posted
I'll just mention this quickly as I really should be getting some sleep. I picked up the new Ships of the Line calendar today, $24.95 from Angus & Robertson. It's damn fine work and probably the best so far of the SotLs (I'll go into greater detail tomorrow). The only real disappointment is that it uses the horizontal orientation of the 2001 calendar (how the hell are you supposed to hang it?). Anyway, more later.
posted
Actually, I'm sort of glad that they returned to the horizontal format... I like the widescreen images.
As I've stated before, it's better than last year, but still isn't better than 2001's. There are some excellent shots, like the NX-01 in orbit of Earth (love the detail!) and the F-104 next to the original Enterprise (pulled off seamlessly), but some were just plain misses, like the Enterprise-D saucer on Veridian III (they could have at least tried to do it in CGI, and even then there are better ways to show the E-D) and Decker's shuttlecraft heading towards the planet killer (the Constellation would have been a better choice, but I guess they wanted to show off the Galileo mesh). Fortunately, there isn't anything as bad as the month of workbees.
And on a side note: unless I missed a name in the credits, it looks like Eden FX, Digital Domain, and even Foundation had nothing to do with the calendar, when I know they have been for the past two years. Anyone know if Mojo worked on the calendar this year?
Registered: May 2002
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posted
Er, don't confuse Digital Domain with Digital Muse! The former did effects for Apollo 13, Titanic, and now Nemesis, the latter for the sixth and seventh seasons of DS9 and some VOY episodes. Most of the people from Muse went to Eden FX after it was dissolved.
I posted a review at amazon.com a while ago -- it was helpful to three out of three people, the highest rating any reviewer of the calendar received, and was even a Spotlight Review for a few days. I won't brag more than that, however.
I'm not sure about exactly who worked on the previous calendars, but Mojo is a freelancer now, and I understand the images in the calendar were made by him unless credited otherwise. The other people credited seem to be his former colleagues from Foundation Imaging and a few others (Andrew Bradbury built the Defiant model and contributed an image for the calendar). I'd guess that the Steve Burg credited on one image is the same guy who designed the Starfuries for B5, for instance, although I'm not sure he ever worked for Foundation.
I didn't like the calendar as much as the previous two, simply because it seems that in trying to make the Unseen Frontier as unseen as possible, he decided to make this an almost totally "seen" frontier. The Veridian image is even credited ILM, suggesting that it's rather a framegrab. I could've got more original images by browsing through some of the posts at the 3D Gladiators forum, which is where Mojo has been trying to recruit some of his contributors for Unseen Frontier.
I'm not saying that one couldn't have been original even with such a tight restriction, but I don't feel they succeeded here. Nothing could grab my attention as much as that pilot next to a workbee standing on the Ent-D's nacelle pylon (from the 2002 calendar).
quote:Originally posted by Boris: Nothing could grab my attention as much as that pilot next to a workbee standing on the Ent-D's nacelle pylon (from the 2002 calendar).
What I would give for that to be in widescreen format...
Registered: May 2002
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posted
I liked the shot of the Escape Pods decending to safety with the burning Miranda Class Leonov plummeting through the atmosphere. Would it have killed them to put a registry on the hull and the pods? Inquiring minds like mine want to know!
I hadn't noticed before that the CG Defiant had a 'United Federation of Planets' marking behind the nose section before.
[ November 15, 2002, 08:39: Message edited by: SoundEffect ]
posted
Definitely looking forward to getting this calendar!
Boris: Is Mojo still working on "The Unseen Frontier," then? I thought it'd been shelved...
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
I'm not sure about the book's current status, but it was very much in the works a year ago when Mojo had a completed calendar cover and a pretty good idea about its contents. See this thread:
posted
In the Veridian scene, what is that rather large shuttle? It looks like a City of New Orleans runabout, almost. It's the one right next to the word "July".
-------------------- I haul cardboard and cardboard accessories
Registered: Mar 1999
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Fortunately, there isn't anything as bad as the month of workbees.
Well, it should be a good Calendar!! I *LOVED* That shot - and no I'm not being sarcastic. It was a really REALISTIC shot. Well done to Mojo for that one. It was like you were literally walking out onto a deck of ?space station? and seeing all the neatly parked work-bees. I loved it. Very realistic rendering.
quote:Originally posted by Starship Millennium: Anyone know if Mojo worked on the calendar this year?
Mark Nguyen might know - he worked on "Unseen" with Mojo I think.
Andrew
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
capped
I WAS IN THE FUTURE, IT WAS TOO LATE TO RSVP
Member # 709
posted
i loved the workbees.
the fuzzy defiant i could have done without.. same for the 'planetside' voyager and k't'inga.. yuk
hey im looking at mine right now.. too bad he forgot to include lotsa empty uniforms on the Exeter bridge. oh well, no biggie.
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
I wanna see the workbees and the escape pods also.
-------------------- "It speaks to some basic human needs: that there is a tomorrow, it's not all going to be over with a big splash and a bomb, that the human race is improving, that we have things to be proud of as humans." -Gene Roddenberry about Star Trek
Registered: May 1999
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The Ent-E on the cover, I'm thinking it's the new model from Digital Domain. The E is looking good here. The blocky bits under the nacelles (at the end of the pylons) look a bit different in that they angle into the nacelle -- perhaps one of the changes that Eaves requested.
May, all those Defiant/Voyager type escape pods coming from a Miranda is a bit unheard of. Looks good though.
Although the centrefold is "stock footage" from FC, it's still nice to have a big and clear picture of that scene.
July, again, some nice stock from Generations. I would've prefered something new instead though.
August, Andrew Bradbury's new CG Defiant is very impressive. Easily the best CG Defiant model so far. It's likely a mistake that the Jemmy bug is firing from its back-side.
Overall I think this is the best quality SotL so far. The CG models are consistently of good quality. There's also some nice variety with plenty of colour, atmosphere, and realism. I'm gonna be forced to hang this on the wall but also to hang my head to view it.
quote:Originally posted by LET CAPTAIN = MIKE THEN GOTO 10: hey im looking at mine right now.. too bad he forgot to include lotsa empty uniforms on the Exeter bridge. oh well, no biggie.
There's no scene with the Exeter in the calendar...
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Oh yes there is. It's the picture of the month between March and April...
-------------------- Lister: Don't give me the "Star Trek" crap! It's too early in the morning. - Red Dwarf "The Last Day"
Registered: Nov 1999
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