100 x 3 second 3D Renders
June 18, 2021 2:29 PM Subscribe
Based on the same 3 second model, 2400 CGI artists submitted their own interpretation. These are the 100 best. (SLYT)
Awesome!
It's like a twitch feed from various multiverses where Hideo Kojima settled on a different aesthetic for Death Stranding.
posted by justkevin at 2:47 PM on June 18, 2021 [10 favorites]
It's like a twitch feed from various multiverses where Hideo Kojima settled on a different aesthetic for Death Stranding.
posted by justkevin at 2:47 PM on June 18, 2021 [10 favorites]
Eye guy will be appearing in a nightmare soon.
Why can't science fiction movies be this good?
So much back story is packed into 3 seconds. Really beautiful. They're releasing all 2400 in a fun 2.5 hour cut, would be hypnotic. Would be curious to see stats on the 3D tools, I bet there are a lot in Blender, which is quite close to being as powerful as Maya.
posted by sammyo at 3:04 PM on June 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
Why can't science fiction movies be this good?
So much back story is packed into 3 seconds. Really beautiful. They're releasing all 2400 in a fun 2.5 hour cut, would be hypnotic. Would be curious to see stats on the 3D tools, I bet there are a lot in Blender, which is quite close to being as powerful as Maya.
posted by sammyo at 3:04 PM on June 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
CGI artists sure do love giant hoverspheres.
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 3:11 PM on June 18, 2021 [22 favorites]
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 3:11 PM on June 18, 2021 [22 favorites]
CGI artists sure do love giant hoverspheres.
And dystopias. Lots and lots of dystopias.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:21 PM on June 18, 2021 [14 favorites]
And dystopias. Lots and lots of dystopias.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:21 PM on June 18, 2021 [14 favorites]
I was wondering about the giant hoverspheres. Every clip has something basically spherical in the upper right, sometimes just as background and sometimes as part of the action (and sometimes as negative space). Was that part of the model they were given too?
posted by wanderingmind at 3:23 PM on June 18, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by wanderingmind at 3:23 PM on June 18, 2021 [10 favorites]
Yeah, don't like the "pulling something" aesthetic. Make the figures look weird...
posted by Windopaene at 3:28 PM on June 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Windopaene at 3:28 PM on June 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
Was that part of the model they were given too?
Yes - found this linked in the comments
posted by jontyjago at 3:28 PM on June 18, 2021 [18 favorites]
Yes - found this linked in the comments
posted by jontyjago at 3:28 PM on June 18, 2021 [18 favorites]
> the "pulling something" aesthetic
In the grim darkness of the near future there is only drudgery.
posted by glonous keming at 3:45 PM on June 18, 2021 [4 favorites]
In the grim darkness of the near future there is only drudgery.
posted by glonous keming at 3:45 PM on June 18, 2021 [4 favorites]
Was that part of the model they were given too?
I thought the first one was what they were given, no? It's the only one with the credit in a diff place.
posted by dobbs at 4:03 PM on June 18, 2021
I thought the first one was what they were given, no? It's the only one with the credit in a diff place.
posted by dobbs at 4:03 PM on June 18, 2021
I liked the owls.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:07 PM on June 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:07 PM on June 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
It's striking how many imagined future dystopias are essentially identical, but also striking how original some of the others are in contrast.
posted by klanawa at 4:28 PM on June 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by klanawa at 4:28 PM on June 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
> Yeah, don't like the "pulling something" aesthetic.
More than a few have figures facing a headwind, blast of fire, or reaching for ropes. Kind of surprised nobody tried animating a figure pushing a shopping cart full of toilet paper. Although that would probably still be trapped in the general dystopian aesthetic.
posted by ardgedee at 4:33 PM on June 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
More than a few have figures facing a headwind, blast of fire, or reaching for ropes. Kind of surprised nobody tried animating a figure pushing a shopping cart full of toilet paper. Although that would probably still be trapped in the general dystopian aesthetic.
posted by ardgedee at 4:33 PM on June 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
MAN this is great.
I'm struck by how good an idea it was to use an animation setup that already has a story: a lone figure struggling to move forward but persisting, under a large looming shape. That's a compelling narrative just waiting for a world to be built around it. And in fairness to all the animators who made dystopias, physical struggle isn't something we generally associate with a happy world.
It's also really interesting to see what depictions worked with the animation, and which seemed a little 'off' to the lizard brain part of us that processes these things. I found the depictions of someone pulling a low and heavy object generally worked pretty well, while the interpretations of someone pushing forward didn't click for me - with the exception of my favourite.
posted by ZaphodB at 5:01 PM on June 18, 2021 [7 favorites]
I'm struck by how good an idea it was to use an animation setup that already has a story: a lone figure struggling to move forward but persisting, under a large looming shape. That's a compelling narrative just waiting for a world to be built around it. And in fairness to all the animators who made dystopias, physical struggle isn't something we generally associate with a happy world.
It's also really interesting to see what depictions worked with the animation, and which seemed a little 'off' to the lizard brain part of us that processes these things. I found the depictions of someone pulling a low and heavy object generally worked pretty well, while the interpretations of someone pushing forward didn't click for me - with the exception of my favourite.
posted by ZaphodB at 5:01 PM on June 18, 2021 [7 favorites]
the next time someone comments on my outfit I'm gonna tell them it's the "pulling something" aesthetic.
posted by ZaphodB at 5:05 PM on June 18, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by ZaphodB at 5:05 PM on June 18, 2021 [4 favorites]
the "pulling something" aesthetic
As ZaphodB says, I'd imagine that the challenge of justifying this visually (in particular actually creating an impression of force) and narratively is part of the thinking behind the source material.
And in fairness to all the animators who made dystopias, physical struggle isn't something we generally associate with a happy world.
I think this association also predisposes viewers to read sci-fi/futuristic elements as dystopian, even when it's not clear that these are actually oppressive worlds. We're primed to read "person physically struggling in sci-fi world" as "dystopian", especially because it contrasts with a utopian Golden Age sci-fi which tended to assume that physical effort and pain would be eliminated by technology.
posted by howfar at 5:22 PM on June 18, 2021 [7 favorites]
As ZaphodB says, I'd imagine that the challenge of justifying this visually (in particular actually creating an impression of force) and narratively is part of the thinking behind the source material.
And in fairness to all the animators who made dystopias, physical struggle isn't something we generally associate with a happy world.
I think this association also predisposes viewers to read sci-fi/futuristic elements as dystopian, even when it's not clear that these are actually oppressive worlds. We're primed to read "person physically struggling in sci-fi world" as "dystopian", especially because it contrasts with a utopian Golden Age sci-fi which tended to assume that physical effort and pain would be eliminated by technology.
posted by howfar at 5:22 PM on June 18, 2021 [7 favorites]
cue up some 70 or 140bpm music for resync
posted by subbasshead at 5:31 PM on June 18, 2021
posted by subbasshead at 5:31 PM on June 18, 2021
"Anonymous figure moving laboriously with giant circle on the upper right" does strike me as an open invitation to dystopian narratives. An "anonymous figure jumping for joy with small circle on the ground" animation skeleton might have been less dystopic (though I'm sure dystopia would have crept in here and there).
posted by treepour at 5:45 PM on June 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by treepour at 5:45 PM on June 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
That was gorgeous for all the sheer storytelling possibilities - and Singapore was in one of them! I loved the alien figure ones the most because it made the hunched forward posture feel more interesting than just pulling/pushing. Seconding the eyes as a standout.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:43 PM on June 18, 2021
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:43 PM on June 18, 2021
There’s a Miyazaki riff amidst the dystopias that is so lovely.
posted by wemayfreeze at 7:28 PM on June 18, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by wemayfreeze at 7:28 PM on June 18, 2021 [9 favorites]
The Miyazaki one was good, I am a little sad that nobody tried to do Batman and Robin crawling up a building while various celebrities opened their "windows."
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:56 PM on June 18, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:56 PM on June 18, 2021 [7 favorites]
These are beautiful. I wish more animators had used a female character-- it kind of shows that when people think of "generic figure", they normally come up with a generic male figure.
posted by zompist at 9:54 PM on June 18, 2021 [13 favorites]
posted by zompist at 9:54 PM on June 18, 2021 [13 favorites]
Sorry to keep on with the "pulling something" thing, but for all the ones where the artist decided to depict the actor as not pulling something, or otherwise acting against some some of lateral force, every single one of those looks wrong and is an immersion-break for me. I'm not some kinesthetic genius, I'm just some jerk, but if a body is merely carrying something heavy on their back, physics don't work like that! They would fall right over on their face, or stumble forward as their "automatic walking system" tries to get their legs under the weight.
The criticism above is also why I can't watch CGI-heavy movies: most of them are poorly animated with reguard to kinesthetics. These CGI artists need to spend way more time watching actual humans work and move. Seeing so many of these deemed "100 best" fail in such a way really makes me wonder.
That said, almost all of them contain beautiful art and display great imagination. I won't argue against that at all.
posted by glonous keming at 10:08 PM on June 18, 2021 [7 favorites]
The criticism above is also why I can't watch CGI-heavy movies: most of them are poorly animated with reguard to kinesthetics. These CGI artists need to spend way more time watching actual humans work and move. Seeing so many of these deemed "100 best" fail in such a way really makes me wonder.
That said, almost all of them contain beautiful art and display great imagination. I won't argue against that at all.
posted by glonous keming at 10:08 PM on June 18, 2021 [7 favorites]
I liked the hamburger one, stood out as pretty original in a series which was pretty similar, for all their differences of detail.
posted by maxwelton at 10:09 PM on June 18, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by maxwelton at 10:09 PM on June 18, 2021 [5 favorites]
The labored motion aesthetic worked well for the few where the implied medium was "underwater" rather than simply "heavy headwind".
The variety of "hauling a body" options was - in my opinion -- capped by this, a delicious dystopia I'd genuinely enjoy exploring.
posted by abulafa at 3:29 AM on June 19, 2021
The variety of "hauling a body" options was - in my opinion -- capped by this, a delicious dystopia I'd genuinely enjoy exploring.
posted by abulafa at 3:29 AM on June 19, 2021
It's like that dream where I can barely move my legs.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 6:29 AM on June 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by paper chromatographologist at 6:29 AM on June 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
but for all the ones where the artist decided to depict the actor as not pulling something, or otherwise acting against some some of lateral force, every single one of those looks wrong and is an immersion-break for me.
Even the shaving cream?
posted by MtDewd at 6:35 AM on June 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
Even the shaving cream?
posted by MtDewd at 6:35 AM on June 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
This one by Lukas Eberle made me gasp with surprise when it didn't make the final. Such a visceral interpretation to be reaching out to a safety line just flapping out of reach. Chilling!
posted by Static Vagabond at 7:35 AM on June 19, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Static Vagabond at 7:35 AM on June 19, 2021 [5 favorites]
Even the shaving cream?
posted by MtDewd at 9:35 AM on June 19
Wait, how does your shaving cream behave?
posted by ZaphodB at 8:23 AM on June 19, 2021
posted by MtDewd at 9:35 AM on June 19
Wait, how does your shaving cream behave?
posted by ZaphodB at 8:23 AM on June 19, 2021
Yeah, don't like the "pulling something" aesthetic.
Content aside, that's a big part of the technical challenge. There are three overarching technical categories addressed in this contest: 1.) Modeling: the geometry of objects and detail in the world. Extra points for non-linear / particle system based things like smoke or shaving cream. 2.) Lighting, and its subset materials: the way light illuminates the colors and tones of objects, how the light falls off into shadows and how it reflects between the objects and 3.) Character animation: the motion of the person pulling something.
Character animation is almost a separate discipline in that we all know how humans move. This makes creating realistic human motion very hard. Note glonous keming's comments above. And there is a paradox with characters: the closer we get to making them real the further away we are as the viewer keeps expecting more. E,g, when Evan Sutherland first made a vector stick figure move in 1968 (?) everyone went nuts. Now if one adds hair to a character it better fall correctly with every hair blowing perfeclty the wind.
By giving everyone a specific motion for the character it's easier to compare and judge the results. Tnx for posting!
posted by Dean358 at 11:14 AM on June 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
Content aside, that's a big part of the technical challenge. There are three overarching technical categories addressed in this contest: 1.) Modeling: the geometry of objects and detail in the world. Extra points for non-linear / particle system based things like smoke or shaving cream. 2.) Lighting, and its subset materials: the way light illuminates the colors and tones of objects, how the light falls off into shadows and how it reflects between the objects and 3.) Character animation: the motion of the person pulling something.
Character animation is almost a separate discipline in that we all know how humans move. This makes creating realistic human motion very hard. Note glonous keming's comments above. And there is a paradox with characters: the closer we get to making them real the further away we are as the viewer keeps expecting more. E,g, when Evan Sutherland first made a vector stick figure move in 1968 (?) everyone went nuts. Now if one adds hair to a character it better fall correctly with every hair blowing perfeclty the wind.
By giving everyone a specific motion for the character it's easier to compare and judge the results. Tnx for posting!
posted by Dean358 at 11:14 AM on June 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
So good I had to watch them again at quarter speed to catch more detail. Much love for the final one, Julienne Aldric's green screen studio scene.
posted by valetta at 9:18 PM on June 19, 2021
posted by valetta at 9:18 PM on June 19, 2021
The shaving cream one was my favorite. It's the only one that made me do a double take
posted by Popular Ethics at 7:21 AM on June 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Popular Ethics at 7:21 AM on June 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
wanna see the 100 worst
posted by doctorfrog at 11:27 AM on June 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by doctorfrog at 11:27 AM on June 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
The second one is a cool Simon Stålenhag reference. Twitter link.
I visited the artist MrKlay's youtube page, and it has a "making of" video, showing the layers.
Someone mentioned the "shopping cart shaky wheels". Sure enough, the stretcher keeps going off course and getting shoved back. Subtle.
He says it took 40 hours to make it.
posted by jjj606 at 12:08 PM on June 20, 2021
I visited the artist MrKlay's youtube page, and it has a "making of" video, showing the layers.
Someone mentioned the "shopping cart shaky wheels". Sure enough, the stretcher keeps going off course and getting shoved back. Subtle.
He says it took 40 hours to make it.
posted by jjj606 at 12:08 PM on June 20, 2021
That was a really interesting watch. I caught myself thinking about the pervasive blandness of algorithmically generated game worlds, like in Minecraft but especially No Man's Sky, where after a couple of hours of play you can easily see the building blocks of the world. In contrast, these snippets of human-generated worlds made me want to investigate every single one of them.
posted by Harald74 at 2:10 AM on June 21, 2021
posted by Harald74 at 2:10 AM on June 21, 2021
For those who wanted to see the Ghibliesque snippet but blinked, it's at approximately 4:46.
posted by Harald74 at 2:11 AM on June 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Harald74 at 2:11 AM on June 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
Wait, how does your shaving cream behave?
I forget. I haven't used any in 20 years. The last bit I had might have gotten up and left that way, feeling unwanted.
posted by MtDewd at 2:50 PM on June 21, 2021
I forget. I haven't used any in 20 years. The last bit I had might have gotten up and left that way, feeling unwanted.
posted by MtDewd at 2:50 PM on June 21, 2021
These are lovely and now I have 100 different movies that I'd put into my queue, just to see this scene in all of the different contexts!
posted by jquinby at 1:47 PM on June 22, 2021
posted by jquinby at 1:47 PM on June 22, 2021
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