Time to start a new topic for a special scene:
As announced the final Intro of my filmproject will start with a tribute to Peter Jacksons "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit".
For some easier copyright handling I did some research and listened to hundrets of minutes of music scores. The closest to the original Hobbit Theme and the Lord of the Rings Intro was the second movement "Largo" of the 9th Symphony of Antonín Leopold Dvořák from 1893.
I got the friendly permission for the usage of a converted Midi-File from Jim Paterson, Managing Director, Music Files Ltd.
This is a rough test of whether the length of the individual animations fit into the music as a whole. Later I'll add as unobtrusive natural sounds as possible and the speech of Bilbo Kirk "My dear Frodo ..." I'm really scared of that! ;)
Enjoy it and have fun:
https://1drv.ms/v/s!AvEpmvBUHi6qgqQkTCVtavxPdcMYMQ (https://1drv.ms/v/s!AvEpmvBUHi6qgqQkTCVtavxPdcMYMQ)
BRILLANT!!!!!!!!! And the music fits perfectly!
Well Done! :)
Great fun! Love the cell phone. Nice blending between foreground and TG background, animation. Music is a good fit. Can't wait to see where this leads.
A pleasure to watch. :)
Quote from: DocCharly65 on August 13, 2018, 05:02:16 AM
Time to start a new topic for a special scene:
As announced the final Intro of my filmproject will start with a tribute to Peter Jacksons "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit".
For some easier copyright handling I did some research and listened to hundrets of minutes of music scores. The closest to the original Hobbit Theme and the Lord of the Rings Intro was the second movement "Largo" of the 9th Symphony of Antonín Leopold Dvořák from 1893.
I got the friendly permission for the usage of a converted Midi-File from Jim Paterson, Managing Director, Music Files Ltd.
This is a rough test of whether the length of the individual animations fit into the music as a whole. Later I'll add as unobtrusive natural sounds as possible and the speech of Bilbo Kirk "My dear Frodo ..." I'm really scared of that! ;)
Enjoy it and have fun:
https://1drv.ms/v/s!AvEpmvBUHi6qgqQkTCVtavxPdcMYMQ (https://1drv.ms/v/s!AvEpmvBUHi6qgqQkTCVtavxPdcMYMQ)
Tinker-fairy is such a cute addition to the scene. Brings it to life. Love the moving book too.
One of my favorite scores, actually. I do have to say though considering it is a tribute piece, and I'm assuming non-for-profit, you could use LOTR/Star Trek music. For example, my friend composed and produced this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN1B1kxwpLo
Fantastic Nils!
Thank you everybody :)
First I want to thank Matt for his support in a special requirement. The scene would not be as it is without him... but I want to keep the secret for a while not to spoil the little surprise. But for extraordinarily clever and attentive observers everything is already there and hidden visibly. ;)
Jordan, this is a beautiful piece of music. Greetings and my respect to your friend! I gave up musik making about 4 years ago but what you say is absolutely correct. I had to declare my project not only as non-profit - I had to declare it as non-commercial. That means no fee from anybody for nothing - not even financial help for e.g. a new PC or things like that. But that does not really bother me.
In the deepest back of my brain I have ideas for a kind of "crossover" between Dvoraks' music and some LoR themes. I hope that I'll find the time to get my Midi-Keyboard running - last time when I tried I had big latency problems and was to lazy to try all the possible drivers. And when I moved to my new flat my old Korg Trinity couldn't come with me... not enough space... (and my missing interest to that hobby at that time) :(
Who knows - Maybe one day I will have an order for your friend (unfortunately only honorary). But my ambition actually dictates that I should be able to handle the film music myself. The synchro voices, however, already require a departure from this intent. Let's see what happens :)
Not to forget it: - just some new model credits:
The fairy, the rabbit, the butterfies and the goat by 3DRT.com
Bottle brandy Vecchia Romagna from archive.net
Compass by Medievalworlds on Turbosquid
Nokia 8800 Mobile Phone by HD_modelling (I think it was on Turbosquid)
The medieval parchment scroll by ieva-lickiene on CGTrader
I found several blueprints in the www to "corelpaint" them into "Historical documents about the last big spaceships" as the scrolls texture.
(to "corelpaint" is the affordable synonym for "to photoshop something" ;) )
Only some additional absolutely unimportant nonsense but hopefully entertaining:
The Minbary scroll contains the original monologue from the Babylon 5 Pilot spoken by "Londo Mollari"
The Klingon scroll contains a virtual translation of the klingon original Hamlet by "General Martok Shakespear"
(of course in the original medieval english pirate copy)
The Human race scroll contains the speech of William Adama from the Galactica prequel "Caprica"
That's just Groovy! You are amazing. Ah, the music...
And I have to say, Caprica was great. So sad it was canned...
Quote from: DocCharly65 on August 14, 2018, 02:23:07 AM
Only some additional absolutely unimportant nonsense but hopefully entertaining:
The Minbary scroll contains the original monologue from the Babylon 5 Pilot spoken by "Londo Mollari"
The Klingon scroll contains a virtual translation of the klingon original Hamlet by "General Martok Shakespear"
(of course in the original medieval english pirate copy)
The Human race scroll contains the speech of William Adama from the Galactica prequel "Caprica"
This makes me happy. I miss Babylon 5. Galactica was great too. Man Syfy basically flooated off Galactica for awhile when Stargate and Atlantis ended.
Beautifully done! Love this!!
Thank you all :)
Soon I can test if the whole Intro scene works :)
...works ;)
have fun with the actual (almost) final version of the intro: https://1drv.ms/v/s!AvEpmvBUHi6qgqQ6m2yg3c6v2S2wtQ
The renders and the cut are final. I'll invest some more work in the sound quality of the Dvorak midi file - but tempo and position fit extremely good.
...seems that the Star Trek fanfare works quite well with Dvoraks music if it's transposed one semitone lower 😊
Later I'll add some more details like nature sounds and the starships motor sound. The effort to integrate it unobtrusively and appropriate must not be underestimated. And of course the storyteller of the movie must start the story.
Thanks to Matt and Oshyan for their permission to use the Terragen and Planetside logos in the intro (I modelled them in Blender)
Having this intro now commits me to something completely different:
Some of you perhaps remember the idea with the Paramount parody.
This is how it looks like so far:
[attach=1]
The thick unattractive and obtrusive letters from the post-editing are no longer appropriate. And since I learned that easy button "Text" in Wings 3D it's no big problem any more to render nice titles in TG too. So this will be the new one (I added a minimum of Starburst effect to get a good combination of Godrays and Starburst:
I think this version with the more filigrane letters is better:
[attach=2]
...and now waiting again... (1.5 h per frame / 600 frames) But anyway enough other animations to finish - And besides: The old version was rendered with TG3 and needed 3 h per frame! ;)
Unbelievable!! I know you have a lot of fun with this, joke around a lot, etc. but this is stunning work. Honestly that transition from the overgrown starship/hobbit hole to the ship in space was gorgeous! Well-conceived, and superbly executed. Not to mention all the amazing detail, and surprisingly well-handled rendering of interior/exterior, animation, etc, etc. Really, this is already a stunning achievement in my opinion.
It feels funny to say since I didn't write Terragen, but still, I am honored (or at least very pleased) that you chose it to create this epic work of passion, creativity, and amusement! Truly. :)
- Oshyan
I can echo most of Oshyan's praise. And this last intro looks so much better indeed! I really think you should somehow try to sell the final MOVIE to a broadcasting company (or is that old-fashioned?). At least enter it in some contests!
Thank you :)
I am proud to get so much praise and interest to my little childhood dream...
Broadcasting will be a problem as long as copyright violations are punished harder than murder :)
And I'll keep the project non profit and noncommercial as long as possible. Otherwise I would need more time and money for lawyers than for the project itself. And if I include lawyers, sponsors and other donors it's natural, that they want the right to change things in the film or set deadlines to make it financially successful. And then I will loose all fun... then it's just a job.
Edit...
Before I forget: :)
Quote from: Dune on August 27, 2018, 01:28:41 AM
... And this last intro looks so much better indeed!
This version should look better in fact because it's 1080i, 7000 kbs bitrate and cut with my latest Magix version. The last one was a fast shot done with MS Movie Maker in 720p 3000-4000 kbs. Maybe on some devices it starts playing by just clicking on the link but it should look much better and run smoother after downloading. One neverending problem is that the in Germany used 25 fps could stutter on some international devices. But I hope Quality is ok.
:) Just great!
Hopefully you meant 1080p. 1080i is... antiquated. Abolish interlacing! :D
- Oshyan
Quote from: Oshyan on August 27, 2018, 03:18:13 PM
Hopefully you meant 1080p. 1080i is... antiquated. Abolish interlacing! :D
- Oshyan
uups! :)
It must be a little confusing error in the startup description of my video processing tool:
If you start your project with the settings 1920x1080@25fps it is shown as 1080i
The export as mp4 doesn't even offer an interlaced export - only progressive. A little bit confusing but I guess it must be 1080p.
If you choose the 1080p settings as project settings you need 50fps ... That is something for Peter Jackson himself - - for me to much to render ;D
Wow!!!!!!!!!!
Where is my jaw??
This is really stunning! The visuals are fantastic, and the music fits perfectly. Fantastic work! Hats off!
A beauty. The idea with the Enterprise revealed under the Hobbit hole is just great. Only problem with this is that is it just the intro. So ready for Part 1 now! 8)
Absolutely cool!!!! :D :D
Thanks very much :)
I'll do my best but unfortunately it takes as long as it takes. And that is soooo long... ::)
Last weekend I finished the remake of the paramount parody and wrote some additional music for the Intro (and the end titles). Besides I added some seconds of the star view for the speech of the elf. The scene you have seen when the eagle comes is too short for the LotR lyrics.
Also I tested some of the planned sound additions like birds, the goat, the Enterprise flyby, the enterprise starting warp engines and warping away. It works but I'm not satisfied so far.
And the biggest problem is the actors voices. I have purchased a voice changing program to speak the texts with different voices but I have not installed so far (I'm still a bit too scared - ok, it's almost too cowardly to speak the texts. ;) )
Meanwhile I do another (in my eyes) a little bit boring job: Blender animations of speaking persons for some dialogs. I am not really good with this but I started it - now I want to finish it...
But I'll keep you updated on the latest little advances. :)
Well, if there's one person that has perseverence baked into his character, it's you. Good luck with the voices!
Cross your fingers my dear friends!
Still waiting for the safari renders (another 2-4 weeks necessary...) I did my first test with voiceover recording...
As you will see, Ulco was right in another post: It's epic ... yes - the voiceover of Bilbo Kirks Speech is an "EPIC DESASTER" :'(
But I like the elves monolog... could have been worse. It's just my voice recorded with a higher quality dictaphone, then resampled and added some hall/echo.
The parodied "Paramount" animation is completely re-rendered with integrated "Poolduck" lettering (I created with wings3d)
The intro soundtrack is my own, I prepared for the end credits. That one of course will be much longer.
And as you can see I reactivated and renamed my YouTube channel... Let's see, if I nage to avoid any copyright problems with announcing it as a nonprofit and noncommercial fanfilm this time.
With the voices I will get real trouble in future. I'll have to set up a rudimentary recording studio. Room reverberation and background noise must be limited from the outset. This is not possible in my current facility. By the way: The voice-morphing tool I bought a few months ago is crap! :P ::)
Wow! What more can I say? You have a gift to centre attention exactly to what is needed at the right time, and keep the viewer smiling. I like the goat!
The only thing I have trouble with is understanding what the voice says, hard to hear, except for a few words here and there...
Jaw dropping!!!! Incredible work, Nils!!
But I agree with Ulco. The narrator's voice is very hard to understand.
Thanks and I absolutely agree... as I said an acoustic desaster ::) ;D
I'll need much better recordings.
It was a test in multiple ways:
a.) Test the possibilities of my existing technology
b.) To check the requirements for the technology
c.) To check how I must split and integrate the text passages into the animation.
On one side the result is a bit frustrating because "a:)" is a really big fail.
On the other side I was very unsure if I would ever get integrated all the text that Matt and I had worked out for so long. (Means c.) was a partly success)
...and b.) is just a result:
My experiment with the following device is ended from now (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0791GW6P1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0791GW6P1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1))
I bought this for noise recording because I will need much more sounds in the film, which I don't want to buy. But the device is now proven to be the worst choice for voice recording
The new plan:
I'll reactivate my old i3 PC in a seperate room with my new ordered mic: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B06XNQVCKG/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B06XNQVCKG/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Nice video Nils.
Regarding the sound... I had much better voice recording from an ordinary headphone mic.
It wasn't great of course but it was sufficient for what we did.
Is that sound without processing the same (bad)? Did you record it too close? Looks like there is clipping...
You're right too, Kadri.
I tried to lower input sensitivity via shown options in the manual with that device but they had no effect.
I am quite sure. that clipping together with the (necessary) increasing of the play speed causes that weird and bad sound.
Additionally there's a slight room hall especially disturbing at low frequencies, I couldn't get rid of.
I tried to compensate with some filters but playing around with filters for days isn't my favorite way if I can set up a small recording studio.... wow - right now I remember I have still an almost new Behringer 16 channel mixer from my time as hobbymusician... somewhere... ::) ;)
The other funny thing is - I have several of these headphone mics too, but in the meantime, the number of my render PCs has risen and the whole room is full of NAS drives.
In comparison, it would be even quieter on the Enterprise right next to the Warp drive @ warp 7.9. ;D ;D
I personally don't mind and I don't feel disturbed by that noise at all, but mic recordings are incredibly noisy.
Because I was too lazy to set up a recording room so far I just wanted to try if the recorder works good enough.
I'll probably dig around in some old moving boxes ... It's going to be fun! ;D
Have fun :D
Have you tried simply recording in a smartphone?
Nice idea Ulco :)
I'll give it a try one of the coming weekends...
I don't know anything about the recording quality of my HTC - let's see. The sound quality they say would be be excellent even in the mobile network.
Even a basic microphone should give you decent/acceptable quality IF the room/environment is reasonably quiet! Environment noise is often one of the biggest issues with home recording. If you don't solve that problem, there is not a good enough microphone to give you good recording. ;) The only thing a smartphone could do that a regular mic might not is noise reduction, which is imperfect.
- Oshyan
I'll test all the offered solutions - thank you all.
I think the usage of a quiet environment with a at least "OK-quality" microphone will be the best.
As I said - it will be funny to dig around in my old moving boxes and use my old equipment :)
Just get up in the middle of night and record in the garden ;)
Quote from: Dune on March 26, 2019, 04:45:10 AM
Just get up in the middle of night and record in the garden ;)
including natural cricket voices...
;D ;D ;D
Btw, I had not actually watched the video yet when I made my previous comments. Now that I have, regarding the audio, I could understand about 50%. I think the levels (loudness) was a big part of that problem actually. But I *liked* the sound of your voice and accent with the narration, and your intonation. I think it is good for you to narrate it, and I do hope you can improve the recording quality.
Regarding the video itself... every time I see something you do, I comment how impressive and cool and fun it is. This is no exception. But I have to say also that I am particularly struck in this case by how *well-imagined* and creatively beautiful this is. The transition from hobbit hole to ship in space is both funny *and* beautiful, both in concept and execution. This is not just a silly romp using quick and low quality work to simply achieve a given comedic or storytelling goal, which I think many people resort to when they have such non-traditional story ideas and humor-focused approaches. So one of the things that really makes your work stand out is the wonderful combination of comedy, reverence for the source material, attention to detail, and quality in execution. Amazing stuff.
- Oshyan
Nice work on this
Thanks to all and a special thank you to the warm and motivating words of Oshyan :)
I don't know any software or software forum where a such motivated creative and human community is standing behind the forum. And this including the Planetside staff supporting us not only pre- or after sales but also being part - creative part of the forum. So thanks again :)
A big part of success for my circumstances! :)
I tested my Magix Music Editor3 and the Trust Emita USB Studio Mikrophone.
I totally had forgotten that I have this nice recording tool. And it cleaned almost perfectly my recordings from all PC-fan noise.
I will go on playing around to get rid of the room hall but I think now the text of "Bilbo Kirk" is much better understandable!
I hope I will fast enough learn more about YouTube playlists. Then I can upload part by part of the whole film in 10-max. 20 minutes parts so that I meet the e.g. Paramount fanfilm rules. It will be a big patchwork of parts in the correct sequence, which will be filled more and more until you have the complete film you can watch almost seamlessly via playlist.
Much better indeed :)
The thread about Topaz gigapixel just came to my mind. If you are still rendering at half HD did you think about it Nils?
Now you can hear your narration. Great!
Yes! Much better. And I cannot tell you how much I like the transition of the Enterprise from Hobbiton to space. Cool!
Thanks :)
The next try is already planned but I must wait for this device:
[attach=1]
I hope finally to get rid of the last remnants of the room reverb. If this works I need not to create a recording chamber.
Ok... enough for the moment... I will leave it as it is for now. A friend as "test audience" confirmed the sound quality as appropriate :)
In fact I could get rid of most noise and reverbs.
I deleted the old versions and added the German version on youtube.
I'll probably merge the entire story patchwork-like, so that everyone who follows the youtube channel with time, the story understands better and better.
In this way I am not dependent on the sequential completion of all animations in the correct order but can also upload small episodes in chronological order with gaps.
Now here is the final Intro
in German:
https://youtu.be/Lr5f0cfgSxE (https://youtu.be/Lr5f0cfgSxE)
in English:
https://youtu.be/k-hEDoxARfA (https://youtu.be/k-hEDoxARfA)
This should be the channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBqBbucgb2jsi6bjPqNeFkQ (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBqBbucgb2jsi6bjPqNeFkQ)
...and now I'll go on with the safari animation... there'll be one or more surprises - promised ;)
Okey, this is just a fantastic work!!!
I never laughed so much watching a Terragen animation ;D
And technically, well, i have no much to say about that hehehe
Just keep up the good work!
Thank you Oshyan and Ariel for your first comments on my virgin and newborn YouTube channel :)
That is a big motivation and of course I'll do my best :)
One of the coming steps is: I could set the scene to music, which would come chronologically direct after the intro: The Klingons scene, followed by the Darth Vader- and the Borg-Queen-scene. This could be the first "real" episode meeting one of paramounts fan-film rules: it must be less than 20 minutes...
I hope I'll get the music score done ...