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The struggLE in three dimensionS or is it four?

Since technique and pure aesthetics excite almost as much as moods and stories... I simply cannot create HSM without redefining my visual style...and by redefine I mean make it more complex ^ ^

I excel at creating super blocky raw looking paint splattered 3d characters like the one I used in the Rabbit Junk promo... or the dancing block man in the PnoK video I did... If I were to make HSM look like that the only thing I would be thinking about right now is the HSM story... but I like challenges and I love learning and trying new things... Soooooo... I've been studying and practicing to extend my 3d skillset and utilize techniques I have never done before...

I mean I could use a semi-toon shaded look like I did with "Blue" in WATS but there isn't enough dynamic range in the color space with that technique to get me excited...

Here's the thing... before I started creating the models and the like for WATS... I envisioned it being a very dark and serious film... So I started making the models and objects with that in mind but I did not have the technical skill at the time to make anything look "serious" it all came out childish looking... So i could have spent 3 years learning the tools and techniques until I could create the "serious" look I was going for...instead I just went where the material wanted to go and made it childish intentionally after that...cause thats really all I could do haha...

So now I'm at the same point... I've written this film and envisioned it as very dark and serious... do I have the skills now to make it so? Of course when starting a film you never feel like your ready...So of course the month before starting "construction" wherein I began making the objects for the film I've been scrambling to augment my 3d skillset...

So within Cinema 4d theres lots of new stuff for me to utilize...

Most of my emphasis/fear/hesitation has to do with the 3d models themselves... the character models.... I'm at odds as far as what style to go with... I love low poly but if they are too blocky that kills the "serious" aspect... but on the other hand I have no interest in photo realism and super high poly stuff...not to mention its a BiaTTCHH to work with....

Also the less "real" a character is the more freedom you have with hyper stylized animation which I have great fun with... the more realistic the character is the more realistic animation must be...

So before the month ends I will have to come up with a decision... or just start modeling next month and see where the mouse takes me...

I guess its not a bad problem to have... I'm VERY happy with the story, mood and characters... there's some powerful stuff in there...If I sit in the cafe and watch the animatic I have to hide my face cause several parts of the animatic actually starts to bring tears to my eyes...I'm not even joking... WATS barely did that for me... but nothing like this...

I have some CRAZY ideas on how to resolve this... just need to chew on it in my brain some more and decide what is best... but you can count on me to do my best... I'm dedicating all my time and energy for the next 1.5 -2 years on making this thing we'll just have to see how far I go with upping the aesthetic ante...

This month I'm teaching myself Zbrush ^ ^ I wonder if it will work its way into the production...hmmmmm......

Comments

  1. This kind of creative thinking is exactly why I follow your work. You inspire me to use some of the same ideas in my own work. Thank you for that.

    As for deciding on where to go with the style of the 3d work, I'd recommend just starting and finding out where you end up. Imposing a certain style on your material I don't think will yield better results because you'll probably change your mind a hundred times as you progress with the film. Since you are the sole creator of the film just follow your instincts. You can make better 3d models a goal, but you don't have to work it all out in a week.

    Just my 2 cents.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeh your probably right Ricky... I just can't help but freakout every 6 hours about it haha... Thanks for the advice... I'll just keep plugging away....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Its moments like this that remind me why I love M dot, your so... human...

    I mean, no Hollywood director would dare consult fans if they had a problem, and that is what is so inspiring about you...

    Oh, and as for your problem...you should probably try not to overthink it, I mean... it worked for WATS...

    Often I find sleeping on things the best, the bit between being awake and asleep is when I do my best thinking...maybe it'll work for you???

    Either way I'm sure it'll look kickass...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Honestly I've found myself in the same position multiple times. I'm still unsure about how I want to present myself stylistically. I find that simplistic stuff is, to me, and I think to you as well, much more natural and intuative, but if you go the extra mile and get more realistic you feel like its more mature and defined. I'm personally super flip floppy concerning my visual look, so Im with you there...

    However, I will say that if your only convern is having the film remain serious and dark, I think that the main thing that defines that is the narrative. As an example, I'll cite something we're both familiar with: Anime. There are a lot of super dark and serious anime shows, and none of them really have a realistic style (Elden Lied almost immediatly comes to mind). They have super cartoonish and, in all honesty, silly looking characters in very dark and very serious situations, and we totally buy it, so at least keep that in mind as you move forward.

    Lastly, I'll throw some of your own advice your way. You mentioned in a YouTube video a while back when you were still deciding on what movie to make next that there were a bunch of ideas that you wanted to do, but none of them but HSM were the movie that was really "you".

    I think the same idea can be applied here. Do you really WANT to do high poly? Or do you just want people to look at your next film that way?

    Just something to keep in mind, srry if I sound liek I'm preaching ^ ^;

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the feedback!

    Sheimill:
    I can't help but be honest... ya know I have to show that I doubt myself sometimes...but I fight through it and get the stuff made.. so when others doubt themselves they should know its a normal part of the process...

    Y0 DemoniC... yeh man thanks for reminding me! Yeah its like I need to remember that its the story and everything else that matters... I guess I'm becoming too much of a 3d geek...and with all these new tools at my disposal I want to put them in action... in the end no one cares if a model has 6000 polys or 6 million polys as long as it has character and provokes an emotional response...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi M dot!,

    Glad to hear that you're so pumped about HSM! - I feel the same about the script i'm currently working on (an insane live action cyberpunk psychological mystery called "Static").

    It was cool to see you reference both Tesla and Reich at the end of your DIY Days LA presentation recently. They are two heroes of mine :)

    In case you don't know about it already, I thought i'd pass on this link;

    http://www.redantenna.com

    it looks like it maybe a useful service for DIY distro (though I haven't had time to go thru the small print yet..)

    I'm in the U.K. and recently signed up for both days of 'Power to the Pixel'. It'd be good to meet up if your interested!

    All the best,

    Adam

    ReplyDelete
  7. Following on from the link I gave you yesterday, I found this;

    http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080909-tunecore-will-put-your-indie-film-on-itunes.html

    At first I didn't believe it as There is no mention of it anywhere else, including the Tunecore site. I e-mailed their vice president and he confirmed that it's true!!!

    Finally! - Indie films on iTunes.

    Just thought you'd like to know
    d00d!

    Adam

    ReplyDelete

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