Project Top Secret

Introduction
————
For quite a while I have been wanting to head up a community project. I’ve been sketching out ideas in my head lately. Here’s the final outcome.

Project Top Secret is a community project aimed at what I would consider “intermediate” brickfilmers. I would consider myself part of that category. One of the goals of the project is to give those intermediate brickfilmers experience in techniques which will open up new possibilities in future films.

I will head up the project along with atrglock, who will be a sort of vice-director. I whipped up a forum at BrickfilmCP.forumer.com. We will use this forum to coordinate the participants in the project. Note that the project forums are hidden. I made an open “Anouncements” forum there where non-participants can keep up with the status of the project.

Goals
—–

- To create a community-made film.
- To give participants experience in all aspects of filmmaking – in particular various techniques which will be helpful in future films.
- To create a series of tutorials for effects or techniques which we use during the project. (This is admittedly one of my favorite parts of the project, and I hope to be heavily involved in it)

Participants
————

We are looking for many participants for this project.

- Animators – This is the main bulk of the participants. We will work on creating a film. Note that we will probably also do quite a bit of tests, some of which will be used in tutorials.
Requirements:
- Ability to animate comfortably at 15 fps. (Or above. Note that if you sometimes animate at 12 fps for dialogue, that’s fine)
- Control of light flicker.
- Control of set bumps.
- Clear, 640 by 480 camera resolution. (Or above)

- Composers: We are looking for composers willing to be involved in the project. I would like to involve the composers in the project as much as possible. If you are not a composer, but know someone who might be interested, please PM me as well.

- Scriptwriters: Got a good script? PM me, and I’ll send you some details for submission.

- Other Participants: We are also looking for knowledgeable brickfilmers willing to help the animators (Including myself) with effects, techniques, cinematography, etc. Also, if you know quite a bit about a certain piece of software, we would love if you could just hang around and answer any questions. The more helpers, the better this project will be.

[spoiler]

FAQ
—-

Q: How do I join?
A: PM me at brickfilms.com, ILoveBrickfilming.com, Bricklike, or at the project forum. I will try to check my PMs every day. If you don’t get a response in three days, PM me again.

Q: How much work is this going to be?
A: To answer that question, think of the three goals. We will be making a film, so you will probably want to animate at least one scene in that. Another goal is to give you experience in effects and techniques. We will do a lot of that during the creation of the film, but I will also encourage you to do tests on anything we don’t cover during the film. Lastly, we will be creating a series of tutorials. Even if you dont write one yourself, you can edit others’ tutorials and give tips on anything they should change.

Q: Sounds like a great project. I’d love to help, but I’m working on other projects right now. Is there anything I can do to help without being fully involved?
A: There certainly is. Scroll up a little and read the “Other Participants” section under the “Participants” spoiler.

Q: What’s the film about?
A: We will vote on a script near the beginning of the project. In short, I don’t know. (Yet)

Q: I would consider myself an advanced brickfilmer. Can I join?
A: Most certainly. You will be a great asset to the project. Please be understanding, though, in that the other participants may not be as experienced.

Q: I’m not too good with effects. Can I join anyway?
A: One of the goals of the project is to help intermediate brickfilmers become comfortable using effects. As long as you’re willing to learn, we’ll do everything we can to help you learn to achieve any effect. In short, welcome to the team.

Q: How long will the project take?
A: As fast as you all will go. If all goes well, I’d like to get it done before school starts in the fall.

Q: This project sounds Communist.
A: Go away, brianfast.

Q: Can I have access to the project forums?
A: Only if you’re an animator, composer, helper, scriptwriter, etc.

Q: What if I pay you?
A: Um… …that would be a no.

[/spoiler]

Current Participants
——————–

Leonardo Studios – Animator
Rock Down Productions (Atrglock) – Animator
Eclipse Productions- Animator
House Studios – Animator
Skullbrick – Animator
Bluejeansummer – Animator

Happy CPing!
-Leonardo