:30 Animated Scene Preview Likely for February
Richard Kuta E-Mailed TSSZ News late Monday evening to bring us up to speed on his ongoing Sonic fan film project.
Much more work been done since we last saw the first storyboard animatic released. Today, we showcase two more new animatics; the first, dubbed The Great Escape, focuses on Tails saving Sonic, and traversing through Chemical Plant Zone–so this won’t all be SatAM based:
In this scene, Tails courageously rescues Sonic from robotic servitude and both brave through the treacherous corridors of The Chemical Plant Zone, barreling through a network of badniks and racing back to Knothole. Unfortunately, their antics resulted in the robotic deformation of the evil doctor.
The second, Childhood Innocence, is a blast from the past that focuses on Sonic and Sally’s antics in their youth. Both are available for viewing below.
The big news, however, is that shortly we anticipate to see a piece of this in action for the first time. Kuta tells us the 30 second scene piece should be finished by February. That’s a more than five year dream come true for Kuta, and he explains more in a video blog.
When you’re done there, enjoy the animatics below. We thank Richard Kuta for sending this in, and we’ll be sure to keep you on top of developments regarding his Sonic fan film. There’s a bit of an update on the other one, too, which we’ll have Wednesday on TSSZ News.
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I have a better feeling about this fan film than the live action one.
So, if it takes till Feb. to make a 30 second scene, how long is it goin to take to make an actual film?
@serpx: Most likely, as long as necessary, and quite likely, even longer than that. Hiccups and all seem quite common among most fan projects, and I seriously doubt AKR’s film will be any exception from this point onward, since he’s already had more than enough trouble than any sane person should have to go through for something like a non-profit fan film.
Looks amazing for a fan film so far. Lovin’ the animatics and the music chosen to accompany them.
Again these aren’t animatics, they’re storyboards. And taking this long to make 30 seconds, that sounds pretty ridiculous. They do realize that they can keep costs and cut time by limiting and recycling animation (just look at hanna barbera). Heck this guy http://onemonthanimatedfeature.tumblr.com/ is making an animated feature in one month (granted this is bit of a large endeavor, but shows it’s in the realm of possibility). I also read about another person who made 10 minutes of animation in 2 months. Personally, I’ve made some quick color animatics, about 3 seconds in about half a day (no experience though). At my school the animation students have to crank out animated shorts every semester (my school on a trimester schedule so semesters are shorter). As long as they don’t go all out Disney it could be done within a year or so (depending on length of movie, what type of animation their using and the number of the frames used).
@MilesDX: However, when you strive for the highest quality animation, it would be best to have a team of few talented individuals that could whip up a very clean and solid 30 second clip in a matter of months. I’m sure the Hanna-Barbera methods aren’t what they’re going for since those were rather cheaply made cartoons.
Too bad the fan film had to based off of that awful satam show.
The guy can draw, I’ll give him that, but that’s basically all he’s done — draw some (nice-looking) pictures and put them to other peoples’ music.
Wilford111: I happen to LIKE SatAM. True, it’s not perfect, and it’s definitely got its worse moments, but it’s a whole lot better than many unnamed cartoons that showed on TV within the past three years. Five years. Seven years? Well, I’d admit that either way, it’s not saying much, but still, SatAM isn’t all that bad a show, and even if you think it’s cheesy, at least that goes with your whine. ;D
Yamishi: Kuta himself didn’t actually draw those pictures (so far as I know). I’ve heard that he’s got a team of storyboard artists working on those. But yes, Kuta DID contribute something to the mix: the script. It’s just hard to tell what the story is sometimes because the dialogue hasn’t been added yet. And if you think HE’S been producing so little after five years, YOU try leading a humoungous team fan project for a few years and see how far you get. (I’ve been going for almost two years on mine, and about the first year and a half was spent entirely on deciding what NOT to do. I’m honestly embarrassed about how long I spent coming up with ideas that were cheesier that the worst parts of ANY Sonic cartoon ever created!) So… don’t knock the Kuta.
@Kate: This is true. Even though I’m not much of a drawer, I am proficient in graphic design. As for the film, a lot is involved when you’re helming a project comprised of storyboard artists, character illustrators and a team of animators. I may be the idea the guy, but I also contribute artistically to the work itself. I did the initial poster designs for the character profiles and collaborated with Nicochi on a couple movie posters. Overall, I did most of the promotions so everything looked aesthetically pleasing and organized. On top of that, the script went through numerous revisions and I also voice directed the voice actors. As you can see, I did more than just direct.
Now just cause the animation is finally in effect, doesn’t mean I can finally sit back. I’m going to frequently monitor their work to ensure each shot is perfect, the characters are on model, and the atmosphere captures my vision. FYI, the reason the 30 second scene is going to take awhile is due to the holidays. Once everyone gets accustom to the style, things should go smoothly.
@AKR: Does it make me a dorkoid that I’m suddenly very excited that you replied to my post and didn’t take any offense whatsoever?
Man, I used to be obnoxious to you, but now that I’m working on Project Sonikku, I can totally relate to all the dung that I have to deal with just to make a work of art for the Sonic fan community at large (or at least the small percentage that aren’t busy fighting each other in the “canon wars” or griping about Sonic 4).
Despite the fact that Richard did write the script, he’s given me free reign to input visual cues and strong artistic direction. This is not SatAM in terms of visuals. It has very realistic lush detail, but the main focus is on the surrealism of the original Sonic games released on the Megadrive and CD. Robotropolis is taking heavy cues from Scrap Brain and Metropolis Zone, all finished up with a touch of rust and grime.
Knothole Forest is now very heavily reminiscent of Green Hill, Emerald Hill, and the higher up on the terrain, you reach the Hill Top Zone. If you go into the Outlands, you’ll find Marble Hill Zone, and once you go deep underground, you find the Labyrinth Zone.
Despite us having a movie to work with, we are building the world as if we were making a new game and solidifying the Sonic globe of Earth/Mobius/Planet Freedom into something more universally acceptable and capable of more diversity. This film may take place in a small portion of the world, but it’s a HUGE world.
Shoot me some questions. I’ll gladly answer all questions regarding the art direction.
Calling these “animatics” is very gracious. There’s no camera moves or audio cues or any working out of the problems that an animatic is for. You can’t even judge shot times because the audio isn’t there.
Apparently some people working on the film are on this page, so if you can get this to whoever is doing these storyboards, it’s a rule that he could really use a little study on: http://www.studentfilmmakersguild.com/public/261.cfm