Short Film Collaboration: Discussion and Concept development

#21

Well, I found it bold to “mention” all those names without speaking with them first.
Not a good way to start something like this IMO.

I’m all for a community project if enough people can be found to actually work on it, but don’t do it to “help pmG”, that is plain bullshit. They can either help themselves or nobody can - it is commercial closed source in the end.

I think messiahs “problem” is completely different from Blender.
There was “Jimmy Neutron” by DNA and the Gorillaz videos by Passion Picture next to many other cool projects in the past. But DNA doesn’t touch messiah with sticks anymore and Passion… : http://www.softimage.com/community/spotlight/gorillaz/default.aspx …

I would just prefer if things stayed closer to realistic ideas and measures instead of something that is plain impossible with this microscopic community.
And what actually CAN be done will not change a thing for pmG.

That would need something like “Titanic”, 100% done in messiah, not another animated short…

Sorry, I just don’t believe in hype for hypes sake.

Cheers, :bowdown:

#22

yep, simple but impressive. thats where having a good story is key. id love to flex some realflow muscle here as well…

thomas, you keep on mentioning how other companies used messiah to do projects, but the whole point here is not a company but a collaboration of users with nothing more then their own hardware. i work full time but i rarely get fun projects that really get me excited, i want to do something to impove my skills and enjoy 3D as something fun and challenging rather then the endless small jobs for clients of utterly boring content. I dont care about making money out of it because i make enough at work, what i want to get out of it is more experience doing the stuff that i normally dont get to do. yes i should probably look for a different job lol, and doing projects like these is the best way to do it.

#23

I’d like to be in…I don’t have a lot of time at the moment…but I can try to find some.

I can model in LW and rig in Messiah.

I think this could be a great chance of growth for everyone.

#24

I do not think that there is any reason to be negative at this point and make others feel sorry about their attempts. People are yet talking about it and noone is putting pressure on others.

I am a big time believer of open source and i applaud Blender success, but also i believe that little companies could make big things . So such projects can totally bring ambitious and energetic people together.

This would be a community driver project but on the other hand maybe people who work on this project can get little incentives to get motivated, like little discounts or trying beta software, or free lunch at siggraph etc.

If it is kept simple and if the tasks kept nice and small i am sure it is doable.

#25

Wow…Thanks to all who have replied so far!!!.. And for offers of help!..(sorry, long again)

Background:

The impetus for this idea came from a conversation I had with a key player at Pmg where they expressed concern that based upon the number of Gallery submissions very few people are actually creating work… even though the number of posts to this forum are increasing… What that means is that there may be many that are interested, but few have a working knowledge of Messiah that translates to finished imagery. Now, Taron is onboard with this idea and really excited about this as a vehicle to help him teach us how to use Messiah to the fullest, and how to optimize modeling and animation to reach our potential…what a gift!!!

Commentors:

(Doubting) Thomas. lol! Thanks for the compliment!..( TV Preacher… ha…) Maybe I should re-think my goals…jk We will win you over …I truely hope so… your contribution is very valuable…I understand your concerns… I know it is altruistic…a dream… and I am busy too…

Taron… what can I say… your support means everything!!!

Stooch… thanks for the offer of help!.. Water sim is part of what I have in mind for the story…(of course, that is subject to approval by group)… so yes… I am tracking with you… I do want to make sure we use Messiah whenever possible!!! Very important!! Taron will be able to push the envelope… and may even help drive DEV as I had hoped!!

Crossbones… thanks for chiming in… i knew you would show up!! great!! Thanks for your vote of confidence!! Yes short and sweet… is the idea… Don’t want to over whelm us…

James V… Great ideas…yeah, any help with the logistics…web wise would be very helpful!.
We want to make all files available to the entire 3D community once completed and during progress as much as possible to build interest… as we go along… Lots of bandwidth will be needed… Possibly we could get mirrors once we are off the ground… As momentum builds, who knows who might come out of the woodwork!

In order to maximize exposure to this project, it is important to leverage websites\forums that already get alot of traffic\cross traffic like this forum… starting a new forum could suffer from lack of this. Maybe updates here with tons of links to actual content.

Christopher L. Wow!.. thanks for your offer as well… This may end up being one of the most important…tools… if we find ourselves in a bind… an area that any production leans on!!..

Colour… Great… Excellent animation is what I am really hoping to see happen!!.. Even the best riggs will be waisted if we don’t have experienced people in this area.!! fantastic!

Paul N. Very funny name!.. Yes all files would be available…including source… and making of… just like “Elephant Dreams”… My story idea is clean…Characatures… The logoistics of the e-commerce is something that I would really need help with… not my expertise.

Bill_Nuts: Story IS everything… no question. Hope you like the following Idea… Everyone is allowed to coment and make it shine or suggest a better idea!!

All others thus far: I hope the previous replies helped to clarify… if not chime in again please.

Story:

I will reveal my story Idea in the next post… Stay tuned!.. (oh, suspense… love it!)

Thanks Again everyone!
G

#26

Kursad…

Thanks for the kind remarks… Your work truely inspires!!..our last posts just missed eachother!

I am so glad you have decided to take another look at Messiah and are finding so much to be happy about!!

Yes, project management will be key!.. As far as goodies… had not thought about that… We’ll have to see what Pmg can do on that regard… If other Plugin or tutorial folks want to sweeten the deal… i’m all for that!!

#27

Messiah is truly awesome software no question about it. I worked in maya enviroments, and i hated it, so messiah is a total breeze for me.

I hope that something good comes out of this nice community effort. If it does not at least it has been tried, maybe next time.

Once i am a messiah owner i will try joining in Lanosrep1

#28

If this project could happen alongside pMg where development works with the project that would be interesting. Anyway, I’ll place my bets now on this project…

#29

Wow, I’m thrilled to see all the replies! Gary, look what you’ve done!!! :smiley:
EXCELLENT!

I’m glad I saw my name in there, otherwise I might not have noticed the thread, hahahaha, kidding! I think it’s been a good idea to throw some names in for inspirational purposes. It’s ok not to be fine with that, but that doesn’t change the greatness of it for others…so no worries there! :buttrock:

I honestly see this for what it can be and not in any comparison to anything else. It’s a fantastic opportunity and I will do everything in my power to support it from the inside out!

One of the aspects I’ve already told Gary about the benefit of this chance for me to share more ideas with all of you is, that it will give me a chance to tell you about economizing the production a lot more. I’m referring to just exactly what Crossbones has already mentioned: Keeping it simple!

Key for a first run would be to come up with a neat little story, scenario and good ideas to make it exciting and fun to watch and make! Nothing too ambitious but still with the least amount of restrictions, too! I would want for us to brainstorm freely in order to draw everyone in with full motivation!

Another thing is that I think it’s fine for anyone to bounce in and out of it as he/she pleases to and it should be and feel as free as it actually is. But that’s just my two cents on that topic…(is that a new topic?)… anyway, this would make it possible and potentially more attractive for those of us, who don’t usually have a lot of time. Also I am strictly against any deadline, except for potential milestones for accepted assignements. We do not play production house on that thing, but we explore and celebrate what we can do with messiah!

Everyone, who wants to work under pressure can say so and we can organize some horrors for those, no problem! :twisted:

Tasks that cause an unpleasant hold-up without getting done in time will need to be reassigned, that’s probably the only kind of pressure that might occure.

I was already tempted to think of it kind of like the Cadavre Exquis method in terms of story creation and potential other aspects of it…but it certainly will have to be a clear vision before we get to start on it!

VERY, very cool…I am excited! :thumbsup:

#30

not to be rude, but there is already a story, little guys will win over big guys :slight_smile:

#31

Perfect!

GREAT START!

Alright…maybe we should make a little story thread first?
This would make a beautiful startup… :thumbsup:

#32

K… Taron just posted a few great ideas on the mechanics of story creation!and suggests a Story thread… Sounds great!!.. Just to get the story ball rolling i throw this out…So that others can feel more free to express their ideas…

In a nutshell… a reversed fish that got away story…\Big fish story…

Little boy gets up early in the morning excited about going fishing. Mom sends him on his way with lunch!..(with the warning to stay away from the edge). Arrives at local Pier where there is a Bait shop, manned by a funny looking Big merchant who looks alot like a shark in disguise, flanked by his small sidekick fish friend. He sells the boy worms and the boy walks to the side of the dock. Cut to underwater, where you see the Shark and his buddy jumping in to plan their attack!.. On the dock above, the boy struggles with the worms (comedic scenario)… finally casts his line and waits!.. Boredom sets in… (cutting) above and below the surface of the water as the plans to nab the boy are taking shape… The boy feels the tug on the line from the little accomplice fish… but keeps waiting… finally overcome with curiosity, gets closer and closer to the edge, trying to see if there are any fish on the line…(cutting back and forth, until the Sharks plan is about to be excecuted… Just as the shark jumps out of the water to capture and swallow the boy… the boy jerks back out of the way and is saved in nick of time!!

The shark flops back in the water(big Slpash…Stooch…lol) and you see the two underwater comparing… with fins wide open… the size of the catch that got away!!

Cut back to the boys reaction…and finally walking home… clearly affected.

Ok… open season… hack it…hate it…whatever!!

#33

Very cute! Hard to hate! But I think for simplicity purposes I would at first try to avoid water featured so dramatically! It’s much easier to make things look near “perfect” on dry ground…dust is no problem to simulate just fine…but a splash in the water and all the transparency and refraction stuff…it’s tough and not easy for all of us to deal with. Especially when it needs to be such a featured element and dealt with in such great frequency. :scream:

The story’s a keeper, but for the first run I would recommend keeping it on the ground…or in the sky for that matter! Just to make it go a bit more fluently in terms of creation and degree of difficulty, you know. I hope you don’t mind!? :shrug:

Let’s first push our creativity a little and then our patience, hahaha… :wip:

#34

I would love it to do something really simple. Like this idea that is one of my favorite thing taron has ever done.
http://www.taron.de/Daily/pages/KidRobot.htm
Imagine a bunch of these guys around a table playing cards. Its simple. A few people could pick a robot and model it, a few people could rig it, a few could animate (better yet we should allow everyone to animate because we make the rigs almost like a video game) then those more experienced could render it. We could all contribute to the script. It should be no longer then 30-40 seconds long.

What do you guys say? Simple enough.
Lets start.

#35

Taron do a sketch of little guys win over big guys when you get a chance, it would be great to see that concept done in taron-style.

#36

Crossbones:

Awesome…great idea… Taron and I were just talking about making smaller pieces first and work up to a larger “short”…and talking about making them like little sketches… Perfect! Little learning opportunities that teach us how to tackle bigger projects…Baby steps!

Kurshad:
Picking up with your symbolic idea… lets go after the big guys within the story…

Messiah is the little. guy… big guys…hmm i think you know what i mean…lol

Please understand… this is all in fun…

So we “Characterize” the “others” symbolically… too big… too old… too slow… Ogre like… Fat and unable to move… All patched up and ragged, (with features that don’t work)…Power mongers (trying to take over the world)… you get the idea…

Thanks to Kurshad for your idea!! And to Taron for elaborating!!

Were are movin… yes…Keep it going everyone!

#37

maybe you guys could get the dailysketch people involved.

#38

well, i thought that it is better and more intimate to tell the story we know (messiah) rather than make ambitious goals and some midldle ages scifi with a modern twist:)

also just to get you going

http://www.archive.org/index.php has alot of bw videos that can be used freely

also story may use a 50s bw scifi film twist?

#39

Great Kurshad…
Yeah… open to stylistic ideas… like you mentioned 50’s B&W…

#40

Hi Bostaff,

I agree on all accounts… Character animation is the goal here… wholistically…(sp?)… Meaning, with the help of people like Taron, we are going to learn how to create our Characters so that they benefit from optimum “animation in mind” design. This is something Taron is excited to share. After that, the fun begins… We start to see the beauty of working with a rig and model that works without major flaws…

And story comes first. We will start a story sub-thread to facilitate that … to keep thing uncluttered… Join us in this Journey!