, my wife had recieved a Build a Bear kit as a belated holiday present. Once she'd built the bear, she still had a little stuffing left over and decided to use it (along with some felt and other scraps she had lying around), to build a smaller bear. The design looked very good but, somehow, the finished product ended up looking horrifically stupid. The moment I saw the thing, I knew I had my Goblin Leader.
He was a teddy bear and he had really weird hair. Somehow, this all led up to giving him an overtly feminine personality. I think I overdid it though, which is why I really pulled back and changed him around competely in later episodes. Still, my few readers at the time seemed to respond very well to Phil, particularly enjoying the absurdity of adding a ridiculous looking teddy bear to the already random ensemble of toys.
Phil's cave is actually just my bathroom mat, copied and pasted multiple times to create a full cave. I tried to lean part of the cave against a couch to create a cave floor and back wall without any copying and pasting, but the lighting just wasn't allowing it to work. Unfortunately, the copy/paste effect isn't much better here. This is definitely the worst set I ever "created".
Incidentally, those really are vanilla bean candles, and the altar is actually a battery recharger that will turn up again several times as a prop in ACT (often as Ned Meadows' desk in later episodes). Exactly what the altar is for is never revealed. I'd sort of intended for the Goblins to be worshipping Phil (who would appear on the altar), but I couldn't make Phil stand up on the altar. He leans against it for support in these images.
The title of this episode is taken from the musical piece "In the Hall of the Goblin King" from Peer Gynt. It was a pretty desperate choice for an episode title.
By this point, I was really looking to expand the ACT Universe beyond just two teams of battling robots. This was a new, unexplored world with limitless possibilities. I had a near infinite supply of random action figures lying around, so it was just a matter of deciding who to use. I mentioned in last episode's commentary that I'd originally intended to use the Black Star Overlord figure as leader of the Goblins, though I honestly had given no thought to characterization at this point. I was just looking to introduce someone new.
Shortly before I made this episode, though, my wife had recieved a Build a Bear kit as a belated holiday present. Once she'd built the bear, she still had a little stuffing left over and decided to use it (along with some felt and other scraps she had lying around), to build a smaller bear. The design looked very good but, somehow, the finished product ended up looking horrifically stupid. The moment I saw the thing, I knew I had my Goblin Leader.
He was a teddy bear and he had really weird hair. Somehow, this all led up to giving him an overtly feminine personality. I think I overdid it though, which is why I really pulled back and changed him around competely in later episodes. Still, my few readers at the time seemed to respond very well to Phil, particularly enjoying the absurdity of adding a ridiculous looking teddy bear to the already random ensemble of toys.
Phil's cave is actually just my bathroom mat, copied and pasted multiple times to create a full cave. I tried to lean part of the cave against a couch to create a cave floor and back wall without any copying and pasting, but the lighting just wasn't allowing it to work. Unfortunately, the copy/paste effect isn't much better here. This is definitely the worst set I ever "created".
Incidentally, those really are vanilla bean candles, and the altar is actually a battery recharger that will turn up again several times as a prop in ACT (often as Ned Meadows' desk in later episodes). Exactly what the altar is for is never revealed. I'd sort of intended for the Goblins to be worshipping Phil (who would appear on the altar), but I couldn't make Phil stand up on the altar. He leans against it for support in these images.
The title of this episode is taken from the musical piece "In the Hall of the Goblin King" from Peer Gynt. It was a pretty desperate choice for an episode title.