Graphic Novel I made using Daz Studio
LeslieSOsborne
Posts: 54
The Monkey (Part One: Hello World)
https://youtu.be/9jkeA3nMUFA
CLICK ON THE IMAGE to view the video. Or follow the above link to view on YouTube.
I created "The Monkey" using:
Daz Studio
Daz Hexagon
Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe After Effects
Kindle Comic Creator
I have been thinking of sharing some of my experiences creating it.Let me know if that would be of interest and I'll keep it in mind as I start "Part Two" so I can consider taking screen caps and maybe even video tutorials for some key elements.
Post edited by LeslieSOsborne on
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Comments
Nice trailer, although the first few screens go by a bit too quick for me.
My first thought too.
You have a lovely voice Lesley, if that was you doing the narration. Congrats on your production and book!
The above image contains 4 different panels from "The Monkey" (Part One: Hello World). I did the time travel FX in Adobe After Effects using image layers in the same way I would when working with live action video clips. I exported the image layers from Daz Studio with transparencies when needed. I imported the Daz Studio assets along with with others (make note of the dust) as needed. After I was pleased with the composite I exported it, in PSD format, for final touch up in PhotoShop.
Thank you SteveM17 and Novica for looking at the "trailer" and for your positive commentary and feedback on what didn't work for you.
The first few screens go by quickly because they are "copyright", etc screens and not the story itself. Then it slows down to keep pace with the narration. The goal is to give viewers a sense of a graphic novel that reviews say is an "interesting, one-of-a-kind book" that is "wonderfully told in a suspenseful, quirky way". It's not intended to be a substitute for actually reading the actual graphic novel.
But knowing what didn't work for you is very helpful. If I decide to modify or update the video slowing down the first few screens, and even having different narration describe 'copyright by' and 'based on' is a realitively easy thing to do. If I had set out to create an actual video trailer I would have planned a :15 sec spot and maybe even a :30. I am not really sure if book trailers sell books. What do you think?
The narration was created for a recent radio interview I did. I accidentally created the video by importing the narration into Premiere Pro to make sure it had a pace that gave a sense of who Modo, the main character, is. That way I could listen to the narration and focus on how it felt and compared to the panels. I liked the accidental video so much I decided to put it online as a "trailer".
The original video did ok on Facebook/Youtube as far as views andlikes. The version I linked to in this post is re-upload with the updated cover.
I was a little surprised when I first saw a book trailer video (it was for a regular novel, not a graphic novel), but it got me into the right mood. So I think it definitely pulls people towards buying it.
How long is your novel? It's strange that Amazon gives me the filesize, but not how many pages long it is.
That is a nice narration, Leslie. The audio recording could be improved with mic placement but your voice and delivery could get you VO work! I did a couple VOs for an author in England who was putting up promotional videos and she thought they worked for her. I think she found someone more affordable for her since.
Thank you Ati and Kevin Sanderson for your positive commentary and feedback.
Ati, "The Monkey" (Part One: Hello World) is 100+ pages right now. Soon I hope to update what's there to include Part Two: Periphery. So, for those who get Part One for Kindle (viewable via the free Kindle app for Android, iOS, Windows or via 'the cloud') at some point will have Part Two as a free update.
Kevin Sanderson, when you reference "improved with mic placement" it is my assumption that you are referencing the somewhat perceptible 'hard b' sound in some of the spoken words? Is this a correct assumption? What specific audio issue are you addressing?
I have posted, often enough, about technical video or audio stuff. As a suggestion for any future posts of yours; sometimes it's a little easier, when we post, to add more information as a reference. Your voiceover samples are nice any additional specific references will be of value to anyone reading our posts hours, weeks, months, or years beyond the initial date of our posts.
The voice over was a very welcomed addition to a radio interview. If anyone is in a situation where they are on a radio or podcast discussing their work I highly recommend taking the short amount of time to create an audio version version of your work. It can be a read-through, like I provided, or a narrative description of your work. As a reminder, the 'book trailer' I created was an add-on to an audio version of The Monkey that I created for a readio interview I participated in.
Yep, Leslie, that's the issue, and you can easily solve it by moving the microphone maybe an inch farther away and by talking across it so the implosives don't vibrate the microphone's diaphragm . A windscreen can help but isn't needed.
Thanks. I actually went ahead and bought it yesterday. The graphics are really nice. I personally don't do much sci-fi, but the style of the renders is lovely.
Thank you Ati for the feedback. I hope I continue to provide you with nice graphics with the upcoming update to Part One. I look forward to sharing what I hope proves to be a resonating addition to the current storyline.
I feel lucky that "The Monkey" has been well recieved by those who do not usually pick up sci-fi, as well as, those who do. I am not genre specific when it comes to what I read or watch. I tend to genre hop to wherever I think there might be a good story and/or good entertainment. When I wrote The Monkey, and as I have worked on it, it has been in the spirit of the story and characters and not as a specific genre piece.
I look forward to part 2! :)
Modo gets sideswiped by another Time Traveler + After Effects timeline showing some of the FX filters
In "The Monkey" (Part One: Hello World) I created the time travel visuals by exporting a Daz Studio composition in two or more layers and importing them into After Effects. These consisted of:
In After Effects I added a mask to the time traveler that I scaled up or down depending on whether the time traveler was coming or going. I also added keyframes for opacity thta went from 0-100 or 100-0 depending on whether the time travler is coming or going. I added an adjustment layer with a Turbulent Dispace effect added to it to add distortion to the "air" to accent the effect. I exported "frame caps" from After Effects as PSD files and did final polish, etc, in Photoshop.
I could have composited the panels by exporting from Daz Studo and importing into Photoshop with a slightly different workflow. One of the resons I brought my workflow into After Effects was:
Ati, upon reflection of your post.
I'm pretty sure it was NOT this one, this has animation, that one didn't. But this, too, is a nice trailer for a printed book. The other one was by the same publisher, but I can't find it now.
That was nice. I appreciate you sharing. I think I may actually look at some other book trailers just to see what's "out there".
I have been thinking about starting a KickStarter campaign to facilitate sharing the full story of "The Monkey", as well as, the intertwining story it related to.
I thought the read-thru trailer in the first post works quite well. I thought your voice had an even disinterest matter of fact approach that can work well with sci-fi. Had me curious enough to go check out the Amazon page and the web site. I would have liked a little more on the Amazon page, like a synopsis of the story and perhaps a couple pagescans of the actual book. When it comes to graphic novels, I'll buy a book for the art, the way it looks on the page, how it flows, if the art on the page interests me as I'm flipping through the pages, I'll buy. but I'll keep reading the following chapters if the story engages me and triggers my interest. Two separate decisions at play there.
Leslie, here's a link to an author in England, Jill Thrussel, I did some voiceovers for a few years ago. She did all the production. I only voiced them and sent her the raw files. I only found one of them I voiced as it seems she writes a lot! It appears she is now using actors but is definitely still producing trailers for her books.
http://www.jillthrussell.co.uk/loventruth/
You can download a free sample of the book.
Just out of curiousity, how much does a typical voiceover cost? I've checked a few websites that do voiceovers, and at first I could not believe the price they gave. I guess they are okay for a professional production, but not for an indie book.
It depends on the end use, length of the script, and who's doing it. Prices are all over. The famous pros get a lot of money because they are who they are, and often for them union rates/agents come into play. There are the folks who make a living doing this and charge a higher rate, but not the star rate. Then you have the people like me who do decent work but charge more affordable pricing. Then there are the people who scrape the bottom of the barrel, charge very little, and I hate to say most of them sound like it. They are making it tough for all of us as there are people who just want a voice and have no clue or don't care about quality. They want Wal-Mart pricing.
For the Intermet, depending on how long the script is and what it's for, I charge from $35 (for under 30 seconds) to over $200 for much longer scripts. Usually, most short Internet stuff I do is coming out to around $50 to $95 (usually :45 seconds to a minute). I charge more for standard narrations (instructional, corporate promotional), and more for broadcast commercials, depending on length and the market(s) they will air in. Many times I will work on what a producer has in their budget if it's reasonable, and if it's a longer project, if I can take my time doing it as time and energy is at a premium for me since I work a split shift doing traffic reports for TV and Radio, and I'm not getting any younger.
Some VO people will work for a little less for indie productions (they usually don't advertise it), but be prepared to pay up front because too many of us have been stiffed by indie producers. The red flags go up when someone wants a bargain rate. That usually means they don't have the money and will be extremely fussy/demanding. The good indie producers, as has been my experience, pay up front, usually after a brief audition paragraph or two of their script if they have a question about how it will sound.
I see. Thank you!
Next question to Leslie: you have a "Best Seller" sticker on the cover. What do you have to achieve to be allowed to use this?
KA1, you won't know if you don't try since you own what you need to record. Sometimes, the writer knows better how the dialogue should be read. So you could be fine for your characters.
This is a good point!! I have all the recording gears from when I was making music, too often though the idea in my head never came out in the sound. With 3d art I seem to be able to realise my ideas so switched hobby!
I may give it a shot as it is only narration I'd be looking at, not quite Robin Williams enough to voice all my characters!!