Hi to all POV-Ray users!

I have read first the "POV-Ray is free..." thread and then the following
"Group Movie Project" thread with growing interest, and while I don't have
too much time myself (between my job, my TreeDesigner-project and my other
hobbies :-) I think I can find some, so here comes my proposition:

I would be willing to coordinate the following project:
(This is a rough outline only)

Target is an episode-movie with all episodes around a common theme and
weaving themselfs together (like "Night on Earth" or "Shortcuts").

Minimum length is 30min, up to feature-length (depending on how much
response with get).

Rendering must be done with POV-Ray, modeling is up to the individual
artist.

The theme, storyboard, episodes etc. are decided on and created by a central
team (see below). The actual job of modeling and programming animation is
then distributed to all POV-Ray users that want to participate (and that can
deliver a certain standard of quality)

The project is purely non-profit oriented. All profit that may be generated
by selling the finished movie (or license or I don't know) - that is,
everything beyond paying for actually producing the stuff (like preparing
the distribution media etc.) - will go to a cause yet to be determined. This
could be:
- the povray.org site
- charity
- the next movie project

The project would be tightly coordinated between different teams, each team
consisting of it's "Director" and his/hers assistants:

- Coordinating Director and Team:
Responsible for coordinating all the other directors and teams, quality
ensurance, talking to the outside world etc.
(I guess my job would be this one :-)

- Technical Director and Team:
Responsible for the technical issues (software, distributed rendering,
helping with technical stuff, compiling the rendered frames into the
MPEG-movie, preparing the distribution media etc.) as well as for
distributing the render-jobs to the Render-Slaves (see below) as far as the
rendering is not already done by the individual artist.

- Art Director and Team:
Responsible for the artistical issues: Creation of the Theme, Storyboard,
coordination of the artists (see below)
(I want to be involved here too!)

- Legal and Marketing Director and Team:
Responsible for all legal issues, like copyrights, funds, liabilities etc.
as well as for selling and distributing the finished product

- Artists
All POV-Ray users that want to participate in creating models and/or
animations. A certain level of quality must be delivered by each artist (so
that the drop between the quality of different episodes is not too large)

- Render-Slaves (maybe we find a nicer name for them :-)
All POV-Ray users that want to donate processing power. They only need a
computer that runs POV-Ray, an internet connection to transfer the rendered
images (be aware that this can be a *lot* of data, that you probably don't
want to send over a 14.4 line), and time...

Since POV-Ray is TMed I don't think we can/should use it in the name for the
project, so I suggetst the following project-name:

MovieProject

I have a few megs of web-space available for MovieProject, which can be used
for the initial homepage and as a kernel for a yet to be developed
distributed MovieProject web.

So now I wait for your responses. Please answer to the newsgroup (so that
others can read it too) as well as by e-mail (so that I don't have to wait
until it shows up at my provider).
If enough people answer, and if there are people willing to fill the
different "Director" seats, you will (hopefully soon) hear from me again.
Watch this newsgroup!

And of course: If you have additions, suggestions, ideas etc. for the rough
concept above, send them!

Greetings to all,
Johannes

jhu### [at] algonetse
---------------------

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Ok.
Right after posting I realized what I forgot:

- Music/Sound Director and Team
Responsible for the music, soundtrack and voices

Post a reply to this message

Sounds like a cool idea!!!

I decided to post an anim of that figure I was telling about (it's in
povray.binaries.animations der...)  It's simple but shows what can be done.
Be warned, it took me two minutes to make that animation!!!  Literally!!!
Okay, so I already had the model made.  I know it's not full blown IK but I
can easily adapt it to do that two.

I was thinking that it would be posible to replace each body part with a
mesh object (well, patch anyway).  Just a thought.

Back to the original thread!

I think this is a good idea Johannes.  I say we aim for one hour!  (and if
we can do more, so be it!).

I'll be a producer of one of the teams (if that's okay), that is, if I have
enough time... I'm moving location soon (gulp) so I guess I'll find out soon
enough!

In response to a question a while ago about different versions of POV-Ray, I
suppose you can use them, that's up to each team (right?).  The better the
resulting animations the better!!!

--
Lance Birch
Remove the smiley to e-mail.
http://www1.tpgi.com.au/users/ambient/lance

Post a reply to this message

Lance Birch <:-)Lan### [at] tpgicomau> wrote in message
<6j9cvm$858$1@oz.aussie.org>...

>In response to a question a while ago about different versions of POV-Ray,
I
>suppose you can use them, that's up to each team (right?).  The better the
>resulting animations the better!!!


That's how I see it. As long as it is POV-Ray (or some custom compile of
POV-Ray) it doesn't matter. Coordination of which parts have to be rendered
with which POV-Ray versions would be up to the Technical Team.

Johannes.

Post a reply to this message

Johannes Hubert wrote in message <6j94so$7r8$1@oz.aussie.org>...
>Hi to all POV-Ray users!
>
>I have read first the "POV-Ray is free..." thread and then the following
>"Group Movie Project" thread with growing interest, and while I don't have
>too much time myself (between my job, my TreeDesigner-project and my other
>hobbies :-) I think I can find some, so here comes my proposition:
>
[snip]
>- Render-Slaves (maybe we find a nicer name for them :-)
>All POV-Ray users that want to donate processing power. They only need a
>computer that runs POV-Ray, an internet connection to transfer the rendered
>images (be aware that this can be a *lot* of data, that you probably don't
>want to send over a 14.4 line), and time...
[snip]
>Greetings to all,
>Johannes
>
>jhu### [at] algonetse

I can be a Render-Slave if required. My own machine is a K6-233 and it sits
idle during the day, and I have access to two Pentium 133 which can be used
during the night and weekends.

It's not great but it's what I can donate to the cause.

Justin
jus### [at] virginnet
http://freespace.virgin.net/justin.whitton

Post a reply to this message

Sign me up.  I am willing to help on the art (as a team member), a
render-slave, as well as web coordination.  I have access to several
machines and can setup any extra web space needed for this.  Actually I can
fit in anywhere help will be needed.

One note on this project.  Maybe it should be broken into two seperate
movies.  The first one created would be a 10 min short with simple animation
and sound just to test the setup of the organization.  That way big problems
are fixed before we start to invest alot of time.  Also, people wanting to
get started right away with rendering can work on the 10 min short while the
most difficult part, the story board for a 60+ min movie, is finished.

Mark Arrasmith
arr### [at] mathtwsuedu
ISS / Mathematics Instructor

Post a reply to this message

Might I suggest, for ease of coordination/communication, setting up a "chat
room" of some sort? I operate one on IRC, and I can easily set up another
 REALLY easily =) ). It's as close to real-time as it gets, and it can be
moderated, if need be. Plus it makes it possible to transfer files directly.

Let me know, and I'll even find IRC software for everyone, and give links to
resources.

I run the #povray channel on EFnet, and with the help of a LinkBot, you can
talk to people in the #povray channels on DALnet and NewNet.

Twyst=====================================
pov-ray news, reviews and tutorials
http://twysted.net
e-mail: twy### [at] twystednet
==========================================

Post a reply to this message

>Hi to all POV-Ray users!
Hi Johannes (and everybody else)

>I have read first the "POV-Ray is free..." thread and then the following
>"Group Movie Project" thread with growing interest, and while I don't have
>too much time myself (between my job, my TreeDesigner-project and my other
>hobbies :-) I think I can find some, so here comes my proposition:
>
>I would be willing to coordinate the following project:
>(This is a rough outline only)
[snip]

>The project is purely non-profit oriented. All profit that may be generated
>by selling the finished movie (or license or I don't know) - that is,
>everything beyond paying for actually producing the stuff (like preparing
>the distribution media etc.) - will go to a cause yet to be determined.
This
>could be:
>- the povray.org site
>- charity
>- the next movie project

I'd recommend a split between  1) and 3)  -- mainly because one man's
charity is not necessarily another's.  

But that may be getting ahead of ourselves a bit.

I have a national broadcast TV production & administration background (Now a
semi-retired, stay at home Dad.  (No, that does not mean I have loads of
spare time --quite the opposite :)    )  I have written a screenplay that
was independently produced (read: lost in obscurity)  and I will be happy to
help with this project, within my time limitations.

Let me make a few comments on what has gone before.
1)Distribution- If you make it, they will come.  I'd recommend rendering to
NTSC standards and time it to a 22 minute runtime on DV tape, for starters. 
This would make it extremely attractive to cable outlets such as SCI-FI, 
Discovery, TLC, etc.  This would lend itself nicely to a three act format.  
If this raises international interest, we could re-render to PAL, SECAM,
HDTV--- once the basic scene files and organization are in place, it
shouldn't be a big deal to re-render "to order".  There are tech issues
involved in all formats-- let's minimize the headaches by focusing on one
format/distribution at a time.

2) Subject matter- Again, let's focus on a market.  Computer animation is of
greatest interest  to those also interested in Science Fiction and
technology.... and CGI isn't well suited for Romantic Comedy :).
Eye candy isn't enough, though.  There has to be a good story(s)... and it
should be accessible to a reasonably broad market.  S-F comedy?  An
adaptation of some kind?

3) Coordination- Rather than try and run a web server, news server, web
chat,FTP etc.  let me recommend Hotline <http://www.hotlinesw.com>  It's
available for Win 95 and Macs in both client and server form, integrates
news, chat, resumable file transfers and operates on a non-crowded port.  As
a shareware product that provides a vehicle for group coordination, it's
worth a look.  
Regrettably, I don't think it comes in a Linux flavor yet.  (I appreciate
Linux users a lot.  You guys are more devoted than even we Mac folk) 

This is an exciting project!  Imagine users of all computer platforms in
many countries contributing to a single purpose!  Very cool.

On a quasi related note (or not), Richard Hatch is looking for CGI
volunteers to help him put together a presentation to revive Battlestar
Galactica as a series....seriously!

(Ok. I confess.  I'm a fanboy.  But it might not be a bad practice stepping
stone...)


Ian
<ian### [at] bellsouthnetwork>  
(remove "work" from above to email me)

Post a reply to this message

Mark Arrasmith wrote in message <6j9tgn$8ue$1@oz.aussie.org>...
>One note on this project.  Maybe it should be broken into two seperate
>movies.  The first one created would be a 10 min short with simple
animation
>and sound just to test the setup of the organization.  That way big
problems
>are fixed before we start to invest alot of time.  Also, people wanting to
>get started right away with rendering can work on the 10 min short while
the
>most difficult part, the story board for a 60+ min movie, is finished.


Sounds like a good idea to me. We will certainly have to discuss it once we
are over the initial phase of "recruiting" people...

Johannes -:- MovieProject Coordinator

Post a reply to this message

Sound advice. We will have to discuss this further.

About the Hotline shareware: I am a little bit in doubt to settle on a
program people *have to* buy (register) just to participate. And it would
leave all the nice Linux/Unix/whatever POV-Ray users outside, wouldn't it?

Johannes -:- MovieProject Coordinator

Post a reply to this message

Cool, sign me up!  That sounds like a really great idea, even better if we
can generate money for povray.org.  As regards to twyst's message, an IRC
group would be a good idea (for those who can type fast, anyway :-) as it
would make co-ordination a lot easier.  Maybe povray.org admin team should
add a povray.movie group to this server??

--
Alan Grainger
Member of DNRC
E-mail - scy### [at] geocitiescom
Homepage - http://alansworld.home.ml.org

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Hi!

The response in the newsgroups to the MovieProject has been great, we
already have got over a dozend team-members after only a few hours!

So it's time for a website. Visit us at:

http://www.algonet.se/~jhubert/MovieProject

Johannes -:- MovieProject Coordinator

Post a reply to this message

----------
In article <6ja5hc$99r$1@oz.aussie.org>, "Johannes Hubert"
<jhu### [at] algonetse> wrote:


>About the Hotline shareware: I am a little bit in doubt to settle on a
>program people *have to* buy (register) just to participate. And it would
>leave all the nice Linux/Unix/whatever POV-Ray users outside, wouldn't it?
I had thought about that right after I'd mentioned it... I'm just an
"integration junkie", I guess (G).  No point in making this harder to
organize than necessary.  I will ask them if a)there's a Linux/Unix version
in the works and b) if they'd be willing to donate a block of licenses in
exchange for a credit line (you'd be surprised how effective that is).  

Also, there may be other groupware/collaboration software out there.  I know
that Delphi offers free web based chat/board services.  That would mean that
all we'd really need to run off of "our" servers would be a FTP server or
equivalent.  

There are all sorts of options out there... and this may be jumping the gun
a bit, but the sooner we can establish a home base, the easier it will be to
organize.

Ian

Post a reply to this message

Ok,
I would love to join in on the festivities. :)  I can render and come up
with stories, but the only problem is my cpu speed.  I have a Macintosh
Performa 630CD, it is 33Mhz 68LC040.  For those that don't know, it
doesn't have an FPU, and is very slow...that doesn't stop me from
rendering though <G>.

I have lots of free time to work on this, so time isn't much of a
problem.

-Josh

Post a reply to this message

In case anyone is interested I've attached a synopsis of the short Sci-Fi
movie I've started making.  It might make a good "10-minute" project, as
was suggested earlier.

--Gary

Post a reply to this message

Attachments:
Download 'Scenes.txt' (4 KB)

That's cool!!  I really like it.

--
Alan Grainger
Member of DNRC
E-mail - scy### [at] geocitiescom
Homepage - http://alansworld.home.ml.org

Post a reply to this message

I agree with Alan, it sounds cool!

--
Lance Birch
Remove the smiley to e-mail.
http://www1.tpgi.com.au/users/ambient/lance

Post a reply to this message

Do you want me to make a MovieProject logo?  I've got a few ideas which
would make a nice animated logo.  What do you think, do you want me to make
one?

If so, obviously everyone would have to agree on it.

--
Lance Birch
Remove the smiley to e-mail.
http://www1.tpgi.com.au/users/ambient/lance

Post a reply to this message

Lance Birch <:-)Lan### [at] tpgicomau> wrote in message
<6jbd8k$b8c$1@oz.aussie.org>...
>Do you want me to make a MovieProject logo?  I've got a few ideas which
>would make a nice animated logo.  What do you think, do you want me to make
>one?


Go for it!

Johannes. -:- MovieProject coordinator

Post a reply to this message

"Gary Shannon" <reb### [at] teleportcom> writes:
> 
> In case anyone is interested I've attached a synopsis of the short Sci-Fi
> movie I've started making.  It might make a good "10-minute" project, as
> was suggested earlier.
> 

Two remarks:
1. Why must the film so negativ? Basically, it's the same old story over
and over again: Bad aliens are invading the earth. Why not some good ones,
that generate an athmosphere and plant trees around "pathfinder" on mars?
2. One of the strength of POV-Ray over scanline renderers is the correct
rendering of reflections and refractions. Be sure to include glass and
mirrors to take advantage of this strength.

Just my $0.02

ThW

-- 
Tho### [at] uni-konstanzde
http://www.informatik.uni-konstanz.de/~willhalm/
Tschieses lavs ju

Post a reply to this message

Hi Out There!

I think it's time that that an Austrian should take part on this project, here
I am!!
I could take Part as an Object modeller and I've a K6-233,  P-166, a 486Dx2-66!

so tell what I should do!!

                                        ALIL

Post a reply to this message

Thomas Willhalm wrote in message ...
>Two remarks:
>1. Why must the film so negativ? Basically, it's the same old story over
>and over again: Bad aliens are invading the earth. Why not some good ones,
>that generate an athmosphere and plant trees around "pathfinder" on mars?

Nobody said it has to be (or even will be) negative. The theme of the movie
has yet to be found...


Bye the way, did you think about joining?

Johannes.

Post a reply to this message

Hi!

Alan Grainger wrote in message <6ja71o$9bv$1@oz.aussie.org>...
>As regards to twyst's message, an IRC
>group would be a good idea (for those who can type fast, anyway :-) as it
>would make co-ordination a lot easier.

Twyst has already prepared a MovieProject channel. I don't know too much
about IRC myself, so I simply quote the details. If you got more questions,
ask Twyst.

> The MovieProject channel is, oddly enough, #MovieProject =P
> To connect, use an IRC client, and connect to server nacon.org
> then type "/join #MovieProject"
> PovMovie is the bot in there that I've set up. =)
> I'll probably be around.

Post a reply to this message

I've got an animated "The Movie Project" Logo I made just for fun.  See
what you think (Warning, it's a 1.5Meg AVI with soundtrack).  If other
people have some logo ideas lets have a look at them ALL and then decide
which one to use.

Logo Download: http://www.rio.com/~reboot/test.html

--Gary.

Lance Birch <:-)Lan### [at] tpgicomau> wrote in article
<6jbd8k$b8c$1@oz.aussie.org>...
> Do you want me to make a MovieProject logo?  I've got a few ideas which
> would make a nice animated logo.  What do you think, do you want me to
make
> one?
> 
> If so, obviously everyone would have to agree on it.
> 
> --
> Lance Birch
> Remove the smiley to e-mail.
> http://www1.tpgi.com.au/users/ambient/lance
> 
> 
>

Post a reply to this message

I guess I won't be a part of the project since I have no idea what a IRC
client is... but I do have a suggestion.  Since this project is the first in
its kind, I suggest that a short film should be created, 15 minutes or so.
Anyone interested in the project should then create a general storyboard (or
storyline or...??) to the newsgroup or website or whatever will be used as
the central point for the project.  All others involved in the project
should vote (with a deadline for closing votes) on their preferred story.
The stoy getting the most votes is the one to use.

Mike

Johannes Hubert wrote in message <6jbkd8$bfs$1@oz.aussie.org>...
>Hi!
>
>Alan Grainger wrote in message <6ja71o$9bv$1@oz.aussie.org>...
>>As regards to twyst's message, an IRC
>>group would be a good idea (for those who can type fast, anyway :-) as it
>>would make co-ordination a lot easier.
>
>Twyst has already prepared a MovieProject channel. I don't know too much
>about IRC myself, so I simply quote the details. If you got more questions,
>ask Twyst.
>
>> The MovieProject channel is, oddly enough, #MovieProject =P
>> To connect, use an IRC client, and connect to server nacon.org
>> then type "/join #MovieProject"
>> PovMovie is the bot in there that I've set up. =)
>> I'll probably be around.
>
>
>

Post a reply to this message

"Johannes Hubert" <jhu### [at] algonetse> writes:
> 
> Thomas Willhalm wrote in message ...
> >Two remarks:
> >1. Why must the film so negativ? Basically, it's the same old story over
> >and over again: Bad aliens are invading the earth. Why not some good ones,
> >that generate an athmosphere and plant trees around "pathfinder" on mars?
> 
> Nobody said it has to be (or even will be) negative. The theme of the movie
> has yet to be found...

I was referring to the story Gary suggested. In my opinion, it is "negative",
since the aliens are invading the earth (just like in "The War of Worlds",
"Independence Day", "Mars Attacks", etc.).

I think the suggestions to use an well-known old (and therefore not
copyrighted) short story is the best idea.

> Bye the way, did you think about joining?

Well, yes and no. The project is very interesting and I really would like 
to join the team. But on the other hand, I probably won't have the time.
So I decided to follow the discussion more passively than actively. Perhaps
I will be able to provide some computer power (we have several Sun boxes
here), but I don't want to promise that I have the time to create one or
two models.

ThW

-- 
Tho### [at] uni-konstanzde
http://www.informatik.uni-konstanz.de/~willhalm/
Tschieses lavs ju

Post a reply to this message

Mike Weber wrote in message <6jcb49$cju$1@oz.aussie.org>...
>I guess I won't be a part of the project since I have no idea what a IRC
>client is... but I do have a suggestion.

Hey, no reason to stand outside because of that. I have never used IRC
myself too. Once we start using it, everyone will get the help (and the
software) he/she needs.
IRC is short for Internet Relay Chat and is simply a way for (keyboard)
chatting.

>Since this project is the first in
>its kind, I suggest that a short film should be created, 15 minutes or so.

I think there are already many who want to go for something longer. I
personally like Mark's idea of starting two projects: A short 10min thing
immediately as a tryout for our organisation and communication and a little
while later, parallel, the real thing.

>Anyone interested in the project should then create a general storyboard
(or
>storyline or...??) to the newsgroup or website or whatever will be used as
>the central point for the project.  All others involved in the project
>should vote (with a deadline for closing votes) on their preferred story.
>The stoy getting the most votes is the one to use.


That's what I was thinking too: Everyone can submit an idea and a
plot-synopsis and then we all decide in a vote which one we take. And then
the writers go to work turning it into a script...

I hope to hear from you that you want to be with us :-)

Johannes -:- MovieProject Coordinator

Post a reply to this message

Johannes Hubert wrote in message <6jcfln$crg$1@oz.aussie.org>...
<snip>
>That's what I was thinking too: Everyone can submit an idea and a
>plot-synopsis and then we all decide in a vote which one we take. And then
>the writers go to work turning it into a script...
>
>I hope to hear from you that you want to be with us :-)
>
>Johannes -:- MovieProject Coordinator
>
>
>
I'd like to participate - BUT, like others, I truly don't have the time to
contribute anything useful.  I barely have time to read and post here. I'm
doing this during compile times at my work.

Mike

Post a reply to this message

Gary Shannon wrote in message <01bd7e52$1a12ce20$197a89d0@reboot>...
>I've got an animated "The Movie Project" Logo I made just for fun.  See
>what you think (Warning, it's a 1.5Meg AVI with soundtrack).  If other
>people have some logo ideas lets have a look at them ALL and then decide
>which one to use.
>
>Logo Download: http://www.rio.com/~reboot/test.html
>
Wow! very cool. I like it! =)

Twyst

Post a reply to this message

>I can be a Render-Slave if required. My own machine is a K6-233 and it sits
>idle during the day, and I have access to two Pentium 133 which can be used
>during the night and weekends.


I've got some fun models I can share, and I can also be a render-slave
(we DO get our names up in lights, don't we??)

I've got a P6-233 here, plus P200mmx, shopping for a Pii400

Have a look at the bovine RC5-64 project for a good example of how to
distribute
massive amounts of crunching over the net.

Post a reply to this message

>One note on this project.  Maybe it should be broken into two seperate
>movies.  The first one created would be a 10 min short with simple
animation
>and sound just to test the setup of the organization.  That way big
problems
>are fixed before we start to invest alot of time.  Also, people wanting to
>get started right away with rendering can work on the 10 min short while
the
>most difficult part, the story board for a 60+ min movie, is finished.


Absolutely!  I just saw a bit on disney that illustrated how they "test
flew" the
techniques to be used in "snow white" in another shorter feature.

Post a reply to this message

Hi All MovieProject fans,

I'd propose myself as a simple art team member and render slave (PPro 200MHz, 64MB
RAM, some disk, hoping to upgrade both RAM and disk soon, Win95 although I also have
Linux but did not have time to play with it yet).

Ian seems to be very 'au-fait' with the world we try to dip our toes into. Considering
he has little spare time I would not chance asking him about taking over an Arts
Director seat or other, but maybe promote him to a seat as overall advisor giving
hints to each and every director - direct reporting line to each director - as time
permits obviously.
Would you feel comfortable there Ian ?

On the technical side of things we may need a Technical director with configuration
management capabilities (or a lot of free time and the urge to learn about it). I
really think that a big project should be seriously tracked with good configuration
management tools - i.e. CVS/RCS, both available in GNU flavors for Unix/Linux but also
Win95, and I'm probably forgetting many platforms.
That is in my opinion the best way to protect ourselves from loosing important data
(scenes).
I have a good understanding of the concepts, but no time for that sort of activity, I
also am registered in the CVS mailing list, shall we make an announcement in that list
to recruit such a person ?

I am willing to participate in side artistic issues like for instance the little mice
that gnaw the scenes's curtains or such nice little beasts - could be eating up part
of the screen.
I am a programmer by profession and I could help with whatever utility that could make
things easier for scenes, or POV code (even though I did not touch it to date, it does
not frighten me the slightest, I have worked on several very large scale software -
8MB source code). I am also somewhat skilled at mathematics if that is any help.

I guess you all agree to vote for Johannes as our overall director. Nobody said so,
but by replying to that chances are you agree, yet it would be nicer if people really
said they agree.

Johannes has my VOTE for the seat of director of this project.

See you soon,
Al.

--
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Hi All,

I would appreciate very much if we could make it international rather than just
American (with all due respect to American people). Could we not find global symbols
that represent all of us on this planet Earth, rather than a selected few ?
Yes I'm being political, but I think it makes sense for such a project.

Regards,
Al.


Gary Shannon wrote:

<snip>

> Scene 2: The American flag in the foreground, LEM in the background. Seed bounces to
the ground.  Camera pans to follow it as it bounces and rolls into a small crater near
the old LEM.

<snip>

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Hi,

I've now browsed quickly through the Project's web page, and see many directors have
already been appointed !!!
Great, that's moving fast.

Still, my comments still hold about configuration management.
Cherio,
Al.


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Good point.  I actually hadn't intended it to be a "nationalsitic" symbol,
just a "piece of something" left on the moon by human beings to set the
scene.  I agree that this should be a truly international project!

As others have pointed out, however, the story is awefully negative, and
probably wouldn't make a good project for the group.

Side note:  It might be nice to include the software we all used in the
credits.  Something like "rendered with POV-Ray",  maybe mention whatever
other pieces of freeware and shareware were used ( like Paintshop Pro,
CoolEdit, etc...) in case others would like to know what they need to do
that kind of work, and to show what can be accomplished with low-cost
tools.  Maybe put those multi-thousand dollar software packages to shame!?


--Gary.

Alain CULOS <ZAl### [at] bigfootcom> wrote in article
<355A12ED.BC8DB3A9@bigfoot.com>...
> Hi All,
> 
> I would appreciate very much if we could make it international rather
than just American (with all due respect to American people). Could we not
find global symbols that represent all of us on this planet Earth, rather
than a selected few ?
> Yes I'm being political, but I think it makes sense for such a project.
> 
> Regards,
> Al.
> 
> 
> Gary Shannon wrote:
> 
> <snip>
> 
> > Scene 2: The American flag in the foreground, LEM in the background.
Seed bounces to the ground.  Camera pans to follow it as it bounces and
rolls into a small crater near the old LEM.
> 
> <snip>
> 
> --
> ANTI SPAM / ANTI ARROSAGE COMMERCIAL :
> Pour me répondre, veuillez enlever le Z de mon adresse.
> To answer me, please take out the Z from my address.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>

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Glad you liked it.  I'm not completely satisfied with it.  I'm going to
tighten it up, cut it by maybe 4 of 5 seconds (and cut the music to match,
of course) and try some different fonts for the letters.  Also I'll render
it smaller so it doesn't take so long to download.  I'll probably update it
later this evening. (West Coast USA time)

--Gary.

Twyst <twy### [at] twystednet> wrote in article <6jchgq$d12$1@oz.aussie.org>...
> 
> Gary Shannon wrote in message <01bd7e52$1a12ce20$197a89d0@reboot>...
> >I've got an animated "The Movie Project" Logo I made just for fun.  See
> >what you think (Warning, it's a 1.5Meg AVI with soundtrack).  If other
> >people have some logo ideas lets have a look at them ALL and then decide
> >which one to use.
> >
> >Logo Download: http://www.rio.com/~reboot/test.html
> >
> Wow! very cool. I like it! =)
> 
> Twyst
> 
> 
>

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Quicker logo now uploaded.  9.5 seconds instead of 15.5, (cut music to
match) and a smaller render frame for faster download.  See what you think.

http://www.rio.com/~reboot/test.html

--Gary.

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"Twyst" <twy### [at] twystednet> writes:
> 
> Gary Shannon wrote in message <01bd7e52$1a12ce20$197a89d0@reboot>...
> >I've got an animated "The Movie Project" Logo I made just for fun.  See
> >what you think (Warning, it's a 1.5Meg AVI with soundtrack).  If other
> >people have some logo ideas lets have a look at them ALL and then decide
> >which one to use.
> >
> >Logo Download: http://www.rio.com/~reboot/test.html
> >
> Wow! very cool. I like it! =)

The same is true for me. But I think that the "M" can be easily interpreted
as a "W". Perhaps it would make sense to turn the object so that the "M" is
on the upper triangle. Apart from this: Are you sure that the music isn't 
copyrighted?

ThW

-- 
Tho### [at] uni-konstanzde
http://www.informatik.uni-konstanz.de/~willhalm/
Tschieses lavs ju

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Alain CULOS wrote in message <355### [at] bigfootcom>...
>
>I guess you all agree to vote for Johannes as our overall director. Nobody
said so, but by replying to that chances are you agree, yet it would be
nicer if people really said they agree.
>
>Johannes has my VOTE for the seat of director of this project.

Thanks :-)
I never wanted to "ursurp" the position, it only looked like nobody else
*wanted* it. In the original thread everybody was replying something like:
"Oh, cool!, I'm in, only I don't have the time to organize it...". Since I
liked the idea too, I thought "Heck, let's do it..."
If somebody else is really hot on the job, be my guest :-) I am content to
busy myself with the artistic aspects (modeling that is) if somebody else
wants to do the organizing...

To Alain:
I didn't get a mail from you, but judging from your posts here I guess you
are interested, so I put you on the mailinglist anyway. That's ok?

Johannes.

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Perhaps you should make it an MPEG, so it's a bit smaller?

--
Alan Grainger
Member of DNRC
E-mail - scy### [at] geocitiescom
Homepage - http://alansworld.home.ml.org

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I've just downloaded it and looked at it.   I love it!  It's really
professional looking, you know?  Congrats.

--
Alan Grainger
Member of DNRC
E-mail - scy### [at] geocitiescom
Homepage - http://alansworld.home.ml.org

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Gary Shannon (reb### [at] teleportcom) wrote:
: Side note:  It might be nice to include the software we all used in the
: credits.  Something like "rendered with POV-Ray",  maybe mention whatever
: other pieces of freeware and shareware were used ( like Paintshop Pro,
: CoolEdit, etc...) in case others would like to know what they need to do
: that kind of work, and to show what can be accomplished with low-cost
: tools.  Maybe put those multi-thousand dollar software packages to shame!?

  It should be nice to use all the nice features of povray, like reflection,
refraction, atmosphere, halo, lens flare (ok, it's not really a povray
feature, but I think we can consider it so since it's just an include file),
focal blur, maybe radiosity (at least in some scenes) etc. Let's show the
power of a raytracer :)

--
                                                              - Warp. -

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Hi to all MovieProject participans !


I just wanted to sum up what I think about general characteristics of a first
story.

If we want everyday people to get attracted by our movie (and not only the
raytracing society), there must be a real story.  In this case, we will also
need characters. And that´s where our problems start, don´t they ?

I fully agree that we are not able to synthethize true human or animal
characters using computer graphics (nobody can do this today so far), so what
are our choices ?
Human beeings in armors would be much easier to create. But creating a still
photograph of some humans in armors is easy, while animating them is very
difficult, just think of all the details you have to check out if you want to
create animated persons whith human-like movements!

So robots / cyborgs would be best, because people won´t expect 100% human-like
movements. But you still can identify yourself with your hero.

There is yet another major possibility: things are much easier if our
characters are sitting in vehicles (as starships, cars, ...) because you will
only need minor movements of the character itself, while animating the vehicle
is easy and effective.

As we´re looking for a special theme, I think an action hunting sequence or
some space battle is suitable for our max. 10 minutes "trial movie". There are
plenty ways to realize these two subjects, you can include a lot of ideas, and
it can be quite thrilling though. Just think of all the car hunting sequences
in the Hollywood action movies !

Last, I think the one-and-only overall genre for our movie will be science
fiction, because it´s the only way to include robots/cyborgs.



Tell me what you think of it.


Steffen Walter

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Gary Shannon (reb### [at] teleportcom) wrote:
: Quicker logo now uploaded.  9.5 seconds instead of 15.5, (cut music to
: match) and a smaller render frame for faster download.  See what you think.

  I liked more the first version.

--
                                                              - Warp. -

Post a reply to this message

Steffen Walter (ste### [at] studentuni-tuebingende) wrote:
: I fully agree that we are not able to synthethize true human or animal
: characters using computer graphics (nobody can do this today so far), so what
: are our choices ?
: Human beeings in armors would be much easier to create. But creating a still
: photograph of some humans in armors is easy, while animating them is very
: difficult, just think of all the details you have to check out if you want to
: create animated persons whith human-like movements!

: So robots / cyborgs would be best, because people won´t expect 100% human-like
: movements. But you still can identify yourself with your hero.

  Why it has to be so realistic? Someone pointed out that we can use objects
that behave like they were alive, like "intelligent" moving lamps, tables,
etc. I think it's better to make a really good and funny animation with
object-characters than unrealistically rigidly moving cyborgs or robots.
There are lots of examples about this (like the mentioned animations with
the lamps or the table).

--
                                                              - Warp. -

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I was sort of thinking that we might not want to do a space flick or
battle...I like them and think it would be cool, but I also feel it is
somewhat overused and people might think "Oh man, another CG space
flick."

Also, if anyone wants me to, I can run ideas through with my friends
(most would be high school students at my school, but I could ask
others).

That's just my two cents,
Josh

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Steffen Walter wrote:

> There is yet another major possibility: things are much easier if our
> characters are sitting in vehicles (as starships, cars, ...) because you will
> only need minor movements of the character itself, while animating the vehicle
> is easy and effective.

This is exactly what sixties puppet animation producer Gerry Anderson
did.  He created the popular children's shows "Supercar", "Fireball XL5"
, "Thunderbirds" and others.  Budget and other constraints forced him to
use puppet animation.  He could not solve the problem of realistic human
movement, especially walking, with puppets, so he made his shows
vehicle-centric.  It worked well and his shows were and are very popular
in spite of the lack of realism.  It is a matter of using technical
constraints to define a style and producing something in that style that
is good on its own terms.  The fact that photorealistic humans are not
very feasible now is no reason to avoid using humans.  Like Anderson,
just find a creative way to make the limits work for you.

Jerry Anning
cle### [at] dholcom

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Nieminen Mika <war### [at] cctutfi> wrote:

>   It should be nice to use all the nice features of povray, like reflection,
> refraction, atmosphere, halo, lens flare (ok, it's not really a povray
> feature, but I think we can consider it so since it's just an include file),
> focal blur, maybe radiosity (at least in some scenes) etc. Let's show the
> power of a raytracer :)

Perhaps we want to use some of the povray patches for at least some 
scenes. What I primarily think of is the isosurface patch. Say that we
want to have dripping water making ripples as it hits the water surface
(in different locations everytime) - easy to trace with the isosurface
patch but quite difficult otherwise. Also the macro facility in the
isosurface patch could come in handy in a project of this size... I bet
lots of other patches have their advantages too - the only problem must
be the (lack of) availability of readily ported versions of the patches
for some plattforms.

/ Mathias Broxvall

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Thomas Willhalm <Tho### [at] uni-konstanzde> wrote in article
<qqm### [at] uni-konstanzde>...

<snip>
> 
> The same is true for me. But I think that the "M" can be easily
interpreted
> as a "W". Perhaps it would make sense to turn the object so that the "M"
is
> on the upper triangle. Apart from this: Are you sure that the music isn't

> copyrighted?
> 

I agree.  The "M" is too easily confused with "W".  Maybe if the logo
rotated at the end instead of standing still, so that each letter came
upright in turn?

The music was pasted together from orchestral samples off a music CD and
should probably not be used since it is probably covered by copyright. 
That was just tossed in to give it some life.  I will, of course, compose
an original fanfare for any logo we end up using.

Which brings up the issue of musical style.  This is probably premature
since we haven't even settled on a theme or storyline yet.  But there are a
lot of directions to go with the music.  We could use the "rock-ish" new
age type used in the mind's eye video, or more traditional "dramatic
orchestral" movie music, or jazz style, or...?  (I've composed in all these
styles, and I'm sure there are others who would be interested in
contributing compositions to the project.)

Like I said, this is probably premature, but as I recall major animation
studios do the whole soundtrack first, and then synch the animation to the
sound.

--Gary.

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Hi All,

As already advertized somewhere in one of the multiple MovieProject Thread, take a
look at the article about the Cathedral and the Bazaar model, very interesting for
htis sort of project.
While saying this I take the opportunity to add that it takes a person like Johannes
to manage the thing : a voluntary mind, ready to face the challenge, fast in
communication and business, who compliments others when due, who makes things move,
who is liked for his social behaviour.
Many people may have better talents, but that is not the point, it takes one who does
it.

You thanked me for my vote, but I think it was the most natural thing for me to do,
and you are more than welcome. I would not dream of your 'seat' ever, yet I know it
must be thrilling.

To answer Johannes directly about putting me on the mailing list, of course, feel
free. I just did not want to bugger you too much with just one more email. And since
what I write often applies to the group rather than just yourself, I make it public.

By the way, I would like to add that this IRC link may be a brilliant idea for some,
but as you said yourself on one occasion, making the project worlwide leaves wide time
differences between some of us.
Therefore even though it is an important means of communication it shall not be the
primary means. The mailing list shall always remain the primary means of
communication.
It would also be nice to have a two way mailing list : one where everybody can send
messages to everybody. To that effect I understand the article about the cathedral and
the bazaar is educative as well : see fetchmail if you don't have any other answer for
a two way mailing list.

C U L8R
Al.


Johannes Hubert wrote (only snippets) :

> Alain CULOS wrote in message <355### [at] bigfootcom>...
> >I guess you all agree to vote for Johannes as our overall director. Nobody
> said so, but by replying to that chances are you agree, yet it would be
> nicer if people really said they agree.
> >Johannes has my VOTE for the seat of director of this project.
>
> Thanks :-)



> To Alain:
> I didn't get a mail from you, but judging from your posts here I guess you
> are interested, so I put you on the mailinglist anyway. That's ok?
>
> Johannes.

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