GIANT DUCK WITH CAMERA FLOATS OVER TOWN!!!!

ScottS · Nov 22, 2007

No joke, WTD floated away...

And if you dont know what that is, go here...
http://www.whattheduck.net/

Iron Flatline · Nov 23, 2007

Super funny!

Antarctican · Nov 23, 2007

OMG! Thanks for the link (I love love love WTD!!!!!!)

JerryPH · Nov 23, 2007

I caught that on the Strobist site... poor guy, all that work and money making it, and it just kinda floated off into the sunset.

Funny as hell, but I kinda felt bad for the guy. What else could he say but... What the f... err... duck! :lol:

Iron Flatline · Nov 23, 2007

You all realize it's a CG animation, right ;-)

Garbz · Nov 24, 2007

I'm sure it fooled a lot of people, it was done really well aside from a few points pointed out in the comments.

skieur · Nov 24, 2007

Despite the comments, I have a very hard time believing that it is CGI. To do this kind of work requires 3D computer software at over $1,000 to create and animate the duck, another piece of software at over $1,000 to do the digital editing, a very powerful computer, one heck of a lot of knowledge and technical skill in the area, some artistic talent and one considerable amount of time to put it all together. This is definitely not something that any average computer type could even attempt.

skieur

skieur · Nov 24, 2007

skieur said:
Despite the comments, I have a very hard time believing that it is CGI. To do this kind of work requires 3D computer software at over $1,000 to create and animate the duck, another piece of software at over $1,000 to do the digital editing, a very powerful computer, one heck of a lot of knowledge and technical skill in the area, some artistic talent and one considerable amount of time to put it all together. This is definitely not something that any average computer type could even attempt.

skieur

To be up-to-date the creation software is $3,500 and the video editing software is $5,000.

skieur

JerryPH · Nov 24, 2007

There is a little known software application used by the Lucas Group for CG effects called Starlight... $15,000. Minimum RAM requirements is 8GB. Most who use this have a system that has more than 8GB of RAM.

I could not tell that it was CG... but then again I was not looking for it. It was amusing and I took it at face value.

skieur · Nov 24, 2007

I don't believe that it is CGI.

skieur

Garbz · Nov 24, 2007

skieur said:
To be up-to-date the creation software is $3,500 and the video editing software is $5,000.

skieur

Err have you heard of software piracy? The worth of a package does not bar someone from using it. Neither does ram requirements. There are plenty of commercial software packages used by movie studios which you wouldn't dream of using on a machine with less than 8gb of ram, er if you're making a commercial movie. But the graphics what you see here could easily be done on 3d studio max R6 or even 5. (current version is 9). I remember playing around with 3dsmax R3 using camera motion capture to put a 3d object in a filmed scene on a P200 MMX with 128mb of ram. The final 12 seconds of footage took about 3 days to render.

/EDIT: I'm not arguing about it being fake or not just pointing out there's no real barrier to doing it in CG, especially given the crap video quality youtube offers.

skieur · Nov 25, 2007

Garbz said:
Err have you heard of software piracy? The worth of a package does not bar someone from using it. Neither does ram requirements. There are plenty of commercial software packages used by movie studios which you wouldn't dream of using on a machine with less than 8gb of ram, er if you're making a commercial movie. But the graphics what you see here could easily be done on 3d studio max R6 or even 5. (current version is 9). I remember playing around with 3dsmax R3 using camera motion capture to put a 3d object in a filmed scene on a P200 MMX with 128mb of ram. The final 12 seconds of footage took about 3 days to render.

/EDIT: I'm not arguing about it being fake or not just pointing out there's no real barrier to doing it in CG, especially given the crap video quality youtube offers.

Err, I once had a reputation in that area, so of course I have heard of it. I also have a background in television, computer animation and familiarity with 3D software.

The manual to 3D software is often 500 plus pages, which certainly does not come with a pirated version. Moreover the learning curve is rather steep for learning how to create a 3D image, let alone doing the surface texture, colours, lighting, animating it, and then rendering it.

But in this case that is only half the battle. It is necessary to match the colour of the ballon, its movement, placement, and its size to match the perspective, other objects and colour in the video. Inserting a computer generated ballon behind a real tree (one shot) or having it move behind a post requires technical knowledge and considerable software skill with the particular programs.

Anyone with those kinds of skills would be getting contracts for work on Disney productions or some of the animation production centred in Montréal not fooling around with this kind of thing.

So, if it is fake, it is not CGI,...perhaps digital editing of footage taken of a real ballon shot against a grey sky.

skieur

ScottS · Nov 25, 2007

GAAAH now way it is fake! I just watched it like 20 times... and it is! I feel cheated and I want my 20 bucks back...

( you know how I know? At the part where he goes out the grage and turns the corner and sees it, the movement from the camera and the movement of the balloon dont match... grrrr )

Garbz · Nov 26, 2007

I don't think so. Manuals are only one way to get training. I won a runner up prize in a competition a long time ago for an image I made in 3dsmax 3 (I didn't break the entry rules because the file was rendered in a legit copy), but I definitely didn't have any formal training. I was 15 at the time. If I didn't break that hobby and start photography I probably would be working in the industry now. The only "training" I had is the absolutely endless supply of tutorials on the net on this topic and borrowing 2 books from the library I think they were 3D Studio MAX 2 fundementals, and Inside 3D studio MAX 2 Vol II (Modelling) which were the only two they had.

And if you're ever in doubt at the quality an amature can spit out check out the galleries at Calligary's site. Their product called Truespace was (I think anyway) far inferior to 3D Studio Max back when I was playing with it, yet some of the images they spit out are just jaw dropping.

Oh heck you're on this forum. Surely you can see what amatures can do even without formal training

The colour and movement and perspective are by far the easiest bit in that video. If anything is an arguement for its realism it is the scene where it is moving through the trees and has other foreground objects jumping around in front of it.