"Making space combat movies" Topic

I've been thinking of making my own movies using my starship miniatures. My hardware is pretty old, but maybe I can pull it off. Maybe I'll have to use the stop motion technique, at least for a few of the scenes. I have to look at set design as well.

Of course, these films will probably be only for my own use, although I may share them if they're decent enough. I'm no Ingmar Bergman.

What do you think? Has anyone tried doing this?

I would love to see your work. Have a look on youtube at the marvelous stop motion films people have made using plastic army men, lego, and other items.

Get those tan monkeys!

YouTube link

I haven't tried it, but think our Topgun, 3-D, Dogfight Flight Stands would be ideal for your application, since as you can see from the Spitfire pic, and others, it will permit stop-motion photography with spacefighters, or spaceships, because they can be repositioned very incrementally, to almost any position desired:

[URL=http://s43.photobucket.com/user/Top_Gun_Ace/media/Spacefighter%20Flight%20Stands/X-WingvsTieFighters_zps283bc9d7.jpg.html]

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[URL=http://s43.photobucket.com/user/Top_Gun_Ace/media/Spacefighter%20Flight%20Stands/Cylons-CheckyourSix_zps41158191.jpg.html]

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The spacefighters are Titanium diecast metal minis.

As you can see from the above, and the 1/144th scale WWII aircraft pics below, the range of motion of these is pretty incredible:

[URL=http://s43.photobucket.com/user/Top_Gun_Ace/media/Topgun%20Marketing%20Flight%20Stands/BarrelRollingSpitsCopy.jpg.html]

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[URL=http://s43.photobucket.com/user/Top_Gun_Ace/media/Topgun%20Marketing%20Flight%20Stands/P-51andFWsDogfightCopy.jpg.html]

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See here for info for another person I just responded to, about our products, which has more info about their height ranges, basing options, etc.

TMP link

I can be reached at:

topgungrav AT yahoo d0t com

if you'd like to discuss things further.

I hope that helps.

Sincerely,

Rob

About half a century ago, I did some. ;->=

Nice thing about a space movie, you can cover the stands in black, and they disappear, taking care not to shoot a ship in the background through a stand in the foreground, of course.

Also, give a try to moving the camera instead of a ship sometimes. Some shots are easier that way.

Doug

Film it against a "green screen" and you can edit in any background you want (including moving ones and footage of other ships.) If you think about it, you have more SFX power now in a PC than they did filming the original Star Wars…. ;-)

Great suggestions, guys, thanks. I'll definitely play around with different techniques.

Those stands look great, Mako.

Wow, downloadable green screen software would have been homicide generating. (We would have killed for…)

I had NO idea; should have, of course.

Doug

Edit: Of course, most folks would tell you you MUST scan the models, create meshes, and animate the whole thing.

All depends HOW old school you want to go. ;->=

Just remember the sound effects need to be "pew pew pew"

I tried this once. It was HARD.

*shhhh* You'll scare him off!

Seriously, the important thing I DIDN'T say was: baby steps.

Don't try to do a whole movie first; play with a single maneuver. JUST a flyby, or a wing over, or pull up. One ship.

Then, try the biggest thing you can fit into your head, and the smallest thing that seems like progress.

Then, try again.

Doug

With a lot of digital cameras now, you can record video, so if you mount your camera on a tripod, and smoothly swivel, or zoom in and out while recording from various angles, I'll bet you can get a lot of really near Sci-Fi movement effects, without the need for stop-motion picture taking.

Surely as good as those from the first Star Wars films, if not better, due to improvements in editing software.

That'd definitely be the route I would try, to speed up production, and to make it look better.

Digital camera resolution, optical zooming, and recording tech is simply amazing today.

I have a small tripod where I can mount my digital camera. The problem with it is that it makes a clicking noise as it records. My Flip video camera is silent, but it loses power quickly and takes a long while to recharge.

If I had larger models, they'd look better. But for now I'll have to make do with what I have.

Still trying to figure out how to do the space crew. I'd have to look at some animation, since I don't have the cash to pay actors and set designers.

I have done stuff with animated gifs when Movie Maker allowed them to play. The Windows 7 version is much less versatile than the XP version.

I did a stop-motion scene or two for fun using a Super-8 camera…back in 1980 or so. Amazing how long it takes to just get a few seconds of useful film (well, video, now).

Rob

"Still trying to figure out how to do the space crew. I'd have to look at some animation, since I don't have the cash to pay actors and set designers."

Steal from Robot Chicken. Action figures with paper mouths to show speaking. ;-)

There's an idea! I may just try that. Thanks.