The Project: “Forgotten Media”
The Status: Planning
The Story:
In the not-so-distant future, robots are so commonplace that they are traded out just as freely as you upgrade to a new phone. But what happens to all those old robots? An old prop warehouse sits on the lot of a movie studio you probably know, nestled between two studios. Deep inside that warehouse, there is a small closet. Inside that closet sit several previous-generation robots that were replaced long ago.
Most of the time, they sit there inactive; however, Ed the janitor comes into the warehouse once a week to clean it. When he goes to the power box to turn on the lights, he accidentally turns on the breaker that runs to that little closet. So for an hour or so while Ed cleans the warehouse, five different robots with five conflicting personalities begin their weekly movie club hosted by the lead robot that used to be the studio’s server mainframe and still has access to the studio’s digital database of every movie ever made. Once a week, together, in this closet, they watch the film and give their review of it.
The Concept:
This will be my first venture into the workings of Blender. I’ve had the set design for a while. I have each one of these robots drawn out, and I’d love to see them brought to life. The idea is simple. Create the set and the characters in Blender, then program them to act like puppets. After all, it’s a cramped closet, and their range of motion will be minimal. I would program all the movements and camera angles to create a library of different shots. Every movement ever needed from every angle ever required. Puzzle pieces that can be assembled in any order to create an episode. What will each robot say? That will be up to you. I will piece together the dialogue from a thorough mix of your comments. Each robot has a different personality, and if I feel your comment matches what one of those personalities would say, you may see your words coming out of a robot’s speaker box.
What does the project need?
Funding: Along with every other Majestic Media Project, your funding is the primary resource that gives us the freedom to create.
Blender Artist: I will try my best at creating this computer-generated movie review, but I am still learning the program. It would be nice to take on a producer with some Blender experience who can take the reins on the project as I step back to work on additional projects.
Curator Benefits:
As a curator on this project, you become the movie critic. Using the Chronoviewer movie database, I will pick out the top 3 movies celebrating an anniversary during the episode’s week. Several months before the episode airs, you, the curators, get to vote on which movie we review.
Once the movie is chosen, an official forum will be created with that movie as the subject line. You now have a month to watch the film and give me everything you think I need to make the episode. Give me your honest review of the movie. Drop some facts about the production process. What interesting tricks were used to get some of the shots? Add in rumors and related news. Have a full-on discussion about the movie with each other. I’m sure if there is some creative banter in the forum, it will probably end up in the episode.