The Annual Circle B Holidays Card

We debated briefly if we should continue our Circle B Productions LLC tradition of sending out custom holiday greetings card. It remains the single biggest marketing budget line item each year other than unique software assets and travel to support our brand. It has an annual budget line of around $650 a year when postage is added. That may not seem like a lot of money, but when you're a creative endeavor yet to produce regular income, as your films move through an extended production cycle, it adds a bit of financial stress. In the end, we decided to keep this five year tradition rolling, especially when we completely fell for this years design. As we wait for our cards to arrive, we're reviewing and updating our mailing list. We'll be verifying some existing addresses and adding new ones for people and organizations who've joined the Circle B Productions LLC Inner Circle in 2025.

Character Creator 5 - What a Ride!

Last month we got the news that Reallusion was about to upgrade some software we use, Character Creator, to Version 5. This software is at the core of our production efforts. In the process of making our 3D-animated feature films, we've been through software several major upgrades before. We knew we should expect a few bugs and a bit of down time. This time it was DIFFERENT.

When we first got the news about the upgrade, we were excited. The release would be a couple of months away - sometime in July - and we felt it would be best to wait for it. The new features were super enticing, and we loved the results the promos teased. We looked forward to greater detail and better animation options for our characters. That would ultimately translate to more provocative performances by the avatars in our films. Yay upgrade!

Upon getting the news, we shifted our production efforts to focusing solely on non-character related work - tweaking scenery, modifying lighting, working on continuity - drumming our fingers all the while.

Then in mid-July we got more news. Character Creator 5 wouldn't be released until August 27. This was just days before Olivia was scheduled to go on an 800-mile road trip, shooting B-roll for multiple film projects we currently have in production. It also meant the upgrade was interfering with our timeline for "Singlewide Pride", our 3 D Photorealistic Animated Feature Film, deep in production.

August 27 came around, and as promised, Character Creator 5 was released. With bugs. Okay, there are always bugs. But these were cockroach-sized bugs, like water bugs from the Desert Southwest. We were aghast. Dealing with them would have to wait until Olivia returned from her trip in mid-September.

There was one bug in particular that was a show-stopper. CC5 ate our content library's database. Just gone. Sure, the software got cues from the mother ship as to which content packs we had purchased (all 1200 of them). But the packs needed to be installed again - not just updated, which would be a quick fix, but actually downloaded and installed. We went to work, and 4 days later, after downloading content day and night, the library was intact. Olivia restarted the software, and the content manager crashed again. One more time, all of the packs had disappeared, and they needed to be installed again.

Tech Support from Reallusion was sympathetic and gave advice, but ultimately all they could do was refer our issues to their software development team. The software was not supposed to work this way. In the meantime, the company issued several updates to both CC5 as well as the animation engine we rely on, iClone. You have to give them credit for the incremental fixes they've issued thus far. But our Support ticket still remains open after a full month.

We don't know what really happened, but we've seen multiple comments in RL's forums musing about whether the company was relying on their end users to QA test the software. The world may never know.

Over time, the bug count has fallen and the system crashes are much less. We were able to re-install the content library in both CC5 and iC8. We finished exactly 30 days after we started. We're very pleased to say that we've been able to re-save our cast of characters for Singlewide Pride as CC5 avatars and animate them. So far, so good.

We love the results, and overall the upgrade has been worth it. Olivia has gone a little more gray, and Todd's missing some hair, but our projects are back on track and rolling along at a good clip. One thing we've decided, though: we're never buying a software upgrade again on the day it's released.

Here is a sample before and after of the character Colleen, Art's mom in Singlewide Pride. We feel that her grit and sassy defiance make a good metaphor for the state our production is currently in. As with all the other SWP characters, we've been able to add more detail to the textures of her face and hair, as well as give her a more nuanced expression. We hope you agree.

Terror at the Dragon's Teeth: Sinking of the S.S. Brother Jonathan

In a tense confrontation set against the backdrop of a harbor view, Captain Samuel DeWolf and the San Francisco California Steam Navigation Loading Agent , engage in a heated discussion over the amount of freight to be added to the Steamship .

Check out this amazing example of how we blend AI-generated images with 3D-animated action! This still captures an intense scene between Captain DeWolf and the San Francisco harbor master as they fiercely debate overloading the Brother Jonathan. Both men, along with the office furnishings, are intricately crafted 3D models. Just outside the window, the bustling scene of ships and crew comes to life, all thanks to AI generation. We're committed to authenticity by using period-appropriate wardrobe, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment, including California's iconic bear flag and the U.S. Navy flag in this scene!

A few weeks ago, I had the thrilling opportunity to return to Crescent City, the place I called home for fourteen years and where I proudly graduated from Del Norte High School in June of 1978. Although I've visited a few times since then, this recent trip was the longest and most exciting ever! My business partner at Circle B Productions LLC, and since 2023, my incredible life partner, Olivia Montgomery Bull (Raymond), and I have embarked on an exhilarating journey to create a documentary/docudrama about the dramatic July 30th, 1865 sinking of the SS Brother Jonathan off the coast of Crescent City. It's nearly impossible to attend school in Del Norte County without hearing the haunting story of this tragic sinking, where only 19 out of 244 people survived.

We're thrilled to announce that, even with two films already deep in production (Singlewide Pride and Fawn's Justice) as 3D Photorealistic Animated Features, we've eagerly embraced this captivating story! In 2024, we enthusiastically reached out to the Del Norte County Historical Society and received their exciting approval to dive into this project. Imagine, there are hundreds of newspaper articles, magazine features, and books written about this event, yet surprisingly few television programs or movies exist on the topic. Most focus on the thrilling hunt for the missing gold that followed after the ship went down. The challenge in creating video coverage has been the scarcity of usable photographic images. Available visuals are mostly paintings or sketches, making it difficult to produce a documentary. But we're ready to take on this exciting challenge! We've crafted an incredible collection of 300 period-accurate AI-generated photographs! Instead of traditional historian interviews, we're bringing history to life by interviewing avatars of the main characters from Brother Jonathan, complete with dynamic voice-over actors. We've got plenty of firsthand accounts to make this an unforgettable experience!

I’ve been diving into another exciting part of this project known as the B Roll Video! Capturing the vibrant sights and sounds that are essential to our story, like the iconic Pt. George Lighthouse, has been thrilling. I’ve also been exploring the fascinating files on Brother Jonathan at the DNCHS Museum. This week, we’re gearing up to back up all the amazing video and still pictures I captured last week and meticulously catalog them for future use. Can’t wait!

We're thrilled to express our heartfelt gratitude to the amazing individuals who joined me last week on this incredible filmmaking journey: Karen Betlejewski, Pete Halls, Ron Kunstal, Charlene Blackburn, Kathy Ames Sherwin, Matt Hildebrandt, Ann Combs Swanson and Eric Swanson, Marty Kimbell, David and Jodi Gastineau. Stay tuned as we keep you updated on the exciting progress of our film!

Don't miss out—catch up on all our films at our exciting new website!

CircleBProductions.com

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