Doug Chiang's Robota

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Posted by michael on Sunday August 17, 2003 @12:14AM from the floyd-not-looking-where-he-was-going dept.

inherent writes "Doug Chiang's studio has released a trailer for his upcoming book. The book is a collaboration with Sci-Fi author Orson Scott Card of Ender's Game fame, and will include 75 pieces of Chiang's artwork. Chiang is the Concept Art Director at Industrial Light and Magic (and thus the concept art guy for the Star Wars prequels). Here is a previous slashdot story on him with a link to an interview."

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Huh? by CGP314 · 2003-08-17 00:17 · Score: 4, Funny

Since when do books have trailers?
1. Re:Huh? by Tirel · 2003-08-17 00:19 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  RTFA, it's a book *and* an animated movie.
2. Re:Huh? by MOtisBeard · 2003-08-17 00:20 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  I just hope against hope that none of the 75 pieces of artwork mentioned in the article are a depiction of that oozing multipenised beast that appeared in one of Orson Scott Card's novels. Is it just me, or do a lot of his books feature adolescents and young teens being sexually assaulted by monsters?
3. Re:Huh? by segment · 2003-08-17 00:50 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Thats what i'm saying however I wouldnt mind reading 20 interviews with the publisher, the printer of the book, the person who did the film separations before the book went to press, plus 30 different angles of the word 'Read', followed by additional commentary by the delivery person. It's nice to see that sometimes overkill is just too much... DVD's 3 discs full of junk... Now books ... How sad
  
  --
  MoFscker
4. Re:Huh? by Lours · 2003-08-17 07:51 · Score: 1
  
  Since when do books have trailers?
  
  Nothing personal here, just practical ;)
  
  Isn't it about time a new "-1000 : read the article" moderation "comment" be added to the mod system ?
  
  It takes longer time everyday just to skip questions & remarks written by hordes of people who did not even bother to read the article but stay at score 1 because they have an account.
  
  This is quite different from comments from people who badly understood the article or do not agree with the content : it's just about respecting some kind of etiquette.
  
  Of course moderators abusing this thing should have their buts kicked straight to the moon.
  But i might be worth a try IMHO.
5. Re:Huh? by Read+Icculus · 2003-08-17 22:13 · Score: 1
  
  A simple google for "Orson, Scott, Card, mormon" and here's what I found, (albeit at the bottom of the first page) - Rants - OSC. Nothing wrong with Card writing these kinds of fantasy books with young boys being sexually assaulted by multi-penised monsters and countless, (some would say it's an obsession, not I!), tales of adolescent males coming of age, after all he's a good Saint, (that's Mormon to you and me). Heck give his writings from beliefnet.com a read if you have any doubts. I especially like "Hey, Who are You Calling a Cult?". His repressive religion has built nothing but character as far as I know. Next Sunday: the miracle of shame
  
  --
  Anti-social? My code is just platform-specific.
6. Re:Huh? by renderhead · 2003-08-18 02:13 · Score: 1
  
  Um...I think it's just you. Are we even talking about the same Orson Scott Card here? Most of his books don't even have monsters in them, so I'm not sure what you mean. Exceptions I can think of are Wyrms and the Ender's Game series. In the former, there is indeed some rape/interbreeding between human and monster (although it's not explicit, and I hardly recall any references to "oozing, multipenised beasts"). In the latter, the alien races keep to themselves.
  
  --
  I wish that my inferiority complex were as good as yours.
  -RenderHead
Sounds familiar by grug0 · 2003-08-17 00:21 · Score: 2, Funny

It is a time of conflict
Of persecution
Under robot rule
A hero without memory
A ragtag group of warriors
Defy the robots to save humanity
And discover the terrible secret of the robots
Hold on a second, shouldn't that be the terrible secret of space?
Didn't this come out like 6 months ago? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-08-17 00:21 · Score: 0

Didn't this come out like 6 months ago?
1. Re:Didn't this come out like 6 months ago? by negamit · 2003-08-17 08:02 · Score: 1
  
  yes. amazingly, the copy i have was downloaded 2/18/2003. just a day shy of 6 months.
  
  say.. you know who's cooler than doug chian? Doug TenNapel. I just finished Creature Tech, so maybe I'm bias.
since it's a "film book"... by rokzy · 2003-08-17 00:22 · Score: 5, Interesting

Is Robota a film or a book or what? What exactly is a "film book"?

A "film book" is simply an art book story told in a film-like manner. Books allow the viewer to delve into the thoughts and motives of the main characters in ways film canOt. And films present drama in a linear time specific format that allows for a very controlled storytelling. I want to combine these two mediums, plus a third, the internet, to produce something different.

Eventually, this web site will compliment the book and any other mediums that are developed for Robota. Each will be used to tell a different part of the Robota world. For example, the web site will tell more of the backstory and character development using animation, text, etc. while the book will be the actual story of conflicts and how they are resolved.

This is one of the great things about telling the story in a variety of mediums. I can take advantage of the unique strengths of each medium to build a compelling world that couldn't otherwise be built in one medium.
1. Re:since it's a "film book"... by grug0 · 2003-08-17 00:44 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Why not link to the faq while you're at it?
2. Re:since it's a "film book"... by m1chael · 2003-08-17 00:49 · Score: 0
  
  This is one of the great things about telling the story in a variety of mediums, you can charge for each one.
  
  warning: this warning must come before the post.caution: i havent read the article. even though i havent read it i dont know why people are talking about star wars or hentai.
  
  --
  I know you are psychotic, but please make an effort.
very familiar by Flingles · 2003-08-17 00:27 · Score: 0

I can't believe it's another hero with amnesia. That's the most overdone story ever. It still could be a good book.

--
Karma: -2^0.5 . Mainly due to the imbibing of dihydrogen monoxide
1. Re:very familiar by grug0 · 2003-08-17 00:40 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The reason that the hero with amnesia archetype is so common is because it solves the biggest problem of science fiction writing: exposition. Having the hero suffer from amnesia places him in the same position of unfamiliarity as the reader, and both can be "educated" at once by the writer.
I feel cheated! by rehabdoll · 2003-08-17 00:36 · Score: 3, Funny

Bender is supposed to be the only smoking robot!
Star What? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-08-17 00:39 · Score: 0

"Star Wars is dead!" do-do-do-do-d-do d-d-d-d do-do-do-do-do... "Star Wars is dead!" do-do-do-do-
George Lucas... by Anonymous Coward · 2003-08-17 00:41 · Score: 0

...please let Star Wars die with all the dignity (it has left) and halt Ep3 NOW!!!
Re:ok.. by fenix+down · 2003-08-17 00:46 · Score: 0, Offtopic

God. I wouldn't want your childhood.
DO NOT download from here!!! by soul_hk · 2003-08-17 00:55 · Score: 1

You have been warned !
Trailer by Heartz · 2003-08-17 01:05 · Score: 4, Funny

In other news, Slashdot will now be posting trailers for all their articles. Comment trailers will be introduced by 2005 where every comment will be preceded with a trailer first.
The next trailer will be coming soon but subscribers get to beat the rush!
Slashdot "news" by marvin2k · 2003-08-17 01:10 · Score: 2, Informative

For those who have followed this Robota thing:
This is *not* a new trailer. It's the same one that has been up there for six months now.

And no I don't mean to complain about this story since we all know already that the definition of "news" on Slashdot is pretty wide :P
1. Re:Slashdot "news" by malducin · 2003-08-17 05:45 · Score: 1
  
  Yep, very old news. Even the interview linked up there doesn't reference the project that much. Both CGChannel and 3DVF ran interview with Chiang about it:
  
  Interview with Doug Chiang
  Interview de Doug Chiang (this one is back from November 2002)
  
  Alos Sparx, the French studio who made the trailer is looking for financing to turn this into an animated feature:
  
  The French like ROBOTA
Old news? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-08-17 01:26 · Score: 0

This "new trailer" has been there since february...
Why are there seperate icons for books and media? by chenGOD · 2003-08-17 02:01 · Score: 1

Is the printed word no longer a form of media?
roboto-ja by Anonymous Coward · 2003-08-17 02:09 · Score: 0

ooh ahh roboto-ja!
Chiang's Studio by Anonymous Coward · 2003-08-17 02:09 · Score: 0

Damn, I've got to take the biggest dump. Wonder if the studio has a nice washroom...
I'm sorry, am I to be impressed? by way2trivial · 2003-08-17 02:15 · Score: 2, Funny

this is they guy responsible for the look of jar jar Binks,
and you want me to consider his book?

--
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
1. Re:I'm sorry, am I to be impressed? by malducin · 2003-08-17 05:37 · Score: 1
  
  Even though that was meant to be a joke (man, when will it get old) Doug Chiang was not the main designer of Jar Jar. Ian McCaig and Terryl Whitlatch were probably the main contributors. And before the complaining expands, Ian McCaig wqas also the designer for Darth Maul, the Natalie Portman costumes, and the Sith witch that was not done in Ep. 2.
  
  Doug Chiang's specialty was more the hardware like robots and spaceships.
Matrix Reloaded Reloaded by ventivent · 2003-08-17 02:17 · Score: 1

Is it just me, or does everything sound like a rehash of the Matrix/Terminator concept? Humans build robots, robots take over, humans form a rebel team to fight the robots they created...
1. Re:Matrix Reloaded Reloaded by Scrameustache · 2003-08-17 02:41 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Is it just me, or does everything sound like a rehash of the Matrix/Terminator concept? Humans build robots, robots take over...
  
  Isaac Asimov (the guy who coined the term "robotics") gave that theme a name dozens of years ago, he called it the Frankenstein complex. That is why he wrote the 3 laws of robotics, to move away from that theme.
  
  BTW, the polish play in wich the name "robot" was coined (to mean mechanical anthropomorphic labourers) was also about "men make robots, men abuse robots, robots go awry and take over".
  Way, WAY before matrix/terminator (in the 20's IIRC).
  
  ...humans form a rebel team to fight the robots
  
  Battlestar Galactica! Again, before terminator/matrix.
  
  --
  You can't take the sky from me...
2. Re:Matrix Reloaded Reloaded by Anonymous Coward · 2003-08-17 04:21 · Score: 0
  
  It was a Czech play.
3. Re:Matrix Reloaded Reloaded by briglass · 2003-08-17 04:24 · Score: 1
  
  I, for one, am not a big fan of the delusional camp in transhumanism that believes the humans should try and revolt against any future robotic life that surpassses humanity on the evolutionary scale.
  
  Science fiction writers, and philosophical futurists alike, tend to portray the transhuman robots as lifeless, cultureless, and without morals.
  
  A robotic species that may one day surpass humanity will be orders of magnitude more intelligent than humans. Consider that art, culture, and morality have developed on earth only among homo sapiens sapiens, the animals with the most advanced cephelazation, resulting in the highest brain capacity and mental ability. Assuming that the robotic mind will be even greater in ability, we should only assume that their culture, art, and morality will be that much more advanced, and perhaps that much more beautiful.
  
  The robots who populate the transhuman era will understand their role in the universe much greater than we understand our role, and therefore are much more worthy of propogation and continued survival.
  
  From what I can tell from the terrible secret of this trailor is that OSC is retelling the same paranoid story here once again, without stopping to think about the "reality" of the transhuman situation.
  
  Rabits have no business trying to overthrow humanity in the same way Humans have no business trying to overthrow the upcoming era the Robots.
  
  --
  
  ----
  "Those who quote others are more likely to one day be quoted" -Tom Planter
4. Re:Matrix Reloaded Reloaded by stickyc · 2003-08-17 14:25 · Score: 1
  
  Battlestar Galactica! Again, before terminator/matrix.
  There really should be a moratorium on using "ragtag" in a science fiction context, lest the reader instantly assume there's Cylons involved.
5. Re:Matrix Reloaded Reloaded by krysith · 2003-08-18 01:36 · Score: 1
  
  "BTW, the polish play in wich the name "robot" was coined..."
  
  I believe you are referring to the Czech play "R.U.R." (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Capek.
  
  A brief summary (Note the use of a slashdot post in the biblio links!)
6. Re:Matrix Reloaded Reloaded by Scrameustache · 2003-08-18 03:31 · Score: 1
  
  "BTW, the polish play in wich the name "robot" was coined..."
  
  I believe you are referring to the Czech play "R.U.R." (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Capek.
  
  My mistake.
  
  Thanks for the link, btw.
  
  --
  You can't take the sky from me...
7. Re:Matrix Reloaded Reloaded by krysith · 2003-08-18 04:02 · Score: 1
  
  No Prob! ;)
  
  I've tried to find the actual text online, but no luck so far. I have a dead-tree version, so that's how I found out about it myself.
Card is a fucking lunatic by slaker · 2003-08-17 02:24 · Score: 1, Interesting

The man is a fucking lunatic. His stuff isn't that good (sorta like Anne Rice, he wrote one good book and now he's intent on pushing out crap that follows the same formula), and more than that he's intolerant of homosexuality (I suppose that would put him in the majority on slashdot) and seems fairly intent on proselytizing the Church of Latter-Day Saints to everyone who reads, oh, anything he writes.

From the article referenced in my link:
"Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be
indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught
violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message
that those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual
behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens
within that society."
- OSC

Look, if this dude hadn't written "Ender's Game", he'd be a nobody, a candidate for kook status. Because he did, he continues to get a voice in popular media. I find many of his personal opinions highly disturbing and the fact that he is continually presented as part of some mainstream community even moreso.

--
-- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
1. Re:Card is a fucking lunatic by Scrameustache · 2003-08-17 02:50 · Score: 1
  
  His stuff isn't that good [...] and more than that he's intolerant of homosexuality
  
  Er, mind telling me why the fuck that would be relevant?
  
  I guess the part about the quality of his work is, but the tangeant with mormon-like homophobia...not really.
  
  PS I do agree, he's overrated. Ender's game and Ender's Shadow were good reads, and that's the end of that. The rest of his stuff (that I have read) was rather lame.
  
  PPS Yeah, his mormon views kinda bug me too...
  
  --
  You can't take the sky from me...
2. Re:Card is a fucking lunatic by slaker · 2003-08-17 03:01 · Score: 1
  
  For some reason Slashdoters go into full geek-on mode when someone brings up Orson Scott Card. Hero-worship etc. In my opinion, this is not a man worthy of admiration or a public forum to spread his opinions.
  
  It's really the slashdot editors' fault for bringing whatever the hell they're advertising to the attention of the wider audience that is slashdot. This pissed me off enough that I felt the need to remind people that the man is a nutjob.
  
  --
  -- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
3. Re:Card is a fucking lunatic by canadian_right · 2003-08-17 07:22 · Score: 1
  
  "The children of the Mind" was a bit weak (one of the Ender sequels), but I have enjoyed all his other books that I read. I particularly enjoyed the "Alvin Maker" series.
  I wasn't aware of OSC's views on gay people. If that quote is actually his there are two problems:
  Government should not be regulating any behavior between consenting adults.
  Singling out gay people is no more defensible than singling out people by race or religion.
  
  --
  Anarchists never rule
4. Re:Card is a fucking lunatic by Anonymous Coward · 2003-08-17 08:44 · Score: 0
  
  Read Songmaster. Card portrays homosexuality in an extremely positive light in that book.
5. Re:Card is a fucking lunatic by zangdesign · 2003-08-17 19:09 · Score: 1
  
  this is not a man worthy of admiration or a public forum to spread his opinions
  
  Good thing you're not in charge then. That's the beauty of this country - everyone is allowed to have an asshole and opinion.
  
  And opinions about assholes.
  
  Well, I suppose as long as you can afford it.
  
  And if you've not had a colostomy, in which case you have two assholes, but maybe only one opinion.
  
  Oh, well.
  
  --
  To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
huh? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-08-17 02:40 · Score: 0

I'm confused...do these robots run Linux with SCO code or what?
Similarity... by Psychic+Burrito · 2003-08-17 03:34 · Score: 2, Interesting

If you like independent 3d animated movies that look great and feature robots, you might also take a look at Rustboy.
Cheers!
Reminds me of... by Zepalesque · 2003-08-17 03:37 · Score: 1

Sounds very much like what they did for the Blaire Witch project.

I think I spent more time at their website the day after the movie than the length of the film.
Out of date info by malducin · 2003-08-17 05:53 · Score: 2, Informative

Also as a reference, Doug Chiang is no longer at ILM. He worked on the 2 prequels but left last year. He is the Art Director for Robert Zemeckis' Polar Express. VFX by Imageworks under the supervision of Ken Ralston:

Doug Chiang update

Also in his place Feng Zhu has joined the art team for Episode 3. He is this incredible artist that worked at Blur Studios. You can see more here:

Meet the Episode III Art Department
Feng Zhu - Concept Artist
oh no! by autopr0n · 2003-08-17 06:21 · Score: 1

The terrible secret of the robots! From space!

Will this book reveal the terrible secret of space!?

--
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
HQ non-Quicktime version by c0gwheel · 2003-08-17 12:55 · Score: 1

Like has been mentioned above, this is not new. It actually dates from October 2002. The original, high quality (720x390 DivX5, 93MB, uncompressed!!! sound) version has been available at Sparx* website for some time now, and still appears to be available. If you have problems with their very Flash-heavy site, here is the direct download link.
Sparx* is the animation studio that did this trailer, and they are also the studio behind the very slick looking Molly Star Racer.
1. Re:HQ non-Quicktime version by Dylan+Zimmerman · 2003-08-17 13:13 · Score: 1
  
  The Orphanage actually did at least one scene from one of the trailers. I haven't seen which one this is (there are two that I have so far along with the robot walking demo), they did the scene where you are flying over some small rolling hills and you see the giant pod-cities off in the distance.
  
  I know this because there is a movie of them talking about how great Maya is on Alias' site and they blend from an animated Maya scene to the final product. It's quite impressive.
  
  Both trailers and the demo are on Apple's site and have been for months.
Old news by Anonymous Coward · 2003-08-17 14:59 · Score: 0

That trailer has been there for 4-5 months.

Get with the times you fucking morons.
Re:Rabbits have no business... by KnarfO · 2003-08-18 06:00 · Score: 1

You have more faith in the robots than I. They will undoubtdedly have *some* capacities that exceed humans, but upon which criteria do you judge a species to be greater than another? Since robots will be born of humans, they can in turn inherit some of our failings, no?

My point is, humans do and will have *every* right to fight for supremacy, if for no other reason, than to allow the competing species to prove theirs.

--

"Creativity is allowing ones self to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep" - Scott Adams