Grazie Thank you :)

I'd watch the motion and scaling of your spaceships. I found it distracting having them and other things move towards me and then away from me and/or change course for no apparent reason. To pull off that kind of shot, move the 'camera' .
Problem with what you're doing is the whole is no better than the worst part, so you've got to watch the small details. There's one or two places where the ship moves like it's a toy, not some massive hunk of metal. Once the viewers brain goes 'what the...' , you've destroyed the illusion.
I'm being harsh as I know this took a HUGE amount of work and it's 98% excellent stuff but as I said it has to be 100% right. To be honest if the best bits weren't so good it'd be better overall. You've set a high standard for the vast majority of it so I'd pay some attention to the CGI stuff.
Try leaving it for a week ot two and then watch it again with a few mates.
Glad to see hear the audio got the attention it requires, definately excellent work that carries most of the visuals.
Bob.

Thanks Bob your comments are very appreciated and not Harsh at all..I definately agree the whole is no better than the worst part ..I think part of the Problem can be the compression.. The models look really nice with little compression.. Also sometimes you have to wait so long for renders before you finally see what you have..The scene where the ship leaves the earth actually took 3 days to render due to the earth model which I made myself ..Possibly explains it...Of course I suppose practise makes perfect...I am thinking of some software then would help me do this better at the moment I have Maxon C4D just the basic program ... I cant import video which is quite limiting ...I will try to redo certain Model scenes.. Thanks !

Don't despair, I'm told even basic CGI takes years to learn how to do. That's just the technical side of it, then you also need to understand how real things move. I'm certain as you do more CGI work your mind starts to be able to visualise how it'll look just from the wire frame previews whne it's rendered out, that's probably why on a pro project they have different crews, ones that make the 'models', ones that light them and ones that make them move.
Bob.

Downloading your vid now.

Talking about aliens and wars, have you guys seen "Star Wars Revelations"? A collaboration between people from all over the globe. A seriously cool 40 minute fan movie. Download for free at http://www.panicstruckpro.com/revelations

Best/Tommy

Tommy downloaded it ...pretty amazing film...The Fx would be right at home in a real star wars film ..Some of those sets ! it must have been an expensive project, even with people working for free..I would love to create Fx like that.. Do you know what setups they used to create the space battles ect.. I expect High end stuff yes or perhaps even some real models ect anyway I would love to learn more !

Mark...

I've watched this project evolve for that last 2 years thru very basic fx tests, to some cgi spaceship trials, your big shoot with actors and now this.

This is the finest work you've produced so far !!! Amazing buddy !!!

The fx, direction, editing and now the STORY is all coming together fantastically. I was watching this at first to try and think of some things you may improve on BUT ( and here's probably the biggest compliment you'll get ).....I got lost in the STORY. I was totally engrossed. I was watching each scene waiting to see what happens next. You hooked me.

So you asked for some suggestions and I can only think of a few. During the conversation between your wife and yourself, I found the dialogue audio was being drowned out by the ( albeit wonderful ) music. You're acting really is very good and I'd hate to not hear you speak your convincing dialogue.

The aliens now have a distinct look in their appearance and their spacecraft. That identity is very well executed now. Keep that going. I might use a different ship at the beginning other than the Star Wars Medical Ship model. Lot's of user made models out there. Might want to find one not so familiar.

The pacing has also improved now because of your editing and direction. The story ( which is finally become clear to us ) now has a purpose and a reason for each event happening. That's why I really got into the narrative.

The spacecraft effects are truly fantastic. I've seen them for a couple years and must say how impressed I am with how that has evolved.

Overall, a great triumph. I can't wait to see more of Alien Wars with more of your acting, dialogue, fx and most of all, it's engrossing story. You've done several versions of the opening now, let's see what happens next. I WANNA SEE !!!!! HEH.

Thanks for sharing...

Stan ( Stonefield )

Thanks Stan !

You are right about Evolving... Chienworks has been a fantastic place to learn and practise.. Hopefully I can do more with the cgi..Especially after the encouragement here...

Mark,
I can only echo Stan's comments. Very substantial improvements, and overall in a very short period of time. It finally makes sense to me, or rather, I understand the story now, whereas in the earlier versions, you just had a lot of cool effects put together that didn't really tell a story that I could grasp.
Congrats! Can't wait to see what's next!

Thanks Douglas ! Whats next then ! I have a lot of stuff in the Pipeline..Just ideas for now....Loads to learn...Thanks everyone !

Mark, Huge, Huge, Improvments! Lots of great ideas from others here. I think adding some Foley sounds to the drama of some of the scenes like in the driving and running portion would help add a sense of panic. Now you can get a sense of where you are going with this. Great work!
Jimmy

Thanks Jimmy ! I am taking notes..

As mentioned by others... much improved.
You tied up alot of "loose ends" with this updated version.
Some scenes were too dark when I viewed them, I couldn't make out what was happening. Also, the dialogue seems muffled somewhat.

Mario

Thanks Mario.. Could you be a little bit more specific ?

Well, it seemed like the dialogue was missing "high-end".
Parts like where you're putting the "emulet" in you pocket... I can only make out your hand, nothing else. I can barely see the emulet, and I can't see the pants.
I really don't think it's my set-up, because I just watched the Acid Seminar DVD on WMP10 and it was fine audio/brightness wise.

Mario

Thanks Mario..No that scene is dark..Point noted !

mark2929
Well, all the info is in the "The making of"-video. I know that they are all semi-pros or amateurs and the software used is of the affordable kind. I strongly suspect AlamDV is being used for the light saber scenes. The compositing is probably made with After Effects. 3D studio Max and/or Lightwave for the 3D work. No models used as far as I know.
A swedish guy, Håkan "Zap" Andersson helped out a lot. http://www.master-zap.com/ (temporarily down when writing this).

Best/Tommy

Tommy

Quite a feat they pulled off ! Some brilliant FX and very meticulous in the compositing.. It was a great idea of George Lucas allowing fans to do this and a very cool Film too... The Sets and FX To me sometimes surpassed the real thing.. Things may be different if shown at higher definitions..Thanks for the Link I will learn loads.. I already want Max 3d.. Combustion..I really need to work on my Modelling skills..I had started making a replica of the enterprise But I gave up as it was time consuming.. my Thinking was perhaps I need to stick to Filmmaking and work on that ..Maybe buying in Models ect..But I would still like a 3d program that can do ray tracing ect ..

The best deal in a high end 3D package today is Lightwave 8.

You can get a competitive upgrade this month for $495.

Upgrade from what? Buy an old transferable license for any of their qualifying packages. In early April you could even get a new TrueSpace 5.2 license from Caligari for $89, I wouldn't be surprised if this comes back in June.

To get the LW functionality in other packages, you're looking at $4k for 3ds max, and nearly as much for Cinema 4D by the time you add the modules you need (unless you qualify for academic pricing).

Maya is excellent but equally expensive and much more difficult to learn, it really needs to be Learned From the Feet of a Master :O).