Reaction from the team
on May 13th, 2010, by aliAll drawers of the render farm have been filled and the teaser has been revealed.
A day before the release of the teaser, I asked the team to react to the comments made on the stills rendered and posted earlier by Soenke.
Ali Boubred
May 13th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
well said.
May 13th, 2010 at 11:58 pm
I am sure the community’s reaction of the movie propitiates the Durian Team again.
May 13th, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Hey guys the intended audience wasn’t teenagers? : )) Lol… Now handle them!
Depth breath! Hold tight!
This teaser was pure Rock and Roll, congratulations.
May 14th, 2010 at 12:12 am
You folks a Durian, I know it’s a struggle. Not only are you dealing with new software, new work flows and work arounds in addition to new features being added, but you are literally learning on the job. It’s not like having software like Maya or Max where you have a huge company you can call up if there is an issue or a forums you can run to, you have to figure it out yourselves. In theory, I’m sure all of you would like your work to look like a Final Fantasy but you aren’t staffed with 50+ people or have that kind of budget.
You guys really are doing a great job, you are making this thing work and at the end of the day you aren’t letting anything stop you. That kind of effort is so often transparent when you hit F12. We all appreciate your hard work. Even with money and time it’s easy to forget the big picture and become another “Duke Nukem Forever”.
You are all talented, intelligent and ambitious. Sometimes we as fans/critics take much for granted as we sit back with our Mount Dew voltage and pour over every pixel so we can feel a part of the experience. Good job guys. Keep it up! Awesome Trailer!
May 14th, 2010 at 12:13 am
Cool Trailer! 🙂
May 14th, 2010 at 12:14 am
Things are bad. Nathan was not laughing. But.
You’re crunched with time and frustrated as hell and morale is a bit down but please: You’re making one of the coolest projects there currently is. We criticize because we care. Looking from todays teaser: Sintel in snow was perfect in animation and atmosphere, I loved the dragon-snatch and her skin shader is amazing. You seem to be doing way better than I feared from the lack of recent updates.
Cheer up, you will have an awesome memory once the thing is over and miss the stress. Someone has to fix Nathan.
Should we send you funny pictures, clowns, kittens or an occasional beer?
May 14th, 2010 at 12:28 am
@Irve – Well said. Nothing to add.
May 14th, 2010 at 12:29 am
Can someone up there in Amsterdam loan a nice big high-capacity fan to the Blender Institute?
27,2 Celsius is quite hot to me!
I wish you guys all the good luck, be strong, be motivated, make jokes, improve yourself and…. JUST FINISH THE DAMN MOVIE! 😀 😀 😀
May 14th, 2010 at 12:30 am
Two months time may not seem a lot, but your project will have a huge boost in this amount of time. I’ve seen it a lot of times during production.
The big dragon looks A M A Z I N G !!!!
May 14th, 2010 at 12:33 am
Woooo for Sintel, the trailer was amazing whats the fuss. If you spent the amount of time it would take for each scene to be perfect you would need a few more years of production. I thought it was glowing with greatness, I did enjoy the bigger dragon. I am glad you are taking your production seriously.
This is no ordinary movie, you can never please everyone. We shouldn’t take comments on a silly blog that serious. Although some can be constructive most are just quick random thoughts from what might seem a mostly young crowd.IMHO
May 14th, 2010 at 12:35 am
Is it just me or did they stuff a bunch of computer hardware into a filing cabinet and call it a render farm? And if so where do I get one?
May 14th, 2010 at 12:39 am
Take it lightly, team, and remained focused. You’re doing awesome work within really tight constraints, so the work is definitely something to be very proud of.
The real seal of approval will come from the many opportunities that this project will likely bring each of you, not from the chatter of a few critics that probably couldn’t create a single frame of equal quality.
Keep rockin’!
May 14th, 2010 at 12:43 am
Ok just went through the archives and found the render farm post. That is awesome
May 14th, 2010 at 12:52 am
Getting the movie blocked out and presentable is a lot more critical than satisfying every commenting blenderhead. Remember that most blenderusers have never worked in actual production, basically they don’t allways know what they are asking (no offense anyone)… you guys know this
the trailer looks awesome. keep going, and try to get most of the shots to a working state, then you can digg into the nitpicky detail stuff.
Allways remember “the law of diminishing returns” 🙂
May 14th, 2010 at 1:02 am
I think that i know how guys are your feelings …
Sintel is like a baby, and before the birth of this baby, people around the echography are saying : ” Oh, he have some big foots… maybe his hands are too longs ! Oh no no no, the index is ok but the right thumb is looking bigger ! ”
mm.. some kind of frustration ! there’s no way to make another baby and this one… yes, he is very very beloved ! you all have spent many time and effort to make it grow up ! How the hell not being frustrated !
But … most of us, are waiting the birth and don’t judge the parents ! There’s some imperfections and so what ? It’s a thing to take care for the next time maybe or the result of a nonesuch technically difficult experience !
Anyway, this baby will born and most of us are proud to have bought his diapers and milk ! ha ha
So the last words from me are : You guys Rocks ! That’s all ! 😉
May 14th, 2010 at 1:13 am
@Irve: +1. I am totally agree with you.
May 14th, 2010 at 1:20 am
I guess the project is too ambitious and I think you realized that quite some time ago and now you have to make your way through it.
I’m sure it will be a very watchable short film because you are a great team, talented individuals and you WILL get it done somehow.
I know it’s hard, I know you don’t sleep much and drink too much coffee.
You know the movie is not going to be as groundbreaking as you wanted it to be, it won’t be “Awesome!”, but you can make it good!
Just try to be satisfied with that for now.
I wish you all the very best! Keep it up!
PS: Don’t listen to the nit-pickers, they just see tech-errors and wouldn’t ever notice poor composition! Keep working on the big things!
May 14th, 2010 at 1:28 am
Thanks for putting in so much effort, sweat and tears into this guys. You should post another video with reaction to today’s teaser posts – it should be full of big smiles from the Blender Institute this time with what everyone is saying!! 🙂
If you’re feeling frustrated and under pressure then share the load – let the community help where it can. For example, if hair, the Shaman’s beard or whatever are issues then put out a request for people in the community to give it a try. As with the previous requests, you will find there are many volunteers.
Keep up the great work!
May 14th, 2010 at 1:55 am
Ignore the chattering gibbons and keep handing out those geekgasms like they were candy. With that trailer, Awesomeness has now been firmly cranked to 11. 😀
May 14th, 2010 at 2:01 am
We all love the work you are doing and it must be frustrating always being in the public eye. Unlike so many other projects and studios you have chosen to be open about what you are doing, something admirable.
Here is a fun short story that just got popular over at reddit:
http://i.imgur.com/aeYLQ.png
May 14th, 2010 at 2:11 am
Cheers to the team, remember guys you are at the edge of a tecnology and pushing it beyond its limits, making Blender shine amongst any commercial ancient software.
the Criticism-and-problems monster won’t forget to pay a visit, as it does at any ambitious enterprise, you have to fight it and win, and use it as a fuel to make our* short film all it can be. The path is right so far! Shut’em all up and Sintel FTW!
*I’m sure the community will promptly attend to any cry for help from the team!
Go Durian
May 14th, 2010 at 2:21 am
Even in stressful times, never forget you guys are absolutely amazing!
Criticism is given by people who actually care. It would actually be far worse when there would be little or no criticism. Please don’t let it eat your heart away.
After all, you are pioneers at moving open source CG into the mainstream business. 😉
May 14th, 2010 at 2:36 am
Keep up the excellent work. Our critiques aren’t meant to discourage you. We feel this project is a little bit our baby and we like to help the best way we can, by letting you know how things look to us and helping when you ask for help. 🙂
May 14th, 2010 at 3:27 am
WTF happen guys?? IF you are doing some epic noise (in the good sense of the word) with the short, then the minimum is to expect some epic responses from the comunuty, some good some bad.
You can’t satisfy everyone, and nobody can. And OF COURSE if we found something out of order we’ll complain and loudly about this: It’s the nature of the open source crowd. Is *not* mean to discourage anyone, all the contrary… if you throw something good to an audience and all you hear later is a Cricket noise, then you can proudly say “Houston, we have a little problem”.
Of course things can be done better or diferently, but in the remaining time left is better to do the things you can do, the best you can.
All the best.
May 14th, 2010 at 3:31 am
Maybe you need to take a break from the project for a week so that you will all be recharged. Just a suggestion.
May 14th, 2010 at 3:31 am
Great work! Thanks for all your efforts Sintel Team!
May 14th, 2010 at 3:31 am
Well the criticism is expected. I don’t think they should be upset about it. If they think the critics are bad now just wait until it hits the main CG crowds.
Not sure how I feel about how necessary it was to have a whole post to respond to the criticism. However, it was interesting to see the behind the scenes impressions. Artists always have harsh critics though. Take it and move on.
Keep up the good work! The trailer was really good!
May 14th, 2010 at 3:43 am
Posting this was a great idea. I think a lot of people in the community forget that this is project is being undertaken by a bunch of “regular guys/gals”. They are so used to bit@hing about big companies and organizations like Microsoft, Disney, the government etc. that they forget this project team is made up of only a few people who are basically just like them. While I think you should remember not to take Internet posts by anonymous users too seriously, I can also imagine your frustration. But don’t just focus on the negative either; many of us said nothing but good things about the stills. Hell I’m sure there are a ton of people using them as backgrounds right now!
Keep up the great work and remember:
We luuuuuuuvvv you!
Cheers.
May 14th, 2010 at 4:19 am
It is better to get criticism now. Because you still have time to decide and make corrections.
Unlike when you get criticism on the final film.
You are getting criticism from the Blender community. That means they care.
It’s not like you are getting comments from Autodesk or some other company who are hoping that you fail.
right?
May 14th, 2010 at 4:23 am
Team Durian rocks!
A quote, if I might, for those of failing morale:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is not the critic who counts;
Not the man who points out
Where the strong man has stumbled
Or where the doer of deeds
Could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man
Who is actually in the arena.
Whose face is marred with dust
And sweat and blood.
At best, he knows the triumph
Of high achievement;
If he fails, at least he fails
While daring greatly,
So that his place shall never be
With those cold and timid souls
Who new neither victory nor defeat.
–Theodore Roosevelt
May 14th, 2010 at 5:26 am
Just wanted to say that you guys are doing a fantastic job with Sintel. I was blown away by the trailer and the sheer volume of what you have already accomplished.
And don’t listen to the nitpickers too much. I think some of the posters here do not understand how tight deadlines are inherent in CG work even in the biggest budget Hollywood blockbusters. The 5% of alleged “problems” with a shot doesn’t in any way negate the 95% of quality work that makes up the majority of it.
In short, I know I’m getting a quality product for my pre-order money. Keep up the phenomenal work everyone!
May 14th, 2010 at 5:48 am
The team seems to have taken the criticism harder than I would have expected. I think that the expectations one needs to have when viewing these comments is more for “art-school” criticism, than a “omg durian rox” criticism. (omg durian DOES rox btw) People are going to (and should I think) rip apart every aspect of everything they see. This doesn’t mean that they aren’t thrilled with what is already good. Of course you already see most of these problems. Don’t let it get you down, don’t resent the criticism, glean whatever information you can, and keep working! Everyone here is behind you. everyone here understands that this is an highly ambitious project. And there will be high fives all around in the end.
May 14th, 2010 at 5:49 am
It’s amazing this trailer !!! Keep up excellent work !!!!!!!
It rocks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂
May 14th, 2010 at 6:24 am
Perseverance guys! Some folks will tell you a glass is half empty, and some will tell you it’s half full. Both are true and describe the same state, but the latter is nicer to hear after long months of hard work. I’ll tell you, the trailer was exciting to see! To think it is made by a small team using software we can (or will) be able to download and use for free. I hope to shake your hands in October, when this moment in time will be one of your war stories at the conference 🙂
May 14th, 2010 at 7:01 am
Durian Team.. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?
This Youtube Video is just awful! The hair in it looks WAY worse than in the F12s, use the comb brush guys! Although i must admit it looks far more “worn” and i think i saw even some grey hairs, emo´s hair still looks nicer. The Characters are too clean.. okay, the tired eyes are well done..
The worst parts can be seen here:
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/5061/duriana.jpg
Improve guys!
Carsten
May 14th, 2010 at 7:15 am
I think the harsh criticism is here because everyone has such a high expectation of the movie. Hold steadfast! The constructive criticism is there to help make a quality movie, but also don’t forget the core of the movie. We can’t just please everyone because everyone has an incomplete view of the movie.
May 14th, 2010 at 7:32 am
There is a story about an emperor that has no clothes. But his subjects kept telling him that he looks fabulous.
Until a child came and pointed out. “The Emperor is naked!”
May 14th, 2010 at 8:26 am
hilarious Carsten 🙂
more seriously, Ill say what I imagine many are thinking… the “too nit-picky *considering* that there are over 200 shots in the film” line doesn’t jive with me. I don’t think it was ever stipulated that the film needed to have that many shots. If you don’t have the resources to be “picky” on that large of a scale, then there probably should not be that many shots.
Also the lighting on the “Campbell” scene (around 2:50) really needs some more dynamics. sheesh. Maybe Andy could improve that scene with some compositing effects if he helped out. 🙂
May 14th, 2010 at 9:39 am
This little team are awesome!
Two projects, software and movie at the same time!
You guys are brilliants!
May 14th, 2010 at 9:51 am
There are bugs, BECAUSE OF NOT TOO MUCH TIME, but it’s still the best of Open Movies, it’s whole 20 levels higher than BBB, for example.
AWESOME WORK! 🙂
May 14th, 2010 at 10:00 am
congratulations!!!
The trailer is absolutely amazing (as 2.5 of course)
keep working in this way!!!!
May 14th, 2010 at 10:51 am
Just wanted to share how much your work means to me. You are trail blazers and explorers and you are producing magnificent work.
May 14th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Just to make it clear, this video was not posted by the production team, but by Ali, who is making the documentary. (And I think it’s cool that he did, as I think it’s unique and valuable for people to see what we go through in the production.)
But keep in mind that (I don’t think) any of us conducted these interviews as a response to the community. We’re not saying, “stop critiquing us!”. We were telling an interviewer what things are like on our end.
Of course as artists working on an open movie, we expect to get critiques. But we are also human, so of course it effects us, and the documentary is picking up on that.
But we love all of you, and your enthusiasm is definitely appreciated. And of course the reactions to the trailer have picked up our spirits here. 🙂
May 14th, 2010 at 11:24 am
remember we love you Durian team!!
May 14th, 2010 at 11:30 am
Thanks, Ali, for another insightful video – we miss you on your days (weeks) off. 😀
I think it’s useful not only to update the community on the project’s progress, but also to show the human perspectives within it as well. I miss the feelings of those pre-production videos from way back. 😀
May 14th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Must just say I sent the link to loads of impartial non 3d friends and they are all loving the trailer, and just as much as this project is about improving the already wonderful blender your also telling a story to hold an audience! I personally think your doing both brilliantly,
May 14th, 2010 at 11:46 am
By the way, was juxtaposing Brecht with his Emo doppelganger intentional there??? 😀 You could say it was very fitting.
May 14th, 2010 at 11:51 am
@nathan: thanks for the clearing-up. I was actually very unsure what to make of that interview.
May 14th, 2010 at 11:55 am
My opinions:
Ton was well-rendered and the voice actings was good.
Overall emotion in the characters was well done. I could feel it. I like the eyebags and tired looks. So thoroughly convincing.
I expect Jan is still working on the sound track
The hair systems and unshaven beards are quite convincing
Ben’s constant glaring at the camera is a bit unatural. Give him a more distance stare. The eyes are done well.
I cant wait to see the Susan. When do we see it rendered? I imagine a shot where she comes in with a pillow just when Ton is about to speak. That would be pure awesomeness and it will be just EPIC
good luck!!!!
May 14th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Im no blenderhead (no offence), and I have less than a mersely % point in either the technical or artistic capacity compared to all the blenderheads out there….so i consider myself unbiased in any form as regards to the trailer.
1) The blenderheads have picked up on issues, which as cg fans they would…I didn’t. They dont mean it a slight on anyones ability, but as they are watching there baby grow, they just need reassurance that obvious flaws (to you and them, not me) are addressed. They already know they will be, becuase they already have seen the big improvements.
2) Yet again you have stepped up the game as regards the use of blender. Thsi trailer rocks, and now you’ve depressed me that I have to wait another two months to see the final version…..aaaarrrrggggg
3) Go out, have some hoegarden, some wacky backy…..stop looking at the cup as ifs its half empty (negative comments)…..trust me its more than half full.
Oh by the way dont be thinking were gonna be letting you off with the 12 minute final version. I think we all expect (ok hope) that this goes the full hog to a full film…
May 14th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Take a shower, sleep a bit and keep going! Awesome work besides their constraints. Nothing to say you don´t know, just a big thanks you for all your hard efforts to make this movie and test this version of Blender! I think the most epic thing in the movie is the team! respect!
May 14th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Nathan you are my hero, please teachme rigging ,….. and from the last post, with the critiques just take the good ones and be aware for the badones, By the way no one did an OPEN MOVIE like this before and this kind of projects bring us the oportunity to improve, learn and the most important thing to contribute to make blender a better choice for 3d.
well Ton is my hero too. ok ok all of you are. And like Walt Disney says once,
KEEP MOVING FORWARD
May 14th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
If I had a load of heads peering over my shoulder, offering ‘helpful’ comments, mid-project, I would be terminally pissed-off and would say so in best paint-stripping anglo-saxon, so I can only stand in awe at your level of tolerance. My view, for what it is worth, is make the movie you want to make in the way that you want to make it and focus on your own enjoyment of it, and leave the comments to the community armchairs when you all go for a well-deserved beer at the end. Just wishing you all the best.
May 14th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
… to repeat what I posted on YouTube
Great point by Ton at the end 17,000 images at that quality is a hell of a big job and you guys are doing magnificently. Pretty much any project you do could be improved upon with unlimited resources but thats just not something any of us have in the real world. Keep up the amazing work!
I have just downloaded the trailer in 1080p and watched it on my 24 inch monitor 2 words for you
Awesome!
Epic!
May 14th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Team Durian your work is brilliant, the trailer is awesome, excellent work.
Never take to heart any comment posted here or in the forums, people fine it so easy for people to make remarks from the safety and anonymity of their keyboard’s, while hiding behind computer screens. Most of your harshest critics would have never produced anything near to the quality of this production or even those screenshots.
As for the screen shots, they are from a single frame, 29 of these frames will scream past there eye’s per second, no one would ever notice the minor issues.
Who cares is the hair is a little thick or the eyebrows are the wrong colour(they are fine btw), Its insignificant. The end product will be brilliant in the eye of the general public, who will be so engrossed in the share brilliance of your movie to ever notice such minor CG issues.
You have to know some of the blender artist forum crowd are so pathetic now, that they badgered a 13yo boy for even daring to ask for a little free help. And this not the first time, its was almost criminal. http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=186573
If this is the type of person you wish to impress you might as well quit now, they will never be happy(unless they’re being paid).
Keep up the awesome work team, ignore the critics, keep having fun.
May 14th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Critics be damned! I’m gobsmacked by it – love love love it. Amazing effort! Much love, Cathy & India xxxxx
May 14th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Blender Foundation is creating wonders after wonder. With such limited resources creating a world class animation short is no easy task. You guys are away ahead of our expectations. So, cheers! 🙂
On a brighter note, please refer a comment posted on blendernation.com by Tobias Dn. http://www.blendernation.com/durian-reaction-from-the-team
S/he made a wonderful analysis of all the comments posted here.
May 14th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
I think what you say is right, but be positive please, I think you are a team and as a team you can understand the “level” of critics, some critics are very stupid!
So, dont worry and continue with your excelent work 🙂
May 14th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Think we deserved a lil feedback/spanking on our sometimes maybe not very objective criticism…I think people are so hyped with this that they tend to take this over, telling the team what they think should do….
But anyhow as we can see it everyone is doing a helluva job, especially in this extraordinary case of an open movie where things have a tight schedule, a limited budget and a small number of people….
Even better we are able to look into the production and have the chance comment on the stuff we see. For most other movies this isn’t even an option so in the end its ‘take it or leave it’…
Anyway we love the Durian Team aswell, from artists to coders and to the dog the mimes the dragon. You are all doing absolutely great and blender 2.5 is getting hotter each day!!!
I wish this project would go on forever since this is a great time for the fans on the net…might be living hell for the team tho, so its good that this is going for completion these days!
Best regards, keep up the good work, really appreciate what is done for the community!
May 14th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Art From Adversity….
From the video, it looks like these kids have spent the past few months in a submarine being beaten over the head by hot, dry flounders…
I’m reminded of the making of the movie Star Wars, in which there were many challenges, criticisms and opponents and the final product was a film with many, many technical flaws – but, Star Wars changed the motion picture landscape and inspired more young film-makers than any other film I can think of.
Sure, you can comb through Star Wars and criticize and “nit-pick” from now the end of time, but, I tell you this, if you so much as change ONE hair of it, I’ll beat your a$$ to a pulp. Why? Because, despite it’s flaws, it’s p3rfect.
You inspire me
Joseph
May 14th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
People.
This is an open movie. Any shots you want to fix after the movie is done YOU CAN fix and be a hero too. These guys are nothing short of hero’s that are pushing the craft of animation for independents.
As an animator I can see huge benefit for the community to learn and improve and grow. I for one have have picked out a shot from the trailer that I would like to polish and grow my skills in doing so. People need to realize that this is such an amazing opportunity for EVERYONE so please keep that in mind.
You guys are inspirational, thank you so much for sharing your work with the world.
Mike B,
North Vancouver, Canada
May 14th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Keep a good work, team. As a designer myself, I fully support your effort to display what open movie is all about. I am glad to contribute to that project even though my schedule is tight to actively participate to the development. What your team did will all impact future generation especially those who are living in developing countries.
Sincerely,
Luya Tshimbalanga
Fedora Project Contributor
Coolest Storm Design founder
Vancouver, Canada
May 14th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
I really enjoyed the trailer, the music was superb and the animation really nice. I am amazed too see what can be done using blender and free software tools.
I am also very happy that I participated in the funding of the release of the blender source a few years back and can’t believe how much progress the software has done!
Keep up the good work team!
Regards from Sweden / Per-Erik
May 14th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
Personally I think comments on blog posts should be disabled. You are keeping the community informed of progress. Excellent. But what purpose do comments serve? You know the shortcomings already and positive comments, while nice to get, aren’t going to make any difference in the long run. Anyway, loved the trailer, looking forward to the final product.
May 14th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
I can’t see you so stressed…. I feel bad myself… Go on, get finished that amazing brilliant work.. But relax! Have a rest! Take all the time you need!
May 15th, 2010 at 12:30 am
Hi Durian team,
the criticism may be harsh but please note that (a) some of it is to a certain extent justified and (b) we all mean well. Look at this from this point of view: your *amazing* wokr guys has nurtured so high expectations that in all likelihood they won’t be matched by anything you produce! 🙂
If there’s time, it’s certainly worth it to look at some issues. If not, oh well, we still have so many Blender developments because of the film.
Go durian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 15th, 2010 at 2:57 am
Hello,
The first thing that I would like to say is that I have been very impressed by the effort and work that you all have been putting into this latest open move project. I am excitedly looking forward to it’s release. Thus far I have seen only progress. Yes there have been glitches and things, but I don’t seen them as problems. I think that a problem would be lack of progress or a reverse of progress. I trust you guys to do your best (and have been rewarded with that).
I guess I should apologize for not telling you guys this earlier. I know how criticism can be (whether it is true or not), so I should have submitted a comment or two about how cool it was to see those renders. I have greatly enjoyed watching the blog and the progress on Sintel. Thank you for the blood, sweat, and tears that you have put, and will still put into the project.
In support of Blender and the Durian Team,
Chris Schultz
May 15th, 2010 at 7:10 am
Well i found the trailer quite impressive. I ve seen some cg movies that are not so good. I thinks in a movie the most important thing is the story then the game play. Do not start to focuse on the number of hair of sintel. when i will look at this movie i don t want to see it as the movie that let blender use the first 100000000 billion polygons cube or 30000000000 hair in the nose of the chaman… I want to see a real movie. Not a movie for geeks. Take the crits to spot on some things that you may be miss and that are simple to fix. but do not take it for yourselves personnaly. Go bowlings! And get more girls in your team! or shaves,there is to many hair in your studio !
May 15th, 2010 at 9:20 am
17000 graphics that’s only like 9 and a half min. and you are going for 12 mins. quality vs amount. makes me wonder how pixar does it… why not ask? I wonder if they would even help in some way? That would be cool.
May 15th, 2010 at 9:31 am
17000 graphics that’s only like 9 and a half min. and you are going for 12 mins. quality vs amount. makes me wonder how pixar does it… why not ask? I wonder if they would even help in some way? That would be cool.
Pixar Animation Studios
1200 Park Avenue
Emeryville, California 94608
Telephone: 510 922-3000
Facsimile: 510 922-3151
May 15th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
+1 to RockyMtnMesh’s comment:
/news/reaction-from-the-team/#comment-10961
May 15th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Hey there, there may be problems but always remember: You are the head of the community. You are the best of the best. Don’t let you get down.
Just to mention it: The Trailer was awesome…
May 15th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
hay guys, i have one thing to say:
“who said durian is a nice fruit to begin with, smelling like Hell then tasting like Heaven”
nawabz
May 15th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Thanks to everybody for watching and commenting on this little clip.
As Nathan mentionned, I put this video online, not the team, and I feel I should clarify and put the things back in context.
As shown in the video, I focused my question on the criticisms on the hair, lighting etc… in response to the post of Soenke.
Of course it is meant as an answer to these criticisms, but not in the way that there are too much of them. I wanted to show that the team is aware of the imperfections and unfortunately won’t have the time to fix everything. Every production know this kind of problem, and the Durian team is no exception.
Keep in mind that this clip was filmed a day before the trailer was revealed, the team is not sad and demoralised, but nervous about the release.
May 15th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Jeez, judging by the reactions in this video it seems like the trailer was universally panned. I was hard-pressed to find one negative comment on the trailer amidst the sea of positive ones. From my observations, The majority of the blender community was amazed by the trailer. I watched it four times myself. Stop worrying so much of what the vocal minority of jerkwads have to say about you- Sintel is amazing, so hurry up and finish it because I can’t wait to see this thing.
May 16th, 2010 at 4:08 am
I just remembered this google talk i watched it’s about Open Source Projects and how to handle some…interesting people. enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSFDm3UYkeE
May 16th, 2010 at 5:55 am
Guys, you work is pretty amazing.. and even if I consider the newly developed toolset it becomes much greater. The trailer already give an outlook to something we cannot wait for. So keep on going.
Unfortunately it seems there is one thing going on within your team. Somehow you formed a “mustage gang” – well it’s funny to see, but I’ve also noticed that the director didn’t joined that gang 😉
May 16th, 2010 at 10:09 am
With all our replies put together it sounds as if we’re complaining about being criticized. – Just wanted to say I dont think this is the case.
I was hoping Ali would edit out my “we’re not idiots” comment but instead he put it first! ack.
I meant that for the people who state the bleeding obvious – but there are of course very insightful criticism posted too.
@Michael: re google vid. interesting link, started watching but have to head off to work so bookmarked for later – not sure its so relevent to the durian blog but definitely interesting with regards to Blender as an opensource project.
May 16th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
ideasman42. Don’t worry. Its how we all feel when we are being criticized at times.
Ie we are not idiots either. Yes some times we do state the bleeding obvious. Think about it how many times have you missed the bleeding obvious in real life. I still remember looking everywhere for my keys and they were in my pocket all the time. Ie the bleeding obvious place to check first.
Yes the hard part for us is we don’t know when posting if you know about a problem or not. Its not like you state yes the hair still has issues or the like.
Just remember both sides are running blind. So our has to try to guess what is bleeding obvious and what is not. Basically unless we are told something is still a know issue you have to presume we will guess wrong.
Really this is the first time I know of anything being done like this. So communication issues should be expected. Including people stating what is bleeding obvious at times. Hopefully for open movies with responses we can work out some way of not telling you stuff you already know.
Each time a blender movie has been made communication methods have got better. I hope the next one how to do it is mostly worked out so we all can assist better.
May 16th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Hey guys, I think your shots were amazing. The people critisizing them are probally industry know-it-alls. I watched it with a half-assed passing interest (in reference toward my attention toward technical perfection) and I really didn’t see anything wrong with it. It looked really good. At the time I thought it was a preview for a new mainstream movie and didn’t know about your project until i saw the blog.
All the biting criticism comes from industry hardasses, and the average joe watching it wouldn’t notice the vast majority of problems outside of plot. It’s kind of like fine artists speaking of a painting: “well the composition overall displays a great sense of movement, but the balance is off, and I dont like the color scheme” while the guy that bought it would say “I like it because I like green and it has triangles in it”
The most easiest job in the world is to be a critic. It requires little to no training, and alot cynicism.
May 16th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Take criticism with a grain of salt especially from anyone online these days as everyone seems to now be a professional critic of. . . well, everything.
You all know what will look great, go with what you feel and know. . .
May 16th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
I think that the renders looked great; there were some issues, but that should be expected. Watching the progress of Sintel has gotten me into using blender and 3D in general. I’ve watched the other films using blender and im sure this one will be as good or better. On a side note, I think the blender user community will expand a great deal now with the new interface. It looks so much more professional.
May 16th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
I thought the video was relevant to the project and, I think it would help with any open source project because, it goes over; staying on track when people become to detail focused when you need to get things finished. To remember to filter through the forums and comments of the people over seeing the project. It more or less just come to mind when I was reading some of the comments for this film and I thought I would share.
May 17th, 2010 at 5:51 am
A lot of the little errors and details that get noticed by the animation nerds will not be noticed by the rest of the world. Staying focused on the big picture is more important. All of the content you guys have released on the project has made me jump out of my seat from excitement. It’s both inspiring and making me get sweaty just thinking about what Blender has/is becoming though it all. Keep at it.
May 17th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Thanks for sparing the time to share what you have of your progress during the making of Sintel, as well as, of your thoughts you guys expressed in this reaction video. I have never doubted this team’s ability to turn this into an awesome production. I’ve been curious enough to stop by for a peak at your updates here now and then, ever so eager to see how Blender’s current upgrade and rebuild process influences your work in this production and vice-versa.
I have not noticed any flaws. Then again, I have not been looking for them. I just assumed, if anything was “off,” you guys would figure it out on your own and correct it. As an artist, I understand the creative process includes going back to make changes here and there to further enhance the details. It’s mightly generous of you guys to share works in progress and to let us see what you have so far. It’s been quite educational and fascinating. Again, thank-you. I hope, some of this content (including your responses) is included as bonus features on the purchasable disks.
May 17th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
It didn’t register to me at first, but upon re-reading some Durian Team responses, I finally saw that it was not a reaction video (as given the impression through word choice at the Blender Nation post about it). Instead, a documentary by Ali. I stand corrected. But still, I wish for Sintel to be a full feature (Maybe, someday?) … followed by bonus features to include Ali’s documentary.
May 17th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
Van Fossen, we all do wish it could be a fulll feature. It would require a tremendous amount of resources though….particularly financial, which will determine how everything flows.
Maybe some goodwill people are out there and we could be “lucky” like “9” and get some huge donation/sponsorship.
that would be nice….!
May 17th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
You guys are doing great, the renders were great. Keep going I am really looking forward to the final release.
May 19th, 2010 at 12:34 am
Forget all other comments!
Man, very nice job!!!
You are doing things, not trying!!!
Congratulations!!
May 21st, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Nah! this was one of those moments where lack of inflections in comments meant they could be taken the worst possible way.
And the response from the team in this video was more than fair when put in context, but as it was out of context a bit, the comments here indicate a slight misunderstanding about what the team was trying to say. It was one of those tense moments like people being stuck together in one room for too long and needed to get something off their chest. Now we’ve all done so. GROUP HUGS!! 🙂 and everything is well again!
The trailer is amazing and I can’t wait for more!
As I get it, in summary from the video in this post: “We wish we had more time to do it better! But it’s still going to be great! You can’t see what we can yet, but trust us! It’s going to be awesome!” I think that’s what you were saying right?
@Carsten You just had me falling off my chair with laughter. Well done, sorry Nathan, but it was funny! 🙂
May 21st, 2010 at 1:59 pm
about spanish subtitles.
on 00:13 “¿Qué te trae a la tierra de los porteros?” “porteros” sounds like goalkeepers from football or disco doormen. “guardianes” or “celadores” or “centinelas” are better and they sound more epic!
on 00:19 “Estoy buscando a alguien..” Use “…” ellipsis instead of “..”
on 00:39 “Una peligrosa misión para un cazador solitario..” “cazador” and “solitario” are for male. Must be “cazadora” and “solitaria” and “…” ellipsis instead of “..”
on 00.43 “He estado solo desde que tengo memoria..” The same. Use “sola” instead of “solo” and “…” ellipsis instead of “..”
May 21st, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Think we deserved a lil feedback/spanking on our sometimes maybe not very objective criticism…I think people are so hyped with this that they tend to take this over, telling the team what they think should do….But anyhow as we can see it everyone is doing a helluva job, especially in this extraordinary case of an open movie where things have a tight schedule, a limited budget and a small number of people….Even better we are able to look into the production and have the chance comment on the stuff we see. For most other movies this isn’t even an option so in the end its ‘take it or leave it’…Anyway we love the Durian Team aswell, from artists to coders and to the dog the mimes the dragon. You are all doing absolutely great and blender 2.5 is getting hotter each day!!!I wish this project would go on forever since this is a great time for the fans on the net…might be living hell for the team tho, so its good that this is going for completion these days!Best regards, keep up the good work, really appreciate what is done for the community!
+1
June 2nd, 2010 at 12:26 am
You guys are awesome. Sorry, I really don’t have the time to make a huge encouraging post like some of the other commenters here, but just keep on keeping on. The movie will be great, don’t even worry about it. Each of you just do your best, and it will become a great reflection of that.
P.S. I love Ton’s bit at the end. “Making one graphic is easy… But try to make seventeen thousand? Ahh!” Priceless.
June 9th, 2010 at 8:11 am
I am honestly more troubled that the team cannot accept criticism than any technical issues with the film and shows a degree of unprofessionalism.
Fix what you can, make the best film possible and stop making excuses!