Holy LEGO Blocks, Batman!

Decaffeinated Jedi writes "Students at the Digital Animation and Visual Effects (DAVE) School are working on a film that will bring everyone's favorite caped crusader to life through the magic of computer-generated LEGO blocks. 'Batman: New Times' features Adam West as the voice of Batman, Mark Hammil as the Joker, Dick Van Dyke as Commissioner Gordon, and Courtney Thorne-Smith as Catwoman. A rather impressive trailer is available now."

Comments

was

[Dr_Banzai]

correction: the trailer WAS available.

Re:was

[riqnevala]

If only we had .torrent

Leechers: thousands
Seeders: thousands

Direct link to movie

[Anonymous Coward]

ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/Batman_Net. mov

Re:Direct link to movie

[h4rm0ny]

Well, I'm still downloading it (75MB) but it's a .mov file, i.e. Quicktime so you should be able to play it if you have the right codec. You can use either Xine or Mplayer and probably others. Once installed, download the codec for Quicktime (the standard package available from the Mplayer site includes this) and then once in the appropriate directory, you should be ready to go.

Re:Direct link to movie

[h4rm0ny]

Well, I was wrong. I've now downloaded it and it wont play at all! Xine just gives me a long string of decoding errors. I've always been able to play other .mov files.

Is anyone aware of any new formats being used or can confirm whether this has worked on their system (and using what). I downloaded the 75MB file from the direct link that was posted earlier.

Re:Direct link to movie

[uhlume]

Well, your first mistake was thinking Quicktime was a codec: it's a container format, like AVI. Presumably whatever codec they've used to encode the video and/or audio streams isn't supported under your Linux build of Quicktime.

Re:Direct link to movie

[h4rm0ny]

Okay - I know that Quicktime is a container format. What I was saying is that I have all the codecs I've ever needed before, whatever is in it. So I'm hoping that someone out there can tell me what new (to me) format this one contains so I can get a codec and play this.
If you can play this, are you able to tell me specifically what you are using? It might help.

Re:Direct link to movie

[TorKlingberg]

I can now get the video by doing

mplayer -vc qtsvq3 -nosound Batman_Net.mov

No sound yet though.

Re:Direct link to movie

[h4rm0ny]

mplayer -vc qtsvq3 -nosound Batman_Net.mov

Thanks for that. I must take the time to learn how Mplayer works properly. Incidentally, sound works fine on mine if I use SDL like so:

mplayer -vc qtsvq3 -ao sdl Batman_Net.mov

Have just finished watching it. Quite good fun actually.

Re:Direct link to movie

[Sark666]

Hmm, sdl doesn't work for me. Can't get this to go with sound. Btw, I use dmix for sound mixing so not sure if something in my .asoundrc file is causing probs.

Re:Direct link to movie

[Enahs]

So can you tell me how a container format such as QuickTime is "crap"? And what format is "good"? Also, Real is a company, and Window Media...I'm not sure what the hell that is. I was under the impression that .wmv was another container format.

I hope you're not going to suggest that people use .avi, since it's (wait for it) a container format, and inferior to QuickTime at that. But that's the most common container format, and I think it also qualifies as "Window Media" since it's a Microsoft format and often used for "Window Media".

Legos?

[TomHandy]

It's odd, they keep mentioning LEGOs, but these are using the C3 Construction Blocks (they even have a banner link to them). I know "LEGO" as a term has probably gone the way of kleenex and xerox as brand names that are now used to refer to just about anything that is at all like them, but it seems like since they are actually utilizing a specific company's products and model kits here, they would not refer to them as LEGOs.

Re:Legos?

[Renaissance 2K]

Well, if you heard the movie was made with C3 Construction Blocks, would you be as intrigued as if you heard LEGOS? Honestly, to the average joe, C3 Construction Blocks could be little slaps of pressure treated wood that they use in designing models. As usual, it's all marketing.

Re:Legos?

[truedfx]

Well, if you heard the movie was made with C3 Construction Blocks, would you be as intrigued as if you heard LEGOS?

No. Can you now guess why it'd be nice to know about that in advance?

Re:Legos?

[Jay Maynard]

The only difference between the C3 blocks they used and LEGOs is that the former don't have the "LEGO" embossed on the tops of the bumps. They're compatible, and you could build everything in the movie from LEGOs (aside from the characters themselves, which are custom made on the generic LEGO character body).

Re:Legos?

[slim]

"Lego" or "Lego Bricks": Not "Legos".
See the rec.toys.lego FAQ:

Dear Parents and Children
The word LEGO(R) is a brand name and is very special to all of us in the LEGO Group Companies. We would sincerely like your help in keeping it special. Please always refer to our bricks as 'LEGO Bricks or Toys' and not 'LEGOS.' By doing so, you will be helping to protect and preserve a brand of which we are very proud and that stands for quality the world over. Thank you!

Susan Williams
Consumer Services (Susan's name is a pseudonym for the service dptmt.)

Re:Legos?

[Meagermanx]

You're joking, right?

Re:Legos?

[TomHandy]

Fair enough. I am probably looking at this more from the perspective of the company that makes LEGO blocks, but also the people that make the C3 Construction Blocks. I guess the C3 folks are used to people referring to their products as legos or whatever, but even so.

I wasn't so sure if marketing had much to do with it or not. As near as I can tell from reading the "about the film" thing, it didn't seem like they had any special arrangement with the people that make those Batman toys (which was what I originally assumed, that this student film was done perhaps with the idea of being a promotional video for the Batman C3 toyline).

I guess the bigger thing would be that with as much as LEGO wants to protect their trademark, they might have some issues with the terminology. But again, I guess it's natural that it's going to happen.

-Tom

Re:Legos?

[SKorvus]

From the About the Film page:

Earlier this year we were inspired by Spite Your Face's brilliant stop-motion LEGO epic Spiderman: The Legend of Doc, The art direction of Batman: New Times is also based on a popular toy line. Keeping with the "TOY" theme The DAVE School Students have built a vibrant 3D world out of computer generated Lego blocks. Every set, every prop and every character has been precisely modeled according to strict scale specifications. Almost every location, vehicle and character has been, or could be, built out of Legos. To research this project and aid in set design The DAVE School purchased over 100 pounds of Lego Blocks from dealers on E-Bay!

Re:Legos?

[Adrilla]

That's not the LEGO body, the LEGO body looks like this http://shop.lego.com/leaf.asp?cn=105&d=18&t=7

Re:Legos?

[TomHandy]

Umm, right, that's what I'm talking about. They even use the term "Lego blocks" in their "about the film" section, but it's also clear they were using C3 Construction Blocks, at least partially.

I don't doubt they also bought lego blocks and used them for research and to aid in design, but they were clearly also using the C3 model sets for a lot of the Batman stuff.

-Tom

Re:Legos?

[Anm]

Pictures prove the grandparent's argument:
http://www.toymania.com/toyshows/tf2004/full/tf04p layalong34.shtml
http://www.toymania.com/toyshows/tf2004/playalong4 .shtml

This had nothing to do with legos proper.

Re:Legos?

[BobTheJanitor]

Actually, C3 blocks (made by PlayAlong) and the Minimates are quite different from their Lego counterparts. I know this because I just wasted money on the C3 Batcave (incorporated into the animated movie), hoping they would integrate easily with my other stuff. They don't at all. The plastic feels much cheaper, and the pieces, while harder to connect to each other, tend to pop apart when even slightly disturbed. Building the set was largely an exercise in frustration, and I'm hesitant to move it much as it has a tendency to spontaneously fall apart.

The Minimate figs aren't 'custom made on the generic LEGO character body' at all. They're almost twice as tall and aren't interchangeable at all with Lego minifigs. They're interesting as they have a lot of points of articulation, but they're far more delicate, and are made of soft rubber.

Don't get me wrong, I really wanted to like this set. I've enjoyed Lego sets for years, and have long hoped for a Batman franchise. They even used Bruce Timm's Animated Series stylings for the minifigs. In the end, though, poor construction, misleading packaging, and almost indecipherable instructions all demonstrate that there's a gulf between Lego and the vastly inferior C3/Playalong.

Re:Legos?

[stanmann]

And of course, in point of fact, and I've tried the minimate, the megablok, and several other "knock off/compatible" and none match the strength and flexibility of Lego.

This is a

[Anonymous Coward]

Joke-r, right? It's a riddle-r to me why anyone who do this. Maybe it's just to demonstrate the penguin power of Linux.

Re:This is a

[piper-noiter]

It's a school project. What's so unusual about it?

Re:This is a

[DarkMantle]

"Maybe it's just to demonstrate the penguin power of Linux.

Obligitory Simpsons.
"Worst pun ever" - Comic book guy.

Off topic. Does Comic book guy have a name? Has anyone ever heard it?

Re:This is a

[neil313]

his name is Jeff Albertson
a quick search for 'Jeff Albertson' shows:
Jeff Albertson
"my name is Jeff Albertson, but everyone calls me Comic Book Guy"

Trailer Down Already?

[joel8x]

I can get the page to load, but the movie itself times out. Man that was quick. How many posts of "Make sure there is a mirror before putting a story on the front page" will it take before the editors get it?

Re:Trailer Down Already?

[yack0]

How many posts of 'how long will it take before they start mirroring/caching when they do this' before people realize that they won't.

And the associated replies of "try mirrordot.org" before people continue to try mirrordot.

Re:Trailer Down Already?

[X43B]

How many times will people have to post the FAQ before people stop asking that question?

Re:Trailer Down Already?

[joel8x]

Fine and dandy, but WTF is the point of posting a story that is soley based around a media file that no one can see before even a single comment is posted? It seems like an interesting concept and its too bad no slashdot readers can see it today.

If this happens as often as it does and and enough people complain about it, than maybe the process will change, regardless of what the FAQ states.

Re:Trailer Down Already?

[rbochan]

Of course. Because, you know... it's a GOOD idea to post a site with a 75 meg video file on it to slashdot.
That'll learn 'em :P

Re:Trailer Down Already?

[joel8x]

Sooooo, why not include a link to mirrordot.org in the front page article? Isn't that all I'm asking? As an editor, they should know the media file would get killed immediately and provide a solution for the casual reader who does not want to read all of the fanatical replies to find the media that was reported on on the front page. Their current policy is flawed and I for one would like to see steps taken to enhance the reader's experience.

Re:Trailer Down Already?

[yack0]

Were subscribers able to get the file? I don't know, not a subscriber. If they could, that would be an enhancement. :)

Re:Trailer Down Already?

[10537]

Which is then followed by the compulsory "but mirrordot doesn't cache everything, including this movie, which you'd known if you'd followed your own advice and checked mirrordot, you asshat" post.

Re:Trailer Down Already?

[yack0]

Which then leads to the "fuck you, I made a mirror anyway assclown... " :)

Re:Trailer Down Already?

[10537]

Which leads to "I was going to, but the damned thing was gone before I got a chance".

Sure, the /. "policy" is to not mirror stuff, but there are quite a few people (myself included) with space and bandwidth to spare, so perhaps we can set up a list of people who'll mirror big content that editors (or people who are submitting things) can refer to and give us a couple of minutes headstart so that the mirroring process isn't defeated by the fact that by the time someone wants to mirror it it's too late.

$0.02

Re:Trailer Down Already?

[xSauronx]

im watching it fine right now....mind you its taking several minutes to load, but its loading. if it stops ill do the typical....bookmark the url for viewing tomorrow.

Re:Trailer Down Already?

[fm6]

As an editor, they should know the media file would get killed immediately ...

They don't know that. Believe it or not, there are a lot of servers out there that can handle the Slashdot Effect. Including media servers.

I'm often critical of the editors myself, but I'm not about to hold them responsible for every inept web monkey they might link to.

White Stripes

[Savatte]

Check out the Fell In Love With A Girl video by The White Stripes. Pretty much the same idea, but guaranteed to have better music than this Batman project.

Re:White Stripes

[Scrameustache]

Check out the Fell In Love With A Girl video by The White Stripes. Pretty much the same idea

Not really, that video was actual stop motion animated lego blocks, this is just 3D animation given a lego look.

One is an original and amazing way to do stop motion, the other is... I dunno, pointless.

Re:White Stripes

[TomHandy]

I remember seeing something on the "making of" that White Stripes video (actually, I think it might have been that VH1 "Pop-Up Videos" thing), and they pointed out that there were a couple of sequences in that video that were actually done with some type of animation other than stop-motion with real legos.

Re:White Stripes

[glimmy]

Or see the http://www.rathergood.com/punk_kittens/ version with cats

Re:White Stripes

[bastardsquadmuzz]

As far as I know though that was real LEGO, not computer-generated lego, making it even more impressive.

Forget the trailer

[FatBobSmith]

The movie is already done and it's quite good.

http://www.daveschool.com/BATMAN/index.html

Re:Forget the trailer

[cgenman]

Direct link to the trailer, in case it ever comes back up.

Re:Forget the trailer

[GrAfFiT]

I double-checked but your link points to the exact same ./ed video as the summary.

Re:Forget the trailer

[iamlucky13]

Holy Mary Tyler Moore, Batman! The movie's got Dick van Dyke doing one of the voices. Plus Mark Hamill! Talk about a must see.

Re:Forget the trailer

[Anonymous Coward]

Hamill did the voice of the Joker in the animated series, that's why he was casted.

As for Adam West, well, you can't have Batman unless you have Adam West. That's just the rule.

Re:Forget the trailer

[alanjstr]

The "Play Movie" link just goes to the trailer

Re:Forget the trailer

[Refrag]

It's a short!

Computer generated lego blocks?!

[Zangief]

Why not some old REAL lego blocks?

Re:Computer generated lego blocks?!

[Scrameustache]

Why not some old REAL lego blocks?

Because that would be hard!

Re:Computer generated lego blocks?!

[FreeLinux]

The purpose of the project was to demonstrate the students newly learned CG animation skills. Real Lego blocks would require stop motion animation rather than CG animation.

Why Legos at all? Why not? Do you have a theme for a mini movie that will demonstrate your 1337 CG skillz?

Re:Computer generated lego blocks?!

[aav]

Because of some old REAL problem: dosh

Real bricks are expensive, even when bought in bulk. Doing the animation would require shooting still images with the characters being moved only a little, so a computer could interpolate between these frames afterwards.
Storing the scene set means renting a space to store it, and this space is added to the office space needed by the artists.

Re:Computer generated lego blocks?!

[STrinity]

I don't think real legos would get a passing grade at the Digital Animation and Visual Effects school.

Re:Computer generated lego blocks?!

[NanoGator]

"Why not some old REAL lego blocks?"

Because it was a CG class that made the movie. That'd be like having med students use the game of Operation. Granted, in the case of using Legos, they'd be learning some fundamentals of animation. However, they went to Dave School to learn how to use Lightwave.

MIRROR

[ghoda_x]

http://www.daveschool.com.nyud.net:8090/projects/B ATMAN/assets/pages/DS_BATMANTRAILER.html

Re:MIRROR

[joel8x]

That one died faster than you posted it! Anyone have a torrent?

Re:MIRROR

[TheSHAD0W]

That mirror refers to the same ftp download, so it's useless.

Re:MIRROR

[Jay Maynard]

I've got the movie, and will be happy to help with a torrent if someone wants to tell me how to go about it.

The folks at the DAVE School are really good, and they do great work. They're also nice guys.

Re:MIRROR

[TheSHAD0W]

http://krypt.dyndns.org:81/torrent/maketorrent/v1. html
Use "http://tracker.degreez.net:8080/announce" as the announce URL. Click "File" and select Batman_Net.mov as the file. Then hit the "create torrent" button. It'll create a torrent file. Post it up on the net, and then run it, and save over a complete copy of the .mov file. It'll give an error 'til I authorize it on my tracker, but I'll do that ASAP, and the software will automatically retry.

Re:MIRROR

[TheSHAD0W]

n/m I was able to download the file and put up a torrent myself.

Re:MIRROR

[Jay Maynard]

It's ready to go. I've got the torrent running here. As it happens, BitTorrent for MacOS X can create the torrent file itself. Of course, I discovered that after I downloaded maketorrent and installed it under VirtualPC...

Re:MIRROR

[Adrilla]

God bless the bit torrent.

Re:MIRROR

[TheSHAD0W]

Well, if you don't mind, please download the torrent I posted (http://degreez.net/Batman_Net.mov.torrent) and help seed; it's going okay, but could be faster.

Re:MIRROR

[Jay Maynard]

Done. I got connections from 25 peers within 10 seconds of starting it, too...

Re:MIRROR

[TheSHAD0W]

Welp, it's running quite nicely now. Thanks for helping.

Re:MIRROR

[Catbeller]

If no one here can get the torrent, try eDonkey. I kinda know it's out there. Try "Batman - New Times" in the search.

I don't know what's up with the torrent submissions. Can't seem to connect.

Pow! Blam! Thwock!

[Deep Fried Geekboy]

Holy slashdot effect, Batman!

Blam!

I could mirror, anyone have the original?

[yack0]

Anyone wants to get me the trailer, I can mirror up to 10Mb/s

Re:Wikipedia and Legos

[yotto]

There's also one one Karma Whoring if anybody's curious to learn more.

Proofread please!

[hellfire]

I personally hate when someone misspells my own name, especially when my name is right in front of their friggin nose. I also hate when slashdot doesn't even proofread their own articles, when the correct spelling of other people's names is right in front of them.

Mark Hamill people...Hamill!! It's right there on the front page of the link! Lazy lazy lazy... sheesh.

Re:Proofread please!

[davew2040]

You know, if you calm down a little bit you might live longer!

Re:Proofread please!

[Bill Hayden]

Well, now we know conclusively that hellfire is Mark Hamill. Some people can't help but blow their own cover...

Lego Star Wars videogame

[slim]

This brings to mind the inspired idea that is Lego Star Wars: the videogame.

I'm quite excited about it, and I'm not even a Star Wars fan...

Re:Lego Star Wars videogame

[Adrilla]

This game actually looks like it'll be good, as opposed to just being a double gimmick.

Re:Lego Star Wars videogame

[Coolfish]

demo available at yahoo!
http://gamesdomain.yahoo.com/ps2/lego_star _wars/fi les/66054

downloading now, wish they had a torrent...!

Re:Lego Star Wars videogame

[piper-noiter]

Bit Torrent is right there: http://www.3dgamers.com/dlselect/games/legostarwar s/lego_star_wars_pc_demo_final.exe.html

I played through it yesturday. Really well made. However it cuts before you meet Jar Jar.

Re:Lego Star Wars videogame

[boomgopher]

What sucks about this game is that the environments used are not made to look like they're made of bricks...

Lego? Batman?

[flumps]

Joker: hahahah.. now we can see the face behind the mask of Batman!! ...

Robin: Holy bump on the head, Batman!

What Effect?

[Metteyya]

Congratulations, dudes. Posting almost-direct link to the trailer on main /. will surely... oh damn, wait! The site's still up! Are they a part of OSTG too?

Re:What Effect?

[GQuon]

The site is still up. However, the trailer itself was on an ex-ftp server. It is no more.

Computer generated?

[sdo1]

through the magic of computer-generated LEGO blocks

Computer-generated?!?!? Hang on a second. That's CHEATING!

You're supposed to BUILD something (physical) with Lego's. Take a picture of it. REBUILD slightly. Repeat. String together pictures into movie.

Computer-generated LEGO's are for wusses!

-S

Re:Computer generated?

[Adrilla]

What's worse is they aren't even Lego© Blocks!

Re:Computer generated?

[zurtle]

You need to read Lynne Truss' book Eats Shoots & Leaves... sometimes it is acceptable to use apostrophes.

However, I take a different view and note that Lego is the "plural" form (much like sheep), otherwise say "Lego bricks"....

Refer to earlier post and mark me redundant!

Doesn't say. How much?

[FreeLinux]

How much did it cost to produce this "little" student project?

3D computer graphics animation.
Professional sound and scoring.
Real life movie stars for voices.

All this stuff costs Disney millions of dollars for a 90 minute movie. How much did it cost for this little project?

Re:Doesn't say. How much?

[kgruscho]

uh, I kind of assume that they just ripped soundbites from the stars and put them in the movie. Adam West and Mark Hamill are pretty much b actors though.. (though imdb 'em they've both been doing a lot of voicing recently...)

Re:Doesn't say. How much?

[Jay Maynard]

The stars were recruited for the project, and the voices were all done specifically for it. Mark Hamill was, as I understand it, quite pleased to finally do the Joker opposite Adam West. I'm told the actors all had a good time. Adam West certainly left his usual toothmarks all over the (virtual) scenery...

Re:Doesn't say. How much?

[STrinity]

I was looking through the site last night, and the tuition is just under $30k for one year, and that covers all supplies and texts. Even figuring in the cost of instuructors and equipment, that leaves a pretty decent chunk of money for production.

Re:Doesn't say. How much?

[STrinity]

uh, I kind of assume that they just ripped soundbites from the stars and put them in the movie.

WTFV. Unless Van Dyke's been in a movie where he references Batman and Joker in the same sentence, it's original voice work.

Re:Doesn't say. How much?

[Jay Maynard]

You weren't paying attention, were you? The scoring is original (done by Sound-o-Rama specifically for this project), the voice acting is original for this project, and the scripting is original for this project.

The school worked with the designers of the LEGO-style blocks (I was told they were LEGO-compatible, but I'll take a previous poster's word that they're not), and it wouldn't surprise me at all to hear that WB decided they liked it and decided to leave them alone.

Your paranoid ravings are just that.

Re:Doesn't say. How much?

[cgenman]

Unless anyone knows of another place to get a very clean sound bite of Adam West saying "Look - Madonna!" we're talking about original recordings here.

Re:Doesn't say. How much?

[Reziac]

Also, having worked in the arse end of the film/TV industry, I'd estimate that 80-90% of the average budget is sheer waste.

Witness: I worked on one show where everything came out of the producer's own pocket, rather than being financed by a studio, hence he wouldn't stand for any waste. That show cost $80k per episode -- when similar studio-backed productions were costing around $500k per episode (and SF was around $1M/ep.)

Forget Lego...

[ShawnDoc]

Forget Lego's, I want to see a Batman movie made using nothing but Eggo's! Delicious.

Re:Forget Lego...

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey, if you think the letter "s" needs special protection from the other letters, why didn't you write deliciou's? There's no apostrophe in making plurals, dumbass.

Re:Forget Lego...

[ajlitt]

You show 'em! Besides, everyone knows the plural of "Eggo" is "Egon".

Re:Forget Lego...

[joNDoty]

Actually, they originally started the movie with Eggo's, but they decided to lego their Eggo's.

Saw this yesterday

[Ed Pegg]

This is one of the best short animations I've seen. It starts with a long, long establishing shot, following a limo on a road during the opening credits, then into Wayne Manor itself, past a new year's band, past the assembled crowd, and finally to the balcony, where the first scene takes place. This shot is up there with The Birdcage opening, or The Player opening, or Rope. And throughout, the devotion of using nothing but construction blocks is strictly adhered to. I thought Adam West was great. I'd love to see a longer sequel,by this same team.

Re:Saw this yesterday

[STrinity]

This is one of the best short animations I've seen.

Not only that, it's better than the last two Batman films combined.

Re:Saw this yesterday

[AndroidCat]

it's better than the last two Batman films combined.

If you combine them, doesn't that make it worse?

Re:Saw this yesterday

[tverbeek]

Not only that, it's better than the last two Batman films combined.

I've seen animated GIFs that were better than the last two Batman movies. (Batman Begins, on the other hand...) The key isn't the animation, or even the voice actors, though; it's the script. They started with a plot and characters (simple, but that's what you can do in 10 minutes), storyboarded it all out, wrote some decent dialog, and then added visuals and some talented voices to make it real. But without that story-focused foundation, forget about it.

Re:Torrent

[krray]

Well -- THAT would be a direct download :)

For the torrent version try:
http://209.242.6.124/Batman/Batman_Net.torre nt

Re:Torrent

[GrAfFiT]

You better prepare an extinguisher. NOW!

Different movie from the same site

[yack0]

They had another version of the movie (which I haven't even seen yet) but I grabbed it and it is here now

Could be pr0n for all I know, but was going to post first, then view it. Enjoy

Re:Different movie from the same site

[yack0]

Oh, it wasn't pr0n, but a small version of the movie.

They had two others in the ftp directory.

Here is low2.mov
and here, socalled old version.

Yesterday we were pushing 8Mb/s with the Honda advert, today only 4. Oh well.

Not a mirror, but here are some "stills shots"

[Nova Express]

Still shots from the film can be found here. Although, are they really "still shots" if they're not technically shots...

Re:Not a mirror, but here are some "stills shots"

[Headcase88]

Holy Batmobile Batman! Whoever had a hand in designing that deserves a pat on the back.

Introducting the new character, The Barrister

[SuperBanana]

Holy Cease and Desist, Batman(TM)! is more like it. Seriously- I wonder how long it takes until these guys get the pants sued off them...

Re:Introducting the new character, The Barrister

[tverbeek]

Trademark and copyright holders tend to look the other way regarding use of their characters and other IP in school projects. Fair Use doctrine explicitly gives some leeway for non-commercial and educational uses, which gives them some signficant wiggle room.

To be sure, Time-Warner would stomp on this school like a bug if they were giving away copies of "Batman Begins" (or even "Batman and Robin") "for educational purposes", but doing something like this isn't a clear-cut case of infringement. It's also conceivable (given some of the talent involved) that they had permission.

BitTorrent link

[TheSHAD0W]

http://degreez.net/Batman_Net.mov.torrent

Re:BitTorrent link

[yack0]

Am I getting "problem getting response info... " errors because there are not enough seeds? (not knowing much about torrent)

Re:BitTorrent link

[TheSHAD0W]

What exact error are you getting? The torrent seems to be rolling along just fine...

Re:BitTorrent link

[v1]

I already downloaded the mov and am trying to seed the torrent, but I'm gettinng "problem connecting to tracker - timeout exceeded".

We slashdotted the bittorrent tracker. whoops!

Re:BitTorrent link

[yack0]

problem getting response info - , (at Sun Mar 13 '05 @ 03:07:45 PM)

Am using tomatotorrent.

Re:BitTorrent link

[yack0]

problem getting response info - <urlopen error (60, 'Operation timed out')>, (at Sun Mar 13 '05 @ 03:07:45 PM)

Re:BitTorrent link

[TheSHAD0W]

You're not seeing the whole error line then. Let it run, it should connect.

Re:BitTorrent link

[v1]

BitTorrent app retries every 5 minutes, and continues to timeout. (four in a row so far)

Re:BitTorrent link

[TheSHAD0W]

Just curious, try this torrent instead...

Re:BitTorrent link

[DarkMantle]

Bittorrent + slashdot = great downloads.

Can we get a slashdotnova.org, or similar torrent site. That'd kick @$$.

Re:BitTorrent link

[garbletext]

working well; 30% done in 1 min 30 seconds so far.

Re:BitTorrent link

[SiliconEntity]

http://degreez.net/Batman_Net.mov.torrent

Sorry, that torrrent file is slashdotted. Is there such a thing as a BitTorrent download of a torrent file?

Re:BitTorrent link

[yack0]

problem getting response info - <urlopen error (60, 'Operation timed out')>, (at Sun Mar 13 '05 @ 07:59:52 PM)

I know I've picked up torrents before from home, but if my ISP broke something on me (which they do periodically) I haven't yet figured out, that could be the cause. Thanks for sharing anyway.

Re:BitTorrent link

[yack0]

A followup, that torrent link works fine from work.

Peckerhead ISP must be blocking it. Time to build another tunnel up to my more reliable machine....

Thanks for the torrent.

Re:Torrent

[GrAfFiT]

This .torrent is not correctly made. The tracker URL points to the direct download link you posted earlier (which is dead by now)
Read this

Dick Van Dyke, actor and Lightwave 3D user

[Kurt Gray]

No joke. Dr. Sloan is a bonified Lightwave 3D user and has even self-produced a few effects shots for his show Diagnosis Murder.

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke?

[Jay Maynard]

William "Proton" Vaughn is, in addition to an instructor at the DAVE School, the official Lightwave Evangelist for Newtek. As such, he's been to Dick Van Dyke's house to teach him the finer points of using Lightwave, and became friends with him. He asked Van Dyke if he'd be interested in doing the project, and got an enthusiastic "yes!". After that, they just asked the other actors if they'd be interested, and they all signed on.

It's a lot like Legos...sort of...

[game kid]

"Hey Joker, l'eggo my sidekick!" TOAST! SYRUP! BITE!

Not playable under Linux?

[Florian]

Has anyone managed to play it under Linux? I had no luck with mplayer, xine, vlc and the newest w32codecs. The best thing I get is the sound and error messages "[svq3 @ 0xb32f36ec]error in B-frame picture id".

Re:Not playable under Linux?

[h4rm0ny]

Same problem here but I haven't got as far as sound. Recent codecs, trying in Xine, can play .mov files normally.

I have no solution, but it isn't you. Can anyone confirm they've been able to view this and if so on what please?

Re:Not playable under Linux?

[lilo_booter]

I never install those win32 codecs (horrible things :-)). The low quality version someone mentioned above played just fine with ffmpeg/ffplay and mplayer. xine played without audio (but I hadn't installed the faac/faad stuff til recently).

I'm using CVS versions of all of these (ffmpeg from today, mplayer/xine from a couple of months back).

Re:Not playable under Linux?

[serverleader]

I recommend you to install mplayerplug-in for mozilla or firefox ... works great... http://mplayerplug-in.sourceforge.net/

Re:Not playable under Linux?

[h4rm0ny]

Just for anyone who missed it above, someone has got it working on Linux. Just search above for mplayer.

Re:Not playable under Linux?

[Anonymous Coward]

Shocking. A movie encoded with a proprietary Apple codec plays great in your proprietary Apple media player?
Any other dumbfoundingly obvious statements to make?

Torrent

[cgenman]

http://degreez.net/Batman_Net.mov.torrent, courtesy of TheSHADOW.

Please help seed.

First Reference

[ggvaidya]

to the Brick Testament! And yup, totally agree with parent.

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke?

[ggvaidya]

Seriously! I was a huge fan of the Batman TV series, Dick Van Dyke is a legend, and Mark Hamill, once his second 'L' has been restored to him, is probably a demigod of sorts in these here parts ... this, I have got to see!

Once the slashdotting lets off, of course :|

More Legomation

[cdmafoa]

Legomation has a long and storied history. Check out some old school work at WDLN.tv.

Re:More Legomation

[assassinator42]

Check out Brick Films at Archive.org and their official site. Haven't watched any of these yet, but they look interesting.

Re:Torrent

[TheSHAD0W]

That's not a moon... It's a space station!

Legos! Legos! Legos!

[fm6]

When you work for a company, you have to insist that all your trademarks are adjectives, because there's a lot of silly case law that penalizes you if you don't. But the rest of us are free to use language that actually makes sense. Sure, you'll get letters reminding you that you're "misusing" the trademark. But that's just "due diligence" -- not even the person who wrote the letter takes it serious.

Re:Legos! Legos! Legos!

[thrillseeker]

... you'll get letters reminding you that you're "misusing" the trademark. But that's just "due diligence" -- not even the person who wrote the letter takes it serious.

They do if there is money involved.

Re:Legos! Legos! Legos!

[fm6]

Get real. Nobody's more cynical about silly laws than a lawyer.

Re:Legos! Legos! Legos!

[slim]

Hey, I don't care what you call it. Whatever you like.

It's just that I had never heard Lego referred to as "Legos" until a Lego story appeared on Slashot (I think it would have been the C compiler for Mindstorms).

I'm still not sure I understand the thinking behind "Legos". Is an individual brick "a Lego"?

It must simply be yet another US/Europe cultural difference.

If I was really hidebound by corporate dictat, then I'd be insisting on "LEGO" (all caps), but that looks like shouting, and I ain't doing it until someone tells me it's an acronym for something.

Re:Legos! Legos! Legos!

[fm6]

'm still not sure I understand the thinking behind "Legos". Is an individual brick "a Lego"?

What else would it be?

Re:Legos! Legos! Legos!

[slim]

Consider yourself told that Lego indeed is an acronym.

Originally, Lego = Lek Godt. That's Norwegian, directly translated "Play Well".


You're /forcing/ me to be pedantic twice in one thread. Bah.

True enough, an acronym has two meanings: a word made up of initials, or a a word made up of word fragments.

However, I think only the first meaning justifies an all-caps presentation.

Lek Godt might translate to "LeGo" but not to "LEGO".

Re:Legos! Legos! Legos!

[slim]

(Is a Lego brick "a lego"
What else would it be?

"A Lego brick": but at least you've clarified to me the usage that Americans have somehow adopted (I wonder how it happened).

If it helps you understand, calling a Lego brick "a Lego" is, to a European, kind of like calling a grain of sugar "a sugar".

Re:Legos! Legos! Legos!

[KaptajnKold]

Originally, Lego = Lek Godt. That's Norwegian, directly translated "Play Well".

Actually LEGO is a danish acronym for "Leg godt". Which means the same thing. It's bad enough that the norwegian usurpers have stolen our North Sea oil. But they won't get away with stealing our beloved LEGO! As a dane a can only take so much from a former colony of ours.

Re:Legos! Legos! Legos!

[fm6]

One rarely deals with a single grain of sugar. Something large enough to handle generally has a singular and a plural.

What you're actually saying (if I understand you) is that Europeans always use "Lego" as an adjective.

Re:Legos! Legos! Legos!

[slim]

What you're actually saying (if I understand you) is that Europeans always use "Lego" as an adjective.

Not really. Since I don't have the right grammatical term at my fingertips, I'll just have to say that "sugar" is the best analogue I can come up with (salt also works... or sand...)

Sugar: "I bought some sugar" - "a bag of sugar" - "a grain of sugar"
Lego: "I bought some Lego" - "a box of Lego" - "a Lego brick"
US Lego: "I bought some Legos" - "a box of Legos" - "a Lego".

Right?

Re:Legos! Legos! Legos!

[tabrnaker]

or another way of saying "I never had any retarded friends that felt the need to pluralize everything!"

Re:Legos! Legos! Legos!

[fm6]

We might as well forget about grammatical terminology -- like you, I tend to go by intuition.

You've got the Sugar and US usage right, and I'll have to accept your word for the European usage of "Lego". So OK, in Europe you say "a box of Lego". The difference seems to be that to you guys "Lego" refers to some abstract thing, while to us a "Lego" is a plastic brick.

Re:Legos! Legos! Legos!

[DavidHopwood]

Since I don't have the right grammatical term at my fingertips...

"Lego", "sand", "sugar", etc. are mass nouns (as opposed to count nouns).

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke?

[kponto]

I though the spelling looked wrong, but alas, I'm not a leader, I'm a follower.

Ok

[iamlucky13]

Contrary to the talk of the naysayers, real lego movies in stop-motion do exist.

Hopefully I got this set up right. Be gentle on my connection.

Lego Star Wars Trailer

Re:Ok

[iamlucky13]

You couldn't have tried very hard. It's the first thing in the video.

Oops...thanks for pointing that out. It's been a while since I actually watch the movie clip, and I've got a bunch of clips. Some of them have sites listed that no longer exist.

Re:Ok

[RadioTV]

There are some pretty good movies on this site.

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke?

[STrinity]

The school's run out of the Universal Studios, Florida theme park, so likely they have Hollywood connections not available to regular colleges. Note that one of the earlier student projects was based upon Ghostbusters, which is a Universal property.

Dick Van Dyke? Courtney Thorne-Smith?

[fm6]

I wish animators would resist this "all star cast" crap. It's sort of lame in this case anyway, since these aren't really "stars" -- they're people who used to be big and/or are "famous" for being on bad TV shows. But even when you have the money to hire "real" stars, it's kind of a waste. When I see a favorite actor doing animation work, I'm usually disappointed. They just don't add anything special to the role. Better to hire real voice actors, even if nobody knows who they are.

Which is not to say that there aren't actors who can do both. Jennifer Lien and Hank Azara come to mind. Not to mention Britanny Murphy.

Re:Dick Van Dyke? Courtney Thorne-Smith?

[argent]

When I see a favorite actor doing animation work, I'm usually disappointed.

So who's your favorite Genie, Robin Williams or Jim Cummings? Me, I think they're both great.

Re:Dick Van Dyke? Courtney Thorne-Smith?

[Jay Maynard]

I dunno...I rather liked Thorne-Smith's Catwoman. "I didn't know you liked to play rough..." Van Dyke's Commissioner hit just the right note, too.

Re:Dick Van Dyke? Courtney Thorne-Smith?

[fm6]

Walt Disney is Evil!

Re:Dick Van Dyke? Courtney Thorne-Smith?

[argent]

Walt Disney is Evil!

That's nice, but you didn't answer my question. How do you feel about Jim Cummings' version of the Genie? I think he did a really good job of following Robin Williams' lead, and I didn't have any difficulty differentiating the character from, say, Darkwing Duck. What do you think?

I mean, you can't tell me Robin Williams is evil! He plays good guys! Gilbert Godfreid, maybe, but not Robin!

Re:Dick Van Dyke? Courtney Thorne-Smith?

[argent]

Waves

Hi, Jay! Long time no see!

Re:Dick Van Dyke? Courtney Thorne-Smith?

[fm6]

Since I've never seen the Disney movies to which you refer (Evil! Evil!) my feelings can only be described as an absence of feeling.

Re:Dick Van Dyke? Courtney Thorne-Smith?

[argent]

I've never seen the Disney movies to which you refer

Ah. Well. Seems a bit presumptuous to talk about how screen actors aren't much as voice actors when you haven't seen so many of the movies in which they display their talents. :)

Re:Dick Van Dyke? Courtney Thorne-Smith?

[Jay Maynard]

What, you haven't been following the exploits of Tron Guy? :-)

Re:Dick Van Dyke? Courtney Thorne-Smith?

[fm6]

What's presumptuous is to assume that somebody who refuses to watch Disney crap hasn't seen any good animation.

Re:Dick Van Dyke? Courtney Thorne-Smith?

[NanoGator]

" wish animators would resist this "all star cast" crap."

I doubt that the animators (students) decided who would do the voices.

Ha

[EvanED]

People will start referring to 'Lego Bricks' as soon as 'GNU\Linux' catches on.

Re:Ha

[slim]

People will start referring to 'Lego Bricks' as soon as 'GNU\Linux' catches on.

Seriously, throughout my childhood (in Britain), "Lego bricks" was the only way I ever heard them referred to.

Re:Ha

[EvanED]

Interesting. I grew up here in the US and everyone I know called them 'Legos'. I wonder if the country makes the difference?

I'd like to see a map with different regions marked based on what Legos are called, but I don't think it'd be a worthwhile acedemic project.

Re:Ha

[ThJ]

In Norway, we call them "Lego-klosser" (Lego bricks) as well. You might get a way with "Har du Lego?" (Got Lego?), meaning "Do you have a set of lego bricks?". Because Lego was invented in Denmark, and Norway is a Scandinavian country too, I think that should set the precedence.

Re:Ha

[Buchenskjoll]

I can testify to that. I am Danish. We refer to them as "Legoklodser", which means just Lego bricks.

Re:Ha

[RedWizzard]

Interesting. I grew up here in the US and everyone I know called them 'Legos'. I wonder if the country makes the difference?

I'd like to see a map with different regions marked based on what Legos are called, but I don't think it'd be a worthwhile acedemic project.

I think that outside the US (or possibly North America) everyone refers to it as either Lego or Lego bricks/blocks. Out of interest, in the US do you call a single piece a Lego?

Re:Ha

[grahamlee]

Me too, also British, also "Lego bricks", "Lego set" but never "Legos". I sold all of my Lego gear to my sister about twelve years ago for a fiver, I really wish I hadn't now (because I had enough that I could have lived inside that bloody castle ;-)).

Re:Ha

[bluephone]

Out of interest, in the US do you call a single piece a Lego?

Yep. the most common US usage is that a pile of bricks are Legos, one brick is a Lego, if your mom bought you a new box kit you'd generally say, "My mom bought me some new Legos," or "My mom bought me a new Lego set" where "Lego set" means the kit of bricks. In less common use we'd call an individual brick a brick, or piece, or Lego brick/Lego piece.

It's like in the UK they call them Hoovers, while we call them sweepers or vacuums (or vacuum sweeper, to be long winded). Over there, the brand is inexorably linked with the item, regardless of maker. We do that with Legos, er, Lego bricks. :)

While we're also talking about knock offs, Tyco made play bricks like Lego bricks (man, it's actually difficult to remember to call them that, not Legos) that were compatible, but like a previous poster's comment about C3 bricks, they just weren't the same. Lego got the product perfect, everyone else is just inferior. I'd love to see a Star Trek license from Lego instead of the waves of Star Wars licensed stuff. Too many specialized peices ruin the fun, IMO...

Re:Ha

[ThJ]

*nods* Hyphen added in quote to display word separation, but not actually written in regular text.

OWWW, My freakin' ears!

[Scrameustache]

Holy shit dude!

Warn us before linking to a flash site that automatically launches loud music! Sheesh!

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke?

[ggvaidya]

*g* Interesting post on your blog on perspectives, btw. Why don't you let people post on your blog?

False advertising.

[Civil_Disobedient]

Yeah, I agree. The title of the thread leads one to believe that they're actually stop-animating lego constructions, like the White Stripes video. This is CGI. Might as well have made them look like dolphins, or bunnies, or real people. Though, the render-time on simple solid-object models is probably hella-reduced.

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke?

[AndroidCat]

It's not the first time that Mark Hamillll (balance) has voiced the Joker. He did quite well on a previous animated Batman .. a long time ago.

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke?

[yack0]

Have you seen some of the commercials Adam West has been doing lately ? Like for the one stop Internet kiosk franchise thing? This is certainly a step UP from that.... ;)

trailer?

[bbkingadrock]

trailer? it is 12 minutes long, including credits. this IS the movie.

also, the credits do say "based on C3 Batman", for those wondering

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke?

[argent]

That means Dick Van Dyke is a Cool Friend Of Newtek!

Are they still doing that?

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke?

[Jay Maynard]

Good question...but, were I to hazard a guess, I'd say they were just so they could claim that.

Re:format

[Jay Maynard]

QuickTime is an industry standard. DivX isn't. I still have major problems playing DivXs on OS X.

DivX on OSX

[Scrameustache]

I still have major problems playing DivXs on OS X.

I used to, until I got mPlayer.

It plays pretty much everything (mpeg, avi, wmv). There's still some things that play wrong once in a while, but it's a rare thing.

Other Good Batman Fan Films

[JMPrice]

While we're on the subject, let me point out two other excellent fan films.

The first three minutes of Batman: Dead End capture the grittiness of Batman and Gotham better than any Warner Brothers film. After three minutes it goes nutso, but then it still looks really good.

Also, check out the "trailer" for Grayson. The guy spent $18,000 of his own money to produce the trailer. Maybe if he can convince the powers that be to finance the project, he could get a whole movie made.

Re:Other Good Batman Fan Films

[jalefkowit]

Dude. WTF is up with that "Batman: Dead End"? I was following along OK until it suddenly started throwing in Aliens and Predators for some reason.

"After three minutes it goes nutso". You weren't kidding!

Re:format

[phoxix]

Thats because the Quicktime player is b0rked and Apple refuses to fix Quicktime. (Dvix.com has a 'fixer' application that does whatever to AVI's encoded with Divx and Mp3)

Use a real media player like Mplayer OS-X. Not only is it not b0rked, but it does full screen play back for free.

Sunny Dubey

Re:format

[eboot]

Don't listen to the other posters. VLC (VideoLanClient) is da way to go man. Well thats my personal opinion. Makes Divx on OSX easy... as far as I can tell it plays even more formats than mPlayer. But neither of them can play WMV-3 or whatever it's called. Stupid format can't be used on OSX.

Re: playing DiVX

[KURAAKU Deibiddo]

if you haven't tried it already, you may want to look into VLC. IMO, it's a much more capable player than Mplayer, with builtin support for MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, etc., and can play DVDs, VCDs, as well as a number of streaming formats.

i think the biggest plus for me is that it's capable of switching the audio track playing, and can handle video files with included subtitles and most external subtitle formats, so it's great for watching multi-language rips.

and in my experience, the playlist feature is far more stable in VLC than Mplayer OS X.

you can find it at http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

disclaimer: i have no involvement with VLC other than using it far, far too much. @.~

Re: playing DiVX

[Jay Maynard]

I'll have to look at VLC. MPlayer X has been a big disappointment; it plays some stuff, but it blows up badly on others.

Ghostbusters, too

[Ryosen]

When their servers have been recovered from the ashes, you can also find a Ghostbusters flik that they did.

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke?

[SamSim]

I find it interesting that this project brings together two completely different interpretations of Batman. Adam "How come Batman doesn't dance anymore?" West, as we all know, played Batman in the comical Sixties TV series, while Mark Hamill has been doing a bang-up job of voicing the Joker's animated incarnations for over ten years, in the Batman animated series, Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker and more recently Justice League, all of which portrayed a much more serious Batman. This project seems to sit in a light-hearted middle ground, and what's more it has some great writing, which is far, far more important than the plot or visuals. I wouldn't be ashamed to have my name on it.

Pity about the typo in the opening credits, Dick van Dvke anybody?

Re:format

[DaFrogg]

Quicktime is a proprietary format that takes a cranky codec to play and has WAY too many non backward-compatible forms. Divx/Xvid/avi/mpg are standards that are more widespread and viewable using readily available software. The choice is easy. (yes, I know Divx is an owned format, but Xvid is compatible and is open source.)

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke?

[kponto]

Thanks for the kinda words. I'm not quite sure what you mean by the question though. People can and do post replies on my blog. Are you referring to something else?

Re:format

[NanoGator]

"Divx/Xvid/avi/mpg are standards that are more widespread and viewable using readily available software"

When did DivX exceed Quicktime in terms of already being installed? I'm not sure if you care much about that, but that really is a huge stumbling block in getting a movie getting published on the web. Average Joes aren't keen on installing codecs just to watch a movie.

Sucks

[Refrag]

If they really wanted to recreate Batman in a Lego universe, they shouldn't have made the characters so articulated.

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke? Lighwave?

[mbourgon]

Dick Van Dyke. Using Lightwave. My brain hurts...

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke? Lighwave?

[Jay Maynard]

It gets better...Vaughn told me the story, and said that, when he went to Van Dyke's place for some tutoring, he expected to get asked some basic questions - and was pleasantly surprised to find that he was quite good at using the software and making animations already, and just needed help with advanced techniques.

Apparently, Van Dyke uses it to make home movies. Must be nice.

Re:West? Hammil? Van Dyke?

[Jay Maynard]

I asked the school's owner about that. He said that the font they used for the titles showed that as a lower-case Y.

Blocky.

[TLSPRWR]

Yea, the trailer's pretty good, but man, the graphics are so blocky!

Nice little bits...

[CptNerd]

liked the little "homage" to the original Catwoman actress from the original "Batman" movie. "Miss Kitka". "Purrrrrrrfect". A fitting tribute to Julie Newmar.

Movie opening credits Dick Van Dvke

[Rocketeer]

I noticed in the trailer they misspelled Dick VanDyke in the opening credits. They spelled it "Dick Van Dvke" instead. They got it right at the end credits though.

And as soon as they pay me...

[Snaller]

...I'll help them, until then it's Legos!
(Or as they say in the native tounge "Legoer")

I can hardly wait

[SEWilco]

I can hardly wait for the Lego Blocks version of this movie.

Re:Forget the LEGOs...

[Big Sean O]

Sheesh, 100 comments on the proper use of the word LEGO and only two on the casting. Only on slashdot...

I think it's amazing they were able to get the voice talent they got. Maybe Adam West is easy to get, but Hammil, Van Dyke, and Ms. CTS don't need the work. Good casting!

Also, why isn't Time Warner (who owns Batman) all over this with a C&D? I guess we should be grateful for small favors.

I will comply.

[AtariAmarok]

I will from now on refer to them as Lego-brand legos, as to distinguish them from those cheap knock-off no-name brand legos you can get by the bucketfull at Wal-mart.

try this mirror

[Solak]

I would prefer to use the torrent, myself, but for the duration of the slashdot effect, try this mirror.
http://homepage.mac.com/puder/.Movies/Bat man_Net.m ov
Enjoy!

Re:try this mirror

[Solak]

Sorry about that formatting error, I don't know where that space came from.
http://homepage.mac.com/puder/.Movies/Batman_Net.m ov
It adds the space to this post as well, but this time I remembered to use the URL tag, so you can use the link.