A Christmas Coyle

Merry Christmas, people of the future who will hopefully subscribe to this blog after Coyle Command somehow gains some well deserved popularity =P

I am hoping to make a tradition out of the Christmas Specials. Hopefully this is a good start.

Happy Apocalypse, One and All!

It's December 21st, Pocalypse's birthday, and he want to share it with you in the form of BLOOD CURDLING EARTH SHATTERING DESTRUCTION OF DEATH!

The Crossover Movie

Hey there guys.

If you've been in the Metafiction Lounge or its related Facebook groups, you may remember a while ago when I was making a big fuss about a big 'crossover' idea that I had, that would see as many Meta people as possible taking part in this space adventure.

You may have noticed I haven't said much about that recently. Have I given up on the concept after so much hype? Well, not exactly.

You see, at the time, I had figured out green screen and had gotten a bit of work done with stop motion in the past, so naturally I wanted to jump right into the project, getting a good few people to sign up.

After some attempts at script writing, it eventually dawned on me that maybe, I was jumping into a little too much. I have great difficulty doing even basic green screen shots let alone elaborate ones, and my prop making, while I would say it is going well, isn't spectacular, and probably not enough to bring together all the models I would need.

On top of that, the Metaverse keeps shifting and changing about. We're in early days, so we don't have all the pieces of the puzzle put together. Like Marvel and DC, we need to establish our continuity through collaboration and individual ideas and stories. I have plenty of ideas for things, but as much as I'd like to pull strings, I know it'll be a lot more fulfilling to see others build this world. The Metaverse should settle into itself somewhat before we start our first Crisis Crossover.

And finally, the thing is planned to be feature length. I hated bringing that up, since I knew that detail would scare a lot of people off, since even the best of us aren't really doing professional level work. BUT, the plan was and always has been to get a bit of content from a large number of people so that we do not have one person having to film a crapton of footage while everyone else gets away with an extended cameo.

But have I abandoned the project?

NO.

I just want things to settle first. Let more videos be made, more things established and more people join in. We get more time to get more exposure, get better at what we do and get more people to join in and the film will be all the better for it.
It will seem less like an hour and a half of horrible special effects and extremely differing camera quality and more like a proper film. Who knows what kind of improvements we can accomplish by the end of this?


If you're interested in becoming Meta or already are and are hearing about this project for the first time, and happen to be interested in this project let me now on Facebook.

For now, that's all. Here is hoping we can make this a reality in the near future.

One Year Anniversary!

This blog is less than a Month old, but Coyle Command itself? I've been posting this junk for exactly one Year now. The time really flies, doesn't it? Wow...

Honestly doesn't feel that long. Its amazing to look back and see how the show has evolved and changed. Admittedly, its got plenty more to do, but hey, all in due time. I have a whole 'nother year to keep it up! And trust me, I've already got a few things planned...

I'd disclose some information with you...buuuuut I kind of wasted all that I had on my Backstory posts. So, enjoy this instead!

From Bee To Cee

Last we saw Agent B, he was trapped in The Void, an alternate, empty dimension accessed thanks to former Head of Science Chrome Dome, by Coyle Commander's personal security system. Finally his replacement has taken charge and has gone over some of he man's old entries.

TIME FOR MORE BACKSTORY

I one day received a message in my inbox asking if I was interested in collaborating. Now, as said, I really wasn't expecting much reaction from anyone, at least not for a while, so I didn't really know what to make of this. So, I took a look at this 'NVO' guy's videos and...well, yeah, he was legit. So, I said yes, and after swapping a few comments about what the video would include, I found my old school jacket (having graduated since the last time I filmed) and finally put to film a new sketch after having lost interest in the series for a while.

I had long wanted to include a regular mad scientist on Coyle Command, evident from Jan's first on-screen appearance when the Commander discusses the death of Dr. Vendor. Finally this was followed up with the introduction of Dr. Vorn, a character whom I had filmed a few other quick shorts with, but ultimately never finished editing (Not a big deal; they weren't very funny).
This sketch was the first filmed without Jan, and was particularly slow paced, moreso just dropping plot points with a few small jokes thrown in.

All things considered, I was pretty happy with the result.

It felt good to be back in business, and now there was a bit of proper story involved! That was pretty exciting. Not much time at all passed until he finally did a response video for my video, and thus the New Villain Order vs. Coyle Command rivalry was born!

It was actually a lot of fun. One of us would do a video and the other would respond, it went on for a while until the story concluded, and even then, the rivalry still went on. Around this same time, I had asked a close online friend of mine, Simon, if he was interested in being on the show, somewhat jokingly. But, wouldn't you know it. turns out he had a character idea already in his head and in no time at all, Agent B was added to the cast.

I added 'NVO Recruiting' on Facebook so we could talk easier and plan our shows. Through this, he introduced me to the likes of the Roaming Eye of Doom, Knightfox and Hazmat Citizen Crusader. There was a whole little community that I had become a part of.
A community to share and get feedback on my videos, multiple cast members, and a number of crossovers to look back on? It felt rather unusual upon realizing just how far this little video project had gone.

And really, that is how we got here. More has of course transpired, and the Metaverse has finally been making some big steps towards fruition, but that is information for another time. Of course I am not exactly where I want to be. There are new, much better episodes in the works. More that feel like actual episode of a series and less like a guy sitting in a chair for a few minutes blabbing.

How will that go? Well, I guess we'll wait and see...

TIME FOR BACKSTORY

Now, how exactly did we get here? It is quite the tale. Not an interesting or particularly funny one, but a tale it most certainly is.

Well, I can pinpoint two basic reasons for why I started making this series. The Angry Joe Show's Corporate Commander and Attack of the Show's Cobra Commander presidential campaign.

I have no idea what it was, really, but the screechy voice and blank face really sort of spoke to me. I liked this character, and as with most things I liked, I had to sit down and think my own version (this had in the past included Godzilla movies, superheroes, review shows, and even Killer Tomatoes. Yes.)

This idea took the form of a Facebook page. Using the photo option on my camcorder, I took a few pictures of myself with my blue school jacket on and with a sheet of paper shoved in my face...needless to say, it looked horrible.

And so, I added a few people to the group, most of them family members or friends from school, and started posting the pictures and writing up statuses in-character as the villainous Commander.

Not too long after this had begun, my friend Jan came over after school and as usual, we spent time goofing off. And then I had this idea, 'hey, why don't we film something?' With an extra pair of hands on board, it seemed like a pretty good idea. And so we created the video at the top of this page, and if you can believe it, that took a lot of time and effort to get 'right.' For example, we started out going with the paper again, and the results were...awful. We eventually decided on using a tea towel instead and THEN I had to think of what to say exactly, but eventually, we had an introduction to Coyle Command.

And so, me and Jan did a few more videos, ones that featured him On-Screen as my assistant...Jan. Quickly however I remembered having a golden mask and was struck with inspiration to create my very own Destro. I have no idea how I came up with the name so quickly, but I believe it is possibly the cleverest thing I have done in relation to my videos.

Eventually I tried to post some of the videos on Facebook with...limited success. However, me and Jan continued to film them when we could, introducing Ensign O'Connell to the mix (a name thought up on the spot by Jan) so we could do a little more without tying a rag to my face every take.

And so, more videos were made, all of them one take, since I had no idea how to edit, and many of them quite hilarious. Jan was surprisingly happy to get himself hurt for a quick laugh on screen, as evidenced by thrown punches, solo cans, and general falling over.

I had started throwing many ideas around in my head. My sister Megan had a planned character, Crazy Coyle, and my friend Blake would appear as Lt. Blakus, a lieutenant who was so addled by video games that he couldn't distinguish them from reality...needless to say, a lot of ideas ended up unused.

But, as our videos piled up, there was the sad fact that I didn't have anything to do with them. They were just filling up my camera's memory cards, but were quite good for a laugh. We planned to film a few more, but it just sort of fizzled out after a while. Most of these big ideas of mine would do that...

Fast forward perhaps a year later. I have filmed many things since then, including my sister's 21st birthday and a short film using a rented pinball machine, and a music video for Never Gonna Give You Up inspired by the game Splatterhouse for a school project.

While the project didn't go down quite so well, it gave me some experience in editing. I do not quite remember what happened, but one day, I loaded a bunch of my clips onto the computer, found the editing software already installed on the computer, and began editing.

Not only that, I decided to try my luck at uploading a the very first Coyle Command video onto Youtube...finding out it was extraordinarily easier than I had initially believed.

And so I began to edit and I began to post. It felt amazing, finally realizing how easily I could do this. But sadly, I was predictably not met with very much attention. I did not expect very much, but of course that didn't make me feel much better about the situation.

Enter one MrBadbandit...

Coyles and Metas

Inspired by my older blog Panel By Panel, as well as the blog of my friend Verbish, I have decided to create this blog in order to give out some extra information on Coyle Command, when the time permits. As well as likely to announce new videos and all that whatnotiness.

So, what is Coyle Command? Well, its a web series about the titular super villain organisation as they attempt to take over the world...with mixed results. They are lead by the eponymous Coyle Commander (pictured above) and include a great many members, including Anni Hilator, Agent B, Doctor A. Pocalypse and Colonel Blitzer. Together they are a force to be reckoned with...if hard to take seriously.

Coyle Command forms a pillar of villainy in the Metaverse.

What is the Metaverse, you may ask? Basically, its a Shared Universe, like Marvel or DC Comics, except with the important fact that instead of comic books, the stories are produced with film via Youtube.

So, is that our only claim to fame, or are we just a bland setting full of heroes and villains like so many cartoons and non-mainstream comics before us? Well, we have two very definative differences.

1) Villains dominate most of the spotlight instead of good guys.

2) Super powers are a rarity.

Now, don't think that just makes us Kick-Ass in reverse. Super powers do exist, and science fiction elements abound. Giant monsters, parallel dimensions and cyborgs have been seen. Its just if you are far more likely to find The Riddler before you find Spider-Man.

But the most important part of the Metaverse is that you can be a part of it. Yes, you. Do you have a camera? Good! You have officially ticked every box required to be a part of this project! (A Youtube account would help though).

"Oh, but I don't have a costume!" My original costume was a school jacket and a tea towel over my face. I have few doubts that you can whip up something at least along those lines. Of course, do take a moment to think of your character, what you want your videos to be like and all that jazz, but the point is, there is so extraordinarily little stopping you from being a part of this, if you should so desire.

Sounds interesting? Well, if I have piqued your interest, here is a quick summary...IN SONG.

...its a song of MINE, so I do apologize for subjecting you to it.