I’m beyond speechless. First off, thank you for making this possible and gifting the community with such art and nostalgia. Thank you to those who are supporting these artists! If I was a rich, rich man I’d make sure you could create a movie, without worries, and a very inspiring one. Though I do share that same passion with archeology, geology etc. I really hope Lego company is taking notes and comes around to the idea and help shine a spotlight on a beautiful creative lore of Lego. Heck, as a history enthusiast, Bionicle really homes in on the idea of an advanced, yet ancient cultures. Just like how in modern days we are rewriting history with our new technology. And seeing fascinating lore art like these during a great time in human discovery of our lost, but advanced ancient civilizations is one of the most nostalgic, mind opening feelings that truly detach you from the ridiculous politics and idol drama in our day to day lives.
It is impressive how this community has so many dedicated fans still putting out high quality works despite the original IP being dead for 15 years. It speaks volumes of how gripping Bionicle's universe is.
Looks pretty great! The visual design, voice acting, and worldbuilding are all great. The running animations did seem a bit awkward, which was a bit surprising because all of the other animations you guys've done so far have seemed very realistic. Do you guys use a lot of motion capture, and does the running (or large area of movement in general) introduce difficulties? I feel a little bad even asking, because I really appreciate/enjoy these videos, but I know that if I was in your shoes I'd also want the honest feedback if something looked off. FWIW, the eyes look great now!
Honestly, it’s a pretty astute observation & you hit it on the head. Anytime feet leave the ground, mocap takes a lot of cleanup. I’m cleaning it up a fair bit, but I also don’t want the matoran looking overly athletic & I’m shooting for them looking a little awkward. They are just little guys, after all. It’s a balance I’m still working out & it’s gonna be an ongoing process mastering all the tech leading up to our first episode.
Thanks for the reply; nice to learn that about mocap.
I get the intent but you have a couple of things to contend with. Templar's games/animations, Mask of Light, etc. (Matoran Escape? :P) have shown them to be fairly athletic. Also, right now, this particular awkwardness betrays an out-of-universe explanation rather than an in-universe one (e.g., Great Beings' design choices, the matoran spheres, etc.).
I don't want to encourage you to waste additional time perfecting a facet of these episodes that is ultimately less important. Perfect is the enemy of good, and there are things both outside this project and within it that are more important than kohlii animation (within BIONICLE, I'd consider these to be the themes of duty, unity, relationship with nature, inventiveness and hope in the face of adversity, kickass mask powers...).
Rather, my advice would be a strategic approach: minimizing kohlii shots that aren't absolutely critical, using more procedural/purchased animations instead, or other filmmaker "tricks" that minimize how much running you have to show (like having the camera close-up to the ball). Unless my miniscule film-making and game-making experience is making me underestimate how much more time some of these would take.
On the topic of animation purchase, I'm guessing you're focused on the 2001 story? There are way more soccer animations than lacrosse or non-ice hockey on sites like Mixamo or ActorCore and the more lacrosse-like kohlii was a result of events in the bohrok arc (if you consider that part of the semi-canon Templar animations to be canon).
Finally, for "inspiration", have you seen the film Flow)? I found this interview with the film-maker to be very informative, and there's one quote from there that seems relevant. He says, "When developing my first feature, I structured the story around elements that were relatively easy to animate. I avoided large crowds and complex effects because, in the end, most viewers don’t think about how difficult something was to create." From watching Flow, I get the impression he did similar there too. In Flow, you'll see numerous shots of the animals obtaining food but none of them eating the food (except for some things that are swallowed whole), which in my experience would be a nightmare to animate. This might be an obvious piece of advice but, worst case, it's a great interview for other reasons so I thought I'd still share it.
what
what
how
this is so good, what the fuck?
Check out their other stuff, it's honestly amazing. They said they're trying to make a full on 10 episode show
I’m beyond speechless. First off, thank you for making this possible and gifting the community with such art and nostalgia. Thank you to those who are supporting these artists! If I was a rich, rich man I’d make sure you could create a movie, without worries, and a very inspiring one. Though I do share that same passion with archeology, geology etc. I really hope Lego company is taking notes and comes around to the idea and help shine a spotlight on a beautiful creative lore of Lego. Heck, as a history enthusiast, Bionicle really homes in on the idea of an advanced, yet ancient cultures. Just like how in modern days we are rewriting history with our new technology. And seeing fascinating lore art like these during a great time in human discovery of our lost, but advanced ancient civilizations is one of the most nostalgic, mind opening feelings that truly detach you from the ridiculous politics and idol drama in our day to day lives.
Lego’s gonna bring it back someday, it’s inevitable.
It is impressive how this community has so many dedicated fans still putting out high quality works despite the original IP being dead for 15 years. It speaks volumes of how gripping Bionicle's universe is.
This is too good, I can’t fathom how you made it! Truly made my day, thank you so much for giving this to the fans!
Can tell this was made with love, seriously great!
Simply extraordinary and superb! Thank you for this. This is proof that this community and fanbase is still alive and thriving!
Lego may not officially reboot the Bionicle line - but this definitely sates the hunger.
Masterful work friend. =]
Thanks!
NGL I was half expecting infected Kholi balls to be seen
Bloody Ahkmou
Looks pretty great! The visual design, voice acting, and worldbuilding are all great. The running animations did seem a bit awkward, which was a bit surprising because all of the other animations you guys've done so far have seemed very realistic. Do you guys use a lot of motion capture, and does the running (or large area of movement in general) introduce difficulties? I feel a little bad even asking, because I really appreciate/enjoy these videos, but I know that if I was in your shoes I'd also want the honest feedback if something looked off. FWIW, the eyes look great now!
Honestly, it’s a pretty astute observation & you hit it on the head. Anytime feet leave the ground, mocap takes a lot of cleanup. I’m cleaning it up a fair bit, but I also don’t want the matoran looking overly athletic & I’m shooting for them looking a little awkward. They are just little guys, after all. It’s a balance I’m still working out & it’s gonna be an ongoing process mastering all the tech leading up to our first episode.
Thanks for the reply; nice to learn that about mocap.
I get the intent but you have a couple of things to contend with. Templar's games/animations, Mask of Light, etc. (Matoran Escape? :P) have shown them to be fairly athletic. Also, right now, this particular awkwardness betrays an out-of-universe explanation rather than an in-universe one (e.g., Great Beings' design choices, the matoran spheres, etc.).
I don't want to encourage you to waste additional time perfecting a facet of these episodes that is ultimately less important. Perfect is the enemy of good, and there are things both outside this project and within it that are more important than kohlii animation (within BIONICLE, I'd consider these to be the themes of duty, unity, relationship with nature, inventiveness and hope in the face of adversity, kickass mask powers...).
Rather, my advice would be a strategic approach: minimizing kohlii shots that aren't absolutely critical, using more procedural/purchased animations instead, or other filmmaker "tricks" that minimize how much running you have to show (like having the camera close-up to the ball). Unless my miniscule film-making and game-making experience is making me underestimate how much more time some of these would take.
On the topic of animation purchase, I'm guessing you're focused on the 2001 story? There are way more soccer animations than lacrosse or non-ice hockey on sites like Mixamo or ActorCore and the more lacrosse-like kohlii was a result of events in the bohrok arc (if you consider that part of the semi-canon Templar animations to be canon).
Finally, for "inspiration", have you seen the film Flow)? I found this interview with the film-maker to be very informative, and there's one quote from there that seems relevant. He says, "When developing my first feature, I structured the story around elements that were relatively easy to animate. I avoided large crowds and complex effects because, in the end, most viewers don’t think about how difficult something was to create." From watching Flow, I get the impression he did similar there too. In Flow, you'll see numerous shots of the animals obtaining food but none of them eating the food (except for some things that are swallowed whole), which in my experience would be a nightmare to animate. This might be an obvious piece of advice but, worst case, it's a great interview for other reasons so I thought I'd still share it.