Starship Exeter: Exeter Rising" Fan Story mini-series

Now if the wife's computer would jsut quit crashing on me all the time...I might actually accomplish something. We're talking around 3 crashes a night average. I'm pushing for a new MacBook when we get out tax return back in a few months. Then I'll have the muscle. And I'll push to see if we can get it on payments so I can toss Lightwave and Poser in as well.

If you can give me some info on the wife's machine perhaps I can help you resove the lock up issue.

I assemble all of my own computers and I've worked at the national level help desk for a major ISP as well as customer service for Microsoft.

What OS are you running?
What are the specs of the machine?

Do you have a lot of useless 'bells and whistles' running (i.e. AOL instant mess and other little TSRs)?

Most (if not all) CG software is pretty memory and CPU intensive and they don't like sharing their resources with other programs.

Well it's an emachine for windows she bought in 2002 right after we got married. It is running Windows XP home Edition on a P4 running I think around 1.4 ghz. I've installed little on it beyond the AOL software we use for internet access and our Budget applicaiton for our bookkeeping and iTines for my iPod and Quicktime 7. The only thing else I have installed is the 3d apps you guys have been recommending. That's pretty much it.

We are suing the most current form of AOL which has it's instant messenger built in. So we don't use AOL Instant Messenger apart from when we are logged in on AOL cause we would be using it from inside the application.

Ok, I'd say that since it's an eMachine that your issue with crashing is probably RAM related. I've had some friends who have purchased eMachines and they got nice fast CPUs but 256 to 350mb of RAM.

To give you a basis for camparison I am using an AMD 64bit Athlon at 2.2ghz with 1GB ram onboard and 1GB ram on my video card (nVidia chipset).

I'd say it's the RAM - there are a couple of ways to find out how much RAM you have (if you don't know) you can get there through 'My Computer' or you can do this

START>RUN>DXDIAG

That will give you a lot of good info on your machine.

I am willing to say I could be wrong (I've been wrong before) but right now I'd say your locking up is due to low memory. If that's the case the only thing you can do for now is to save, save often and when you do - make sure you do something like SAVE FILE-1 - then the next time you save SAVE FILE-2 - this way if your save gets corrupted you've still got SAVE FILE-1 to fall back on. I tend to do 3 to 4 saves on the same work.
I'll have something like '1701-OCT-A' and the '-B' and '-C' and so on.

It takes up some drive space but it keeps your hair in your head and not in your hands.

[gmd3d]

Truespace is heavy on RAM .. I think ..and sound about right Fretslayer. I have only 638 ram on my pc .. and some time I just don't have enough .. possibly whay I model more now than render images .. (Ram is cheap at the moment I think)..

You need to up it big time .. for what you have in mind. unless you get a group together to work on it .. but that could either help you or hinder you..

I certainly wouln't mind 3 or 4 people working on it. I always welcome the help. I just ask that the storyboards and animatics be followed closely as possible, and that when it's finished it can be mistaken for TOS effects shots. To me those 2 things are extrememly important or the whole project is all for nothing.

There are times when I will have MAX v.8, Deep Exploration v.5.5 and Carrara P. 6, my email client and Firefox all open and running at the same time (or instead of MAX I'll have LWO) and I can get away with it because I have a healthy amount of RAM.

But when I'm rendering I close everything except for Carrara.
I check my email and jump on the net while rendering and that's as much stress as I put on the machine while it's doing my work.

One other thing Robert that will be really important - make sure you 'Render to Image' in whatever program you use. It's far better to create a series of still images and then later compile them into a film than it is to 'Render to Movie' file. First off you get a much cleaner image (and final product). Secondly, if your machine crashes (or some other sort of power loss) you have not lost your progress up to FRAME: X and you can restart your render from FRAME: X instead of all the way back at the beginning.

And finally - when you RENDER TO IMAGE the software (and I'm pretty sure this goes for every one of them out there) doesn't have to deal with this monster film file and instead can just paint a series of single images. That as you might imagine can really speed up your render time. Big time!

Now as for RAM for you machine - here's a little inside secret.
Goto www.crucial.com
Ths site might be a bit jumbled looking at first but just go slow - you'll find a 'search window' and in that you'll put your make & model of computer. The data you'll get back will tell you exactly what type of RAM chips go in your maching and how expensive or cheap they could be. If you have the room to expand, I would say (as long as it's affordable) cram every bit of RAM into that bad puppy as you can.

You'll see a massive improvement in system performace from the first time you reboot.

I do vvish you luck getting a few people to help you with your project (I'm not being sarcasic either) I'm sure there is somebody out there who would enjoy doing retro-CG effects. I know I'm not that guy - I love Star Trek but I hate the effects and think that the people who did the remaster should be taken and and flogged in public, asked which weighs more 'a witch or a duck' and then tossed into a cave with the Killer Rabbit.

[gmd3d]

Originally Posted by Fretslayer

I do vvish you luck getting a few people to help you with your project (I'm not being sarcasic either) I'm sure there is somebody out there who would enjoy doing retro-CG effects. I know I'm not that guy - I love Star Trek but I hate the effects and think that the people who did the remaster should be taken and and flogged in public, asked which weighs more 'a witch or a duck' and then tossed into a cave with the Killer Rabbit.

I have never seen the reworked Trek episodes on Tv .. .. sounds bad as I have mentioned on another thread..


the biggest problem is that in fan films you have to be sure that people can continue to give the time to the project .. if it goes on to long .. people move on .. their attention moves onto other projects.. or Real life issues.

I have been involved in a fanfilm for BSG TOS since 2005 .. and the was with actors .. animation is no less difficult. esp characters.. its very quiet now

Space shots are the easier scenes to work on.. effect are another .Phasers
photon torpedoes . to get effect right will take time . and training.. time again added to your creation.

be prepared for this Robert.. Dennis would tell you this and he good at what he does..

I enjoy the Hell out of adding lasers and effects to video footage.
When I made the Jedi thing for my cousins, that was me giving myself a 'Test' and seeing if I could do what I thought I could.

I think I passed.
LOL!

My animated projects are coming along slowly because I am the only one animating them. I do have a group of friends who are pretty good at dramatic reading and so I've brought them onboard as my voice actors, but not one of them can animate or add CG effects to live action video the way I can.

I know the project T is talking about and I've been waiting to see it myself!
LOL!

If I can just get the ships to look the way I want them, I can photoshop in the effects. By building the effects manually I hope to bypass the headache of modeling the effects. so for me the main concern is not modeli ng the effects but getting the look of the ships in tune with the best shots TOS had to offer as far as calarity and look. I pretty much confident that he rest will take care of itself. As far as doing the characters in 3d....if I ever get to do it...it definately is something I want to do. but since the majority of the action and story is wrapped around to the circumstances that lead up to the battle and the battle itself, then if that is done first it will make it easier for people to understand what is going on in the story and will serve as a visual aid to draw them in and make if so much more effortless on their part to read the story and know what is happening since they will see the action unfolding. And another bonus if only the special effects reel is done only if I never get the character "live action" done is that if helps to carry the story for those intimidated in diving into what would otherwise seem an intimidating read due to it is what one of my friends called "a thinking mans TOS Trek story". So that would be a bonus.

But even though my preference in how this ought to be presented does not mean I appreciate any leass what you gentlemen have offered. I personally think Trek has gone downhill since TOS. And this story is mean to forcefully place that train back onto it's rails in a powerful way. And the TOS imagery that this min-sereis calls for is critical it being able to establish that. And if it doesn't then it will not fit int owhat Exeter is doing and stand out like a sore thumb VERY BADLY. And I am trying to avoid anything that might even hint of doing that. but that doen't m,ean that anything Fretslayer has done or wants to do is any less pretty. I am morethan confident that he can drum up some gorgeous imagery in TMP and follow era looks of the ships. And that is proven by the pretty samples he did of the klingon ships and the Kirk test he did. I am very appreciative and do not in the least that I implying that what he is doing is "not good enough" Farbiet. But in any project if you cut against the necessary parameters the project needs to be delivered as, it undermines the origional purpose and intent of the project irregardless of what it's specified intent may be.

Fretslayer...you do SOME PRETTY STUFF. And I thank you. You have been more hospitable than others I have known on the net. That goes for the rest of you as well. IO'm sorry the direction of my project that I have been wanting fro mthe outset is incompatible with what you want to do. Not everyone wasnts the same thing. In respect this, and would not even dare to ask you to do something that you care not to bother with. I think that is universal with anyone. And I tihnk I would be very disrespectful if I didn't heed that. I felt I needed to say that so you wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

Much Thanks....

[gmd3d]

Originally Posted by Robert Simmons

I certainly wouln't mind 3 or 4 people working on it. I always welcome the help. I just ask that the storyboards and animatics be followed closely as possible, and that when it's finished it can be mistaken for TOS effects shots. To me those 2 things are extrememly important or the whole project is all for nothing.

This is of course desirable in any project.. but don't forget. most cgi people here and on other sites are hobby-ist .. not pros ,, and each one has developed their own look and style..

looking to get it perfect like a TV SHOW is going to need a good PC or a group of PCs creating a render farm.

MY PC sound like yours is under power .. rendering an animation is painstaking not impossible but painstaking..

unless your very good at animation ..

Dude, I'm not uncomfortable in any way. Far from it. I felt comfortable enough to make an offer and then when it wasn't was needed to step back and offer advice on other more technical issues.

I'm cool, you're cool - at least from here. LOL!

And I do some awesome TOS stuff too - I just do it so that it looks 'realistic' to my eyes and not like a toy. I worked very hard to achieve that level of realism and I can't step backward from here.

Fact is, at the moment I'm knee deep in a Galactica/Trek cross over story that takes place in the TOS era of both shows.

I understand and respect your creative vision just as much I do my own.

I see CG as having no limitations - a camera on a pole moving past a plasic model will never be able to capture the flying moves of a 'free' CG camera.

But it's all good and I think your project will be cool when it's finished.
I still think that you would really speed up your work flow if you used a CG program to take a few images of the ship then did a copy/paste and dropped the ship into FLASH and then animated your storyboard there. It's as easy as moving a paper cut out of a Starship across a sheet of paper painted like stars.

Plus - just about everybody has some form of Flash viewer installed already.

On a side note - never underestimate the power of having 'crew shots' in your storyboard. Not just the back of their head - but their faces - when your CG actors show emotion your viewers will care what happens to them. When a space ship explodes the viewer goes 'Wow' --- when a starship explodes and you've made it real clear that it's full of people the viewer goes 'Oh...Wow!'
I know this from first hand experience.

Even if the intention of your storyboards is to highlight excitment of space combat never lose sight that there are real people inside those metal buckets. Placing a face on a metal ship causes a reaction in the viewer where they invest emotionally in the story - you can't get that from 'ship only' footage.

I haven't forgotten the human aspect in the storyboards and want them there. I haven't drawn in 20 years and am trying to shake off being rusty by doign the ship shots first. That way I'll be in better form when I pencil animate the animatics. I want to do pencil first to nail down what I want to do. the reason why I went to taking pics of the models so they wouldn't look so cartoony and look closer to what I want for the finished shot. I'm tryng to be reasonable in budgeting my goals against current available rescources. I'm trying to be realistic in setting ghoal that I can accomplish that i serious think that are within my reach. And for now having the actual actors and the actual sets and the crew needed to shoot all I want live is not available to me. But my ship miniatures are. And hopefully soon the CGI models will be too and my being able to know how to use them. So that is why for now I am placing priority on the ship shots and putting the character live action shots later.

I'm pushing for a MAcbook around taxtime. And I am seriously thinking of getting it on payments with Lightwave and Poser tossed in as well. But I don't know how the wife will take that since she is also getting fed up with her machine and wanting to get a new one. But she wants windows and I want my own mac. if it wasn't for the transmission going out on our van last year 1 week before I was to purchase my mac, I would have already had it. But I had to use the tax return money to pay for the transmission since our van is the only vehicle for our familiy transportation. So I am hoping that he will respect my sacrifice from last year. Otherwise there is gonna be some serious tnesion between me and the wife. I have goals. And it doesn't sret well with me if they get set back due to her inconsideration. ( which doesn't happen often. But this would be a "BIGGIE" wit hme is she did. I seriously hope not...)

[mikala]

Well you could kill two birds with one stone and get a Mac with Bootcamp. That way you have the ability to run Windows stuff on your Mac
Share is a nice word

[gmd3d]

lightwave would be my program of choice for space scene .. most new sci-fi shows use it..

Babylon5 was the first show to use it..

firefly was the other ..

Beginning of the second half of the battle.....



Robert


The episode effects wise visually up to this point....

1. T1-1


2. A1-1


3. A1-5


4. A2-16


5.A3-1


6. A3-35


7 . A3-48






8. A3-52


9.A3-57


10.A3-61


11. A3-65


12. A3-66


13. A3-71


14. A3-72


15. A3-77


16. A3-78


17. A3-80


18. A3-81


19. A3-83


20. A3-86


21. A3-88


22. A3-92


23. A3-96


24. A3-97


25. A4-1


26.A4-2


____________________________________________________________________

Inventory / Correction and Development Notes of Story One Storyboard / Animatics "Special Effects Reel" shots....

Finished in Blue....Yet to be done in Red.


1. T1-1 Exeter approaching camera animatic redo totally do over more smooth
2. A1-1 Exeter frontal shot next to Outpost 3 still redo realistic with Episode titles
3. A1-5 Exeter 3/4 rear shot next to Outpost 3 still done
4. A2-16 Exeter next to Outpost 3 / 3 starships pull into formation still redo later as animatic / 1 layer of keys and 2 layers of inbetweens minimum
5. A3-1 3 Romulan ships approaching camera still redo later as animatic add 3 keys and 2 layers inbetweens minumum
6. A3-35 Front shot of 4 starships next to Outpost 3 still done
7. A3-45 / A3-48 Exeter viewscreen shot of decloak and destruction of Republic animatic redo more real / replot keys add at least 2 layers of inbetweens
8. A3-52 4 starships destroy Rom ship that destroyed Republic animatic redo opposite angle close in to Fed force to better show ships firing
9. A3-57 Fed formation next to Outpost 3 turns to face next Romulan ship animatic redo opposite angle close in to Fed force seen in front of Outpost 3 / plot layer of keys and 2 layers of inbetweens
10. A3-61 4 starships with back to Outpost 3 facing Romulan ship still done
11. A3-65 Fed starships begin to move on next Romulan ship animatic redo add at least 2 keys 1 layer inbetweens
12. A3-66 3 Romulan ships fire plasma at Fed force animatic redo drop B segment and have A show both Roms firing by adding 1 layer of keys and 2 layers of inbetweens / Add 3 keys and 2 layers of inbetweens to smooth and extend length at end of C segment
13. A3-71 Fed force from 3/4 rear spread in front of plasma when Exeter turns animatic redo Exeter's turn to be more banking and smooth in frames 1-4
14. A3-72 Potemkin viewscreen of Exeter cutting across near collision animatic add 1 layer of inbetweens
15. A3-77 Exeter finishing it's turn into path of 2 plasmas / plasma seen behind it passing through middle of scattered Fed force add 1 layer of inbetweens / add 3rd Rom plasma to shot.
16. A3-78 Shot of Potemkin shooting past Romulan from below add 1 key 1 layer inbetweens
17. A3-80 shot of Potemkin fumbling of phaser / photon fire at Romulan. All miss. Potemkin turns.
18. A3-81 Exeter from rear with 2 plasmas to it's front -done/ redo as animatic

19. A3-83 Exeter weaving right / plasma passes to it's left - done
20. A3-84 Shot of Garrovick and Harris in front of viewscreen. One plasma on screen from left
21. A3-86 Exeter weaving left / plasma passes to it's right - done
22. A3-88 Frontal of Constitution and Hood beginning wide right turns toward Exeter. Potemkin halts pivoting - done.
23. A3-92 Exeter & Outpost 3 launching 2 ph / 2 photons each at Romulan next to Outpost. Plasma is shredded by Exeter's warp field / Large explosions seen on Romulan front -done
24. A3-96 Exeter coming head to head with Rom #3. Exeter fires 2 ph 2 photons -done
25. A3-97 Exeter viewscreen of Romulan ship closing fast. Romulan fires plasma before Exeter's weapons hit Rom-done
26. A3-99 Exeter main screen blinding flash
27. A4-1 Fade in to plasma splash and explosion on Exeter. Exeter is shoved down and tunbles as flash dies down done
28. A4-2 Constitution exiting it's turn toward Exeter. Hood is following.- done

_______________________________________________________________________
29. A4-12 Hood viewscreen of Contitution racing ahead. Exeter is seen tunbling in background
30. A4-14 External shot of Exeter tumbling toward asteroid field
31. A4-17 Exeter coming to a halt with back to asteroid field
32. A4-22 shot of Constitution and Hood closing towards Exeter
33. A4-28 Constitution viewscreen showing Hood overshootign and slowing. Exeter is seen in front of asteriod field
34. A4-33 External sluggishly turning left and moving forward evading Romulan closing. Romulan is turning
35. A4-34 shot of 3 Romulan ships facing camera in he distance
36. A4-39 shot of Constution and Hodd side by side fire 2 ph/ 2 photons each at Rom closing on Exeter
37. A4-40 Romulan from rear arcing right toward Exeter hit by full barrage. Romulan shatters into a ball of fire.
38. A4-44 Exeter in background approaching Outpost 3. Fireball behind Exeter dies out.
39. A4-46 Close alongside Outpost 3 firing gatling phasers in a pan shot at cloaked ship. Rom turns to Outpost 3.
40. A4-48 Potemkin following Romulan just hit by Outpost 3's fire
41. A4-50 shot of Romulan ship decloaking finishing turn toward Outpost 3
42. A4-52 Shot of Outpost 3 with Exter approaching. Exeter fires 2 ph. Outpost fires 4 photons and 3 ph. Romulan melts.
43. A4-53 Potemkin racing near the ball of flame
44. A4-56 Constitution and Hood begining back to back turns skidding pivots
45. A4-59 Last Romulan ship fires it's plasma at Outpsot 3 on far side of Outpost 3. Rom gently turns and recloaks
46. A4-62 Exeter in distance charging head to head with Romulan recloaking
47. A4-64 shot of Romulan finishing recloaking as Exeter fires
48. A4-68 Exeter main viewscreen of plasma splashing agaisnt Outpsot 3. Fede to show debris scattering
49. A4-70 Potemkin drifting sideways facing the Romualn ship
50. A4-72 Potemkin facng camera drifting behind Outpost and firing 2 photons. One miss. One hit.
51. A4-74 Exeter external pivoting right in shallow turn. hood in foreground also pivoting toward Romulan.
52. A4. 75 Constitution closing fact from front
53. A4-77 Constitution fires 4 ph / 4 photons at Romulan. Rom falls out of cloak glowing white and melts into a fireball
54. A4-78 Exeter main viewscreen