Colin Levy, the director of Sintel, is raising funds for his new movie, 'The Secret Number'. He is looking to raise $10,000 for this project and you can help!
Colin writes:
This Kickstarter campaign will fund the production of the short film "The Secret Number". It’s a quirky, darkish psychological drama based on an original short story by Igor Teper. I'm making this film as my senior thesis at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
This is not a CG movie. I know this post is not strictly Blender-related, but I believe that Colin deserves our support.
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57 Comments
That's neat.
Hello Colin,
I wish you all the best and by the way is there any closing date?.
Regards,
kABHIr
I wish I had money to donate, this reminds me of my A level drama project where I actually had to act. I played this doctor in a physchiatric ward
Ahhh, thanks for posting this!!
I was secretly hoping this would be BlenderNation'd, I need the sheer power of the Blender community to help us reach our goal!
You're right, it's not a Blender movie. But I'm using Blender to do my 3D previz, and you can bet there'll be a few vfx shots where I use Blender. And you see that slow-mo jellybean shot in the Kickstarter video? Blender!
@kABHIr Thanks man, yeah-- the closing date is January 5th. We've got a bit over 3 weeks to raise about $7,500-- that means $300 a day... a bit intimidating!
--Colin
Proving there is an integer between 3 and 4. Nice. Good luck, Colin! You're an inspiration! Peace. :)
Of course, now ALL other filmmakers who use Blender and want to raise money for their film projects should now receive coverage on Blendernation. It's only fair.
pi is an integer? :P
@Johan
Yes I that would be appropriate - that is every filmaker except you Johan, We don't want to be fair about this :)
Dunno really what to think about this news. But yeah, seems bit "off". There are Blender much more blender related projects that could use funding. Lets say.. like.. umm. Blender itself?
And ofcourse my own project ;)
http://materia.planetblender.org
Pledged! Colin Rules..
Colin,
Loved the Sintel movie, and appreciated your work on that open-source project. Which is why I'm disappointed in your choice to do a separate movie project that's not open source, use KickStarter, which is a deceptive practice of fundraising, and potent for scams, while trying to appeal to the Blender open-source community.
It's better to say nothing, do nothing, what did I say?
Pledged! Colin is my hero.
As for the ones that grumble here, what comes to mind is China's
description of North Korea; "Spoiled children".
Good luck Colin, you da man.
Judging by the videos in the blog, you started this thing 2 days ago and already are 32,56% there... if this keeps up, you'll have your goal reached in four days.
Awesome :D
@FloridaJo, you mean in the sense Tibet shouts:"Who made them 'our parents'?"
Pledged,
A small token of our appreciation for the good work he did on sintel.
@ Johan:
Colin isn't just any filmmaker who uses Blender. He's the dude that directed a Blender Foundation film, "Sintel." That project has been motivating development of the Blender 2.5x series. Colin's been a contributor to the Blender Community for quite some years now. Besides, it was at BlenderNation's free choice to help raise a little awareness to the budding director's fundraiser. It's not the first time they've featured a little awareness to someone's fundraiser that involved using Blender. I don't want to speak for BlenderNation, but maybe if you had a project that uses Blender and was worth some beans, needing fundraising to complete it, they'll feature a little awareness to yours.
hmm, another opportunity to fund Colin. The short looks interesting enough. I think I shall.
"not a cg movie"
Please keep this off the Blender homepage unless it uses blender.
Good luck to Colin in his future endeavors. Looking forward to funding those as well.
Don't worry, Colin. Most of us here realize that this *is* Blender-related and that you have done a great deal for the community. Good luck!
First off, thanks for all the comments, and of course thanks especially to those of you who contributed! I really deeply appreciate it.
@Nate - I see your point. In fact, we're discussing the potential ramifications of releasing the final movie CC on BA: http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=204018 It's definitely something I'm considering! I'm curious though about your reservations about Kickstarter. In what way is it deceptive?
For the rest of the grumblers -- you're right, there are dozens of blender-related projects that are perhaps more deserving of our support & funds. I realize I'm in a pretty privileged position because of Sintel, and I don't want anyone to feel like I'm trying to exploit the blender community.
This community has been such a fostering force in my development as a filmmaker, since I released "Suburban Plight" on elysiun, and before that even with "Mechanical Mayhem" and my highschool experiments in 3D. I feel like I owe my future career to the success of Sintel in many ways, and I am deeply indebted to Ton and the community built around Blender.
Just know that I'm a blender fan for life, and if I ever become successful at this filmmaking thing, I'll owe it all to you guys.
^ Sounds good to me
@Nolan- "Yes I that would be appropriate"
@ Johan
Yes 'think' was missing. Sometimes I don't. :)
Interesting project, interesting idea. But since it's not done with Blender, there's not much motivation to donate. Except of course liking Colin.
@Pawel
No motivation to donate?!! Isn't this enough:
Pledge $25 Get the above (A virtual Hug from Colin :-) and get your name in special credits), and a private link to his previous 8-minute short film, 'En Route'.
Lol. :P Anyway, I wish I could donate, but I can't. It sounds like an awesome project though (perfect storyline for your film, Colin, I find it very interesting!), and I wish you the best of luck.
Igor was a genius for writing that story, but Colin is going to be the genius who makes it into an awesome film.
@Johan: you're right. It totally share your opinion
I wish him all the best with his project but personally I don't really agree with people expecting to gain funding from precious work when the previous work was centered around development of software used by those funding and the new work is unrelated to said software. It's not like he was unpaid as they worked on Sintel.
If I were to support the movie it would have to be on it's own merits not this.
I gave money to some movie tickets that I preferred had given to sponsoring movies like this :)
Just in 30 minutes I can spent a entire full tank of my car, go to a restaurant or smoke a pack of cigarettes.
All this is stuff that I also don't need to do and costs as much or more them contributing something that may actually benefice allot of people.
Benefice allot of people,how!? You may ask...
Points of view sure are more useful that all the other stuff I mentioned... and that is what we(filmakers) give to everyone back in return of some numbers in a paypal account...
...points of view :)
I Wish I Could say I liked Sintel but I found it a huge failing. The artistry and technical aspects were wonderful but the story from my perspective was just pointless, forgetful and lacking in creativity. Same old tired, overplayed themes and superstitions. Now I really love Blender and the Blender community, the philosophy, the sharing and all that stuff so I'd like to see Blender 3D associated with MUCH better writing, music, sound effects and direction. Blender is a great tool to tell STORIES. If you want to paint a STORY face on Blender, that idea has to be paramount. All directors and direction must start by first heading in the right direction. Sintel didn't do that for me.
The Secret Number sounds like it might be a winning idea if the writing and direction do it justice and I wish Colin well. But I'd much rather focus my own limited resources on producing something that would better represent the extraordinary Blender tools, community and creativity.
First step: I think it's time we reach out to some new talented WRITERS. Maybe move away from the old superstitions and conflicts to tell STORIES with new, encouraging, constructive, productive, enlightening, educational, thrilling, comical, resourceful themes... ...
not in a million year.
Colon what youre doing is great! I wish I had lotsa bucks for you. All I have is a question: DO you know where I can buy a copy of truespace 6.6. Somewhere along the way, my copy of Truespace6.6 got damaged and I havenot been successful in finding/ buying a clean copy of the program. I'll pay for one..... Thanks and good luck with your project.
Sincerely yours
Rick wessler
@Breg I agree. Sintel was an amazing achievement and the guys that worked on it should be proud but when compared with Elephants Dream or Big Buck Bunny it does fall short in terms of the actual quality of it as a movie and story.
It’s not done with Blender? Ah ok. Good luck. :P
@Breg:
"new, encouraging, constructive, productive, enlightening, educational, thrilling, comical, resourceful themes"
You probably won't like a movie like that nor does anyone else... not anytime sooner then 10 years after you saw it :)
Because if it is all that, that means it is also something that was never been done and we usually tend to fight with new things or things that we don't understand and block them :) It can be done, but progressively, if we try to make it in one movie or one short it's too much for people to grasp and the movie will fail miserably.
A good example of that is "Tron", a epic failure when it was lunched and now, 2 decades later, it's one of the most expected movies of the year :) another good example was my 2008 short animation Orion Tear.
@rogper:
"my 2008 short animation Orion Tear"
I think we're best served by finding partners to match our skill level. Your effort shows tremendous artistic talent and mastery of Blender. Impressive. We can't do it all. Writers and directors are a whole different craft. Breaking away from tired old superstitions and conflicts into new and fresh ideas sometimes takes more than we can recognize. It's a difficult challenge but it's not impossible and there's plenty of new thinkers being born every day. Hopefully some of them will escape the standard indoctrination into human fear and superstition to become the writers and directors of new and exciting directions for the rest of us. I'm looking for those visionaries ... and if I find them, I'd like to put them in touch with artists and technicians like yourself. Let Blender be the tool to tell the story and we the craftsmen who help in the construction.
@Breg:
Wise words, I agree! Thanks!
Don't be so upset about this non-Blender article, Colin got name and fame all over the world by the Blender Institute, and most of us deeply appreciate his work and he has been sweating one year long for Blender, so please give him the change to become one of the best filmmakers of the this generation.
About CC licensing:
1. You're planning on using professional actors, so please discuss everything on this thoroughly with them.
2. If CC is possible I absolutely wouldn't release it inmediately as CC. First just finish your film, screen it everywhere, send it to festivals and THEN eventual release it as CC after about a year of so. (I know this is against the principles of some of you, but take it or leave it, you got to deal with restrictions and options you have)
It is sad to see that despite being such a "welcome" and "open" community, several people here are tearing down Colin because it's not specifically Blender related?? This has been and will continue to be a problem here and on BlenderArtists, where just because a person who isn't using Blender for EVERYTHING, then it does not deserve respect, the person gets criticized for "defecting" to GASP - SOMETHING ELSE!!! Oh the humanity!!
Excuse me? How many times is this going to happen in the Blender community? Why is it that when a person decides to use something other than Blender for something then he or she is a villain? Why does it seem that despite some efforts by some to PLAY NICE with other apps, industries, companies, plugins, sites.... whatever, it may be, there is always someone to tear them down, wipe their faces in the dirt, tell them they are worthless and then spit on them for having the audacity to use a NON BLENDER PRODUCT!?!?!?! Come on!
Does it really matter? This reminds me of the day that some Iranian CG artists had taken assets from BBB and used them to create a new short film based on Blender film, however they used Maya and the Blender community nearly wanted to storm the beaches and torch the artists ONLY because they used something other than Blender. It was within full legal right (after all that is what CC is about) and they did a good job. It even got a racist comment. All .... because ...... of software.
As for funding, this is how it goes. You either get funding or you don't, it depends on if the person or company is willing to loan you money for something, you have to sell it to them first. You also need credentials. The average joe blow from the interweb is not going to get the funding they want because they have no credentials. Colin does. He worked his butt off getting there too. So he doesn't want to use Blender for EVERYTHING??? So what. We don't use Blender for everything, if anything Blender is only used by my project for modeling and animation. We use everything else for all other tasks, GIMP, Cinepaint, Aqsis, DrQueue.... we even make our own if needed. We even have the support of Shotgun Software, free hosting on a commercial service for project management, simply because these guys BELIEVE in our short film and want to see it completed. Does that mean that this short film that is using some commercial portions, some open source and some in house tools does not deserve to be even mentioned at all in anything Blender?
A non CG film - ok so that means that it could involve visual effects, and that is bad how? Blender actually hasn't been used much for that kind of work, in fact it was visual effects that made the CG industry that it is now, it was not full CG movies, that came later on. So seeing Blender used for parts of that process is going to great. One thing Blender can't do - motion tracking - a VERY important step for visual effects work. This requires either using an old dead project that is buggy, or use a commercial product like PFHoe.
How many other articles on BlenderNation are going to come under scrutiny because they are not Blender related, or even open source related? Blender is part of the CG world and as part of that world sometimes these things DO connect together and they DO have influence in both areas. Do you think ILM, Sony Imageworks, Disney and other top name studios released their tools and libraries because they felt generous? In part yes but it was because of the open source community, they saw value in releasing certain pipeline tools to us, to allow us to add this to software, to be used by everyone and anyone, they are using OUR model. Look how quickly OpenEXR was supported by nearly every 3D app, it only took a few years and while a few years may seem like an eternity to some, a few years is NOTHING when it comes to software development. So does that mean that Ptex does not deserve respect until it becomes a SOLID part of Blender? Does that mean that OIIO does not deserve respect because it is an imaging library that is not part of Blender? Or what about DrQueue? That was used by the Blender Foundation to render ED, however this software is used for commercial and open source films alike, does that mean that this render management tool is not worthy of BlenderNation?
I congratulate Colin! I support his ideas, I support this. We need more people and action like this, keeping Blender in a tiny little box for the elite is not helping anyone or anything. Exposing Blender to other areas of film making and uses is always a good thing, even if it not used for everything from start to finish.
How is any of this a BAD thing??
Some of you guys are complaining that blender is not even in this project when it clearly states that it will be used. Learn to read to make yourselves not look like fools.
Others are pissed cause Colin gets some recognition here and you didn't. Just cause you didn't like Sintel doesn't mean that the movie wasn't very very successful and it also doesn't mean that Sintel doesn't show the power of Blender. If you want recognition in your work, you have to work for it. It's not going to be handed to you. All you guys upset about not being recognized, where is your work that shows you deserve recognition? Colin and the others on the Durian Team worked for over a year on Sintel and released the final production where, in fact, you have nothing to show for your talent. Colin gets recognition here cause he deserves it and frankly, you do not. If you want to be recognized somewhere, you have to work for it. You have to have something to show you have talent. Then once you have something, you have to promote the hell out of it and get viewers. It's a lot of work but every one of you can do it. You all have enough resources out the to do it and most if not all of those resources, you can get for free.
I'll be honest, I wasn't too impressed with the story but the visuals were amazing! It's not Blenders responsibility to tell a story though. That being said, I still loved how the story was portrayed through the visuals, showing the true potential of blender.
"Some of you guys are complaining that blender is not even in this project when it clearly states that it will be used. Learn to read to make yourselves not look like fools."
The only mention of Blender on any of those provided links is the promise of a personalized blender tutorial if you donate over 250 dollars. Other then that I don't see any other mention of the program.
You know, I did see Sintel and I thought it was great. But does the Blender community really need to be asked to contribute 10K for someone's personal project? I think that this post is way out of line, and needs to be removed. It's basically just ad space given to someone for free because he once worked on a Blender movie.
hjmediastudios:
There's nothing out-of-line about raising funds for art. Colin's quest for funding is a natural extension of the concept of community. As long as he is transparent with his process and accountable to his investors, this is a good thing.
Great. Then everyone should be able to advertise on Blendernation. I feel this is unfair treatment.
In addition, saying the rest of us have no talent is wrong. Most of don't have access to the giant render farm, high-power computers, or huge budget that Levy accessed for Sintel.
@hgmediastudios Guess what? BlenderNation isn't yours, it isn't Blender Foundation's, it's Bart's. Bart can do whatever the h*** he wants to. If you weren't such a p**** and asked him nicely maybe he would.
(Couldn't help but to state the obvious) sheesh, I can only take so much idiocracy.
@FloridaJo - Exactly. Nobody is advertising here. Colin did not request this post. The kind folks who run BlenderNation (for free!) decided it was Blender-newsworthy. Period.
@FloridaJo: I know BlenderNation isn't mine; I know it isn't the Blender Foundation's. And I don't think I've been a "p****", I've been respectful, moderate, and clear in what I think. I don't have anything against Colin Levy; in fact, I even said he did a great job on Sintel. Personall,y I would donate to his new project if I had money to spare. I just don't think it's right that he's featured for something like this. I think it boilds down to free advertising, even though Levy didn't request this. I just think it's wrong, at least given the track record of BlenderNation. If BN would occaisionally feature an up-and-coming artist's new project, request donations, and otherwise give a little bit of spotlight time to someone who hasn't had the opportunities and resources Colin Levy had, I wouldn't have a problem with it.
It's not about software, it's about ethics.
@hjmediastudios
Are you guys still on about this.
Look:-
1. You think it's unfair that Colin gets coverage for his project.
2. You think it would be fair if your and others could get a slice of the pie.
3. Ok so if you think it's a good idea then make that idea a suggestion - not a complaint!
4. You really have to stop thinking that good things happening to other people are a direct attack on your rights.
5. If your suggestion does not get taken up as not being practical at the moment then accept it and look for other solutions to your problems. Don't get bogged down in complaint.
6. When you volunteer your time and host your own blog, you can censor and or advertise whoever you want and when you want for whatever reason you want even if it is no where near what your blog site is about.
@nolan Tyrell:
I don't think it's unfair that Levy gets coverage in isolation, I just think it'd be nice if other artists could get highlighted who maybe aren't as high-profile and who don't have some amazing resources. That being said, I do think Colin Levy is a good artist, and I really liked Sintel. I'm not saying that his getting featured is in any way an attack on my rights (seriously, where did that even come from?), I'm just saying it seems a little one-sided.
@jikz: Freedom of speech is freedom of speech. If BlenderNation wants to feature certain people or polices, that's fine, and I can't do anything to stop it. That's a good thing. However, if they make comments available to those that view their site, there's no reason to tear someone down for expressing an opinion that differs from the majority. It's the same sort of thing. There's no reason I can't speak my mind in a respectful and calm manner if the opportunity is provided and discussion is encouraged.
@hjmediastudios: I bet if YOU would make a live-action short and Bart features you you would send a thousand thanks to him...
About one-sided: Bart has been quite involded in the production process of Sintel and thus he knows Colin personally. So yes, it's a bit ''ons kent ons'' (''us knows us'' a well-known Dutch phrase).
But even if you ignore this, it's still completely justified to give Colin some proper attention on this site. He has done so much for Blender, so now Blender may give something back to him.
And btw, Colin already uses Blender for the pre-viz! (like Spider-Man 2 did, which also got loads of attention in the community)
And of course you can give your opinion, but you can't deny that such a sympathetic and creative person should get his well-deserved budget! ;)
Look, opinions are fine, but much ado about nothing is a waste of time which you could spend cleaning the toilet, mopping the floor etc. ;)
I'm not saying Colin Levy doesn't deserve to ask for money or even be featured on BlenderNation. I'm just saying I think that others should be given some time in the spotlight too. I'm sure Colin Levy isn't the only person Bart knows who could use some fundraising help.
FUCK HIM FUCK HIM FUCK HIM IN THE ASS!!!
We're so close! Just a little more, now!
@todd: who? "him" isn't very specific... :)
@todd ...and don't use all caps. It's not polite.
Hey guys, popping in to say a big *thank you* to everyone who pledged to the project! This morning we made our fundraising goal and it's thanks in large part to the Blender community.
--Colin