Bsg cg 3d!
 

That's right!

O.K. guys check it out...

Some you know me from 3DG and know that I like playing around with animation tools...and now those of you who didn't know me know it too. LOL!

So here's where the post gets interesting.

I'm currently working on a BSG CG animated short film and I'm in need of a some help and I think y'all are the right people to ask.

I need profile and portrait type shots of Starbuck, Apollo, Adama and Tigh so that I can map them onto some custom built CG heads.

I also need sound bites from the show (the less music, sound effects the better) so that I can do some creative editing and splice together some new dialogue.

I have a cool little BSG story that I've written and I'm currently animating it into a 10-15 minute short film. I want to have CG versions of the original characters in this project but if I can't find enough images/audio clips I have the story written in a 'Plan-B' format where the main characters are two other Colonial pilots. But I think it would be much cooler to have the characters we know and love in it.

Oh and like the subject suggests... I'm doing this in anaglyph 3D (red/blue) just to make it that much cooler. I mean, really - who hasn't wanted to see a Viper leap off the screen and chase down a Raider? I know I have.

Anyway, if any of you guys can help me out, I'd really appreciate it and I'll drop your name into the 'Thank you' section of the closing credits.

(and for the record, any mesh, figure, model that I use will be credited to it's artist.):D

Thanks and all that stuff.
Fretslayer :salute:

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

sounds like a great project Fretslayer

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

I'm going to cut a trailer soon and post it here.

The test footage I've done has come out good and really, it's way cool seeing vipers and centurions in 3D. LOL!

I'm rendering it in Max with Poser Pro as a character importer.
Not sure if anybody is familiar with it, but PP can be used to set up scenes and then act as a bridge into 3DsMax. This allows for the use of the Daz3D and Poser figures with the render engine of Max. So far the results have been really nice. I've done some lip synch tests and the heads look pretty realistic. :)

I'm hoping my friend Dan over at BattlestarFanFilms.com can help me out with some images of the actors so I can use my Face Shop Pro to build the TOS characters.

***Edit
Hey, I found an awesome Centurion over at Vanishing Point.
You guys might want to have a look at it.

http://www.vanishingpoint.biz/freeit...FreeItemID=484

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

Sounds great!

Need a viper? ;);)

But seriously, what happened to the BattlestarFanFilm site, it doesn't seem to want to work?

Just curious... :salute::colonial:

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

Amon Ra,

My site - www.battlestarfanfilms.com - is working.

The 14th Colonly's site - www.battlestarfanfilm.org - only has the splash page up, I can't get access to the rest of it or the forum.

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

nor can I .. I think its dead due to real life issues. if not dead postponed indefinitely

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

Amon Ra, I can always use Viper meshes!

I'm using some of David Kerin's in the shots I've been working on lately and they look pretty awesome in 3D.

If you have one, hook me up with it and I'll use it too.
I know first hand how much effort goes into building them (I have the Kurv Lightwave Viper tut) and I'd like to be able to showcase as many artist's work as I can.

I'll tell ya what I could really use though is a Viper cockpit interior. :D

A lot of the Viper meshes I've seen aren't built for an INT shot of the cockpit and due to the number of lip sync shots I have I need to be able to render inside the ship. Plus you never know when you might need a pilot clicking switches because the improbability drive isn't kicking in.

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

I've been reworking the model, cleaning up the mesh and redoing some things especially textures. I can upload a sample if you don't mind seeing the unfinished, untextured version.

When you say cockpit, do you mean a real cockpit or a CGI cockpit? I could probably try doing a viper cockpit in CG, but I won't be much help with a real one.

Also, my viper is from the OS, is this what you were looking for? Also, got any samples of your film so far? Just curious.

Amon Ra

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

The animation is TOS era.

Yah, I need a CG cockpit INT for some character shots.
I tend to do a lot of character driven scenes with dialogue and while the vipers I have are all excellent for flyby shots and such...Well, I could use an Interior. ;)

As for some test footage - I'll get something put together a.s.a.p and share it with you. I've had to slow down the BSG project a bit because I was contacted by somebody who wanted to work with me on a Godzilla animation.

So, I jumped at the chance to collaborate with another animator.
The Godzilla thing has slowed down the production of the BSG-3D project but it is still in the pipe and while I'm busy working on the Godzilla animation I'm using the time to tweak the BSG-3D script and improve on the story.

Both the Godzilla and the BSG-3D animated films should clock in at around 30 to 45 minutes running time.

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

Do you still want the viper?

I give the cockpit a shot, no guarantees since very little reference material exists. Do you need this in the viper or as a separate model?

Amon Ra

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

Yes, I am still interested in the Viper model.
As for the cockpit - cool deal - and thanks for giving it a shot. :)

It can be either way - as an inside the ship part or a separate model.
If I need to I can always work them into the same model either 'physically' or via composite in post.

If it helps for reference I use the Daz Michael 3SR2 figure for most of the male characters (since it's morph able into so many different faces/bodies) and the V4 for my female characters.

I do my character animations in both Carrara 7 Pro and In Max (via a Poser import plugin) but I can also Lightwave meshes as well. What format are you building in?

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

Well you're in luck then because the Viper was modeled in Carrara 5 Pro, so you should be able to just use it "as-is", after I finish reworking it of course.

:salute::colonial:

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

*faint - thud*

I thought I was the only person on Earth who uses Carrara!
LOL!

I've seen countless Carrara generated still images over the last couple of years but very few animations. I do 90% of my character shots in Carrara.
I've even gotten so far as to make some really nice space shots with it that come close to Lightwave (not exact - Lightwave is kind of the King of Space Scenes IMO but really close to it.)

Since the model is built in Carrara I can do a lot of really cool stuff with it in Carrara 7 Pro. :)

I have a feeling that Daz is going to abandon the softare though.
I see so many things on their site for Poser and Daz Studio (and now there is a pay version of D|S) and so few things for Carrara. I usually have to spend a few hours tweaking my props/figures/meshes to work in it.
It'll be an awesome change to actually have a chance to work with something native to it. :D

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

What kind of "cool stuff" do you intend on doing to it? I trust you mean animation-wise right? (i.e.; battles, laser fire, explosions, etc.)

All I ask is that you credit my work in the creds, and if you ever make a million on this project; if you want to throw a few bucks my way, I won't say no. ;):rotf:

Amon Ra

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

Just so you know - am a fiend when it comes to giving credit to the cg artists.
I give credit to the CG artists right in the opening credit screens as well as the closing screens.

As for cool stuff - I mean I have a full on BSG story written that I began working on around 3 years (maybe 4) ago and I wasn't at all happy with it. As time went on and I became a better animator I wanted to revisit that story and do it proper. It is set in the TOS era but it is not a cheesy retro-feel good walk down childhood memory lane. It's a serious story and I don't want to give away any of the details. ;)

If I do end up using any of your models I will keep in contact with you and share footage with you so you can see the progress on the project as well as seeing your hard work put into my hard work.

With the exception of the Godzilla project I'm currently knee deep in, I am an animation studio of ONE. LOL! I do have a good group of voice actors though (they're my band, roadcrew and friends and they work for beer!) and that helps a lot when it comes to characters and dialogue.

I've seen many BSG animations and IMO most are the same thing - speechless characters and asteroid fields. "BSG CG-3d' has neither of these.

I know there are a slew of Star Wars fan films and animations all over the web and that's great - but I noticed there was an extreme shortage of BSG themed fan films and animations and so I decided that if I was going to do a fan film genre it would be a BSG one since I feel it's under represented and has some very loyal fans. Because of that fan base I will either come off like a hero or a goat when "BSG CG-3d" is finally shown. With that in mind I do not intend to be the goat. LOL!

Like I mentioned before - I do have a good story but I wasn't really all that happy with some elements of it. The time I have right now is giving my the ability to shore up some of the parts of the story, plug some plot holes and along with my cast, develop deeper characters. If I can get character head morphs for the TOS cast I'll tweak the story to involve them - but if not - then they'll be other pilots on the Galactica. I have Faceshop but I can't seem to make a face that doesn't suck and if I'm going to use a face that is supposed to look like Hatch, it better damn well look like him. LOL!

Since my efforts have each come up short I've decided I am better off working on other elements of the project for now.

If issue of quality of animation might be passing through your mind, I'll tell you this much. I am doing the rendering in Carrara, Lightwave v.9.6 and 3DsMax v.8 & v.9 and v.2009 (I can use my Daz/Poser figures in v.8 with their morphs, skeleton rigs and even lip synch). Post production and composite effects are being done in After Effects CS4 and final editing in Premiere CS4.

My lasers are animated in AECS4 and my explosions? Well they're stock footage of real explosions. The real explosions makes a big BIG difference in the battle footage... and there will be a lot of that. :eek:

Again, believe me when I say this - I do not want to, in any way create a BSG fanfilm that is anything but kickass. I know that if I do something that is only 'so-so' that it won't be good enough and so I have to do something stellar so that the fans (and ppl who come to sites like this) don't tell me I've ruined their favorite show. LOL!

And just so we're all on the same page... yes, this is a 100% CG fan film.
No live actors - all CG.

Also - when it is finally done I will be releasing two versions of it.

Version 1) The full deal. CG in 3D!
Version 2) The regular version that is not in 3D for ppl who don't have the glasses.

Since the 3D effect will be done via anaglyph glasses (multicoloured lenses) it will look like crap on a stick without them. That is the reason for the non-3D version.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like details or anything.

I figure it's going to take me another month or so to wrap up the Godzilla animation and then I'll be able to pick the BSG one back up. I do have a good amount of footage rendered and animated so far.

One more reason why this film will have to be really good is that somebody has been waiting for something like 3 years or so for me to make them a BSG CG film for their fan site. *cough*battlestarfanfilms.com*cough* :D

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

That's a strange cough you've got there Dan ;)

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

Uh...yah.
Well, bongwater tastes awful!
:rotf:

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

Oh wow...so you're going for the 3D with the glasses...awesome. I have quite a collection of the anaglyph glasses, red-blue, red-green, etc. I used to work at an arena so I even have a pair of 3D glasses from when KISS did their psycho circus tour. I've always wanted to do a video game that uses 3D glasses.

You in a band too, what do you do? I'm a guitar player/singer myself, but only on a personal level.

The only reason I asked is because I wanted to make sure you were serious - which you obviously are. Guess I'm just a little overly protective with my work.

Well, rock on and I look forward to hopefully seeing a sample.

Amon Ra :salute::colonial:

Re: Bsg cg 3d!
 

Hey, no problem being protective of your work.
Musician to musician I fully understand.

My approach is like this - without the hard work put in by the modeler I wouldn't have the prop to use in the telling of my story. So regardless of how important the animation/editing/directing part of the project is...no matter now important the voice acting, sound effects and musical score are - they're all much ado about nothing without the actual models, so yah, I value the artist when it comes to this sort of thing.

I do my own modeling too but my approach is this - I don't want to be a modeler and I barley want to be an animator. What I want to do is tell good stories that entertain and interest people. Animation is my means to that end. I have no budget to speak of and so physical actors, elaborate sets, high tech cameras and all of that stuff is out. Plus when you have all of those things invested you better make a return on that investment.

Since my investment is CG apps, meshes and editing software it makes the creation of a film possible. Additionally I am a one man studio which means that any story I want to tell is automatically 'green lighted'. LOL!

Regarding the 3D effect - I'm bouncing back and forth with the red/blue green/magenta glasses to see which one will work the best. While red/blue (cyan) is easier to get a hold of - green/magenta allows for a better range of color in the animation.

Something that I'm doing with the project is creating my 3D effect in composite layers. This takes a whole lot of extra time and work on my part but it also gives me control over the object's depth in the scene. Meaning that if I have Raiders in the background and Vipers in the foreground I can have two different levels of 3D effect for each. The extra work bites but it results in a much cooler effect. I also have Moca for After Effects but being self taught I'm still in the weeds with that app. I do know it's awesome for doing 3D conversions but right now, it's over my head. :cry::)

But anyway...
Yes, I'm serious and if I don't deliver a BSG animation to Dan soon he'll probably have a hit put out on me. LOL!

On a side note - I'm a Guitarist/Bassist/Singer. I play guitar when I'm writing songs and jamming while hanging out and I play bass in my band.
I have a collection of classic U.S California B.C. Rich custom basses & guitars and I also play Jackson guitars. I use Ampeg bass rigs and Crate guitar heads. Hartke speakers in the bass rig and Celestion in the guitar. Jim Dunlop picks. Dean Markley Blue Steel bass strings and Dean Markley guitar strings. :cool: