Friday, 17 July 2009
Viewing now open
Hurrah, we can now show you our film!
I have uploaded it to OpenFilm so you can view it in HD.
View Dick Ikon and the Petulant Princess
Please rate it 5 stars, you know you want to!
I have uploaded it to OpenFilm so you can view it in HD.
View Dick Ikon and the Petulant Princess
Please rate it 5 stars, you know you want to!
Labels: DIAPP
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Initial Reviews
Well, the movie has been uploaded to the DVX QuestFest for just over a week now and the preliminary round of voting is complete. Unfortunately we still can’t link to the movie from this blog until the winners have been announced (in a couple of weeks I suspect) but we can share what others have said about the film.
As this was our first movie, we were expecting to be totally panned as the movie is a) our first attempt and b) most definitely aimed at kids. However we need not have worried, and in fact we have been positively overwhelmed by the nice things viewers have said:
- I thought it was clever. It was cute. I enjoyed it.
- Be proud of yourself for getting it done. It must have been a lot of work.
- I bet your kids got a real thrill watching this.
- I could relate to two quests in this. First the obvious quest within the story and also as a father of two young girls, the quest to want to thrill them with adventure. I applaud you. Can’t wait to show this to my eldest daughter tomorrow.
- I have to agree (also being the father of two daughters) this is a great little family adventure! Very enjoyable. Cute story concept. You did a great job with the VFX too.I'm sure your kids will love this one for years to come. Great job.
- There's so much heart on the screen/the motivations in making it are so clear, that the film can't help but be enjoyable.
- Very enjoyable film, fantastic idea with much fantasy….. I love the title - it sounds like a ironic fairytale.
- What a fun ride! Kind of reminds me of the exaggerated effects style of Robert Rodriguez's "Spy Kids" movies. I'll definitely show this one to my kids. Though, they may get ideas for a CGI heavy film that I can't quite pull off. I might try sets, but those trolls were awesome, and out of my league.
- Considering what the budget must've been, you did a great job. As an homage to adventure movies, it certainly does the job. Fun.
- I've just looked back through your thread and also had a look at your site - blimey, you're a complete family production!!! And it's your first film over a minute!!! Really well done and you must have had a great time making it.
- Awesome job! The trolls looked great, glad you gave ‘em some facial expressions too. looks like a ton of work there. The dad has a terrific voice for reading a story, the ending was cool. it was a neat story.
- Congratulations! What an effort for a first work. Considering that EVERYTHING is done by you and your family (us four and no more) then it becomes even more amazing. I see a lot of promise for future productions from family Bang.
- Very cute film. Funny stuff. Nice family film. Congrats man. Your kids must be having a blast.
- Wow. this was pretty neat.
- For your first film, you certainly decided to go BIG, didn't you?! A great first film!
- I enjoyed it and was impressed by how much work was put into it.
And our favourite comment:
- I really enjoyed this a lot. It had a great tone and feel to it. I even showed it to my 11 year old daughter who liked it as well. This must of been a blast to make. It makes me want to go out and shoot some green screen. Well done.
Wow! Thanks guys! Much appreciated! We’re glad we made you smile a little.
Most of the comments were from fellow directors and filmmakers. I wonder if the general public will be quite as forgiving?!
This gives you an idea of the green-screening process.
As this was our first movie, we were expecting to be totally panned as the movie is a) our first attempt and b) most definitely aimed at kids. However we need not have worried, and in fact we have been positively overwhelmed by the nice things viewers have said:
- I thought it was clever. It was cute. I enjoyed it.
- Be proud of yourself for getting it done. It must have been a lot of work.
- I bet your kids got a real thrill watching this.
- I could relate to two quests in this. First the obvious quest within the story and also as a father of two young girls, the quest to want to thrill them with adventure. I applaud you. Can’t wait to show this to my eldest daughter tomorrow.
- I have to agree (also being the father of two daughters) this is a great little family adventure! Very enjoyable. Cute story concept. You did a great job with the VFX too.I'm sure your kids will love this one for years to come. Great job.
- There's so much heart on the screen/the motivations in making it are so clear, that the film can't help but be enjoyable.
- Very enjoyable film, fantastic idea with much fantasy….. I love the title - it sounds like a ironic fairytale.
- What a fun ride! Kind of reminds me of the exaggerated effects style of Robert Rodriguez's "Spy Kids" movies. I'll definitely show this one to my kids. Though, they may get ideas for a CGI heavy film that I can't quite pull off. I might try sets, but those trolls were awesome, and out of my league.
- Considering what the budget must've been, you did a great job. As an homage to adventure movies, it certainly does the job. Fun.
- I've just looked back through your thread and also had a look at your site - blimey, you're a complete family production!!! And it's your first film over a minute!!! Really well done and you must have had a great time making it.
- Awesome job! The trolls looked great, glad you gave ‘em some facial expressions too. looks like a ton of work there. The dad has a terrific voice for reading a story, the ending was cool. it was a neat story.
- Congratulations! What an effort for a first work. Considering that EVERYTHING is done by you and your family (us four and no more) then it becomes even more amazing. I see a lot of promise for future productions from family Bang.
- Very cute film. Funny stuff. Nice family film. Congrats man. Your kids must be having a blast.
- Wow. this was pretty neat.
- For your first film, you certainly decided to go BIG, didn't you?! A great first film!
- I enjoyed it and was impressed by how much work was put into it.
And our favourite comment:
- I really enjoyed this a lot. It had a great tone and feel to it. I even showed it to my 11 year old daughter who liked it as well. This must of been a blast to make. It makes me want to go out and shoot some green screen. Well done.
Wow! Thanks guys! Much appreciated! We’re glad we made you smile a little.
Most of the comments were from fellow directors and filmmakers. I wonder if the general public will be quite as forgiving?!
This gives you an idea of the green-screening process.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
And now we wait
It’s done.
Rich put the finishing touches to the movie last week and uploaded it to the DVXuser site. It’s been approved and viewing opens on or around 6th July, although unfortunately we're not allowed to publish links to it until a couple of weeks after that.
Still, it’s a humongous relief now that everything is finished, although we’re all experiencing a weird kind of “let-down” now that the frantic polishing and checking stage is over. We can't start promoting our little short until next week, so this weekend is a dead time. There’s nothing to do now other than await our fate, which sounds rather dramatic but when it’s your first movie and you’re anticipating…umm…well God only knows what reaction we’re expecting (stunned silence, probably), then I think we can be excused a few pre-release nerves.
We’re very busy with the kids’ end of school term and the endless Hogwarty stuff which that entails (bringing half the school home by the looks of it) and we’re also wondering what on earth we’re going to do with the boys for nine (very long and torturous) weeks. We don't have summer camp here in the U.K. so they will be at home the whole time. Gulp. What on earth shall we do with them? Hmm....methinks they need a nice little movie project to keep them busy….
Unused green-screen fight plate
Labels: DIAPP
Saturday, 27 June 2009
Firsts
Well, the masterpiece (?!?!) is nearly complete and thankfully everything did come together at the last minute, despite my worries that we'd never get it all done in time. Hurrah! I'm not quite as bad a producer as I thought I was!
This little film has certainly been a steep learning curve for all of us. Whoever thought that a six minute movie short would take four intense months to create and would absorb so much time and energy? Not only was this our first movie, but it was our first experience with acting, script-writing, directing, producing, green-screening, compositing, editing, sound-recording, mixing and production.
Thanks to the cast and crew for all their hard work and their endless patience! Well done!
And lastly, no action packed movie is complete without its first Major Blooper!
So kudos to Assistant Director Sam for spotting the Bulbous Blooper during the final proof of the movie (literally just before the upload to the festival web site!) Cripes, we'd forgotten the main prop in the penultimate scene! Time for a last minute emergency re-shoot and audio revamp!
Nearly complete now, folks. Only a few days to go before viewing opens....
Only a few days? Yikes! Back to work...
This little film has certainly been a steep learning curve for all of us. Whoever thought that a six minute movie short would take four intense months to create and would absorb so much time and energy? Not only was this our first movie, but it was our first experience with acting, script-writing, directing, producing, green-screening, compositing, editing, sound-recording, mixing and production.
Thanks to the cast and crew for all their hard work and their endless patience! Well done!
And lastly, no action packed movie is complete without its first Major Blooper!
So kudos to Assistant Director Sam for spotting the Bulbous Blooper during the final proof of the movie (literally just before the upload to the festival web site!) Cripes, we'd forgotten the main prop in the penultimate scene! Time for a last minute emergency re-shoot and audio revamp!
Nearly complete now, folks. Only a few days to go before viewing opens....
Only a few days? Yikes! Back to work...
Mighty Dick and his Trusty Sidekick re-shoot penultimate scene (very hastily)
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
The Art of Previs
In my last post I mentioned that much of Rich’s time was taken up doing horribly complicated technical stuff on the computer. It sure looked impressive but to be honest I had no clue at all what he was doing, other than it fell under the label of “previs.” As I’ve been allocated the rule of producer, I decided it was time for a bit more research.
For those of us who are unfamiliar with “previs” or “previz”, the term is short for “previsualisation” which is where scenes in a movie are extensively planned and visualized before the start of filming. The storyboard is effectively translated into artwork so that movie scenes and sequences can be meticulously planned in advance. The director can then experiment with different lighting and camera angles, and see which scenes work and which ones don’t, without having to waste costs on actual production.
Francis Ford Coppola was the first director to use previs techniques on his movie One From the Heart in 1981, although this was before the days of modern filmmaking software. Coppola and American Zoetrope designed a high-tech video-viewing centre which was housed in an Airsteam RV trailer which was called The Silverfish and which also came complete with pink interior and a hot-tub! The Silverfish was used as an audio support set and for capturing the pictures coming from the camera via a video tap. Story board artists had already been charged with drawing some 1800 drawings which were then shot and stored on an analog videodisk along with a reading of the script, where they could be instantly recalled when Coppola needed them. To this store was added extensive movie footage during the making of the film. Coppola would then examine the movie clips on video immediately after filming and use them to shape the next day's shooting. This was the first true “previs.”
But hurrah for technology! Nowadays, the process is somewhat easier.
Rich used Autodesk Softimage (formerly XSI) to previsualise his movie. He built a virtual set, inserted some virtual characters and used the static models to represent people so he could see the camera angles which were be required for particular scenes, and he could see which scenes worked, which didn’t and how to change them. So in effect, each scene from the movie was extensively planned even before he picked up the camera. Each scene was modelled in XSI and the original XSI simple models were used when fleshing out the concept, but these were then further refined to give the final CG output for compositing.
Our movie-short is CGI heavy (as all our movies will be) so most scenes were filmed against a green screen in our studio. Green-screened movies usually require previs (unless the director is a genius) because there are no visual props or clues at all and thus there is no physical frame of reference. Because the actors are working in an empty room (which is horrendously difficult to do, especially when your actors are kids) it helps if the whole thing has been meticulously planned in advance, so that the cast and crew have printed artwork to look at before each scene and they know where to move and what to do, and also where to position the camera and which angles and lighting to use.
Even with groovy software like XSI, Rich still struggled in places. For example, the most complex scene in the movie was the bridge scene, which had nine virtual cameras and involved very complex choreography, all performed against a green-screen backdrop. The previs allowed Rich to experiment with different options and see how each change affected future scenes. He could work out the correct scene cuts and play around with different scenarios before deciding which scenes worked best. He could then finalise his choices and print a final storyboard, which was important not only for the actors (who could look at printed examples from the previs in order to visualise out what was happening) but also so that Rich could work out the photography as well as making sure that the crew never crossed the line (I’ll be blogging about “the line” at a later date.)
Previs is undoubtedly the future of filmmaking, particularly when complex CGI and special effects are used. Mercifully, with the advancement of technology, we no longer have to resort to Coppola’s tedious and complicated methods in order to visualise and plan our movies. Modern filmmaking software now makes scenic previsualisation available to the indie filmmaker, allowing him to explore his creative vision in a flexible virtual environment at minimal cost.
Alas, XSI doesn’t come with a hot-tub though. I guess we indie filmmakers can’t have everything…
For those of us who are unfamiliar with “previs” or “previz”, the term is short for “previsualisation” which is where scenes in a movie are extensively planned and visualized before the start of filming. The storyboard is effectively translated into artwork so that movie scenes and sequences can be meticulously planned in advance. The director can then experiment with different lighting and camera angles, and see which scenes work and which ones don’t, without having to waste costs on actual production.
Francis Ford Coppola was the first director to use previs techniques on his movie One From the Heart in 1981, although this was before the days of modern filmmaking software. Coppola and American Zoetrope designed a high-tech video-viewing centre which was housed in an Airsteam RV trailer which was called The Silverfish and which also came complete with pink interior and a hot-tub! The Silverfish was used as an audio support set and for capturing the pictures coming from the camera via a video tap. Story board artists had already been charged with drawing some 1800 drawings which were then shot and stored on an analog videodisk along with a reading of the script, where they could be instantly recalled when Coppola needed them. To this store was added extensive movie footage during the making of the film. Coppola would then examine the movie clips on video immediately after filming and use them to shape the next day's shooting. This was the first true “previs.”
But hurrah for technology! Nowadays, the process is somewhat easier.
Rich used Autodesk Softimage (formerly XSI) to previsualise his movie. He built a virtual set, inserted some virtual characters and used the static models to represent people so he could see the camera angles which were be required for particular scenes, and he could see which scenes worked, which didn’t and how to change them. So in effect, each scene from the movie was extensively planned even before he picked up the camera. Each scene was modelled in XSI and the original XSI simple models were used when fleshing out the concept, but these were then further refined to give the final CG output for compositing.
Our movie-short is CGI heavy (as all our movies will be) so most scenes were filmed against a green screen in our studio. Green-screened movies usually require previs (unless the director is a genius) because there are no visual props or clues at all and thus there is no physical frame of reference. Because the actors are working in an empty room (which is horrendously difficult to do, especially when your actors are kids) it helps if the whole thing has been meticulously planned in advance, so that the cast and crew have printed artwork to look at before each scene and they know where to move and what to do, and also where to position the camera and which angles and lighting to use.
Even with groovy software like XSI, Rich still struggled in places. For example, the most complex scene in the movie was the bridge scene, which had nine virtual cameras and involved very complex choreography, all performed against a green-screen backdrop. The previs allowed Rich to experiment with different options and see how each change affected future scenes. He could work out the correct scene cuts and play around with different scenarios before deciding which scenes worked best. He could then finalise his choices and print a final storyboard, which was important not only for the actors (who could look at printed examples from the previs in order to visualise out what was happening) but also so that Rich could work out the photography as well as making sure that the crew never crossed the line (I’ll be blogging about “the line” at a later date.)
Previs is undoubtedly the future of filmmaking, particularly when complex CGI and special effects are used. Mercifully, with the advancement of technology, we no longer have to resort to Coppola’s tedious and complicated methods in order to visualise and plan our movies. Modern filmmaking software now makes scenic previsualisation available to the indie filmmaker, allowing him to explore his creative vision in a flexible virtual environment at minimal cost.
Alas, XSI doesn’t come with a hot-tub though. I guess we indie filmmakers can’t have everything…
Friday, 22 May 2009
Bios of Cast and Crew
Name: Rich (as “Dick” or “The Boss”)
Occupation: Act-or, Director, CGI-Artist, Sound technician, Photographer (no he is not responsible for these photos – that highly dubious honour goes to moi, I'm afraid.) Dick is a (bull) whip-cracking, smoooooooth dude with a fetish for fedoras and a fancy for a second (or is it third?) career as an indie film-director…or maybe just as “Indy” (as in Jones.) Oh and he has a degree in physics too, which certainly comes in handy in the movie world: “Nothing shocks me. I’m a scientist.”
Name: Michael (as “Coppertop”)
Occupation: Actor, Michelin Star Chef (one day) who thinks nothing of whizzing up a mega-tub of melt-in-the-mouth vanilla ice-cream for the cast, thus cunningly sabotaging Director Dick’s diet. Attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in year 6 where he diligently studies his spell (ing) book and spends too much time devising dangerous new potions and plotting the dastardly demise of the monstrous Madame Maxime.
Name: Maria (as “The Petulant Princess”)
Occupation: Actress, diva, fashionista, beautiful young starlet. Obsessed with kittens, kitten stories and anything pink. Our young prima donna has the world at her feet and quite rightly expects everyone to worship their pink-slippered loveliness. An enchanting young lady with a natural flair for high drama, this perfectly precious princess is surely destined for fortune and glory in Hollywood.
Name: Trevor (plays himself)
Occupation: Devilishly handsome troll. Despite enduring Extreme Troll Torture where he is pushed, pulled, bent and rendered into all sorts of painful positions, our Trev never once complains (largely because he has no audio yet.) His first break was playing a “scary bloggie troll” designed to repel other evil trolls from harassing the good people of the blogosphere, a role which he fulfilled admirably due to raw acting talent, not to mention devilishly good looks, bulging muscles, a winning smile and a singular wit. Following this dazzling debut, Trevor’s career has since lumbered from strength to strength and he is surely destined for movie stardom. Go Trev!
Name: Sam (crew)
Occupation: Assistant director, cameraman, hero extraordinaire. Wants to be the next Spielberg, but taller and infinitely cooler. Shortly to be cast as hunky vampire thespian in our next exciting epic highbrow horror movie (hits your screens later this year!) Our resident idol attends Hogwarts in year 9 where he shows talent for sarcasm and advanced spell techniques with a particular aptitude for the Imperius Curse. Addicted to computer games, Lolcats and Garry's Mod. Girls aren’t too bad either (although Belgian buns are better!)
Name: Lin (crew - no photo - sorry)
Occupation: No fixed designation, but closest job description would be “minion.” Last week I was in charge of the movie budget (but blew it – I blame the Director.) Yesterday apparently I was “producer” (I’m not sure what a “producer” really does, but it sure sounds cool. ) However I am in the dog-house today because I have been demoted to teasmaid, cleaner and general servant. Next week I am due to prance around in a big green Teletubby suit, oozing blubber and pretending to be Trevor. Yes indeed, I am relegated to a stand-in for a cyber-troll. Well, that’s just great (actually it’s not too bad because I get to spend the entire day beating the Director with a big green stick. Hurrah! Payback for 21 years of suppressed marital frustration! Bring it on, Dick!) Ambition for the future: Writing a decent script would be nice. One day, maybe…
Behold! Our Cast And Crew!
Occupation: Act-or, Director, CGI-Artist, Sound technician, Photographer (no he is not responsible for these photos – that highly dubious honour goes to moi, I'm afraid.) Dick is a (bull) whip-cracking, smoooooooth dude with a fetish for fedoras and a fancy for a second (or is it third?) career as an indie film-director…or maybe just as “Indy” (as in Jones.) Oh and he has a degree in physics too, which certainly comes in handy in the movie world: “Nothing shocks me. I’m a scientist.”
Name: Michael (as “Coppertop”)
Occupation: Actor, Michelin Star Chef (one day) who thinks nothing of whizzing up a mega-tub of melt-in-the-mouth vanilla ice-cream for the cast, thus cunningly sabotaging Director Dick’s diet. Attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in year 6 where he diligently studies his spell (ing) book and spends too much time devising dangerous new potions and plotting the dastardly demise of the monstrous Madame Maxime.
Name: Maria (as “The Petulant Princess”)
Occupation: Actress, diva, fashionista, beautiful young starlet. Obsessed with kittens, kitten stories and anything pink. Our young prima donna has the world at her feet and quite rightly expects everyone to worship their pink-slippered loveliness. An enchanting young lady with a natural flair for high drama, this perfectly precious princess is surely destined for fortune and glory in Hollywood.
Name: Trevor (plays himself)
Occupation: Devilishly handsome troll. Despite enduring Extreme Troll Torture where he is pushed, pulled, bent and rendered into all sorts of painful positions, our Trev never once complains (largely because he has no audio yet.) His first break was playing a “scary bloggie troll” designed to repel other evil trolls from harassing the good people of the blogosphere, a role which he fulfilled admirably due to raw acting talent, not to mention devilishly good looks, bulging muscles, a winning smile and a singular wit. Following this dazzling debut, Trevor’s career has since lumbered from strength to strength and he is surely destined for movie stardom. Go Trev!
Name: Sam (crew)
Occupation: Assistant director, cameraman, hero extraordinaire. Wants to be the next Spielberg, but taller and infinitely cooler. Shortly to be cast as hunky vampire thespian in our next exciting epic highbrow horror movie (hits your screens later this year!) Our resident idol attends Hogwarts in year 9 where he shows talent for sarcasm and advanced spell techniques with a particular aptitude for the Imperius Curse. Addicted to computer games, Lolcats and Garry's Mod. Girls aren’t too bad either (although Belgian buns are better!)
Name: Lin (crew - no photo - sorry)
Occupation: No fixed designation, but closest job description would be “minion.” Last week I was in charge of the movie budget (but blew it – I blame the Director.) Yesterday apparently I was “producer” (I’m not sure what a “producer” really does, but it sure sounds cool. ) However I am in the dog-house today because I have been demoted to teasmaid, cleaner and general servant. Next week I am due to prance around in a big green Teletubby suit, oozing blubber and pretending to be Trevor. Yes indeed, I am relegated to a stand-in for a cyber-troll. Well, that’s just great (actually it’s not too bad because I get to spend the entire day beating the Director with a big green stick. Hurrah! Payback for 21 years of suppressed marital frustration! Bring it on, Dick!) Ambition for the future: Writing a decent script would be nice. One day, maybe…
Behold! Our Cast And Crew!
Friday, 1 May 2009
Talent Headshots
So I thought I'd post up a couple of headshots of one of our actors, Trevor. He takes his acting quite seriously and likes to get in to role for extended periods. I think you'll agree that he creates quite an impact.
Seriously though, these are headshot renders of the Troll character from our current project just to give you a feel of what we are doing. The character is rigged and rendered in XSI ready for animating in the final footage.
Seriously though, these are headshot renders of the Troll character from our current project just to give you a feel of what we are doing. The character is rigged and rendered in XSI ready for animating in the final footage.
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