Hey Everyone !
[u]Meline[/u] is the name of the character my girlfriend (Virginie) and I are working on. :o)
We are working hard during our spare time (after work, in our evenings) to create our own short film called: [b]
MEET MELINE [/b][size=2]color=Orange[/color][/size]
[b]Virginie GOYONS[/b] : Modeling, Texturing.
[b]Sebastien LABAN[/b] : Skinning/Rigging, Animation, Lighting, Rendering, Compositing.
WHAT THE MAKING OF MEET MELINE : a 12-minutes featurette with behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, talks about the story, the characters and the environments, shot breakdowns and much more : the Art of making a short-film!
CLICK HERE ! :o)
[b]DOWNLOAD THE TRAILER ! :)[/b]
[color=White]DIRECT DOWNLOAD[/color]: [b]AVI [/b](30 MB), [b]MOV [/b](30 MB), [b]WMV [/b](15 MB) (Disabled - Site overloaded, use STREAMING)
[color=White]STREAMING [/color]: [b][YOUTUBE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHx_E8KctdU)[/b], [b][DAILYMOTION](http://www.dailymotion.com/user/ssebastienn/video/x8sgmh_meet-meline-2009-la-bande-annonce_shortfilms)[/b], [b][VIMEO](http://www.vimeo.com/3872070)[/b].
[b]Website[/b] : [www.meetmeline.com](http://www.meetmeline.com/)
[b]Interview #1[/b] : [An Interview about "Meet Meline" !](http://inrojo.blogspot.com/2008/05/entrevista-con-sebastian-laban.html)
[b]Interview #2[/b] : [Another interview about "Meet Meline"](http://zeb.3dvf.com/blog/en/index.php/post/2008/Interview-Meet-Meline)
[b]Interview #3[/b] : [http://www.lyoncapitale.fr/index.php?menu=04&article=7640](http://www.lyoncapitale.fr/index.php?menu=04&article=7640) (VIDEO)
[b]Facebook[/b] [b]:o)[/b] : [http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17836116455](http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17836116455)
We are using this thread as a blog.
Im hoping to have as many critics and comments as possible
so feel free to tell me what you like or dont like. 
So today, we are releasing !
[[img]http://www.meetmeline.com/cgtalk/meetmeline-makingof.jpg[/img]](http://www.vimeo.com/7708580)
[img]http://sebastien.laban.free.fr/cgtalk/testscreening.jpg[/img]
[img]http://sebastien.laban.free.fr/cgtalk/press_lyonplus.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.meetmeline.com/cgtalk/posters.jpg[/img]
[img]http://sebastien.laban.free.fr/cgtalk/meetmeline_soundrecord01.jpg[/img]
[img]http://sebastien.laban.free.fr/cgtalk/meetmeline_soundrecord02.jpg[/img]
[img]http://sebastien.laban.free.fr/cgtalk/meetmeline_soundrecord03.jpg[/img]
[img]http://sebastien.laban.free.fr/cgtalk/maquette_3cgi2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://sebastien.laban.free.fr/cgtalk/shot_b02.jpg[/img]
[b]-------------------------------------------- [/b][b]BLOG [/b] [b]-----------------------------------------------[/b]
[b]_________________________________[/b][b] 2008 12 16 [/b][b]__________________________________[/b]
[b]Virginie and I spent our last Saturday, in Paris, for the Foley & Voice Recording Session for "Meet Meline"... And that was, without a doubt, one of our favorite Saturday Ever! :)[/b]
WHAT AN AMAZING DAY!!!
We took the train at 7:00am. Two hours later, we were in Paris, thinking and wishing "That would be great if she -- the voice -- was cute" or "Maybe there will be a big console with many buttons to tweak" etc... We were drawing in our mind how could be the perfect day!
Well, it was way beyond what Virginie and I could have dreamed of! :o)
[u]At 11:00am, we did the Voice Record[/u], with a cute little girl named Mia! Our Sound Designer, Cedric, was right: the way she was talking/acting/moving was how Meline could talk/act/move! :-)
As in all movie production, the studio is separated in 2 specific parts: The Soundproof Recording Booth where the sound is recorded and the Studio with the sound designer and her hardware system. We talk to each next room with a micro.
The First hour, our 10-years-old little Mia was alone in the soundproof room, with her big earphones on her head and huge microphone in front of her, she was a little shy, but acted well. For the Second hour, I asked the sound recorder (Yohan) if I could go in the booth and direct her, make her feel the character, and most of all de-stress her
Thats quite a job, directing actors! I tried many things to get her comfortable by tickling her, making jokes or weird facial expression etc! :o)
So we made her do many nose breathing, mouth breathing, singing, swallowing, jumping/running/turning in front of the mic etc. Since theres no dialogue in Meet Meline, we didnt have to make her talk so the job was a little easier!
That took 2 hours! Two hours were Mia was as professional as possible, very concentrated! So [u]many thanks to Mia and her lovely parents![/u] :)
Pfiou!!! The morning was very intense! Yet, the sound designer told us that the afternoon would be as intense as the morning!
And he was right!
[u][b]At 3:00pm, we did the Foley Record[/b][/u], in a big studio, also in Paris! It was like the one we worked in in the morning, but 10 times bigger! It was watching a making of from Pixar, but only this time, it was for us! :o)
The studio is also cut in 2 distinct parts:
1- A small part (photo) with the sound designer (Cedric), the engineer (Tony), Virginie and I. Thats the place were we talk about the right sounds to use, the intention, listen the digitalized sounds or pre-mix what has been recorded in the other room. We test them with the video, we see if it works, then goo to the next step.
2- The Soundproof Recording Booth! Thats a room with many, many, many objects that will be used to recreate any sounds (in the world)! What a messy place! Tire tracks, old toys, chain, fridge, grass, gravel, feathers, fabrics, leather, rocks, sands, miscellaneous plastic/metallic/wooden objects, and even more objects that you dont know whats the use
Everything! Its like my grand-fathers old barn!
And oh great! The action of Meet Meline takes place in an old barn! This time, its the sound effects engineer (Eric) that uses all these objects and there is a big white screen where Meet Meline is projected! And he really knows what to use, how to make a very specific sound, and at a very specific moment. And believe, if you dont know it already, its not as easy as it looks!
[u]That was amazing to see Meet Meline with sounds that really match all the movements and actions, and for the first time, on a big screen[/u]. For instance, I remember when Eric was doing what they call Presence Sounds which are sounds from clothes from the main character. He did it real time, as the short film was projected, with such a precision and concentration -- nobody talked -- the other sound guys were also concentrated in the sounds/image coherence
and that really was like Meline was alive in front of use! Virginie and I were almost in tears! That was so moving!
WHAT AN AMAZING DAY!!! :)
I could tell you more but I dont think that reflects the way that day really was! The thing is, all that was for our film, the film weve started creating in our bedroom, pitching ideas in the air. And now,[u] it reaches a point where 4 more really talented sounds people were completely involved![/u] They all wanted to create something that was good, that sounded good. When they were faced with a dilemma, they would talk about it, test something, and find a solution.
So really, sincerely, [u]Virginie and I want to thank Cedric, Yohan, Tony, and Eric for the incredible job theyve done that Saturday![/u]
We have many other pictures and video clip, so we are sorry we can go further into details but we wanted to talk about that day before we go on vacations. We were really eager to share that wonderful experience as fast as possible!
[b]_________________________________[/b][b] 2008 11 17 [/b][b]__________________________________[/b]
[b]The story of "Meet Meline" came up very naturally.[/b] At first, it wasn't supposed to be a short film. We just wanted to make a 20seconds clip. It was like a challenge to keep our skills sharp. So Virginie started to work on the character design for 1 month, we talked about it, change the hair, try new clothes, etc. When we were both happy of the character Design of our little girl (that wasn't even named Meline at the time) we started to think about something interesting and cute that she could do during the 20seconds clip. So we started thinking about the different location that she might be in. An environment made of Snow, or a landscape in a meadow? And when the barn came up, it was such an obvious location! We could see instantly our little girl in that old, dusty and made of wood environment! We were pitching ideas like crazy "She could be doing this!" or "Why not she climb that?" or "what if she takes that and get surprised!"! :D
We had so many ideas that we started to write them on paper. I remember one thing that I really enjoyed doing: We started to mime the little girl in our bedroom. I was pitching "She could look down for a second, then she looks up, freaks out and starts running!" while physically doing what I was saying. Virginie, that was watching me -- with another point of view -- then took my place and said "What if instead of that action, she directly goes there!" What a great idea! ... So we went on like that for 2 weeks every evening trying to find a sequence that we were proud of! We had movies like Hayao Miyazaki's "My Neighbor Totoro" or Pete Docter's "Monsters Inc" in our heads.
Unfortunately what we had couldn't be done in a 20 seconds clip... and not even a 1 minute clip! We had already done some early character and sets design, the story was quite intense already; so we suggested something that would later take 2 whole year of our time! ... "Why not create a short film?" :p
It was like in Robert ZEMEKIS "Forrest Gump" when Forrest starts to run for no particular reason and then go a little further, and then go a lot further, and so on and so on. :)
So we continued to pitch ideas, but now, not only about the different actions that she could perform, but things like the direction of the film, the different ambiances between sequences, the character of Meline (that's the moment we started calling her "Meline"), and even sounds and music that could go with the complete film! :p
So as you can see, like many things in life, it wasn't what we planned at the beginning... but we don't mind because what came up was a much better and fulfilling idea! :)
[b]_________________________________[/b][b] 2008 10 31 [/b][b]__________________________________[/b]
As for the news about "Meet Meline", we've done [b]the third Test Screening[/b] last week! The Feedback are very good!!! :p
We are still finishing/tweaking/retaking some stuff, working on certain things that came up during the different test screenings!
Meantime, we are working on [b]the Marketing Assets[/b], like hires renders for prints, posters, artofs, and all that! :o)
There's not need to tell you that after all the work we've done, it's such a fun step to do in the production of a movie! It's like the short film is getting a life of its own when it is printed on a paper! :p
[b]_________________________________[/b][b] 2008 07 13 __________________________________[/b]
[b]CUT!!! THAT'S A WRAP!!![/b] :)
No, Im not kidding! Principal Photography :p of Meet Meline is now over! :o)
Yyyaaa! :p
Now, its Post-Production time which includes retakes of some animations & renders, compositing, sounds, music etc!!! and make each shot as readable as possible! :o)
So even though Production is over, the Post-Production will ask a lot of effort too for the next 6 months!
[b]_________________________________[/b][b] 2008 07 04 [/b][b]__________________________________[/b]
A little heads up to tell you that there's only [b]126 frames of character animation to go[/b]! :o)
The biggest and most exhausting part is almost over! Then it will be the moments of retakes, tweaks, details of every shot!!! :o)
[b]_________________________________[/b][b] 2008 09 06 [/b][b]__________________________________[/b]
[b]The name "Meline" comes from Virginie[/b]. She always liked that name. She told me about it in the very beginning of "Meet meline", and I say "why not, that's a nice name" :o) ... Six months ago, Virginie noticed that there is a strange link between the names of her 3 nieces (that are Melanie, Aurelie, Marine) and "Meline".
Have you noticed? [b]ME[/b]LANIE + AURE[b]LI[/b]E + MARI[b]NE[/b] = [b]MELINE[/b] !!! :p
Weird huh? :o) I guess there some Freud theory somewhere here... or that's just a coincidence (because if you put a number to each letters (A=1, B=2, etc...) and you multiply all the numbers by 10, minus cos(value.meline), you get 1588.2.... and 1588.2, translated in letters, is "WALL-E" ! Amazing hu? :o) )
[b]_________________________________[/b][b] 2008 06 06 [/b][b]__________________________________[/b]
As for the real news, at the moment, [b]we are working on the biggest shot of "Meet meline"[/b]. It's not that there is many details, hair interacting with water, crowds and epique battles in it. No. It's just a very long take that last 62 seconds where we follow our little girl Meline (The second longuest shot is 45 seconds long and the third longuest shot last for 32 seconds). Animation. :)
It's a very important shot and if we manage to put all our ideas in it, if we manage to place all the important keys that will support the story, this will be a fantastic shot that we will be very proud of as for the 25 other ones.:)
Can't wait to show you! :p
Another great thing is that almost all the modeling is done now! Yeee! :scream: What's missing are some minor details here and there that will be done after the first pass on the complete shortfilm.
[b]_________________________________[/b][b] 2008 03 07 [/b][b]__________________________________
[/b]In the Integration part, what I do is put every elements together (like Characters, Sets, Background, Fur, and other PaintFX stuff)
so that the setup of the scene is done and the the shot is ready to be render (And when there is a new version of the animation of the girl, for instance, I don t have to setup the whole scene again, I just change the clip in the “Trax Editor” and everything will be setup properly.)
In the Pre-Editing part, I make a rough edit of the complete shortfilm, with testRender shots, final shots, and Previz footage. I also have a soundtrack, with basic sounds like footsteps, and other foley noises.
The Pre-Rendering step is just some test renders. I use it as a sketch book for 3D elements. I can easily see what technology will work during the complete shortfilm, and what wont. That step is also used to check what kind of layers the compositing will require.
The 3D Layout step is a little more than a story-board. Its the entire short-film in 3D, but with very lowres models of the characters and sets, and very simple animations. Its there to validate the cameras, compositions, timing etc
[b]_________________________________[/b][b] 2008 01 02 [/b][b]__________________________________[/b]
As for a personnal message, I wanted to tell you that [b]I've been Directing and DOPing my first live Video Clip[/b] (wich is a clip for the company I'm working on) last week! :o)
I hired a model, a studio, some lighting equipment and shot every thing with an HD Camera!
That was such a fun experience to do! From the very pre-production with the research, making some lighting plots etc, to the final compositing, and through directing the model and placing the physical lights and other setups! : AMAZING EXPERIENCE! :p :p :p
I'll show you the final clip when it's over since I don't have the right to do that before :p
As for how's [b]Meline [/b]doing : do you worry, we are still working really hard on it! we are begining to have some shot complete (still wip). We are hoping to finish the project by the end of... this year 2008 !!! :o)
I wish you a Very [b]Happy New Year[/b], and lets hope Indi4 & Wall-E is going to turn good! :)
[b]
[/b]Cheers,
[b]Sebastien LABAN[/b]
[b][www.sebastien-laban.com](http://www.sebastien-laban.com/)[/b]
