Shepsus Entertainment

So, last post I made was in July. It is now October... LATE October. I'll be honest, I'm not sorry. I've been crazy busy with a lot of other stuff. Personal stuff and work aside, I've been writing. A lot of writing.

Back in my last post, yes, in July, I made a mention of gathering people together to create a an animated show. Well, I've done what I wanted accomplished so far, and it has been looking better and better.

I welcome you to...


I've got a total of 5 artists, 3 voice actors (myself included) with family and friends willing to help out along the way, 1 musician and web expert, and a writer, which is me. I'm still looking for an editor or two, and then animators. The show is called "Cardisia", but will be just the beginning of what Shepsus Entertainment will be. I promise you that this will become its own production company, or I am gonna get broke trying.

As of right now, here are the latest updates on the show itself. The details about the show will come later, once some concept art is finalized, along with maybe the intro music and voice acting is coming along.

But the technical parts:
-I am just about done with writing episode 6. Episodes 7 and 8 have been Outlined on paper, Episode 9 has been outlined in my head. I plan
-The office is being setup next week with desk, recording booth, marker boards and story board.
-Music is still being worked on and edited, it is becoming something beautiful.
-The Website is being put together nicely. Mike and I spend a good time discussing things back and forth, sending e-mails and screenshots. I couldn't be happier how patient he is with me when it comes to arguing about what we see the site as. As of right now, we are on draft three or four, and he's writing the HTML code for it within the next couple of days.
-Artwork has been sent, edited, and sent again within our group. Nothing yet finalized, but I have a few artists I just brought on that should do the trick.
-As soon as all this is finalized, I will be setting up a Kickstarter to help the financial side of things, and we'll see where we go.

Beyond this particular project, several of my artists have feigned interest in working on other smaller projects for both online and traditional comics. My heart has always gone out to web comics and I've always wanted to make one, but my drawing skills aren't worth bothering with. I am excited to start those as well, but please know that the web series is my main and most focused goal.

I really see this coming together. Even this morning I realized I was getting ahead of myself with some of this project. I got a lot on my plate, it is a project within projects. But this is something special, this is something worth doing and something worth creating. Just you wait. You are gonna want to be there when this takes off. You will have the wonderful opportunity to say "I remember when..."

Much love to everyone. I have more to post, but I'll leave it here for now and let me drive home from work.

-Brandon "Shepsus" Hoffman

You're alive. Do something. The directive in life, the moral imperative was so uncomplicated. It could be expressed in single words, not complete sentences. It sounded like this: Look. Listen. Choose. Act. - Barbara Hall

My freedom has been restricting.

So. Hi.

It has been a while since I've blogged. I haven't had much to write about, nothing too significant anyway, so I have refrained. Now that I am sitting here, I realize I have a lot to talk about. Ironically, it goes with my title. I realize I have so much to write about, I don't know where to begin. So let's talk about the topic first.

The previous post I wrote about being overwhelmed, and that is what I am talking about here, in a sense, and in a better sort of way.

My freedom on my projects has restricted me. It happens to everyone, and it pleases me I have realized it so. Let me give you an example.

How many times have you been on the internet, with nothing to do?
Or on Netflix, with nothing to watch?

And yet, when someone gives you an idea, gives you something to latch onto, your ideas seem to flourish. Like, say, if someone wanted to show you a funny clip on Youtube, suddenly you can think of at least five things to show your friend, because you've been narrowed down to funny.

It doesn't have to be an idea though, I mean what does every student say in high school when it comes to school projects? "I did it at the last minute, because that's when my thoughts just come together." When your time is not infinite, suddenly you are motivated to work.Or, when you are studying you can't seem to remember anything, but when you are taking the test, you are given the questions, you suddenly know the answers.

Being given an idea helps ideas, and in this sense, freedom is restricting.

I talked to my brother Dylan about my constant writers block I was having a few weeks ago. He is currently enrolled in an online school and does all of his work at home on his home PC. I asked him how he did his work with all the movies, TV, and games he has at his disposal on the very same computer. And he said the same thing every student does, "Honestly, I usually wait till the last minute, and then throw something together." Then he said something else that clicked with me, "But, it is the deadline that makes me work on it. Without the deadline there is no reason for me to finish the work." Again, his lack of freedom forces him to produce something. 

Now, for school work, probably not the best way to work on things in my personal opinion.
However... Maybe for writing it is. Authors generally have multiple deadlines to progress their books. And maybe that is what I need on my projects. (I'll talk about all my projects in a few seconds.)

When Dylan and I were talking, I told him that that was probably key, the deadline. So he gave me a deadline to write 1500 words by the end of the week. I didn't accomplish this goal that week, but on the other hand I knew he wouldn't follow up. I also truly believe that if he gave me a deadline again, or if Kristi gave me a deadline, I probably wouldn't make it, because their "punishments" would be nothing. I may disappoint them, sure, but nothing would come of it. I think I need to be clever with myself and get something else going. Kristi believes if I get an artist for my comic, and I see a drawn picture of "Drave" I will be motivated, and that is very true, I may be. But until I get something concrete down with my artist friends, I need something for my writing...
Two ideas come to mind:

The first would be get a numerous amount of readers asking for my work. If I had that, then it might be motivation Or, get a few readers to edit different parts, and have them ask for more. Have the want be greater than the supply.
The other is a reward of some kind, maybe I can get a friend who likes my work to reward me with... I dunno, a free beer, or free lunch of some kind if I complete the task in a timely manner. I'd hate for my friends to have to pay me with food to work, but it's just a rough idea.
We'll have to see, Maybe I just need to get a Planner and use some self-discipline? :)

As for my writing projects. The first being my actual writing situation.
I have a desk!! It took a LOT longer on my part, because the desk I was originally gonna receive was small and I didn't like it much. Kristi and I found a desk that works perfectly for me. 
I also have a marker board I am going to use for ideas, story boards, and possibly deadlines. It is magnetic, so images can be put on there as well, as well as prints of the story, covers, etc. It is 6'x4; a nice large board for anything I'll need. I made it myself, cost about $50 total. Which is an amazing price, considering anything remotely that size from Office Depot, Amazon, or Staples runs closer to $200. I'll post some pictures when we get it hung up. It will be hung up this week, I will make sure of it, because everything we have to get it hung up is in the office. I just need a second layer of adhesive on the magnetic metal and then it is GOOD TO GO.

Now, for the writing material. Each "--" is a writing project.

--I have two Anthologies for Drave. The first is pretty solid, but a few changes will be made to make sure it lines up with the actual story. The second is in a real rough draft stage and will probably be scrapped. Maybe it will be added as an extra for no reason other than I find it interesting to write about a story from a different characters perspective, but don't hold your hopes on that...
--I have three rough drafts of the actual story Drave that I want to see made into comics. Well, two and a half. The first Drave is complete, second is complete, and third is about 70% done.
--I have a 5-page story called "Faery" I will be submitting to Venomous Concepts Year-book collection. It has been written, heavily edited by Kristi, and I need to re-write it, I just haven't gotten around to it quite yet. I hope to get to it this week to make sure I can submit it. 
--I am attempting a script for an anime I want to create. This idea came from a new RoosterTeeth launch called RWBY, and Kristi's desire to voice-act. We've talked about ways she can practice her voice-acting skills, because she has a desire just unknown as to "how to start". But, I decided that if she wanted to voice-act, I'll give her a character. In my honest opinion, she has a beautiful voice and I would love to hear her dialogue come from my writing. The first three episode outlines written out as to what I want to have happen. As well as where I want the characters to go. As for the scripts themselves, I am about half way done with the first one. I actually just stopped writing it to start writing this post, which had been itching at my mind. Anyway, after the scripts are done, I will be reaching out to anime artists for concept art and then possibly to amateur animators to possibly get some of this done! I am very lucky to have RWBY come out at the same time, because they have come out with their process and it makes sense and I know I could do it to with the help of some people.
--Lastly, I have several other short stories I have written and completed. They are unedited and will always be nothing but a document, so if you feel the need to read something interesting from my works feel free to let me know.

If you'd like to read them, the list is below:
"ROOSTER" about four soldiers in super suits
"The Estate" about a Duke, Ranger, and Warrior accepting their fate of death
"Faery" A prayer to the Faeries and the consequences of love.
"Drave Anthologies Part 1 & 2" they are a bit messy as they are unedited, but able to read if you have the desire to get a feel as to who I am writing about.
"Dwarven Hillside" Two Dwarves fighting a bear.
and "Heroes" A long story of a hero and his strange friends he meets along the way.

Anyway, that's about it in a nutshell. I will post about working out if I feel the need, but write now I am pretty content in that regard and there isn't any real updates on it.

Oh, one more thing whilst I am here. If you know how to draw, write, edit, and/or animate and are interested in any of this, feel free to comment below or e-mail me at brandonmhoffman@gmail.com
Show me some work, if you live in Phoenix and want to get together, we can definitely do that as well.

~Just a thought

“To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.” - Leonard Bernstein.

This recipe is not for cooking.

I've stacked a lot on my plate recently and have become slightly overwhelmed. Not in the sense of "overworked," but in the sense of "too much". I just stopped working on it. I want it to be done already, instead of getting it done.

The only thing that I have been doing is writing, and even that has been on and off. I had a friend suggest that I should try writing as a profession, which I would absolutely love, if I could do it for hours on end without getting distracted. I am starting to think that I need someone on me to get stuff done, which kinda makes me disappointed in myself (as I finish this, Kristi is watching Glee, and keeps yelling at me to write my blog).

Anyway, I'm thinking about putting stuff on the back burner, but which ones? 

------Fast forward five nights ---

So I made a post on my FB on March 8th that I felt a Blog post coming on, but I did get distracted with Glee and spending time with my lady. So now we're here on March 13th. I gotta tell ya, my original idea for this was to write about my stress. But I talked it over with Kristi and then my good friends Mike G and JBoom. I gotta tell ya, keeping stuff bottled inside is such a hassle compared to talking it out. I don't think I could talk to anyone as easy as I have been able to with Kristi. She's amazing.

But this blog's about me. Nyeh!

I still feel this overwhelmed sensation, but after talking it through with her I have a clearer head as to what to do about it. I'll try to break it down without being too revealing. Mysterious is sexy, is it not?

I took on not only A Literature Circle, but A Cooking Circle, Hiking videos, and 5k runs to make and edit. I didn't do it right away, because work got a bit busy with work, and at home, well, Netflix was just easier. But no one else will edit them but me.Not only would that happen, but in order to post them I felt I needed a good logo, so I needed to create logos for both ALC and ACC, along with a new one I am trying to put together... After I created the logos I would be just wiped and started watching Netflix instead of actually editing videos. To be honest? I still haven't edited videos... But after a long talk with Kristi, I have intentionally put that on a back burner till we get our office set up for us to both work together. And that has just taken a load off my back. I am getting a new desk to put in the office this week, where I can set up my laptop in a semi-permanent location, so Kristi can have her desk, and then we'll work side by side on the projects.

The idea of trying to write professionally has manifested itself to the back of my mind, and I am seriously considering it. That idea also overwhelmed me, because I have an idea on how to do it as well, to get my name out there. And with that came the idea of pictures and/or artists, partner writers, marketing, traveling, the production, the website, the demographic, the AAHH. But, again, I talked with Kristi and I was able to take a step back and think. Before the pictures, people, marketing, selling, and the business, I need to do one simple thing.

I need to write.

I do not have enough solid content to consider a book. I don't have enough of my stuff to consider the big picture. The one thing great actors do to for a role is prepare. I need the preparation before the movie. I need the script before the picture. I need my ideas to be there to be presentable before they can be presented. And that's what I'm gonna do. I've even decided to prepare my preparation. I've written out a timeline for "Drave" starting with "Year 0" for the first story and I like how it is going to progress. (Don't worry, Year 0 is just for my sake, I'll give a solid timeline for said stories.)

For those who haven't read "Drave", there is about a twelve year gap between story 2 and story 3. Well, I am slowly filling that gap with one or two stories.

 So write.

I am going to write and write and write. That's my plan.

And, then someday, you will see something. I know I have the talent, I am developing the skill, and I am learning the how-to. 

I think I got the proper recipe.

Not ~Just a thought

What do you desire? What makes you itch? What sort of a situation would you like if money was no object?

When we finally got down to something,  I will say do that, and forget the money, because, if you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you will spend your life completely wasting your time. You’ll be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing things you don’t like doing, which is stupid. Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way.
--Excerpt from Alan Watt's speech.

And a Happy New Year!

And so it begins the new year of 2013. The Mayans were wrong and the world didn't end. And I guess that means some New Year Resolutions. How did you do on your last New Year Resolutions? Good I hope, but if not, just start cracking the whip now! I had a friend post that she doesn't make New Year Resolutions because she doesn't want to fail and that made me sad and kind of upset at the same time. She is a fantastic person with a ton of potential, she has overcome quite a bit in her life and I can't imagine just choosing not to find ways to at least TRY and better yourself. Even if you fail, at least you said you tried... But I digress.

Resolutions! yes... Another quick side note actually - Resolution means both "determination" and "to resolve". I have the resolution to see through to the resolution of my resolutions... Least that is my resolution. =P I made myself giggle.

Resolutions! Yes. along with the few that are the same, I have decided to make a few more resolutions for this year. Let me break it down list-style.
Health
-Physical
-Mental
-Emotional
I am actually hoping for some type of "pack" on my stomach and less of a "keg" if you catch my drift. I've been told that requires quite a bit of cardio, which I'm not looking forward to. But hey, I gotta do what I gotta do!
Health (Food)
-Try Juicing
-Eliminate soda from my diet altogether.
-Eliminate alcohol from my diet except in certain situations.

In conjunction with the above two, I am going to look into getting something in the direction of nutrition. I want to learn more about it and with the encouragement of my friends, girlfriend, and family, I have decided that going back to school is a necessity and will be done in 2013.

Work to be happy
That sounds like a funny resolution, but that is the best way to put it in my mind. Overall, I am a happy person, but I get lazy because I'm comfortable. I am comfortable with my job, I honestly work very little and it pays well, but it is not challenging. I am comfortable with my current weight, I want it to be better but overall I am in the best shape I've been in near 3 years.When I worked on A Literature Circle (which is still in progress btw) it was the hardest, most difficult thing I had done. I wanted it to look good and the editing was a bitch. But when I was done with it I was happy, satisfied. When I couldn't upload it to Youtube, I was mad. I felt that my hard work basically didn't pay off. It will, once I get it situated and break it up. But I haven't gone back to it because it isn't a comfortable seat to sit in. 2013 it will be something. Kristi and I have tickets for Vidcon in August and we will be there and we will have something to show for it for sure.
Speaking of A Literature Circle. I'm not sure if I ever talked about it much, but Kristi and I have big plans for not only that, but another wide variations of "Circles." Something I adopted before realizing that G+ uses it similarly... But I'll deal with that later.
Here are a few ideas we have bounced back and forth. I have a few others I haven't really discussed with her, but they are more down the road. All of these Circles (and yes, again, I know, G+ did it first) will be comprised under one conglomerate as "Three Point One Four". I think it is terribly clever.
Here they are below:
A Literature Circle Our very own webcast bookclub, two videos have been done, but they aren't yet uploaded... Here soon I promise!
A Cooking Circle  Learning how to cook healthy on a budget. Healthy is the key. It isn't impossible and it will taste better than greasy food. This particular Circle will probably get its own post in a few weeks, but this one is the one I am most excited about. There are a few celebrity inspirations and a few regular people who I know that would enjoy learning how to cook healthy while it fitting into a budget.
A Gamers Circle This one is obvious. Nothin' but games. Video, board, card, tabletop, you name it. I think this one will be fun if I can get my brothers on board a little bit more. I even think I'll do just a podcast to talk about games themselves.
A Writers Circle I've thought of a few ways I could go about this one. I want to discuss, recommend, edit and otherwise talk about writing. Professional and Amateur, Scripts and Stories. But the other thing I think I'd like to do is actually get some actors and other people to participate in short clips and videos. I think that would be hilarious to do. I actually have one in mind, but it isn't mine, so I am waiting to see if I can use it. But that part will come later I'm sure.
I have one more in mind, but I'll keep it in the dark for now just because I am not sure how to do it and make it humorous quite yet.

So that is about that... I think, I don't really have much else to write right now. I am just aiming to be happier than I was last year and the year before that.