The Legacy of Saradomin (Part 1)

NOTE: This is my longest review and does contain minor spoilers.

What's that? A new fantasy movie? Cool, what's it about? Won't say? Is this Haynes? No, oh man did Strnad come back? No? Slade? The one with the custom costumes and the old weapons? Oh yeah I forgot about that old thing. He's still working on it? Oh it's done? Wow....

And as promised after many years of animating, patient waiting and the most cursed of all directoral attributes, frustration, what is presented in the span of 65 minutes is one of the more ambitious projects in the life of this nearly decade and a half old program, joining a sacred fraternity whose sole members include only part one of rather lengthy and complex fantasy stories. Buried beneath the brotherhood lay thousands of ideal thoughts and excited ideas whose furthest incarnation included a rough plot outline, a few cliché characters and perhaps some animations too detailed to be taken seriously and ultimately forgotten. These ideas have been shown by most but reaped by few and one of the rare exceptions presents an interesting outlook on the creative process that accompanies the director in making their vision whole.

I'm having an increasingly difficult time processing fantasy movies. It has nothing to do with this movie in particular but most fantasy stories, to the layman, contain cliché situations and concepts that while the stories don't necessarily blend together it makes it rather difficult to differentiate between them. It is quite clear that this movie contains its own world with its own races and its own history by only arming the viewer with a minute long synopsis filled with places and people that are retained in memory for all of five seconds it is rather hard to appreciate the true beauty of it all. The opening battle plays out beautifully and it might be noted that it is one of the more impressive and well timed opening shots done in this program. Credit must be due to music selection for it sets the atmosphere so well that coupled with the visuals an invitation for complete immersion almost beckons from the screen. Unfortunately much of this delicately laid atmosphere is subtly sacrificed to the limitations of 3DMM.

While one can make the comparison of the armies of same-3DMM characters to that of, say, the Orcs in Lord of the Rings, one of the more troubling realities is that we, as a group, are too familiar with these 3DMM characters to simply allow them to exist as an army without breaking the grisly atmosphere of the movie. A band of the same characters works fine but when an army of Franks and Bennys invade a castle full of Gustaves the resulting scene has more goofy connotations no matter how fantastic the music is making the scene. I feel as if this idea was conceived with good intentions but a more well thought out substitute would've worked better.

Along with the opening sequence the flow of the movie is established as well as its narrative, which is mainly told through first person dialogue. Names and locations are tossed around like confetti which is a touch more palatable once the viewer realizes that, like a Hemingway short story, we are thrown into the middle of the action instead of eased into it from its conception. There is enough going on to realize kind of where and who is being presented but at times, like when the general character is introduced, the back story involving the character could've been hinted at maybe a little earlier, though this falls under the realm of nitpicking. Many of the locations in the movie seem to just...happen, however, which leaves the distinct impression that we are to use our brains more for guesswork than absorbing what it being presented. While there is one traveling scene featuring some of the more gorgeous backgrounds in Slades arsenal, for the most part characters are either in the process of arriving, staying or about to leave. While no one wants to see an entire movie of just walking there are ways around this, perhaps a quick montage of various locations, but this is Slades world so I honestly can’t judge where one place is or the other. There is a map at one point that clarifies our heroes location RPG style but the lay of the land is so foreign to the viewer really can't judge whereabouts they are or any other points of interest without a little more information; then again, nitpicking.

The story as a whole moves quite well, despite its comprehension being in question. No matter how confused one may be while watching there is a general sense that its magnitude is worthy of attention. While the talk of crystals in the beginning is somewhat erratic it allows the viewer to be curious and eager to know what meaning behind it all. But something strange about the way it is presented is a little off. We’re introduced to these characters and within the span of two minutes are confronted with the fact that they have nearly ended their quest, with devastating results to one of the characters. It’s almost as if Slade had the right idea but was unsure about its execution, which seems to be a common theme throughout the movie. Let this not be a knock on Slades writing abilities or his directing skills entirely and as a one man team with two or three advisors, something I was all too familiar with when dealing with my own daunting project, Moderately Confused, some of the inconsistencies are not an isolated case but rather a common symptom of many ambitious, multi-year projects.

As much as an anomaly as it maybe, this movie is somewhat of a time-warp. I battled the same issues with Moderately Confused and as anyone who has seen it can say there is a distinct difference between the opening and the ending, hell even the two halves. When one begins on such an arduous task of actually working on a movie organization is key, but our minds get ahead of ourselves. What is there to work on first? Usually the beginning, of course, but as most processes go we tend to jump from place to place. Fascination of the ‘bigger’ scenes in a movie, usually the battle scenes in this case, make us tend to forget the other more ‘boring’ scenes. Within the battle scenes themselves it is clear that Slade put maximal effort into ensuring quick camera changes and exemplary swordplay. Both deliver but at times there seems to be a gap between styles. It is apparent that he has grown as a director throughout the course of the movie, especially from beginning to end, but at times it is more noticeable when after witnessing a rather dazzling display of magic and lances and whathaveyou, you are suddenly confronted with an army of people storming a castle but the camera is less stable and the cinematography seems to have taken a coffee break. It's not to say that the scenes are necessarily bad but when something is noticeably inconsistent it tends to detract from the overall viewing experience.

To act as a much needed crutch, one of the things that Slade executes quite brilliantly is the music. The swarms of same-3DMM characters disrupting the viewers attention aside, the selection and timing of the all-typical orchestral pieces (there may have been a few choral pieces actually) is damn near perfect. No piece is too long or too short or too out of place and that allows this movie to really breathe. I never had to think twice about the music since it is set so wonderfully into the backdrop that there is never really a moment that forces the viewer to snap back to reality. And for the most part the voice acting follows a similar path, though there are some unfortunate sore spots.

What is most peculiar about the voice acting is that there are some parts seem to be miscast, their lines delivered somewhat akin to an elementary school student attempting a Shakespearean play. The king in particular doesn't seem to posses the timing or timbre to pull off some of the lines that truly needed convincing, especially when expressing concern over finding the missing prisoners. That’s not to say the actor is bad but for this role it is a bit…questionable. I daresay my own part was a bit miscast, though it is mostly my fault for not truly realizing the situations in the movie they would be implemented and acting accordingly. The mic quality wasn’t up to snuff and when combined with the rest of the lines it is painfully obvious that the character I played, Gkaarb, needed to react much differently to the surroundings. I don’t blame Slade for this, though I would suggest in the future to nearly everyone to maybe think about doing what Andres did for Satanik and send the voice actor the actual movies scenes for the actor to visualize the part. Apart from these two and Tuna’s obvious role, each character is given life that seemed appropriate for who they are.

The last point that needs to be made is one that might rely solely on Slades vision. His style is obviously there but there was something…barren about a few of the scenes in the movie, most notably the forest fight before our heroes are carted off to Ironglade. We see flat land, some trees, maybe a bush and a sky. It works essentially as the plains section of any RPG but if perhaps there were mountains in the distance, a city perhaps, something that meets the horizon to form a more enclosed space the locations would’ve seemed more organic. On the contrary, the Ironglade sequence works wonderfully with just the same amount of simplicity. Hell the whole set was pretty much the same color. I can’t say the same about the forest city scene. The whole problem is that when using a solid color background it seems to lack depth. Towards the end of the movie when they are travelling to the next temple, however, the depth in the scenes, particularly the mountains, is downright beautiful. It marks more inconsistency, but having to go back and revamping the entire movie would’ve probably taken more time than it is worth.

While I don’t want to keep harping on seemingly crippling points in the movie, it goes without saying that what Slade has presented is not only incredibly solid but has merits that outweigh the production faults. Inconsistencies due to lengthy production life happen and this movie isn’t any exception. Should it detract from the overall experience? Only if you allow it. I felt the need to discuss them only for the simple fact that there are things that need to be said. Yes the movie is fairly raw but it has a certain life and atmosphere around it that is fairly unique when the viewer is zoned in despite the atypical fantasy concepts. Nitpicking aside, is Legacy of Saradomin worth your time? Absolutely. Like the many ambitious, lengthy 3DMM projects before it, the newest member of what we’ll call the “Crystals and Vials Epic” fraternity certainly has its downsides but you can’t help but leave with the feeling that you’ve watched something extraordinary.

[Slade]

Wow, that's easily the deepest review I've been given so far.

I'll touch on a few things you mentioned, because others have already been addressed and talked about and blulblublbub.

Originally Posted by Orcus

While one can make the comparison of the armies of same-3DMM characters to that of, say, the Orcs in Lord of the Rings, one of the more troubling realities is that we, as a group, are too familiar with these 3DMM characters to simply allow them to exist as an army without breaking the grisly atmosphere of the movie.

I think creating custom skins for the doppleganger armies might've livened it up a little - make them seem a bit more unique, but back then re-skinning a 3dmm actor was ten times more complicated than it is now. You had to file through 3dmmpencil and look for each individual limb texture and it was just hell. Nowadays it's much easier and something I would definitely do for the big armies if I do LoS 2.

Originally Posted by Orcus

... though I would suggest in the future to nearly everyone to maybe think about doing what Andres did for Satanik and send the voice actor the actual movies scenes for the actor to visualize the part.

I had a feeling this might've been a problem in the first place. I never wrote a script for LoS 1, which meant extra lines were added unexpectedly, and so on. Running around trying to get all the lines I could from the voice actors was nothing short of a nightmare, but that was my fault for not being more organised. I think the main reason I never sent any voice actors real scenes was partly because of uploading hassles and also that compulsion lots of us have to keep the actual movie as unseen as possible until release day. If I get round to LoS 2, I'll be sending voice actors proper scripts.

Originally Posted by Orcus

His style is obviously there but there was something…barren about a few of the scenes in the movie, most notably the forest fight before our heroes are carted off to Ironglade. We see flat land, some trees, maybe a bush and a sky. It works essentially as the plains section of any RPG but if perhaps there were mountains in the distance, a city perhaps, something that meets the horizon to form a more enclosed space the locations would’ve seemed more organic.

It's my least favourite part of the movie, honestly. It was one of the earliest sequences I made for it (I'm talking waaaaay back, before I was even using multiple angles in fight scenes), before v3dmm was even properly finished, I think (or it was finished but I wasn't risking a save bug). Back then it was just flat grass. That was it. Grass and people. I added some rocks and things but generally I was sick of going over things and was more bent on finishing it than anything else. Now that the standard of quality isn't rising so quickly anymore, that wouldn't be much of a problem in the hypothetical LoS 2.

Originally Posted by Orcus

I can’t say the same about the forest city scene. The whole problem is that when using a solid color background it seems to lack depth.

Yeah, but with Cadfael I really had little choice. The set pieces were so large that the 'bbbbbbbbb' trick wouldn't work (because the bbbbbbs would have to be placed so far back that the line-blur just wouldn't appear). I couldn't really create any sort of background because any object I moved back far enough (to be behind everything else) would be too small to work with. I have a tendancy to make things much bigger than need be, but that whole sequence is a complicated one to design well. I know what you mean though, in some scenes it's really obvious.

All in all though, a stunning review. I can probably relate to yours a lot more because you've also slaved away at a massively long movie. I think MC is considerably longer, isn't it? You must've had nerves of steel.

[Tuna Hematoma]

I was awesome in this movie.

[Orcus]

Originally Posted by Slade

All in all though, a stunning review. I can probably relate to yours a lot more because you've also slaved away at a massively long movie. I think MC is considerably longer, isn't it? You must've had nerves of steel.

By about 20 minutes, yes. The strange thing about MC was that I was so engrossed in the movie during the summer of 2004 that Aaron and I were simultaneously working on projects (he was doing Pamela) so it was not really a competition but it's cool to work alongside someone one big projects. In doing so I managed to get around 70% of the entire movie done within the span of 2-3 months. The old parts at the beginning were done about a year before everything else was put into place. You can see the strange evolution of my directing skills through the entire movie.