Thanks! I knew that I didn't want to sound anything like "Indiana Jones," yet still have an up-beat, Saturday morning cartoon-like feel. Something reminiscent of "The Mummy," "Prince of Persia," or even my favorite film, "Atlantis the Lost Empire," (all great films, with excellent soundtracks in their own rights) just wouldn't have worked. Johnny Thunder is a LEGO minifigure after all, and, I wanted to keep to a similar tone as was seen in "The LEGO Movie," or some of the classic LEGO videogames. (pre-LEGO Star Wars: The Videogame)

I actually got most of my inspiration from the pure nostalgia I get from remembering the Disney Afternoon classic; TaleSpin.

Here's it's theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apx2iZi0-OQ

Though the TaleSpin theme, and my composition are very different, and sound nothing alike, I think you can still catch the inspiration it gave me.

I have a simple little "variation" of the theme, which I will reveal in the next test song. It gives the theme a bit more of some variation, and won't have the same melody just "repeat," as Nathan has pointed out. However, I feel that this variation sounds a little too similar to a theme from another Disney show: The short-lived "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command." That theme can be heard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dic_Hhnh9zg

Nevertheless, I can still record it, and show you all. - It does fit nicely with the backing strings, if I do say so myself.

The only "quick fix" that I can think of for the song, and it's realism, would be to record the horns/strings as separate individual tracks (i.e. violins, violas, cellos, tubas, trumpets, trombones) and then compile them all together, instead of playing the lead on only one single "brass section" track. The only problem is that, if I didn't keep exactly to beat on every take, and/or the more instruments I record, not only will the recording get a little more "muddy," but, it also has the potential to sound like an out-of-tune 8th grade school band. - Pretty good, but, not good enough for a film.

Keeping a MIDI sound would give the film a uniquely "classic," (as JonnDthunDer puts it) sound. However, I do think that Nathan's right, and all that can be done to make it sound more realistic should be tested first. Perhaps it's time I get a program actually meant for recording tracks off of a MIDI piano... But, for now, I'll continue as I am, and hope for the best.

Not to say that I want to take the cheap way out, but, I really just want the best sound quality possible, with as little effort as possible. - Whenever I sit down and work on something for too long, I'll lose interest. So, the easier I can make this process, the better. (Good thing I'll be able to work even more on the score as I animate - something I hope I can start up soon)

Alright, Update time... But first:

I'd really like some opinions on the second musical test I did. Is it better than the first one? Worse? Does it have the same problems? Does it have new problems? - This would all be appreciated. I'd rather know that it sucks now, that to realize it after I'm burning DVD's.

Update:

Alright, so, "Immortalized" is moving along a little slowly, the voice acting section taking a little longer than I originally expected. Also, I've had a MAJOR catastrophe with my LEGO collection; I keep it all in my "studio," room, which is in the basement... Well, there was a bad storm recently, and the floor had about half-an-inch of water all around! Boxes have been ruined, instructions, ripped, but, thankfully, I had just recently bought more bins and shelves for my collection - none of my LEGO had water damage, and, nothing will have to be soaked and cleaned (apart from perhaps, the floor). However, I came to this conclusion after having to take nearly everything out of the room, and assess the situation. So, now I've got to sort through my collection all over again, and bring it back into the room! - That's gonna take a while, as, I had originally had heads/arms/legs separated... but, in the panic, had to just jumble them all together. So, though sorting through hands and studs isn't exactly what I want to do on the weekends, I'm going to have to if I want to maintain my collection, and continue brickfilming - both things I'm determined to always do.

So, It'll be a while before filming can begin.

In the meantime, I've started doing concept drawings! The first of which I reveal just under this text! I've started with character concepts, and then will move onto set/prop concepts as well. This first concept is of the hero himself, Johnny Thunder:

Now, I'd usually just shelf this cool idea, having it in view when I'm brickfilming, but not actually feature it in the final film, however, I loved my design so much, I just had to print some decals. Here's the figure, all decal-ed up: (P.S., I make a cameo here )

The back was inspired by the new LEGO movie Johnny fig, and, a little bit by the Bart Simpson fig, with the slingshot hanging from his belt:

And side view, with "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" style "A": (Also, just had to make a funny face)

I'm not sure if I'm going to use this decal version in the final film, but, I do think that it looks REALLY good.

Feedback is appreciated, as always.

Last edited by Dyland (June 23, 2014 (02:40pm))

I take it no one wants to comment on the song Alright. I hope that's a good thing, and you're all speechless. (I'll go with that)

It's actually the aspect ratio that I'm going to shoot (well, actually, edit) the film in. It's the same widescreen that Raiders of the Lost Ark and Atlantis the Lost Empire were filmed at. For those "used" to 4:3, 16:9, or even the "Academy Ratio," it can seem a little stretched and banner like... actually, very banner like. I may just re-upload the pic with the corrected letterbox bars at top and bottom (making the final pic 16:9) just to show what I mean, but, now that you've mentioned it, Jampot, it would make a pretty cool banner. I might do that sometime.

It's just a concept sketch that I drew on, well, a napkin, and scanned to my computer. It's not going to look very good, and, truly isn't a good example of my work. Though, it served it's purpose...

The decals were all actually hand-drawn, and, a much better representation of my artwork and attention to details. (I drew it at 3x the size on some paper, and then sized and colored it in the computer. BTW, the colors are the official LEGO color palette too!) But, thank you for pointing those out. There will be a 2d animated part of this film, and, I need to work on getting things precise in the meantime.

Aww, but I really, really, REALLY want to use the arm straps... Perhaps I can cut closer to the "A," and disguise the fact that it's a decal... I'll update on that soon.

I may have actually over-estimated the damage to the basement, and my collection. I think that I should be done sorting very soon, actually!

The song is tinny and still sounds like a MIDI, which I don't like. If that's the effect you were going for, then I guess you nailed it, but nowadays I think there's plenty of software available that allows the creation of music that doesn't sound like a MIDI.

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I guess I'll have to look into that, then. I feel that if I get Nathan Well's approval, I'm set. - Seriously, though, I really like your films, and would take your word with as much weight as that of Steven Spielberg on live action films! However, for this film, I may have to just use the technology that I have, and hope for the best... But, as it'll probably be a while before I can start filming, now's the time to look into different programs. Any suggestions, guys, before I start to google?

Thanks. I'm really trying my hardest, as, before, when I didn't give it my all, I ended up in three and a half years of pre-production... This time, I'm hoping for something to show for my work.

BTW, I use Windows computers, so, MAC programs are out, such as garageband.

If you're interested in composition software, Musescore is free. It's similar to programs like Sibelius or Finale. However, you will want to download a better MIDI for it from somewhere else (I found some decent free ones through a Google search), because the MIDI sounds it come with are pretty terrible in terms of quality.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll be sure to look into that. Though, at this point, I wouldn't be against whipping out some cash for a better program at this point, because this isn't the only film I'll compose for in the future. I plan on not only composing all of my future projects, but also composing for others on this site as much as I can.

I really love the color purple, and, have been using this torso for him for a few years now: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=973px175c01
So, that's probably perverted my interpretation of his outfit. Though I still like my design, I may have to do some more digging into Johnny Thunder "folklore," and make sure I haven't strayed too far from the original characters themselves. Though, I do want to stand out, and be a bit different, so, we'll see.

That's the problem with concept art (and my drawing abilities), as, I can't always portray exactly what's in my mind for the characters. For Harry's redesign, I pictured his attire being somewhat of a cross between The Rocketeer and Indiana Jones (specifically, Indy's jacket). In order, he's wearing a black turtle-neck sweater, with a red (I can change to dark red, but, wanted to mainly keep to the LEGO color palette pre-color change) sort of jacket, and then a dark coat over that... When I go to design the decals, I'll be sure to be a little more precise in showing this.

Decals, when printed onto paper usually do look really tacky, I agree. (Just look at my Johnny Thunder test torso, as seen earlier in this thread) However, I have recently acquired some slide-film type of sheets; the decal sheets that model kits use (The ones you have to dip into warm water, and then slide off into place... very delicate, and hard to do, however, it looks just as real as genuine LEGO decals when done with proper lines and colors) I intend to experiment with this when creating the decals, thus creating pretty realistic torsos/heads for my characters.

However, if that doesn't work, I will revert to using the original (or, at least, official LEGO) torsos. But, thanks for the concerns, Pritchard. It's nice to know that others care about my project being the best it can be, aside from myself.

Yes they are *stairs at two names in my voice actors list.* Friendly reminders... I'll try to make sure I let them know that I am, in fact, waiting, yet, don't turn them off from the project, or insult them in ANY way.

I will still send you, as well as everyone else, an update email, as, I have started editing some little elements of the script in the meantime, and thus, even with the others' changes that I'll need to keep in mind, I think it's safe to say that enough changes have been made that I should, at the least, inform everyone, and see what other input I get on scenes. (Specifically your input, Pritchard. You suggestions have not only been the most in depth, but, have also been the most helpful so far. )