Seeking advice

Hi talented BA folks,
I am pretty new to the 3D animation/CG space and would like to solicit advice on the scale that Blender can be used. I have an extremely ambitious 3D animation project to create an almost full length feature (90 mins or so). This would fall into the category of a commercial film which I hope to release in a few countries but a very low scale and budget since this is my very first foray into movies.

How far am I into this - Storyboard and character identification is almost complete. Screenplay is in progress.
Sketches of characters is in progress albeit at a slower pace than anticipated.

I am in the process of looking for directors who have some experience with animation (or none but are willing to take this up as a challenge!)

I have been researching about the other possible software offerings and my primary question to the group would be:

  • Is Blender my one stop shop? By this I mean to ask if I can stretch the software to do modeling, characters, add music and voice over?

Based on the guidelines of the forum, I think I am looking for mentor ship to guide me through the first few phases. My current job requires me to travel extensively so I am very flexible in meeting in person or skype or any digital means if necessary.

What’s in it for people who get involved - revenue/profit sharing, recognition, credits in project and travel abroad to
mention the least. I am definitely not looking for shortcuts or short changing anyone during this entire process; truly believe in go big or go home!

Please let me know your thoughts and advice!
Regards,
Ajay

Moved from “Jobs > Volunteer Work” to “Support > Basics & Interface” because this is more of a support request than an offer for work.

If you take a look at the hundreds of names that appear in the credits for a feature length animation, and figure that those people worked on the film for two or three years before the film was released, you’ll get an idea of the hundreds of man-years involved to produce such a thing. That’s your ‘scaling’ problem, not Blender’s capabilities.

Blender can do most everything you’ll need to do to produce an animation, except manipulating sound. Take a look at Big Buck Bunny or Sintel, that will give you an idea of what Blender can do in capable hands. Audacity or Rosegarden, I think, are the open source go-to programs for sound files. You’ll also want a 2D paint program. I recommend Gimp or Krita.

Unless you have mad management skillz, coordinating the efforts of a couple of hundred people over the internet, which is what you’ll need to produce your film in a reasonable time, will probably break the project before it really gets underway, as it has so many other ambitious projects in the past. And coordinating the efforts of a handful, which is what you can expect to find, none with much relevant experience, will result in a timeline stretching out for decades. Is that possible? Perhaps. Has it been done? Blender hasn’t been around long enough to tell.

Your other option is to try mechanime, where you find a game which fits your plot and characters, and do screen captures as your actors manipulate game characters, then add dialog, music and sound effects to the resulting footage.

It’s good that you are starting with a screenplay and storyboards. The challenge is to find a single climactic scene in the screenplay, perhaps between 2 and 5 minutes long, and animate that. You probably won’t be able to release it commercially, but you will get the experience of producing something people enjoy.

Welcome to BlenderArtists :smiley:

Thank you for your advice Orinoco. I will look into the programs that you have mentioned.

Agreed that it is an ambitious project, but I am determined to take baby steps if required :slight_smile: because of the potential that this has. There is no problem with managing people and projects because that’s what I do for a living :smiley: so I am use to the chaos, deadlines and expectations.

It takes a village to raise a child and might take a few people to bring my project to fruition :smiley:
Mahalo,
Ajay