[film] x

3278 · Post by **3278** » Sat Dec 20, 2003 6:15 pm

Flak asked a <a href="http://www.bulldrek.com/Live/viewtopic. ... uestion</a> about the <a href="http://www.bulldrek.com/Dev/x.wmv">x trailer</a>, and it occurred to me that no one had done any film projects in <a href="http://www.bulldrek.com/Live/viewforum. ... ">Artistic License</a>, so...here we go.

The project was done in <a href="http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/p ... 808">Vegas 4.0</a>. I used stillframes from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/">Fight Club</a>, including the burning trees image Flak asked about. I also used a couple images off the web, probably violating some copyright or another. The footage of me is from my webcam, and heavily processed. Mostly, I just dug the color scheme applied to the webcam clip, and the <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search? ... conceit</a> of treating a software release as if it were a movie release appealed to me.

The toughest thing in terms of video was getting the text and its timing just right. Because 30 frames per second doesn't always match up absolutely perfectly with quarters of a second, some of the timing of the audio had to be very precisely placed, and Vegas doesn't have the tools necessary to do that. If I weren't such a stickler for detail, I guess it wouldn't be a problem, but I was under the impression that part of the appeal of filmmaking in the digital arena was its precision.

The audio track is entirely sample-based, and that's not as ordinary as it might initially sound. The "snaps" are a mixture of real drum recordings played in <a href="http://www.propellerheads.se/products/r ... me">Reason 2.5</a> and recordings from a DVD rip of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... ">Space</a> of the firing of the <a href="http://www.lle.rochester.edu/">Omega Laser</a> at Rochester, made during firings by <a href="http://www.sprl.umich.edu/research_proj ... >Professor Paul Drake</a>. The vocal sample toward the end ["one, two, x is coming for you."] is from DMX's <a href="http://mfile.akamai.com/3171/wm2/muze.d ... 0605">X-Is Coming</a>.

The music is a remixed version of a song of mine done in Reason called <i>repeat after me</i>; this version by necessity is much shorter, and doesn't feature most of the effects automation used in the original. The two drums lines orbit each other in opposition, and are both filtered and processed digital recordings of real drums. The ascending "synth" line is made from two different heavily filtered and processed digital recordings of pure sawtooth waveforms, each somewhere between 5 and 100 milliseconds long. All the functions being applied to the resulting waveform are "pure" mathematical functions, none massaged for the purpose of aesthetics. [That's how all the music I make is recorded, for what that's worth.] The laughter is David Boreanaz, from the end of <a href="http://www.tvtome.com/Angel/season4.htm ... akening</a>. I think it's an amazing laugh, and it's a scene I really enjoy; some fair amount of my music is recorded in-between or as interruptions to my diet of downloaded TV, so it's only natural that some of the TV leaks into the music.

I think that's everything. It's not a complicated project, although Vegas made it a little harder than I felt it needed to be, and significantly delayed me. But when it comes to anything artistic, I'm like a bulldog, refusing to let go until I'm satisfied with the result. And actually, events forced me to comprimise somewhat in this case, but overall I'm pretty pleased with the result. It's my first film project of any length, and while simple, it was a real learning experience in terms of using Vegas and beginning to think in tune with its somewhat counterintuitive interface. My next project, I'm quite sure, will be significantly more complex. And mathematical.

Crazy Elf · Post by **Crazy Elf** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 1:43 pm

Dude, I can't get the downloads to download.

FlameBlade · Post by **FlameBlade** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 1:23 am

I saw the trailer...a while ago before when I can't download it. Very nifty.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 2:13 am

Do you have Windows Media Player 9? If not, you might not be able to watch it.

FlameBlade · Post by **FlameBlade** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 2:17 am

The requested URL was not found on this server.

That's the message that I get now.

Kai · Post by **Kai** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 2:45 am

Oh, excuse me, I'm a dumbass. When I did the merge to 2.0.6 for Dev I renamed the Dev directory to Dev.pre6 in case I screwed something up and that's where the file was, and for whatever reason it didn't occur to me to move it back into the Dev folder. Fixed.

Twisted Sister · Post by **Twisted Sister** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 11:41 am

Ok, I have no idea what Kai just said, but I am getting File Not Found. If for whatever reason the trailer has been removed, can someone send it to me?

Kai · Post by **Kai** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 12:28 pm

Uh....er...its been 6 months and its not anywhere on the server I can find, I think you'll have to ask 32 for it.

Twisted Sister · Post by **Twisted Sister** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 1:49 pm

*nods* I figgured that may have had something to do with it.

Thanks Kai, I'll ask teh 32!

FlakJacket · Post by **FlakJacket** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 4:45 am

Just don't expect a quick reply if you PM him.