Due to family circumstances I couldn't make it to last night's Sintel Pre-premiere. However, Ali Boubred has posted an excellent video impression of the event, and BlenderArtists' Roel Spruit (mislabeled as the 'BlenderNation dude' in the video ;-) wrote up a short report on the event for us. Thanks guys!
Roel writes:
On Sunday the 18th of July a group of 150 blenderheads attended the pre-premiere of the Blender Institute's latest short film "Sintel". After a nice reception by the Durian team outside Studio-K in Amsterdam, a small cinema rented off for the occasion, we headed into the theater where Ton Roosendaal gave a short introduction. Because it was a pre-premiere we were warned that some aspects of the movie were not finished yet, primarily the colourgrading and some shots that showed rendering errors. We were also warned not to bootleg the movie! This is also the reason this review does not contain specific details about the storyline or the twists and turns of the movie. After the introduction the show began and we were treated to the first ever screening of Sintel!
A review of a movie is always subjective. As someone who followed the progress of Blender for the last decade and saw the last projects the Blender Institute did, I can say that the Durian team really delivered a great movie. The storytelling was very, very good and the structure of the movie was surprising and not too "run-off-the-mill". There were some younger viewers in the audience and their reactions were equally enthousiastic, although the movie might have been a bit scary in some places. Showing the movie to an audience that use Blender themselves must have been daunting for the team, since the slightest flaw gets magnified. I tried to look at the movie from a non-technical point of view and I was very entertained and impressed at the same time. There were some color issues and artifacts here and there but that is to be expected from an early-final version. Comparing it to the previous (movie) projects by the Blender Institute, Elephants Dream and Big Buck Bunny, I feel Sintel is a good combination of the mood and visuals of ED and the storytelling and accesibility of BBB.
After the movie was shown we were treated to 15 minutes of the "Making Of" by Ali Boubred. He followed the team around for the entire production process and did some great interviews with all the team members (he shot 1800 hours of film!). I look forward to seeing the documentary in full when the project is really, really finished.
Then it was off to the bar where the movie was, of course, the main topic of conversation. An event such as this is always an opportunity for me to meet some of my old Blender friends and I was glad to see so many people made the trip for this special occasion. There were even some family members from the team present, some even travelled from the states just to be there! We had the bar to ourselves until 01:00 in the morning so you can imagine we had a good time!
Roel Spruit
I guess I'll just go and grow myself a goatee now.
26 Comments
RESPECT THE GOATEE
Wish I was there, I wonder if the team will be sick of Sintel come the official premiere.
Because some parts are scary (for children?) is there a rating that will be given to Sintel, if so when?
Hm... all this Sintel stuff is starting to bother me a little. I was very keen on watching it a couple of months ago and started following the Durian blog. However, my desire to watch it has lowered down bit by bit. In September its gonna be just another 12 minute YouTube clip for me.
very great!!
Can't wait!
1:12 playing quake when no one is looking right ? :)
wow...can't wait to see it!!! actually gonna order the DVD box soon (finally)
I feel so stupid i didn't go to see the pre-premiere (i live nearby Amsterdam) ...... must Blender more often but 2.5 is making me feel like Random Boy 0.
Congratulations!! so happy for u guys!! :D
We mist you Bart!
It was good to meet Rob and Frank again.
The movie was great.
Looking forward to also go and see it at the premiere. Or at least at the BConf.
Man... I cant wait to watch... Happy for you guys... Love ya all....!! BTW im not drunken... :P
Bart, give us a good reason...
It was great, btw!
Well, also womens were drunk :D . Now, i want to see the reason :P .
Wow, Colins Dad sounds just like him!
Here for 4 hours I have been thinking I finally saw the Blendernation Dude.
But alas, he is still a mystery to me and many others. Just toiling away to
report on news more important than that uninteresting site called CNN.
Bravo!!
@boggie: why bother you?... wait untll september maybe you change your mind.
Can't wait to see it!
After the film finished there was a moment of silence as the credits rolled..until someone started the clapping. It was in truth over before it began, exactly because it is a very exciting short film. Beautiful images mixed with slashes of dynamic action that quickly transport us to the tales conclusion. Both a big and very small story at the same time, but one that has at least left me totally convinced! Stunning cinematics! Great Acting! And while the story if explained, might seem somewhat simplistic, found myself pondering over it often today. Well done all round - regardless of the credit you might have given Blender!
...(as "floyd pink" would say )..."wish I was there"...-:)
Dillon Tonsil....What??... :D
@Big Fan: its a bot, just look at the weblink on the name.
You guys really need to release this already!!! This is killing me. lol
BTW Colin looks and acts exactly like his dad :)
@Big Fan, afalldorf: yeah, it was spam. We're getting a LOT of spam the last 24 hours and our spamfilter is having a hard time catching it all :-(
Que orgullo verte ahí Pablo!!!!! Saludos desde Argentina y felicitaciones a todos.
The people, who got interviewed at the end are so close to the camera, it gives you the feel to be drunk, too. :)
Congratulations guys. Great work... though I didn't see it yet.
Yay!!!!!