Conan & Andy Visit Bang Zoom Studios

For the second time, Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter have come to Bang Zoom and "ATTEMPTED" to dub some anime. Check out the segment from The Tonight Show.
CLICK HERE: http://vimeo.com/10662248

BANG ZOOM! ENTERTAINMENT CREATES FRESH ENGLISH DUB FOR SPECIAL WEB PRESENTATION OF ACCLAIMED ANIME FILM 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND ON CRUNCHYROLL

BANG ZOOM! ENTERTAINMENT CREATES FRESH ENGLISH DUB FOR SPECIAL WEB PRESENTATION OF ACCLAIMED ANIME FILM 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND ON CRUNCHYROLL

Film Is One Of Three By Renowned Anime Auteur Makoto Shinkai To Be Streamed This Weekend On Leading Video Distribution Website

Burbank, CA, February 26, 2009 – Bang Zoom! Entertainment, a leading full-service audio post production company and producer of original entertainment content, has announced a new English dub it completed for Makoto Shinkai’s critically acclaimed animated film, 5 Centimeters Per Second, which debuts this coming Saturday, February 28th on the Crunchyroll video distribution website. The film will stream for 24 hours to commemorate Global Shinkai Day, which celebrates the work of this innovative anime auteur.

Crunchyroll arranged this special presentation with CoMix Wave Films, the producers of Shinkai's works in Japan, and will offer a trio of Shinkai’s films this weekend including Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in Our Early Days, in addition to 5 Centimeters Per Second. Visit www.crunchyroll.com for more details.

Set in Japan beginning in 1990s and ending in the present day, 5 Centimeters Per Second is a collection of romantically tinged short stories centering on a boy named Takaki Tono. The film depicts the impacts of time and distance on Takaki and his relationship with a childhood friend named Akari Shinohara for whom he has feelings. After their families move away from each other the pair tries to remain in contact – during a time before cell phones and email. But as the years pass it becomes harder to stay connected and a rift between Takaki and Akari begins to grow. As he reflects on the experiences he once shared with his friend, Takaki wonders if he will ever get the chance to meet Akari again.

For the new dub, Bang Zoom! assembled a cast of talented, veteran anime voice actors that included Johnny Yong Bosch (Bleach, Lucky Star, Gurren Lagann) as Takaki, Erika Weinstein (Ergo Proxy, Rozen Maiden) as Akari, and Kira Buckland (AIKa R-16, Xombie) as Kanae, another girl in Takaki’s class that has a crush on him but is afraid to confess her feelings.

Bang Zoom! was tapped by CoMix Wave Films to develop a fresh English dub after it heard of the company’s vast experience with anime, having dubbed thousands of episodes. “We paid special attention to Makoto Shinkai’s original artistic vision for this film and the way the characters were portrayed,” says Eric P. Sherman, President of Bang Zoom! Entertainment. “We stuck to the translated script religiously and agonized over every subtle nuance in the actors’ performances to make sure they sounded as compelling as possible. Casting Director Kaeko Sakamoto had extremely high standards for this production and everyone worked very hard to remain true to the original artistic vision of this poignant film. We invite fans to check out Crunchyroll this Saturday for this very special presentation!”

OTAKON 2008

While at AX we were invited to attend Otakon. There wasn't much time to prepare, but we threw some stuff together, jumped on a plane (got zinged with a $190 overlimit baggage penalty) and flew to Baltimore!

Lisa Marie (aka "Ms. Curves") ran the booth and brought a few boxes of AiVA dvds with her, which she sold at a discount to attendees. She said that many people were excited to be able to purchase the dvd.

Lisa Marie with Voice Actor Peter Fernandez (Speed Racer)

Voice Actor/Director Tony Oliver ran the panel on Saturday, and screened a few minutes of AiVA in addition to some other video clips such as outtakes from Lucky Star and a new trailer we just cut for Gurren Lagann. Voice Actor celebs Mela Lee and Steve Prince attended the panel as well.

Voice Actors Tony Oliver & Mela Lee at the Bang Zoom! booth

It was a fantastic experience and we will definitely be back next year, hopefully with some free voice acting workshops!

San Diego Comic Con Voice Acting Workshop - Too Many People!?

Hm. First blog. Feel tingly all over. Maybe that's just because it's after 2 AM and I need to sleep. Still very excited about SDCC. We had our very first workshop there this past weekend, Sat 7/26. The turn out was much bigger than expected - the line was around the block. At first we thought it was for multiple events, but then found out it was all for the BZ Voice Acting Workshop. Unfortunately many people could not get in - several hundred in fact, and we felt really bad about that.

Forgetting about all the technical problems - we could not show all the video clips we wanted to - we had some incredible guests: Hynden Walch (Starfire from TEEN TITANS) and Lance Henriksen (Bishop from Aliens) and a surprise visit from one of the top voice directors in the world, Andrea Romano, who was nice enough to come up on stage and give some advice to aspiring voice actors. Tony Oliver ran the workshop and he is just so engaging and interesting. You'd never know that he barely made it there on time, sweating and out of breath!! Poor Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) who was supposed to join us got food poisoning and canceled all of his engagements at Comic Con that day.

Tony taught many of the basics that he teaches in great detail at the studio such as breathing techniques, getting into character, and some of his own secrets of success. Then he called members of the audience up to the mic, and directed them in scenes from "Gurren Lagann", a series that Tony is directing at BZ that just started airing on the Sci Fi Channel Monday.

The participants seemed to enjoy the event, and our crew had a great time there. Can't wait for next year.

This concludes my first blog. I hope that I will be motivated to come back and write more. We'll see!

Manga Minutes - Now on Manga.com

We've been working on MANGA MINUTES in complete secrecy since the beginning of this year. And now, finally, the webcast has launched on www.manga.com and iTunes. (Currently #5 in "Arts & Entertainment" and "New & Notable" on iTunes.)

We first pitched it to STARZ MEDIA in Fall of '07. They loved it but contracts took a while to finalize. Meanwhile we designed the characters and look and feel of the show.



Currently we're producing 24 episodes - one will be uploaded every two weeks.

This is a clip of some early test footage.

We write the script, record the dialogue with two actors in the booth, working together. Then animate the characters to the dialogue, just like all original animation is done in the US.

After that, the show has a lot of editing and motion graphics put in place and then it's handed over to the audio dept. There we add SFX and music - trying to put in as many "audio gags" as we can. Each episode ends up between 2 to 3 minutes long.

The Characters

Rogue - Somewhat of a geek, but at the same time, pretty fly... for an "anime guy." He's got his opinions, and plays the tough guy sometimes, but in the end, he's a loveable goof that is known to ham it up for his co-host, Yoko. Rumor is he has a crush on her. But she's pretty irritated with him most of the time!

Yoko - Street-smarts, cute and sexy all in one package. She's got an opinion about everything, and is not afraid to say it. Stay out of her way. A little hot-tempered, Yoko is constantly trying to keep Rogue focused on the reviews at hand. And tries hard not just smack him in the head sometimes. She's not one to reveal her true feelings, so who knows? Maybe she has feelings for Rogue as well. We'll see!

Watch the show here! www.manga.com