FXWars! CLOSE ENCOUNTERS!: Max_Power, HYBRID, SPIELBERG

[JB]

My scanner's power supply fried, so I'll have to write up a shot list. But that'll have to wait a bit till I get the shots sorted out.

Here's a quick UFO test, as you can see I am going for quite the "Close Encounters" look :)

http://www.dobiedog.com/video/ufotest.mov

Cheers.

[Domo_Digital]

Very cool, thought I was watching the movie for a sec ;)

[JB]

Well, this has turned into a much larger sequence than I had first thought. I have quite a few shots to "finish". Not enough time to polish them the way I would like.

Here's the UFO Landing/beam down shot: http://www.dobiedog.com/video/ufo_land.mov

[JB]

A closeup :D


http://www.dobiedog.com/images/alien.jpg

[JB]

I thought I would point out that the lensflares are an 'Homage' to the Spielberg film.

I know they are frowned upon nowadays :D

[droidoz]

Wow, this is going to be a great entry! keep it up!

[JB]

Thank's man :)

I sure hope I can finish it in time.

[JB]

I finally got the shot list figured out. Not sure I got all the terminology correct :)



FADE IN
SHOT 1: A dog is sleeping soundly on a bed. The dog wakes suddenly...
SHOT 2: A bright light shines through a doggy door...
SHOT 3: The dog jumps off the bed and runs out of frame...
SHOT 4: The dog runs through the doggy door surrounded by bright light...
SHOT 5: The dog runs out the doggy door, the light fades away...
SHOT 6: (Reverse angle) The dog is running, a small sphere of light is following him...
SHOT 7: Dog running toward camera, the light sphere following him...
SHOT 8: (Overhead shot) The dog runs into frame looking up, the light sphere flies up toward the camera and out of frame.
SHOT 9: (Medium shot) The dog is looking up, the scene is suddenly filled with a bright light.
SHOT 10: A UFO descends from a starry sky.
SHOT 11: An Alien materializes as the UFO lands behind him. The Alien quickly glances around.
SHOT 12: Medium shot of a flower in a pot.
SHOT 13: Alien begins to walk stage right.
SHOT 14: Alien kneels down and picks up the flower pot, he suddenly looks up, startled.
SHOT 15: (Closeup) Alien turns his head looking a bit confused.
SHOT 16: (Closeup) Dog looking at the alien.
SHOT 17: (Closeup) The Alien smiles.
SHOT 18: (Reverse angle) The Alien stands up, the dog is standing in front of him.
SHOT 19: (Profile shot) Alien and Dog facing eachother.
SHOT 20: (Medium shot) Alien kneels and pets the dog on the head.
SHOT 21: (Closeup) Alien smiles and stands up.
SHOT 22: Dog looks up
SHOT 23: Carrying the flowerpot, the Alien turns and walks away. He dematerializes.
SHOT 24: (Medium shot) The dog looks up.
SHOT 25: UFO ascends into the sky and dissappears in a flash...
SHOT 26: (Reverse angle) Dog watching the small sphere of light fly past him and up into the sky.
FADE OUT.


I have all the footage shot, and more than half the shots done, luckily the dog is a good actor :D

[RobertoOrtiz]

FYI

Fxwars Close Encounters: New Dateline! (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=302921)

-R

[JB]

Well, now I have plenty of time to experiment with the music, re-render shots, fix annoyances....start over? :twisted:

[Dagibit]

I finally got the shot list figured out. Not sure I got all the terminology correct :)

Heh, that's what kept be behind as well- can't do much until you've got your medium:D

[JB]

Heh, that's what kept be behind as well- can't do much until you've got your medium:D

Yeah, I wanted to look like I know what I'm doing :D

[JB]

edited....

[JB]

Here's my final piece. Any comments, critiques are welcome. Thanks :)


http://www.dobiedog.com/video/Max_Power_FXWARS(640x480).mov

[Dutchman]

Wooow Joseph! You're the one! :p This is the most brilliant entry for this FX-Wars! (for what I've seen till now ;) )! :drool:

You really got a great movie: very cool and clear storyline and a very nice cinematrographic feel! Also the music really fits everything together! Did you compose/produce it yourself? :arteest:

Also: did you shoot most of the stuff as 'day-for-night'? And what software did you use?

It must have been a hell lot of time to get the FX shots done! You got such an amount of it! A 1-minute-40 short movie will take allot of time!:bowdown:

I just wanna say 'bravo' and I hope that you'll soon get more of the (well deserved!) replies! :) Have a nice day!
-Gijs

[edit: you also got really cool stuff on your website! I really like your modeling style on that 'pan'! :arteest: ]

[JB]

Thank you for the very kind words :)




You really got a great movie: very cool and clear storyline and a very nice cinematrographic feel! Also the music really fits everything together! Did you compose/produce it yourself?



I used Sony's ACID pro for the music, and one of their orchestral libraries. It was a lot of fun putting the music together, and arranging it to match the action.



Also: did you shoot most of the stuff as 'day-for-night'? And what software did you use?


Yes I shot it in the daytime, and I turned the exposure down a bit on the camcorder. Then I brought it into Commotion pro and adjusted HSL, Levels, and added a blue tint.

I rotoscoped many of the shots and added a starry sky, and the dog had to be roto'd quite a bit. Pretty tedious work :cry:

A few shots were stabilized, but commotion couldn't do a very good job with my DV footage.



I really like your modeling style on that 'pan'!

Thank you. That was for an old CGTalk challenge a few years ago.

[jjstanley]

Fabulous Job!! Great story line and very well done. The time and care you put into it really show!

[Pyrotechnic]

That was truely magnificant! I loved the 'acting' from the dog, fantastic, the interaction was brilliant.

[JB]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the comments :)

I loved the 'acting' from the dog

Heh, Jack Russell terriers are fine actors :D

[jigu]

hey i just love the story u got there.and dog u have.really nice acting by dog.can i know where did u do rotoscopy for dog?(don't know much about rotoscoping .....)

well daytime shot would be cool looking too if u did that.the only thing i would like to point out is the starry sky u replaced in the footage.that kinda makes scene looks like in the universe.

[JB]

hey i just love the story u got there.and dog u have.really nice acting by dog.


Thanks jigu :)


can i know where did u do rotoscopy for dog?(don't know much about rotoscoping .....)

A couple shots of the dog running in the beginning, and the final shot, plus a couple inbetween that I can't think of right now :)

I roto'd the dog so I could replace the background with a photo and stars, which were tracked to the footage.


the only thing i would like to point out is the starry sky u replaced in the footage.that kinda makes scene looks like in the universe.

Ok, well I was going for a certain 'look', perhaps I didn't achieve it :D I probably went a little overboard on the stars:)

[GallenWolf]

Hello mate!
Just watched your short, cool stuff!

I do have some crits though :D

About 1:06 when the alien turns its attention towards the dog, the alien is lit from the foreground, but the dog is lit from the rear-left. I know, nit-picking :)

1:12, the shadow of the dog (yes dog again) doesn't reflect the light coming from the left.

It's very cool though, the interaction between the cg alien and the dog's head :)

So guys, if potted plants go missing around your garden. You know where to look!

Alvin

[JB]

Thanks for you comments!

About 1:06 when the alien turns its attention towards the dog, the alien is lit from the foreground, but the dog is lit from the rear-left. I know, nit-picking
Yeah, the lighting doesn't match up perfect. Your not supposed to notice that! :D


1:12, the shadow of the dog (yes dog again) doesn't reflect the light coming from the left.

Ummmm, light falloff? :D

[JB]

...the alien is lit from the foreground, but the dog is lit from the rear-left.


I just remembered, I flipped the video of the dog in that shot because he wasn't "looking" at the alien. Now I realize that did mess up the lighting. Well, it's kinda too late for a re-shoot :D

[JB]

I thought I would break down a couple of shots, since this is a WIP thread and all :)


Here is the raw video for Shot 7:
http://www.dobiedog.com/images/shot7/sh7_raw1.jpg


Here is after roto:
http://www.dobiedog.com/images/shot7/sh7_roto.jpg


Here is after color correction:
http://www.dobiedog.com/images/shot7/sh7_cc.jpg


With the photo background(Which is tracked to the video) added:
http://www.dobiedog.com/images/shot7/sh7_nolight.jpg


Final shot with the light sphere:
http://www.dobiedog.com/images/shot7/sh7_final.jpg

[JB]

Raw video for shot 19:
http://www.dobiedog.com/images/shot19/sh19_raw.jpg


Then resized and rotated a bit, with alien:
http://www.dobiedog.com/images/shot19/sh19_nocc.jpg


Added background photo, alien shadow, and color corrected:
http://www.dobiedog.com/images/shot19/sh19_cc.jpg


UFO lighting, stars, and grain added, final shot:
http://www.dobiedog.com/images/shot19/sh19_final.jpg

[onix3dmx]

Wooww!


so much work!!

you did a great job, Is a pleasure to have you in the competition, seems like we both like our dog friends!

:bounce: :buttrock:

[JB]

Thank you sir :)

seems like we both like our dog friends!
They are great actors, and they work cheap! :D

[Dutchman]

Holy-poly Joseph! :cool: I didn't even notice that you had used mattepaintings and so... It all looks so real and well-fitting that I had never thought that you had shot this not on location!

I have dozen of respect for your roto-work! :drool:

[3DEffects]

Very good shots max_power! And thanks for explaining ur procedures for ur shot ... just one question pls ... what software did u use to erase the background and insert an imaginary one ( the one behind the dog ...:))?

Thanks,
3DEffects

[JB]

Thanks Dutchman and 3DEffects! :)

3DEffects: I used commotion pro for roto and compositing, it's B-splines make roto a little less painful :D

[Dagibit]

And Max_Power takes the lead! You definitely put the most time and effort into your entry, and it shows! :drool: Congratulations!

[JB]

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it :thumbsup: . Yes, it was a lot of work, A lot of late nights :surprised

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