It’s simple because I don’t have any idea what to do now. I’ve just been adding details as I think of them and feel like doing them. I think most details that are still to be added should be done for LOD 4 first, and then simplified for LOD 3. I guess I just need to make the decision to move on to LOD 4 and stop procrastinating.
I tried adding a skydome last night, but it slowed my computer down too much so I had to scrap that idea for now.
My building (LOD 3) is currently about 10,000 verts (after removing most excess). When I tried adding mesh frames for every window, it climbed to 30,000 and my computer started lagging when trying to move around in 3D view, but not too badly. So that establishes a certain limitation for me that I have to work within.
The only point where LOD 3 is really necessary is when the camera gets close enough to the building that only a section of it will be visiible in any detail, so I have to start thinking about that. If I divide the building into three sections (top, middle, bottom) and only use these sections for LOD 4, I think I can eliminate a lot of the memory load.
It shouldn’t be a problem for me. I’ll scale to accomodate you guys. King Kong should be about 10 times the height of Fay Wray. He has to be able to hold her in his hand like she was a banana or something.
Okay, Deadway. I’m just working on adding more details. Here’s the outside dining area on the observation deck. I’ll add more decoration (lights, flooring, planters, etc.) in due time.
I’ve been thinking about a few possible scenes. The animation test I posted shows a yellow block that is a stand-in for Fay Wray. I picture her standing on the deck just before King Kong sees her and grabs her.
Who will do the animation? Well, would you like to volunteer? I have very little experience with animating rigs, so it would take a lot longer for me than for someone with more experience.
King Kong can be whatever size will work. But looking at images from the movie promos, they show him to be quite large!
That last binocular stand post (#51) has a glitched attachment.
And yes, I would be very pleased to animate a Kong scene! Like Peter Jackson I cut my teeth on the original King Kong and other films by Willis O’Brien, Ray Harryhausen and other SFX giants of the day, so it’d be a long-held wish fulfilled.
Okay then, chipmasque, you are the lead animator for this project.
Here are some other ideas I have for some scenes…
An early scene where a tourist is looking through the binoculars and panning over the city-scape until he comes face to face with King Kong, whose close-up head (or just eye?) fills his view and startles him.
A scene of a pilot’s POV as he flies towards the building and sees KK climbing it.
A pilots POV as he and other pilots fly around the building shooting at KK.
A scene where FW is standing on the deck, desperate to be rescued as KK looms near.
Objects being knocked off the building by KK and falling to the ground.
A plane being smashed out of the air by KK.
A scene from street level as people look up at KK on the building.
These are all just ideas at this point, of course. If you have any of your own, please share! Same with you, Deadway!
And how many years did you plan to devote to this project?!? That’s a lot of scenes, but I think if we plan it well and use short takes, we can manage a pretty exciting sequence.
In the original, Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) was always looking to be rescued. PJ’s remake evoked a lot more sympathy for the beast by making Ann (Naomi Watts) a love interest of sorts. Which way for us?
I think that would clash too much with the scene’s history, which is pretty grim & full of heavy emo, even when Kong is much more sympathetic. Comedy worked well in the Jackson remake, but was strategically planned in the context of the whole story. Perhaps a quick note with the binoculars as you mentioned? Unless you’re thinking of a lampoon of the story?
I also respect animals and dislike senseless violence, but keep in mind that both movies (I will perpetually ignore the POS remake with Bridges & Lange, both actors I like and respect enormously, but it was a true dog of a film) were not really about a rampaging monster but instead a tale of the folly of human hubris and arrogance in the face of nature. This is a theme worthy of classic tragedy, and Kong is definitely a classic tragic hero.
Plus I’ve already been blocking a new death scene in my mind. And maybe a new (and unexpected) ending?
Oh, I’m always up for some left-handed, left-field thinking lol. But should the character models be caricatures? Right now I’m working on a reasonable portrait of Ms. Wray, but can shift gears. And Deadway will need a heads up on the question, as it may inform how he models Kong.
That’s a lot of scenes, but I think if we plan it well and use short takes, we can manage a pretty exciting sequence.