i like the early bird storyboard. i think it gets the idea across nicely. 
lol.
i was imagening the sound effects and laughing at the possibilities.
shall we start a poll on the domain name for this project or do more people have suggestions? right now it seems that www.projectpilgrimage has the most support but lets not get too kissingtaronsass.com here. Im all for something more relevant to a group collaboration then some religious journey (im quite agnostic heh).
As an aside, if this is all being done purely to help PMG and messiah gain more users, then maybe video tutorials would be more useful? I’ve heard quite a bit of chatter about messiah not having enough training materials. I know this would be nowhere near as much fun…
OK if that was a completely boring input, I’ll duck out again!
Valid point though. Make a short and make video tuts about various aspects of it. The early bird sequence seems like a really nice small beginning. MLMckenzie, nicely storyboarded by-the-way!! 
I think the religious vibe is mostly with regards to a project or collaborative community title which is inspired by the software app’s title being of a religious nature, something which won’t easily go away since even the pmG company has that in their name.:curious:
If you’re that agnostic, what are you doing around here then? :rolleyes: People who believe in messiah need a lot of faith!! 
lol just because i dont believe in god, doesnt mean im hopeless. 
anyway if there is anyone that needs gods help its newtek…
Hey stooch, no offense intended! I’m just making a play on words.
Faith is believing in something you cannot see but which is in reality there, and for long that is exactly what the messiah software required from it’s users - faith! So I’m saying, all those who support messiah actually have a lot of faith. :bounce:
Had a chance to take a look at your website… some really nice and expressive work there… I love the band of artist\animators idea… good stuff.
So been fowling the thread like everyones esle and i dont realy have a say except.
How about calling it “ProjectMu” M.U. stands for Messiah Users.
Im out back to lurker mode.
OK, Given that my idea wasn’t pounced on(!), it would be really helpful if, along with the animation, the first few scenes were demonstrated technically - ie ‘look how easy it was to set this part of the rig up’ or ‘look, with these armatures, you can manipulate your character so easily and quickly’. I think that will sell a LOT more than simply a nice animation, of which people are used to seeing - pixar anyone? The demonstrations would not need ot be tutorial like, in other words not so detailed as for people to be able to actually do them but simply a demo of how easy things are in messiah. This is all IF (and it’s a bold if) this project really is a favour to pmg and to get more people on board. If it’s more a project for users to contribute to a cool end product and a fun journey on the way, then it wouldn’t be necessary at all.
I’d like to help (Bob Parr) but I simply don’t have the time - Sorry.
Thank you very much good sir, your kind words are duely appreciated. Make sure you look out for our latest epic which is a war film featuring squirrels and premieres later in july.
A few thoughts on this project: One of the things that make’s Taron’s film “people” so good from my point of view is that it has a very well developed message with many levels to it. There is a nod to fellow 3d artists that know the process behind that particular film, at the same time it carries a message well beyond that. I think that an approach as suggested by Taron for this storyline would be perhaps a little bit too much aimed at other 3d artists, unless we can find some good common ground between real life and 3d, and we all know how many strange discussions about 3d programs being like cars, hoovers, chainsaws etc have taken place, they never quite lead anywhere and they tend to offend some people. It might also alienate some of the hard-core my-program-is-best people we’d like to win over. ‘Characterisation’ can often offend, even though it might have been intended quite harmlessly, because by their very nature tend to focus down on certain aspects and blow them up.
If we do however go for this approach, I believe it would be neccessary to kick in every direction, including our own. The Simpsons often do this very successfully by making fun of all involved parties in a conflict.
im down with either mu or muse. (I like mu because its also a very well known japanese car tuning company)
I agree on this point… the moral of the short story will be… no matter what app you use… it is up to the artists brain…to find his\her way… hopefully that would not offend…whatever the case, be sure that we will spend equal time making fun of Messiah… lol
I disagree I think making fun of all the other packages would be funny. It would be great to make fun 3DS MAX, we can have some little bipeds running around on it or something. I think we should start by all agreeing this has to be simple sweet and to the point. Short too I might add.
So start a thread and lets all start ideating.
I think the name projectmuseiah.com would be great.
I think that references to the software is a stupid idea if you want it to get a wide audience. Such references would knock out about 99.9% of the audience. The general public doesn’t know about, and does not care AT ALL about CG software. Make a good film that entertains them and it will do well. Make a film that’s really just a little inside joke that you can chuckle at and feel superior for “getting,” and your audience will be reduced to several hundred people. And most of those people still won’t really care.
Ultra-geek stuff NEVER finds a large audience. Never. Ever. Why put so much effort into something that’s guaranteed to turn off the audience? It’s a true sign that you’re an ultra-geek fan-boy nerd when you think that the average person cares about or finds any importance in whatever it is you’re a geek fan of.
As for the moral of the story being “no matter what app you use, it’s up to the artist,” well fine, that might not alienate the hard-core users of other apps, but it’s obvious, cliche and a bit pretentious, plus it sort of goes against the idea of doing a short in the first place. I’m not quite sure how a short whose message is “use any app” will really help messiah. Sure, the fact that the short was done with messiah would be a little help, but it gets shot in the foot by saying, essentially, you don’t need messiah.
You don’t sell a product by pointing out that competing products are just as good.
Just some thoughts. Sorry if it comes off as harsh. I just wouldn’t want to see a lot of hard work wasted.
EW
This idea is a sketch. Its not to be taken as a serious serious short, I think its a fun idea if done simple and correct. I think that pixar’s latest short one man band was perfect, it was simple and sweet. 3 characters one environment and a whole lot of story. Of course it really had no complete point, but it was fun. Although if we keep arguing about what it is and don’t get down to it. I think this whole thread is a bunch of wasted space on Cgtalk’s server.
If everyone wants to do a short that’s a fan boy’s dream and nerdy that’s fine. I am sure because Taron’s name is attached to it, it might go a lot farther then you think. Taron made an animation called people that got more press then most full length shorts out there.
I think the idea is orginal and perfect for Cgtalk’s audience. Anyone else or the general auidence will laugh at it because we can have elements that relate to everyone.
First of all, don’t get hung up on nonsense, really. The project’s first and foremost meaning is to collaborate, have fun, learn and exploit what we have within messiah along the way!
Making fun of people, who glorify any software is highly appropriate, instead of making fun of the software itself, I would say that…hehehe…but unfortunately I sympathize with anyone of that kind to a certain degree.
The message should not be aggressive against any group of people, who mean no harm, that’s for sure. Don’t discredit anyone, because it will rightfully fall back on you. Having a go at busting everyone’s chops can be cute, but then you can not leave anyone out and it has to be truthfully or at least highly imaginable, when it comes to the “accusations”, hehe.
Anyway, where are we at anyway?
I really hope you guys do favor the skydiver with various segments on his way down.
It would be much like a “cadavre exquis” and wouldn’t require heavy scripting.
We would just come up with the framework:
A. - what sets it off (plane ride…jump off plane…fall from plane…sudden wormwhole makes plane dissappear? Anything like that…)
B. - the environment (sky with distant clouds, earth)
C. - where does he land, how does he land, what makes him land…will he survive and why!
That would be the outline…then inbetween individuals or groups can take over segments of the fall with stuff happening to him. We could limit the seconds everyone gets.
Oh, OK then, if CGTalk is your audience, then go for it (though you still might alienate some users). I just thought the idea was for it to be seen by a lot of people and have them be excited about it.
I’ve seen Taron’s “People” short and it’s very good. But how many people have seen it, a thousand or so max? (HA HA, a CG software reference! HA HA!) That should go up on YouTube and things like that so it gets seen by several thousand people PER DAY. And it should have a title card at the end saying it was made with messiah, and pmG’s web site. Taron’s name attached will have absolutely 100% ZERO impact on anyone outside this tiny little world of CG (and I honestly don’t mean that as a slam against Taron). To think otherwise shows that you’re a super-geek-CG-nerd. I don’t mean that in a mean way, I just mean that, as I said previously, super-geeks tend to think that other people find their world interesting/important/relevant.
Anyway, Taron’s short does have a chance of reaching a wide audience. A short that pokes fun at CG software won’t. (Besides the fact that the overwhelming chances are that it just won’t be funny.)
I think the goal of the short should be to reach a wide audience, not just CGTalk. If you want to spread the word about messiah on CGTalk, just make some posts. Messiah is a valid topic in most forums here because it’s used as a plug-in. And you’re not really going to change any minds for users of other apps. But having a worldwide audience see it would have a definite impact on sales, because you might get first-time buyers. It’s easier to get new people than to convince existing users to switch.
EW
Hey Moderator! I would be glad to see these posts disappear, actually. We don’t need no ranting here…supposed to be productive!
In case my requests gets ignored or finds opposition, at least stop talking about irrelevant arguements. Focus on what to do and not on what not to do!
We’re all happy geeks and some of us understand the transcending nature of some of our observations. As for my short, it was MENT to show displacement and what’s possible with Zbrush and Messiah and I simply took the opportunity to slip in a more interesting message.
Our quest right here is not unlike “people” and should show off what makes messiah so interesting for 3D animation and rendering. We do not strive for an oscar here!
Ease up Nerdophobe! (Which should be your new name, too, I think!)
SO, I’d so love to say: End of discussion… on to what really counts! I hope my previous post doesn’t go under all the way…
I agree with Taron. Get rid of these negative useless rants and start talking production.