C's Star Wars models
9 messages in this thread
Hello All,
I am in process of making a model inspired by (copied from) Star Wars.
I am using an old ILM sketchbook that has a 2D version of the model I am
creating. (the Imperial Scout Walker- the 2 legged one in Empire and Jedi)
After completing the main pod, and 6 hours later, I am beginning to
wonder about the copyrights of the model. I realize that I cannot use the
model for commercial use (selling it) but can I use it for demo or contest use?
I am a college student (Senior), and working on an independent study- a
Character based animation. All I'd like to use the model for is to demo my
skills and to enter the final animation in some contests around. Please let me
know what I can do with this. (Obviously, this will not be %100 the same as
THE model, but it will (hopefully) be very similar.)
Any other tips / mentoring for a striving new animator will be
appreciated. (Like what I should do after I get my B.A.)
Thanks for your time,
John Jordan
(JNJ) <g>
A good question. I think it's clear that Lucasfilm probably has a lock on
certain names like "Star Wars", so avoid using that. If the object is simply
inspired by Star Wars, and you aren't copying from blueprints, then I'd say it
was your own creation.
>copying from blueprints
Well, It's not the blueprints, but it is from their design sketches. ("The
Empire Strikes Back Sketchbook") I got it back in grade school!
It's a book of ILM sketches before they built anything. I used that as a
reference (but it was only a 2D (one view) sketch, and not a 3D blueprint).
What if it recognizable as that vehicle from Star Wars, even without any Star
Wars name?
(I hate this type of stuff.)
I tend to agree with your point, but I don't want to get nailed for having fun
with it.
Thanks,
John
If you'd rather be accused of originality, why not build your own
walker-like creature? 🙂 The Star Wars vehicles were often modeled
after birds, elephants, etc. for their movement and general design.
True! I guess I'm just playing with the past, and my childhood "playland". To
make something I wish I'd seen back then? Anyways, point taken. To copy is
wimping out on my own imagination.
You can get lost in the details of recreating your old memories of
Star Warts, whoops, Star Wars, and the details of the space vehicles,
and what you're missing is "the story." Even the chintziest,
goofiest renderings fade in insignificance to the story. In '87 or
so, a 16-color 320×200 animation done on an Amiga received ovations
and awards from the Siggraph film show crowd. No glitz, just very
creative storytelling and choreography.
True again. I just watched Jedi today, and found that the sketch was not the
same as the real model! I think it's time to make my own. I've been thinking
about your statement about the models having animal characteristics, and it's
really true. I noticed that, but I never thought about it much. The Scout
that I was looking at really walks like a chicken! (without the wings and
feathers of course.) I'm going to try to take the animal-machine relationship
and do my own sometime. I don't know what I'm going to do with this head/pod
though! It's too good to not use. I'll probably make my own version of a 2
legged walker. (chicken?)
About the storytelling, I'm at this point now. I have a pretty good handle on
my program now, and I'm trying to come up with a 1.5-2 minute story for my
independent study. I've been trying to go backwards- trying to make a good
story that uses this neat medium, instead of telling a story and using the neat
medium as just the medium. My initial way makes a pretty dull story.
The main problem is the time constraint. I have soo many worlds that I'd love
to create, and 1.5/2 minutes is way too short.
Know of any good filmmaking/visual storytelling books?
(By the way I'm using Playmation, not 3DS- so I'm kinda hanging out with the
"wrong crowd". <g> I know that this really doesn't matter…)
John
Hi John,
The August/September and October/November issues of Desktop Video
World had a two part series called "Animals in Motion" by Bonnie
Dalzell. It provided some good insights which you may find valuable
for your project.
Thanks for the reminder. I have the August/Sept. one, but need to go
get the October/Nov. one. This type of study is really important for
natural movement, as I am finding out… Thanks John