Studio Update: Dig, Dig, Diggin' Through the Archives!

 By: Andrew Bermudez

(Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; February 11, 2023)

    There's not much to report on at the moment, so instead, we're going to spend today taking a look at our progress at auditing and (re-)digitizing the remainder of our archive!

What Have We Found So Far?

    So far...not much that we've already archived and digitally enhanced during The DVD Archival Project, but we are finding some nifty nuggets of previously-lost information here and there. We couldn't have started this cataloging at a better time, since we've also discovered that the CDs from years' past are starting to give out. Most of the DVDs from before A Very Patrick Christmas are barely playable, and extracting the information has been a slow process. With that said, here's what we've found so far:

• The Trailer for the never-released Com 50 Covert Operations DVD Game
• Additional production images and animation for Remember the Alamo
• The long-lost script for Johnny Thunder and the Ark of Ararat
• PSDs for all of the pages from Mustache Maniacs Film Co.: The Visual Dictionary - 1st Edition
• A preliminary casting sheet and unfinished script for Com 50-3: Raid on Central Island
• Additional .WPS files in need of converting to .DOC format

Now, you might be thinking what that last bullet point is. Allow us to step back and explain.

What's a .WPS File?

    Created back in the late 1980's, Microsoft Works Word Processor originated as the go-to word processing program for Microsoft's computers, including Windows operating systems. Since, at the time, different computer companies competed for consumer's cash with differing programs and operating systems, Microsoft wanted their word documents exclusive to themselves (i.e. NOT compatible with Apple or Linux products, therefore ensuring that consumers stayed with Microsoft to keep their files). Thus, the .WPS file was born as Microsoft's own word document format.

    However, as time went on and companies began to share files under corporate partnerships, there came an issue where this lack of compatibility caused workflow headaches. Eventually, in the early 2000's, Microsoft Word was introduced to circumvent the issue (which, for the record, has versions for Apple and Linux operating systems, in addition to Microsoft computers). Because of this convenience, Microsoft Word took off, leaving Microsoft Works in the dust. In 2006, Microsoft Works was officially discontinued.

    What this means for us is that we have a large collection of documents from the pre-formation era saved as .WPS files that we cannot open...at least, not right now. File converters do exist, and we're going to use one to get as many converted to .DOC files (which are compatible with Microsoft Word) as possible. Not only does this mean that we can then view these documents again, it also means that we'll be able to share these documents at a later time!

What About Seth Masterson's Wedding Videos?

    Short answer: nothing. Long answer: we're still going through all of the film reels in the studio's basement, and we still have plenty of ground to cover. Someone recently unearthed a box from 2013 that has the name of former LEGO Studios CFO, Rawlin N. Dough, written on top, but since his legacy and firing was the result of a lot of sore wounds, that box is going to be investigated later, probably next month.

Keepin' On Diggin'!

    We still have plenty of ground to cover and a TON of files to sort through, so we'll be back here later if we find anything else really interesting! As for Rawlin N. Dough's old film reel box, we almost don't want to open it. He was infamous for trying to make all of our films quickly marketable, but usually didn't understand market trends.