Collab Contest - Win $$$ :D

[Kajenx]

Ok, so I'm getting $250 from NG for winning the 6th place monthly on Ether War. But I've already made enough money on the game, and I couldn't have made it so far without you guys, so I'm going to use it as prize money for an animation contest! I'm keeping the t-shirt though. :3

The theme of the contest is "Slow Dramatic Action" and it will be set to the beautiful song "So Is Life" by Hania. To enter, all you need to do is make a 5 second (or longer) clip of a fully frame-by-frame slow motion action. I'm thinking something like a spinning ballerina, a flying bird, a BMXer doing a trick in mid air, etc. All of it in dramatic slow motion.

I'll be judging each entry on this criteria:
Dynamism - Do the characters feel like solid 3D objects moving in space?
Art - Is the background detailed and are the characters interesting?
Movement - How interesting and lifelike is the action?
Drama - Does the scene evoke emotion and catharsis?

Here's the guidelines:
- 24 FPS
- 550x400 Stage
- The background color will be white, but you should fill in the background.
- Around 5 seconds of fully FBF dramatic slow-motion action.
- Please, no movieclips, but if you must, add your username to the front of them (ex. Kajenx_Rock).
- No tweens allowed except for background actions.
- No abstract squiggly lines or stick men. It's only 5 seconds, try your hardest.
- Send all entries in .fla form to [e-mail] (include your user name in the email).
- Deadline = Nov 13, 2008 (I'll extend it if people still need time).

Don't panic, I will allow you to animate on two's (meaning you can draw every other frame for a framerate of 12 FPS) and you can make a looping action if you can't complete a total of 5 seconds. However, I will take length and effort into account when judging. If I can't make up my mind who is a clear winner, I'll elect a panel of judges to help me out.

All entries that follow the guidelines will be included with credits in the collab, and I'll coauthor as many of the top entries as is possible.

Good luck! Feel free to post WIP or questions here!

[K-Guare]

Congrats on your prize, way to be the good samaritan and
give it as collab contest money. :D
I still have my $250 from Best of July, but
i spent a couple bucks on a frame for my certificate.
It got a little crumpled in the mail, but it's still good. :]

I don't think i'll be making anything, but good luck with this.
:D

P.S. Thanks Tom, wherever you are. <3

[Shadowshot2]

At 10/10/08 08:59 PM, Kajenx wrote: I'm keeping the t-shirt though. :3

But that's the best part : (

[Kajenx]

At 10/10/08 10:34 PM, Shadowshot2 wrote:

At 10/10/08 08:59 PM, Kajenx wrote: I'm keeping the t-shirt though. :3

But that's the best part : (

You can buy a T-Shirt with $250, though.

[Sialys]

I can't participate, seeing as I do not have any flash skill what-so-ever.

But, I just wanna say that you're a great guy for what you're doin' (:

[MCYoshi]

Seriously only 5 seconds long? And it's slow motion style even? It just seems so short... But wait since this song is clearly longer than 5 seconds what part of the song is it to. We just pick a piece and stick it in our flash?

[Nintendfan]

Wow.... You are so nice! Well, I think I'll try and congrats on winning that contest!

[MCYoshi]

Some more questions... Why do you need it in .fla? What plans do you have for it? Also what Flash version do you have?

[Kajenx]

I have flash CS3, so I should be able to open any file you send. I need the .fla because when it's all over I'm going to submit all the entries together as a collab into the portal. I'll have Hania's song as the background music. You can pick a specific part of the song if you want to, but I was just planning to edit it together according to what parts worked best next to each other.

It's only 5 seconds, but when you cut them together I think it'll look pretty cool, like a video montage. 5 seconds is only the minimum, too, you can go longer. But think of it like this, 5 seconds at 12 frames per second is 60 drawings. If you're making something complex, that could take a great deal of time, especially since most of us are just amateurs.

Really, the reason I'm doing this is because I think everyone has the potential to make some amazing art. I've been wanting to do a detailed realistic sort of animation for a long time, and every time I end up stopping part of the way through because I just lose motivation. If we all only have to do 5 seconds, we can spend more time making something truly astounding and pushing past the limits we thought we had.

Great art doesn't come from talent or inspiration, it comes from an investment of time and a will to create. I think everyone here has the will to create, but maybe we don't have the time to bring our ideas to life. Yet, if we all work together, then the time is minimized to a more manageable and realistic level.

[BurningBunnies]

If any entry looks realistic it'll probably have been rotoscoped. Is that allowed?

[ChillyCheese]

At 10/11/08 06:21 AM, BurningBunnies wrote: If any entry looks realistic it'll probably have been rotoscoped. Is that allowed?

Thats just lazy and uncreative. In my opinion I don't think it should be allowed.

I'll try and make something.

[xTOXICxEMPIRE]

At 10/11/08 06:21 AM, BurningBunnies wrote: If any entry looks realistic it'll probably have been rotoscoped. Is that allowed?

Thats what I was thinking.
You could do a really great flash of a dog chasing a ball or something of the like if rotoscoping was allowed.
I might join this, but time is something I don't have much of unfortunately.
I'll see.

Anyway, it's a great thing you're doing.

[xTOXICxEMPIRE]

At 10/11/08 09:35 AM, ChillyCheese wrote:

At 10/11/08 06:21 AM, BurningBunnies wrote: If any entry looks realistic it'll probably have been rotoscoped. Is that allowed?

Thats just lazy and uncreative. In my opinion I don't think it should be allowed.

I'll try and make something.

Not really. You're only getting the very basic skeleton for you animation, it's more like a tool.

[ChillyCheese]

At 10/11/08 09:46 AM, xTOXICxEMPIRE wrote:

At 10/11/08 09:35 AM, ChillyCheese wrote:

At 10/11/08 06:21 AM, BurningBunnies wrote: If any entry looks realistic it'll probably have been rotoscoped. Is that allowed?

Thats just lazy and uncreative. In my opinion I don't think it should be allowed.

I'll try and make something.

Not really. You're only getting the very basic skeleton for you animation, it's more like a tool.

It's almost like using a template of a face for drawing one. You dont learn anything of the basic anatomy.

If you rotoscope you aren't creating the motion yourself, so you dont learn anything on how things move. You might learn a little. But it's a fraction compared to actually doing it yourself.

By the way, can it be any longer than 5 seconds? That kind of restricts doing a lot of things.

[MCYoshi]

Rotoscoping is the easiest way to acheive the most realism. But it's not necessarily easy, it still takes time to trace over each frame, especially if using flash drawing tools. Plus you are making decisions on how much of the original do you want to retain and such things. It isn't like you record something and push a button and magically it becomes a flash movie. (Though there is that trace bitmap option, but the results are anything but amazing. It's actually pretty useless.) I think I might try something, but only if the end collab is going to be suitable for all audiences. So rules on no blood and such, are needed for me to join.

[Dark-Spark]

i'm not joining if people are going to be rotoscoping

[MCYoshi]

At 10/11/08 12:11 PM, Dark-Spark wrote: i'm not joining if people are going to be rotoscoping

No rotoscoping is probably a good rule, but how can you tell if someone did or not? If it looks too realistic? I think not.

[Kajenx]

I'm not going to ban rotoscoping as a guide, but if it's obvious that you just traced over film footage, I won't pick you as a winner.

I like the no gore rule, too, but if someone does something extra creative with it, then I'm not going to say no. The reason for this is I'm remembering a flash I saw a while ago of a sort of psychedelic bullet that was tearing through stuff in slow motion. It was pretty brutal at moments, but it was also quite beautiful. I can't remember who did it, or I'd link it as an example...

[Kajenx]

Oh, and yes, it can be longer than 5 seconds.

[matiou1]

I have these questions, Can it starts off fast and then go to slow motion also can there be more than one shot because I have this idea that involves doing two shots, the first in wich the action is fast and then the other where you get to see the slowmotion.

[Kajenx]

At 10/11/08 03:15 PM, matiou1 wrote: I have these questions, Can it starts off fast and then go to slow motion also can there be more than one shot because I have this idea that involves doing two shots, the first in wich the action is fast and then the other where you get to see the slowmotion.

I'd have to see it... Just use your best judgment. If you don't think it fits into the theme then maybe try another idea? If it has slow motion in it, then it should fit.

[SuperSmurf]

then i shall begin....now!

[MCYoshi]

Yeah I guess I'll have a go at this. Oh yeah great game by the way. Decided to play it and was impressed.

[Rustygames]

Come on, keep the cash, you earnt it

[GustTheASGuy]

At 10/12/08 07:03 AM, Rustygames wrote: Come on, keep the cash, you earnt it

Maybe he doesn't have any 'girlfriends' to spend his money on. >:p

[MeLucky]

I'll say I'll give it a shot. Cuz I might not be.
So, I'll give it a shot.

[Kajenx]

At 10/12/08 08:58 AM, GustTheASGuy wrote:

At 10/12/08 07:03 AM, Rustygames wrote: Come on, keep the cash, you earnt it

Maybe he doesn't have any 'girlfriends' to spend his money on. >:p

This is rich coming from the biggest nerd on the site. :P

[GustTheASGuy]

At 10/12/08 05:07 PM, Kajenx wrote: This is rich coming from the biggest nerd on the site. :P

I'll kick your ass!

Also, not actually talking about you. http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/8596 44

[Kajenx]

At 10/12/08 05:21 PM, GustTheASGuy wrote:

At 10/12/08 05:07 PM, Kajenx wrote: This is rich coming from the biggest nerd on the site. :P

I'll kick your ass!

Also, not actually talking about you. http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/8596 44

Oh you know it's true, though, LOL!

[McJesus]

Ooh, sounds delightful!