Vlarion 1 - The Elemental War

[Mr Z]

THis was definatley worth the wait. Somehow every time Aaron releases a movie I say that its the best 3dmm movie ever, and this is no exception. Everything from the Special Effects to the Soundtrack were superb. I definatley want to see if he can top this with V2.

10/10

Justin? What are you doing here? Everyone in Tunafilms miss you.

Pdata: Are you realy Justin?

[Salter]

Hey, Aaron. About the footsteps. What I mean is that the whole dynamic fading and increasing footstep thing was awesome, but the overall volume was a bit too high. They DEFINITELY add something to the film. I have them in every scene for all of my stuff.
The happy medium is just a little lower volume

[Salter]

How did I manage the double-post?

[Diabolic]

Originally Posted by Aaron Haynes

People mentioning that Vlarion inspired them to make new stuff: Feel free to use any of the fonts from this movie. For that matter, if you can find an interesting way to use Ceveron or Terrania or the Vlarion-specific stuff, or want to try making an animation in them, have a blast. Using extremely Vlarion-specific stuff like characters and environments in original films is not recommended, for obvious reasons, but you've got creative liberty with anything you think might be useful in making something unique. Enjoy.

I know damn well that I have ideas for that there Dask font!

[Roadkill Dave]

The arrow was in the wrong way round >:-0

[Aaron Haynes]

Originally Posted by Kyle Magocs

that reminds me:

I don't like the new hirolix as much as the old one

You are guaranteed at least once per movie thread I make to say something I have absolutely no comment for. My brain is simply unable to handle this idea.

[Aaron Haynes]

Originally Posted by HMC

I was really surprised to see Rasklain and Kriven.

I figured most of the original fans would be, so I kept it a secret from everyone but about three or four people. I wasn't even sure whether or not to do it until like three days before the 20th (which is probably part of why it didn't come out then). I figured it was appropriate, since the RPG format is gone, and there's really no logical reason for them to not use whatever they have at their disposal in taking out the AT. There are hints early on in the sequence, too; you can hear Kriven over the intercom just before it cuts out, and then echoing in the distance. Porus has dark energy dissapating around him when Rosal breaks the door to the archives, too.

Also, I wasn't especially crazy about the Kramer battle. It was animated all right, but the scenery is very plain, which is especially noticeable when it's the default grass texture.

It was never really intended to be the highlight of the film; even when working on it I knew that it was basically a "sidequest" kind of thing, a deviation from the plot basically to have a quick and entertaining brawl before things got really hardcore at Ceveron and after. If the Vlarion battles give me a chance to try out all kinds of effects while still keeping the overall flow of the sequence the same, the one-on-one with Dask and Kramer was a total sandbox kind of atmosphere. I could have added a lot more detail or made the area a full, lush valley with a variety of textures, but I didn't, because a) I'd still be working on it, and b) it's really just not supposed to be a showstealer. More brush and grass and rocks and stuff might've been a good idea, though.

Originally Posted by Anders Borg

Learn the works but for me, it just wouldn't work out. It looks so damn hard and it would probably suck out my social life completely. Maybe I'm just imagining things. Maybe it ain't so hard after all?

It depends on what you're doing. The process of full postproduction for a movie as big as this one was a long-term one, because I physically edited five characters, changed the textures for more than 30, designed huge environment props, made textures, new fonts, tried a lot of really new ideas like actorfonts, and wrangled something like 20 people for voices (and there were a lot of script changes where I had to hunt people down). If you want to take the time to learn something like Maya to make your own environments or 3D fonts, it becomes a snap, but it really does take a couple of days to make it all work together.

METAL GEAR SOLID ALL THE WAY! MGS = Yes. Now don't you go and use all of the MGS music and leave me with nothing for Rayman.

Hahaha. I'm not sure why, but MGS2 and MGS3 turned out to have incredibly well-suited music for Vlarion. Not sure how much of it I'll use in Vlarion 2, but I'll be using a little less of The Dig, except at specific Dask-related moments.

This really got me inspired to continue Rayman. I haven't touched 3dmm for two months at least and I was close to just let it go silently, believe it or not.

Awwww, yeah, don't do that. Keep at it, it encourages everyone else to keep at it, too. And I'd really like to see it, it looks damn brilliant.

Originally Posted by Denny Betterman

The use of magic. It was actually practical magic. Not like "Graphics imposed over a character and they inexplicably are hurt by it," it's "I made a big chunk of ice and smacked you in the face with it." VERY clever! I don't think I've heard of the old RPG magic basics being used in such a way, especially in film! The iceberg to raise up Jack is excellent, but it was that ice brick that really made me think and smile!

I came at magic with more of a LOTR or at least Star Wars perspective this time. I wanted to see something that made physical sense, rather than just being a visual effect after someone waves his hands. When Rosal and his lieutenants walk down the subway lobby ragdolling people, there's a real physical sense of it happening, not just something completely effortless. Practical applications were a big part of it, too; I want to come up with more ideas like Dask using ice magic to lift Jack out of the water when he's knocked unconscious at the bottom.

And the Kramer battle disappointed me not for the graphics but for the animation, but I'm willing to cut a break to the fact that Valentine and Ramu are a couple of the WORST kicking characters in 3dmm.

Now, see, here's the kind of conflicting responses that make me unsure of how to view the sequence. I thought I did a really good job with the physics of this fight. It's not always perfect, but I used the limited action sets in a way that made it feel like they were really exchanging blows. But yeah, it was supposed to be more of a physical brawl then a magic duel; the reason being that Dask is trying to conserve his energy for the trials ahead at Ceveron, and Kramer isn't really trying to kill him, or (especially) get into a situation where he'd be fighting for his life. It's more two combatants doing a trial run.

Oh, and I see you never got that 'Hey!' line for that Claudia near the end, it looked like she wanted to scream but just COULDN'T.

Eh? It's in there. Go back and listen again.

Edit: Ohhh, the other Claudia, during the AT siege. It was supposed to be a music-focus scene, with the sound drowned out, but I guess the footsteps kind of conflict with that.

A couple points where you used default 3dmm sounds just seemed to hurt the scene because I've heard them so many times before.

This is a complaint that seems to be coming up a lot, and I really don't understand it. There may be a few points where I could have found a better sound, but really, 3DMM has an extremely good sound library, and I really only used a sound if I thought it seriously worked. It's not like I was using "Explosion Big" every time there was an energy effect or anything, it was mostly just impact or wind noises. What bugs me is when everyone uses the same damn "BigImpact1.wav", "splat.wav" type sounds, or the same gunshot noises over and over again. Finding good uses for 3dmm library sounds really shouldn't suck you guys out of the moment any more than hearing the same damn 10 or 15 imported sound effects in every 3DMM movie since 1998. [/rant]

I mean, maybe I'm wrong and everyone else has a point here, but I just can't hear any of them sounding extremely out of place. I dunno.

[Demented Ferret]

You're completely right - and anyone outside of 3dmm wouldn't realise anyway.

[Travis Wells]

It has a really good sound library, but by this point we've all heard them five thousand times. The rest of the movie is so very new-3dmm, but since we've heard them so many times the default sounds take us back to "WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRADE A MAGIC TRICK FOR A VASE?".

[Aaron Haynes]

OH and I think it'd've made the battles more intense if the characters talked during them. Not just 'oof' and 'gah' but 'OUT OF THE WAY' and 'OVER HERE' kinda stuff, much more realistic. Not stopping the action but complimenting it. Just an idea.

Definitely. This is planned for Vlarion 2. Moreso in Rasklain than Kriven, since Kriven's fight will....well, you'll see.

Originally Posted by Rubin Ridley

Some of my favorite bits were the hand animated characters, just the little details, subtle, but effective. For instance, when Dask finds Leesa. The way he is standing is perfect.

That's the main reason I cut out her dialogue in that scene; because that last shot just turned out so well. It's one of my favorite shots in the movie, because you just feel his despair.

Originally Posted by Z-Man

Another 3DMMing first you got out of me is that you actually elicited an emotional reaction. I’ve heard people talk in the past about how this movie made them cry and how that movie made them scared, and I personally thought they were all full of shit. It takes a lot to get reach an audience; a lot of thought, proper build up, and so on. For me, watching ‘story driven’ 3DMM pieces is often a sterile experience.

But towards the end, when Rosal and his cronies attacked the powerless AT and Dask and the others are racing to the rescue, I actually felt excitement and intensity. Actual emotions. Why did I feel this? Hell if I know, but I did.

Probably the biggest compliment I could get with regards to this movie. There's a visceral appeal to the visuals and the effects and all that, sure, but I wanted it to just seriously come together in the end and make you really care what happens. I knew I'd at least partly succeeded with the AT Siege when I watched the sequence at about 1/3 completion and saw the way the music's tone shifted as "No Signal" appeared on the 2D flat panel in the background right after hearing all this destruction over the intercom, and then the cut to Dask on the road. I actually felt kind of tense watching it, and I was the one who wrote and made it, so I knew I had to be doing something right. I'm glad it struck a chord for you, and I can't wait to finish the V2 script and start getting lines in from you. For those of you who don't know, the character Z-Man plays is pretty much the linchpin of the entire series.

[Aaron Haynes]

Originally Posted by Travis Wells

It has a really good sound library, but by this point we've all heard them five thousand times. The rest of the movie is so very new-3dmm, but since we've heard them so many times the default sounds take us back to "WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRADE A MAGIC TRICK FOR A VASE?".

I've had 3DMM since it came out and I really don't react that negatively to hearing them unless they sound out of place for another reason too. Eh.

[Aaron Haynes]

Originally Posted by Gorosaurus

Make no mistake about it, this is a movie that you could show anyone, regardless of their familiarity with the medium, without problem. The only catch is that the mouths don't move - that is the only hurdle I see.

Thanks, and yeah, that's a hurdle I'm not sure I'm really ready to jump. New expressions (several for each character) are on the way, though.

The animation was some of your best, Aaron. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is your best, because I believe your REDUX work is still tops, but as a whole, this is above any effort yet released by any director.

From a pure animation standpoint, you could be right. A lot of what I did here I was assissted with via plenty of ready-made tools to get the effect right. But I'd be hard-pressed to compare much in Redux to the stuff I've done here, on a visceral level. I dunno, it may just come down to perspective.

Scene 141 was the only one that really bothered me, I didn't see any point in the angle or the movement as-was, but hey, that's not much of a low.

It's hard to get a good overhead shot of that parking lot. It's not a great-looking scene at all, but the angle was to show the as-yet-unidentified Kramer outside and away from the crime scene relaying the information to Brackus. If I had gone straight into closeup, right after a long scene of Dask and Stacey driving off, I wasn't sure if it would have worked from an establishing standpoint. I didn't want people realizing, "Oh, okay, so we're back at the labs now?" halfway through it.

It didn't take me long to get over Lock playing the lead baddie, and I don't know if the quality changed or I really did get more used to it, but Beast's performance really picked up by the end.

I had him redo a large selection of his lines late in the process. I really wasn't happy with the first couple of ideas we tried, and he was pretty wildly inconsistent with his accent. But I got him on AIM and had him to anywhere from three to eight takes of basically everything and took the absolute best ones, which were far better than his earlier work.

The female lead was incredible, possibly the showstealer! I don't know who that is or where you found her, but I'd give two arms and an ear to have her in more movies. ...I might even have a role or two that needs filled.

Hahaha, I'll see what she thinks, but thus far I don't think she knows about the board, and I'd probably rather keep it that way. She'll be glad to hear how impressed everyone's been with her work. This is the first time she's done anything like this, but she was a natural.

The whole AT thing is a different and much more impressive feel than from the originals. In fact, it was a really comforting assembly to have. A good author-like body that always seemed to know what was happening, solve problems before they grow, and clean up messes. It really grew on me, and quickly. ..I was hoping it wouldn't get ransacked until at least Vlarion 3 or something though.

This was something I absolutely wanted to get across from a plot standpoint; solidifying the AT in the audience's mind from the beginning, giving Adrack and Chadran a full character dynamic where they check each other to make sure nothing's been overlooked, making the place feel comfortable, seasoned, confident, and extremely professional, so that when the end comes along, you understand exactly the kind of people Rosal and his forces are. Even being as exceptionally competent and good-hearted as it was, even the AT was no match for the storm that's coming.

I hope that more surprises are to be expected in future installments, and that this didn't just take some wind out of V2's sails.

I've been considering that lately, since we probably won't see any new ones ahead of time in #2. Then again, you never know. At any rate, the main action sequence of the film looks geared to make up for all of that.

Congratulations, Aaron. You've not made a movie, you've achieved something incredible. Something you can be proud of for the rest of your life. There is no easy way around this, but it's obvious to see that Vlarion 1 is in nearly every way superior to Bodily Functions (My personal limbo bar of what is the peak of 3DMM entertainment). It is easily the greatest 3DMM movie I have ever had the pleasure of watching (I so didn't expect that, honestly), and is dangerously close to achieving full honors. But it's not perfect, and while I don't ask perfection of anyone, I do demand that I just don't notice any lackage of it for a movie to reach 100%. Hahaha. Well, that is, unless Pikios directs it, then I'm willing to round up. So just to keep you with a goal in sight and something to work up to, BF's still my number 1. But JP's taught me that it's alright to be #2; I'm sure you'll manage.

Hahaha, I like this. Alright, sir. Consider your challenge accepted. And I'm glad the film resonated that strongly, I've thought of it as a work in progress for so long that it's still difficult for me to step back and see it as a full film. Getting feedback this strong and this detailed is helping to shape my perspective on it. I'm already itching to get to Vlarion 2.

[Lord Blazer]

Originally Posted by Aaron Haynes

You are guaranteed at least once per movie thread I make to say something I have absolutely no comment for. My brain is simply unable to handle this idea.

I mean he's like, short and bulky rather than a monstrous behemoth. YOU KNOW .

[Aaron Haynes]

I don't even remember what he was like in V1 2000. The only thing I can recall ever changing is his overall volume (i.e. he used to be bigger/taller). Everything else has been pretty much the same since AV3.

[Cowtacular Spleen]

well, that was great. except, it dragged at times. Maybe it's just the mood I was in. But other than that, it was fantasmigorical. The action sequences were top notch. and that car interior.... WOW! WOW!.. that rueled. I kinda suck at writing reviews.

Pros
It was top notch animation
It was fucking amazing scenery
It was an inspiration
It was a v3dmm breakthrough

Cons
It seemed to drag at times
Dask was really nasally in the first scene
I had to pee the entire time
I have diarreah

it was good. I guess about what I expected. The action scenes outdid my expecatations. and the length! 1 HOUR AND 20 MINUTES! THAT'S A REGULAR MOVIE! simply amazing. you dun good.

9.6/10

[Aaron Haynes]

Oh, yeah, since people have started mentioning this, finally. The first scene with Dask was written late in the process and recorded at the last minute and I didn't have a chance to go back and redo them on a decent mic before releasing. I did everything I could in Goldwave. Every filter I had available. I nudged them, I gave them audial CPR, encouraged them, "live". Nothing doing. They're understandable, and that's a miracle by itself. Now that I'm home I could go back and fix them, but then I'd want to fix a billion other mistakes people are coming up with. I could spend another month just perfecting this movie, easily, so I'm not going to.

Thanks Russ.

[Ben Rice]

I really can't wait to see what the new Trevor and Brian will look like in V2.

[Demented Ferret]

Does professor Gelst kick some ass in the other movies? I'd love to see that.

Edit: No, I really do not remember a thing from the original Vlarions, aside from some minute details (2 people swordfighting in a street, yellow-donut monster and fighting on comets, that's about it)

[Aaron Haynes]

Ben: Me too. Brian's already coming along nicely:



Ferret: Yes indeed. There was supposed to be a brief scene where he fights Rosal in the archives (loses, obviously), but I didn't do it after cutting out the scene of him and Dask talking post-Brackus HQ. Maybe if I do a DVD version.

[Ben Rice]

Wow! Nice!

[Gorosaurus]

Originally Posted by Aaron Haynes

It's hard to get a good overhead shot of that parking lot. It's not a great-looking scene at all, but the angle was to show the as-yet-unidentified Kramer outside and away from the crime scene relaying the information to Brackus.

I'm not on my computer right now, but I must've put the wrong scene number or something. It was where Dask and Stacy are just meeting and walking away, and the camera was moving in a southeast motion, which gave a more depressed feel. But that's because the movement didn't lead us to focus on anything specific, so we'd have to discern what the movement is trying to tell us

Yeah

[Ned]

Just finished watching. Very well done, Aaron. Wonderfully directed... not overblown or filled with needless eye candy: just pretty and to-the-point.

My two suggestions for Vlarion 2 (yes, I know that the plot for the series was laid out years ago, but still):
1) Add a bit of comedy. It wasn't needed in Vlarion 1 per se, but it would be a nice diversion for the sequel.
2) Give Chadran some action!

[HMC]

Originally Posted by Ned Carlson

1) Add a bit of comedy. It wasn't needed in Vlarion 1 per se, but it would be a nice diversion for the sequel.

Heh, that's pretty much what Trevor's characters is for. You're in luck.

[Ben Rice]

Originally Posted by Ned Carlson

2) Give Chadran some action!

He's dead...

[HMC]

No, he's NOT.