Two-time Grammy-nominated artist and NFT creator Steve Aoki has joined forces with Seth Green’s Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, the studio behind the Emmy Award-winning Robot Chicken (nominated again this year) and the upcoming stop-motion series Ultra City Smiths, to present Dominion X, billed as the first episodic series to launch on the blockchain.
The project launches August 2 via Nifty Gateway, the exclusive NFT marketplace owned by Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and on www.DominionXshow.com.
Dominion X is a 21st century animated short episodic directed by two-time Emmy Award winner Eric Towner (Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.). The concept is based on Character X, a character who first appeared in Aoki’s debut NFT drop Dream Catcher (with Antonti Tudisco). Stoopid Buddy Stoodios handcrafted the physical characters and sets, while meticulously filming the animation frame by frame, which was then set to original music scored by Aoki.
Through blockchain and NFT technology, fans are being offered a unique chance to own a piece of the show, both physical and digital, before it premieres on traditional television or streaming.
“I first met Seth and the team at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios when I was invited to do a cameo on Robot Chicken back in 2015,” Aoki recalled. “Ever since then we’ve been trying to find another chance to work together. The idea of launching the first ever ‘TV’ series on the blockchain really excited me. We realized that through NFTs we can combine the traditional stop-motion animation that Stoopid Buddy Stoodios is known for with innovative fan driven concepts that I’m passionate about: collectibles, community building and gaming. And I love the fact that we’ve been able to bring Character X, a creature that literally personifies me, to life in a completely new world with new characters and new adventures.”
Minted from a custom smart contract with unique interactive traits built directly into the NFT via Ether Cards, Dominion X is Aoki’s third major NFT project in 2021 alone, following his successful Dream Catcher and Neon Future drops.
Dominion X‘s debut short “Level 1” introduces us to the world of Character X, a character personified with Aoki’s signature fang face logo, and his obliviously contentious relationship with the diminutive Chonk and Swole. Fans can watch their worlds collide in this “1 of 1” animated NFT debut short as well as get a chance to own any one of the 15 individual scenes that make up the short and win one of the physical puppets used in the actual making of the short.
“Collaborating with an artist like Steve Aoki guarantees you’ll make something unique, accessible, and out of this world,” said Green. “We love pushing the boundaries of entertainment through technology and are beyond excited to bring this experience to an audience.”
Dominion X and the limited edition vignettes will be minted on the blockchain one time only and available to purchase through Nifty Gateway, allowing fans to participate in the creation of new IP in a revolutionary way. In partnership with Ether Cards, each individual NFT will have a built-in layer of functionality that will reveal itself in the weeks and months after the sale. This added layer of utility will allow collectors to be rewarded with both NFTs and physical pieces used in the making of the show.
By minting these shorts on the blockchain first, Aoki and Stoopid Buddy are allowing the public to own a piece of the show, both digitally and physically, before it airs anywhere else. Moreover, the episode and eventually the full series will live on the blockchain forever, guaranteeing the public’s ability to view it regardless of distribution and exclusivity rights seen in traditional TV and streaming formats.
“2021 has been an incredible year of growth and creativity in the crypto space and it inspires me to see artists and teams pushing the boundaries of what is possible,” noted Tyler Winklevoss, Principal of Winklevoss Capital Management, which acquired Nifty Gateway in 2019. “Launching the first episodic series on the blockchain that fans can now own is the kind of novel use-case that only the NFT medium can provide. I am thrilled that this is launching on Nifty Gateway.”