View Full Version : =Ideality Release= (Effects Commentary pg. 5)
Mrdodobird
09-Jul-06, 17:50
Well. At long last (started when I was 16, now I'm almost 19) Ideality is being released.
I'm hoping that for a fresh audience it's an enjoyable as it was to me back in the beginning.
My thanks to everyone involved (and there are many! So many that I've forgotten quite a few.) Feel free to give yourselves a shoutout!
But why do I post this here? Because all (with two exceptions) of the 3d CG was done in Blender! Yeaho! It's intense.
So yeah, I know it has many faults, I know the audio can be difficult to understand, but it's still the result of 2 years effort, so not all bad.
My 16 year old self would be proud. :)
The story's cool, if you understand it, I think.
But hey, it's got blimps!
Click to go to download page (http://www.thebrb.com/theater/films/ideality/)
View Poster (http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a136/Mrdodobird/Ideality/FinalIdealityPoster.jpg)
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a136/Mrdodobird/Ideality/Idealitypromo400.jpg
And hey, if you like this, feel free to check out SBFP! (http://www.spacemenmovie.com)
No Replies?? Oh well, downloading now, can't wait to see this! (hope it works=/)
watched 8 minutes of it, have to go to bed to.. The computer made stuff is really amazing!! It looks very proffesional, if only the quality of the movie was a bit higher. Gonna see the rest tomorrow;)
I liked it, and I was also surprized how you have a very important moral to this story.
EDIT: Now if only movies I had to pay for were this good.
Wow! a 40 minutes movie, that's been quite some work I can imagine! I feel the need to give you (and your team) some feedback on this, but I'd rather not take all of it into detail, because that would probably make this reply way too long. I'll just make a short list of positives and negatives in my opinion. Though, let me first mention I did see it from start to end and I've been enjoyed.
Positives
* Mainly good camerawork and compositions. Actually some shots are just eyecandy!
* Edit seems smooth.
* Contains impressive Computer Graphics, models and animations, also well blended at certain sequences with video images!
* Music is ok and suits with what you see.
Negatives
* Overall the acting is quite bad to be honest, specially the voice acting.
* Too many lyrics which say nothing, are not convincing or are too long dreaded (indeed).
* A bit too long, the main cause for this are the lyrics mentioned above.
* Story is funny, though I find it a bit weak and predictable.
* Audio needs work, but you are aware already.
Conclusion
I see a lot of talent (and hard work) on several levels and I am certain you will be able to really impress audiences in the future when you finetune your crafts and keep your mind open to learn and grow! Some suggestions from my side to achieve that are: take acting lessons (workshops), take lessons on how to write a scenario and lyrics, and most important keep making more movies! :D
Yeah, I pretty much agree with what tumtidum said. The acting does need work, but anything that's worth a dang takes practice and work.
(http://blenderartists.org/forum/member.php?u=13164)
Mrdodobird
09-Jul-06, 21:07
Hey, glad you liked it, Henrymop!
Heh, I agree with most of that, Tumtidum, the only part that makes me say, "Hey wait a second!" is when you say, "though I find it a bit weak and predictable."
Weak? That's too generic for me to really get anything from anyways, but predictable? How so? What parts were you able to predict? And if so, I've only really found predictability to be really harmful in a "mystery" type movie. Take romance, Most times you KNOW they're going to end up together, but you watch it to see HOW. You don't walk out going, "That was lame. I knew they were going to end up together the whole time".
Glad you enjoyed the CG and music, though. That music blew my mind. Greg and Wilbert rock :D
And glad you enjoyed the overall movie, too. As I've said other places, I don't really make these movies to impress anyone, more to entertain. I talked to one guy and he said almost that, "Well, I saw it, and it was really fun to watch, but I wasn't impressed," "Okay!".
Have a good one, thanks again!.
Well, I saw it, and it was really fun to watch, but I wasn't impressed
If he knew how much work was needed to make even a ten-minute short he would be.
Take romance, Most times you KNOW they're going to end up together, but you watch it to see HOW. You don't walk out going, "That was lame. I knew they were going to end up together the whole time".
Then you really need to watch some non-American movies. The main character doesn't always win.
Mrdodobird
09-Jul-06, 23:43
Whaugh! Wrote a response and I accidentially deleted it!
Oh, I've seen plenty of non-american movies, and I think they can have their own set of problems ;) But you know what I'm talking about. There are plenty of romance movies where you know they're gonna end up together at the end, but that doesn't ruin it. At least, not for me. Cause it's how it gets there.
I have to try that rock making tip :D
I cant download it because of our monthly data cap :(
Can you post a large version of that still in you first post PLEASE?
Mrdodobird
10-Jul-06, 03:58
For you, anything. (http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a136/Mrdodobird/Ideality/?start=#imgAnch28)
Blenderist
10-Jul-06, 04:14
Magnificent movie. A great combination of computer graphycs and real videos.
5 stars from me :)
He he, "Stunts : US" , "Natural lighting : GOD" :D
Congratulations on finishing it! downloading now..
Saw your trailer some time ago that was really good. Glad you finished the movie. Downloading now.
EDIT: Just saw it now and it's awesome. Think I have to watch it later again to get the complete story, but the music, the effects and the jokes in between are totally great. :D
5 stars from me.
well done! loved the theme and ideas behind it. Brush it up a bit and make it a portfolio peice.
you did it at the age of 19.... The kids these days!
Glad to see you finally finished it, downloading now. . . :D
-Obiwan
afrosk8er88
10-Jul-06, 13:47
YES!
Dude, I've been watching this thing's progress for the last couple years, And I'ts so awesome to see this movie in completion.
The effects are crazy. Screw the so-called "flaws". I'd like to see someone else your age try this.
As a dude the same age as you, you've inspired me to make some awesome stuff, too. I took a few keys from your work.
I've gotta say, too, that SBFP is a great series. I even added its Myspace to my friend's list. (I'm Adeolu, by the way) You gouys up there in Washington have some skills.
Well, that's all i've gotta say.
Keep up the amazing work, Ian.
Well, I'm VERY glad to see that its finally here!
Even without considering that it was started when you were 16, you have all done an amazing job. Congratulations to everyone involved.
I still have to finish viewing the whole thing, but so far... the effects have been incredible, the dialog... as un-natural I guess would be the most correct term... as I remembered from the trailer (but I can excuse that), and an unbelievable amount of work.
The mech beast was good, though not a surprise by now, but the airport scene near the begining was fantastic!
The one thing that is very unfortunate, but probably unavoidable, is the low resolution for the download. Having seen the SBFP first, I was disappointed until I realized Id. is over 40 minutes long. Hopefully not letting any cats out of ye olde bags, I noticed on BRB that there were request for a DVD version of SBFP at least - you must have a DVD version of this one planned as well?
I didn't yet watch the whole of it, so i won't comment about the plot it self. I did how ever skim it through, so I'll comment what I saw.
The CGI looks pretty good in some places, in others it is clearly not as good as the best effects of the film. If you take the film fully for what it clearly is, an amateur film, it is quite impressive.
I have to admit here, that I didn't like the action scenes. They felt a) too Matrix and b) poorly constrcuted. There also was this surprisingly static feel in them, a lack of fluidity.
I'll comment more after I've watched the film fully.
gunnarstahl
10-Jul-06, 16:32
Just saw the movie. Absolutely brilliant (allthough I don't get some parts of the story....) piece of work.
Sometimes I realize that it is not the most perfect model, the most photorealistic texture which makes a movie a good movie. It is the inspiration in your heart which will manifest in the eyes of the audience.
It was truly fun to watch. Looking out for your next big project.
Thanks a lot for this!
Gunnar
I can honestly say i liked the film, the cgi in the film was twice as good as the stuff they put in the scifi channel movies.
(it took a while but it was worth the wait.)
Congrats on producing something this long and intricate!
There are some points that I feel I should make (positive and negative, but all constructive)
The editing and filming was largely really good. The film flowed and had good pacing in terms of the strory elements. The exception was some parts of the fight scene, but those should be apparent.
The dialogue for the 'dream world' was mostly good, probably since is was all deliberately stilted and (strangely) less exositive than that in the real world part.
The dialogue, and to the largest extent, the situations in the real world were badly contrived, and overly explicit in their philosophical discussions. These subjects are tackled best when it is the mechanics of the situation that informs the viewer, not the dialogue itself. The scenes consisted of two people talking about things whilst doing nothing. The scene, and what happened in it, could have conveyed what the stances of the characters where, rather than what they said. This would have given a more natural feel to the film, rather than the staid feel of a situation set up to make a point.
As for the CGI: the shots were blameless as far as what can be done realistically with blender on an amateur scale. The fault lay in some of the sound for the scenes. It failed to reinforce the strong visuals, although it was not bad.
The acting throughout was as good as the script.... see my previous statements for clarification...
Overall, I had to skip through some of the longer sections of dialogue (esp. real world) as they made he cringe (sorry; they did), however it was an impressive effort and a wonder that you have managed to finish something so long at all.
I am sure that your next project will improve on this one.
Alex:cool:
nemoDaedalus
10-Jul-06, 18:34
I've watched it once, I'll have to see it again to come with some constructive criticism. Having done Dutch filmschool, I know enough about filmmaking.
I must say though, for a film made at your age and (presumed) level of experience, it is very well made.
deadlyjumpingjonny
10-Jul-06, 18:55
My word, that's a really amazing piece of work. Rough around the edges in some spots(only to be expected given your restrictions), but I am deeply impressed by the amount of work and effort.
I really like the theme of the film too. The take on Olde English and some of the gags are good aswell.
Keep it up!
mandoragon
11-Jul-06, 05:57
very nice, how was it that you were able to converge real footage with blender created (or is that motion capture *confused*)
Ooh I'll download later... Saw you actually used the "blimp" model... cool. I really didn't expect to ever see anything come of it so... Well done man!
Finally got to see the whole thing.
I'm definitely impressed. The twist totally got me. The story pretty much worked. A few answered ends but on the whole the plot hung together and the timing was nicely paced. For non-pro actors, the characters were performed pretty well. A few spots where the lines were slow, but you can only do "one more take" so many times.
As mentioned, a bit heavy on the discussions, but not really worse than some 'art' and/or 'foreign' films tend to do, or did.
One again, good job... so get back to work! I want SBFP 2 done before you head off to school!
Mrdodobird
11-Jul-06, 13:33
Hey! Macouno! Totally! Thanks again, that was amazing.
SBFP2 should be done by... a month or so. Yeah, if you've watched SBFP as compared to Ideality, you'll notice that because of Ideality I've developed a deep fear of extended dialogue scenes.
Thanks for the kind words, DeadlyJumpingJonny :D
Gunnarstahl, it was fun to watch? Awesome! Cause yeah, that's really why I posted it here. People go, "Wow! I love the CG!" or, "Wow! That ending confused me!", but the only reviews that really affect me are the ones where people say what they enjoyed. Cause that's why I make it. Not to improve my skills (that happens naturally with experience) or impress people (Well, except for the freeway scene. But that doesn't count) It's to entertain! My goodness! Entertain! I don't want to know that my audio was poor at times (though I'll certainly try to improve it in the future, if it destracts from the entertainment), what I do want to know is, DID I DO IT!? Did I accomplish the goal I spent 2 years working towards? Did I make a film that people can watch and enjoy?
Why am I saying this? I don't know. I think it's cause I just understood it. And it's not that I don't appreciate the reviews, I do very much so, but... you know? But a lot of the stuff is 2 years old anyway, And like, if you're a clown, and people come up to you at the end and go, "Hey man! Great costume! Though I think it would have been better if your nose had been bigger, and your shoes squeaked. Everyone knows Clown shoes should squeak." It's like, "WHAT? What about all those tricks and jokes I told? Those balloon animals I made to make kids happy?"
In fact, I think that's a surpringly accurate analogy.
Wow! I just seem to keep going off on random tangents, don't I! But yes! To all of you who did, I'm glad you enjoyed it! To those who didn't, I hope you got something out of it.
Ajc158, wow! Thanks for that review! Don't really disagree with anything there. I cringe too, but I thought that was just me. I leave the room. Ugh.
Next Project, you say? (http://www.spacemenmovie.com/movies/ep1/index.htm)
Yeah. I improved.
Just finished watching... I'm impressed. I can come up with a bunch of critisisms but I won't right now. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. If you are going to continue in this direction (and I hope you will) feel free to get in touch again, if you need another model or two ;)
Ah lol apparently we were typing simultaneously... Downloading slab1 now... the offer stands
Interesting film! I love it!
Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention how I liked the comedy, too. It's not like mainstream comedy at all, it's much better.
Entertain! I don't want to know that my audio was poor at times (though I'll certainly try to improve it in the future, if it destracts from the entertainment), what I do want to know is, DID I DO IT!? Did I accomplish the goal I spent 2 years working towards? Did I make a film that people can watch and enjoy?
Thank you for making this point - a lot of times the... point of posting gets confused, especially on a board like this. There's basically 2 kinds of posts, 1) "I loved it/hated it/hired a hit man to save the world from any more of your refuse" or 2) critiques.
The artists usually get the one they're not looking for, of course.
Maybe we should try to limit the critiques to the WIPs (at least we have the Focused Critique forum now) and once its in the Finished forum, let out the emotional responses.
Oh - and I very much enjoyed the film! :)
i am still not certain if the orchestral parts weren't taken from some big budget film... so...
the big hooray for the music composers! outstanding orchestra scoring! I am somewhat into this things and I think the score is outstanding! great sound space, trading motives between instrument groups is making a great job here! Is it really done by 2 people? How they don't-kill-each-other in the creative process? :]
CG effects are spot on. The best one for me is the "escaping from the dream world TV off with a squeeze" effect :]
The dialogue was fitting the overall effect, i think. Some parts were done exceptionally well, and i laughed a lot.
The sound effects mix was off in some scenes, but you probably know that :]
Outstanding job!
Yeonil
To put is bluntly, acting was bad. BUT...
The CG, compositing and animation is simply jaw dropping professional. The sound is also very well done. Congrats on this accomplishment!
The music was very real sounding, like a real orcestra, but next time could you try and make the music non-orcestrated, too many movies and shows have orcestrated songs. No pop-rock or rap, either!
Mrdodobird
12-Jul-06, 17:18
Lol. Some of it actually WAS a real orchestra. The guy writing the score rented an orchestra, and had lots of time left over at the end, so he had them play that.
I was amazed.
Yeah, SBFP's more jazzy/non-orchestra-y
jessethemid
12-Jul-06, 17:34
YES!
I'd like to see someone else your age try this.
cool! I'm 16 and have been working on the pre-production for mine for a few months!
really great stuff, i love the compositing (even though i've only seen half) nice job!
nemoDaedalus
12-Jul-06, 20:11
Cause that's why I make it. Not to improve my skills (that happens naturally with experience) or impress people (Well, except for the freeway scene. But that doesn't count) It's to entertain!
Well, you succeed in entertaining. Getting some critics doesn't mean you failed in it. I went to film school because I wanted to learn making movies. And I learnt not because I did things right, I learnt because people told me what I did wrong. People watching it who knew nothing about filmmaking were entertained by it, but they always said things like "I didn't understand this or that", which happened to be just because there was a flaw.
Anyway, to give an example, I didn't quite hear ambient sounds, not here and also not in your new project. I'm pretty sure not much people notice it, but they'll all have a feeling 'something' was not right. If nobody tells you this, it will take you much longer to find out.
To go with the clown, if he's being told his shoes should sqeak, that doen't mean his tricks were bad or people haven't seen his tricks, it means he's overlooked something. And he should take that comment, make his shoes sqeaky, so next time people see him they tell him, those tricks were cool and that squeaking totally finished it. Or they say, now that was a real clown, the other one had something amateurish about him.
or they will say, a, squeaking boots, cheap trick :]
Real Orchestra? That would make a lot of sense, i wasn't sure if you have a very Very good sample-handling master, or what :] Great score, lucky you, to have music this big in such project. It really helps a lot with the overall impression.
Yeonil
Pixel Sage
14-Jul-06, 14:51
I'd have to say, this is definitely something I've been impressed with. Some parts were just down right silly ("Oh my, it's a giant spike!"), but especially towards the end, things really got heated up. Choreographing was quite impressive for the most part, and so was the music.
By the way, the mirror site for the movie download doesn't include the entire movie. I was kind of disappointed when I found the movie cut off near the climax and had no internet at night. Re-downloaded it this morning to watch the rest, and I'm glad I did =D.
Keep it up.
Congrats on completing that pretty impressive piece of filming. You should make it into a DVD with a behind the scenes fottage. Just to show how much effort went in to it. Unbelievable that you started this quite ambitious project at 19. Ok the acting isn't perfect but consider the budget of the movie. I've seen worse productions from the movie industry and payed to watch cack.. I was quite riveted all through the film. the kinematics on the robot at the beginning are a little bad cause the legs go though each other but I think if you brushed up the acting and re rendered that one scene (What he's asking me to re make the film?) I'm sure hollywood will spot the tallent
VenomSeven
16-Jul-06, 13:43
You've done an excellent job with this film. Given, there are few minor imperfections (i mean you were 16 when you started, it's not going to be perfect) the storyline is great and i think you've accomplished something well worth watching. I was entertained throughout the film and i think you deserve to be applauded by many. You have a lot of potential, and i think you will be a great director someday. You definately have the passion for it.
5 Stars from me. You deserve it = )
I was entertained.
Especially like the fight scene, and overall the cinematography was very good.
Just got back from vacation today. So I will DL and watch it later.
Congrats on finishing this. Been waiting for it for a while and loved the progress you continually posted here.
BgDM
Congratulations on finishing your project! Some really nice accomplishments for such an undertaking.
jedicinema
23-Aug-06, 00:09
Just finished watching this, and I'm an very impressed. Great job all around. I loved the dialogue, especially the dream sequence stuff. CG was AMAZING! it's incredible what you've accomplished. Although I believe the most amazing thing about this whole project is that you stuck with it for 2 years. that's dedication, especially at our age (I'm 19, longest I've ever worked on a film was 9 months). Keep up the great work.
Mrdodobird
23-Aug-06, 01:12
Jedicinema..... Do you by chance make fanfilms?
Thanks, dude! Glad you enjoyed! :D Yeah. It was a long 2 years.
Wow! I've been waiting a very long time for this release :D. The WIP images and video's were awsome! Downloading now......
I wish I didn't have dial up :( It would take me three weeks to download...
I wish I didn't have dial up :( It would take me three weeks to download...
I'm in the same boat, I downoaded it last night ... 7hours to download :eek:
First impressions ... (I'll watch it again a few times).
The biggest distraction / negative for me was the "old english". Probably because I just don't like that style,
even when performed by big name professional actors.... probably aslo because it's so different from "normal" everyday speech. I think that using that style put an extra burden on your inexperienced actors. It sounded like everyone was just reading lines from cue cards / teleprompters.
On the the plus side, technically (effects,camera, lighting, sound) were all generally very good. Maybe because of the video compression (or my pc :) ) some of the lighting seemed over/under lit.
At the begining of the movie the girl didn't seem to react very much to the monster attack. (Maybe you were
filming in a public place and she didn't want to attract attention from the public .. i.e if she had screamed hysterically ? :)
Mike
Mrdodobird
23-Aug-06, 12:43
Heh. Perhaps. Although after watching the whole movie, I'm sure you'd agree that "screaming hysterically" isn't really in her character. :)
Glad you enjoyed it. :) 7 hours to download! My goodness!
Technically excellent and a great achievement overall but the script was... well... not good. And not in a hilarious-80s-ninja-film kind of way, either.
Despite any flaws I could possibly point out about this film, I've gotta give it a perfect score 10/10 for simply bringing it all together so well! This is a HUGE project, and all the various aspects being brought together so well should be worth some sort of prize! I wouldn't even have the patience and motivation enough to finish just the modeling for the CG, much less all the texturing, rigging, animating, and compositing...plus all the non-CG parts of the movie!
Really fantastic stuff! You could do great things!
Alitorious
24-Aug-06, 01:34
Incredible work. Especially for an amateur film. I hope you don't mind while I go through a few thoughts. 'Might get messy.
I liked the old english. I've occasionally talked with friends like that for fun, myself. Plus it's hard not to do that while reading shakespear in class, or just finished watching a shakespear play.
Still, a couple things were a bit stretched (which I found funny). Such as "rescued my life." Still, I easily enjoyed the overacting once I figured out it was part of a dream, and naturally the dreamer would not have a perfect grasp of elizabethan-era english.
(Incidentally, "forsooth" means "indeed" as far as I know. I thought of this when the characters are like:
"Indeed."
"Indeed..."
"Indeed."
)
The music was phenominal. It was absolutely amazing.
If anything, I'm a bit disappointed that the great fanfare melody at the beginning wasn't heard later on until the credits. (I'll have to watch it again paying more attention to see if I'm wrong, though.) Also, music is a great way to help establish a setting. Characters, ideas, settings - each can have their own melody that the composer can flesh out in various ways to suit the scene.
One particular example I can think of is in Lord of the Rings. In the first movie, as they are sitting at Rivendell and deciding what to do with the ring, Boromir talks about the greatness of Gondor. In the background a solo french horn plays a melody. Fast forward two movies. Minias Tirith is shown for the first time. That same melody plays, but of course now it has the whole brass section, and the rest of the orchestra to support it.
In reply to one of the previous posts - orchestral music is definitely the right choice for this type of film. It's a dream! It's got vast cities, airships (don't call 'em blimps :P) , heroic battles, and the like. The majestic opening is the perfect choice.
Maybe something you can do next time is hire a foley artist and sound technician. ;) Aural scenery is also very important to help place settings. It is a somewhat thankless business, because any white noise created is ultimately going to be ignored. :P
On the topic of sound - you can also use it to tell part of the story, or bridge gaps between shots.
One example I'm thinking of is in the opening sequence, while the airship is moving in to dock (I assume that Angela was a passenger on board the airship, and we see her shortly after getting off). Over the final moments of the airship sequence, you can overlay some sounds of the docking/unloading procedure. These could be hissing of hydraulics (brings to mind a train station), sounds of locking mechanisms, sounds of crowds, maybe even a PA announcing something like "All arrivals please check..."
This would help emphasize that, indeed, the airship did dock and unload passengers, and Angela was one of these passengers.
Okay, back to compliments. :)
One thing I really liked was how well the CGI blended in. The computer-rendered shots looked like they were done with the same handheld camera as the live-action shots, with the same lighting. Like if a live-action shot had huge camera glare, the CGI shot had huge camera glare. This really helped to create a cohesive feel throughout the film.
I'll name the restaurant scene for an example. The explosion shot had the same bad lighting as the restaurant. ;)
While I'm at the restaurant, I'll name another neat compliment - I loved that window in the background. For most of the scene I thought it was a picture! I thought that it was a painting or something hanging on the wall of wherever you were filming, not that it was a CGI waterfall. Then all of a sudden I notice it's moving. That's one of the best compliments that special effects work can be given - "There were special effects in that scene? I didn't notice it!"
Once again, fantastic work! I hope you keep churning out great things like this!
(Edit: I loved the bit at the end of the credits. "Nya I was just joking, I'm not dead!" "Hey, let's go grab a burger!")
free_ality
30-Jan-07, 16:01
I think Ive seen this thread, never downloaded(was on dial-up at the time).......
Ill definately get it when I get home......
trak wrecka
30-Jan-07, 16:14
downloading...looks good...
good...but too scientific for me...
Ammusionist
30-Jan-07, 17:34
I started watching it here at work - Hmmm - 40 minutes. Better DL it at home instead.
It's amazing how often someone will post in one of these forums "Hey I'm going to make a movie" and then the flaming begins! In your case, however, you went ahead and did it!
When I was 16 I was packing shelves in K-Mart (Kind of Australian version of your Wal-Mart) and flunking school. I wish I had the drive that you have to push yourself for 2 years on a single project for yourself!
I don't believe anyone here's really expecting perfection, but be flattered that they all hold you to a high standard - What the critics are expecting from you comes from their respect for you as a film-maker and animator.
Don't be discouraged that they seem to demand even more of you - they simply believe that they know what you're capable of. Prove them right!
This is a brilliant result, and I would like to see it launch you into even greater projects in the future.
Congratulations.
Improvements that can make an amateur film to pro film
Learn 2 things - acting in front of camera is not like acting on a scene to be natural is the one key be U don`t try to act the role feel the role
That will give some attention from audience that will feel that you don`t pretending that you are an cheap actor but that you are the central character in the movie.
Same thing is valid for animation !
I have 21 - from 16 years play`ng with music programs without music training , general eye for art and color , clay modeler (from 7-8 year)
You have talent you must learn to focus it direction to direction by the time !
Get it all and you`ll driven crazy or mental depressed by the overall disconfort !
Keep in mind that everything it is EASY in ART you just have to think that even seems harder!
If you wanna go to acting first see lots of movies with class 1 see the focus of the audience.
In final you`ll get the point!
Great but boring!
The 3d parts are driving to an audience but the acting spoiled all the sparkles.
This remember me about one time when i have thinked that i can`t sing but somebody said "You have the voice you must learn to control it! You can hear then you can sing!"
Took me 7 years to realize that is really the true !
Everything has an learning curve!
The art represents your inner thoughts and can define if you are mental ill or not :D i have seen some pictures there end there so somebody has some problems with them and personality :D
So yea` wee are bad bad bad and give some big critics about your art exponent :D why ? Because without this big critics you will end like say`n that you are greatest the greatest and not doing the next pas further :)
meestaplu
30-Jan-07, 23:14
Congrats man! I'll post some crits later, but for now, I'm just enjoying it. It's a really incredible piece of work -- mind-boggling that you pulled it off. You have a lot of talent that I'd like to see honed and developed to perfection as you get older.
Keep making movies, wow!
Matt
I enjoyed your movie. Has a slow start, but it built and was enjoyable. Congradulations on your release. Great accomplishment.
I just watched your movie and I really enjoyed it. I didn't plan to watch the whole thing right now, but it was so interesting and fun to watch that I stuck with it. :)
I was blown away by the music, and the cg was very impressive. I also enjoyed the story and the dialogue very much, but didn't understand all of it because English isn't my first language.
The only thing I really would like to have is a higher resolution of the movie, but I understand that nearly 84 MB is very much already.
Thanks for this fine piece of work.
Sanne
MagicMyshu
31-Jan-07, 19:56
Dude you are awesome. I don't even know you and I'm proud of you.
Did you get drunk and go to a strip club to celebrate this thing? If not, I recommend a do over release.
Keep it up kiddo.:ba:
I like it!
The whole movie was great! But the acting is a bit bad.
Still, you made a great movie and the graphics are awsome.
peace
*kaos86*
Wow! Very nice work!! I love every part of this movie, story, plot, and acting (though others dont agree)
I think the acting makes it special and unique. It gives character.
Keep it up, i am only 15, and this could only be a dream in my future.
magiciandude
01-Feb-07, 08:51
VERY NICE WORK!
You sir will make it far in this life;)
I still need to watch the rest of it though...
I am completely boggled as to how you got such perfect lighting and shadows!
-Chris
TheANIMAL
01-Feb-07, 16:38
ha, i remember this when it was first showed, bloody impressive
i wonder why free_ality chose to bump this now, apart from the fact that it was the most ambitious completed project ever undertaken (apart from elephant dreams) made with blender
Mrdodobird
01-Feb-07, 16:48
It was featured on BlenderNation.
The youtube viewings went from 300 to 3000 in about 40 hours.
That BlenderNation's quite the site!
You guys should check his more recent stuff, I think he has progressed a lot technically since Ideality. Especially the editing. (Also, I don't care if special effects are good or not, that's not what makes a movie good, so that's not what I'm talking about)
http://www.spacemenmovie.com/
Quite different but VERY entertaining and doesn't take itself seriously. It is very anime/manga-ish inspired (I think). This kind of stuff I usually don't like, a bunch of kids doing "dumb" humor that is only fun for themselves. However Ian is a very clever dude. The timing is perfect and it never feels like he is parodying. Even if you're not laughing out loud the whole time, you'll be smiling and have a good time.
I think the only thing that needs work is the lighting in indoor scenes that are not special effects driven. However, it doesn't make it any less entertaining, so who cares?
Make me a sandwich.
Mrdodobird
01-Feb-07, 18:12
Nifrek, I think I love you.
That's exactly what I've been wanting to say. Like, all of it. My sixteen year old self is getting all this publicity and critiques, and it's like, "Thanks! But... but... I've improved! Look!" But I didn't want to sound like one of those guys.
And the effects thing! I know exactly what you mean. I mean, I may occassionally see a film just for the CG, but with my stuff personally, someone saying "your movie had great CG" is like, "So? That was just a tool for expressing the story!"
And I do indeed need to work on my indoor lighting. It's at the top of the list. Thanks :D
Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment or leave a review or critique. They mean a lot.
Nifrek, White or Wheat? (http://thebrb.com/theater/index.php?act=view&film=sandwich)
free_ality
01-Feb-07, 20:33
This really great! Im about 1/3 in, I like it! especially his teacher...Captain Obvious!
Only weak point: sound effects.
Love it!
Squiggly_P
02-Feb-07, 04:01
holy shit. SBFP is pretty god damn awesome. And not just for the effects. If only the comedies on tv were as energetic and crazy i might watch tv more.
I've just favoritized your page, man, and i'm gonna check it regularly, cause damn...
You've got more effects shots in here than some sci-fi shows, too, on - I'm assuming - little to no budget (how much do taquito's cost?). You ever thought about doing effects work for other indy / budget movies? I tend to watch a lot of the newer ones and i can tell you without a doubt that your CG here kicks most of their asses hands down. Might be a good way to make a decent paycheck every once in a while.
I can't really crit, cause i have pretty much zero experience compositing and doing CG for that purpose, but the models and animation for the effects look good to me.
Nice ! Like it a lot ...
Isn't there a way to show it with a better resolution and compression ?
Mrdodobird
02-Feb-07, 13:15
Well hey, Thanks, Squiggly.
Yeah, I've done some no budget effects for some other projects. I did some stuff for revelations (http://www.panicstruckpro.com/revelations/), a star wars fan film, among others.
Delic, yeah, there are definitely higher res versions.
http://www.spacemenmovie.com/extra/idealityavi.avi
(84 megabytes, average quality)
http://www.spacemenmovie.com/extra/hugeideality.avi
(214 megabytes, Insanely Awesome quality)
Both versions require the Xvid codec (or maybe DivX), which more of you probably have than you realize.
Lol. Some of it actually WAS a real orchestra. The guy writing the score rented an orchestra, and had lots of time left over at the end, so he had them play that.
I was amazed.
Yeah, SBFP's more jazzy/non-orchestra-y
You guys are awesome! :)
Very professional looking CG, neat sound effects, good music, good greenbox and for non-pros the acting is also good. Definitive better then, say those guys: http://www.hiddenfrontier.com/
Their models are cool to, but their animations are boring (to much like the original? I like star trek, but the space fights are always boring), and their greenbox is horrible!
Closing comment: SciFi + Fun is always great (I love Red Dwarf, and you have much better effects then this BBC production had).
Should have moved this one a while ago. :yes:
BgDM
well... there is not much I can add :D
It's just absolutely incredible.
If you make another movie, please let us know so that we can help in every possible way!!
The CG-Shots are awesome, the acting is also really good if you ask me.
P.S.: Your "Ideality"-world looks very similar to something that has been wandering around in my head now for some time: floating cities, the airships and the style... When I first saw it I was struck dumb because I thought, "wow! how could you create the very thing I am thinking about all the time?!"
Please: go on!
qwequ777
free_ality
02-Feb-07, 16:15
Hey MrDodo, just finished it. Great movie, liked the choreograph in the last half.
Congrats on the Gallery......
someone saying "your movie had great CG" is like, "So? That was just a tool for expressing the story!"I know what you mean. As a painter I dread the moment when someone says "That's a really nice frame"
I can't download the movie (too big) but did download the trailer. If this is any reflection on the movie then it looks fantastic (all things considered). "Oh this is cliched" - what a great way to finish a trailer. You got me - I want to know what happens next!!! :)
Oh, and the CG looks good too ;)
I also took a look at the SBFP trailer, I didn't get as much from this as the Ideality trailer but I guess you had less to work with? I realise this met a competition deadline (and won, congratulations) but if you plan to re-release it, can I point out that "preceded" is the correct spelling (love the idea - stupid but wonderful) and that you should use genuine apostrophes in your text supers, rather than the default text "foot marks". I also found the black screens a tad too long for my liking - it felt like the download was 30-40% of black screens. Sorry for the unsolicited critique but as Ammusionist said, it's the high standard of your work that invites such critiques so take them as compliments.
The M.h.p.e.
03-Feb-07, 04:50
Good to see this make it in the forum gallery.
I'll join the others and say that SBFP is insanely brilliant in it's own original way. Actually,
originality is a keyword one can put on most of Ian's work. Great, great, great...
Hope you'll come far with this, man. Keep us posted here on the forums, when you do
movies with Blender (well... even if you do them without any CG!). Best of luck to you!
//Mathias
Just finished the movie. I enjoyed it very much (especially the exageratedly elegant dialog). and yes, teh CG looks good. I also have a feeling you -might- just be inspired by Anime, yes?:yes:
I definitely hope you will continue this line of endavours, as I foresee (now I'm starting on that language stuff) that you have some very impressive works ahead of you. Especially considering the young age you have apparently started at!
Very nice.
*Applause* *applause* *applause*
Super Wu-Man
20-Feb-07, 22:14
so your going to ignore my private message...and make me come out in public and say it...:mad:
the wu does not like to give compliments:no:...and especially dosnt like to give compliments to other "men"...:no:
i dont want to say it:no:
i wont say it.....:no:
it was the phenomenal (i'm no longer a man), your first film? the greatest first film ever created (i can feel manhood leaving me now). anyone who ever modeled, ever animated, tried to write a script, get actors, film, and composite would know how much work this actually was, totally insaine. (i smell purfume) you have a huge career ahead of you. (too many compliments....must....stop....breasts growing). quite school, just print out this post and take it to any film studio you want, and tell them super wu sent you, and your in, HAHAHA!!
ok now thats out of the way, i can return to the darkness and not have to post another nice comment for another three years....
phenomenal!! seriously people saying the cg was good:eek:, the acting was ok:eek:, the editing was nice:eek:, good for a amature film:eek:, you people are nuts:confused:, this level at that age, forget about it, great/phenomenal are the only words for this, i mean he is almost at wu level....almost, haha!:yes:
ok, i'm sick now, going to punch my self in the face for showing emotion for another mans........work.......were's the vomit smilie.......http://www.websmileys.com/sm/obscene/eck15.gif
Behold, Wu's eloquence. Words of truth flow from his lips.
Ammusionist
20-Feb-07, 22:49
were's the vomit smilie.......:eek:
Will this do? http://www.websmileys.com/sm/obscene/eck15.gif
seems that wu is the only one who can really post the feeling you have after seeing this *many_positive_adjectives_mentioned_by_wu* movie
:D
Mrdodobird
22-Feb-07, 00:04
Wow. Wu. I'm shocked. And touched. By your obvious masculinity, testosterone, and flying powers. Thank you.
But it still doesn't hold a candle to that most mysterious of things in the basement.... the bathead.
Super Wu-Man
22-Feb-07, 09:56
Wow. Wu. I'm shocked. And touched. . ok no reason to go touching yourself........you see this is why the wu cannot go and give another man a compliment..DANG:eek:
but seriously, maybe you would be interested in doing another version of your movie, take out the sound and add in commentary. just as the scenes go on explain roughly how the effects were done, and who modeled what....unless you modeled everything.....insaine dude, insaine. that would be really interesting to hear.:spin:
but seriously i'm glad you can see where you stand in the cinematic realm, Bat-Head being at the top, and Ideality being somewhere in the middle........:yes:
greatness out,
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~nellim/superwu.gif
Great idea, Wu!!
Having another version of the movie with a commentary would be awesome! I would love to hear more about the details of how this movie was put together. Then again, I wouldn't blame you if you were too busy with other projects to do it. You're always creating something new and great. I just wish I could follow through on my projects half as much as you do.
Keep up the good work!
Mrdodobird
22-Feb-07, 12:22
Effects commentary? Sounds good to me. I'll see if I can have one up by the end of today.
There have been quite a number of replies here, and I don't really even know how old this post is, however, since I just found it, and watched some of the movie, I feel I have a duty (and more) to explain my views on this wonderful piece of art.
First: Congradulations on finishing it! You may not have entertained any one with this movie, it may have been a flop, but no matter what, you can give yourself one big hearty slap on the back for sticking with it all the way through, because most people can't. You have a gift right there.
But your gifts don't end there. The talent is truely amazing. The CGI graphics are good (though not exceptional) when compared to normal CG produced with Blender. But composited how they are in a movie makes them way better than just about anything I've ever seen produced by Blender. The amount of dynamics and "life" in your CG is, frankly, astounding.
The acting is poor. I wont lie to you. Please don't let this bring you down, because very few people can act well. But on the other hand, very very few people have the talent and raw will power you have.
I belive the worst part of the acting is simply the diolog. I am sorry to have to say this, but people really don't talk like that, even in fantasy. :o
I found nothing wrong with the sound. The music I thought fit very well. The ambient sound was also well placed.
Overall, as I said preivios to this, this is one incredible piece of art that isn't seen everyday. You said, and I quote:
Cause that's why I make it. Not to improve my skills (that happens naturally with experience) or impress people (Well, except for the freeway scene. But that doesn't count) It's to entertain! My goodness! Entertain! I don't want to know that my audio was poor at times (though I'll certainly try to improve it in the future, if it destracts from the entertainment), what I do want to know is, DID I DO IT!? Did I accomplish the goal I spent 2 years working towards? Did I make a film that people can watch and enjoy?
It seams your wishes have come true, and more. I think you have impressed many people here. However, if you don't already understand it, please try and understand that you wish to entertain, which could be better acomplished if you take people critisicms to heart. That is what this community is here for, not to bash, not only to admire, but to instruct, to help make better. I guess what I am trying to say is, if you wish to entertain and please people, you might want to listen to what they have to say. You can't try to buy someone an ice-cream cone, and ignore what they are trying to tell you is their favorite flavor. They would appreciate the gift allot more if it was something they liked best.
Overall, I give it 5 stars, I would have given it 6 or 7, but at the same time I must accept the problems, and leave "room" in my rating for improvement.
Have a happy day, a long life, and sweet Blendering.
The_Nerd
Mrdodobird
23-Feb-07, 16:29
Hey, thanks, Nerd. I really can't disagree with anything you said, especially regarding... most everything.
I heartily agree that the acting was the weak point and, by fault of the script. I'd like to think I'd learned a lot since then (In fact, if you'd be willing to read over a script I've been working on for a while, send a PM. I'm trying to make it as good as possible). There was almost no emotional envolvement, no emotion climax of any sort, long dialogue scenes, and yeah, crazy dialogue (I probably wouldn't even call it dialogue any more. Maybe... "lines".)
Yeah, looking back at that quote, it certainly came off kinda arrogant punkish. Despite how it sounded, I definitely try to listen to what the community says. My only real point is that while it's good to take everyone's criticism to heart, I can learn a TON more about what type of flavor ice cream cone to give people if they say what they like and what they don't like, as opposed to pointing out a boom-mic shadow in a shot.
Mrdodobird
23-Feb-07, 23:05
And here it is, as promised:
The Ideality Effects Commentary (http://www.spacemenmovie.com/robotsoup/movies/movies/ideality/effectscommentary.mp3)
Right click, save as or something.
Hope it says something worthwhile. It has instructions included.
I promise nothing beyond that.
This commentary is pretty cool. Thanks for making it!
I didn't realize how many of the fancy 3-D shots were really just composites of static images in After Effects! ...One of these days I'll get around to learning After Effects...
I've never finished anywhere near as large a project as this. Once again, kudos for following through and finishing this film, and kudos to the entire crew who worked on it. Seeing a project as great as this (on such a small budget) really inspires me to keep on trying and learning.
Keep up the great work,
Super Wu-Man
24-Feb-07, 22:12
mrdoodoobird, i really enjoyed the commentary, didnt realize so much could be done in aftereffects with blender, really cool! thanks for the insight!
also big thanks for the mention at the end, that was really cool! i didnt know you were such a huge fan of the wu, i'm fattered, but not touched, thanks!!
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~nellim/superwu.gif
pssst.................orange 2...............super wu..............mrdoodoobird..............sago.... .....pass it along...............composite...............3d.... ................masterpeice......................
take a look at the number of replies in the gallery section (the threads on page 1)... first place for =Ideality Release= (http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=71698), leaving all the other threads far behind... second place for Suburban Plight (http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=75369), but third again for mrdodobird, Wilkapunk Robot (http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=85176)!
you can figure out what that means yourself :)
edit: btw, thanks for the effects commentary!
Mrdodobird
25-Feb-07, 12:24
It means that Colin Levey is hardcore... and he bought me a sandwich at subway (http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a136/Mrdodobird/Friends/IMG_6519.jpg), once!
No joke!
Quantum Anomaly
14-Mar-07, 15:24
I'm damn impressed. You were one ambitious 16 year old to take on such a project and one commited 19 year old to see it through to completion. With such a small cast/crew you really accomplished a lot.
Critique on FX:
Many parts look very real and blend well with the live-action footage (the lighting matches, etc). Others not so much. The train battle leaves something to be desired with regard to matching the colors of the people with the colors of the CG scene. I imagine it's harder to match a live person's lighting to a CG scene than the other way around? Nonetheless, this is around the FX calibur of many B-grade networks like UPN and WB. You should be ready to get a job for those kind of shows already, and I'd imagine you're not far from A-grade production either - probably with a bit of industry experience (and maybe some film school to study lighting for capturing real-world footage), you can definitey do it, if that is what your intention is.
I couple parts of the story confused me, for example I didn't catch why the girl was really him. Maybe after watching it again I'll get it. Also, what was that machine that Alexander busted out that shot rockets when they were in the parking garage area? Only seeing part of it I couldn't really grasp what it was. Also, the ninjas - why were there ninjas? I mean, ninjas are cool, don't get me wrong, but just why? And the ninja sequence could have been sped up a bit and coreographed a little better. But these are minor details. And considering that you didn't have a team of professional choreographers on staff, you did a pretty damn good job.
In conclusion, your movie is awesome and a great piece to have in your portfolio and on your resume. The dialogue was interesting and made me laugh. The intentionally awkward acting style kept me engaged (i.e. the fake Olde English, the Janitor's apathy, and lines like "I thought I failed pretty well"). And the plot was not predictable. A lot of Hollywood high-budget movie these days leave me disappointed. Many are regurgitations of old themes with poor acting (like that recent unstimulating horror movie about the family moving into the haunted house), rely on violence to cary the plot (Children of Men), try to have deep meaning but end up not making sense (Pan's Labyrith), or are comedies that aren't funny at all (Epic Movie). Your movie was enjoyable, made me laugh, and was original. Technically it's quite good considering the resources you had. It's clear you put a lot of hard work into this and you can certainly attain pro level with more experience and a larger budget / larger production team.
Five stars from me.
I salute you!
-QA
Mrdodobird
20-Mar-07, 04:05
Awesome! Thanks, Quantum.
For those of you who don't feel like downloading the commentary and synching it up, it's now possible to just view it.
Ideality Effects Commentary on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyiRDFZOdhA)
hello,
congratulations. it's a wonderful movie with very good fx in it. i like most the mass of details you put in here and that you have a very good feeling for visual atmosphere
*****
a question: i saw on youtube your comparison between original footage and final movie and recognized the maya playblasts. -how much was done in blender and how much was done in maya? why did you chose maya or blender for several scenes - any limitations or benefits?
Thanx and good luck for the next movie...
S.
Mrdodobird
20-Mar-07, 14:39
Totally. The only things done in Maya was the falling building in the "building falling" scene, and the exterior freeway chase.
It was done in Maya instead of Blender because my friend who offered to help me out used Maya. :D
Cool and fun Effects Commentary. Now, I would like to hear an Effects Commentary Commentary. Thank you.
wow I am 15 and this is incredibly detailed (i wish i could do something like this) at the moment i am working on my first car (a volvo 850) and it is extremely hard i am dumbstruck by the way you did this and hope you continue
wert
JackOfAllGames
23-Mar-07, 01:21
Hey dude, I liked the movie. But I can't help feeling confused. It seems like there was a pretty cool basic story there, but I didn't quite get it. You think you could explain it to me?
Mrdodobird
23-Mar-07, 02:16
Sure. What part confused you?
I like your movie. Really, really, really (oehhhm, what i am doing?) well done!
The story reminded me a bit to matrix, but thatīs not important -you found your own style with really atmospheric modeling.
This movie is great, first i expected a short 10min movie, but this awesome work...
3 years....great :D
JackOfAllGames
23-Mar-07, 22:16
About who was real and who knew what and how Caden grabbed that stick super fast.
One question: Are you the main actor?
So... It's been a while since I was around...
Let's blame that on the internet. Everyone knows it's the source of all problems the world faces today.
Anyways. Finally got back online, more or less, tonight (.au time).
Now, some time ago, I'd noted this film as something I wanted to download and watch. Tonight was the night I did that.
So. My comprehensive review follows. If you haven't yet seen this work, I suggest you read no more than my Summary, and then download, watch and make up your own mind so that you can argue or comment in an informed fashion.
Let me also point out that I'm being about as critical as I can for the nature of this film - if you're not willing to watch a student film, you shouldn't be reading any further.
Summary: An amateur film that shows great promise - don't let initial awkwardness deter you from this absorbing work.
The first minute of dialogue in this film nearly had me killing it in favour of some Hollywood drivel. Fortunately, I was just interested enough to persevere, and was well rewarded for doing so. The film quickly improved, and by the end I actually had to check my media player's info to confirm that a full forty minutes had, indeed, passed.
All things considered, I give this work an 8 out of 10.
*** SPOILERS FOLLOW ***
Being a "bad news first" sort of guy, I'll begin with the things that let this film down - and let me point out that these things are the differences between "amateur film" and "international short film contender". I'm judging this by fairly high standards, and it does damn well.
My one line summary would be "Teenage Boy Film". This pretty much covers all of the good and bad points I list below, and if you understand what I mean by that, and are still willing to watch it, you'll thoroughly enjoy what three years of effort has produced.
Problem # 1: The Acting
Let's be fair. There's a very good reason the Hollywood superstars are paid big bucks, and that you see no more than a handful of actual teenaged actors in films. Acting completely natural, with scripted lines, time after time after time, is incredibly hard. The actors in this film ... come close. They're teenagers, and their acting reflects that. Were they on stage, in a local production, they'd be fantastic. Film is terribly unforgiving, and every second of teenage over-emphasis jars you away from the script (which is what you should be paying attention to). Trying to deliver Olde Worlde Englische in a convincing manner would challenge the best of actors, and these kids are, for the most part, almost convincing in their delivery of some very difficult lines.
Really, give these actors, especially the leading female, a few more years and they'll be brilliant. In this, they're merely adequate, and that lets it down somewhat.
Problem # 2: The Effects
Okay; just look a little further down. The Effects are also one of the Good Points. The reason this is listed as a problem is purely and simply because there are a couple of moments when the effects don't match the high standards of the rest of the production. There's some dodgy blue-screening, some jump-cuts, and the very occasional problem with lighting and/or compositing. Again, with a bigger budget or more time, this point would be completely moot.
Problem # 3: The Action
Some have complained about the Matrix-esque nature of the action sequences, crying "Derivative!". I would say that they have missed the point (though I welcome reasoned argument).
The derivative nature of the action is very deliberate, and I would go so far as to say an essential element of the film. The problem with it is, it isn't quite derivative enough.
By this, I mean that there are moments that don't look as polished as The Matrix and similar films. Had the director had the budget for professional Hollywood martial artists, wirework and so on, I have no doubt that the deliberate derivation would become not only obvious, but also artistic and smoothly interpreted into the main mise-en-scene. As it stands, there are moments of action wizardry that are unfortunately interrupted by stilted cliches that aren't quite smooth enough to make the point they want to. Where this problem intersects with Problem #2 (The Effects), the film loses a lot of credibility. But in the moments that it works, it's up there with all the films it's trying to parody, and is a pure joy to watch.
Problem # 4: The Ending
Stop.
Don't read this until you've watched the film, or read at least three reviews and decided you're not up to the two thirds of an hour the film will take of your time.
Now. For those of you still with us, I personally think the ending is too sudden.
It's not a bad ending, although I also think it could do with a major re-write, but the ambiguous montage we are given could convey a great deal more than it does.
For example, the jokey "extra scene" at the end of the credits conveys more information than the actual ending. And given the quality of the rest of the script, the ending feels rushed and unfinished.
Again, this is not a particularly bad thing, given the nature of the film. The ending fits with what it is (a student film), but is somewhat disappointing when considering what it could be. I really wanted this film to live up to the expectations I had built up as it approached the finale, and it was... ambiguous. It felt rushed, in comparison to the rest of the film, and that really let me down. Had the ending been more satisfying, and thus possibly less artistic, I would have given this film a 9 or even 10 out of 10.
As it is, the 8 out of 10 score is mostly for the preceding 35 minutes. Please, give the ending a little more time, if not a little more clarity.
Right.
That's it for the bad. Four major niggles, which wouldn't even be counted if the rest of this film wasn't worth watching.
So let's look at the good bits - you know you want to. =)
Neat thing # 1: The Script.
Seriously. If this script had turned up in a Kevin Smith / Joss Whedon collaboration, with their respective favourite actors, I wouldn't even have blinked.
It's got all that sarcastic, self-aware, post-modernist snappy dialogue completely down pat. If the actors had been a little less earnest, the effects and choreography a little more big-budget cheesy, I would have thought it a pilot for HBO or the Sci Fi channel. I wanted more.
I'm really hoping this writer manages to keep that snappy style without losing his originality.
Neat thing # 2: The Direction.
So the actors could have been less earnest. But look at everything else!
I saw maybe three or four shots where there was observable directorial inexperience, and those were all to do with either lighting or compositing. The rest of the film, all forty minutes or so, has a definite, deliberate style which adds immeasurably to the overall experience.
Neat thing # 3: The Effects.
Okay, so there's a couple of dodgy moments. But for the rest of the film, at least a quarter of a feature film's worth of footage, you believe. Those blimps are there because that's just the way things are. The Dream City is just as real as the other world, and looks it. I believed in the world that was created, and that's what matters.
Neat thing # 4: The Music.
Yes, it's a little cheesy. Particularly the opening and closing credits. But there's not a single moment that you can call it out of place, and the incidental music for most of the film is simply superb.
Neat thing # 5: The Credits.
Just because they're a bit different. Still a list of scrolling information, but a little more visually interesting than the standard White on Black rolling list, with a couple of nice little shout-outs...
Overall: This film was conceived and begun by a sixteen year old boy, and completed by a man still not twenty years of age.
If you can accept what that implies for the work, and give it due credit for such, it's forty minutes you definitely won't regret, and will almost certainly enjoy, especially if you are forgiving of the first and last five minutes.
And if you're purely in it for the Blendering, you'll be awestruck, amazed, envious, and inspired.
Mr. Hubert, I am very much looking forward to the next project of yours that I download. I truly hope that one day I'll be paying for a cinema seat to see something with your name on it.
Reviewed 2007 by
Thornae.
Oops, duplicate. Thanks, Opera.
lucasmontec
02-Jul-07, 16:36
Whaugh! Wrote a response and I accidentially deleted it!
Oh, I've seen plenty of non-american movies, and I think they can have their own set of problems ;) But you know what I'm talking about. There are plenty of romance movies where you know they're gonna end up together at the end, but that doesn't ruin it. At least, not for me. Cause it's how it gets there.
I have to try that rock making tip :D
man what you have against non-american movies? their much better than american movies! any way... i liked so much the ideality! the 3d is great but u need a better sound editor no offences...like in the airport base when the space-craft comes the sound is not good...well i like it.
... There are plenty of romance movies where you know they're gonna end up together at the end, but that doesn't ruin it. At least, not for me. Cause it's how it gets there. ...
You mean like Colombo. Well those are no romance movies, but you know who did it. Its just about how Colombo figures it out and - more important - how Colombo makes fun of the murder. ;) It's more about when dose the murder figure out that he is made fun of by Colombo.
Ok, so i remember quite some time ago when you were talking about this movie. I really didn't think you would finish. I'm pleased to be wrong.
Now i haven't read all the comments. But I did want to say congratulations. Regardless of what many people say, a very large part of life is about "just finishing". You went from start to finish at a age were most of us don't finish what we start.
By all means take the criticism and learn. But in all honesty I think the biggest thing you can take away is that you finished it! (And its not bad either!)
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