'Sintel' - Durian Open Movie Project

Sintel, Blender foundation's third project, is coming along nicely. The latest clip shows the main character with her dragon pet. The results are beautiful. I have been following this short film's progress since it was first announced. The early takes weren't impressive, but they were very encouraging, especially to those who are interested in making their own 3D short films. As time passes, their progress became better and better. Now that the film is almost done, the quality has gone way up. And knowing that the project uses all open source programs, it really inspired me greatly. I can't wait to see the finished film.

For more information about the project, visit the durian open movie website.

'How To Train Your Dragon' - A Great Film On Multiple Levels

'How To Train Your Dragon' is an absolute blast to watch. Having no expectation prior to the viewing, the movie took me for a ride that I haven't felt for a long time. There's humor, excitement, romance, relationship between father and son, between friends, between human and dragon, and most importantly, there's emotion and a few unforgettable scenes. Not only is the story well written, the score is beautiful and the 3D is amazing. I've seen it twice and I can't wait for the home version to be released. It's just that good.

Click here to view CG society's production focus article of the movie.

Assassin's Creed II:Cinematic Trailer

The cinematic opening of Assassin's Creed II has beautiful art direction, amazing details, breathtaking cinematography and much more. It's a whole new level when compared to the first game's trailer, which is considered one of the best cinematic in its year. Not only is everything more detailed, the quality is much higher than before. I'm truly amazed at what has been created here.

'The Making of Oblivion' Documentary

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is one of the most well received RPG both on Xbox 360 and the PC. Having released in 2006, it has garnered numerous awards and launched a huge fanbase with tons of great mods to enhance an already great game. ThinkFilm released a 40 minutes documentary on the making of Oblivion showing their progress right up till the E3 event.

To watch Oblivion's 20 minute demo clips, visit their movies site and scroll down to 'OBLIVION E3 2005 DEMO VIDEOS' section.

To access ThinkFilm's making of Oblivion documentary from YouTube, click them below:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

'World Builder' by Bruce Branit

What an amazing and powerful film this is. I couldn't help but think about the film long after I finish watching it. It definitely deserve to win an award for it.

Click here to watch the film.

'Wrath of the Lich King' Cinematic Trailer

 

Blizzard has released the cinematic opening of 'Wrath of the Lich King', a game expansion to their immensely popular online game, World of Warcraft.Be prepared to feast your eyes on a beautifully crafted cinematic film.

Pigeon Impossible Podcasts

CGArena has posted 'Pigeon Impossible Podcasts - Part 1' describing the general outline of how Lucas Martell worked on his film. He's a humorous guy and his videos are fun to watch. The podcast on 'Multipass Compositing' explains the compositing workflow he employed in his film, which is a great overview on the topic of compositing.

Here are some of the links to artists interested in making good compositing:
For 'Lighting, Compositing, Setup Guide' by Bank Affairs, click here.
For 3D Compositing Guide by Simon Reeves, you can access both part 1 & part 2.

Lastly, be sure to check out Lucas's blog page on Pigeon Impossible by clicking here.

(Update: The website currently has up to 19 podcasts as of December 2009.)

Diablo III

The Diablo series has come a long way. Currently in its third series, Blizzard has updated its fans with the Diablo III cinematic teaser. Like always, it's of the highest quality one could dream of, and a feast for all CG and gaming fans. GameTrailer has also uploaded the artwork teaser of Diablo III, which consists of numerous beautifully drawn and painted fantasy art.

Brad Bird Notes on Composition

I recently came across 'Brad Bird notes on Composition' from animationmeat.com. In his notes, Brad Bird explained about his view on creating better compositions. Looking through the notes, it's undeniable that you can get tons of insight on how to really improve your work, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who has the slight interest in either storyboarding or story-telling.

Another source of study would be the book 'Shot by Shot'. You can check it out from any local bookstore or through Amazon.com.

'Ratatouille' - Nothing Short of a Masterpiece

It's simply that. A masterpiece. Not only does it excel technically, this movie has a great cast with great characters, and underlying all those wonders is a great storyline. There were moments in the movie where I thought things are going to work this way or go that way (no spoilers here) but what I didn't expect was that things usually aren't as smooth as they were thought out to be. Reality always sinks in. It's up to how the main characters are going to make it to be. That is what makes it so intriguing. I want to know what happens next.

I do believe that Pixar has set a standard in terms of story-telling in the animation field that no other company comes close to it. They have always strive for quality and it shows in all their films. I just hope that other companies will follow their footsteps in providing quality work for their audiences too. Don't just think of making money.

Click here to read CG Society's featured article on Ratatouille.

'Surf's Up' Is One Enjoyable And Inspiring Journey

Surf's Up is a documentary styled movie that journeys through the life of a surfing penguin. I know that it's about penguins again and many people will probably be tired of it. But not only is the story good and inspiring, the take on a documentary style (mimicking a reality show) is a fresh twist to it. On top of that, the script is well written and the jokes nicely laid out.

I personally would like to see it having more publicity so that more people would take a chance at watching this great film, although it seems unlikely to be that way. The moment it's out on DVD, I'll be one of the the group of people who'll get this movie. It's that good for me.

Click here to read CG Society's featured article on Surf's Up.

Podcasts

In the recent few years, there has been a huge increase in popularity within the podcast community. Spending a day going through and downloading quite a number of them through iTunes, I immediately found two great podcasts sources: the Animation Podcast and Spline Cast (featuring Brad Bird). Be sure to check them out for amazing and inspirational interviews there.