Godzilla 1998: Platinum Edition

Ah, Godzilla 1998: Platinum Edition.. my first real baby. Not that it was all mine or anything, but I put everything I had into this movie, and I love it to this very day. Buuuut.. it seems I am pretty much alone in that sentiment.

RANT:

This movie's release in April of 2002 was hampered by a number of factors, most notably was that this generation of 3D Movie Makers had not been around early enough to enjoy the original Godzilla 98 by Z-man. They had no idea that G98PE wasn't an original movie.. it was the same movie, just updated! 90% of the scenes are left intact, I only added extra details to them (Many to the point that they don't look like default scenes at all - I am very proud of my work with the city; I hadn't seen any movie go into that kind of building detail up to that point). The original was all text, but I recorded all of the voices for G98PE. A really big trouble during its production was that it takes a LOT longer to say these lines than to read them in text, so I had to go to great lengths to keep the majority of the conversations intact. Ridiculous lengths, at times. And try as I might, I didn't play a convincing woman (Some of those notes, however, will probably never be achievable again). But I felt I did good overall with my Steve Martin and other guy roles.. you know, for just one guy.

In places I updated the soundtrack, and in other places I did not (Like the Endfight MIDI.. man, nothing else could ever work there!). The story wasn't touched much, I just cut out the parts I didn't like much (Gabara's backstory). There were, really, only four completely original sequences in this movie: The F-14 sequence (Which I quit on after a bit and just ended it), San Diego Harbor's intro, the Prologue, and the Endfight. I don't like to put my sources of pride into public too often, but I am just really, really proud of those last two bits. The prologue had a whole lot of thought put behind it, and I felt that I handled it fairly cleverly (And it's one of the only useful intro sequences in a 3D movie), giving my own original idea as to the origination of Godzilla. I spent quite literally WEEKS synching the prologue perfectly. I did quit after it proved to be too unstable for such a long sequence, but almost all of the original cues were and are hit. Me making this on a 98 was another factor, as XP was what 80% of the community had moved onto by that point. As for the Endfight.. I think I should start a new paragraph.


After he watched G98PE for the first time, Z-man said to me "Man, I was thinking this movie was kinda' cool, but I honestly didn't think it would be much worth watching but to the two of us. Then the last battle started.." I worked nearly every day for two months straight to produce that last battle, and I really pulled all the stops to make it as explosive and rewarding as possible (Almost all comments about the movie say that they trudged through the other 12 minutes, but the Endfight made it all worthwhile). I went straight to the edge of my ability at the time, and I think you can really see that in the work. I concede that it is little more than eye candy, and the camera just serves to move around interestingly, but people had been through 10 minutes of footage with a grand total of 4 or 5 moving cameras up to this point. I wanted them to remember the endbattle (As it had really impacted me in the original G98), and I wanted to show people the calbur of animator I felt I was. If nothing else, I think I accomplished that much. Some people thought better of me, others wrote me off as an eye-candy machine, but most everyone would remember that fight. It was my dream that it would win 'best scene' or, more appropriately, 'best fight,' in the awards that year. Leave it to me to screw myself over and release Ninja Gaiden 7 months later!

Z-man worked hard doing the sound effect work for G98PE, to which I owe him greatly. He's always there to polish up my work.. and that's just not something you can ask for in a person. What a friend!


The New Age:

2002 is considered the start of a 'New Age' of 3dmming. While there wasn't anything technically different between that year and the last, there was definitely a noticable change in the movies. I don't know of any examples where that was more obvious than what would become the 'friendly rivalry' of the year, and the final factor to G98PE's failure to impress audiences: That same week, JP released to the board his hit movie Doom.

Andres had rated G98PE a 78%, which, while not completely flattering, was the highest score he'd rated a movie that year. He even explained that he should be thanking Z-man and I for a movie as that in his review. But when Doom took us all by storm (Gaining an 89% from Andres!.. almost the record!), G98PE was quickly pushed under the rug. What was interesting, though, was that while the movie was forgotten, I was not. From that moment on, JP and I were both paired as examples of 'the best animators around today.' Haha, funny how things work out like that.

Kay, Finishin' Up:

I guess I'm still kind of bitter and kind of elated with how G98PE worked out. I mean, it's quite a project for something that just grew out of me editing a wav of "STUPID.. YO SOOO STUUUPID" onto Gabara's mouth. Almost a REDUX-sized development from such homely roots.

I always love hearing new views and opinions on the movie (Moreso than most any of my others), and it's always a treat to hear of people who watched it after only experiencing the original before it. They always love it the most! No, I don't think G98PE is an exceptional movie, and no, I don't feel it can or should stand shoulder to shoulder with the works of Pikios or Redwampa, but it's a personal favorite of mine, and those always hit the hardest home, for better or worse.


P.S. - I forgot the police sequence. That's an original one, too.

[Ryugacooking]

No. You are not alone in that regard. I think this film had the best animation I've ever seen yet. I wish the graphics in my films were at least HALF as good as the ones in Godzilla 98. This film must've taken FOREVER to make! I'm a big fan. Good job.

My only beef was the voices. I'd rather have seen the SUBTITLED version. However, that's only a scratch on perfect clarity. Anyone who doesn't like this film is spoiled.

[Gorosaurus]

Wow, thanks man. Did you happen to catch it when it was first released, or are these new thoughts?

You're probably right on the subtitles, though. And here I went through and actually deleted them all before releasing it!

[Breed]

ahahah that WAS awesome.

I just wish the fight scene was longer, and there was more destruction of the city

[Bemused]

Absolutely incredible work, sets a HUGE standard. Your hard work has paid off. Well done!

[Polar]

greates movie ive ever seen

[Da-t]

I saw the original version of this a long time ago. This version is way better!

[bl0ppin]

* Breaks down into tears *

Please...people, stop bumping incredibly old threads just to give opinions. It's not so bad if you're looking for a working link of it, but it's pretty irritating when it's just for a one-line "I liked it" post.

[Bown]

I don't see a problem with it. I'm sure the directors would still like to hear positive comments, and it might help the newer people watch more stuff.

[Gorosaurus]

Yeah, bumping old threads with content is actually really nice.


This really wasn't much for content, but it'll slide

[Pogo]

This was part two of the catalyst for my "WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT MUSIC FROM" phase, already triggered by Videogame Nightmare. That battle scene still stands up pretty well on its own two large green scaly feet

[Gorosaurus]

Thanks! I still think its some of my finest work; almost makes the movie worth watching

[Demented Ferret]

I'm just going to point out here that I really encourage people to bump old movie threads with constructive reviews and input. As long as it isn't a comment that could be justified by simply rating the movie ('that was great!') then that's fine.

[Funny Bones]

https://f001.backblaze.com/file/3dmmtv/E8v9.mp4