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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

The Dark Tide--After the Yuuzhan Vong

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction Stories--Classic JC Board (Reply-Only)' started by JediStryker, Mar 13, 2000.

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  1. Gita_Naranek

    Gita_Naranek Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Feb 12, 2000
    It's all in the textures. When you are doing a model that is meant to be that large the texture maps have to be incredibly well done because every flaw will be huge in comparison to the people in the scene.

    Darryl Roman @ http://" http://www.naranek.com"Naranek.Com
     
  2. Shawn@Illusive Production

    Shawn@Illusive Production Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2000
    When it comes to making an outdoors scene look less earth like you should experiment with lens filters, either gradiants or mono colors. You can either do this the old fassion way and actually put filters on your camera to give everything an otherworldly tint or you can use transparencies in post to add tint. Also play with the sky if you can and the horizons. Add a giant new moon on the horizon, or perhps there are two or three suns in the sky. Try not to make everything jump out, make it subtle so it seems natural in the shot.
     
  3. jeff_a_haines

    jeff_a_haines Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Oct 24, 1999
    I think that it is best to make a small model of whatever part of the set you don't want to build in full size. for instance, for an imperial bridge you may wan't to build the floor in full size to shoot the scene with a blue screen behind it where the wall will be. then you could build a model of the windows, and film it in front of a blue screen. in post prodiction, you can put in the windows behind your characters, and put in the star field outside the windows.
     
  4. tcheb

    tcheb Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Apr 5, 2000
    Hey Ash,

    I don't suppose you've got any pictures of your cockpit? I'm planning on building one as well, and any suggestions would be great.
    Pictures are even better.
     
  5. JediStryker

    JediStryker Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 5, 2000
    Started a new topic continuing the story
    Forum16/HTML/000433.htmlTemptations of the Dark Side

    Read it!
     
  6. buliwif

    buliwif Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2000
    cardboard and styrofoam, my friend.... rendered sets are nice, but full size sets add the realism that makes the difference... sets, even on a grand scale, can be relatively inexpensive if you plan them out properly... we've made full size sets, ships, castles, and more, using nothing more than one-by-two's, refrigerator boxes, large sheets of styrofoam(you can get these cheap, if you look for them) and a healthy coat of paint... the wood is cheap, the cardboard you can get for free, if you ask politely, and the paint... well, that's the most expensive part, but you can even cut corners on that, too... the bottom line is, f/x is a useful tool that can greatly enhance your film, but you shouldn't rely on it too heavily, as it can also make your film look like it's low budget. true, most films are, but if you produce it right-use time and a lot of love, even the cheapest made film can look like a big-budget bonanza!!!
     
  7. ash khotan

    ash khotan Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Mar 10, 2000
    tcheb,

    I've got a couple pictures of it on the web site. Go to this address and click on "images" and you'll find some photos that show it under the behind the scenes shots.
    http://darktimes.webjump.com http://darktimes.webjump.com

    I agree with buliwif here. We made the cockpit out of big styrofoam sheets, spare plumbing parts, paint, and whatever else we could find. With the proper lighting, the shots turned out great. (I don't have any movies with the cockpit up yet -- coming soon.)

    --ash
     
  8. JediToren

    JediToren Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2000
    Although I haven't made a SW Fan Film, I have made films with spfx in them. This my rule of thumb for sets. I try each one starting with #1 before I go to the next one.
    1) Try to find a location first, it's always best to shoot reality than to try and simulate it.
    2) Modify a location by adding props and set dressings, such as moisture vaporators, etc.
    3) Build a set
    4) Create a miniater set, or combine it with a real life set. Again, shooting reality is easier than simualting it.
    5) 3DCG as a last resort.

    Creating photorealism is an art form, no matter which software you use. Very few people can make everything look photoreal. I know filks who can create photoreal landscapes, others can do spaceships or humans or aliens, I don't know anyone who can model, texture, and animate everything that looks real. ILM can do this because they over 100 of the best CG people in world working for them, they have 4 years to do it, and they still use allot of models (nearly ever exterior locale and large spaceship was a miniature). Most Fan Films only have one person, or two if they are lucky. By only having a handful of CG shots, you can create a handful of really sweet CG shots rather than an assload of mediocre-to-lame CG shots. Also consider render time, ILM has $250,000 machines, lots of them, and they are all networked, and they still search for shortcuts for saving render time. Example: You have a pan of CG landscape, it takes 10 hours to render one frame, and you have 120 to render! Here is a way to get around it: Render a wide image, say 4 times as wide as your shot, and render one frame, take it into After Effects or Axagon (or if you 3D app does compositing like mine) pan accross the image. Want to have moving clods, render ot a wide shot of animated clouds and comp them in too.

    [This message has been edited by JediToren (edited 04-09-2000).]
     
  9. buliwif

    buliwif Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2000
    Jedi toren hit the nail on the head! Less is more!!!! The true pros have always used this in their filmmaking. Keep the cgi down to the bear essentials, and fill out the rest using every old trick in the book... THEY STILL WORK!!! In the end, you'll have a film that'll surprise you!
     
  10. tcheb

    tcheb Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Apr 5, 2000
    Ash - your set is excellent! I plan on doing something very similar.

    One question: Where did you get all the greenscreen material? Or was it paint?

    Thanks.
     
  11. ash khotan

    ash khotan Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Mar 10, 2000
    tcheb, the greenscreen is paint on a wall. We used a local college's art department during the off hours over the summer for these shots. The good thing about that -- it's free!
     
  12. taiello

    taiello Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2000
    Also check your phone books guys (er, people). If you have a place which sells theater/concert lighting equipment you can order a gallon of true chroma blue paint for around 40.00 (green is around 60.00). A gallon goes a long way though.
     
  13. buliwif

    buliwif Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2000
    This has been mentioned before on other threads, but any decent hardware store's paint department can match just about any color.... All you need is a good sample of the blue-screen/green-screen color, match it, and you can get up to three gallons for the same price!!!
     
  14. Master Lurker

    Master Lurker Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 14, 2000
    Too good to lose.
     
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