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"Babylon 5: The Lost Tales" VFX Discussion (Spoilers)
Guys and gals,
With today being the launch day for this disc, I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on the VFX work, just to get a bunch of opinions and see what everyone thinks. Everyone here at Atmosphere really worked hard on this show, just to try and meet our own expectations within the short deadline. Long hours, frayed nerves, sacrificed elements and missed errors are the nature of VFX work under what some would, and did, call a "ridiculous" schedule. Still, I'm proud of everyone for getting the show done and doing what I consider to be a pretty good job. I hope some of you have the chance to watch the show in HD!
So, let's hear some thoughts on what you liked, what you didn't, and what you were hoping for VFX wise. Personally, I'm really hoping WB gives the green light for more B5 "Lost Tales", and I'd love to work on it again.
Fingers crossed!
With today being the launch day for this disc, I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on the VFX work, just to get a bunch of opinions and see what everyone thinks. Everyone here at Atmosphere really worked hard on this show, just to try and meet our own expectations within the short deadline. Long hours, frayed nerves, sacrificed elements and missed errors are the nature of VFX work under what some would, and did, call a "ridiculous" schedule. Still, I'm proud of everyone for getting the show done and doing what I consider to be a pretty good job. I hope some of you have the chance to watch the show in HD!
So, let's hear some thoughts on what you liked, what you didn't, and what you were hoping for VFX wise. Personally, I'm really hoping WB gives the green light for more B5 "Lost Tales", and I'd love to work on it again.
Fingers crossed!
Comments
I'm very impressed with the FX work. The Station in particular looks much better. The number of lights on the station has increased substantially, and it looks great. The increase in texture detail helps convey the shear size of B5. Of course the higher poly count and addition of extra greeblies/nurnies helps, too. :)
Some of the compositing work is great, and some not quite so great. But all in all, it's leaps and bounds beyond anything in the original series. Most of the greenscreen work is really great. Even on the standard definition DVD, you can see how well characters are composited with the background. Even individual hairs are preserved. Great stuff.
Effects such as light blooms and depth of field are used well but not overused.
I was also impressed with scenes that involved heavy compositing without locking the camera down, such as the scene with Sheridan in the Starfury (no spoilers here, because that shot can be seen in the trailer). Match-moving the CGI with the live Fury cockpit was very well done.
Dug
Here's hoping WB decide to produce some more :)
Worf
PS Do you know how many sales WB wants before the go-ahead is given?
If I ask that question enough someone will give me the answer. ( I hope )
Anyway, the VFX was wonderful! I just finished watching it and I have to say that I'm impressed. The effects were very convincing. B5 never looked so good and Spoiler: neither has the Starfury. Loved it! :D
PS Do you know how many sales WB wants before the go-ahead is given?
[/QUOTE]
I've been lurking on most of the B5 forums for a while to see what people were saying, so I don't plan to ignore them now that everyone has something to talk about. That being said, I'm just curious to get some opinions, not to have an in depth conversation about the ins and outs of the show from my end.
I don't know anything about the production beyond the VFX stuff, and even then not everything. The best way I could put it would be to say "I just work here". WB's budgetary plans or goals is very, very far removed. I'm just hoping for more like everyone else.
The opening shot in the hangar: It took a minute to realize they were on a catwalk ABOVE the main bay, secondly there seemed to be a strange comp issue where lockleys face went blurry on an edge for a second. Also, it just didn't look quite "right".(However, the shots at the end of the second story in the bay looked much better)
Interior of Valen class: It took a bit to realize we were looking through the HUD.(not your fault, more directorial issue).
Those were my only nitpicks. I thought everything else looked awesome. It's nice to see a modern B5 and ships....
Dug
I consider myself a B5, CGI, and VFX nut. I have closely followed the series from day one and was one of those guys who recorded each episode (on a VCR..BLAH!) and then paused the CGI shots and moved them through frame by frame to figure out how certain shots are done.
I used to do my own B5 Lightwave animation since season one first aired on my little old Amiga 1200 (with 10 megs or ram...ooooh! A lot at the time) using Lightwave 3.5! I've gotten more updated since then :p, but you might have seen my B5 works on the net at various B5 sites.
This includes my Drazi Sunhawk, Vorlon Fighter, and Narn Jumpgate all made in Lightwave. Like the following...
[url]http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-6414094234410701090[/url]
I heard Alec that you used some of the communities B5 Lightwave 3d models as a reference since many (or all?) of the original models were lost! I was wondering if you used my Drazi Sunhawk at all since I noticed some flying by in the first shot with the other ships flying by! ;)
Needless to say my dream job would be to work at a place like Atmosphere like you Alec!
As far as B5: The Lost Tales goes.... fantastic work! Most people don't appreciate the wonder that you guys did in such a short time! The details in everything is incredible compared to the original series! The Jumpgate and Vortex are much better looking with lots of little extra details and effects in there.
The B5 station is wonderful! The outer docking bay entrance left me floored! No more lego-block like details! And no more of the flat and bland "Generic Panels" texture from Lightwave that was overused so much in the original series! Nice to see lots of 3D surfaces and details. Also nice to see real looking lights instead of just simple Lens Flares! I also like the fact that you have the words "Babylon 5" on the outside of the station...something I never saw in the original! Nice to see the top of the station getting a 3d surfaced treatment too! (That was the part of the old station that really bugged me.... again, Generic Panels.iff :laugh:)
The inner docking bay was also VERY nice! Unlike the original series, all of the close-up shots looked just as detailed as they were far away!
The FIRE shots were VERY nice and smooth! Very convincing!
The rotating background in Lockley's quarters looked a little awkward, but were good considering the camera movement.
The nebulas are much nicer looking (and the textures for them aren't CUT-OFF at the bottom like in the original series)!
The various recreated ships were staggering! The shuttle no longer is a big lego block assembly! The Centauri War Cruisers are much more convincing now! Sheridan's Presidential Ship is beautiful! I noticed some ships in the background were new ships not from the series! So which ships were NOT recreated by you guys but were the original models you recovered???
The StarFurys!!! My God! The detail you put into those ships almost made me cry! Again, nice brushed-metal looking bump-mapped surfaces with no more "Generic Panels". The non-static camera movement (not to mention the matched light and shadow movement) of Sheridan in his cockpit was beautiful! The detail in the engines and their thrusters....
The brief battle scene was very nice! The explosion of ships and their debris was total eye candy!
Minbar from space and on land is as beautiful as I remember!
I could go on and on..... buy needless to say you guys at Atmosphere has done a real service to the Bablyon 5 fans out there! You have given the show a complete face-lift without sacrificing its original beaty and design. This is how we fans have wanted to see Babylon 5 for years! Thank-you, and I hope you get more chances to show your work in future B5 creations!
EDIT: There, that's better.
Now that I've seen the entire movie, I can say that some of the more subtle effects were pretty cool, such as the heat distortion on the Furies in the docking bay (and in the thruster fire), and the smudged Fury cockpit windows. Very neat stuff.
I consider myself a B5, CGI, and VFX nut. I have closely followed the series from day one and was one of those guys who recorded each episode (on a VCR..BLAH!) and then paused the CGI shots and moved them through frame by frame to figure out how certain shots are done.
I used to do my own B5 Lightwave animation since season one first aired on my little old Amiga 1200 (with 10 megs or ram...ooooh! A lot at the time) using Lightwave 3.5! I've gotten more updated since then :p, but you might have seen my B5 works on the net at various B5 sites.
This includes my Drazi Sunhawk, Vorlon Fighter, and Narn Jumpgate all made in Lightwave. Like the following...
[url]http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-6414094234410701090[/url]
I heard Alec that you used some of the communities B5 Lightwave 3d models as a reference since many (or all?) of the original models were lost! I was wondering if you used my Drazi Sunhawk at all since I noticed some flying by in the first shot with the other ships flying by! ;)
Needless to say my dream job would be to work at a place like Atmosphere like you Alec!
As far as B5: The Lost Tales goes.... fantastic work! Most people don't appreciate the wonder that you guys did in such a short time! The details in everything is incredible compared to the original series! The Jumpgate and Vortex are much better looking with lots of little extra details and effects in there.
The B5 station is wonderful! The outer docking bay entrance left me floored! No more lego-block like details! And no more of the flat and bland "Generic Panels" texture from Lightwave that was overused so much in the original series! Nice to see lots of 3D surfaces and details. Also nice to see real looking lights instead of just simple Lens Flares! I also like the fact that you have the words "Babylon 5" on the outside of the station...something I never saw in the original! Nice to see the top of the station getting a 3d surfaced treatment too! (That was the part of the old station that really bugged me.... again, Generic Panels.iff :laugh:)
The inner docking bay was also VERY nice! Unlike the original series, all of the close-up shots looked just as detailed as they were far away!
The FIRE shots were VERY nice and smooth! Very convincing!
The rotating background in Lockley's quarters looked a little awkward, but were good considering the camera movement.
The nebulas are much nicer looking (and the textures for them aren't CUT-OFF at the bottom like in the original series)!
The various recreated ships were staggering! The shuttle no longer is a big lego block assembly! The Centauri War Cruisers are much more convincing now! Sheridan's Presidential Ship is beautiful! I noticed some ships in the background were new ships not from the series! So which ships were NOT recreated by you guys but were the original models you recovered???
The StarFurys!!! My God! The detail you put into those ships almost made me cry! Again, nice brushed-metal looking bump-mapped surfaces with no more "Generic Panels". The non-static camera movement (not to mention the matched light and shadow movement) of Sheridan in his cockpit was beautiful! The detail in the engines and their thrusters....
The brief battle scene was very nice! The explosion of ships and their debris was total eye candy!
Minbar from space and on land is as beautiful as I remember!
I could go on and on..... but needless to say you guys at Atmosphere have done a real service to the Bablyon 5 fans out there! You have given the show a complete face-lift without sacrificing its original beaty and design. This is how we fans have wanted to see Babylon 5 for years! Thank-you, and I hope you get more chances to show your work in future B5 creations!
Spoilers Perhaps:
View from Lockley's quarters out to the rotating station :)
Warlocks! Starfurries! Wonderful lighting on B5! Loved the views of the docking bays. Fantastic view of Minbar and Future New York. Space Normal/Hyper/Other looked great too.
Only minor hopes:
Missed the view of the center of the station and gardens, that’s one thing I'd really like to see. Omegas next time too (best sci-fi ship ever)
I'm very very happy ~ I hope someone who worked on this is reading here and is proud of all of the great work. Love the new fresh look.
Gorgeous work. I don't have an eye for detail like some here, but what you did was amazing.
Though my question remains........[SIZE="1"][COLOR="DarkOrchid"]quantum space? [/COLOR][/SIZE] And also while the jump portals are intensly amazing, I think I still prefer CtA/Crusade style the best, in terms of style, not technical.
I would have loved more time to finesse a couple of shots, even just a week would have been a God send, but such is the world of deadlines. Mostly I would have loved our compositors to have a bit more time. We were delivering CG to them almost until the last minute and it was difficult on their end. I hate doing that, but there was just no way to avoid it on this project.
Only a few fan models were used as reference. I did some renders of a bunch of them to get people used to the ships and their names, to help decide which ships to ultimately build new versions of, but that's about the extent of it. Eventually we managed to get a copy of the old B5 library, or at least a partial copy, and that's where all of those background ships came from. There are no fan models in the show anywhere, obviously. Also, Fabio Passaro, who built the station, had some old B5 models he'd done for AOG I believe and I put those into a few shots as well.
Also in major films (like Star Wars,etc...) what is the render resolution for those? I always wondered.....
Where did the partial library or original B5 objects come from? Where have they been hiding?????
Again great work!
:p
You guys did a beautiful job, every one of the VFX sequences were jaw dropping!!
Can't thank you enough for all of the hours that it had to take!
I think congratulations are in order
DANG I miss that place.
I'm not a great fan of green/bluescreen stuff, but this time it really didnt bother me so much... Might be because its Babylon 5 we are talkin' here.
Can't wait to see more!
Since when did station officials meet people in the docking bay?
In this case, it makes sense, because the case with Simon Burke was very unique, and Lochley wanted to take the priest to him immediately, without wasting time.
But let's keep this on the topic of VFX.
Oh gosh it's good to see the old station again! And Starfuries, and the Vorchron, and I guess the Belvarian cruiser is now Canon (Wow for that one, LOL) And just...oh man makes me happy. :D
Btw x2
Why Starfury's? Where are the Thunderbolts? I mean, Starfury looks great yes, but not a single Thunderbolt, anywhere.... ;(
1) Minbar with 'grass'. Nice to see something growing there.
2) Minbari ships look good. I noticed there blue in the last shot. good.
3) Centari ships look like the old constructor toys. Too much like Leggos. They have lost there smooth Imperial French-German look. Worse then Klingon.
Why are they gray? That was one of the things B5 got right. Little gray.
4) Earth ships were blocky. Some things don't change. ;) Earth ships weren't gray. Gray is bad.
5) Not really your job but,.. Why were Sheridon and Ventari not wareing seatbelts? We ware them and we have gravity.
6) In Lokley's room the spin of B5 seemed to be the wrong way.
7) The docking bay ( wrong term? ) is much better. too much gray though.
8) Saucers look good Humm no Narn? Drazi ships looked ok. They got rid of there bright engines? I see the gray demon got them too.
9) the war seen looked good. Great green decal. ;)
10) B5 is bigger then it was. 2ed set of solar come docking fins. B5 was made on the cheep. It should be smaller. Other then the phallus jokes and it being bigger the station looked fine.
There now change everything for me. go, now.