Titanium Daydream is a serialized animated web series that follows the exploits of Benjamin Jacobs, a brooding, all-American hero called back to his hometown in Iowa by troubling psychic visions. With questions around every corner and dark forces toiling in the shadows, Benjamin has tasked himself with unraveling the mysteries of Sleeper’s Edge once and for all.
The show is self-published by its creators, Ben Crouse and Jacob Sluka, to social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram each Tuesday. Embracing the restrictions of short form content, each episode is about one minute in length and is shot in a vertical aspect ratio. Titanium Daydream’s low-poly aesthetic, as well as its original score composed by Ben Crouse, is heavily inspired by video games of the early 2000’s.
Originally hailing from Iowa themselves, Ben Crouse and Jacob Sluka are two animation industry professionals who have been working together creatively for over a decade. Titanium Daydream is a passion project fueled by the exciting potential of building a future for quality animated content online that is free from the limitations of traditional industry publishing.
Ben Crouse
Ben is primarily responsible for all of the audio heard on Titanium Daydream. He is tasked with composing all original music for the show, recording and directing guest actors, and the final sound design and foley work for each episode. He even does the voice of the main character, Benjamin Jacobs! While Ben and Jacob crack the stories of the Titanium Daydream together, Ben is also responsible for writing the official script for each episode.
Jacob Sluka
Jacob is primarily responsible for all of the visuals seen on Titanium Daydream. He designs, models, textures, rigs, lights, and animates everything you see in a given episode. He is also responsible for shot composition and editing as almost everything is animated in one big pass in Blender. While Ben and Jacob collaborate on the overall look and feel of the show, Jacob is responsible for bringing that look and that feel to life. He also voices Benjamin’s best friend, Dante.
FAQ
How can I support Titanium Daydream?
Help us by getting the word out! Share, like, subscribe, all that stuff. We don’t have a marketing team (or budget) so we rely entirely on word of mouth. Oh, and we do have merch for sale!
Is Titanium Daydream a video game?
Nope. It just looks like one.
Are you going to make a video game?
We would love to, but it probably won’t happen anytime soon. Videogames take a long time to make and we currently have our hands pretty full producing a whole episode of the show every week.
Is the music from something else?
The music is all original for the show. It’s composed and recorded by Ben Crouse.
Is it supposed to look like PS1 graphics?
Sort of. It’s probably closer to PS2, but we put the vertex wobble effect from the PS1 on it so who knows.
What inspired Titanium Daydream?
The show is sort of a mish-mash of all of our favorite media. From Twin Peaks, to Silent Hill, to Shenmue, to Michael Mann movies, to Final Fantasy, to the Matrix…we could go on forever.
What program do you use to animate?
Everything is animated in Blender.
What programs do you use to make the music?
Ableton, using Yamaha DX7 and Korg M1 plug-ins.
Are you sponsored by Rockstar Energy?
Not currently, but we love the product and wouldn’t say no to a brand partnership…
How long does it take to make an episode?
The short (obvious) answer is one week. The longer answer is it depends on the episode. The most intense part of the process is the animation, and some episodes are harder to animate than others. Probably between 20-40 hours of work we guess.
Do you have episodes in the can before posting?
Nope! Well, not usually. It's all we can do just to keep pace currently.
How many people work on the show?
Basically just two, Ben and Jacob. But we do have many returning voice actors and sometimes even guest composers.
Can I do a voice?
If you’re a professional voice actor just wanting to do a guest voice, maybe! Usually we cast people who are reliable for repeat recording sessions. AKA people we know.
This should be an Adult Swim show.
Sorry, that’s not a question!
Contact Info
Message us on our social accounts:
Jacob’s Email: sluka1218@gmail.com
Ben’s Email: benbcrouse@gmail.com