STAR WARS CHRONICLES: SEEDS OF DARKNESS

I'm always right... duh ?






Ok, let me know if/when it will be
(the model)

Part about the big space battle... totally understandable

 

Hey guys, could you release a small version of SoD for 56K modem users? 320x240, 15 fps and QDesign Music 2 would be great. These settings should shrink the entire movie into a 100Mb file.

 

Great film guys...but I have to add to the nitpicking of Anonymous Jedi.

an X-wing wouldn't fly in atmosphere with the s-foils in attack position, nor would it go into hyperspace with them open. A TIE can't take out an X-wing with one shot. What no linked laser fire from the X-wings?

Other than that...it was excellent, the directing of the CG was great as well.

 

First let me say, fantastic movie! really enjoyable, even though i normally don't like the standard sith + jedi fight story. For me it was the space battles that made this movie. It was truely inspiring! The only thing I'd comment on is that sometimes the ships seemed to take paths that were too straight, too precise, whereas in the original movies they sort of weave about the place more, and also in the originals they barrel roll, loop, dive, etc. more like a real aircraft (which is what ILM used to model the flight patterns anyway!). Other than that though, the sequence was EXCELLENT, and i agree with the poster before who mentioned that the cutting back to the planet made a big difference to the story. Good editing.

The only other thing to say is that i enjoyed watching this more than KQ, because it was well compressed and had a high quality image. Let this be a lesson to fan film makers of the future - Quicktime is the king!

Overall, very impressive. The only thing i didn't like about it was the fact that no sith would have existed at that time, but hey, it was still a bit of fun!

I did also like the homage to the Duality guys when the sith meets his master at the start, that side shot seeing the huge hologram... nice touch.

Anyway, enough rambling, great show!

john.

 

MrB, I was going to say that in my original post, I knew I forgot something.

 

Thanks for all the constructive feedback.

I'd like to make a small clarification to one of the above posts. The emperor hologram shot was an homage to The Empire Strikes Back and not Duality. In fact...that shot was in the can when Duality was released. At first we were shocked at the similarity of the shots and debated taking it out. Ultimately we realized that Crew of Two was also paying homage to ESB. So we figured we would leave it in. Glad to see you caught it though!!!

 

Has anyone ever tried to fly an x-wing in a planet's atmosphere with the s-foils open? Just kidding.

Surely when we started this film, we (I) should have done a little more homework on the SW Universe and it's many facets. As it was, we barely had time to learn all the software to make this film. But, rest assured, we won't make the same mistake next time...

Really though, we here at IS really appreciate all the CONSTRUCTIVE criticism from the fans. That can only lead to a better overall presentation. The devil is in the details.

 

You can fly an X-Wing in atmosphere with the S-foils open. It uses repulsorlifts to stay off the ground.

I'm referencing Rogue Squadron, Rogue Leader, and the numerous atmospheric X-wing battles in the novels. Don't ask me how it works with Bespin though, since there's nothing to repulse. :?

 

Really good work.
It is REALLY good & inspiring (haven't been this inspired sense Duality)
Yes I did notice the little corks but none that have not been mentioned already.

 

Grapher,
I will start work on a smaller version as soon as possible. Since SOD is in 2.35:1 aspect ration 320x240 won't work. But I'll find something comparable that will work. Is the general consensus that this "smaller lower res" version should be all one chunk?

 

First of all, good job on the film guys. I really liked the CG and the idea behind the film. It was cool actually having someone mention the Mon Calamari, nice touch.

Anonymous_Jedi, I do not agree the film was totally off-cannon. In SODs defense, the Empire did have TIE Bombers pre-ESB, just because they were not shown in ANH does not mean they did not exsist pre-ANH. As with ISDs, how could you say they were not around at that time? I cannot see why they wouldn't be, for one, ANH starts out with a Devestator class ISD ( I believe) and to my knowledge, the Devestator class was not the first class.

As with Calamari Cruisers? Most definatly there were around, in fact the MC80 was one of the first large ships that could compete with an ISD. I think you would be suprised what the Mon Calamari were up to before ANH. (yes, that was a shameless plug).

Back to topic, SOD was cool, I recommend it for those looking for a fanfilm. The music was beyond awesome, that is what hooked me.

 

The thing I tend to like best about the release of a major fanfilm is that it brings out all the lurkers and some of the old timers who never post, as well as people from the other boards. But I digress...

Good show on this one. Excellent production quality and superior CGI. I had a little trouble with the acting, but the saber fight and the space battle more than made up for it. Only character that didn't work for me was the Emperor. Didn't look anything like him, or sound like him. But that's just a small thing, no problem there. And the lower bitrate made it watchable for me and my K6II400, unlike the herky-jerky Knightquest release. (Can anyone say Quicktime rules and Windows Media blows dog?) Overall, awesome!


SK

 

I hadn't kept up with much on the fan film scene...even with KQ, I got bored watching most fan efforts. Just same old, same old stuff. I figured SOD would be the same but I checked it out nonetheless...and it held my interest. Very well made. I think what really made it work was the dialogue, shot composition, and editing. Wonderful CGI -- I hope that I can get as good results with 3DS Max.

 

The one thing that SOD has done well that no other fanfilm has is include friendly banter between characters. As an avid reader of the X-wing series, I appreciated the "comm chatter" between pilots. It really felt like they knew eachother, commenting on inflated egos and past battles.

The plot wasn't very solid but, considering that scenes were added to its origins as an effects test, it was easily forgivable.

I really liked the space battle but I must make one comment. Red One was straining to pull his tight loop to bring himself back behind the pursuing Tiefighter. This is unrealistic considering X-wing pilots use gravity compensators to relieve g-forces exerted on the pilot during such extreme manuevers. Showing "some" exertion would have been appropriate but he looked like he was passing a kidney stone.

Great stuff and my new favorite!

 

Congratulations on the completion of your fan film. A great achievement.

I think you did a great job on the special effects shots, and compositing. The original music by Jason Graves was excellently done. But the best thing was your sound mix. Fantastic job there. Very well balanced between music/sound fx/dialogue. A lot of fan films neglect the audio mix, to the point where dialogue gets drowned out by music and effects etc, but you have done a very nice job with the mix.

I think your casting was good. The cast of young fighter pilots and apprentices appeared to all be in their early-mid 20s which suited the characters in the film. Although maybe an older actor for the squadron leaders might have been more appropriate. Some of the acting was a little bit wooden at times, but thats a given with non-pro actors. One bad choice in casting was the guy that played the Emperor, who looked like you had an 18 year old kid playing the part! Voice was a bit off the mark as well.

One nice addition which would have been good to see to break up the Xwing cockpit shots would have been some comments and reactions from officers on the Rebel Corvettes or Frigates.

Dialogue on the whole was ok. A little cheesy at times, but you expect a bit of cheese in the SW universe. The story was well paced, and worked well cutting back and forth between the space combat and the saber duel which kept the story contantly moving.

On the whole, well done.

 

I would type something long on how I loved it, but I won't. Really great film guys and girls. I loved it.


- Ani

PS: I thought it was a little funny how the pilots were always bouncing up and down in their seats.

 

Does anyone else have the problem I'm having - I'm only able to download half of part two and then it freezes? I've tried a download manager. I've tried 'save target as.' And I've tried playing it from the browser window but I get the same result no matter the method.

I've watched the other two segments and from what I've seen I'd have to say this is the best fan film to date. The fx and fights are superlative but what really puts it over the top is the original score. Simply outstanding for an amateur. I also liked the attention to detail on the technical side, for example, mixing in some ambient sound into the soundtrack so that the actors don't sound like they're speaking in a vacuum. Fan films seem to be coming of age what with efforts like this, Knightquest and Emergence of the Sith.

 

MC3PIO,
I don't know of anyone having problem downloading part two. Check with Azeem and see if he can help you out. I really hope you get to see it because it's the most exciting part of the film...

If you still have problems downloading it let me know...

Thanks

Maz

 

Egad! I forgot to mention the Original Score! Best part of the movie!

The only problem I had with the 'friendly banter' comment was the fact that they were supposed to be maintaining radio silence, or so the leader said early on. Guess he forgot?


[image=http://home.columbus.rr.com/priceofrebellion/shazam2.gif]
SHAZAM!

SK

 

Janz: I misstated in my original post...you don't enter an atmosphere with them open, and it's easier to fly with them closed. The pilot was expecting trouble though so it could all make sense.

 

LOL...you guys crack me up.... All those little details that you pick up!

 

Like the pilots bouncing? I thought it was kind of funny... but my brother couldn't stop laughing!

 

The pilots bouncing was great! I loved it. If you look at ANH, you'll see Luke doing it too.

 

Great movie, they just keep getting better with each new release lately. You folks did an excellent job and even though a couple little things were off slightly, this film holds its own in the growing sea of fanfilms coming to the net.

Converting it to VCD right now, can't wait to see it on the big screen, thanks for the high resolution.

 

An "F/X test" as a plot, friends and family as actors, amateur dialogue. These are the common threads that tie together fan films and sink them.

But damn, you guys took these three major disadvantages and made one hell of a film. The fast action pace drew me in and the combination of well shot live action with high quality CG kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire film.

Major compliments to the direction, cinematography, and editing!

Jason Graves is a godsend to fan films. That was an absolutely beautiful score.


Direction: 8 (best I've seen in a fan film)

Cinematography: 8 (lighting, compostion, equalled only by KnightQuest)

Editing: 9 (studio quality stuff here)

Visual Effects: 8 (kept my disbelief suspended for the entire trip)

Story: 6 (not much there, but the film was so fun to watch, it wasn't missed)

Dialogue: 3 (difficult to write, haven't seen it done well in a fan film save for a few brief moments*)

Acting: 3 (can't blame you though, you had your own reasons, looks
like you all had a blast!)


Real World Overall Score: 6.4


Very well done you guys, I can add this to my list of fan films that can survive outside of the fan world (Duality, Tripping the Rift, Desert Duel, and Troops)


One last note. I know the acting wasnt that good, Icicle Studios isn't afraid to say it was just a bunch of their friends and family having fun. Who cares, its an awesome fan film. Buy why must others say the acting was great? Do they ever watch independent films? No offense to IS intended, but if that was great acting there is no bad acting. Ok, thats all I wanted to say about that.



*who can forget "today is a good day for explosions!"...now that's dialogue.