Espresso Depresso was picked up by MTV and aired on "Cartoon Sushi" August 1997, and toured around the world in Manga's "General Chaos Uncensored Film Fest". You'll find it on DVD & Video sometime before the year 2000. Eventually I'll be getting a video collection of my own--Stay tuned!
Epresso Depresso was my first attempt at animated satire. Around 1992, just about the same time Starbucks was engaging in the domino theory, I sat down in a trendy coffee house in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and sketched all the nutty people juicing up. I found myself in the same situation when I moved to Seattle in 1995. At this time, Coffee was a monopoly--Seattle's Best Coffee, Starbucks, Tully's, etc. etc. It was too crazy to pass up. I stumbled upon my old storyboards when I was cleaning out my apartment and started to crackup. So, that's when I splurged on a Mac, and started to create "Espresso Depresso". It was relatively cheap and fast to produce. I spent most of my money on talent. Doug Brody composed and designed the soundtrack. Dan Farmer provided the wonderful voice talent to all the male characters including Freaky Freddy. Kersten Meader was brilliant in playing the barista. Initially I had auditions for the part and had a list of well rounded actresses. But one after another, I felt they put too much into the role. To me it had to be natural. A collegue at work recommended his girlfriend. I was skeptical at first, but after an initial reading, she was perfect! She even volunteered her piano skills. One thing about having others contribute to your film, you never know what you'll get. Releasing control can be a very scaring thing, but the risk is worth the results. She played such a convincing part, I hope to utilize her talents very soon.