Friday 27th April 2007: Red Bear Rising (Movie)

[Andrew_McP]

I have no transfer limit and the server is located in Dresden where we have a good bandwith connection due to TU; AMD, Infineon and Quimonda factories.

 

Oh, I see. That's serious bandwidth. :-) So far though I've had no complaints about people having trouble downloading the movie. If I do I'll take you up on the offer, thanks.

 

Andrew McP

[Andrew_McP]

Think how boring it would be if everyone made the movies the same?

 

Absolutely. Variety is the spice of life!

 

Andrew McP

[EvilBivol-1]

Finally saw the movie, Andrew. I think the mark of true talent in any art form is the ability to envision the outcome in your mind before you create it. I love that about your work. I don't even mean the mission so much, but all of the visual shots are so well planned and pre-conceived that the minor glitches I'll mention in a second pale in importance.

 

The glitches? Your PC was visibly struggling sometimes, especially during the taxiing sequence. And, much as you worked on the sound, I unfortunately found it more distracting than complimentary. The explosions were too loud relative to everything else, although maybe that was also intentional.

 

Loved the ending sequence as well. Very eerie to watch that FAB dropping to such peaceful music, but I know that's no accident. ;)

 

Great work!

[Andrew_McP]

all of the visual shots are so well planned

Actually none of them are pre-planned. :-) I "simply" play back a track many times, recording different clips and views each time. When editing I form a rough idea of how I want the action to fit the music, then throw lots of different clips into the editor, juggle them around repeatedly, and try to fit them in with the music a few bars at a time.

 

Of course during that lots of changes occur and it's a fairly fluid process. Luck plays a big part... though as we all know we make our own luck to an extent. Generate enough raw material, spend enough time messing around with it, and sooner or later a few things will fit together nicely.

 

The glitches?

As usual with me there were plenty of scenes which mouse shake or LOMAC stuttering spoiled. I've tried just about everything I can to solve both (including using a joystick and joy2key for panning shots), but eventually I run out of patience and just work with what I've got. It's only a LOMAC movie after all, and the days when I got thousands of downloads are long gone. :-)

 

However I'm now debating whether to try and shift from a 2.4GHz AMD x2 to a Conroe 6600. If I could guarantee it'd overclock to 3.4GHz I'd probably break into my savings tomorrow, but these things are never guaranteed (especially with so many combinations of CPU/motherboard & DDR2), and I've wasted quite a bit of money chasing ultimate LOMAC performance already, and I keep saying I won't fall into that trap again.

 

Well, not until BS is out anyway. :-)

 

The explosions were too loud relative to everything else, although maybe that was also intentional.

 

Sound editing is quite tricky, especially when using fairly quiet music. That encourages people to turn the volume up... and then regret it when the fireworks start. :-) It's also hard to strike a balance when overlaying loud sounds over music. Make them too loud and they mask the music, Make them too quiet and they don't match what you're seeing in front of you.

 

Actually I was watching some of my early movies again at the weekend and I think I prefer the ones where I just used music and nothing else. It certainly makes editing simpler, that's for sure!

 

Movies can also sound quite different depending upon the speakers being used. I edit using some rather expensive headphones on my games PC, but things sound rather "muddier" through the cheap speakers on this internet/work machine. So, just as music meant for broadcast used to be mixed to play well on cheap radios, I should probably check all my stuff on a pair of cheap PC speakers before release. :-)

 

Very eerie to watch that FAB dropping to such peaceful music

 

I'm glad you enjoyed that. I did actually go back and boost the sound in some of the action in order to emphasise the peace & quiet in the final section. I may well have over-done that, but as long as that final section works well I'm happy. I originally planned something rather different, but it was another one of those "make your own luck" moments and, even though I say it myself, I'm very pleased with it.

 

Thanks for the feedback, its always useful.

 

Andrew McP

[EagleEye]

Don`t like the music during 25T rampstart. The part with the recon photos is great. Like the "mission to fly" movie style, the camera angels and cut.

I would may more heroic music...:music_walkman:

[Roi Danton]

I would may more heroic music...:music_walkman:

Glowing_Amraam served already many vids with his huge Hans Zimmer collection. ;) I prefer the difference of Andrews music selection (though i like H.Z.'s music).

[Poopskadoop]

Very, very, very nice. :thumbup:

 

Question: How did you get your vikhrs to hit when firing from such a close range? Mine always have too much spin.

[Tropikal]

Very very nice movie, good story line, cool intro, nice bombing and missiles action, and a good soundtrack..

 

I m not a frog fan, as a matter of fact i never fly that thing but i enjoyed the movie.

 

Very nice work!

[Andrew_McP]

Don`t like the music during 25T rampstart.

 

Heathen! What's not to like about Bach? ;-)

 

I prefer the difference of Andrews music selection (though i like H.Z.'s music).

 

Purpose-made soundtrack music, like Zimmerman's, is excellent, and GA and others make superb use of it. I just enjoy the challenge of making "normal" music work with a LOMAC movie.

 

Still, any music is great... as long as it's not hard rock or thrash metal. ;-)

 

How did you get your vikhrs to hit when firing from such a close range?

 

A lot of those clips you see are shot at pretty high zoom, so the range is probably longer than you might think. If you look carefully you'll also find that it's the AI aircraft (29) which fires most of the vikhrs. I get too angry at the over-heating laser to use them much, and when I do they have a habit of missing. :-)

 

I'm not a frog fan, as a matter of fact i never fly that thing

 

When I started that movie last year it was because I hadn't flown the 25T for a while because although I love the flight model, I hate the fact it's a heavy, sluggish tank. When ED give us the same modelling for the Su-27 I will be able to die happy... though at this rate I may well be too old to use a joystick by the time they get round to it. :-)

 

Anyway, I hadn't flown the 25T for ages and when I loaded it up again I was reminded of just what a good looking aircraft it is (from some angles anyway). And even if I don't really enjoy flying it, and struggle to fight in it effectively, the FC package is still a pretty impressive piece of work by ED. So I was inspired to start a movie using it.

 

Andrew McP

[RogueRunner]

Brilliant!!!!!!

[LazerPotatoe]

Nice work. Your "Frog or Prince" is still one of my favorite Lockon videos.

[G3]

thoroughly enjoyed it, thankyou for the effort, and i loved the earlier analogy in your opening post.:thumbup: