ON THE IMPORTANCE OF STORY

Members of Moonbot Studios‘ creative team sat down with me to discuss the upcoming print debut of The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore, the enduring nature of printed books, and the magic of everything from augmented reality to truffle oil.

Moonbot Studios specializes in original story telling through iOS apps, films, and books. Studio co-founders William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg won the 2011 Oscar for Best Animated Short for “The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore.” The studio has released three iOS apps to date: the original digital picture book, The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore (iPad only); the game-driven story app Numberlys (universal) for children of all ages; and Bullseye (universal), an interactive music video and game for experimental rock ensemble the Polyphonic Spree.

I spoke with art leads Joe Bluhm and Christina Ellis, editorial lead Calvin O’Neal, Jr., and very special guest, co-founder, and real-life Guardian of Childhood William Joyce.

Moonbot Studios is one-of-a-kind space, where, “all the creativity from the top down is all in one room,” according to Bluhm, who added that this setting “creates a culture and an attitude that makes you not afraid to just dive in.” Calvin O’Neal, Jr. posited that the creative freedom he and his co-workers have “inspires them to make the best product possible.” Moonbot takes a broad view of authorship that allows the story to be told in the best way possible using apps, short films, and traditional printed storybooks. O’Neal Jr. added, “We apply the story to the media that we have, so it can be delivered in the best way possible.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE:

https://web.archive.org/web/20120427122659/https://www.padgadget.com/2012/04/25/moonbot-studios-on-the-importance-of-story-part-one/

https://web.archive.org/web/20130420092121/http://www.padgadget.com/2012/04/26/moonbot-studios-print-movies-and-digital-media-can-coexist-part-two/