IanHubert
patreon
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🕑 Added 2020-06-24 01:19:39 +0000 UTCPosted a new lazy tutorial! Nightmare Men! I forgot how much fun making those tuts were. In most of the lazy tuts I'm trying to secretly introduce folks to some new feature of blender, but this one was just for fun (well- maybea quick into to texture painting).
But meanwhile! Hot damn! Never had anything like this happen before.
That before/after clip has been posted sooooo many times over the past few days, it's a little wild. 20 million views on Twitter, millions on facebook, top of the front page of Reddit, innumerable uploads on instagram/9gag/whatnot. It's on gif pages, random articles- it's a little bananas.
Really fun, very surreal, and a little... intense? Exposed? To see something you worked really hard on shared so many times devoid of context. That's a first for me, for sure.
Like, the reason I went all out for that clip was so that it could be kind of a demo of what you can do with free open-source software and a piece of green fabric; an exciting thing where anybody could have access to to the tools for realizing the worlds in their head; your films could be more defined by your imagination than budget. Maybe that sounds pretentious, but that's the reason I let myself spend an inordinate amount of time on it, and I'm really glad I did.
Instead it's as often as not being shared as, "How they make movies now" and everyone's like, "Sad :/", "Utterly soulless", "Film is dead", "Did you know Ian McKellen cried because of greenscreens?", "This is why I hated Aquaman".
And I get it- the before-after does have this cinematic nihilism vibe to it. And there's a natural part of me that wishes I could talk to each of those people and explain, "This was maybe the most creatively satisfying project of my life. I put more of my passions/excitement into this than I have into most anything. This isn't "soulless"; I hand placed nearly every vertex with delight at the thought of being able to transport folks into a world I was creating."
But I can't (or- probably shouldn't. I dunno. Nobody tells you the rules for this stuff :P ), so I'm just typing up (alllllllll) my thoughts here instead. Because goshdarnit I gotta say it somewhere.
Because sure- absolutely. Creativity works best, IMO, when it's pushing against something. You can't think outside of the box if there isn't a box, and if you don't have a limitation forcing you to think laterally- if there isn't a built-in impetus to try a little harder- it's easy to exist in that comfortable space where you're not challenging yourself to do your best. I believe this 100%. That the difficulties inherent to the filmmaking process can actually be what makes your work shine in the end; you take those little broken bits and fill them up with creativity.
And the hollywood vfx system totally exists in part as a, "Don't worry, relax, we can fix it" solution.
And also if the ending of your film is a big CG fest, that can definitely be an indicator that you're not focusing on a character driven narrative (Marvel tends to walk this line alright, though I'm still tired of the "faceless CG army" trope. People don't invest in Big Stakes like saving the world- they care about individual characters, and how they're affected. The more you try to "globalize the drama" the more you abstract it, and make it harder to connect with). Because in the end most drama is all about context; ideally you've spend the whole movie building up to why the ending is a big deal, so audiences are on the edge of their seat to see how it plays out. Instead a lot of times lately they're trying to make every moment "edge-of-your-seat", so there's never a time for them to build context/empathy for how the ending struggle affects the character (Rocky IV vs friggin' Rise of Skywalker).
I've done a lot of work as a VFX supervisor, and a significant portion of my job is actually trying to convince folks to do stuff practically. Especially since it's usually the chaotic stuff (explosions, blood splats, dirt) that folks tend to want to do in the computer. And that's the stuff that DOES tend to help actors. Crawling around in 3 inches of mud under a rain machine probably is going to give you a different performance than rolling around in a mocap stage. Computers aren't great at messes, so if we can make the mess on set instead, I'm all for it.
There's also a total lack of distinction between, "CG as valid art medium" and "VFX as a Filmmaking Tool". Like, I get that photorealism is often the goal, but I've never really minded when stuff wasn't (Mirror Mask is still great). And I'd never watch Miyazaki and go, "wow OK I can definitely tell these are drawings. Where's my immersion?" I think we tend to put too much focus on photorealism as an absolute end-goal of CG. I actually enjoy what the abundance of CG in films has done to our collective perception, since I think we're actually more forgiving of that "Cg look" now (that is, we're not just looking at CG being like, "Prove Yourself"), and I think that's been crucial in letting films take CG and run with it for developing whole new styles. I love the idea of an "is-it-animated-is-it-live-action-who-cares" middle ground, because it seems like such a great stew for creativity.
I also get that people really don't think VFX artists are "doing" anything. They have no idea how the process works, so they assume The Computer does a lot of it, instead of being this crazy craft of technical know-how and artistic imagination (THE APES IN THE PLANET OF THE APES MOVIES- you have to not only understand how every layer of ape works, you have to be able to explain it to a computer, too. Absolute madness (ugh and even all of those vfx bts clips are just 50% Andy Serkis (this one's dope though))).
The truism that "Actors Hate Greenscreen" is overplayed, too. Most people have like two data points, "The prequels had too much greenscreen and so I didn't like them" and "Ian McKellen cried because of VFX on the hobbit" (oh also "Mad Max Fury Road was 100% practical and it's awesome" Freddie covers that one good, though :P)
Acting is already "Imagining". Stage actors can stand in a black box theater and perform their guts out; sometimes the experience would even be lessened if you could actually see the things they were evoking through their performance. Saying actors can't act if they have to use their imagination is a little wacky, to me; that's the whole schtick.
Because I think the big goal for most actors is to cultivate something real inside themselves, and express it honestly- this equilibrium where they birth this self-sustaining experience, where even though something may have been scripted, in that moment everything feels absolutely real. It's even easier when you have another talented actor to play off of, your energy feeding back and forth. Especially performing "on the stage", where typically you've rehearsed the hell out of everything, and now all you have to do is flex the mental muscle, access the headspace, and exist in the moment.
Film is harder that way. We'll just film an actor and say, "K yeah now you're watching your friend get shotACTION" and they have to go from 0 to trying to imagine their friend being shot in three seconds. And then just as they're getting into it we yell "CUT yeah great let's swap lenses and get it again." Some directors shoot in a way that lets actors get long extended full-scene takes, but even so you almost always have to do the scene a dozen times, over and over, to get all the different angles. It's a lot more technical medium.
So when McKellen has to simulate all the appearances of a real-life emotional conversation/experience at a tennis ball, and the tennis ball is naturally giving him nothing back, there's no equilibrium. It's less magic than just dumping emotional energy down a black hole (imagine situations when you've had to be extra nice to somebody who just grunts in response- exhausting). So ideally, the greenscreen isn't a big deal, as long as the thing you're actively playing off of can play off you, too- there's some sort of feedback. Trying to scream in terror at a tennis ball dragon is always going to be pretty demanding, and maybe a different, less rewarding 'kind' of acting than an intense discussion with an actual human actor.
Kaitlin did an absolutely amazing job in that shot, for sure, but in this case (she agrees) it wasn't even really "acting"; it was performing a series of tasks, "walk across the stage, tap your card in the elevator, wait, walk back up steps..."- which worked great because that's what running errands is. That was 100% the right headspace; anything more than that would have been too much. I love working with Kaitlin and Sean actually, because they both know that's my wavelength (I'm usually trying a bit too hard to have everything feel "casual" and not over-acted).
On that note- if you're acting in a thing and have lines, if you just try to say them in a regular monotone, you're probably going to sound more "real" than if you're acting your heart out and stewing on the character's backstory. A lot of acting is just trying to turn off all of those little mental processes so you can just exist honestly in the moment. Even if you try to speak monotone, you'll still probably talk like a normal person, because it turns out we have lots of experience talking. You can usually tell when an inexperienced actor is trying to do something clever like slip in a microexpression or something, because once you have that thought, it usually reads way larger than you expect.
Anyways!! It's been interesting seeing the clip going around. It's brought a few more eyeballs to the project (and a few more folks here (hello!!!)), which means I have a bit more money to help me do some shoots in the near future!! I think I've said it before, but secretly this whole patreon just exists to fund my indie film habit :P So thank you all for that!!!) And also hopefully it maybe inspired folks to try filming stuff in their garage. We'll see!
I've stretched myself a little thin over the past couple weeks (these are wild times), but I've got a lot of stuff cookin' I'm excited to share! My goal for this week really is to finish that greenscreen tut (I know I've literally been saying that for months, but the reminder from YouTube about how many people are waiting for it was a good kick-in-the-pants).
Hope you're all staying safe out there!!! Talk soon! :D
Comments
BeautiFul
I'm nowhere near going viral in any way yet but this sounds so familiar to me already. Just two music videos into the current phase of my career I'm already gaining a reputation as an artist whose music videos have cool CG effects. While that's obviously fine (and true), I find it really interesting how common it is for people to think that's always the starting point. That the first thing I think is "Okay what effects can I use in my next music video?" The reason anyone finds my videos interesting is not that the effects are there, but how they help tell a story in a way that wouldn’t be possible without them. Even Joseph Kahn, who's so well-known for taking advantage of technology in his work, mentioned this on Indy Mogul: if your first concern for a project is the technique, you have your priorities wrong. People don't connect emotionally with your effects, with your camera, your gimbal. They connect with the characters and the story, and those are just tools among many you can employ to make sure the story is told in a resonant way. So yeah, it irks me to no end when people say "CGI is ruining films". Lazy filmmakers ruin films, not this one particular tool. Films have *always* taken shortcuts to create illusions (did they think King Kong was real in the 1930s or something?), and those techniques have always been used either to enhance good filmmaking or to try and polish turds. Why would CGI be an exception? That's made more annoying by how the reason they think CGI makes movies look bad is that much like editing and cinematography, you only ever notice it when it’s poorly done. Congratulations on your viral hit!! Your work and tutorials really help push the boundaries in our minds of what’s possible with Blender and a willingness to innovate.
Mornarion
(Sorry if it's a bit too dense, but I really needed to say it ;D)
Mornarion
Great speech, Ian. I subscribe every word of it. I find it annoying how people tend to assimilate CGI with flashy-and-unrealistic CGI. Most of my friends were shocked when I showed them the CGI effects in 'Parasite' and '1917' (two other films many people reference as "examples of good movies without CGI" along with Mad Max Fury Road, lol). One of the most mind-blowing thoughts as a film spectator and VFX fan, was when I first discovered invisible CGI, (exactly in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKuIb1bFoEQ; there is some obvious CGI ofc, but I had never thought all the environment was CGI). That was the moment I realized a good filmmaker could make anything come to life, not restricted by having to handcraft all the sets, props and whatnot. That is, creativity unleashed ;). Until recently I still thought that well, even with CGI, you still need a big crew and expensive equipment, render farms, all that stuff... and then you show up and create those amazing scenes ON EEVEE?? Really bonkers, man. That said, it still takes creativity, imagination, and a shitload of talent to make your visions come to life in a visually attractive, effective and transcending way. And that, Ian, is what you are doing. It just takes two eyes and something remotely ressembling a brain to notice your work is not just another random cyberpunk imagery, there is something really special to it. I have always seen cyberpunk as a flashy, dark sci-fi setting, usually so dark and life-incompatible that it belongs in the plane of fantasy. But your vision of cyberpunk is one where people really live in, a plausible future that is almost half way in the planes of fantasy and reality, and that's why it is priceless. Let haters hate, that's what little joy they have left in their sad lives, you keep doing your amazing art; for yourself, of course, and for all of us who really love it.
You literally have a church to preach in now Ian. And the gospel of VFX is something I'm more than willing to listen to. Practical is the easy way out. It's just point and shoot. VFX is the hard work that takes months, even years to finish. It will always be a struggle to be in the forefront of technology and evolution. Keep preaching!
Nate
I know alot of student film makers who could really benefit from reading this post. It's brilliant to have the current meaning and usefulness of VFX explained in such a meaningful way from someone so experienced, thanks for writing this post. Also, that fake camera turn gets me every time. Such a dirty trick. Absolutely genius, love it.
Always amazed and inspired at what you do brother!
Chromfell
I'm so incredibly happy to be here and read stuff like this. That's exactly what I signed up for.
Zach Hoy
fully agree!
Zachary Macintyre
For people wothout access to crew and cast, your stuff is immensely inspiring as to what's possible in cg.
you're the best! ;)
I really appreciate this post and getting to hear your thoughts. It seems almost bitter sweet to achieve such viral fame given what you've said, but I think over all, this for the better. I think a lot of the people that had negative things to say are classic haters that have nothing good to say and I believe that makes up the 1% of those millions. All the upvotes I saw on reddit means people are amazed by what you've done and there for, inspired. Out of the multiple millions that saw the viral posts, millions of people young and old were inspired by the raw creativity of what you've done and you could personally be responsible for start of many peoples creative journeys that could go on to do amazing things and even change the industry. You should feel so proud by what you've done because you have impacted so many people's lives for the better. We thank you.
George Moise
Also, getting very conflicting/upsetting responses from that viral post is just a symptom of success. If you're not getting fucked up negative responses to what you're putting out in the world, you're not doing the right thing!
George Moise
Dude. I loved reading this. At first I thought, "wow, that's long." But I read every word and you didn't come off as too strong. You came off great and as a real veteran and as someone who's thought a lot about this and has a great point of view. So I loved it!
Erich Stenzel
CG in film making is just like any other tool in life. It can be used for good or for evil. It mostly depends on who's hands it is in. I think I'm pretty comfortable with it in Ian's hands.
Others have mentioned it here as well, but the biggest take away for anyone I've shown the Dynamo Dream trailer to (and all of your other work) is pure, unadulterated inspiration. Not everyone is going to get it, but also - you didn't really make it for everyone, right? As a piece of art, it's gorgeous. As a tech demo, it's mind blowing. As a stepping stone for other creators, it's bursting at the seams with ideas.
Mario Taylor
As a teenager in the 80s, I fell in love with what we in Sweden called synthmusik or synth for short, but what I later realized was called synth-pop in English (back then, I would have protested wildly at for example Depeche Mode being classified as any kind of pop music but that's another story). Anyway, a lot of people scoffed at it and said that it was "just pressing buttons" and "it wasn't real music". Now everyone uses computers for everything and most people have realized that it's just a very powerful and very configurable and versatile tool and that you still need great skills and musicality to produce great music. But a couple of years ago, I saw this thing happen again. My dad was a pretty good artist in his youth and displayed his paintings in art galleries but then he more or less stopped and didn't do much for around 30 years until he reached retirement. He more or less ditched oil and traditional stuff and started painting on his iPad instead since it's so very portable and non-messy. Since then he have created tons of paintings and printed and displayed some in local galleries twice so far. They were a success and he was super happy but when I attended the first one, two ladies showed up and loud and clear said "well, it looks good and all but it's not "real" art". I needed popcorn when he thanked them for the praise, ignored the "real" comment and then proceeded to school them about a lot of painting techniques that has nothing to do with what medium one uses, but that are essential to be able to create the kind of paintings he does. I think whenever something is done with new tools or new ways to use old techniques, there will always be people claiming that it's easy or not real or whatever. I have spent several days now trying to make a motion tracked scene look good in Blender and I'm at a point where I can only dream of reaching your level of mastery, Ian. It takes hard-earned skill and the eye of an artist to make things look great and I'm super grateful to have found your Patreon page and that you share so much of your knowledge! Thanks, man! Never stop doing what you love!
The Dynamo Dream Teaser video is immensely inspiring. I was blown away when I saw what was possible with Blender and green screen. I'm grateful for all the tutorials and content you put out here. It's expanded the set of tools I use in my own creative process. Thanks Ian!
When I was younger I thought computers took creative power away from artists. Now I realize how limited people are, even more so an individual. I now believe stuff like CG/VFX and other modern film making tools are the only chance a film maker really has to bring the vision in their head out into the world.
Very interesting... Thank you for sharing your mind here with us ! I just think CGs are the means, not the end... Indeed, in the last 20 years , CGs got more impressive and all, more photorealistic, but.....well i keep watching movies and i growl a lot at the narrative ! Well, personnaly i love what you create and the mood that comes with it. Keep rocking.
Thanks for sharing Ian, really insightful stuff. If it helps, VFX was something I'd never really explored in 3D, focusing more on Games Development as I was. But your tutorials and the work you've done, cheesy as it sounds, have really opened my eyes to where these skills can be applied elswhere, and I've had more fun making things and experimenting recently than I have done in a long ass time.
Dewi
People take powerful stuff and use it for 'good' , 'bad', and all the ambiguity in between. You have 'powerful stuff' and you have your intent. I think you do really well with it.
Ian Hubert and 'soulless' an impossible combo haha. Keep it up Ian, great read, we are rooting for you :)
Keep doing what you're doing Ian. Those of us who understand what goes into your projects are nothing but inspired and amazed by what you're able to achieve. There's more creativity in just one scene than in some entire movies. Thanks for everything that you've done for all of us.
Phillip Park
First, Congrats on the views! That’s awesome and you deserve to have as many views as freakin possible! 2nd, fuck those random redditors, they don’t know shit. Every reddit thread is like some dudes in their mom’s basement pretending to be an expert on w/e topic they’re commenting on. The amount of stupidity in that thread is mind boggling, there’s no way you can take it seriously. Anyways, majority of ppl are digging it as they should, we’re all proud of ya!
Lukas Sprehn
Just tell them "Ok boomer." Also, you've deserved this break for ages, Ian, ever since you uploaded the first DYNAMO episode. I am proud of you and of this moment! And of Kaitlin and Sean. Give them my best regards, please.
Doug Brown
Poor Ian McKellan :) That tennis ball should've been reprimanded or even fired. I mean can't have coasting :) Yeah totally good read! Inspiring stuff... when I get a Mail notification for your Patreon, even if I'm in the middle of work, I drop everything and go learn. Thanks man, you are making a difference to a lot of people's lives here. That's what being alive is all about.
hey, so if you have 8 points on the same wall, you might get a good solve error but then you'll have issues with orienting your scene. Or at least that's what my experience has been.
Jan van den Hemel
Hah, I remember seeing one of those weird comments on Twitter. It's honestly a little baffling to me, but I think the only thing you can do is just ignore it. Or create some kind of stock answer that you can link to (maybe make this Patreon page public). However, this is kind of the downside that any really succesful person has to deal with at some point. It will take a while to get used to it, but hopefully you will. Just think about the many people you've inspired. You are already inspiring me since you made the first Dynamo videos and I've been telling anybody who would listen. It was always strange to me that you didn't have millions of views back then! Anyway I'll be sponsoring you here forever. I agree with Ben Mauro's comment above about the watermark. It reminds me of Georges Méliès, he also put a huge watermark and made movies at home with his girlfriend.
Kai Christensen
Hey Ian, random question-- when it comes to camera solving, I've often heard the advice to have your tracking points in both the foreground and background to help Blender better get a sense of where the camera is (because the parallax establishes perspective and whatnot). I was wondering, though: is it possible to solve a camera with only a set of 8 coplanar points? I'm guessing no -- but I haven't yet run any tests yet. Something like 8 points all on the same wall... I'm not familiar with the mechanics behind camera solving, but somehow it seems like a set of all-coplanar points would be lacking the parallax the software needs? At the same time, in my mind's eye I can imagine myself being able to manually match-move a digital camera to match a set of coplanar points, so maybe it can be done computationally as well?
Ry Ken
Man would love to see you partner up with Colin levy and work on a future blender open movie project would definitely support it
Nostromo
Have seen that popping up in random places recently too, cinematography pages etc (but always in a positive way). Hard to control the message/context once something gets out there, its awesome on its own but the context of it being you as an individual using a powerful + free software with some footage you shot at your house makes it so much more epic! I wonder if it would help putting something out like that in a more official way in a blender interview, or some other more official way so the first time people see it they are a bit more educated on the context of what they are seeing and what an awesome achievement it is, instead of something they found on a random website. Worst case can always put some sort of watermark/web address in the corner that links back to your site or page that goes into more detail on the making of and gives the full context.
Cavan Infante
Man don’t let it get to you. There are people out there who know nothing of creative process who have an entirely fictional view of how it works. They crap on something not being 100% photo realistic, but only complain when they notice it, not realizing how much background swapping and all sorts of subtle CG is in everything. Also comparing your clip to a marvel production is something of a backhanded compliment since it was done in your studio space and not on in a giant Hollywood studio with infinity budget. When stuff goes viral you expose it to some of the lowest common denominator people who just don’t appreciate the work involved. The more i learn about blender, the more impressive your stuff is when it comes to all the little granular detail. Keep it up!
Kai Christensen
huh, guess you're a great writer in ADDITION to being a great visual effects artist, actor, musician and whatever other crazy talents you haven't told us about Ian.
Very good words here! There's a lot of sentiment towards film making, but that's also what makes it so unique from person to person. On a completely unrelated note, as far as content for Patreon, it'd be awesome if you just screen recorded random Blendering/AE'ing sessions. Like no commentary or direction or even a goal/subject/topic for the video; literally just regular ol' aimless footage. I love seeing all the mistakes people make in real-time edits/videos and would be great if you wanna fill gaps in between other more directional content!
Freelance235
Your writing is, as always, a wonderful expression of a creative mind. I was so happy to see your work on Reddit and across the internet, and those who were expressing the notion of "what has film making come to" have never touched a camera or tried to tell a story in their lives. Your intricate worlds show an infinite creative spirit, with love and time and passion poured into them. Your tutorials and other work help show people the expansive possibilities in cg, and inspire film makers like to me to expand our world's. Keep doing the work you've been doing and know that what you're doing is fantastic.
Great stuff!
Nathan Vegdahl
Ian, I love you so much. This was actually an amazing read, and inspiring.
Pete Burges
Ian, I am shocked that you would let a few ignorant haters make you doubt yourself or what you're doing for even a second. You wanted to show what was possible with a free piece of software and blew everyone's freaking minds...including the people who made the software! The scale of what you're acheiving with fairly modest resources is just incredible. It's not about the technology as much as it is sheer will, talent, hard work and a ton of imagination- and that's what makes it inspiring AF. That you've also managed to create one of the most informative and entertaining series of tutorials ever is just pure gravy. Keep doing what you're doing and I will keep supporting it!
Mark Miller
Ian, thanks for sharing this frustration with us. I don't think I have anything more clever to add than some of the kind folks here have already done. I especially like Max's comment above about the illusion. Let me just say that I LOVE what you are doing. I think we all do or we wouldn't be here. My daughter and I spent hours making silly nightmare men and blowing them all over the world. You enabled that, and I'm proud of you. Keep it up.
Chunky
'tis the curse of the internet. Receive all the eyes and the clicks and the reactions you could ever ask for, but near no one knows you made it. Also a shame that people associate this with film and get mad at it for "attempting to replace/kill film", when in reality they are two completely different ways of conveying ideas. Nonetheless I am very excited to see the finished product!! Is it anywhere near completion?
Max Chandler
More than 60 years ago I made the sets with painted flats and backdrops. The set required a door in the back wall that actors opened and closed and even spoke from the room through the door. I didn't actually make a second room. It was just a single painted backdrop sized so that no seat in the theater could see past the edge. The audience was never aware the second room wasn't a room. The actors and director were. They complained bitterly that the audience had been cheated and that my crew did not do our job. I had to go the principle's office for a talk about integrity. No one on my crew was allowed to work on sets for the rest of our school years. Some people are so committed to illusion that they can't deal with it being an illusion.
Mike L. Taylor
All those millions of views... and am I still the only person who notices the light stand that only lives inside of her leg when she gets off the elevator? :) Your 100% right though. Story and performance are #1. World building is there to support it. Following you on here has lead me to watch all the episodes of Dynamo and you seem to be adapt at all 3. I am happy to help support your Indy film habit as you are very much supporting mine.
sofia
That liked video from FreddieW has been on my favs list for a while. “The reason people dislike CG is that they only see bad CG” may be a bit of a generalization but I find that this point rings true in a lot of cases. That coupled with the fact that Dynamo is so clearly a product of your huge passion for the medium makes those ‘waaa so depressing’ posts mildly irritating. There’s a relevant quote here but I don’t remember what it is.
MrBurd
Hi, l really like long posts like these. Sometimes just reading is nice as well. l kinda read it in your voice anyway, almost like watching a video but without waking up the neighbors. Anyway; this is just one of things that appears on people's timelines without context, they don't know what it is, or why. And someone else who reposts gets all the attention, instead of the original poster. Lots of people don't check the comments to see who made it, basically. Still, hope you got some extra exposure from that video hype thing :)
I like to think about it this way: Those that discount other people's art/work despite not understanding it are SO unlucky. They default to making assumptions in order to convince themselves that they're intelligent. When I (and I think most people here) see something I don't fully understand, I'm overcome with the urge to learn about it. And if I don't have the time or resources to learn about it, I can at least be thankful for what the people involved do or create. I mean, IMAGINE hitting the pillow every night believing that you know everything about an art form you've never even tried. That would be awful! The constant desire to learn and understand is a consistent quality in the greatest people. I've only really used blender on and off for about 6 months for fun and I have no intentions of making a career out of cg/vfx (I'm primarily into audio/music), but I'm a patron here because what you do is so inspiring. Every time I experience your work or listen to you explain something, I'm reminded that limitation breeds creativity and that curiosity is born from acknowledging the uncertain and the unknown. Bottom line: you're doing great work and anybody that doubts that is wrong😂
Robert Singler Jr
You're my hero, Hubert.
Ian Hubert
Oh thanks for that! Honestly I know it's one of those situations of focusing on the 10% of negative instead of 90% of positive (well- depends on the platform), but as a rule the negative is so much more INTERESTING to respond to, that I wanted to at least put out some thoughts somewhere. It was a nice impetus to kind of consider what my drives were and all that :D Thanks so much for the kind words, though!!! And hah, you're probably right about the watermark. I don't mind not getting credit (and honestly it was legitimately lovely seeing how many folks were tagging me in it when it popped up), but I'd love for people to be able to find the project if it looks like something they'd enjoy. Thanks for being here, Paulo! :D
Ian I can tell by my experience on twitter that people DO NOT think your work is soulless , although some people are saying that, I experienced first hand the faces of some friends change in expression when I said all that virtual world was created by ONE guy. Their faces morph from disappointment about the film industry to "Wow! how the hell did one guy do this!?" and you can see their eyes a completely new appreciation for the same Before/After video. It's unfortunately that the video was reproduced out of context so many times, but believe me, nobody that knows your work as YOUR work ever thought of it as Soulless. I don't think anyone can say something like that after seeing a single Lazy Tutorial, all of them overflowing with energy and passion for what your doing. Hell, that's why I signed up for a Patreon for the first time! Just seeing your workflow is, above all else, inspiring. It's incredible to see how you transform a few polygons into incredible worlds so fast. Those negative reactions are all based on misinformation, and they can be easily changed with just a bit of context. Just put a water mark on the middle of the next breakdown so when the video gets replicated over and over again, people can find more about the artist behind it. ❤
Hey Ian, full-time lurker here but I'm stepping out of the shadows this once to say something about that little video. When I watched it, it literally _BLEW MY MIND_. Synapses were fired and pathways got rewired. It has unlocked a new universe of *possibilities* (cue the dolly zoom). It really wasn't until then that I realized what was possible that layfolk like us could create with free tools (and awesome mentors like yourself and others who post guidance in the form of YouTube videos). So thank you for gifting me with that. I can't wait to show what I'm creating with this newfound creative freedom. I'm going to be crediting you as the one who inspired me :)
"Film is dead" "sad" ? For real? Ugh. It's *that* pessimistic attitude which is sad. Not only are these people watching films littered with CGI they don't even know is there, but like... what do these people want or expect? The alternative is to spend millions of dollars physically building this world as a giant set, which for so many obvious reasons isn't plausible - even for large studios, let alone ONE DUDE making this. From what we've seen of Dynamo, this wasn't even possible such a short amount of time ago. Not only is it demonstrating *your* talents, but just how far this technology has come (AND FOR FREEEE?!). Because of the technology & projects like this, so many more stories can now be told without the need for huge budgets or studios or corporate suits telling people what to do. That's the opposite of "film being dead".
I think its important to remember that you didn't get this exposure just because you used a free piece of software. You got this exposure because you made something that resonated with people and seeing the execution of that work made them want to share it. It's also important to consider the source of the feedback you're getting. I'd put dollars to donuts, the people posting negative feedback are not on the same creative path, or even creating themselves. Its the same kind of people who when seeing magic trick, pick it apart instead of enjoying the level of skill needed to perform it.
Blake Rizzo
Meaning, I love how encouraging the space is! I get so excited to make stuff watching your stuff and being here seeing everyone else's stuff in the discord! Lots of internet friends to bounce things off of!
Robert Gyurko
Holy cow yeah! So many film making nuggets in there that I had never taken the time to think through and it’s super helpful! It was super awesome scrolling through my feed and seeing the breakdown because it meant more people could experience the amazing levels of awesome that the video is!
Ian Hubert
Hahaha! The lazy tut, or my way-too-long list of excuses to random people on the internet?
Blake Rizzo
AH man, I love all of this, and super-duper agree. Thank you so much for creating work and a space that inspires filmmaking and not gatekeeping!
Fes
Danmit, Ian! I am dying of laughter! This is genius!!!
