Yeah it made me think “okay who is this show for?”, it starts off like a decent enough kid’s show but then it swerves hard into adult cartoon territory in a way that really caught me off guard
In my opinion I think the pilot is solid. While it might be generic for some. I don’t mind it that much since it is the first ep. I do enjoy the slife of life/character focus aspect of it. As I’m kinda getting a little burnt out of shows that try to have grand reveal and lore while the characters are flatter then a pale of woods. About the cursing, as somebody who is a teenager, I think the reason why it feels awkward due to how the characters try to act cool and mature but it just fails. For example I’ll hear my classmate says out of pocket and crazy stuff and I’ll be thinking “just why?” I’ll give the pilot a 8/10. Solid and enjoyable though still has potential to grow. But then again it’s just the first ep
My biggest problem is that I don’t know who the show is meant for. Who is the target audience, the swearing and alcohol use isn’t appropriate for kids, but the overall premise and style of the show makes it seem like it’s a Saturday morning cartoon.
my main issue with the pilot is that it just felt a little generic. nothing wrong with it, but the characters and setting just felt kinda...expected. i have this problem with some of my stories too especially in early drafts; one thing ive found that helps me is to flip some tropes on their head or try to mix some stuff up. for the first episode of a hypothetical show idea i have, it has sort of the same type of duo, but you're introduced to the more socially withdrawn one a bit later in the episode while instead mostly focusing on the other main character from the get go.
i also kinda have my own swearing related gag i wrote too; instead of just having the character cuss unexpectedly, i sort of made it part of their character development in a weird way. earlier on in the show they never cuss, at one point explicitly stating that they're not allowed to (a line also meant to give some clues as to their life at home), and so later on when that character does swear a total of once to prove a point, the second main character looks on as if they had just murdered someone because of how out of character doing that is for them.
@@cowardlycrocodile7410 maybe! you could tell me a bit about your characters if you want, and ill go on about mine since i have a ''not shutting up'' problem one of the two main characters in my hypothetical show (currently named 'cats & the curious'), clover is, on the surface, the stereotypical ''weird kid outcast'' archetype. i switched some things up, though. clover is oddly popular though mostly through way of infamy, thanks to them being one of the younger descendants of a very long bloodline rumored to have a generational curse attached to the family, due to the family in questions long history of weird and sudden deaths. this would influence clover's character a lot too, as clover would become yet another ''obsessive type'' in the family. developing a very strong fixation on anything to do with the weird and supernatural from early on into their childhood out of complete fascination with the subject and even more so how it relates to them. (in the context of the character outside of the story, this is because clover is autistic w/ adhd. their ''obsessions'' are actually special interests.) i think it might be a bit easier for me to do subversions like this since im focusing on a relatively fantasy centered world, but i feel like that's an example where just changing a small detail or really going out of your way to add more depth to your characters can change a lot of how engaging a character or story can be
@@Bleplebeian Your story sounds fascinating! I also love how Clover is both Autistic and has ADHD, its interesting and it feels like it'll incorporate well as the story progresses. I also can relate to how it feels like a small detail can heavily impact the whole story, it makes you wonder if it'll turn out for the better or worse, but you do want to keep a certain theme relevant, so you want to keep flowing with it. As for my story, its rather simple, but it involves a shy, gentle alligator, named Eddi Gator, and a confident turtle named Red Slider, and the story involves the two embarking on an adventure to retrieve a good witch's stolen magic from a evil sorcerer, named The Witch Doctor, and his voodoo-esque minions. The setting takes place on a island, with the protagonists mainly living in a swamp area, and the themes I want to showcase are a Bayou/Swamp theme, but also incorporate some Native American themes, such as myths from that certain culture, like the Horned Serpent and the Thunderbird. However, going back to the duo concept, I feel like the duo works well as a two, but I often fear about it feeling too stale, so I want to make up for it by either making these characters more fleshed out and not feel so one dimensional, and add more characters so it doesn't feel so empty, which works since I have quite a bit of characters that the duo will interact as the story progresses, but I try not to add too many, y'know? I'm sorry for the very long paragraph, I just get so invested in story discussions.
I thought it was a neat pilot but not my personal taste, I felt a bit bored at times when watching it since most of the episode really was them just walking around the club and being nervous/awkward separately, so when Clay warmed up to Rob it didn't feel deserved imo. Also I thought Clay was supposed to be a wolf/dog I didn't realize it was a cat until watching the behind the scenes.
In spite of my issues with tone and setting, I *really* enjoy how the animation was done. Although I prefer painstaking frame-by-frame work, I didn’t know I could like rigged animation so much. Despite rigged animation having a bad reputation (OG Johnny Test, Season 10.5 of Fairly Oddparents, etc), Catching Up has a really appealing flow to it, with very lively, snappy key framing and strong posing, as well as puppeting and model deformations being much more thoughtfully utilized. I think LS Mark set a great example for indie artists working on rigged animation.
Lovely Review! I think overall you were quite fair to the Show, while obviously highlighting some flaws, it's nice seeing somebody else also highlighting more the Positives, like I tried to did. The Pilot definitely is still a bit rough and there is a lot to learn. But I think knowing Mark he will definitely improve, although I hope he gets maybe other people for the scripting. At the end it's something very subjective, I myself must say it's nice seeing one of those indie project go for a slice of life rather doing some higher concept like TADC, it's refreshing for me at least.
I think rob sounding awkward while cursing actually made the show better. He's trying to be this mature teen but he's clearly still childish so the curse doesn't feel right
It just wasn’t for me. It didn’t feel like anything happened and the dialogue wasn’t good enough to keep me enthralled. I’m glad people enjoy it though.
i like it because its a breath of fresh air most indie shows focus on drama dread or the lost of something/someone but this just focuses on two dudes being awkward in regular situations
ive been wanting to make my own project for years. at first it was to be a comic, when TADC came out and i really started getting back into animation, i realised it needed to be a series. catching up is pretty polished but it’s much more approachable than something like TADC, and it’s been really inspiring for myself personally. the same with pain girl
How did LS Mark get Zach in the pilot? Well mutual friend groups since he did also get Tomar from Oneyplays as Rob's dad. That and on a stream he was asked that question and simply said "I was just chattin with Zach and asked him if he wanted to do a voice for the pilot." At least from what I remember that was his answer,
Which makes sense two cuz Newgrounds and like older internet animations from back than and all of that jazz. Im like pretty sure it was talking to people in the industry and putting out a casting call.. Defiantly also just asking people like Pelo if they wan't to do a voice, because 9 times out of 10 if you have a decent fallowing just simply asking big people like that to do a voice on the cartoon usually works. At least I think so, could be completely wrong.
I thought it was fine. Thought it was cool he got Michael Kovach as Clay. Also want to add. With how the industry has treated animation. I have absolutely no doubts that Indie animation is the future of animation
Because it was a one-note premise that would get old quickly. Look at Bob's Burgers a lot of episodes are about the restaurant in some way but there are tons of episodes about other things too. How many jokes can you make about adults acting like children.
Nah Spongebob was more high energy and and is more fast paced. This is Doug and Hey Arnold pacing. This show is trying to be a bit slower and a little more emotional. Spongebob isn't cliche per say. The thing with Spongebob is they often make simple plots so they can throw in several gags one after the other. One good example of this is Wet Painters. The plot is really simple but the gags are amazing.
The pacing is really the only thing I can criticize it for, but other than that out of all of the indie pilots I’ve seen, this one hits home, like a Nick/Cartoon Network show from the 2000s or early 2010s and that’s probably why I like it alot, just feels like home yk?
I can appreciate Mark wanting to relate this to his teenage life with the common use of swearing and going to clubs and drinking experiences with the 2 characters. It to me really personalized the project and made it feel like a peak into someone else's life through animation but I however just didn't get it's story.
Oh another cartoon about boys who are shy and awkward and best friends who get into adventures and have a hard time getting women Wow!! Never in my life have I seen that before
That’s just the average teenage boy experience. That’s why it’s so common. That time period is very transformative for everybody, and it has a lot of influence over people and in this case their work.
People commonly make stories about life experiences rather than completely different stories Because people keep living thise experiences and the will most likely always be a thing
@@audreyharris7643 sure but the cliches r starting to get boring especially when theres nothing to spice it up at least make it less bland n more entertaining 😭😭
I feel like the awkwardness of Rob saying “bitches” was intentional, because the forced delivery makes me think that he’s trying too hard to be “mature” which is something that teenagers often do.
i think its because its said exactly 5 mins into the video, and if youtube detects any swearing within the first 5 mins it wont be monetized. so ls mark was pushing the limit and saving the first swear for exactly 5 min in
I mean it's alright. It kinda feels like another one of those shows meant to appeal towards animation obsessed middle schoolers. But it was pretty good.
These days a show needs a gimmick to stand out from the others. Every show should have an elevator pitch that can be said in under 3 . For example: Powerpuff Girls: The super-powered kindergarteners beat up giant monsters and supervillains. It stands out from other shows because you typically don't see 5 year old super heroes. Most of the time they are teens or adults. Bobs Burgers: Family runs a restaurant that is barely getting by and gets into hijinks. It stands out from most shows because they live up stairs and the kids work in the restaurant too. The Loud House: An 11 year old boy has 10 sisters. It stands out from most shows because most people don't have more than 3 siblings these days because kids are expensive. Also, one boy vs. that many girls can lead to some interesting situations.
5:44 i think this is subjective. one thing that adds so much like to ghibli movies is the gaps, the space between where there’s less going on. i don’t mind some lingering shots also definitely didn’t think it was for a very young audience
I think my favorite thing about this pilot were the little animation touches like characters being real animals when seen from a distance. Otherwise, I think that this pilot kind of shows how shallow LS Mark’s pallet is. It’s really telling that he just put Brian from Family Guy in the very first shot as if he’s some sort of obscure Easter egg.
I watched the pilot today and i found that he played it very safe with the episode. I didnt find it too humorous but at least it had character development
Lol I don’t mean any offence to mark at all but I lowkey find it really funny how he often talks negatively about shows and series that “look bad and inconsistent” and yet his pilot is like… also very inconsistent. Again though, I understand it’s just an indie film and it doesn’t really matter, but I just can’t get the irony out of my head
Looked good, but overall was pretty boring. Which is a surprise to me with how critical Mark is of other people's works. Then again, this was his first swing at a project like this. Let's just hope he doesn't end up missing if he ends up going forward with it.
cute concept and the animation itself was great. i just wish the adult humor wasn't so obvious. the cuss words felt so out of place and it would've been able to target a larger demographic than just teens to 20s. hopefully episode 2 will feel more natural
it just wasn't interesting, as someone with the attention span of a goldfish, I couldn't actually watch more than 5 minutes, and that was with trying. If the first 5 minutes it does not hook you in, you're doing something wrong. It's like writing an essay. I think I get the general idea, two kids go to club, but like. They didn't seemed like they tried to explore any concepts or create a strong ark or sense of character or make a conflict that like actually drives the story. It's not bad, it's just like not something I don't think anybody would watch. I think they probably devoted more time to the quality of the show, effects, and animation-wise, but didn't spend that much time on anything else. Like bro the main characters look and feel like side characters
Art-wise, it isn't bad, however the composition of nearly all of the scenes, placement and background wise, just is really off. In the sense that it's either super basic, or just doesn't look that good, or fit that well. It's not really an art problem; another thing is the background. The style is good, and the quality is pretty decent. but it's like the idea for literally every background was thought of in like one sitting session that was like 1 hour long. Like dude some of the scenes just like looked like you were playing with a fancy version of Go animate and cropped the background weirdly Like prioritize the actual story of the art, the expressions, the thing you're trying to explore because they legit spent more time on the mid-motion blur, weird shading, and the idea that they were gonna make a piece of entertainment comparable to other indie series but IT DEAD ASS literally looks like they made a cartoon just so they could make a cartoon honestly in my opinion, you don't even have to have a degree in animation or none of that stuff, or even be experienced in the industry. It just looks like they didn't have fun making or exploring ideas further beyond whatever the heck I just witnessed.
It’s interesting, and I’m not necessarily sure how to feel. As a teen i had a solid group of friends we never went to the club, and just chilled at my house for a lot of the time and had a great time. I’ve never felt the desire for hook up culture or clubbing. I want a gangster movie and a craft beer. A book and some whisky.
One thing I really like is how grounded this show is. Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss and TADC are great, don’t get me wrong, but none of them feel very “grounded”, per se. This seems definitely more slice-of-life than the other shows I mentioned, and I like that.
Also i think the polar bear security guards are unnecessary. I mean never in my life, and that I've been through so many community parties, never seen strong security guards. I think they should scrap that because it takes the realism of the show since a story should be relatable even if it involve fantasy. When seeing them it just wipes away my immersions of feeling related to the story.
his animation is really good and the voice acting is really nice, it just feels a little too slow, both the animation and line delivery which got me to kinda click off his pilot, i watched it again before watching your video and i still feel like the breaks between lines (between characters) are a little too long (a tiny bit)
I watched it. It was pretty good. The swearing is off-putting because it feels like a children's show. They should either make Catching Up edgier and an adult cartoon or ditch the edginess and make it a children's show.
the pauses and long stares off were trying to portray real life pauses and such, when i watch cartoons and someone does a 0.5 second pause and starts rambling didnt really feel real and i could kinda discern it from a cartoon. Marks however kinda got me pulled in and kinda felt like real interactions that might happen like, you think "oh he found a girlfrien- oh nope its just a side character." which kinda would be like that irl and never see that girl again lol.
A plot for me is abit meh and not realy interested like hidden lore like that for me but i like the art style i think is cute and animations looks cool i give 7.1/10
I find it really funny that Caddicarus' character is literally killed and has a more memorable design than the mcs, granted it seems to be designed to look like him but still thats not a good thing 😭
It was fine as a pilot, and the artstyle and character desings are great. But on my watch, I just didn't enjoy it that much. Having Zach and Caddy in it were definitely the highlights for me, which is kind of an issue. The big issues is the pacing just didn't feel right. I've watched a fair amount of shows with the naige happy friend and cynical friend dynamic- like smiling friends, regular show, sponebob episodes with Squidworth Testicles and SpingeBill as the focus. And compared to those shows, it feels way to drawn out. And it feels like the majority of the episode has the 2 best friends split up, so we miss a lot of good oppurtunities for more back and forth to establish the characters. I guess what I'm saying is it didn't immedietly sell me as a show to be interested in the same way that Smiling Friends pilot did for example. I think if they work on the pacing it could be a cool show.
I have the opposite opinion from most here. I actually liked this pilot because it was one of the rare instances (at least in cartoons) where the pessimistic character ends up in the right and comes across as more realistic. Not saying the pilot is perfect tho.
I heard about his own cartoon show he's making and honestly I have no intention of watching it. I'm sick of being reminded of the awkward school years trope, it's overused. Plus, weirdos make these videos of this character being my spirit animal/relatable junk, it's like these people refuse to grow up or something. Overall I wish Mark the best of luck on his own show and let's see where it goes
Honestly, the problem with the show imo is that it doesn’t take advantage of being a cartoon. Everything about this show can be done with live humans acting in front of a live audience. It doesn’t really need to be animated.
The use of profanities in this pilot feels so realistic. As teens we get so many shows catered to us that don't.. idk, vibe with us. There's a piece missing. And that is probably the use of profanity. I swear (pun intended) some of us swear like sailors. And by having that in there 1 - surprisingly fit in with the "child-friendly" cartoon aesthetic and 2 - adds a touch of realism to the show. Or maybe i'm just overthinking lol.
"Don't be jealous because I got two b****es."
That line caught me off guard during my 1st watch of the pilot.
Yeah, I pretty much thought the same thing as the reviewer when that scene happened lol
Honestly same, the tone of the show wasn’t really clear at first for me
Seriously who expected that
@@thing4201 don’t know to be honest, not me that’s for sure
Yeah it made me think “okay who is this show for?”, it starts off like a decent enough kid’s show but then it swerves hard into adult cartoon territory in a way that really caught me off guard
I liked it but I cannot take anymore middle/high school awkward humor, too much secondhand embarrassment and flashbacks 💀😂
On god it’s overdone
Waiting for day until Mr Enter made a carton
It’s a lot more accurate to the Irish secondary school experience where you’re going through all the high school stuff at 12 or 13
That's essentially what Mark likes though.. he said his favorite kind of story is coming of age so
Then don’t watch it
In my opinion I think the pilot is solid. While it might be generic for some. I don’t mind it that much since it is the first ep.
I do enjoy the slife of life/character focus aspect of it. As I’m kinda getting a little burnt out of shows that try to have grand reveal and lore while the characters are flatter then a pale of woods.
About the cursing, as somebody who is a teenager, I think the reason why it feels awkward due to how the characters try to act cool and mature but it just fails.
For example I’ll hear my classmate says out of pocket and crazy stuff and I’ll be thinking “just why?”
I’ll give the pilot a 8/10.
Solid and enjoyable though still has potential to grow. But then again it’s just the first ep
My biggest problem is that I don’t know who the show is meant for. Who is the target audience, the swearing and alcohol use isn’t appropriate for kids, but the overall premise and style of the show makes it seem like it’s a Saturday morning cartoon.
@@amethystimagination3332
The target audience seem to be for teenagers.
As the character acts just like teens
@@SammyRobinson62232 Def for teens and older
Prolly late teens
@@SammyRobinson62232yeah for teenagers
my main issue with the pilot is that it just felt a little generic. nothing wrong with it, but the characters and setting just felt kinda...expected. i have this problem with some of my stories too especially in early drafts; one thing ive found that helps me is to flip some tropes on their head or try to mix some stuff up. for the first episode of a hypothetical show idea i have, it has sort of the same type of duo, but you're introduced to the more socially withdrawn one a bit later in the episode while instead mostly focusing on the other main character from the get go.
i also kinda have my own swearing related gag i wrote too; instead of just having the character cuss unexpectedly, i sort of made it part of their character development in a weird way. earlier on in the show they never cuss, at one point explicitly stating that they're not allowed to (a line also meant to give some clues as to their life at home), and so later on when that character does swear a total of once to prove a point, the second main character looks on as if they had just murdered someone because of how out of character doing that is for them.
Hmm, not a bad idea....
Perhaps I should try that too with my duo main characters.
@@cowardlycrocodile7410 maybe! you could tell me a bit about your characters if you want, and ill go on about mine since i have a ''not shutting up'' problem
one of the two main characters in my hypothetical show (currently named 'cats & the curious'), clover is, on the surface, the stereotypical ''weird kid outcast'' archetype. i switched some things up, though. clover is oddly popular though mostly through way of infamy, thanks to them being one of the younger descendants of a very long bloodline rumored to have a generational curse attached to the family, due to the family in questions long history of weird and sudden deaths. this would influence clover's character a lot too, as clover would become yet another ''obsessive type'' in the family. developing a very strong fixation on anything to do with the weird and supernatural from early on into their childhood out of complete fascination with the subject and even more so how it relates to them. (in the context of the character outside of the story, this is because clover is autistic w/ adhd. their ''obsessions'' are actually special interests.)
i think it might be a bit easier for me to do subversions like this since im focusing on a relatively fantasy centered world, but i feel like that's an example where just changing a small detail or really going out of your way to add more depth to your characters can change a lot of how engaging a character or story can be
@@Bleplebeian Your story sounds fascinating! I also love how Clover is both Autistic and has ADHD, its interesting and it feels like it'll incorporate well as the story progresses. I also can relate to how it feels like a small detail can heavily impact the whole story, it makes you wonder if it'll turn out for the better or worse, but you do want to keep a certain theme relevant, so you want to keep flowing with it.
As for my story, its rather simple, but it involves a shy, gentle alligator, named Eddi Gator, and a confident turtle named Red Slider, and the story involves the two embarking on an adventure to retrieve a good witch's stolen magic from a evil sorcerer, named The Witch Doctor, and his voodoo-esque minions. The setting takes place on a island, with the protagonists mainly living in a swamp area, and the themes I want to showcase are a Bayou/Swamp theme, but also incorporate some Native American themes, such as myths from that certain culture, like the Horned Serpent and the Thunderbird.
However, going back to the duo concept, I feel like the duo works well as a two, but I often fear about it feeling too stale, so I want to make up for it by either making these characters more fleshed out and not feel so one dimensional, and add more characters so it doesn't feel so empty, which works since I have quite a bit of characters that the duo will interact as the story progresses, but I try not to add too many, y'know?
I'm sorry for the very long paragraph, I just get so invested in story discussions.
Pilots always feel generic ngl
It was decently good. Waiting to see how far it goes in which I hope LS Mark is successful with this.
Thanks for the feedback! :D
Thanks for listening, Hope y’all get to do more episodes!
i see the demographic bein mid teens, somethin like clone high comes to mind.
I LIKE YOUR FUNNY WORDS, MAGIC MAN
Same
the thing is og clone high is actually good 💀
I assume the dialogue was because being more how british people talk and specific mannerisms
Can confirm
More Irish, Mark is Irish and I'm Irish myself, the dialogue sounds completely normal to me because of it I think
ls mark is irish bruh
Ireland is not Britain.
looks like the critic has been the criticized
Precisely
I’m pretty sure he knows
Yea he actively wants criticism. As any creator should, that’s the only way anyone’s gonna improve
the critic has been criticed
The turns have tabled
I thought it was a neat pilot but not my personal taste, I felt a bit bored at times when watching it since most of the episode really was them just walking around the club and being nervous/awkward separately, so when Clay warmed up to Rob it didn't feel deserved imo. Also I thought Clay was supposed to be a wolf/dog I didn't realize it was a cat until watching the behind the scenes.
I literally thought the same exact thing about Clay being a wolf
Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best.
?
Godzilla had a stroke reading this
Well said
Come Dine With Me?
Shut it
In spite of my issues with tone and setting, I *really* enjoy how the animation was done. Although I prefer painstaking frame-by-frame work, I didn’t know I could like rigged animation so much. Despite rigged animation having a bad reputation (OG Johnny Test, Season 10.5 of Fairly Oddparents, etc), Catching Up has a really appealing flow to it, with very lively, snappy key framing and strong posing, as well as puppeting and model deformations being much more thoughtfully utilized. I think LS Mark set a great example for indie artists working on rigged animation.
Lovely Review! I think overall you were quite fair to the Show, while obviously highlighting some flaws, it's nice seeing somebody else also highlighting more the Positives, like I tried to did.
The Pilot definitely is still a bit rough and there is a lot to learn. But I think knowing Mark he will definitely improve, although I hope he gets maybe other people for the scripting.
At the end it's something very subjective, I myself must say it's nice seeing one of those indie project go for a slice of life rather doing some higher concept like TADC, it's refreshing for me at least.
I think rob sounding awkward while cursing actually made the show better. He's trying to be this mature teen but he's clearly still childish so the curse doesn't feel right
It just wasn’t for me. It didn’t feel like anything happened and the dialogue wasn’t good enough to keep me enthralled. I’m glad people enjoy it though.
It should have been a house party than this “club”.
Nah it makes sense if you are Irish, trust me, teen clubs are EVERYWHERE
ironically that was the original idea before LSmark realized he never went to house parties as a kid, he always went to clubs
Where i live house parties don't even exist. Closest you'll get is a birthday party, and 90% of time you don't even go to they house
@@leo_lost_legs9331 I did not know that, thanks for the context
The club looked like a way better choice
Feels like a self insert type of story if you catch my drift.
Oh my god yes. That makes so much sense😭
@@bendystraww01that’s crazy 😭
Almost all stories are self inserts
@@Hazmartnimitzern I agree, or at least nearly every writer puts at least a bit of themselves into their stories
Like literally majority of stories???😂
Slight mistake. It’s meant to be a teen non alcoholic club which makes since sense mark is from Ireland
I tried to watch it, but I couldn't finish it because I have a very low tolerance for secondhand embarrassment.
Honestly I kinda wish sr pelo got to do more than just get shoved in as a “WOAH GUYS LOOK SR PELO’S VOICING A SIDE CHARACTER IN THE PILOT!!1!1!!1!1”
1:10 I thought clay was a wolf😭
Mark said he was a cat
@@CorinXVyes I know I’m talking about before I watched the pilot
I rather him be a wolf because that is literally what his character design speaks
In my opinion, the pilot is okay. I do like how the two main characters are very different from each other. I found Clay a bit more relatable.
i like it because its a breath of fresh air most indie shows focus on drama dread or the lost of something/someone but this just focuses on two dudes being awkward in regular situations
ive been wanting to make my own project for years. at first it was to be a comic, when TADC came out and i really started getting back into animation, i realised it needed to be a series. catching up is pretty polished but it’s much more approachable than something like TADC, and it’s been really inspiring for myself personally. the same with pain girl
I love when grown adults try to relate to children.
😂😂
How did LS Mark get Zach in the pilot?
Well mutual friend groups since he did also get Tomar from Oneyplays as Rob's dad. That and on a stream he was asked that question and simply said "I was just chattin with Zach and asked him if he wanted to do a voice for the pilot." At least from what I remember that was his answer,
Which makes sense two cuz Newgrounds and like older internet animations from back than and all of that jazz. Im like pretty sure it was talking to people in the industry and putting out a casting call.. Defiantly also just asking people like Pelo if they wan't to do a voice, because 9 times out of 10 if you have a decent fallowing just simply asking big people like that to do a voice on the cartoon usually works. At least I think so, could be completely wrong.
He also married Veronica, (Chris’ ex) Mark definitely talks to Tomar and Zach, maybe even Chris they don’t seem to have bad blood between the two
Ls mark is NOT beating the furry allegations on my momma
Who said he was a furry?
@@Lucien_M this is a cartoon he made about talking animals it speaks for himself hes a furry
@@desmonddoesthething by that definition looney tunes was made by zoophiles
whats bad about being a furry
@@desmonddoesthethingnaw bro that doesnt mean hes a furry 😭
I thought it was fine. Thought it was cool he got Michael Kovach as Clay.
Also want to add. With how the industry has treated animation. I have absolutely no doubts that Indie animation is the future of animation
Still better than MrEnter's idea of a cartoon.
"How would _____ work in this universe?"
"...differently"
Because it was a one-note premise that would get old quickly. Look at Bob's Burgers a lot of episodes are about the restaurant in some way but there are tons of episodes about other things too. How many jokes can you make about adults acting like children.
It was a great show, not because it’s perfect, not even because it’s good, it’s great because of the passion that went into it.
THIS CARTOON IS GOATED 🗣️🗣️🔥🔥
its the type of cartoon i'd like in early middle school
I like the art style, but the writing as a whole isn't really that engaging.
I liked it, but the concept is a bit cliche, since it probably took inspiration from SpongeBob or something
Yeah it really reminded me of early 2000’s cartoons like Fairly odd parents and The grim adventures of billy and mandy
@@시나모롤yukii mainly see the fairly odd parents’ style and hear me out, sonic. I can’t explain how or why it just gives me some sonic vibes.
@@Bogiiiiiiiiiiiiii yeah I can see it, honestly the first time I watched the pilot rob’s design really reminded me of tails lol
I think it has more of an inspiration in Helldivers 2
Nah Spongebob was more high energy and and is more fast paced. This is Doug and Hey Arnold pacing. This show is trying to be a bit slower and a little more emotional. Spongebob isn't cliche per say. The thing with Spongebob is they often make simple plots so they can throw in several gags one after the other. One good example of this is Wet Painters. The plot is really simple but the gags are amazing.
Love that you used background music from VVVVVV!
The pacing is really the only thing I can criticize it for, but other than that out of all of the indie pilots I’ve seen, this one hits home, like a Nick/Cartoon Network show from the 2000s or early 2010s and that’s probably why I like it alot, just feels like home yk?
I can appreciate Mark wanting to relate this to his teenage life with the common use of swearing and going to clubs and drinking experiences with the 2 characters. It to me really personalized the project and made it feel like a peak into someone else's life through animation but I however just didn't get it's story.
2:26 How does ANY OF THIS look like Tom and Jerry 💀
I love how LS mark dumps on shows for having swearing just becuase it’s “edgy” and then he does it in his own cartoon
Oh another cartoon about boys who are shy and awkward and best friends who get into adventures and have a hard time getting women
Wow!! Never in my life have I seen that before
That’s just the average teenage boy experience. That’s why it’s so common. That time period is very transformative for everybody, and it has a lot of influence over people and in this case their work.
People commonly make stories about life experiences rather than completely different stories
Because people keep living thise experiences and the will most likely always be a thing
@@audreyharris7643 sure but the cliches r starting to get boring especially when theres nothing to spice it up at least make it less bland n more entertaining 😭😭
@@fangtasticvampy fair enough
I mean that is life. There is Regular show but that's the only other one I can think of.
"This shit's hilarious."
-Kendrick Lamar.
it was good to see.
I feel like the awkwardness of Rob saying “bitches” was intentional, because the forced delivery makes me think that he’s trying too hard to be “mature” which is something that teenagers often do.
i think its because its said exactly 5 mins into the video, and if youtube detects any swearing within the first 5 mins it wont be monetized. so ls mark was pushing the limit and saving the first swear for exactly 5 min in
@@luckynevx maybe both
5:35 It going slow is part of the tone. Its trying to be a little bit slower like Hey Arnold and Doug. Then again those were 11 minutes.
I mean it's alright. It kinda feels like another one of those shows meant to appeal towards animation obsessed middle schoolers. But it was pretty good.
Imma admit tho i had fun with the pilot it reminds me of those early 2000s slice of life shows but ngl very generic....
Yea ur not wrong
These days a show needs a gimmick to stand out from the others. Every show should have an elevator pitch that can be said in under 3 .
For example:
Powerpuff Girls: The super-powered kindergarteners beat up giant monsters and supervillains. It stands out from other shows because you typically don't see 5 year old super heroes. Most of the time they are teens or adults.
Bobs Burgers: Family runs a restaurant that is barely getting by and gets into hijinks. It stands out from most shows because they live up stairs and the kids work in the restaurant too.
The Loud House: An 11 year old boy has 10 sisters. It stands out from most shows because most people don't have more than 3 siblings these days because kids are expensive. Also, one boy vs. that many girls can lead to some interesting situations.
It's one of those cartoon who aren't really goofy but feel realistic.
5:44 i think this is subjective. one thing that adds so much like to ghibli movies is the gaps, the space between where there’s less going on. i don’t mind some lingering shots
also definitely didn’t think it was for a very young audience
I thought clay was a wolf
I think my favorite thing about this pilot were the little animation touches like characters being real animals when seen from a distance. Otherwise, I think that this pilot kind of shows how shallow LS Mark’s pallet is. It’s really telling that he just put Brian from Family Guy in the very first shot as if he’s some sort of obscure Easter egg.
yeah, i dont really like the guy, but the show was fine
why do u not like lsmark? :)
You mean he isn't watching enough my Deer Friend Nokoten?
Brian is a kind of joke on his channel, if I remember right that's why it's there
I'm hoping too, I can make an indie animation show for everyone to enjoy.
I watched the pilot today and i found that he played it very safe with the episode. I didnt find it too humorous but at least it had character development
Lol I don’t mean any offence to mark at all but I lowkey find it really funny how he often talks negatively about shows and series that “look bad and inconsistent” and yet his pilot is like… also very inconsistent. Again though, I understand it’s just an indie film and it doesn’t really matter, but I just can’t get the irony out of my head
Well there is a difference between an independent project having inconsistencies and a studio that’s job is to produce professional animated content.
I mean it’s jus a pilot give him a chance 🤷🏾
Take so bad even the op had to disagree
@@AlenBear Ok? The comment is right though. Even though it's indie, it's not immune to criticism.
It his first time too lmao
0:24 whats that from, i don't recognize it
Indie pilot on TH-cam called ramshackle
Maybe just a nitpick but i HATE clays face markings and how the markings move with the eyes ... i dont know what it is
Looked good, but overall was pretty boring. Which is a surprise to me with how critical Mark is of other people's works. Then again, this was his first swing at a project like this. Let's just hope he doesn't end up missing if he ends up going forward with it.
cute concept and the animation itself was great. i just wish the adult humor wasn't so obvious. the cuss words felt so out of place and it would've been able to target a larger demographic than just teens to 20s. hopefully episode 2 will feel more natural
it just wasn't interesting, as someone with the attention span of a goldfish, I couldn't actually watch more than 5 minutes, and that was with trying.
If the first 5 minutes it does not hook you in, you're doing something wrong. It's like writing an essay.
I think I get the general idea, two kids go to club, but like. They didn't seemed like they tried to explore any concepts or create a strong ark or sense of character or make a conflict that like actually drives the story. It's not bad, it's just like not something I don't think anybody would watch.
I think they probably devoted more time to the quality of the show, effects, and animation-wise, but didn't spend that much time on anything else. Like bro the main characters look and feel like side characters
Art-wise, it isn't bad,
however the composition of nearly all of the scenes, placement and background wise, just is really off. In the sense that it's either super basic, or just doesn't look that good, or fit that well. It's not really an art problem; another thing is the background. The style is good, and the quality is pretty decent. but it's like the idea for literally every background was thought of in like one sitting session that was like 1 hour long. Like dude some of the scenes just like looked like you were playing with a fancy version of Go animate and cropped the background weirdly
Like prioritize the actual story of the art, the expressions, the thing you're trying to explore because they legit spent more time on the mid-motion blur, weird shading, and the idea that they were gonna make a piece of entertainment comparable to other indie series but IT DEAD ASS literally looks like they made a cartoon just so they could make a cartoon
honestly in my opinion, you don't even have to have a degree in animation or none of that stuff, or even be experienced in the industry. It just looks like they didn't have fun making or exploring ideas further beyond whatever the heck I just witnessed.
Well, when I watched it, I had a pretty good vibe about it
I thought it was alright. Did have a few hiccups, I’ll agree. I enjoyed Michael Kovach and Lizzie Freeman being in it, though!
I hope if Mark finds this, he'll take these criticisms well, and improve on the show. I liked this, but... yeah, I can see these being valid.
I guess art reflects life.
It’s interesting, and I’m not necessarily sure how to feel. As a teen i had a solid group of friends we never went to the club, and just chilled at my house for a lot of the time and had a great time. I’ve never felt the desire for hook up culture or clubbing. I want a gangster movie and a craft beer. A book and some whisky.
One thing I really like is how grounded this show is. Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss and TADC are great, don’t get me wrong, but none of them feel very “grounded”, per se. This seems definitely more slice-of-life than the other shows I mentioned, and I like that.
Gosh I hope this does end up in this drama
corin’s video on ls mark’s cartoon is interesting
it felt so aimless, like, the episode is about them going to the club and doing things or something iidk
Also i think the polar bear security guards are unnecessary. I mean never in my life, and that I've been through so many community parties, never seen strong security guards. I think they should scrap that because it takes the realism of the show since a story should be relatable even if it involve fantasy. When seeing them it just wipes away my immersions of feeling related to the story.
I feel that this show could be been a short
his animation is really good and the voice acting is really nice, it just feels a little too slow, both the animation and line delivery which got me to kinda click off his pilot, i watched it again before watching your video and i still feel like the breaks between lines (between characters) are a little too long (a tiny bit)
i feel the opposite. i feel like shows have virtually no breaks between dialogs. so this one feels like a breath of fresh air
@@stego- yeah i get that tbh :>
Its more or so that it feels off from a normal conversation irl, just a little too slow for my own preference
Since i see pilot in the title i immediately compare it to TADC then my expectations are set too high
I watched it. It was pretty good. The swearing is off-putting because it feels like a children's show. They should either make Catching Up edgier and an adult cartoon or ditch the edginess and make it a children's show.
i was honestly really bored during the whole episode. it kinda felt like literally nothing happened lol
Sausage party excuses ahh tv show
I wonder if hotdiggydemon had any help with the show and also this show gon hit the furry fans 😂
Fr
Swearing ≠ Funny
the pauses and long stares off were trying to portray real life pauses and such, when i watch cartoons and someone does a 0.5 second pause and starts rambling didnt really feel real and i could kinda discern it from a cartoon. Marks however kinda got me pulled in and kinda felt like real interactions that might happen like, you think "oh he found a girlfrien- oh nope its just a side character." which kinda would be like that irl and never see that girl again lol.
A plot for me is abit meh and not realy interested like hidden lore like that for me but i like the art style
i think is cute and animations looks cool i give 7.1/10
I loved the animation I just didn’t really enjoy that the story was basically everyone being cunty towards the main characters for 20 minutes straight
I find it really funny that Caddicarus' character is literally killed and has a more memorable design than the mcs, granted it seems to be designed to look like him but still thats not a good thing 😭
Oh please, it’s a pilot.
It was fine as a pilot, and the artstyle and character desings are great. But on my watch, I just didn't enjoy it that much. Having Zach and Caddy in it were definitely the highlights for me, which is kind of an issue. The big issues is the pacing just didn't feel right. I've watched a fair amount of shows with the naige happy friend and cynical friend dynamic- like smiling friends, regular show, sponebob episodes with Squidworth Testicles and SpingeBill as the focus. And compared to those shows, it feels way to drawn out. And it feels like the majority of the episode has the 2 best friends split up, so we miss a lot of good oppurtunities for more back and forth to establish the characters.
I guess what I'm saying is it didn't immedietly sell me as a show to be interested in the same way that Smiling Friends pilot did for example. I think if they work on the pacing it could be a cool show.
i personally thought the pilot was great, although some scenes did feel like a stretch at times.
tomar was my favourite tho
i think it would be way better if it had more swearing. preferably in every sentence.
His ass is NOT vizviepop lol
I have the opposite opinion from most here. I actually liked this pilot because it was one of the rare instances (at least in cartoons) where the pessimistic character ends up in the right and comes across as more realistic.
Not saying the pilot is perfect tho.
I heard about his own cartoon show he's making and honestly I have no intention of watching it. I'm sick of being reminded of the awkward school years trope, it's overused. Plus, weirdos make these videos of this character being my spirit animal/relatable junk, it's like these people refuse to grow up or something. Overall I wish Mark the best of luck on his own show and let's see where it goes
Eat the laundry list
LS Mark, shows kind of really OK I really kind of sort of enjoy the show that’s the only thing I’m gonna say is just good
Honestly, the problem with the show imo is that it doesn’t take advantage of being a cartoon. Everything about this show can be done with live humans acting in front of a live audience. It doesn’t really need to be animated.
I hate clays Design SOOOOOOOOO MUCH
THE MCDONALDS LOGO ON HIS FACE. I HATE IT SO MUUUUUUUUUUCH.
Tbh "hate" is kind of a strong word to use since this is just an indie animation, it's okay to dislike it though
I dislike it too
@@Brainzeater69 your right but still his design is a tad bit too generic for my taste
And Rob?
its gonna become a cycle, a guy reviewing cartoons makes a cartoon, while a new face in town reviews that cartoon, so on
mfs will say anything about something good
I mean I like it but the show acts more like Osmosis jones
The cursing thing is on purpose probably
Caddicarus was the only thing redeeming it for me
The use of profanities in this pilot feels so realistic. As teens we get so many shows catered to us that don't.. idk, vibe with us. There's a piece missing. And that is probably the use of profanity. I swear (pun intended) some of us swear like sailors. And by having that in there 1 - surprisingly fit in with the "child-friendly" cartoon aesthetic and 2 - adds a touch of realism to the show. Or maybe i'm just overthinking lol.
either way it’s better than daftpina’s pilot
It's okay but I would much rather watch something else than "Catching up"
It was probably the best of the indie shows I ever seen, especially since Mark is very critical when he reviews other shows, this had to peak.