DISASTER STRIKES!!

There was a fire in my computer room the other night, unfortunatly this means my computer was destroyed in the fire. The good news is the files are not damaged in anyway as the harddrive surived the nitial cook, the bad news is until I have fixed the damage the project is on hold until Early January. Sometimes life can be harsh, if I can find a way to speed up the process I will. Backup disks were caught in the blaze. I'm dissapointed but not diswayed. The cost was miniumn at best and only shows the value one has in the fact that Blender was in fact free.

Have a merry cristmas everyone

Josh

The Observer

"The Observer" is to be the first teaser trailer for the War of the Worlds series. It's kinda fun, creating this alien big brother environment. As you may remember I had some issue creating a convincing alien screen for the footage I got earlier, so I finally gave in and went the simple way (due to time constraints) and used ParticleIllusions and got the effect I needed. Yes I know it's not open source, so sue me, but as Tom pointed out in his interview on the "Making of Elephant Dreams", not every element of the production could depend on Open source software that wasn't available to them at the time. But anyway, just so you can see how it panned out, here is the observer's screen, a small prop of an even greater more complex device.

The War of the Words

No that's not a misspelling, it's an exaggeration. The copyright and trademark issues over the name "The War of the worlds" is a tricky one, but not difficult. Yes there are issues but the story itself is not the issues, artwork, only an issue if I steal it (which thankfully it's all my own work). Characters? define characters in the novel, you can't really, it's all nondescript. Just a name just a name. Oh I could reword it "H.G. WELLS: THE WAR OF THE WORLDS", "WAR OF THE WORLDS" or simply "The War" (which is a title of a novel I am writing already), but hey iif I can use the title without a fight or treading on toes I will, I will. For now I'll use the working title "The War of the Worlds" and hope that a reasonable solution can be made.

Special thanks to Damian Collier who handles the trademark issue for the War Of the Worlds for Jeff Wayne and other matters. Without him I'd be flying blind.

Copyright and H.G. Wells

Europe

Within the United Kingdom and all other countries of the European Union, and also within Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Norway and Romania, the works of H.G. Wells remain in copyright until 31 December 2016. Within Brazil, the copyright lasts until 31 December 2006.

United States

Within the United States, any book first published before 31 December 1922 is in the public domain. Works published after that remain in copyright for 95 years from first publication. Full U.S. copyright laws can be found online at: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/title17/.

Elsewhere

The works of H.G. Wells which were published during his lifetime are now in the public domain in other parts of the world, such as Canada, Australasia, and Africa.

The above remarks refer to works which were published during Wells's lifetime; any works which were published posthumously, such as letters and H.G. Wells in Love, remain in copyright throughout the world for 50 years from first publication.

No copyright material may be produced in any form without permission from the Wells copyright owners, whose primary agents are A.P. Watt Ltd, 20 John Street, London WC1N 2DR. Dramatic rights are handled by the Casarotto Company Limited, National House, 60-66 Wardour Street, London W1V 3HP.

H.G. Wells' Literary Agents A.P. Watt

We have been granted permission by A.P. Watt to reproduce the following copyright information from their website. Other copyright provisions are available through their "Permissions" link. Please visit their website for more information.

How to tell if the work you wish to reproduce is likely to be in copyright.

a) UK (and most of Europe)

Copyright in works published during the author's lifetime lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years (the end of the year)

Unpublished works remain in copyright after the author's death

Any work published posthumously is likely to be in copyright

Copyright in photographs taken before 1 June 1957 expires 50 years from the end of the year in which it was taken, whether or not it was published.

b) USA

Copyright for any work published 1.1.78 or later lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years (the end of the year).

Unpublished works remain in copyright after the author's death

Any work first published before 1.1.23 will be out of copyright

Any work published between 1.1.23 and 31.12.77 is likely to be in copyright

Any work published posthumously is likely to be in copyright

Copyright in photographs is perpetual until published, and then lasts for 50 years from first publication

c) Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

Copyright in works published during the author's lifetime lasts for the life of the author plus 50 years (the end of the year)

Unpublished works remain in copyright after the author's death

Any work published posthumously is likely to be in copyright

Letters

Copyright in the text of a letter belongs to the person who wrote it (or his/her heirs), regardless of the physical ownership of the letter.

Please note: these notes are guidelines only and cannot cover all scenarios, especially about the period for unpublished and posthumous works. If you have any doubts, please check with A P Watt to see if permission is required.

Photographs

The author images posted on this site are subject to copyright laws and permission must therefore be sought for any reproduction. Under no circumstances should photographic material be used without prior consent from the copyright owner (usually the photographer). In accordance with copyright law there may be penalties for unauthorised use of photographs. The following list gives details of photographers – please contact them directly (unless otherwise specified). A fee may be payable to the photographer.

Source: http://www.hgwellsusa.50megs.com/UK/hgwcopy.html

Of course the War of the Worlds has a few more legal concerns which must first be ironed out before any initial release. Ahh the long boring legal process

And now for something completly different BlenderAnime.com:

Well it's been in the pipeline for sometime now, but I think its safe to announce that starting in the New Year will be a new Blender website dedicated to Blender animators and artists who are looking for tutorials and resources pertaining to anime and manga. I know one of the most asked for tutorials are oft times anime related but are so hard to find. So Blender Anime will dedicate itself all news and education to this one topic, keeping you up to date with the latest news, education, files as well as some freebies and exclusives. The website is currently under construction but will be up February of 2010 at http://www.blenderanime.com

The Game: "Legacy"

Yep, read that right. This project is also becoming commercial point and click game for download very soon. It's a tale set after the invasion involving a deeper conspiracy behind the invasion and why "The Seed" was polluted with bacteria to begin with. Fans of Well's books may be excited to learn that other elements from his Science fiction universe, such as the Crystal Egg and The Island of Doctor Moreau will play a role in this game, but also if you're a fan of H.P. Lovecraft you may enjoy the eternal horror elements as well. We will be employing a fair bit of atmosphere and sound to the game to heighten the experience as well as hopefully add an element of fear and dread to the game, so if you like a Silent Hill edge, this game will certainly be for you

Book: "The Art of the War"

To create a world as big as these requires a lot of visual imagery. Worlds don't create themselves, well not fitious worlds anyway. One can't simply pull an image out of his head and say "that's it, we're going to stick with that". So we're adding to the story behind this process by adding to the merchandise behind this project.

"The Art of the War"

Containing imagery, feedback, tutorials and commentary on the production of "The Harvest" and the pre-production of of the War of the Worlds, this book will be a comprehensive guide to for the open source software user that will guide you through the process of making this film step by step as well as providing you with lots of nice pictures to look at.

What more can I say? I'll add more to the content as it develops.

Edwadian film footage

As the Martians observe our society, it occurred to me that I would need film footage from the era to help me. It's not too hard to find, but the problem is now creating a glowing holgraphic effect for the footage to be used in The Harvest.

Any ideas or tips?

New "pre" disk and funding

Ahhh the touchy subject of money. I have been asked about the subject of funding a bit now, and yes I will confess it is an issue. Having only 2 computers to work with at the moment and my main older than time itself, the reality of rendering and editing becomes an issue. Putting food on the table becomes an issue, keeping the family happy is always going to be an issue. Such is the struggle of a starving artist, so funding becomes a real issue, and ad sense can only go so far.

The options people have offered are good but come with some challenges

1: Pre-order DVD's: Well this is a great idea except for one thing. This is my first major project, it often pays to have somethign concrete to offer more than a simple blog and website, so whilst pre-order is in the works, I feel that concentrating on offering you the files free to look at and work on yourselves is a better option before pre-order so you can see that indeed something concrete is in the works

2: Paypal donations: Considering this seriously, but at the moment still holding back until I know that I have at least some greater support on this project

3: Release something: Ah hah, now there we go. On to the subject of the "Pre-Disk"

As you know I am producing the Prelude movie for release in the winter of next year. A 10 minute prologue to the main feature release. It occured to me this would be a perfect opportunity to make some money for the project, so I have decided to release a Pre-Disk. Consider this the first official open movie release from Manga Gothic Media. As with the main release, this disk will contain the full prologue movie (which has now been officially titled; "The War of the Worlds: The Harvest") and the all the files used to create the movie you wont find on the main feature release DVD. This release will be a unique release and not included in the War of the Worlds 4/5 disk set. If interest in this project is high enough I will make a pre release, but pricing has yet to be decided. But anyone who contribute financially to the project will get a title listing in the credits.

So there you have, a new announcement. I hope it's wet your appetite, and if you feel obliged to assist in anyway, feel free to contact me at mangagothicmedia@gmail.com

You get what you pay for and more

Back in the day of XSI I used to fork out much much more than I could afford just to learn the software. Beginners guide, Organic Modeling, Z-Brush Integration, etc. The DVD collection was emmense, and as expensive as the software itself. Don't get me wrong, I got what I paid for. The tutorials were concise, clear to the point and above all useful (if not overly long for my liking). I don't look back on it with much regret save for what I could have saved in the long run had there been at least some useful free tutorial with the same level of quality and commitment.

Then I turned to Blender. The Tutorials I started with were blocky to say the least, useful to get me started but still slowed me down none the less, having to wade the internet and find myself havingto pay much more for a piece of software that was for all intense and purposes, free. Did this pose a moral problem with me? Well no, people have to make their bread and butter for the time they put into work (believe me I wish I was doing that right now). No it was more a fiscal one, money and funds are and have been tight for a long time. So time and money was not on this project's side. War of the Worlds seemed like a pipers dream, nothing more. As inspirational as the work coming out from the Blender community was, my efforts were just a spec in the ocean with little hope of improving anytime fast.

Then, amazingly, a website comes out of the blue, almost iin answers to my prayers. CG Cookie. With free quality tutorials of a level par with the XSI training kits I was using only two years earlier. Not only that, but they listened to what their audience wanted and they delivered. And ironically as much as they covered other packages as Maya, 3D Studio Max and Z-Brush, their Software of choice seemed to focus largely on Blender. The little fish in an already dominated market, the the point that it eventually got a cookie site all it;s own in the guise of Blender Cookie.

suddenly my knowledge of Blender leaped to levels I didnt imagine. Thanks to their head tutorial I was modeling my first Martian in less than a week. As Blender Cookie progressed so to did War of the Worlds, so in many ways I owe the people at Blender Cookie a hell of a lot. Now they include private classes for individuals, and a cizitens program for exclusive content and Tutorials, and at $10 a month, compared to other classes out there, the Citizen program is well worth paying for, especially as a portion of that goes to Blender Foundation. So there you have it, Blender Cookie gets another mention. Even if you don't pay for the citizen's program the quaility of the tutorials are no less useful.

In many ways Blender Cookie is the Grandaddy of this project, and so it is with pride and much thanks I dedicate this post entirely to them. Keep up the great work, and continue to inspire

Prologue

Currently in production is a short 10 minute prologue to The War of the Worlds, detailing the fall of the Martian nation and their plans to move against earth. This short film will focus primarily on the Triumvid Council and their discussions on the threat facing their civilization. It's a pretty fun origin story, which explains a lot about the kind of species the Martians actually are. A parasite race that seed's other worlds centuries before their arrival, only to leave their previous worlds empty husks. Like locusts they ravage the resources of each world and move on to the next when they have depleted them. In essence what we call the Martians have no real world of origin to speak of. And our world is the next harvest, referring to humanity as "The Seed". In many disturbing ways, we have always belonged to them.

Creating the Martian world allows me a great deal of imagination and creativity, however even alien worlds need function and order and this is presenting both challenges and wondrous ideas on the Universe Well's created. First of is the Triumvid Council. I noticed in the novel the Martians always worked in threes. Their tripods, their formations, their social structure. I presume this was more to allow for a more unified dissent. All minds must be in unison for a plan to take place. This provides much strength ans well as opportunities for weakness, as this short film will reveal.