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Short Carrara Animation: "A Christmas Caper"

Comments

  • waxfin_c9ea3eab69waxfin_c9ea3eab69 Posts: 57

    well that was great, elegant an concise - nice work

    i'm giving that four stars :) should be marked nsfw though :)

    love the ending

  • Steve KSteve K Posts: 3,233
    waxfin_c9ea3eab69 said:

    well that was great, elegant an concise - nice work

    i'm giving that four stars :) should be marked nsfw though :)

    love the ending

    Thanks.  I'm learning that shorter can be better, something the 48 Hour Film Contest producers tell the teams (the required length there is 4 - 7 minutes).

  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,987
    waxfin_c9ea3eab69 said:

    well that was great, elegant an concise - nice work

    i'm giving that four stars :) should be marked nsfw though :)

    love the ending

    ditto that! short is good, everything had the right beats - and it had an ending that felt 'just right.'

     

  • Steve KSteve K Posts: 3,233
    Headwax_Carrara said:
    waxfin_c9ea3eab69 said:

    well that was great, elegant an concise - nice work

    i'm giving that four stars :) should be marked nsfw though :)

    love the ending

    ditto that! short is good, everything had the right beats - and it had an ending that felt 'just right.'

    Thanks much, goals I always pursue (the word "beats" is popular with filmmakers) ("endings" even more so).  I did go through a number of rethinks (I gave up on ghosts, too complicated), a luxury not available in the 48 Hour Contest (minimum 4 minutes, vs this 2 minute animation).  There are amazing 48 Hour Contest winners out there (virtually all live action), and I am always a little stunned at how they did it.  Reminds me of Mozart, who was accused of just taking dictation from God as he wrote down the music.  That's gotta help ...

     

  • CbirdCbird Posts: 493

    Fun! I was struck by the camera movement. Can I ask whether you do all of it in Carrara or is some post?

  • Steve KSteve K Posts: 3,233
    Cbird said:

    Fun! I was struck by the camera movement. Can I ask whether you do all of it in Carrara or is some post?

    The animation is all Carrara Pro 8.5.  The FX (snow and train smoke in the opening) are Particle Illusion (now owned by Boris), overlaid on the video.  I really enjoy working in both, since its become second nature, no wondering how to do things.  I've been working in Poser recently since there are ERC models that require that.  Not bad, but not as enjoyable, and not nearly as capable as Carrara which loads Poser content seamlessly.  But I can't get the ERC features to work in Carrara.

     

  • CbirdCbird Posts: 493

    Thanks, Steve. This sounds really efficient.

    I've been thinking about camera movement since watching this video (you've likely seen it):

     

    Steve K said:
    Cbird said:

    Fun! I was struck by the camera movement. Can I ask whether you do all of it in Carrara or is some post?

    The animation is all Carrara Pro 8.5.  The FX (snow and train smoke in the opening) are Particle Illusion (now owned by Boris), overlaid on the video.  I really enjoy working in both, since its become second nature, no wondering how to do things.  I've been working in Poser recently since there are ERC models that require that.  Not bad, but not as enjoyable, and not nearly as capable as Carrara which loads Poser content seamlessly.  But I can't get the ERC features to work in Carrara.

     

     

  • Steve KSteve K Posts: 3,233
    Cbird said:

    Thanks, Steve. This sounds really efficient.

    I've been thinking about camera movement since watching this video (you've likely seen it):

     

    No, I had not seen it, thanks.  I've got some books from Amazon that I like, Titled "Master Shots Vol __" , lots of interesting setups including camera motion.  I used a version of the "Background Reveal" when the kid shows up behind Scrooge. 

  • MistaraMistara Posts: 38,675

    speed of movement  looks natural, it was non-distracting from the story

  • Steve KSteve K Posts: 3,233
    Mystarra said:

    speed of movement  looks natural, it was non-distracting from the story

    Thanks.  I use Carrara's Timeline editing to try to get that, e.g. setting the slope of the curve into and out of the keyframes.  The shot that goes from the kid looking into the donation bucket to the kid looking at the door seems a little jerky, but probably just a little too fast.  At some point the deadline arrives ... there's always a deadline ...

     

  • TangoAlphaTangoAlpha Posts: 4,584

    I loved the Victorian YouTube machine, lol yes

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,165

    SteveK, that had some serious awe!  (awesome).  You really demonstrate the importance of story over the newest shiny figures.  yes

    CBird, thanks for posting the director's clip.  I really enjoyd that.

  • Steve KSteve K Posts: 3,233
    TangoAlpha said:

    I loved the Victorian YouTube machine, lol yes

    Thanks, that's one of my favorite models, very detailed.  And yeah, I got a little steampunkish there vs. Mr. Dickens ... but his great, well known work helps with the back story.  Just a "Scrooge & Marley" sign needed.

     

  • Steve KSteve K Posts: 3,233
    Diomede_Carrara said:

    SteveK, that had some serious awe!  (awesome).  You really demonstrate the importance of story over the newest shiny figures.  yes

    Thanks.  Agreed on the importance of story.  In the 48 Hour Contest, on the first evening you draw from a couple of dozen genres in a hat (literally), and need a story in just hours to allow making a video in two days.  Not an easy task (even Hollywood and TV writers have trouble with good, new stories).  In this case, the holiday contest was titled "Ghosts Of Christmas Past" so the Dickens story came to mind immediately.  Plus, of course, we all had weeks instead of two days, allowing some rethinks (as I mentioned, I gave up on ghosts, too complicated).

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