Just submitted the WMV version to the Animation Outlet, but thought I'd post it here too, along with the Quicktime version. This is an extended sequence of my previous work in progress, with about 30 seconds or more of additional footage.

Choose your preferred format to view the clip:

Windows Media Format - 7.37MB

Quicktime 6 Format - 13.3MB (higher quality)

There's still no sound, but some of the previous shots have been tweaked a bit as well. This is basically a smaller version of how the DVD-quality sequence will look (before some color correction of course).

Your comments, good or bad, are appreciated. Thanks.

Message edited on: 11/23/2005 06:56

I like the overall feel of it, although she may be a bit overdressed for the occasion. I did notice that at about 23-25 seconds into the movie you have a shot of her where the camera starts level with her, starts to orbit on the Y-axis and then suddenly moves up to an overhead shot looking down in front of her. That movement feels a little rough - specifically when the secondary orbit starts it seems to just jump to the upper position looking down. I like the move - I'd just suggest smoothing it out a bit more. Very nice particles! Finally, I don't know what'd coming before this but I'd make sure that her ship is seen and it's in a location that she can reach before the spit hits the fan.

Good observations, Bobasaur!~

I'll have to see about that camera rotation... if I have time to clean it up. I see what you mean there.

The prelude to this opening sequence hasn't been finalized yet. However, the ship does have a cloaking device, and some other "stealth" gadgets that will be revealed later on, so I'm not too concerned about showing where the ship is located... I think it would be acceptable, perhaps, to leave that to the viewer's imagination. Obviously, we must assume it's right there somewhere on the rooftop behind her. I do see your point, however, as to how some folks who are into details would expect to know about this in advance, and I'm prepared to explain it away later on, should I decide not show the ship's location ahead of time.

"I like the overall feel of it, although she may be a bit overdressed for the occasion."

LOL. I was wondering when someone would comment on the scanty attire. ;-) Truth is, we're looking to sell the downloadable version over the web, as well as the DVD, to niche markets in both Autralia and Japan (primarily), where anime and 3D sci-fi have proven very pouplar. Judging from some recent polls and unofficial surveys, showing a little "virtual" skin does help attract attention and sales (as expected), so long as it doesn't detract too much from the plot or character dev.

Message edited on: 11/23/2005 17:17

Nice. I have to say that thing she trows seems to fall extremely
unrealistic. It starts fine but then it abruptly goes down for no
reason. I also have to say that planet at the end looks like wax...

_

"I also have to say that planet at the end looks like wax..." I'm definitely going to work on that planet. I didn't like the way it turned out either. ;-) Thanks for the input! I appreciate it greatly.

"I appreciate it greatly. " That's appropirate. We're a greatly bunch of guys. [grin] By the way, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. And I was teasing about the overdressed. If you're going to keep her like that, though, you might consider giving her some kind of utility belt or open vest or something like that to keep her stuff in. Or you could go all out and give her a leather spiked purse. That would be pretty original since few superheroines (actually nove that I know of) carry purses.

Cool! Some really good effects you have in this version. The explosion looks extremely impressive! Just one thing I noticed in this version that you might want to consider: nothing major, but in the shot where she's examining that sphere in her hand, she puts it back down to her side, and there's an abrupt forward movement of her arm at the very end of the movement that looks unnatural. It's just a small "twitch" that occurs as the scene is transitioning into the next one. Simply cutting off one or two frames from the end of that scene should correct it. Again, it's something minor in my opinion, but a critical eye will pick up on it. I think you have improved some of the weak spots in the shot where she's rubbing the back of her neck. It looks more natural now I think, and I love the shot of the ship flying away from the mushroom cloud! Keep us posted as you make progress here! This is really looking awesome! Are you working on this yourself, or do you have help?

"Are you working on this yourself, or do you have help?" 'All by myself', as the song goes. ;-P I'm doing everything except the sound.

The girl's movement is a little better in this version than the last. I still think there's lots of room to improve that behind the neck shot, and the shot of her in the cockpit is way too stiff. The camera is shaking, but she's sitting as still as a statue. She needs at least some subtle movement there.

I see you've decided not to add that shockwave thing to this version. I still say that's a mistake, because it takes away from the drama of such a great explosion. On the same note, her means to "escape" is somewhat suspect. Even if the ship was right there behind her, there's no way she would have escaped, because the building she's standing on would have been destroyed immediately. In fact, in the overhead shot of her ship flying away, you see that the building, along with about 10 city blocks, has already been completely engulfed by the smoke and dust cloud. I realize you're asking people to suspend their disbelief at this point, but I think this causes some serious continuity problems, especially since you intend to sell this to a market that will undoubtedly pick up on it. The sci-fi/anime crowd is VERY perceptive.

Anyway, I don't mean to just bash it. I think you did some really impressive work here so far, but unless you improve on the continuity and believability of your scenes very soon, I'm afraid you'll have a hard time selling this in the already-overflowing market you have chosen. The sci-fi market is a REALLY competitive one, even for low-budget niche stuff. The level of work being done there, even by very small companies, is extremely high in most cases. Your stuff might hold it's own against some of it, but you have to raise the bar if you want to make money. Especially in Japan, they take this kind of stuff VERY seriously. You'd be shocked at just how serious they are about animation over there.

I think you do some fine work, which is why I'm being hyper critical. Keep improving. Good luck!

Message edited on: 11/29/2005 01:19

"I think you do some fine work, which is why I'm being hyper critical." Actually I feel the same way. I get more analytical with those who I know are more proficient because I think it's more helpful to them then just a general "that's nice." It's an expression of respect for already established skills.

Thanks, guys. I guess I'll really have to consider re-writing certain scenes in the script. I'm definitely taking another look at that whole "escape route" scene now. Perhaps she could teleport out of there, instead of blasting off from the rooftop in her ship? I thought it made for a much more dramatic scene (showing the ship speeding away from the carnage), but you're definitley right about the inconsistancy it exposes. One thing I must take into consideration here, however, is my limited processing power. I know doing things like that shockwave would definitely improve the shot, but I must weigh the "pros and cons" of doing such effects. If it were possible to do in post, then I'd have no problems, but it's not. The heavy particles involved in the explosion itself put a lot of strain on the network, and doing the shockwave the way I wanted to would tax my resources even further. Considering how much more needs to be done before the movie goes to post, I'm not sure it would be worth the extra time. I only have a very small renderfarm to pull from, and adding more boxes right now to speed things up isn't an option. So I'm a bit limited on what I can really do here in that respect. If I could afford to add, say, 3 to 5 more boxes to the network, I'd have no problem going that extra mile. ;-) Great points all around, guys! You definitely got my attention. :-)

Maybe you could have a small parachute deploy from the device to slow down its decent, giving her time to get to her ship? I'm under the impression that one of the prizes for the Animation category of the 2005 Renderosity Holiday contest is XX hours on a renderfarm. At least that's what it looks like. Maybe you should enter... [grin]

I think if she has some kind of teleporting device, that's one way out, or like Bobasaur suggests, something unique like a chute deployed from the sphere would buy her some time.

I totally understand the need to budget your shots. After all -- you're one person, not ILM. On the other hand (and this is important), you need to also budget wisely! Balance is the key.

Example: think about if you really need such a high quality explosion effect to begin with. I mean, the mushroom cloud looks outstanding -- BIG BUDGET outstanding. Does it really need to be so detailed? Couldn't you cut down on just enough of the particles used there in order to fit an impressive shockwave into the workflow at little to no added cost? I think there's room for it, but only you would know.

Also, if you really need more CPU, but don't have the cash to expand your renderfarm, think about how important this project really is to you. If it's no big deal, then don't worry about it. But if you have really lofty expectations, and hope to make a profit with it, then you'll do whatever you need to do to get this thing made. One of my favorite directors, Kevin Smith, was once asked how he financed his first movie. He didn't hesitate to answer -- "credit cards". He basically took all those pre-approved cards you get in the mail to pay for his film. Point being, if it's something you really want done, you'll find a way. Winning time on a large renderfarm through a contest is an excellent idea. I'd say go for it!

Message edited on: 12/01/2005 00:10

I agree somewhat with what has been said already, but even if she could never have really escaped that explosion, it still makes for an exciting scene to me. Great stuff you are doing here, especially the effects and character movements!

I can't add much to what has been said, just that I was particularly impressed by the camera work and lighting. --T