I have been testing the Faceposer and Hammer tools which will be used in the final film and I have prepared a test video which is also a youtube subscriber announcement. This video shows how faceposer can manipulate and animate an NPC in the source engine for the purposes of making a film.
Link to Dodge Charger model progress thread here.
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Thursday, 22 October 2009
From Mrs S
I really like what you've done. It's got your usual witty trademark! One comment though, you might want to reduce what Anonymous tells your main guy. I think there's a danger of there being too much exposition in his speeches. Try making Anonymous more enigmatic, say less and just hint at what's going on. Perhaps if you did this, the viewer would have the uncomfortable feeling that Anonymous is actually messing with the main guy's head...
Great stuff so far Chris.
Great stuff so far Chris.
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Storyboard
This animated storyboard will help me to time scenes and plan camera angles and actions in the scenes.
Not all of the sound is final and there are certain camera angles that will probably be changed in the final film. There is also a mistake at 0:48 where the debris is falling from the sky instead of from a crane, this is because I drew that frame of the storyboard while I was following a slightly different script to the final version. Despite this the reaction of Thomas and the camera angles will be the same just with a crane above the buildings.
I will now commence construction on the film. I need to learn how to properly use the tools available to me to make certain scenes, this includes: Faceposer and Hammer, these tools will be used to control the virtual actors and construct the locations respectively. I will be following a number of tutorials in order to learn how to utilise the full potential of this software and I will post test videos to show my progress.
Not all of the sound is final and there are certain camera angles that will probably be changed in the final film. There is also a mistake at 0:48 where the debris is falling from the sky instead of from a crane, this is because I drew that frame of the storyboard while I was following a slightly different script to the final version. Despite this the reaction of Thomas and the camera angles will be the same just with a crane above the buildings.
I will now commence construction on the film. I need to learn how to properly use the tools available to me to make certain scenes, this includes: Faceposer and Hammer, these tools will be used to control the virtual actors and construct the locations respectively. I will be following a number of tutorials in order to learn how to utilise the full potential of this software and I will post test videos to show my progress.
Friday, 16 October 2009
Script - Second Draft
Foreword: I have shortened certain areas of the script and removed certain events to make it more streamlined in order to fit more easily into the five minute time constraint. I have also added and edited a few parts to make the story seem a bit more plausable.
INT.THOMAS'S HOME.MORNING
THOMAS'S alarm clock rings and its radio turns on, THOMAS wakes up and gets out of bed.
INT.THOMAS'S CAR.MORNING
THOMAS is driving through the city in his car. He looks around, nothing new, everything is perfectly normal. He listens to the radio.
INT.THOMAS'S OFFICE.MIDDAY
THOMAS is working at his desk.
INT.OFFICE CAFFETERIA.MIDDAY
THOMAS is eating lunch with co-workers.
INT.THOMAS'S BEDROOM.NIGHT
THOMAS goes to bed.
-
INT.THOMAS'S HOME.MORNING
THOMAS'S alarm clock rings and its radio turns on, THOMAS wakes up and gets out of bed.
EXT.CITY.DAY
THOMAS is driving through the city in his car.
INT.THOMAS'S CAR.DAY
THOMAS listens to the radio. He looks into an alley as he is driving by and sees several dustbins and skips hovering in midair.
A truck passes in front of the alley, when THOMAS looks again all of the bins and skips are now in their normal places.
THOMAS shakes his head in disbelief, he isn't sure what he just saw.
THOMAS continues to drive along.
EXT.ROAD.DAY
Suddenly a pallet of bricks and other building material fall out of the sky in front of THOMAS'S car. THOMAS brakes to a halt and gets out of the car to investigate. THOMAS looks up and sees a crane working on a nearby building, the cable had snapped.
INT.THOMAS'S OFFICE.MIDDAY
THOMAS is working at his desk.
Other people in the office are working and walking around.
BARRY walks up to THOMAS.
A few minutes pass, everyone has left the office.
THOMAS receives a message on his computer and reads it.
THOMAS looks at the message, confused.
THOMAS gets up to look at BARRY'S desk but can't see him, he looks around but he can't see anyone else in the office.
THOMAS looks out of the window to see a helicopter diving out of control towards the building.
THOMAS runs for the exit.
The Helicopter crashes into the office, ripping everything to shreds.
INT.HALLWAY.MIDDAY
THOMAS runs from the office as it explodes and down the hallway.
THOMAS'S mobile phone rings, THOMAS answers.
THOMAS enters the elevator and presses the button to go down to the basement car park.
INT.ELEVATOR.MIDDAY
THOMAS looks across the elevator to see an advert for a soft drink.
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS drives out of the car park.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
Just ahead of THOMAS’S car a billboard falls from its mountings onto the road, THOMAS narrowly avoids it and drives on.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
THOMAS looks behind to see a black car closing in on him fast.
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS swerves the car across traffic into a side road. The sentinel’s car is forced to stay on the main road.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
The car explodes out of an alleyway sending litter and debris flying.
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS accelerates away with the sentinel in hot pursuit. THOMAS and the sentinel dodge through traffic.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
The sentinel comes alongside THOMAS and starts to sideswipe him almost crashing him head on into another vehicle.
THOMAS fights back and knocks the sentinel’s car into a drainage canal next to the road.
THOMAS breathes a sigh of relief believing he has escaped his attacker.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
The sentinel jumps out of the canal and sideswipes THOMAS’S car again, flipping it over. The sentinel crashes and is apparently killed.
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS gets out of the wrecked car and runs as fast as he can.
Behind THOMAS a loud crash is heard and he sees a large truck smashing through cars and road furniture heading directly for him.
THOMAS approaches the door.
The phone goes dead.
THOMAS opens the door but there is nothing but a brick wall behind it.
He looks behind to see the truck bearing down on him.
THOMAS braces himself. There is a bone shaking crash, then silence.
-
INT.THOMAS'S HOME.MORNING
THOMAS'S alarm clock rings and its radio turns on, THOMAS looks around in disbelief.
INT.THOMAS'S HOME.MORNING
THOMAS'S alarm clock rings and its radio turns on, THOMAS wakes up and gets out of bed.
RADIO ANNOUNCER
Hello there river city, it's 7:30 and it's looking to be a lovely Monday morning.
INT.THOMAS'S CAR.MORNING
THOMAS is driving through the city in his car. He looks around, nothing new, everything is perfectly normal. He listens to the radio.
INT.THOMAS'S OFFICE.MIDDAY
THOMAS is working at his desk.
INT.OFFICE CAFFETERIA.MIDDAY
THOMAS is eating lunch with co-workers.
INT.THOMAS'S BEDROOM.NIGHT
THOMAS goes to bed.
-
INT.THOMAS'S HOME.MORNING
THOMAS'S alarm clock rings and its radio turns on, THOMAS wakes up and gets out of bed.
RADIO ANNOUNCER
Hello there river city, it's 7:30 and it's looking to be a lovely Monday morning.
EXT.CITY.DAY
THOMAS is driving through the city in his car.
INT.THOMAS'S CAR.DAY
THOMAS listens to the radio. He looks into an alley as he is driving by and sees several dustbins and skips hovering in midair.
THOMAS
(incredulously)
What?
A truck passes in front of the alley, when THOMAS looks again all of the bins and skips are now in their normal places.
THOMAS shakes his head in disbelief, he isn't sure what he just saw.
THOMAS
Bloody hell, I'm loosing my mind.
THOMAS continues to drive along.
EXT.ROAD.DAY
Suddenly a pallet of bricks and other building material fall out of the sky in front of THOMAS'S car. THOMAS brakes to a halt and gets out of the car to investigate. THOMAS looks up and sees a crane working on a nearby building, the cable had snapped.
INT.THOMAS'S OFFICE.MIDDAY
THOMAS is working at his desk.
Other people in the office are working and walking around.
BARRY walks up to THOMAS.
BARRY
I heard about the accident, are you ok?
I heard about the accident, are you ok?
THOMAS
Yeah I'm fine, I wish management were as sympathetic; I've still got to do all this work. I'm really behind.
Yeah I'm fine, I wish management were as sympathetic; I've still got to do all this work. I'm really behind.
BARRY
Ok well, we're off to the cafeteria. I'll bring you back something.
Ok well, we're off to the cafeteria. I'll bring you back something.
THOMAS
Thanks
Thanks
A few minutes pass, everyone has left the office.
THOMAS receives a message on his computer and reads it.
ANONYMOUS
Thomas get out of there now, you are in danger!
THOMAS looks at the message, confused.
THOMAS
(Shouts across the office)
Barry is this you?
THOMAS gets up to look at BARRY'S desk but can't see him, he looks around but he can't see anyone else in the office.
THOMAS looks out of the window to see a helicopter diving out of control towards the building.
ANONYMOUS
Run damn it!
Run damn it!
THOMAS runs for the exit.
The Helicopter crashes into the office, ripping everything to shreds.
INT.HALLWAY.MIDDAY
THOMAS runs from the office as it explodes and down the hallway.
THOMAS'S mobile phone rings, THOMAS answers.
ANONYMOUS
Get to the elevator and go down to the parking lot.
Get to the elevator and go down to the parking lot.
THOMAS enters the elevator and presses the button to go down to the basement car park.
INT.ELEVATOR.MIDDAY
THOMAS
What the hell is going on?
What the hell is going on?
ANONYMOUS
Alright listen carefully, the world you are currently in is not real. You and everyone in this city have been trapped in a computer simulation as part of an experiment into human decision making and brain chemistry. All your actions and reactions are recorded. Everything you hear, see and do reduced to nothing but data. It's the largest and most thorough experiment into human society ever made. Behavioral patterns, municipal services, emergency response, hell even your individual reactions to advertisements, everything!
Alright listen carefully, the world you are currently in is not real. You and everyone in this city have been trapped in a computer simulation as part of an experiment into human decision making and brain chemistry. All your actions and reactions are recorded. Everything you hear, see and do reduced to nothing but data. It's the largest and most thorough experiment into human society ever made. Behavioral patterns, municipal services, emergency response, hell even your individual reactions to advertisements, everything!
THOMAS looks across the elevator to see an advert for a soft drink.
THOMAS
(distressed)
This is sick! We're people, not bloody lab rats! There's no way this can be real!
ANONYMOUS
Don't kid yourself Thomas, you've seen it; the mistakes, the repetitiveness. It's the same day of your life just played over and over. It’s nothing but a simulation being run for the benefit of scientists and billionaire investors.
Don't kid yourself Thomas, you've seen it; the mistakes, the repetitiveness. It's the same day of your life just played over and over. It’s nothing but a simulation being run for the benefit of scientists and billionaire investors.
THOMAS
So why the hell are they trying to kill me?
So why the hell are they trying to kill me?
ANONYMOUS
The system is entirely self governing. When it saw that you doubted the reality of this simulation it tried to delete you before you infected others with your knowledge. Now that you know it's not real the system won't stop until you're destroyed.
The system is entirely self governing. When it saw that you doubted the reality of this simulation it tried to delete you before you infected others with your knowledge. Now that you know it's not real the system won't stop until you're destroyed.
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS drives out of the car park.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
THOMAS
So how the hell do I get out?
So how the hell do I get out?
ANONYMOUS
I’ve hacked an exit point into the simulation; it’s in a deserted industrial zone so less of the systems run time is dedicated to scanning that area. The exit point will allow you to leave the system safely. The dangerous part is actually getting there; the system can change small details of the world without the inhabitants knowing in order to keep them under control. Just accidents, any observer will simply see it as fate, perhaps an act of god… well they’re half right.
I’ve hacked an exit point into the simulation; it’s in a deserted industrial zone so less of the systems run time is dedicated to scanning that area. The exit point will allow you to leave the system safely. The dangerous part is actually getting there; the system can change small details of the world without the inhabitants knowing in order to keep them under control. Just accidents, any observer will simply see it as fate, perhaps an act of god… well they’re half right.
THOMAS
Save the philosophy for when I’m free, where do I go?
Save the philosophy for when I’m free, where do I go?
ANONYMOUS
Just follow the road straight ahead for – Wait stop the car!
Just follow the road straight ahead for – Wait stop the car!
THOMAS
What, what is it?
What, what is it?
ANONYMOUS
Stop now!
Stop now!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
Just ahead of THOMAS’S car a billboard falls from its mountings onto the road, THOMAS narrowly avoids it and drives on.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
ANONYMOUS
See, anything can happen.
(Pause)
Oh shit!
See, anything can happen.
(Pause)
Oh shit!
THOMAS
What now?
What now?
ANONYMOUS
The system has issued a sentinel to terminate you, it must have realised I was helping you escape.
The system has issued a sentinel to terminate you, it must have realised I was helping you escape.
THOMAS
Can I still get to the exit point?
Can I still get to the exit point?
ANONYMOUS
Yes but you’ve got to be quick, now that the system is aware of my influence it will try to sever my connection to the system and remove the exit point. Damn the sentinel is just a few seconds behind you, put your foot down!
Yes but you’ve got to be quick, now that the system is aware of my influence it will try to sever my connection to the system and remove the exit point. Damn the sentinel is just a few seconds behind you, put your foot down!
THOMAS looks behind to see a black car closing in on him fast.
ANONYMOUS
Ok go left now!
Ok go left now!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS swerves the car across traffic into a side road. The sentinel’s car is forced to stay on the main road.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
THOMAS
(Optimistically)
I think I lost him.
(Optimistically)
I think I lost him.
ANONYMOUS
Hold on, he’s coming from the alley.
Hold on, he’s coming from the alley.
The car explodes out of an alleyway sending litter and debris flying.
ANONYMOUS
Go! Go!
Go! Go!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS accelerates away with the sentinel in hot pursuit. THOMAS and the sentinel dodge through traffic.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
ANONYMOUS
He’s gaining on you!
He’s gaining on you!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
The sentinel comes alongside THOMAS and starts to sideswipe him almost crashing him head on into another vehicle.
THOMAS fights back and knocks the sentinel’s car into a drainage canal next to the road.
THOMAS breathes a sigh of relief believing he has escaped his attacker.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
ANONYMOUS
Watch out!
Watch out!
The sentinel jumps out of the canal and sideswipes THOMAS’S car again, flipping it over. The sentinel crashes and is apparently killed.
ANONYMOUS
Thomas! Get up now, move!
Thomas! Get up now, move!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS gets out of the wrecked car and runs as fast as he can.
ANONYMOUS
Ok it’s just down this alley. Open the door at the end and we will handle the rest.
Ok it’s just down this alley. Open the door at the end and we will handle the rest.
THOMAS
Ok
Ok
Behind THOMAS a loud crash is heard and he sees a large truck smashing through cars and road furniture heading directly for him.
ANONYMOUS
Quick run!
Quick run!
THOMAS approaches the door.
ANONYMOUS
Shit they’ve found me, they’ve destroyed –
Shit they’ve found me, they’ve destroyed –
The phone goes dead.
THOMAS opens the door but there is nothing but a brick wall behind it.
He looks behind to see the truck bearing down on him.
THOMAS braces himself. There is a bone shaking crash, then silence.
-
INT.THOMAS'S HOME.MORNING
THOMAS'S alarm clock rings and its radio turns on, THOMAS looks around in disbelief.
RADIO ANNOUNCER
Hello there river city, it's 7:30 and it's looking to be a lovely Monday morning.
Hello there river city, it's 7:30 and it's looking to be a lovely Monday morning.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
From Mrs S
This is fun. I'm a bit concerned about the amount of exposition in the script. Artistically, it might be better to find a way around this to make the action less wordy.
Sunday, 11 October 2009
Script - The Day The World Went Wrong
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY People are running in fear, trying to escape the city. THOMAS collapses and goes unconscious.
INT.THOMAS'S HOME.MORNING
THOMAS'S alarm clock rings and its radio turns on, THOMAS realizes he was dreaming and gets up.
INT.THOMAS'S CAR.MORNING
THOMAS is driving through the city in his car. He looks around, nothing new, everything is perfectly normal. He listens to the radio.
INT.THOMAS'S OFFICE.MIDDAY
THOMAS is working at his desk.
INT.THOMAS'S KITCHEN.NIGHT
THOMAS is making a microwave dinner.
INT.THOMAS'S BEDROOM.NIGHT
THOMAS goes to bed.
-
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY The army is trying to contain the virus. People are running in fear, trying to escape the city. THOMAS collapses and goes unconscious.
INT.THOMAS'S HOME.MORNING
THOMAS'S alarm clock rings and its radio turns on, THOMAS realizes he was dreaming and gets up.
EXT.CITY.DAY THOMAS is driving through the city in his car.
INT.THOMAS'S CAR.DAY
THOMAS listens to the radio. He looks into an alley as he is driving by and sees several dustbins and skips circling through the air.
A truck passes in front of the alley, when THOMAS looks again all of the bins and skips are now in their normal places.
THOMAS shakes his head in disbelief, he is sure of what he just saw.
EXT.ROAD.DAY
Suddenly several bins and skips fall out of the sky in front of THOMAS'S car. THOMAS brakes to a halt and THOMAS gets out of the car to investigate. THOMAS looks up and sees a crane on the building across the road; he assumes that the debris must have come from there.
INT.THOMAS'S OFFICE.MIDDAY
THOMAS is working at his desk.
Other people in the office are working and walking to the cafeteria.
THOMAS receives a message on his computer and reads it.
THOMAS looks at the message, confused.
THOMAS gets up to look into BARRY'S cubicle but can't see him, he looks around but he can't see anyone else in the office.
THOMAS looks at the computer.
THOMAS looks out of the window to see a helicopter diving out of control towards the building.
THOMAS runs for the exit.
The Helicopter crashes into the office, ripping everything to shreds.
INT.HALLWAY.MIDDAY
THOMAS runs from the office as it explodes and down the hallway to the elevator.
THOMAS enters the elevator and presses the button to go down to the basement car park.
INT.LIFT.MIDDAY
THOMAS'S mobile phone rings, THOMAS answers.
ANONYMOUS
Don't kid yourself Thomas, you've seen it; the mistakes, the repetitiveness. It's the same day of your life just played over and over. It’s nothing but a simulation being run for the benefit of scientists and billionaire investors.
THOMAS
So why the hell are they trying to kill me?
ANONYMOUS
The system is entirely self governing; there are too many people to be monitored by human staff. When it saw that you doubted the reality of this simulation it tried to delete you before you infected others with your knowledge. Now that you know it's not real it won't stop.
THOMAS
(Exasperated)
How did this happen? You can't just make a whole city's worth of people just vanish!
ANONYMOUS
ANONYMOUS
I’ve hacked an exit point into the simulation; it’s in a deserted industrial zone so less of the systems run time is dedicated to scanning that area. The exit point will allow you to leave the system safely. The dangerous part is actually getting there; the system can change small details of the world without the inhabitants knowing in order to keep them under control. Just accidents, any observer will simply see it as fate, perhaps an act of god… well they’re half right.
THOMAS
Save the philosophy for when I’m free, where do I go?
ANONYMOUS
Just follow the road straight ahead for – Wait stop the car!
THOMAS
What, what is it?
ANONYMOUS
Stop now!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
THOMAS
What now?
ANONYMOUS
The system has issued a sentinel to terminate you, it must have realised I was helping you escape.
THOMAS
Can I still get to the exit point?
ANONYMOUS
Yes but you’ve got to be quick, now that the system is aware of my influence it will try to sever my connection to the system and remove the exit point. Damn the sentinel is a few seconds behind you, put your foot down!
THOMAS looks behind to see a black car closing in on him fast.
ANONYMOUS
Ok go left now!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS swerves the car across traffic into the side road. The sentinel’s car is forced to stay on the main road.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
The car explodes out of an alleyway sending litter and debris flying.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
The sentinel comes alongside THOMAS and starts to sideswipe him. THOMAS fights back and knocks the sentinel’s car into a drainage canal next to the road. THOMAS breathes a sigh of relief believing he has escaped his attacker.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
The sentinel jumps out of the canal and sideswipes THOMAS’S car again, flipping it over. The sentinel crashes and is apparently killed.
ANONYMOUS
Thomas! Get up now, move!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS gets out of the wrecked car and runs as fast as he can.
THOMAS
Ok
THOMAS approaches the door.
ANONYMOUS
Shit they’ve found me, they’ve destroyed –
The phone goes dead.
INT.THOMAS'S HOME.MORNING
THOMAS'S alarm clock rings and its radio turns on, THOMAS realizes he was dreaming and gets up.
RADIO ANNOUNCER
Hello there river city, it's 7:30 and it's looking to be a lovely Monday morning.
INT.THOMAS'S CAR.MORNING
THOMAS is driving through the city in his car. He looks around, nothing new, everything is perfectly normal. He listens to the radio.
INT.THOMAS'S OFFICE.MIDDAY
THOMAS is working at his desk.
INT.THOMAS'S KITCHEN.NIGHT
THOMAS is making a microwave dinner.
INT.THOMAS'S BEDROOM.NIGHT
THOMAS goes to bed.
-
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY The army is trying to contain the virus. People are running in fear, trying to escape the city. THOMAS collapses and goes unconscious.
INT.THOMAS'S HOME.MORNING
THOMAS'S alarm clock rings and its radio turns on, THOMAS realizes he was dreaming and gets up.
RADIO ANNOUNCER
Hello there river city, it's 7:30 and it's looking to be a lovely Monday morning.
EXT.CITY.DAY THOMAS is driving through the city in his car.
INT.THOMAS'S CAR.DAY
THOMAS listens to the radio. He looks into an alley as he is driving by and sees several dustbins and skips circling through the air.
THOMAS
(incredulously)
What?
THOMAS shakes his head in disbelief, he is sure of what he just saw.
THOMAS
Bloody hell, I'm loosing my mind.
THOMAS continues to drive along.
EXT.ROAD.DAY
Suddenly several bins and skips fall out of the sky in front of THOMAS'S car. THOMAS brakes to a halt and THOMAS gets out of the car to investigate. THOMAS looks up and sees a crane on the building across the road; he assumes that the debris must have come from there.
INT.THOMAS'S OFFICE.MIDDAY
THOMAS is working at his desk.
Other people in the office are working and walking to the cafeteria.
THOMAS receives a message on his computer and reads it.
ANONYMOUS
Thomas get out of there now, you are in danger!
THOMAS looks at the message, confused.
THOMAS
(Shouts across the office)
Barry is this you?
THOMAS gets up to look into BARRY'S cubicle but can't see him, he looks around but he can't see anyone else in the office.
THOMAS looks at the computer.
ANONYMOUS Run damn it!
THOMAS looks out of the window to see a helicopter diving out of control towards the building.
THOMAS runs for the exit.
The Helicopter crashes into the office, ripping everything to shreds.
INT.HALLWAY.MIDDAY
THOMAS runs from the office as it explodes and down the hallway to the elevator.
THOMAS enters the elevator and presses the button to go down to the basement car park.
INT.LIFT.MIDDAY
THOMAS'S mobile phone rings, THOMAS answers.
THOMAS Alright what the hell is going on?
ANONYMOUS Listen carefully, the world you are currently in is not real. You and everyone in this city have been trapped in a computer simulation as part of an experiment into human decision making and brain chemistry. You and ten million other people, all your actions and reactions are recorded. Everything you hear, see and do reduced to nothing but data. It's the largest and most thorough experiment into human society ever made. Behavioral patterns, municipal services, emergency response, hell even your individual reactions to advertisements, everything!
THOMAS looks across the elevator to see an advert for a soft drink.
THOMAS looks across the elevator to see an advert for a soft drink.
THOMAS
(distressed)
This is sick! We're people, not bloody lab rats! There's no way this can be real!
ANONYMOUS
Don't kid yourself Thomas, you've seen it; the mistakes, the repetitiveness. It's the same day of your life just played over and over. It’s nothing but a simulation being run for the benefit of scientists and billionaire investors.
THOMAS
So why the hell are they trying to kill me?
ANONYMOUS
The system is entirely self governing; there are too many people to be monitored by human staff. When it saw that you doubted the reality of this simulation it tried to delete you before you infected others with your knowledge. Now that you know it's not real it won't stop.
THOMAS
(Exasperated)
How did this happen? You can't just make a whole city's worth of people just vanish!
ANONYMOUS
The entire population of the city was killed by the outbreak of a deadly virus; there were no survivors... at least that's what everyone on the outside thinks.
THOMAS
what the hell are you talking about?
ANONYMOUS
It's a cover up for the experiment, the outbreak was real but no one was killed, the virus simply put everyone into a coma. You were all taken to this research facility and your memories of the outbreak removed, however you remember it don't you. Those dreams every night, they are very real.
The elevator reaches the basement car park; THOMAS runs to his car and drives out.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
THOMAS
So how the hell do I get out?
So how the hell do I get out?
ANONYMOUS
I’ve hacked an exit point into the simulation; it’s in a deserted industrial zone so less of the systems run time is dedicated to scanning that area. The exit point will allow you to leave the system safely. The dangerous part is actually getting there; the system can change small details of the world without the inhabitants knowing in order to keep them under control. Just accidents, any observer will simply see it as fate, perhaps an act of god… well they’re half right.
THOMAS
Save the philosophy for when I’m free, where do I go?
ANONYMOUS
Just follow the road straight ahead for – Wait stop the car!
THOMAS
What, what is it?
ANONYMOUS
Stop now!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
Just ahead of THOMAS’S car a billboard falls from its mountings onto the road, THOMAS narrowly avoids it and drives on.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
ANONYMOUS
See, anything can happen. (Pause) Oh shit!
THOMAS
What now?
ANONYMOUS
The system has issued a sentinel to terminate you, it must have realised I was helping you escape.
THOMAS
Can I still get to the exit point?
ANONYMOUS
Yes but you’ve got to be quick, now that the system is aware of my influence it will try to sever my connection to the system and remove the exit point. Damn the sentinel is a few seconds behind you, put your foot down!
THOMAS looks behind to see a black car closing in on him fast.
ANONYMOUS
Ok go left now!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS swerves the car across traffic into the side road. The sentinel’s car is forced to stay on the main road.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
THOMAS
(Optimistically)
I think I lost him.
(Optimistically)
I think I lost him.
ANONYMOUS
Hold on, he’s coming from the alley.
Hold on, he’s coming from the alley.
The car explodes out of an alleyway sending litter and debris flying.
ANONYMOUS
Go! Go!
Go! Go!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS accelerates away with the sentinel in hot pursuit. THOMAS and the sentinel dodge through traffic.
THOMAS accelerates away with the sentinel in hot pursuit. THOMAS and the sentinel dodge through traffic.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
ANONYMOUS
He’s gaining on you!
He’s gaining on you!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
The sentinel comes alongside THOMAS and starts to sideswipe him. THOMAS fights back and knocks the sentinel’s car into a drainage canal next to the road. THOMAS breathes a sigh of relief believing he has escaped his attacker.
INT.THOMAS’S CAR.MIDDAY
ANONYMOUS
Watch out!
Watch out!
The sentinel jumps out of the canal and sideswipes THOMAS’S car again, flipping it over. The sentinel crashes and is apparently killed.
ANONYMOUS
Thomas! Get up now, move!
EXT.CITY.MIDDAY
THOMAS gets out of the wrecked car and runs as fast as he can.
ANONYMOUS
Ok it’s just down this street. Open the door at the end and we will handle the rest, I have a man on the inside who will get you out of there.
Ok it’s just down this street. Open the door at the end and we will handle the rest, I have a man on the inside who will get you out of there.
THOMAS
Ok
Behind THOMAS a loud crash is heard and he sees a large truck smashing through cars and road furniture heading directly for him.
ANONYMOUS
Quick run!
Quick run!
THOMAS approaches the door.
ANONYMOUS
Shit they’ve found me, they’ve destroyed –
The phone goes dead.
THOMAS opens the door to see nothing but a brick wall behind it. He looks behind to see the truck bearing down on him. THOMAS braces himself. There is a bone shaking crash, then silence.
-
INT.THOMAS'S HOME.MORNING
-
INT.THOMAS'S HOME.MORNING
THOMAS'S alarm clock rings and its radio turns on, THOMAS looks around in disbelief.
RADIO ANNOUNCER Hello there river city, it's 7:30 and it's looking to be a lovely Monday morning.
Thursday, 8 October 2009
From Mrs S
I'm very impressed with your work Chris, it's detailed and thorough. Clear commitment to the task. Keep this up.
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Story Choice
I need to make a decision on which story is most realistically possible taking in to consideration my time constraints and how much extra content I need to make in order to finish the film to an acceptable standard.
The dead don't die easy:
The dead don't die easy:
- Will not require many new sets, however they will have to be made specifically for this film. I am still learning the hammer world editor and so this could be a challenge, especially to make the maps look good and atmospheric.
- Would not require many new models or reskins, I am already almost finished making the car model and there are already many fitting reskins for actor models which could easily replace the default ones and give my film a better look.
- This film may need some new custom animations for the actors which I would need to make myself, I have already practiced animations and so I think that this could be a fairly easy and quick task.
- The story has great potential but I can see where it could be more suited to the full length film genre, however I think that with a few tweaks it could be a very good short film story. It has a lot of tense moments and would have a very unusual story which I personally have never seen in a short film before, there is also a good twist ending.
- This will require a lot of sets but many could be taken from existing maps, however this could make the use of faceposer (NPC control software) much harder to use if the map is not made specifically to work with the scene. I may however be able to get the original source files from the creators which would allow me to use a fully built map and then add my own elements.
- This film could require a lot of new models, there are many available already which could fulfil the needs of the film.
- This film would look better with custom animations for certain scenes but it would be possible to use stop motion posing for certain actor movements, in certain situations this could actually benefit the style of the film.
- I think that this story lends itself very well to the short film genre and with a few tweaks could be very good. As long as I don't try to fit in too much it shouldn't feel bloated and if Thomas's revelation is left right until the end it will make for an excellent twist ending.
Overall I believe that The day the world went wrong is the best choice for my media studies coursework this year, however I believe that The dead don't die easy would be good to keep as a possible story for a later project as I believe that it has got a lot of potential once I have a better understanding of the hammer world editor.
Monday, 5 October 2009
Ideas
The dead don't die easy:
A vicious murderer is killed in a violent shootout with the police, his car is impounded but shortly afterwards it goes missing, the police suspect trophy hunters of stealing the car and soon the case is forgotten. But shortly afterwards there are reports of hit and run killings in the city and the description matches the car that went missing before. One night a woman is walking home when she encounters it and a furious chase ensues, she must use every last advantage she has over her pursuer to survive. But she will realise that her seemingly inescapable pursuer is in fact machine and not man.
The day the world went wrong:
Thomas is a normal man with a normal career, however he is not going to have a normal day. As he is travelling to work he starts to notice strange goings on and interesting objects appear seemingly at random. Things take a bad turn when the very laws of physics are randomly turned on their head, amid the destruction Thomas manages to survive only to find that the world he knew before is not only gone but it never existed in the first place, he is in fact just a computer generated test subject being simulated in a computer game. Now that he is aware of his real existence, Thomas must escape the simulation before he is deleted.
Wheels:
Jason drake is a race driver who's aggression saw him banned from the track, he receives a proposition from a crime syndicate talent scout who is looking for a driver. Jason eventually works his way up the ranks and becomes a notorious car thief and getaway driver. During one unfortunate heist his crew is lead into a trap and most are killed in the ensuing firefight. Jason escapes but his Career is finished and is being hunted by his enemies and old friends. He decides to take a final drive in his car before the end.
A vicious murderer is killed in a violent shootout with the police, his car is impounded but shortly afterwards it goes missing, the police suspect trophy hunters of stealing the car and soon the case is forgotten. But shortly afterwards there are reports of hit and run killings in the city and the description matches the car that went missing before. One night a woman is walking home when she encounters it and a furious chase ensues, she must use every last advantage she has over her pursuer to survive. But she will realise that her seemingly inescapable pursuer is in fact machine and not man.
The day the world went wrong:
Thomas is a normal man with a normal career, however he is not going to have a normal day. As he is travelling to work he starts to notice strange goings on and interesting objects appear seemingly at random. Things take a bad turn when the very laws of physics are randomly turned on their head, amid the destruction Thomas manages to survive only to find that the world he knew before is not only gone but it never existed in the first place, he is in fact just a computer generated test subject being simulated in a computer game. Now that he is aware of his real existence, Thomas must escape the simulation before he is deleted.
Wheels:
Jason drake is a race driver who's aggression saw him banned from the track, he receives a proposition from a crime syndicate talent scout who is looking for a driver. Jason eventually works his way up the ranks and becomes a notorious car thief and getaway driver. During one unfortunate heist his crew is lead into a trap and most are killed in the ensuing firefight. Jason escapes but his Career is finished and is being hunted by his enemies and old friends. He decides to take a final drive in his car before the end.
How Research Will Inform Planning
My short film will:
My film poster will:
My film review will:
- be animated.
- be aimed at an audience between 16 and 25 years of age.
- be approximately 5 minutes long (excluding credits).
- have a concise story which will not go off on tangents, there will be no subplots.
- have little dialogue and more of a focus on sound and music.
- be fast paced and have a twist ending.
- be atmospheric and have interesting settings.
- be distributed over the Internet.
My film poster will:
- feature the main character/antagonist and the main setting for the film.
- be relevant to the film.
- show the characters as they are in the film.
- feature the title of the film and a tag line.
- have actor and studio information on it.
- include website links.
- include a release date.
- hint at the theme of the film but not give away details.
My film review will:
- have easily seen ratings, titles and summaries.
- have links to relevant articles which may be of benefit to the reader.
- compare the film with similar ones and also with the directors previous works.
- not spoil the story.
- talk about the director of the film and their history and the problems they have faced on the project.
- have a short summary for people who want to get the idea of the film quickly without reading the whole review.
- analyse the style in which the story is told.
- analyse the filming style and camera work.
- talk about the characters and themes in the film.
- finally summarise the reviewers thoughts on the film.
Saturday, 3 October 2009
Real Media Artifacts - Short Films: Lovefield
The film starts very slowly with an establisher shot to show the audience the location of the scene. The sky is grey and depressing and is drawing colour from the landscape, this coupled with the eerie music creates an uncomfortable atmosphere. There are many slow panning shots which build tension in unison with the music as it grows louder. The setting is a corn field and the thick crop could be used as a hiding place, since the viewer can't see what is going on their imagination will start to come up with ideas for what could be happening and this is quite often more unnerving than anything in the film, the audience are in effect scaring themselves and this is a common technique used in horror films.
The camera pans up to see an old dilapidated sign squeaking in the wind, this makes the setting seem less hospitable and more dangerous. There is also a crow perched on the sign, since this bird is quite often associated with death this will start to build tension in the audience. The rust on the sign is a form of decay, the crow represents death and the audience may suspect that a dead or dying person may be seen soon.
The sound of an unconnected phone can be heard out of shot and this will confirm for the viewer that something is wrong. The phone is revealed lying in the field, as the camera tracks back the contents of a handbag can be seen lying on the ground. A strained cry can be heard, the audience's first assumption will be that the woman is in trouble and this will make them feel fear for her well being. The woman's hand claws at the ground and the crying grows louder, a bloody cloth is revealed as well. Now the audience will assume that the woman is being tortured or worse and fear will be at it's most powerful. The camera eventually tracks down as far as the woman's foot, the painful cries are more strained than before and the woman's movement becomes slower and less powerful. Eventually she falls silent and a hand drives a knife into the ground, this is accompanied by a loud orchestral climax. The sudden violence of this movement and sound will shock the audience.
A medium shot of the hand shows blood and as the camera tilts up tattoos, the man is quite muscular and is covered in dirt and oil. He looks threatening to the audience and as he stands up the raven starts to squawk at him, since the raven represents death it insinuates that the man has killed the woman. The man seems to be puzzled and later slightly intimidated by the raven which makes him appear to feel guilt, further implying that he killed the woman. The man's appearance and the music that accompanies his actions is used to make him appear as a bad guy.
The man frantically runs away from the woman to the roadside where a car is parked, he looks inside the car to find a blanket. His actions appear desperate and rushed due to shock, further exhibiting guilty behaviour. The raven follows him to the car and continues to squawk at him, the shots are filmed in a handheld fashion and cut faster than before to make it appear that he is being watched.
He runs back to the woman with the blanket which he apparently prepares to cover the woman with, a low angle shot is used to show the action from her perspective. However it is finally revealed that the blanket is for the woman's baby and that her cries of pain were from the labour. As the baby is revealed the music becomes more upbeat and positive and the picture becomes brighter and more colourful, new life is breathed into the scene by the new life of the baby. As all is revealed any misgivings about the man are wiped away as the audience can see that he was trying to help the woman all along.
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