Yes, Noir Nation is an e-journal of crime/noir fiction, with graphic novels and our website will have short film noir sites. We'd very much like you check it out and submit a story, comic, or short film. Also we pay! Find us on Facebook, as the website isn't quite up yet. If you are looking to break into comics this could get you a lot of exposure, there are a few big names in the first issue that is due out on Spetember 1, 2011
There is also a video "Noir Naiton" here on Youtube that looks cool too, looks like they publish Graphic novels as well, and will reach the e-pub audience on Kindles, Nook, iPads etc.
@NevandOtis Ah yes, I think it is some sort of community project or something. I guess they are gathering people to produce crime fiction (shorts, animation, graphic novels and so on) for the website. Or at least that is what I understood from the "trailer".
No worries mate. I would love to see a feature length version I am sure frank miller would like it aswell. I have my own graphic novel film coming to YouTube soon called 7 bullets.
I am an indiependent filmmaker and graphic novel/action is my style. I must say I watched this film and could see the sin city in it very well. So very good work to the director and well done.
@SuperBlackheart7 Thanks. Our team did a wonderful job with the movie and with the limited resources and time we had. If only there was time, money and a team a full lenght Detective Story might become reality.
@Constantine2X Thanks. Sometimes simplicity is the best solution. The less colors you have in your animation, the more frames you can draw. It's sometimes like every color is a frame itself.
Definately, this is my goal as well. Your film is absolutely gorgeous, and the rotoscoping top notch. Its not as simple as people think in order to make it effective, and making a good film is not easy period. Check out some of my rotoscoping, I did a simular short fim called cops and robbers, although its not as finished as yours, I think the movement and angles came out well, and I believe the technique we have in common certainly has great potential.
GrandMotherFather, you also don't have to draw every frame. If you uploaded say 400frames you don't have to draw all 400, to get a nice fluid look. You could draw every 2,3, or even 4. Just note that the less drawings you use the choppier it will move. I would say 2s and 3s work real well. Econimizing the work alot and still producing some good quality movement. It also helps ease up the shakes in line work that rotoscoping can produce. Hope this helps, and good luck.
I think you may have a valid point there. In our case rotoscoping was the most important part of the movie and getting the best possibly animation without the choppier look was a goal we were going towards. We wanted to make a clear separation in the look of the film from the "cheap" animation (like some of the Flash animation we see nowadays). I guess the main point in deciding the framerate is to look at the lenght of the movie and how it relfects to the whole amount of work.
Great video. How many frames per second? I ask becouse I want to make rotoscope too, but I would like to have as less of painfull job as it is possible , so I don`t know how much frames is enough for it to look good.
We had 24 frames if I remember correctly (might have been 25 frames but it is pretty much the same effect). It's the same amount as normal recorded video and DVD-movie.
Given the style it would have made it somewhat comic to have different skin tones. Other point being, this was meant to be like one of those 1950s film noir movies and as far as I know there weren't that many non-caucasian actors appearing on the screen. Therefore it would have been like breaking the coherence of the film noir style to put there, say a black or latino person, just so that it would have been more racially acceptable.
And just to be clear: I myself (allthough I was one of four-person team) have no intention to put there racially different looking people if they don't have anything to offer to the story or the film in general. I think the 'rule' for the mandatory character representing some minority or another, is a complete joke if there is no other, more prominent reason to put him/her there except the color of their skin.
It's ok and I understand your point. I have nothing against people with different skin colors. It's just that they make it to be such a big deal and the general consensus seems to be that filmmakers have to put different ethnicities in the film for it to be acceptable. This seems to be the case with Clint Eastwood's Flags of our Fathers where people complain the absence of black U.S. soldier even if the squad that the film was based, consisted of caucasian men.
yes there was a time when that was a issue and it still is today. you could say in some ways but i don't feel you work has anything to do with that at all. thats way i (tried) made that joke because it a ridiculous idea and everyone is super white. but sometime i for get that this is a real issue so sorry if i freaked you out. :¬)
love the vid. using it as inspiration for my uni project. im thinking of filming actions and rotoscoping them for a minute and a half trailer im producing. Did it take forever in photoshop?
Well, the style was heavily influenced by the comic book version of Sin City but I quarantee that all that you can see (+ music) in the video is original material.
It was more of a detective story when we had the original idea but due to short production cycle we had to cut much of the story away and just keep some of the things we had planned.
For rotoscoping the actors we used Photoshop after we had gotten the film material out of the camera. Rotoscoping was done frame-by-frame, no automation was used. For the 3D environments we used 3D Studio Max and for the final composition we used After Effects. Music was done with Fruity Loops.
Yeah, the song is indeed somewhat inspired by Sin City's soundtrack. We pondered at one point how we would do the music for the movie and even thought about using that song from the soundtrack, since this was more of a school practice it wouldn't have mattered that much. But eventually we decided to make our own song. The theme from Sin City just kept playing in my head when me and the other music composer put the song together.
The animation is done by manually drawing vector shapes over the video material that we shot in a regular class room since we were in a hurry to get the filming done so that we would have more time to vectorize the characters and model the 3D city and cars. There are some 1100 unique hand-drawn/vectorized frames in the movie. The second character shot where the man walks beside the car was shot the cameraman (and one of our animators) standing on the table shooting downwards to me.
Yes, Noir Nation is an e-journal of crime/noir fiction, with graphic novels and our website will have short film noir sites. We'd very much like you check it out and submit a story, comic, or short film. Also we pay! Find us on Facebook, as the website isn't quite up yet. If you are looking to break into comics this could get you a lot of exposure, there are a few big names in the first issue that is due out on Spetember 1, 2011
NevandOtis 6 months ago
There is also a video "Noir Naiton" here on Youtube that looks cool too, looks like they publish Graphic novels as well, and will reach the e-pub audience on Kindles, Nook, iPads etc.
NevandOtis 8 months ago
@NevandOtis Ah yes, I think it is some sort of community project or something. I guess they are gathering people to produce crime fiction (shorts, animation, graphic novels and so on) for the website. Or at least that is what I understood from the "trailer".
Fiirdraak 7 months ago
@NappyKinks2 Thanks. It was fun to make.
Fiirdraak 8 months ago
music is good, reminds me of the game syndicate. has similar bass line.
VladTepeshu 1 year ago
@VladTepeshu Thanks. Allthough I have never played that game. Not sure if someone of the rest of the team has.
Fiirdraak 1 year ago
No worries mate. I would love to see a feature length version I am sure frank miller would like it aswell. I have my own graphic novel film coming to YouTube soon called 7 bullets.
SuperBlackheart7 1 year ago
I am an indiependent filmmaker and graphic novel/action is my style. I must say I watched this film and could see the sin city in it very well. So very good work to the director and well done.
SuperBlackheart7 1 year ago
@SuperBlackheart7 Thanks. Our team did a wonderful job with the movie and with the limited resources and time we had. If only there was time, money and a team a full lenght Detective Story might become reality.
Fiirdraak 1 year ago
This is great, it has a nice striped down feel to it, it's like what the impressionists would make if they were animators.
Constantine2X 1 year ago
@Constantine2X Thanks. Sometimes simplicity is the best solution. The less colors you have in your animation, the more frames you can draw. It's sometimes like every color is a frame itself.
Fiirdraak 1 year ago
Definately, this is my goal as well. Your film is absolutely gorgeous, and the rotoscoping top notch. Its not as simple as people think in order to make it effective, and making a good film is not easy period. Check out some of my rotoscoping, I did a simular short fim called cops and robbers, although its not as finished as yours, I think the movement and angles came out well, and I believe the technique we have in common certainly has great potential.
kmdki 1 year ago
Fiirdraak- Exellent work. I love the rotoscope parts. Very dramatic shots.
kmdki 1 year ago
GrandMotherFather, you also don't have to draw every frame. If you uploaded say 400frames you don't have to draw all 400, to get a nice fluid look. You could draw every 2,3, or even 4. Just note that the less drawings you use the choppier it will move. I would say 2s and 3s work real well. Econimizing the work alot and still producing some good quality movement. It also helps ease up the shakes in line work that rotoscoping can produce. Hope this helps, and good luck.
kmdki 1 year ago
I think you may have a valid point there. In our case rotoscoping was the most important part of the movie and getting the best possibly animation without the choppier look was a goal we were going towards. We wanted to make a clear separation in the look of the film from the "cheap" animation (like some of the Flash animation we see nowadays). I guess the main point in deciding the framerate is to look at the lenght of the movie and how it relfects to the whole amount of work.
Fiirdraak 1 year ago
Wow! Great Job!
dualreel 2 years ago
Thanks, mate!
Fiirdraak 2 years ago
Great video. How many frames per second? I ask becouse I want to make rotoscope too, but I would like to have as less of painfull job as it is possible , so I don`t know how much frames is enough for it to look good.
GrandMotherFather 2 years ago
We had 24 frames if I remember correctly (might have been 25 frames but it is pretty much the same effect). It's the same amount as normal recorded video and DVD-movie.
Fiirdraak 2 years ago
like it. it's cool
but don't you think this is a little racist. lol
T2469 2 years ago
How come? Can you elaborate?
Fiirdraak 2 years ago
i was joking.
the black and white stile this has been done takes away and mid tone. making everyone have really really white faces.
i hope i didn't offend, i think there is really something in this
T2469 2 years ago
Given the style it would have made it somewhat comic to have different skin tones. Other point being, this was meant to be like one of those 1950s film noir movies and as far as I know there weren't that many non-caucasian actors appearing on the screen. Therefore it would have been like breaking the coherence of the film noir style to put there, say a black or latino person, just so that it would have been more racially acceptable.
Fiirdraak 2 years ago
And just to be clear: I myself (allthough I was one of four-person team) have no intention to put there racially different looking people if they don't have anything to offer to the story or the film in general. I think the 'rule' for the mandatory character representing some minority or another, is a complete joke if there is no other, more prominent reason to put him/her there except the color of their skin.
Fiirdraak 2 years ago
i agree.
your right.
forgive me pleeeaaase.
i know what i said was stupid. i am a fool.
T2469 2 years ago
It's ok and I understand your point. I have nothing against people with different skin colors. It's just that they make it to be such a big deal and the general consensus seems to be that filmmakers have to put different ethnicities in the film for it to be acceptable. This seems to be the case with Clint Eastwood's Flags of our Fathers where people complain the absence of black U.S. soldier even if the squad that the film was based, consisted of caucasian men.
Fiirdraak 2 years ago
yes there was a time when that was a issue and it still is today. you could say in some ways but i don't feel you work has anything to do with that at all. thats way i (tried) made that joke because it a ridiculous idea and everyone is super white. but sometime i for get that this is a real issue so sorry if i freaked you out. :¬)
T2469 2 years ago
thank you for information
GrandMotherFather 2 years ago
love the vid. using it as inspiration for my uni project. im thinking of filming actions and rotoscoping them for a minute and a half trailer im producing. Did it take forever in photoshop?
smorris999 2 years ago
Forgot to mention (in the message) the time it took to finish :)
The project took roughly 1.5 to 2 months but the rotoscoping took about 4 weeks with other school stuff in the middle.
Fiirdraak 2 years ago
This barrows heavily from Sin City hm?
SilentBat 2 years ago
Well, the style was heavily influenced by the comic book version of Sin City but I quarantee that all that you can see (+ music) in the video is original material.
Fiirdraak 2 years ago
Cool! YOu did a good job on this!
AaronGRandall 2 years ago
Thanks.
Fiirdraak 2 years ago
Not exactly sure how its a detective story but great animation and very impressive style.
STRIKETOBURN1 2 years ago
It was more of a detective story when we had the original idea but due to short production cycle we had to cut much of the story away and just keep some of the things we had planned.
Fiirdraak 2 years ago
Very good job!!
p.s. - thanks for accepting my video response
motionportpholio 3 years ago
Comment removed
skiczuk 3 years ago
this is sweet! what program did you use?
dreezey10 3 years ago
For rotoscoping the actors we used Photoshop after we had gotten the film material out of the camera. Rotoscoping was done frame-by-frame, no automation was used. For the 3D environments we used 3D Studio Max and for the final composition we used After Effects. Music was done with Fruity Loops.
Fiirdraak 3 years ago
too good really badass
corvisthejoker 3 years ago
Thanks.
Fiirdraak 3 years ago
Hehe song heavily inspired by Robert Rodriguez's Frank Miller's Sin City soundtrack :D
Don't worry, I tend to copy old obscure NES theme songs for my movies, same thing, less obvious.
Nice vid BTW, were the people bluescreens with heavy filters or 3D models?
TehPABB 3 years ago
Thanks for the comment!
Yeah, the song is indeed somewhat inspired by Sin City's soundtrack. We pondered at one point how we would do the music for the movie and even thought about using that song from the soundtrack, since this was more of a school practice it wouldn't have mattered that much. But eventually we decided to make our own song. The theme from Sin City just kept playing in my head when me and the other music composer put the song together.
Fiirdraak 3 years ago
The animation is done by manually drawing vector shapes over the video material that we shot in a regular class room since we were in a hurry to get the filming done so that we would have more time to vectorize the characters and model the 3D city and cars. There are some 1100 unique hand-drawn/vectorized frames in the movie. The second character shot where the man walks beside the car was shot the cameraman (and one of our animators) standing on the table shooting downwards to me.
Fiirdraak 3 years ago
wait i dont understand the credits
kittykat2125 4 years ago
What do you mean, you don't understand?
Fiirdraak 4 years ago
cool music
johnny15666 4 years ago
Thanks. We composed it during the last day before the deadline. And surprisingly it came out pretty well.
Fiirdraak 4 years ago