Q. Hi! would you like to introduce yourself?
Hi, my name is Wasan, I am a Georgia-based indie animator, educator and cat lover.
Q. Could you tell me a little about Pensacola?
The titular Pensacola, Indiana is the non-existant highway town that the girls live in. It is a recollection of small town life in the early 2000s and doesn’t offer very much entertainment for a couple of kids.
Q. What role do you have in the project? Who else is involved in the production as of yet?
I am the project creator and director. Pensacola is produced by DeLon Warren and Barry Strum with music composed by Personalspacedog.
Q. How would you describe Radio Pirates?
A slice of life short about early 2000s girlhood and the threshold of discovery, identity formation and the pursuit of fun. Rocky and Margo are best friends who explore their town together, get into trouble and always have each others backs.
Q. What is your ambitions with the project? How big do you want the show to be in scope?
The goal for the Kickstarter is to fund the pilot initially, with stretch goals to start working on a series of shorts for YouTube. I can also envision the show being picked up for ten minute episodes with some plot threads emerging and resolving over seasons, but ultimately remaining about living in the moment at its core. I would love to end on a movie.
Q. What were some inspirations that you look towards when working on radio pirates?
The story is inspired by my own childhood experiences and friendships. I was also inspired by coming of age films such as Stand By Me, which approached its child characters with a lot of psychological depth and empathy. Visually it is very informed by the aesthetics of cartoons I grew up with in the early 2000s. Ed Edd n Eddy being one of them- it looked a lot more like that style in the early drawings and gradually became less so with refining.
Q. Would you like to explain a little around how you came into contact with Midnight Oil Animation?
I met DeLon on Instagram during the pandemic back when everyone was still social distancing. Later I applied to work on his pilot as an animator when they were hiring for Rainbow Floor and got brought on, which was a dream gig for me. I remained with the company to work on various productions after.
Q. Who is the show about? Could you introduce some central characters?
Rocky and Margo are a juvenile Laverne and Shirley for the 2000s. Rocky is a wisecracking cynic with pretentious tastes and Margo is good natured but easily swayed by peer pressure. The two push and challenge each other. If Rocky is feeling insecure about not being athletic enough, Margo will bullheadedly try to teach her everything there is to know in one day. If Margo wants to figure out why her writing isn’t getting any responses, Rocky will act as her editor and really drop the ax on her.
Q. What experiences do you have in animation?
I got my MFA in 2023 at SCAD, where I directed a short animated film about Amelia Earhart for my thesis. The film did well in the festival circuit. Outside of character animation I have freelanced as a compositor, background artist, illustrator, screenwriter and creative producer.
Q. In an Instagram post you mention that you’ve been working on the Radio Pirates pilot for many years at this point. Has there been a lot of changes in that time to the project? How has it evolved and changed?
The story went through changes after audience feedback, which helped to solidify the personalities of the characters and move it away from starting dramatically to something more humor-based. Character designs also got more streamlined. Aside from that it still retains its childlike, rough energy.
Q. How far into the production of the Radio Pirates in Pensacola pilot are you as of now?
Pre-production on the pilot is complete and we are ready to crowdfund for the production of the pilot.
Q. For the uninitiated, could you explain a little more on what remains to be done in the production?
The story, character designs, look development and animatic are solidified- post funding we are looking to cast characters, score the pilot, and complete animation, background art and compositing.
Q. What would it mean for you to get this production funded?
Getting the project funded means getting the pilot produced by our awesome collaborators at Midnight Oil Animation and potentially getting additional funding for a series. It also serves to represent a kind of childhood that many have forgotten existed.
Q. Where can people find you online? Where can they support the project?
Find us at MidnightOilAnimation on YouTube and Instagram and follow us on Kickstarter!
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