+++ Shooting
12 March 2014, Author: Charles,
Category: Shooting, Models

Shooting the engine room is a lot of fun and really involves the whole team & production process to bring it together – starting with the storyboarding the shots & angles are finalized; there are then two engine room sets that need to be filmed (being different scales), both with motorized parts & lights; Alri, the chief engineer needs to be puppeteered and animated; all the elements then need to be brought together to create the individual shots (composited); then the visual effects are added, and finally the sound is added, a vital component to creating an atmospheric set.

Days of work for a minute of magic!

Charles

+++ Where is the "ON" button?!?
10 March 2014, Author: Pierre,
Category: Post Production

I have watched many movies in my life and am a big Sci-Fi fan. I must admit though, that I never really wondered “How did they do that??” - I just immersed myself in the show and willingly suspended my disbelief! So.. when, a few years ago, I was approached and offered a position in VFX (although at that time, we did not know enough to call it that – it was more the “Make it look pretty” department, I said to myself ... ”Self!, ... how hard can this be?”

If time-travel becomes a reality (and I am not saying that it isn’t yet) the first thing I will do is go back to that young whipper-snapper and give him a smack around the ear! Post production is by far the most challenging, complicated, brain-bending and yet incredibly wonderful position I have ever been in (exploding server room included).

My first few weeks were taken up with online research and getting to know the basics of the software – although, thinking back, I believe I spent most of that time searching for the ever-elusive “One-Click-Key” button. I stumbled upon the Adobe Forums, CreativeCow.net, VideoCoPilot.net, Mamoworld.com and a whole host of After Effects gurus – and the journey began ...

Very rarely have I been in contact with a group of strangers that are as helpful as the Adobe bunch. From giving tips on how to do specific effects to giving advice on specific shots, these guys form a “Team” I am very happy to know. The level of tutorials available from sites such as VideoCoPilot.net, CreativeCow.net and Mamoworld.com are incredible, and the fact that the people presenting the tutorials are so friendly, funny and easy to relate to, make the journey to understanding After Effects an absolute blast.

Looking back at my experience so far, the first piece of advice I would like to impart to our readers and anyone new to VFX (Especially using After Effects) is this – “Jump in freely, but keep both eyes open” - Start with the basics, read, watch, listen to everything you can get your hands on and be prepared to start the journey of a lifetime!

Test Scene created with the help of a VideoCoPilot tutorial:



Pierre

+++ It get's technical sometimes...
08 March 2014, Author: Charles,
Category: Production

The guy on the left is Graham – he’s a DIT: a Digital Imaging Technician, who we had called in for a consultation, to advise us on our workflow and media management. We’re not smiling because we’re concentrating!

We’ve asked in several consultants over the last couple of years because bringing Alieons to the screen can, simply put, be sometimes rather tricky!

Even the simplest looking shot is in fact made of several layers and sometimes dozens of elements. So we’ve spent a great deal of time (well, Pierre has) and sought the input of many specialists to create the technical infrastructure that enables us to bring Alieons to the screen. And although you don’t see all these back workings (and all the meetings like in the happy picture above), it’s as vital as the characters, sets & scripts etc themselves.

Charles

+++ Making the models
05 March 2014, Author: Charles,
Category: Production

Even though physical model have been used in film and TV for generations, their use still intrinsically appeals to people.

Of course computer-generated imagery is the mainstay of effects these days, but many major films still use models as part of their production process; they impart a physicality on screen that at the moment CGI alone can’t attain.

For me, building the props and other physical assets is about the concentration of design and effort. I have to focus on every 3mm bolt that goes into a set, even though there may be hundreds of them; they need to be textured, painted and inked, so that they acquire the look we are seeking on screen. With Alieons, the idea and the hope is that when people watch, both adults and children, that they will feel and enjoy the effort that gone into creating this world.

+++ Inspiration
++ 28 February 2014
Author: Jenni, Category: Production

I want something that will inspire, thrill and educate my boy Sam, bringing to light the brilliant, wonderful, fantastic and weird things in this world… natural and man made. What better way to inspire children to love science, biology, geography and life than to make it practical, exciting and Hipcool. Also, I want my son to be inspired by brilliant female characters as well as the males, who says only the boys have to get all the fantastic gear, gadgets, ships and stories… so we made things like the Sprite, Zaphnés personal jet ~ it has lasers and 19 diamonds on it… Pretty!

Jenni

I remember one Sunday evening in Denmark walking home with some friends. They were grumbling about work the next day. I was feeling extremely excited for work the next day – I almost always did – being a dancer was the most exciting fulfilling job that never felt like a “job” Once I hit my 40's and no longer danced or taught dance for a living I had a couple of jobs which made me relate to my friends back in Copenhagen!

About a 18 months ago, I delivered some Chromakey fabric to some friends of mine who were making a children's TV series with puppets. When I walked into the Rocketboot Rex Studio and met these little ALIEON Characters, and saw the incredibly designed sets, I was BLOWN away!! Jenni and Charles had made everything – it had taken them years and you could feel the love! Jen & I had lost contact for some years so it was great to catch up & I spent most of the day falling in love with Sü! (he's so cool!) It seemed I had a knack for moving these lil' guys, I guess my background in movement helped me to bring them to life.




A few days later, I received a call from Jen asking me whether I'd like to puppeteer for ALIEONS!
I did! So I immersed myself in the world of puppetry. ALIEONS are not Marionettes, nor Muppets, so we had to devise our own method of puppetry. These little characters are only 6” inches tall, so even my heartbeat affected their movement on film. The ALIEONS are so perfectly made – and each has their own unique character – I cant wait for you to get to know them and their histories!!

Soon after, I got the opportunity to become the Video Editor as well! I immersed myself in every tutorial and book I could find as was lucky enough to learn while I worked. I have fallen in love with video editing – it feels like choreographing a dance. Choosing a specific piece of footage, compositing the characters to interact with each other at the perfect timing, adding audio and music – I feel completely absorbed and in a total state of Flow when I edit.

I now spend my days with 3 talented colleagues, 6 Alieons and 1 quirky Robot – and I can happily say that come Sunday night, I'm excited about work the next day.

Angie.

+++ Life, the Universe and Alieons
++ 28 February 2014
Author: Pierre, Category: Post Production

Having been an I.T. Professional for many years, it was quite a scary move to become a VFX supervisor. Working in a server environment certainly toughens you up, so grabbing the bull by the horns seemed the best thing to do. Laying my hands on After Effects for the first time was quite an experience. sLearning all about compositing, layers, key-frames and all the other terminology was at the same time extremely fun, and rather nerve-wrecking. Now, a few years down the line, I can't imagine a day without compositing.

We use a mixture of live sets and characters, with VFX added in post through Adobe After Effects to bring it all to life. We had some challenges at first with lighting and shooting the characters, as working with miniatures has its own inherent challenges, but hard work and hours on the forums saved the day.

Looking back on the last two and a half years all I can say is this:
What a journey this has been, Flares, Lip-Synching and camera-tracking ... and life is too short to name layers!

Pierre

+++ Making Alieons
++ 28 February 2014
Author: Charles, Category: Production

Firstly, however you got here, thanks for visiting!

If you’re not sure what Alieons is about, have a look at the Series Overview page.

There you’ll find out we’re making a most groovy sci-fi series for kids aged 3 to 127½ years old which is to be greatly appreciated by both boys and girls! It’s high adventure mixed with educational content that will surreptitiously educate children and adult alike.

And you’ll also learn that we are looking to independently produce the first season this year via Kickstarter crowd funding - no corporate network launch here!

This blog will link to the trailers we’ll release every week, chronicle the progress we’re making, and open a window into our mixed up, synergized world of high tech videography and old skool physical ships, props and sets (a la original Star Wars).

And if you think any of it is reasonably cool, potentially educational and uplifting, please share it via the plethora of social media that connects our small planet!

Charles

The full time team L to R: Jenni, Pierre, Angie & Charles