Gardens of Tomorrow: DVinfo Challenge #2 at DVinfo.net

Jeff Sayre · July 17th, 2005, 11:05 PM

In case you missed it, there's more information about the making of this short on this link:

http://www.sayremedia.com/Making%20of%20Gardens.html

Here's a short version
* Shot with Sony HVR-Z1U
* 15 green screen scenes--first time ever working with green screen
* Mattes and animations done in Bryce 5.5 and Photoshop
* Edited in FCP

I had problems with my new dedicated serve--QuickTime Streaming was not set up properly. It appears to be fixed now. I will put up higher-quality versions tomorrow.

You're comments and suggestions are welcome!

Chris Thiele · July 18th, 2005, 12:59 AM

WOW! Really well done. Green screen worked well.
Good script. I enjoyed reading the making of the film. This is a great way for others (me) to learn and get ideas. Surprising all the actors didn't have blue lips (yum, berries)

Jeff Sayre · July 18th, 2005, 06:13 AM

Thanks, Chris.

We are very happy with the way it turned out...and actually, since I ate the most, I had a very blue tongue for awhile.

Chase Davis · July 18th, 2005, 02:41 PM

my favorite film of the competition. Makes me want to learn how to incorporate digital animation.

Jeff Sayre · July 18th, 2005, 02:54 PM

Chase, I aprpeciate your comments!

10-days ago, I did not know how to incorporate VFX into movies. This is the first movie short I've produced and the first time I've worked with a green screen and CGI.

If I can do it, you can. :)

Daniel Kohl · July 18th, 2005, 05:50 PM

Jeff,

Complements on a nice piece.

I like the "silent running" meets Jules Verne esthetic.

It has a nice calm pace.

I also like the silent film-like acting of your lead, when he sees the visions.

The only thing that doesn't really fit in, in my opinion, is the "fight" scene. That could have been more passive, and would have fit in better with the films mood, IMO.

Good work, definitely keep it up.

Mitchell Stookey · July 18th, 2005, 08:27 PM

Seems like everybody beat me to the punch on this one, but I'll copy Chase and say I'm very jealous of your VFX. Nice!

Jeff Sayre · July 18th, 2005, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daniel Kohl

Jeff,

Complements on a nice piece.

I like the "silent running" meets Jules Verne esthetic.

It has a nice calm pace.

I also like the silent film-like acting of your lead, when he sees the visions.

The only thing that doesn't really fit in, in my opinion, is the "fight" scene. That could have been more passive, and would have fit in better with the films mood, IMO.

Good work, definitely keep it up.

Daniel:

I appreciate your compliments and comments and am impressed you understood the feel I was after! This challenge has allowed me to explore a different side of my creativity. I had fun and am motivated to continue exploring this type of esthetic.

Your are absolutely right about the fight scene. It does seem out of place and maybe even contrived. This scene was scripted in a different way but we had to come up with something on the spot since I realized that, if we shot it the way we had intended, it would make the piece too long. However, now that the challenge is over, we may consider reshooting several scenes and adding more detail.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mitchell Stookey

Seems like everybody beat me to the punch on this one, but I'll copy Chase and say I'm very jealous of your VFX. Nice!

Thanks, Mitchell. It was a challenge to figure some of the VFX out. I realize that they are simple compared to what expert CGI practitioners can do, but it was a blast to learn and experiment. I already have new ideas on how do improve them and make them more realistic when needed or more surreal when beneficial.

Dylan Couper · July 20th, 2005, 05:19 PM

Really liked the world you created in this one, but the story suffered around the last 30 seconds. With only three minutes, it is hard to pack a good story in, but I feel like I was left behind at the end. Can you explain to me exactly what happens in the last 30 seconds? The biggest problem besides that I found was a lack of interest in the characters. They came off as mostly faceless without any real depth.

That's the bad stuff. And the good stuff, well, you get an award for it, it was that good! Fantastic effects!

Jeff Sayre · July 20th, 2005, 05:42 PM

It is hard to tell a story, possibly even harder a SciFi story, in 3 minutes.

We had a better ending scripted but realized that it would take too long to explain in the time we had left. So we went to a very abbreviated version which left out some important dialogue and build up.

Basically, we learn during the intro that Thomas Brin thinks he is a machine, At the end, when Dr., Crick injections him with the nano particles, Brin learns the truth--that he's not a machine but an organic-based life form (a biotic). That is what is supposed to be conveyed by the quick imagery behind him at the end.

Jeff Sayre · July 27th, 2005, 12:35 AM

I've worked out the kinks with my QuickTime Streaming Server and have posted new versions of Gardens of Tomorrow on my website. They are better encoded versions that are faster loading and higher quality than the ones submitted for the challenge.

You can see them here: http://www.sayremedia.com

I left one of the originally-submitted contest versions so that you can see what was judged and compare it to the newly encoded versions.

Also, I have created and posted a "Making of Gardens of Tomorrow" movie commentary. Go to the "Making of..." page and click on the appropriate link. I have included a lot of details about working with green screens on the webpage. So after viewing the "Making of..." movie, please read the webpage.

If you have any questions or comments, please post them here.

Jeff Sayre · July 27th, 2005, 10:31 AM

During DVC2, I learned a lot about media mastering high-quality video files for web delivery. I have posted my insights and techniques in a developing thread on the topic. You can find it here.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=47730

For questions or comments about Gardens of Tomorrow, please post them within this thread.

For questions or comments about encoding QT for the web, please post them in the thread link above.

July 17th, 2005, 11:05 PM	#1
Jeff Sayre Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: South Bend, IN Posts: 301	Gardens of Tomorrow: DVinfo Challenge #2 In case you missed it, there's more information about the making of this short on this link: http://www.sayremedia.com/Making%20of%20Gardens.html Here's a short version * Shot with Sony HVR-Z1U * 15 green screen scenes--first time ever working with green screen * Mattes and animations done in Bryce 5.5 and Photoshop * Edited in FCP I had problems with my new dedicated serve--QuickTime Streaming was not set up properly. It appears to be fixed now. I will put up higher-quality versions tomorrow. You're comments and suggestions are welcome! __________________ www.SayreMedia.com

July 18th, 2005, 06:13 AM	#3
Jeff Sayre Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: South Bend, IN Posts: 301	Thanks, Chris. We are very happy with the way it turned out...and actually, since I ate the most, I had a very blue tongue for awhile. __________________ www.SayreMedia.com

July 18th, 2005, 02:41 PM	#4
Chase Davis New Boot Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 14	my favorite film of the competition. Makes me want to learn how to incorporate digital animation. __________________ 3chip Panasonic Liberal College Student "I'm a big deal in Mexico."

July 18th, 2005, 02:54 PM	#5
Jeff Sayre Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: South Bend, IN Posts: 301	Chase, I aprpeciate your comments! 10-days ago, I did not know how to incorporate VFX into movies. This is the first movie short I've produced and the first time I've worked with a green screen and CGI. If I can do it, you can. :) __________________ www.SayreMedia.com

July 18th, 2005, 05:50 PM	#6
Daniel Kohl Contributor Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Frankfurt, Germany Posts: 571	Jeff, Complements on a nice piece. I like the "silent running" meets Jules Verne esthetic. It has a nice calm pace. I also like the silent film-like acting of your lead, when he sees the visions. The only thing that doesn't really fit in, in my opinion, is the "fight" scene. That could have been more passive, and would have fit in better with the films mood, IMO. Good work, definitely keep it up. __________________ Daniel Kohl Frankenstein meets XL1

July 18th, 2005, 12:59 AM	#2
Chris Thiele Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Launceston, Tasmania, Australia Posts: 59	WOW! Really well done. Green screen worked well. Good script. I enjoyed reading the making of the film. This is a great way for others (me) to learn and get ideas. Surprising all the actors didn't have blue lips (yum, berries)

July 18th, 2005, 08:27 PM	#7
Mitchell Stookey Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 196	Seems like everybody beat me to the punch on this one, but I'll copy Chase and say I'm very jealous of your VFX. Nice!

July 20th, 2005, 05:19 PM	#9
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Really liked the world you created in this one, but the story suffered around the last 30 seconds. With only three minutes, it is hard to pack a good story in, but I feel like I was left behind at the end. Can you explain to me exactly what happens in the last 30 seconds? The biggest problem besides that I found was a lack of interest in the characters. They came off as mostly faceless without any real depth. That's the bad stuff. And the good stuff, well, you get an award for it, it was that good! Fantastic effects! __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

July 20th, 2005, 05:42 PM	#10
Jeff Sayre Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: South Bend, IN Posts: 301	It is hard to tell a story, possibly even harder a SciFi story, in 3 minutes. We had a better ending scripted but realized that it would take too long to explain in the time we had left. So we went to a very abbreviated version which left out some important dialogue and build up. Basically, we learn during the intro that Thomas Brin thinks he is a machine, At the end, when Dr., Crick injections him with the nano particles, Brin learns the truth--that he's not a machine but an organic-based life form (a biotic). That is what is supposed to be conveyed by the quick imagery behind him at the end. __________________ www.SayreMedia.com

July 27th, 2005, 12:35 AM	#11
Jeff Sayre Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: South Bend, IN Posts: 301	New Version of Gardens of Tomorrow I've worked out the kinks with my QuickTime Streaming Server and have posted new versions of Gardens of Tomorrow on my website. They are better encoded versions that are faster loading and higher quality than the ones submitted for the challenge. You can see them here: http://www.sayremedia.com I left one of the originally-submitted contest versions so that you can see what was judged and compare it to the newly encoded versions. Also, I have created and posted a "Making of Gardens of Tomorrow" movie commentary. Go to the "Making of..." page and click on the appropriate link. I have included a lot of details about working with green screens on the webpage. So after viewing the "Making of..." movie, please read the webpage. If you have any questions or comments, please post them here. __________________ www.SayreMedia.com

July 27th, 2005, 10:31 AM	#12
Jeff Sayre Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: South Bend, IN Posts: 301	How to Encode High-Quality QuickTime Files for Web Delivery During DVC2, I learned a lot about media mastering high-quality video files for web delivery. I have posted my insights and techniques in a developing thread on the topic. You can find it here. http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=47730 For questions or comments about Gardens of Tomorrow, please post them within this thread. For questions or comments about encoding QT for the web, please post them in the thread link above. __________________ www.SayreMedia.com