Looking for a 5 minute short, this is a paid job.

[Unstoppable Comics]

Looking for quotes on a 5 minute animated short, based on Dragonstorm from Unstoppable Comics. The Premise is simple, Dragonstorm enters a warehouse, house fights a bunch of ninjas (also from Unstoppable Comics), comes upon another villain, and ends with a to be continued.

I understand that there is a lot more involved in putting this together than I can think of right now, and in no way am I trying to offend anyone with the lack of detail in what I am looking for. I own a copy of AM and just don't have the time to dedicate to learn the program with everything else going on.

No sound is needed, I already have the stoftware for that.

Winning bid will be based on a combination of price quoted and portfolio.

Payments will be made in portions based on levels of work completed.

I can provide refrences in regards to records of payments, from the artists I have worked with at Unstoppable Comics.

Any questions please feel free to ask.

[robcat2075]

Looking for quotes on a 5 minute animated short, based on Dragonstorm from Unstoppable Comics. The Premise is simple, Dragonstorm enters a warehouse, house fights a bunch of ninjas (also from Unstoppable Comics), comes upon another villain, and ends with a to be continued.

 

hmmm... 5 minutes is a long time to fight on screen... half the battle would be choreographing it so it wasn't repetitive... and another half would be designing the warehouse interesting enough to support that... and another half for animating it all...

 

Not undoable but at first blush it sounds like a daunting undertaking. Brace yourself.

[John Bigboote]

COOL! Thanks for the offering...I hope we don't disappoint.

 

Speaking for myself, I find it weird that you say 'don't worry about the audio'.... I find that audio is 'half the picture' and that as a filmmaker, I would want to create that as well for full reinforcement of the visuals. I feel it is very important the the 2 streams come 'from the same mill' as it were. If your software can generate a music track that builds and crescends the way you envision, that would be GREAT to animate to... let's hear it before- not after.

 

 

THANKS for the offer.

[Unstoppable Comics]

Rob , that is a lot of halves, sorry could not help myself with that one. If you like I can give you a story board to follow, or better yet the first issue of Dragonstorm. It starts off with him scoping out the warehouse from a nearby rooftop, leaping off dynamically, bursting through the door and getting into a fight. I can also provide a series of moves that I would like to be incorporated into the fight sequence. I did not think to mention this in the earlier post, because I felt this is something that would be discussed once the animator(s) have been determined.

 

 

John I understand what you are saying, but I do have budget constraints as well, and if the project gets too expensive, I would rather the bulk of the money go to getting the best picture and detail out of the visuals as possible, and sound and music could be added later.

 

One thing I forgot to add is if this goes over well, that there would be opportunity for more work down the pipe but let's not jump the gun yet and see how this develops.

[largento]

Given that art for the sequence has already been created, have you considered going the Motion-Comics route?

 

I would consider that more cost effective (less labor intensive) and would stay true to the brand since the actual comic art would be featured. It's likely you could tell a significant amount of the first issue's story in five minutes.

[robcat2075]

It starts off with him scoping out the warehouse from a nearby rooftop, leaping off dynamically, bursting through the door and getting into a fight. I can also provide a series of moves that I would like to be incorporated into the fight sequence...

 

Without knowing more details my first thought is... can this be filed down to one minute instead of five? Five minutes is *a lot* of animation. It's a lot of animation if you're trying to do it well.

 

Is this project like a promotional trailer for the comic? One minute that gets your story point across might be all you need.

[Unstoppable Comics]

Given that art for the sequence has already been created, have you considered going the Motion-Comics route?

 

I would consider that more cost effective (less labor intensive) and would stay true to the brand since the actual comic art would be featured. It's likely you could tell a significant amount of the first issue's story in five minutes.

 

I have thought about that, but every one else who can afford to do a motion comic is going that route. To be competetive I need to be a step ahead. If I place Unstoppable Comics in that arena I will just be another motion comic lost in the shuffle, I do not want that. While I won't be a leader in the independent comic community Unstoppable Comics will be seen as a brand that is making strides to put out quality product that the competition is not.

 

Robcat: If you can get develop a quality product that can tell a story in a minute or two, is solid enough that I can attract investors for future 22 minute spots and can drive more attention to the original source material and is cheaper than a five minute spot, then go for it. I have no problem with that. But let me ask you if I am willing to pay for 5 minutes worth of material can you fill it? If I ask for 22 minutes of material later on can you fill that.

 

Please Understand I am not trying to be smart in my responses or negative or rude. I am very serious in developing this, but I do understand there is a lot more to animation than I know of, so I do apologize in to all the crafts people here If my Ideas & questions come off as vague or ignorant.

 

I know in my head what direction I want to take this, and the finished product can only be realized once myself and the developer are at the same level of understanding so If there are more questions please ask away.

[KenH]

I think I'd fall asleep watching a fight that lasts 5 minutes. Unless there was some interaction (other than fighting) mixed in there. Two minutes for a pitch is plenty IMO.

 

Edit: I remember an episode of Family Guy where he fights a chicken. That fight lasted something like five minutes but I think that was the irony. And he was fighting a CHICKEN!

[robcat2075]

But let me ask you if I am willing to pay for 5 minutes worth of material can you fill it? If I ask for 22 minutes of material later on can you fill that.

 

I, by myself, would never make a commitment to delivering 22 minutes or even 5 minutes. You need a team for that.

 

Even for the one or two minute version, to do it on a commercial level, the animator is not going to be the same guy as the character modeler who will not be the same guy as the set modeler.

 

 

Something that would be clarifying is if you could point us to a production that is on the same level as what you are looking for.

 

Do you have Netflix? Get "G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom" and watch that. Its a direct to DVD CG animated feature. And an "action" movie, not unlike what you are proposing.

 

I regard that as the absolute bottom of what would be commercially viable in terms of quality, but that cost $50,000 per finished minute. (It may be lower than bottom since the studio involved didn't get orders for any more.)

 

 

I'm not trying to run you off with that number, but I am trying to get some calibration as to what you are looking for.

[HomeSlice]

OK, first, this sounds like a blast and I would love to be a part of it. But, as Robcat said, it is quite a bit of work.

Anyway, for what it's worth, here are some of my animation demos: http://www.holmesbryant.com/files/video/

Here are some of my models: http://www.holmesbryant.com/pages/02.Image_Gallery.html

 

The forum won't let me send a message to you to ask for specifics, so I guess I'll have to ask them here.

It is important to know what you expect in terms of production quality. Can you provide links to something that shows:

* The kind of Modeling and Texturing detail/quality you expect for characters and the set.

* The kind of Animation quality you expect.

* The kind of Rendering Quality or Art Direction style you want.

 

Quality ranges anywhere from Southpark to Avatar. The difference in terms of talent, time and cost between the various quality levels can be enormous.

 

Also:

What is the deadline?

Will you be rendering, compositing and editing the final piece? Or do you need someone to do that as well?

Will you be doing whatever effects may be needed? Or do you need someone else to do effects too?

Do you have the action choreographed and all timed out, or do you just have a general idea of the kinds of moves you want to see?

 

I would break the costs down into parts:

*Modeling and rigging each unique character (assuming there are already character designs)

*Modeling and rigging the set.

*Texturing each unique character.

*Texturing the set and all its various pieces.

*Animating

*Lighting and Rendering

*Designing and Compositing any effects that are needed

*Editing

 

One talented person could do it, but it might take quite a bit longer than you want, depending on the answers to the questions I asked above. As Robcat mentioned, it may be better to hire several people and portion out the workload.

[higginsdj]

I wouldn't take this on myself, but if Holmes wants to lead, I'll work for him at negligable cost (modeling and animating)

 

(I do this for fun, not money - but I still take pride in my work)

 

Cheers

[Darkwing]

I find this ironic cause I'm playing around with superhero stuff and was going to attempt to model a superhero character, though I'm not what you're looking for on a project like this

[Unstoppable Comics]

Ok, Now we are getting somewhere. I like these questions.

Rob, Now I understand where you are coming from, and see what you mean by 2 mins. I know you sadi not to be scared off by 50,000 per minute but that is a lot.

I will take a look at the movie and get back to you.

Home Slice, thank you for taking me seriously. I do need to understand all the steps in putting this together, and I will do the best to answer your questions.

Here are the 1st 2 pages to Dragonstorm:

Page 1Page 2

The deadline is as long as it takes to get it finished. I understand this is not a full time job for most and it will be done on personal time. The final date can be determined once all the specifics are banged out along with the payment plan.

I don't want it any where near South Park but I cannot afford Avatar.

I do not need the backgrounds as visually rich as Star Wars the clone wars the majority takes place in a dark warehouse.

 

I know AM has the 2d feature, using that can something along the lines of The Batman series be reached? Better yet if this were 2D, I like the style of Superman/Shazam...Black Adam, from DC The characters body frame's were exaggerated but not over the top.

No I will not be rendering, compositing and editing, and when you ask for effects do you mean explosions or a dramatic costume transformation ? If so I do not need those.

I can provide a fight scene spliced together from other movies if you want, or a story board if needed, with the moves I want.

So would a team be better?

Going to ask a stupid question here when I was shown the demo for AM I was shown a rendering of Shazam. Now here is the stupid question. That figure already has a skeleton & body frame (is this rendering?)in place, is there a way to plug the dragonstorm costume in to save on a few steps?

[Darkwing]

I personally haven't seen that model before (doesn't mean it isn't around). There are a few starter bodies out there, however I don't know if there's any with the superhero or overly muscular proportions that have been offered up by modelers. Also, Shazaam is most likely an older model and I'm just saying this because of the rigging. Of course if the rigging has been done well, it won't matter so much, but with newer rigs like the 2008 rig, there are already some actions developed for them so you can shave off some of the basics with some simple drag and drops.

[higginsdj]

Yes, you can repaint/retexture an existing object but then your character will look like Shazam, painted like Dargonstorm!

 

Those older models came with older and more basic rigs. It all comes down to the quality that you are after. If you don't care about creasing, poor deformations, relatively limited body and limb movement in a thumbnail sized movie then yes, it can be done quickly and cheaply. If your expectations are for something more realistic and fluid then no, a model, rigged to suit will be required - Then, of course, there are all the other Ninja characters that have to be built and rigged.

 

Cheers

 

David

[itsjustme]

If your expectations are for something more realistic and fluid then no, a model, rigged to suit will be required - Then, of course, there are all the other Ninja characters that have to be built and rigged.

 

It would really be just two characters...Dragonstorm and a ninja modified for each additional ninja required, I'm thinking.

 

Good luck with the project!

[thefreshestever]

sounds like a fun project, but as the others mentioned before: a lot of work!

i was surprised no one asked this before: how much is your budget???

[zandoriastudios]

It doesn't sound like too difficult a project. Maybe you could ask for a quote from someone like Anzovin studios? Have the animators from the TWO project thought about forming a virtual studio?--It seems like here is a great opportunity to do it for money!

 

characters: $1,000 per

Set: $1,000

Animation: $1,000 per minute

Rendering & Editing: $1000

SubTotal: $9,000

 

OK, that's crazy-cheap, but c'mon people let's roll!

[Darkwing]

Well, I can mech model and edit if that's useful at all to anybody

[wedgeeguy]

I might be able to help as well. I have been working with Robert Tracy (He does the "Remedy" comic strip) helping him to also go from 2d to 3d ... I can provide links to things I have done for him but I can't post them in the public forum due to non-disclosure agreement. Please feel free to e-mail me if you would like to see ...

 

bmonahan at pencilwedgees dot com

 

Also please feel free to visit my website where you can see other animations as well ... Thanks!

Bruce Monahan

[higginsdj]

A virtual studio - a good idea. BUT you need someone to run it..... AND it needs to be someone we all know and trust...... (No, not me)

 

AND we should probably take that discussion on to a different thread.... (See User Groups Forum)