The Official Stormscape Creations Blog

Happy Holidays

2008-12-25T16:04:00.000-08:00

In light of the change in direction that my work has taken, I've decided to do something I thought I'd never do. I'm going to release a script.

As my holiday gift to you, I am posting the partially completed script for The Thaenor Chronicles - Chapter Three. That's right, partially completed, so its going to cut off half way through, but what is there should resolve most of the "WTF?" from Chapter Two.

How to read it:
>> indicates a camera cut and the description of the shot.
Bold Text indicates dialog, or a scene description.
Italic Text indicates action.

The Thaenor Chronicles - Chapter Three Partial Script

It is still my hope that I will actually complete this movie some day, but I don't know when that will be, so here is my thanks for your patience.

Happy Holidays!

PHP, CSS, XHTML, and a lot of Mountain Dew

2008-10-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

Alright so I'm kidding about the last one.

So you're all probably wondering what I've been doing all this time. The new Moviestorm project is coming together slowly from several angles. Currently, I am working on the website where this new project will find its home. I have a domain name and a skeleton site up and running, with most if not all of the photoshop and layout work done, as well as signing up to display "Ads By Google." Now for the hard part; I don't know the first thing about MySQL.

On another front, I've been saving funds for the dual purchase of Sony ACID Pro, and Particle Illusion. And learning how to use both. Original Music and Original Special FX are both part of the plan.

On another front, I have the first four episodes of the series scripted, though I've been in programming-mode and haven't worked on them in a while, though with my track-record, I want as much of the writing done before I officially start, as possible.

On yet another front that I haven't really explored as much as I should, I've been toying with Moviestorm itself, getting a feel for the program. There are more limits than my imagination would like, but them's the breaks. It is a new product and additional features are being patched in all the time. I've also made a point to invest in all the content packs available for Moviestorm, assuring the maximum possible library of assets.

And all in between I've been doing my share of scattered ADD behavior. Well, sort of. I've been playing a little WoW (to level inscription), I've been working on a couple of old writing projects, and vastly enjoying my PS3.

A Great Paradigm Shift

2008-08-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, that script for The Thaenor Chronicles - Chapter Three sure is taking longer than I thought it would. It is already far longer than the script for chapter two, and barely half done. Unfortunately, the promised release date of September is officially a no-go, as The Thaenor Chronicles (as well as all other WoW machinimating) will be taking a back seat to a massive new serial project.

Why? Several reasons.
Firstly, with the passage of my 19th birthday, it has hit me that I really need to look to my future, and machinimating in WoW precludes ever profiting from my work.
Secondly, I truly feel I can take my art to a new level with this new project, not only creatively, but with a business model I have an excuse to invest in more complex tools.
Lastly, once on its feet, this path will leave me with enough free time to finish The Thaenor Chronicles. Believe me, I want to see the next movies finished more than you do.

This new serial project will be created using the Moviestorm engine, and will run one 10-minute episode every two weeks for twenty episodes per year on a dedicated website.
The target launch date is January 5th, 2009.

The Showdown

2008-07-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the mind-blowing sound design of Caruu, the first installment of Showdown is complete, and up on Alicia's youtube page. We had a lot of fun making it so look out for more in the future. Maybe. If we feel like it.

As for the third chapter of the Thaenor Chronicles, real progress is being made on the script. The outline has grown and refined into something truly epic, and I really think once finished it will be a disappointment to no one. Hang in there, the wait will be worth it.

A Little Machinimating on the Side

2008-06-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

Today I have a peek at something neat for you. What if you could see into the future, into a crossover? Well actually you can.

Alicia Palmer and I are trading back and forth on an improvised machinima dubbed "Showdown" in which Zemeth in his final incarnation, faces off against Soulin, from Alicia's series The Order. We're doing this unscripted, mostly for fun, so I don't think you could consider these events canon for either The Thaenor Chronicles or The Order. (Or maybe it happens some time after my Chapter Five, who knows.)

"I don't need your charity."

Dnnnnn Wah Wah Wah SHOWDOWN

Flying Fists.

On another note, the script for Chapter Three is still crawling forward. I'm not sure of the schedule yet, but I do know for certain that come hell or high water I will have Chapter Three done and out before this year's Blizzcon.

No News is Good News

2008-05-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

Its gotten a little quiet around here, hasn't it.

The script for TC3 is progressing slowly but surely. As is becoming a trend for me, the writing seems to take longer than actual production. I'm handling this project with the utmost of care; I want TC3 to be the best movie it can possibly be.

In other news, patch 2.4.2 seems to have screwed up modelviewer's ability to read armor textures, so it seems that the machinima community as a whole might be forced to a standstill until an update/fix is released.

In other, other news, my short, An Azerothian Faerie Tale, is officially gone from youtube (the pricks, they are) and I've been told there are problems with bitrate on the archive.org download. So, here is a nice&fast filefront download of the movie for you.

Oh Balls.

2008-05-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

It would seem that one of my storage drives kicked a few days ago. (IE crashed, died, went bad, said "FU! U NO SOUND FX" and spit on me...)

Nothing immediate was lost. My entire sound effect library was on that drive, but I can recover most of that from original sourse. All of the material that went into making any project that isn't The Thaenor Chronicles is just GONE though(TC has my other drive to itself). Looks like there won't ever be a director's cut of Netherwing - The Movie after all. A few other things were lost--that drive is where I tended to save random crap--but nothing all that important.

Still, this is a proverbial kick-in-the-shins, and I suppose I'm lucky it happened between projects.

In other news, you need to watch this. Right now.

Writing Chapter Three

2008-04-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

So, TC2 has been in the spotlight for a couple days now, with mixed reviews flying every which-way. To my surprise, the voice acting is catching a lot of flack; so much so that I've had concern from my actors that they'd be replaced. This will not be the case. I'm not going to replace anyone just because a bunch of random commenters are making blanket "u sux" statements.

I also feel that most of the blame for this is in fact on me, for the less-than-awesome writing prevalent in Chapter Two. Unfortunately, I originally wrote chapter two with the thought hanging over me that I was going to have to cajole my classmates into reading these lines I was writing. I was writing for kids, not actors, because at the time I hadn't dared hope I would actually have willing actors. I'm very grateful to every cast member for their interest and performance(in both the acting and professional sense).

So, on to Chapter Three now. There is a LOT of plot to explain, and a LOT of new material to introduce, and rather than dumb the writing down, I can craft to my heart's content; hopefully give my actors something vastly better to work with this time.

I would also like to say, I'm not going to rush Chapter Three. I will be working on it at every opportunity, however, and thanks to my awesome cast, there will not be a year-long hiatus like there was last time. Look forward to seeing Chapter Three out somewhere around this September.

TC2 in the Spotlight

2008-04-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

/cheer

The Thaenor Chronicles - Chapter Two

2008-04-15T00:45:00.000-07:00

And a day early at that. The movie you've all been waiting for is finally here.

On Warcraftmovies

On Youtube

From Filefront

Enjoy!

Screenshot(s) of the Week #4

2008-04-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

A hint? A clue? Foreshadowing for sure.

...

Shadowform isn't just for looks.

Epics for everybody!

Out in ten days!

Trailer for Chapter Two

2008-04-01T12:38:00.001-07:00

Volla! You can download the trailer, or just watch it below.

State of the Movie

2008-03-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

Everything you wanted to know on the progress of Chapter Two but were afraid to ask.

The WIP currently clocks in at 12 minutes and 19 seconds, with 17 pages of script completed and 8 pages still to go.
So far the movie includes 246 background files (images/video from mapviewer) , and 542 foreground files (images/video from modelviewer).

I'm planning to release a 90 second trailer for the movie any day now, with the final release date of the full movie (brace yourselves) pushed back and finalized at April 16th.

Eating My Words

2008-03-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

So I patched. Yup. And good news for anyone else who was afraid of the same thing I was, nothing's gone wrong, model and map viewer work fine, except that mapviewer crashes in the Magisters' Terrace.

So. Yay. What with the cake and eating it too.

Bonus screenshot!

The Big Patch

2008-03-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

So. Today.
Patch day.

Fury of the Sun Well.

For what may be the first time, there is loads of new content I'm excited about, and I have a character or two at 70 in a position to participate.

However, I've promised you guys a movie by April 10th, and that was going to be hard to meet as is. In addition, it would be a bad idea to risk any bugs this patch might cause with the model viewer, at this time where were I to say I am using it frequently, would be an understatement.

So I will not be patching, I will be working. Chapter Two has seen too many delays already.

Now I bid you adieu and do some QQ.

Screenshot(s) of the Week #3

2008-03-23T07:59:00.001-07:00

Are Zemeth and Siubhan having a moment?

Bugs. Lots of bugs.

At least they have a full group.

Screenshots every week until release!

Internet Bad, Effects Good

2008-03-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

I would simply like to state simply that Verizon DSL sucks slimy murloc ass. Luckily my host plans to switch to high-speed cable soon, being just as fed up with having to call tech support on a daily basis, as I am.

With that out of the way, I thought I'd talk a little bit about one of Sony Vegas' most powerful tools(masks), and how I've used them to invent a new effect. If you've played WoW (and I can only assume you have) you may have noticed the trail left in the air for a moment when a projectile spell passes by. I had never actually seen this replicated with model viewer footage, so I came up with my own solution.

I cut the trail out of a solid color layer, adjusting the mask points to until it looked right.

Then, imagine my delight when I discovered that Vegas masks are boolean.

With a little animation of a second, negative mask, I suddenly had an ice trail that looked remarkably similar to the one in-game, and thanks to the flexibility of masks, I can tailor it to just about any shot.

With every little discovery like this, I grow to like this program more and more. I don't care what the After Effects proponents say, Vegas ROXORZ.

Screenshot(s) of the Week #2

2008-03-16T12:43:00.001-07:00

Riding through the desert.

Zalek bringing the arcane hurt.

Terrac, about to receive the hurt.

New screen shots every Sunday from now until release!

Screenshot of the Week #1

2008-03-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

Zemeth hangs out in Darnassus with some of his Night Elf pals.

New screen shot(s) every Sunday from now until release.

The Thaenor Chronicles: Progress and Plans

2008-03-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks to those who have turned in their lines on time, I've begun actual editing on The Thaenor Chronicles - Chapter Two. I'm still waiting on a couple people to send me lines, but things are looking like I'll be able to make the April 10th release date.

As I get into it, I'll be posting new screen shots every week along with a progress update.

In the mean time, however, I'd like to talk about where The Thaenor Chronicles is going in the future. Each of the five chapters is meant to showcase a distinct segment of events in the lives of the main characters. The following may or may not contain spoilers, so read on at your own risk.

Chapter One - The first of the five is quite simply the origin story. Zemeth is "rescued" as a small child and separated from his brother, Zalek. Zemeth grows up tormented and out of place among paladins, while Zalek lives the life they both should have had; that of a successful, well-adjusted Mage of Dalran. We see how Zemeth inevitably cannot live that life.
Chapter One was essentially the very first machinima I ever created, and it shows. I fully intend to do a redux once the series is complete, or when Northrend becomes available, because I very much want to film the opening of the redux in the real Dalran, not a recolored Silvermoon.

Chapter Two - The second of five that you're all waiting for right now, is focused around the idea of Zemeth becoming a whole person. In this chapter Zemeth has something that he's never had before and wont have again for a long time; he has family in the Night Elven trio that more or less takes him in. In Chapter Two we see Zemeth living this new life and being relatively happy and content.
However, Chapter Two is also where we start to see hints of the real story, as a backdrop to Zemeth's good life beginning to deteriorate due to forces beyond his control. Zalek doesn't get much face time in this chapter because he's still living the good life, but he does get one very kick ass action scene, though it ends up being a futile gesture. Chapter Two ends with Zemeth's death, and marks the transition between the first two, almost seperate stories, and the continuous third, fourth, and fifth.

Chapter Three - With the third of the five we move into the present day. The world has changed and Zemeth's pseudo-family is disparate. Yet in Chapter Three, Zemeth is reborn through the grace of Elune. He has trouble adapting to this changed world; he is alone again.
Chapter Three is essentially the action movie. Lots of fights and cool effects as Zemeth copes with his changed world in less than healthy ways.
A new main character, Kico, is introduced along with a villain that wont really effect any of our characters, other than Kico, until the very end.
Meanwhile we see the reintroduction of a character that was glimpsed in Chapter One, Illis Amara, who has changed over the years as much as Zemeth has. We see a much-less-changed Zalek searching for his brother's body and we see he and Illis team up. Doubt about Illis will be a big thing here; is she a badguy or a goodguy? We learn that in either case she will be antagonistic to Zemeth, which will put difficult decisions in front of Zalek.
The Script on Chapter Three is already 2/3 complete. This chapter will be technically and artistically as far above Chapter Two as Chapter Two is above Chapter One.

Chapter Four - The fourth of the five will be by far the most dialog-heavy and the longest of the chapters by a considerable margin. Chapter Four is the character drama, and the love story(s). All the major characters begin to thread into one-another's lives, new characters are introduced, and conflict is everywhere.
Mysteries are revealed, loyalties are tested, and the Zemeth vs. Illis plot line comes to a head. With the conclusion of Chapter Four most of the characters' issues will have been resolved and the understanding of the big picture will almost be complete.

Chapter Five - The fifth of the five, the final chapter, is more or less a war movie. The characters have come a long way to get here, and now finally they are faced with something truly larger than their lives. Chapter Five will be the pinnacle of combat-effects in the series, with massive battles between bizarre creatures and supernatural combat. The last of the loose threads will be tied up, along with the inevitable yet surprisingly non-violent confrontation between Zemeth and Zalek, and Kico's final revenge against her brother's murderer which also happens to save the world(Zemeth helps).

So that is where I plan to take The Thaenor Chronicles. Once the series is finished, I would also like to take the whole thing, and instead of creating a stand-alone redux of Chapter One, redo that part of the series and then merge the entire thing into one massive full-length movie.

But for any of that to happen, I need my voice actors to turn in their lines so I can finish off Chapter Two and beyond.

Wow, long post. And the WoW servers still aren't up...
Remember, next week, screenshots!

Casting is Complete

2008-02-16T07:10:00.000-08:00

The E-mail went out this morning. Now I'll have to sit back and wait for lines.
I set the deadline for March 3rd, and I plan to spend the whole month of March hard at work.

I hope to have The Thaenor Chronicles - Chapter Two out on April 10th.

ZOMG is that an actual release date? Looks like it could be.

OMG how did I miss THIS?

2008-02-13T22:45:00.001-08:00

Apparently back at the end of November WoWinsider.com did a brief article on Netherwing - The Movie.

READ IT HERE

I don't know how I never knew about this, but can I just say, COOL!!!

Casting Woes 'n Stuff

2008-02-10T09:20:00.000-08:00

So here we are at six days until the audition deadline, and happily, I have an actor in mind for almost every part.
The exception would be the lead character, Zemeth, who is the only role I don't know how to fill. He's received fewer auditions than any of the other characters and I had a very specific idea of what I wanted him to sound like. Guess I'll just have to wait and hope.

In an ironic twist, I have more auditions for the parts of Siubhan and Casidhe than I know what to do with. There are two or three voices each that I could cast and be happy with. Perhaps I'll keep them in reserve for characters that appear in later chapters. (Here's a little spoiler: The story doesn't start getting really interesting until Chapter Three.)

In other news I've been putting together a Character Compendium over on the forums. Check it out. I'll be adding to it as I think of stuff.

What you all've been waiting for (almost).

2008-01-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

Happy (late) New Years!

I'm happy to announce that I'm back to work on The Thaenor Chronicles - Chapter Two. I'm seeking voice actors through the wonderful Voice Acting Alliance.

Click here to view the Thaenor Chronicles page on Voice Acting Alliance.

To celebrate, I've thrown together a little teaser for youtube.
Watch it Now!

So very overdue, The Thaenor Chronicles - Chapter Two is now going to get made at last.

Fubarius Returns

2007-12-27T08:21:00.000-08:00

The artist who's work inspired me to get into machinima in the first place has emerged from retirement for one last movie. Read about it here, and see the teaser here. Here's hoping his departure is accompanied with one hell of a bang.

In other news, The Thaenor Chronicles will resume production "soon" once I've worked out a few technical and life issues.