Airships/Zeppelins as Buses in the Sky

#1

Just wanted to introduce myself before I started my pitch.

My name is Derek and I live in North Hollywood, California. I work for a moderately-sized advertising/marketing agency by day and write/direct short films on nights/weekends. Normally I do them just for fun, but my current project is also the beginning of a major business endeavor.

A true product of my generation, I’m also a major pop culture junkie. So don’t be surprised if you find me throwing out movie/television/music/video game/comic book references as casually as Bruce Wayne throws out batarangs.

I heard about CG Talk through the grapevine and I just had to investigate when I was told that the greatest, coolest CG artists in the world hang out here. That’s exactly the type of people I want to associate with!

So…hi everyone!

To hop back on topic, once I finish it, I’ll post my pitch for what I think is a “retro-revolutionary” form of public transportation that I’d like to see get off the ground here in Los Angeles. I’ve met several times with the Metro Transit Authority and they’re very interested in the proposal. So much so that they asked me to put together a video to help the Board of Directors better envision what I have planned.

I’m really excited to get the ball rolling on a project that I’ve been kicking around for quite some time now. And I can’t wait to see if any of you will also be eager to hop on board! Hope to hear from you soon!

Derek W.

P.S. Special thanks to CG Talk for providing me with this forum.

#2

One last thing before I start the pitch. I’d like to throw out some background info on Los Angeles’ traffic woes and how I came to the decision to try to implement the form of public transportation I’m suggesting.

Here in sunny L.A., we have a local paper called the L.A. Weekly ( www.laweekly.com ). It was here that I read an article about City Councilman Eric Garcetti of the Temple-Beverly District. You can find a bio on him at http://www.lacity.org/council/cd13/c13bo1a.htm and I’ll post the article soon. The issue that stood out to me the most was his comment on the region needing to lay down a better public-transportation infrastructure. I couldn’t agree more. But I also couldn’t get the question out of my head of where exactly are we supposed to put it?

Let’s face it…we’ve just simply run out of land to develop new roads on. We’re already bulldozing houses and businesses to make room for our pollution-spewing cars. Garcetti indicates that we’ll be adding the population of two Chicagos within the next two decades. Where are we going to get the space for all these highways and vehicles and parking lots? I know that it’s in our power to figure something out. If there’s one thing Los Angeles is known for, it’s our reputation as one of the most liberal and progressive cities. Especially when it comes to transportation, as our carpool lanes and stoplights at on-ramps to regulate the freeway merging process can attest to.

But now we’re sandwiched between the two greatest obstacles to any proposal: budget and safety. One proposed solution is to take out massive Federal subsidy loans to pay for more light rails and subways. Another is that we double-deck the 101 freeway. Yes, double-deck a major highway. On an earthquake fault line. This is being seriously bandied about as an alternative, that’s how desperate the situation is becoming. Can you imagine the carnage of 50,000 motorists crushed to death? I have to believe that there’s a better system. I have to.

So the region needs to lay down a better public-transportation infrastructure…

Well, what a lot of people don’t realize is that one is already 75% completed. An infrastructure already exists that’s proportionately expandable (something that the current bus/subway and freeway systems can’t claim). One that’s relatively inexpensive to implement and to maintain. That boasts a safety record that current systems only aspire to. That’s 100% environmentally-friendly. And this infrastructure has the potential to move a comparable amount of people as the subway system (in the tens of thousands). But nobody has taken steps to utilize it…yet.

I believe that I have a picture of the future of Los Angeles. I refer to this system as “retro-revolutonary” because I plucked it straight from the past and modified it to help alleviate some of our current and future transportation woes.

To see the future, all we have to do is look to the horizon, to the Skyline…

I believe that a system of rigid airships could be implemented to ease some of our traffic stress. A fleet of these vehicles, each capable of carrying 100 passengers, could make jaunts between converted rooftop stations around the city. The “Metro Skyline” could travel much further and faster than buses could, and move a comparable amount of passengers as the Metro Transit Authority’s Red/Green/Blue Line subway system (which it is modeled after in practice). You enter the station, use the escalator/elevator to get closer to the platform, buy your ticket, pass through a turnstile, board the craft and exit at your destination. Of course, this is all modified for this unique mode of travel…

I’ve no doubt that cost, safety and feasibility issues are already bubbling in your mind. I heartily welcome an open dialogue about the system, its implementation and its pros/cons. What I ask is that if you have any questions, please private message me with them for right now so that I can incorporate them into the FAQ I’m putting together on the Metro Skyline. I’ll be posting the FAQ shortly, just after the official pitch.

Offhand, I can tell you that what I’m putting together is a demonstration video of what it’s like to walk into a building, take the elevator to the roof, get your tickets, go through the turnstile, wait for the airship with fellow patrons, board it, have an incredible flight with an awe-inspiring view & arrive safely and on time at your destination. This will incorporate live video footage as well as photorealistic computer graphics of the airships in service over the Los Angeles cityscape. And that’s where you awesome CG artists come in! I’d also like to put together a few sample TV spots to help demonstrate an advertising strategy that the MTA could employ.

Again, I’m very excited to get this project underway and hope to work with you all soon. For now, I’ll leave you with a quote that inspires me every day:

“There shall be wings! If the accomplishment be not for me,
'tis for some other. The spirit cannot die; and man, who
shall know all, shall have wings…”
-Leonardo da Vinci-

#3

Okay, so I’d like to put together a detailed walk-through and a few sample TV spots. The walk-through is for meetings with the security council and engineering department, while the TV spots are for investors and advertisers. I’ll break the two down into seperate sections for clarification:

THE WALK-THROUGH

This will be a demonstration video of what it entails to take a ride on the Metro Skyline. I’ll be shooting the plates on a Canon XL1S digital video camera and editing with Adobe Premiere Pro (the 7.0 version). The end product will be a blending of the live action with the photorealistic CG. What I’m getting at is that this video is for presentation purposes and wouldn’t really be stylized in a “Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow” way.

The film will follow several different sets of people from different walks of life, all travelling on the same airship, all heading for different destinations. A husband/wife/daughter go to Universal Studios for the theme park, a young businessman heads off to work in the mid-Wilshire district, a teacher takes her class of high school teens on a field trip to the Long Beach aquarium, an elderly couple make a visit to their grandson’s opening night play in Hollywood and two out-of-town tourists make a trip to the Santa Monica Pier.

The CG aspects break down as follows:

  1. The turnstiles
  2. The landing pad/boarding station
  3. The security fencing.
  4. The craft’s gandola (where the passengers sit, including handi-capped sections and luggage securement)
  5. The cockpit (as well as showcasing the pilot’s entrance, which is seperate from the gandola)
  6. The envelope (the helium-filled “balloon”)
  7. Various shots, looking out the window to the cityscape beyond
  8. Various shots, looking from ground and building level at the airship launching/landing/in motion

I think it would be a good idea to include a few cross-sections and how the craft actually operates (the doors, the windows, the thrust, the helium cells, the mooring equipment for attaching it to the landing pad, etc.)

TV SPOTS

For these, a series of teaser commercials would start the campaign. There would be six spots, each clocking in at 10 to 15 seconds long. They would be people negatively affected by Los Angeles traffic: a man at a busy downtown intersection in his car, a group of people stuck in the carpool lane (which isn’t moving any faster than the other lanes), a woman waiting on the side of the road with her young child as a mechanic fixes her flat tire, etc. In each case, the shadow of the airship is cast over them and they look to the sky in awe. The theme here is obstacle encountered, hope presented. The taglines will be along the lines of:

“Change is in the air…”
“You’re so over traffic.”
“Rise above it.”

The second wave will be full 30-second spots that are condensed versions of the opening to the walk-through: people being affected by traffic and then using the Skyline as an alternative. We’ll use the same actors as the 10-second teasers, but this time the theme shifts into obstacle encountered, solution provided. These teasers will also incorporate footage from the walk-through, plus new footage (both live and CG).

If there are any conceptual artists and/or storyboard artists, definitely hit me up. You’re our first step on getting this baby off the ground. :wink:

Next up, deferred-pay contracts, the creative team heirarchy and of course, the FAQ (thanks to everyone sending in questions).

Oh, and maybe who would win in a fight between the Green Lantern and Iron Man…

#4

wow, that looks like one amazing, world-changing endeavor! i see that your website isn’t working and you’re not accepting emails so maybe you’ve already received enough interested people for this project? i tell you, i am extremely interested in this project. this sounds like a truly great idea. currently, i’m starting a film group and i think helping out with this project would be great and would help me a lot too. i have over 5 years of 3d modelling experience and i’ve worked with a lot of movie editing software. if you’re at all interested, then please email me at esotericsean@gmail.com i also have a website with a gallery and demo reel if you’re interested http://www.smoke-hammer.com/

#5

If you need music for the Tv spot, I’m interested to work on it!
You can follow the link to see my work. It’s old works, so if you need more actual examples just e-mail me and I will be glad to send them to you.

Cheers

#6

Hey, thanks so much for your interest. It’s 3:52 in the morning now. Was just passing the PC when I noticed you two had replied. Tomorrow, when I’m cognizant, I’ll figure out why it’s not allowing anyone to e-mail me and why the title page on my site isn’t loading. For now, thanks again and talk to you tomorrow!

#7

don’t know if this helps at all, but this is what it says:

Sorry! That user has specified that they do not wish to receive emails. If you still wish to send an email to this user, please contact the administrator and they may be able to help.

anyway, i’m extremely surprised that so few people have been interested in this enough to post anything. well, hope to hear from you soon! i’m VERY interested :slight_smile:

#8

Fully rested, but still waiting to hear back on why my e-mail link won’t work. In the meantime, if anyone wants to contact me directly (and I know for a fact that this account is working), the address is dwallace@smartbombstudios.com

Okay, so I’ll address the -deferred pay situation…

The project we’re doing isn’t intended for commercial broadcast, it’s for presentation purposes only. No money is meant to be made from either the demonstration video or the example commercials we’ll make. So contribute with the understanding that no money will change hands for work done on it. But at such a time that the Metro Skyline is accepted by the Los Angeles Metro Transit Authority and commercials intended for broadcast are made, I will negotiate on behalf of all CG Talk contributors for some type of deferred pay, the amount to be determined by myself, if and when such a time arises. Details to be determined in privacy with the concerned parties. I would also negotiate for employment on the paying MTA project for any CG Talk contributors that I feel are competent and dependable enough for the job. Again, details to be determined in privacy with the concerned parties.

All that being said, I just want you to keep in mind two major points:

  1. It’s probable that the advertising for the Skyline could be turned over to another entity and that I might be excluded. In such a case, there may not be any negotiations to be made.

  2. The opportunity might present itself to take the Metro Skyline series to a private company. The same rules would apply as if the MTA accepted it, but we’ll cross that bridge if we ever come to it.

Regardless, you can bet that I’ll fight tooth and nail to stay involved in every single aspect of this endeavor and to take with me whomever helps out here on the forum. I guess the way you should look at all this for right now is that you get to create a unique addition to your demo reel and have a potential way to spread your name/further your career. I’m personally treating it as an investment.

Down and Dirty Legalities

I’m sorry, but I have to quickly put on my reading glasses and business suit and get serious for a moment. Because for legalities, I should emphasize that any original posts or replies containting comments, feedback, suggestions, questions, artwork, video, print, attachments or other creations and/or correspondence made in this CG Talk thread with regard to the Metro Skyline can be used at my discretion, without any compensation to the originator. Any future compensation will be determined by myself and the concerned parties in privacy, if and when such a time arises.

End of Boring Legal Stuff

The good news is that this agreement will help keep us on track with the project. The bad news is that this tough talk might scare away potential help. But I sure hope not! Man, I always hate this part of the pitch, because there’s no way to do it without sounding like a total jerk. Anyway, sorry if it seems that way. Just trying to cover my butt is all.

As far as the creative heirarchy goes, I’m project leader and will handle appointing/replacing individuals in key positions. Offhand, it looks like I’ll need a Lead Storyboard Artist and Lead Designer, both of whom can pick a crew that I’ll give final approval on. Since I’m new to these boards and don’t yet know all the relationships, I’ll just have to go off of your current demo reels and forum feedback.

To keep us on track, I’ll set goals and deadlines for us to meet. I’ll also set up review dates, so we can see how much we’ve accomplished and what challenges we have left to deal with. You’ll find that I’m VERY open to suggestions and alternatives. Especially considering that here, you all are the experts. But, if for some reason I veto anything, please understand that it’s nothing personal and that I have made my choice in what I think is the best interest of the project.

BOTTOM LINE?

This forum’s floor is now open!

I see we’ve had over 160 viewers so far. If after all that, any of you are interested in helping out on the project and agree to the terms stated above (with the knowledge that future postings in this thread can act as potential legal documentation), please let me know. A show of hands would be great. (esotericsean, elfling bard, filmcomposer…still interested?)

I think our Metro Skyline Project is going to be a lot of fun and hopefully, as esotericsean said, a “world-changing endeavor”! Can’t wait to hear from you all!

Derek

P.S. Here’s an interesting article about the number of Los Angelenos who choose public transportation over commuting with their own vehicles: http://www.mta.net/press/2004/10_october/mta_171.htm

P.P.S. If for any reason any part of this post is in violation of the CG Talk rules, please let me know so that I can change it accordingly! Thanks again, CG Talk!

NEXT UP: The FAQ…FINALLY !
(Thanks again to everyone sending in private message questions)

#9

I think the title of the thread is probably too boring and stuffy. I tried to change it to reflect the central theme of the project, but it looks like I can’t do that. :frowning:

#10

I also am a composer and would like to help you with your project. You can hear some of my music at www.seanbeeson.com. I work very quickly and efficiently, so anything I can do to help just let me know.

Thanks,
Sean R. Beeson

#11

hello again, this is my “official” post saying that i’m interested and want to help. My name is Sean Duran, and i’ve been working with 3d modelling/animating for over 5 years now. I’m 19, and a college student at cal state long beach (in southern california) and having to go to LA for any reason shouldn’t be any problem. I’m currently majoring in computer science, but I now know that I am going to drop that and start working on my greatest interest, film. I just started a film group with 2 of my best friends, who are also both interested in helping out with this project (plus it could give us a chance to see some real filming in action and might help us get started). This is going to be a great project, and will most definitely be a great learning experience. :slight_smile:

#12

When is this bad boy project gonna start?! I am ready to WRITE music like a mad man!

Sean R. Beeson
sbeeson@capital.edu

#13

I am also interested in helping out. I’m new to this field and am still in the learning process but if you need help I’d like to give it a try…

#14

Well, first we need a storyboard artist so that the CG team can have some kind of a template to work from. Over 300 views now…where are all the adventurous spirits at?!?

Just hang in there, Beeson. Soon enough we’ll be hearing “I’ll go with you!”, “You have my bow!”, “And my axe!”, etc.

Esoteric, if I post some dimensions and attributes that I think the crafts would need, do you think you could throw together some simple models? Some kind of foundation that we can start modifying from?

For inspiration, here’s a photo I found online many moons ago.

#15

sure, i’d start throwing some things together. some estimated dimensions and stuff would be very helpful. and i can’t quite see the picture… did you forget to upload it or didn’t post a link?

#16

Sorry :slight_smile: I got a little excited, and I guess I am just kind of a work horse. Just drop me a line when the time is near sbeeson@capital.edu

Thanks,
Sean R. Beeson

#17

esoteric, can you see the image yet? It’s loading up fine on my PC.

I’m out of town until Monday, but on my plane trips I’m going to polish the FAQ and make an agenda for the project.

Chicago, here I come! Whoot!

#18

hey, it works now. that was weird. have fun in chicago! i’ll keep an eye on the thread for the agenda and stuff. want me to just play around with ideas for now, or should i wait until you give me attributes and dimensions?

#19

Only forum Moderators can change the thread titles. I’ve done that for you. For future reference … just PM a Mod. :smiley:

Interesting project. Best of luck to you.

#20

Kirt, MUCH OBLIGED!

And duly noted.

esoteric: GO FOR IT! You crank out whatever you want in the meantime. Think of it as warming up before your big workout. :slight_smile:

By the way, Chicago is SOOOOO dope. I had the best pizza today at a place called Giordano’s in the Edgewater district. I’ve ridden all around the town on the elevated train with my friends and lemme tell ya, took my breath away!

Oh wow! It’s passing outside right now as I type this!