Sintel, the Durian Open Movie Project

Hello folks!

Okay, there’s been a lot going on the past few weeks. Sorry it’s taken so long to get a blogpost up! Things are really heating up here and I’m happy to report that we’re all beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel! There’s a LOT of work left but it seems *almost* doable!

So although we do have some stuff to show ya, I thought I’d let you know what I’ve been up to recently– I just got back from the States! Just had a short, sorely needed trip to Savannah, Georgia and back. I was nervous the project would totally collapse without me (who am I kidding?)– but seriously, it was nice to not have to scream at Blender for a short while! 😛

Ton asked me to give everyone a full report, so I hastily put together a home-movie-style video of the trip. (Should be entertaining enough, though I beg you not to screencapture my face onto anything else. I feel like I’m handing you some serious ammunition.)

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Yo!, Pablo here. *hey before you scroll down to the video, this is work in progress!*

Remember that old blogpost I did the first week I got here?, well, once that shot was “there”, I moved on to light another environment for 2 weeks, then another environment for 2 more weeks.. so I left all the other shots for Sintel’s cabin abandoned, until a week ago that I got time to actually work on it and call it finished.

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Dear community,

Here’s a much needed update on the animation front of project Durian. I’d like to take you through some of the challenges and workflows that we employ here in the studio.

We now have a little four man club of animators, (Lee, Jeremy, Beorn and myself) that works as its own mini-team. We have our own dailies, we critique each others work, we help others out whenever we can, and having worked as the sole full-time animator on Big Buck Bunny, this is truly a relief! We have some really positive, respectful team dynamics amongst the animators, which really makes this movie a joy to work on. Of course, I’ve only been here for a few montha, so I’m relieved of any fatigue and burnout (so far!).

However, even with more people and a strong team, this film is no walk in the park. The complexity, the variety and the realism makes the animation particularly difficult to pull off well. You instantly spot when something is off when you get close to realism, and some things are just really hard to get right. Luckily, it can also be very rewarding too. Once the animation is completed, it’s incredibly satisfying to see it nicely lit and rendered by the render team. Suddenly it looks gorgeous!

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After many weeks of fighting technology, here’s a first glimpse of this wonderful short film that’s shaping up here.

With big thanks to Jan Morgenstern for the epic soundtrack, which as usual makes our humble creations look so much better!

We have less than 2 months now to finish this completely… imagine the tension that’s building up here to get everything perfect. For today, we’ll celebrate a big step forward. Enjoy!

/download/

-Ton-

All 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

Some renders:

Have a good day,

soenke

Hi all,

We’re very proud to present Sintel’s movie logo, created by designer Nick Bueltge! We will work with him on a couple of minor tweaks, like for usage in the various cases on shirts, in the film, and for the dvd.

Making this choice wasn’t simple, there were a lot of good proposals. Personally I liked his design for his elegant and very professional styling. The text and logo are slightly feminine and spiritual, which reflects in the film.

Additional good news: trailer is nearly finished… we keep fighting all kinds of nasty technical issues. It’s good on one hand – it improves blender – but it’s also frustrating… hopefully we have it in the weekend for you! We’ll also blog about every detail in making it. 🙂

For everyone who submitted work: THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE DESIGNS, YOU ALL ROCK!

Here’s the thread with all design proposals.

-Ton-