| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
|---|---|
| Nature-boy07-10-06, 07:36 PM | I'm really excited about making this D&D film. But in the rules, it mentions that we can't use previously published materials. I assume this refers to fantasy novels and movies already written. But my buddy thought this meant we couldn't use published materials not of the Open Gaming License, i.e. Eberron references.... I don't know why they wouldn't let us base a short movie in Eberron, but I'd like to make sure. Can anyone spread some light on this? |
| RedUncle07-10-06, 08:44 PM | I've got no useful advice to offer ---- I just want to see your films when it's done!! let us know how it goes! good luck |
| Mordayn07-10-06, 09:28 PM | Is there any pssoibility to be part of this film? I live in Norway so i supposse i'm a bit far away for this, but i would seriously like to contribute if there were any way i could do so. |
| Solaris07-10-06, 09:32 PM | I'm really excited about making this D&D film.Which D&D film? But in the rulesWhich rules? What are we talking about? Is there some context for this? EDIT: Here it is: http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3151659 |
| Nature-boy07-11-06, 12:22 PM | Is there any pssoibility to be part of this film? I live in Norway so i supposse i'm a bit far away for this, but i would seriously like to contribute if there were any way i could do so. Well I live in Texas, so I don't think you could play a part (unless you're planning a trip here very soon), but I am looking for someone with knowledge in computer graphics and how to make some nifty special effects. Which D&D film?. Sorry, I didn't leave a link. It is advertised on the WotC D&D home page. |
| Azezel07-11-06, 01:32 PM | Just a general request to everybody whose participating in the competition - Please put your films of youtube (or similar site), we want to see them! |
| WotC_acolby31508-01-06, 12:51 PM | You can use any D&D reference that you like. See below: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/fanfilmfest/rules.html From the rules section E E No films featuring copyrighted material, including audio from movies, or other copyrighted music, or any third party properties, will be accepted for entry in this Contest (excluding Wizards' Dungeons & Dragons (including Dungeons & Dragons Online) materials). You just can't re-edit Lord of the Rings down to five minutes... ABC |
| Captn Blake08-02-06, 08:49 PM | Oh Nature Boy, ordinarily I'd love to help you out with the CG, but in this instance, you and I are enemies! Ha ha, I'm makin' a film too! Yaaaah. Man, I love movies. I hope there is a great number of submissions. Reply if you plan on making a film! I've only seen 3 movies on the site (www.gamevideos.com) so I'm curious as to how many submissions there will be. I know we have 1 month until the deadline, so I presume that most people are still working and we'll just get a huge number of uploads on Aug 31st. But I can't help to think like maybe I won't have any competition... :( Make me feel better, people. Let me know if you're in! -Captn Blake |
| Grennor_Lybos08-03-06, 02:12 PM | I too am making a movie, we are filming over the next two weekends and editing for a week and a half then (fingers crossed) we will submit just before the deadline. For those asking the movies are posted on the net you just need to follow the links for the filmfest to get to them. Copyrighted material from Wotc is allowed, even the midnight syndicate official DnD roleplaying soundtrack material may be used....I wrote and asked Wotc on this one. here is the response. Subject fanfilm contest question Discussion Thread Response (Zephreum H.) 07/31/2006 12:02 PM Thank you for contacting us. Yes you can use the music from the D&D official roleplaying music CD. Take Care! We would appreciate your feedback on the service we are providing you So to all my competitors and soon to be competitors out there...good luck..........Your going to need it :D MWAHAHAHHA :D ....no seriously :P |
| TheChilliGod08-03-06, 03:30 PM | I was considering making a D&D film as well. But, curse my luck, I don't live in the US/Canada. Ineligibility by paragraph 2. :weep: I don't think that'll stop me from making some sort of film in the near future, anyway. But, since I have no deadline... Anyway, I wish y'all contestants good luck. And be thankful that I shall not enter. Because the first prize would have been mine anyway. |
| Captn Blake08-03-06, 08:20 PM | Ooohh Chili God, that's a bummer! Maybe you can submit it thru a friend in the states? Or upload it to Game Videos.com after the contest. I'd love to see what you'd cook up. Grennor_Lybos that is fantastic news! I look forward to taking your beating! Anything that gets more films up online... I'll take one for the team. Get to it, everyone! Make me some movies - and refill my popcorn while you're up! :dancin: -C.B. |
| Grennor_Lybos08-04-06, 04:43 AM | Well the man I had cast as my dwarf broke his hand today two fingers one of them shattered...fortunately I have a female dwarf cast as well so I will still have most of the major player races in the film. is anyone keeping up on the films that have been posted so far. I really liked the "get a life" film. I hope more get posted soon, really enjoy watching them. Thats it for now. |
| Captn Blake08-04-06, 02:43 PM | Grennor! That's horrible! Dang, I hope he heals fast, what a bummer. I guess you have to be careful with those Dwarven warhammers and all... :-p I had not seen that "Get a Life" one! That's GREAT! Ha haa! I loved it! Thanks for pointing me to it. That was cool. I too want to see more! I won't have mine done until the 31st or somthing. Too close for comfort. Oh well. As long as I make the deadline. Anyone else? |
| Grennor_Lybos08-07-06, 03:46 AM | Well day 1 of filming is complete! Everything went well. was nervous about day 1 as it would be the first test as to weather or not this could be done by us and turns out we can. I dont want to give to much away about the movie but I will post production stuff here as we get further along to keep everyone posted on how the movie is going and eventually when it is posted to the net. see you later |
| HomebrewedMonster08-07-06, 11:23 AM | Grats on starting a film, I'm guessing you are shooting a short. Well I just recently finished filming a feature length film with friends (betterluckyesterday.com). If you want any advise or maybe some technical questions feel free to PM me or post them in this thread. A couple things that I would suggest. 1. Make sure your audio is good, it is the hardest thing to try and fix in post. A lot of camcorders have decent mics on them, but be careful because most are direction, only picking up sound where the camera is pointed. So you need people to talk infront of the camera and be careful with ambiant noise, if you film a fantasy short and car noise is in the background it takes away from the illusion. 2. White balance, if you do not know what that is, simple look through your user's manual. It makes a huge difference and even an untrained eye can pick it up. 3. Steady shots, maybe people, I am included, hate an unstead camera. It all your shots are jumpy and out of focus I will not waste my time on trying to find redemption for your film. Its simple, get a tripod or just have a steady hand and do a little amount of follows. 4. Have fun. |
| Captn Blake08-11-06, 05:43 PM | Oh good! yay! I'm excited! I want to seeee it! Ya, day 1 was scarey - butterflies in my stomach. I kept it chill - easy schedule, and just let everyone get to know each other and get used to wokring together and acting in front of the cam. Even "real" actors need a bit of time to warm up to a director and stuff, so inevitably your first day will yield your worst footage. Put emotional scenes later in the sched. I kept the first day to mostly B-roll, coverage, and a few simple lines. Even day 2 made a huge difference in performance. By day 4 (last day) it was like they were different people altogether. They were totally into it. I wish we had like 30 days to shoot. (but at the same time it feels SOOO good to have it all shot, and sit editing alone where you don't get bothered. ha ha). HomebrewedMonster, where were you a few weeks ago?! ha ha. I think I could have used some advice. I already know some things I'd do differently. I might add to that list that video has a HECK of a time with high-contrast, so, unless your film is hinging on lack of detail in shadows (or highlights), fill your shadows in with a bounce card or something. As for #3 (steady cam) - I used tripods and stuff for my chill shots, but for action I went handheld. I think rules are made to be manipulated, so I think it's okay to ditch the equipment if you're going for a more frenetic docu-drama feel. Still thoguh, I used one of these for a lot of handheld shots: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/ It's pretty famous in the low-budget video world. It's SUPER easy to build (took me like 2 hours - maybe less) and it's cheap and effective. Oh, and customizable (changing lengths and weights) but what is there is almost perfect. I only used that configuration and I loved it. Might wanted to have used the inverter bracket for a few more interesting shots, but oh well. I also used some principles from this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0240804678/sr=8-1/qid=1155331982/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-4148313-6456931?ie=UTF8 when shooting to provide tension and/or tranquility when appropriate. I've met Bruce on several occasions and he's WICKED smart (teaches at USC film school) and this book is brilliant. It's kindof a staple for a lot of now-pro film folks. And what's more is that even though you're already shooting, it's not too late to use some of these principles. They come in handy at the editing desk too (stuff like rhythm and color timing, and manipulating depth queues). Ya, get this one. What else? oh ya. #4. Fun. That's the absolute #2 most important thing, (next to #1 - stay safe). I might address #1. Many of these films may use swords, daggers, knives, etc. I *know* you know this, but a gun is a deadly weapon for like, what - 8 pulls of the trigger. Or however many bullets fit in your magazine. You take the bullets out and it becomes a fancy paperweight or at most, an inconvienient club. A sword NEVER runs out of ammo. Even when not sharp, it kills. Don't be careless, and make sure you tell your actors that! You might look dumb but you'd look even dumber driving one to the hospital. Seriously. If you plan on swordplay, look up this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879100915/sr=1-1/qid=1155332426/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-4148313-6456931?ie=UTF8&s=books I don't have the fancy updated version, I have the original but this book is killer! This will teach you how to make your fights look super pro, and how to stay safe while you're at it. Much of the book applies more to stage combat than to screen combat, but still, many many things carry over. The one thing I neglected to pass on to my actors was stretching before the shoot - the book says that neck injuries happen ALL the time because people need to react to punches and things, and they always use big head movements (try it at your desk - pretend you got punched). Well, guess what. My hero hurt his neck on the last day of shooting. Fortunately there were only a few shots left that day. But illustrates the point. Well, keep me posted. I'm excited. I'll catch you later! :D CB |
| Captn Blake08-16-06, 05:48 PM | 2 weeks left! <shudder> Is anyone else scared by the approaching deadline? I just heard from my VFX guy that he's finishing today, yay. But my music guy is slow as all heck and that scares me. Doesn't it take more than 2 weeks to score a 5 minute film? Well, I guess that depends on who you are. It'd take me a month. Anything out there that I can do to ensure that more films get made? Any questions that need answering or anything? Oh, and do you think this contest will return next year? |
| Masterfulks08-16-06, 06:12 PM | Damn I wish I knew about this sooner... Making short films used to be a hobbyish activity for me. As for advice, the toughest part is getting people that show up consistantly. If you have people that are into it, then you have a large part of it in the bag. Also schedule your days so that you know what your filming when and where, and who needs to be in the shot. If people have to stand around and get bored they may be less likely to show up. Give yourself bookends on each shot of at least a few seconds. You can edit what you need later, but if somebody is too fast or too slow on the camera you'll screw up a shot. Don't film it like you're filming a play. If you just sit the camera on a tripod and press the button the shots will become boring. Interesting angles and camera usage can make any shot better. Practice any fight scenes till everyone knows exactly what is going on! Especially if you're using weapons, and be extremely careful with cheap swords. Even just swinging some stainless steel swords will cause the handle and blade to seperate. That can cause the blade to snap off and go flying into someone. Although if that happens be sure to keep filming as such effects never look as good as the real thing. :) |
| Grennor_Lybos08-24-06, 09:12 PM | Well we have finished filming and special F/x are done but I am still waiting on the sound to get done. I have been keeping abreast of the other films being entered and some are very good. and one has me very worried as it is in the same style that I went with. oh well to late to change anything now. Good luck to the rest of you and your entries. |
| Grennor_Lybos08-26-06, 04:19 AM | I have a quick question for those of you who have already posted movies to the contest. How long did it take for the upload to go through. I started an upload 13 hours ago. My internet icon in the system tray says it is sending info but the progress bar is still at 0%:confused: . Now the file is 1.5 gig and is already compressed but I did expect some noticable progress after this amout of time. I am hoping that the progress bar is simplely not correct but I have no way of knowing. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance Grennor Lybos |
| Silverthumb12808-26-06, 04:44 AM | I can see where you would've thought that you couldn't use D&D references, as the first one had none of its own. :D |
| Grennor_Lybos08-28-06, 02:17 PM | woohoo! Movie is done and uploaded. I found out what was going wrong with the upload. Wizards says that you dont have to stay under the 100mb limit that the site has but if you go WAY over it like I was the page following it will time out and you wont get uploaded. I was ignorant to the fact that I can save using video compression and was trying to just zip the file. wrong! I used divx compression (mpeg4 I believe?) and that took it from a 5.2GB file to a 21MB file. I was amazed! Did not lose much of anything in compression either. There were still one or two things I wish I had time to change about the movie but it is definately good enough to be entertaining, or so everyone who sees it tells me ( I myself may be a little biased). So to everyone else out the who is competing, good luck and , HOPEFULLY, we will see each other in L.A. Be well Grennor Lybos |
| wereooze08-28-06, 07:27 PM | Angst du Chakra is freakin hilarious. French new-wave makes a saving throw against Beatdown! |
| Grennor_Lybos08-29-06, 02:35 PM | gamevideos wrote to me and told me that they are haveing problems with all .avi file types and requested that I re-upload in wmv format. I would recommend that any of you who havent uploaded yet use this format first time around. Good Luck |
| rizzard08-29-06, 03:57 PM | ha ha i'm working on mine right now. i got about two minutes of animation i'm hoping to get it to 4 but friday is so close can't wait to see the end results on friday i wonder if allot more fillms will be posted at the end |
| Silverthumb12808-29-06, 04:20 PM | I really liked the Harlot video. |
| tierieanas08-29-06, 04:28 PM | I really liked the Harlot video. :D Thanks! I'm the DM in that movie! Glad someone like it. Now I can tell people I'm in films :cool: |
| Grennor_Lybos08-30-06, 12:52 PM | I cant believe what I am seeing online right now. With films like +5 stapler, harlot, scrying network, get a life and desert battle in the contest the cartoon about the deadlyness of elf excriment has the best rating!?!?!? I mean I can see the appeal of the off color humor, but c'mon, is that what we a looking for poop and racism in a dnd film. I suspect that someone is boosting ratings with this but I cant imagine who would want to sit for hours on end just clicking on videos and rating them. Anyway just my little rant, I appologize if this offends anyone. |
| Captn Blake08-30-06, 04:39 PM | Ya, I liked the Harlot one too! Good story arc. :p Oh man. Grennor - poop and farts sell, man. Well, they sell to the younger audience, at least. I don't like it either, but it's a true fact that fart jokes never go out of style with young people, and young people is the market that you want! Who else goes to see the same film 3 or 4 times in the theater? heh. I guess I liked fart jokes back then too. Of course, I saw Aladdin 4 times in the theater and there are no fart jokes in there (except the Dead Sea Tupperware at the opening). In other news, I'm doing a final audio mix on mine tonight, so I'm hoping to upload the file before I head to sleep tonight. I am very happy to see 22 films up there. Very happy that people spent the time to tell their story! I saw Angst du Chakra up there the first day that I heard about the contest (the Saturday after it was announced). Do you know it is just an exhibition film to generate interest, or done by the D&D crew or something? How else would it have gotten up there so quickly. Is it in the running? |
| Grennor_Lybos08-30-06, 04:54 PM | Blake, So far as I know it is in the running, however this might not be so as it is one of the only movies that is shown on the wizards site that leads to the gamevideos site. just like the stick figure killing the dragon, so things may not be as they seem with that one. it was up reeeeeaaaalllly fast almost like someone knew the contest was comming. conclusion, I think it is either promotional OR submitted by someone in the company who knew of the contest before the rest of us. might not be either might be. Fart and poop was funny when I was young so I see the appeal of the movie to those fans, I am just really really glad that ratings dont matter a lick right now and that it seems the voting process starting on the 15th is going to be handled differently then the rating system. |
| Captn Blake08-30-06, 05:23 PM | Ha ha! You said it. ;) Yah - you're right about the Stick Figure and Chakra movies. I'm curious to see how that will play out. |
| Grennor_Lybos08-31-06, 05:27 AM | Oh man Have you all seen the newest of the films? Choices. Nothing anyone has done comes close to touching it. I dont want to give away to much but I will say most of you will probrobly recognize the characters right away!!! Truly amazing film. I wonder though if all the rules for entry were observed. if they were I think we have seen the winner. one last hint. go to the website at the end and watch the dndfanfilmfest trailer also. |
| Captn Blake08-31-06, 07:44 PM | ACH! Help! I've been trying for the last 40 hours to upload my movie and gamevideos just won't let me. I firs tried an mpg (52mb) and it told me that it was an invalid format (even though the D&D rules said that it accepts mpg files). Then I tried avi (this was big at 281mb) but after a while, I get a webpage that pops up saying that there has been an error. Then I tried outputting a wmv but Adobe Premiere Elements reports a fatal exception and bombs out. Then I tried an mov which works but the sound (though 44kb) is *TERRIBLE*, and there is a section that plays at double-speed and throws the audio synch off. Man, I've worked my tail off for 6 weeks getting this film together, which I like a lot, and I'll just be crushed if I can't get it up in time. I've emailed gamevideos.com about 8 hours ago and have had no response. Can anyone help me??? Please help. (wotc, are you listening?) -CB |
| Captn Blake08-31-06, 10:42 PM | AAAHHH! 4 hours left until deadline! I've just figured out that my problem exporting wmvs stems from a compatibility issue between Premiere and Windows Service Pack 2. Dangit!! Look out, you Windows users. (damn, I should have bought a Mac. What was I thinking?!). Well, I'll burn it to DVD, and bring it to my friend who has a mac with conversion software. I hope I make the deadline. I hope I hope... here I go! |
| Grennor_Lybos09-01-06, 12:50 PM | CB if you havent gotten your movie up yet dont give up you have until 11:59 tonight to get it done, today is the due date listed in the rules. I really hope you get it up though. I think it would be a real shame for your movie not to be there. Suggestions for getting movie up if you havent yet. import your movie into windows movie maker and save from there as .wmv file This have worked for two other friends who had problems with getting errors in this format. Do not save in .avi as game videos site has confirmed that they have a problem with them and cant post them into the contest. Other then that maybe a blood sacrifice to the computer gods. |
| Morgann_the_Inept09-01-06, 04:52 PM | As we wait for the last entries to trickle in, I want to congratulate everyone who took the time to participate. There are some terrific entries, but everybody who contributed helped to make this experience a total hoot! Just my two cents. Hope you liked our group's submission, and I guess I'll find out later! |
| Captn Blake09-01-06, 04:53 PM | The blood sacrifice worked, Grennor! I feel badly for the goat though. heh heh Actually full credit goes to my wife who figured out how to circumvent the windows service pack 2 bug by outputting a wmv at 8 bit mono. Ya, ugly, but it's actually better than I thought. Wait - you mean it's okay to upload *on* Spet 1st?! Vecna's balls! (heh heh) We uploaded at 11:45pm last night and I almost died of stress. Well... I guess better miscalculate the day early than late. Geesh. So, it's not filed under "D&D" yet, but I do have a direct link if you wanna see it. Fun stuff, it is. Fun stuff. I learned a ton. I have a laundry list of things I'd do differently next time, but I'm pleased with it as it is. Fun *and* educational? Wow. Best of both worlds. http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/5612 Well, good luck to everyone. Now I'm seriously going to make some popcorn and watch like two hours worth of 5 minute movies. :) YAY! -CB |
| rizzard09-01-06, 05:01 PM | yeah the rules say "no later then sept 1st" |
| rizzard09-01-06, 05:40 PM | awesome our video is finally up!!!. a little bummed though as it got a little distorted on the page. now i can relax. http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/5666 |
| rizzard09-01-06, 05:43 PM | atually if you want to see it properly the download should play it at the right dimensions |
| Captn Blake09-01-06, 07:02 PM | Holy s*** Rizzard! That is ... RAD! That's the best word for that. Rad. That totally made me wanna pick up my flying V guitar and play some "Wild Stallions" licks. That's freakin' sweet man! Did you storyboard that? Where'd you get all the art? Don't tell me that you drew it all yourself. That's killer stuff. Editing must have been an adventure in itself. Excellent work! Most Excellent. :tiphat: BTW, I *did* download it. Much better to do that to ALL of the entries, to see it in as best form as possible. |
| rizzard09-01-06, 07:50 PM | Hey Cap'n thanks for the generous words. i basically drew transitions backgrounds and a couple elements like the torch and the portal swirl. but most of it is all old school D&D illustrations, i've been collecting all the books for a while. so lets just say i'm sick of photoshop and my scanner interface. i story boarded at the begining but since i was using the old art i sort just got out of hand. i had a good time though it did take for ever. and my computer may still be a little sore. every one needs to see "Road To Mithril Hall" talk about technical i want to see this as a series |
| Grennor_Lybos09-02-06, 05:02 AM | Both of you did an awsome job with this contest! Mine is here. http://www.gamevideos.com/gvdata1/5416/desertbattlefinal003.wmv Yes I learned alot doing this and I also have a million things I would change/do differently. everyone involved wants to keep making these movies so I bought a bunch of equipment I wish I had before I made this one. our next movie is going to have a bunch of the same character but will be more movie like then this one was. |
| Captn Blake09-07-06, 06:11 PM | Oh no way, that was you?! Oh cool Grennor! hah. I totally watched that last week when it was first posted. Nice! Where did you film that? Are you in CA, by chance? Nice work getting that all together, and sweet costumes too. This was fun huh? It can be pretty dang stressful though - with the whole time limit and all, but definately worth it in the end. Nice job, man. :thumbsup: |