Beefed Up Battle School

Did the Strategos or Polemarch order those upgrades to Battle School from the time of the first trailer to the latest TV spot?

First Trailer Battle School....

...and the latest Battle School upgrades. 

Hopefully they have some gun emplacements and some escort fighters on that thing now, after all, you are housing your greatest strategist there. #Militarytarget

Ender's Shadow Poster

 

From Ender's Ansible:

Possible ‘Ender’s Shadow’ Television Show

Still like to see a movie though.....

 

The Darkside of Ender's Game Movie Promotion

There is a new and final Ender's Game Movie Poster that will be coming out today over at IGN.com
Which I am sure will be polished and beautiful, but I still would like to see some promotion that caters to the darker elements of the story and to Ender's character.

OK maybe that is a bit too much.... It's a sci-fi movie not a horror show. The background image of the blood flowing into the drain comes from the work of this photographer, Ross Golden.

Check out some of his awesome work.

When I read the book as a younger man, I thought Ender was totally justified in his actions of taking lives in the defense of his own and humanity. Upon rereading multiple times, I don't feel the same as I did then. Which is weird because I now understand how the sentiment of humanity turned from seeing Ender as its savior to someone who is the object of scorn. Time to reread Speaker for the Dead with different eyes and heart.

That was one of moral questions that confronts you in the book that I hope is not watered down in the midst of the lush visuals in the movie. RIP Stilson, Bonzo, and the whole Formic Race.

 

 

Ender's Game Propaganda Posters! I like how this is shaping up!

Over at the IF-Sentinel.com site there has been some new and welcome updates. First, a MUCH better site layout and graphics and also some new propaganda posters encouraging everyone to join the IF to fight the Buggers, oops, I mean Formics. Take a look.

As you well know I did some fan propaganda posters latter half of 2012... I am pleased that some of the themes of the posters that I derived and resonated with me and other Ender's Game fans from the book also made it into the Movie marketing campaign. I hope to see more!

 

Although, not a propaganda poster, I do like how the Flash Suits for the movie are more in line with how I envisioned them back in 2001. Being more like a motorcycle suit, slender, not so bulky as portrayed in the comic adaptation.

The Battle Room in Detail- Part 1

When Summit and company finally dropped the first official movie poster for the Ender's Game movie we finally to get a more in depth peek into Ender's world, more specifically the Battle Room.

 

In a phone  interview with Yahoo Movies , the film's director Gavin Hood gives more specifics about the Battle Room. Equipped with that information and using some of my 3D modeling skills in Trimble Sketchup I am able to give you a more complete understanding of how I think the Battle Room will look in the movie.  

In case you live under a rock the Battle Room in the movie will be drastically different than what you read about in the book. If you want to see and in depth book designed Battle School check out this presentation by "The First Battle School Engineer," Steve Sywak here .

First difference is there is only one Battle Room, not nine. Also, another major difference highlighted in the Yahoo interview

        "is that in the original text the Battle Room is described as being a giant hollow cube. But Hood felt that to really convey the size and dimensionality of the space, it should be spherical. Hood said he then proposed, “What if we could see through? What if we could see out of the space, and we’re moving around the Earth and turning at the same time?” He said he felt that would create “a really strange, disorienting experience,” that would better capture the notion in the book that in space there really is no up or down."

So with that explanation in mind, plus information I gleaned from the poster, and other information I gleaned from a not meant to be seen picture that popped up on the internet, I am able to develop a general model of what the Battle Room in movie could look like. (click the picture for an expanded view)

 "So how big is the interior of the Battle Room? Hood said, “This is the high school football field, only it’s in three dimensions. It’s the size of a football field in all directions: up, down, left, right. And the idea is teams jump out from opposite ends of this amazing space and play this amazing game of 3D paintball, almost.”

 Football Field Image from Ducksters.com

From Steve Sywak's analysis of the Battle Room from the story and his further detailed explanation in the Authorized Ender's Game Companion being a cube of 75 m (246 ft), it looks the Movie Battle Room will be much larger and with views of Earth and Space providing backdrops to the battles.

I have provided a couple of point of view snap shots of what it would be like to be in the Battle Room during daylight and night time hours.

Of course the structural elements  that you see in my model are just guestimations about their arrangements from the poster, but as we get more visuals I can refine it to match. That's all for this post. In my next post I will talk about Stars and Flash suits!

For now I will leave you with some screen captures of my model of the Battle Room in Google Earth:

 Aww Snap! A Battle just erupted!! Which way is the Enemy's Gate???!!!!

Army in flight!

 From Opposite Gate POV

Formics, Flash Suits, and the VFX Industry

It's been an exciting couple weeks in the Ender's Game Movie Universe with the release of another movie still and some logos of Battle School Armies. Every time I see new pictures that show how they are bringing the movie to life, it makes me want to see more.

I go searching for movie related imagery on the internet, mainly using the IMDB, to look up the artists who are working on the movie and then check their online portfolios. (if they have them)

Most of the time I don't get anything, but other times I hit pay dirt.

My latest find comes from a marvelous CG artist named Frank Belardo, check his work out here at www.chiselingpixels.com. His work is phenomenal! Frank happens to be doing work on Ender's Game, but these images are NOT, I REPEAT, NOT, IMAGERY FROM THE MOVIE. He lists these as sketches in his portfolio on his website. Of course, If I get a request to take them down and they disappear from the said artist website ...then you make your own judgements. Not like it hasn't happened before *blank stare*

Again, THESE ARE NOT FROM THE MOVIE...

...but if it was... I wouldn't be mad because they are close too how I envisioned a few things. My first picture resembles how I thought a Formic would look.

 

I'm not going to spend time trying to find a quote from the book and match the description, his picture just reminded me of my own vision, as you can see below.

Frank also created a model in his portfiolio that he called "Future G Suit" that I think would be perfect for a Flash Suit.

It is form fitting with protective padding much like a motorcycle rider suit. Below is how I envisioned the Flash Suits.

I make posts like this because not only do I want to see the world that they are creating inspired by one of my most favorite books I have ever read, but more importantly, to highlight the awesome artists who are bringing their expertise to this film. These people are not just names that roll with the credits at the end of the film, they make the vision that you see on screen. They create the environment and the action that allows you to suspend your belief and enjoy the story at it's full capacity. They provide you an escape route to entertainment and make it possible for "unfilmable" films to be made.

There have been news reports that 60% of this movie will have CG effects in it. That's alot. The movie would not look and feel the same without their efforts, technical expertise, nor professionalism. I have never paid to see a movie that had acting in front of a green screen ONLY *cough* ...Before Effects Tumblr. Not denying the power of a great actor to entertain and engage your attention through their talent and  presence alone, but if that is what I wanted for this movie, it should of been a stage play.

With all the turmoil going on the in the VFX industry, I detect a lack of respect for artist like Frank and their contribution to the movies we watch today. I have watched how Rhythm and Hues went bankrupt from their work on Life of Pi. Heck, even Digital Domain, the company responsible for the CG effects on Ender's Game is just emerging from bankruptcy proceedings.  In the Life of Pi, a movie that won Best Visual Effects Oscar because most of what you see on screen is CG, and yet Ang Lee couldn't say any congratulatory note to them? Even the Visual Effects Supervior, Bill Westenhofer, got ran off stage when he tried to mention the plight of the VFX industry. Ridiculous!

I understand the artist are paid a salary in exchange for their efforts, and maybe part of that exchange contractually does not include the "pay" of appropriate recognition in the public. If that is the case then Studios and VFX company's should make sure the the "appropriate" recognition should be the type that folds and fits well in the wallet.  That "appreciation" should be enough to fund that artist's life so that they can continue to make art and worlds that Movie Studios love to capitalize.

Unfortunately, that doesn't even seem to be the case anymore, as evidenced by the growing amount of frustration and protestation I am learning about from social media of VFX artists (Check out the VFXsoldier Blog). I didn't mean for this to turn into a rant, and surely I am missing some understandings about transactions  between Movie Studios and the VFX industry. I am an outsider looking in, and there are alot of things I admit I do not know. But what I am seeing...I'm not liking. So, if there is something I am missing from the studio side, please inform me.

As I have researched artists who have or are working on this movie and shared brief engagements with some of them, cI have come to respect their hard work and creativity. Not Frank, btw, I have never communicated with or met him. Hope too though! I would hate for Ender's Game to get some awards next year, but not recognize the talented individuals behind the scenes that make the impossible possible and bring fresh stories to our eyes to enjoy. This sentiment extends to prop makers, costumist, gaffers, lighting, etc....everyone behind the camera. I acknowledge your talent and effort.

May the spotlight shine as brightly on you as you take a bow.

In the future, I will highlight some more artist working on this movie. They deserve shine as well!

-D

Antsy to see more imagery related to the Ender's Game movie? I got you!

I detect a general sense of tension in the Ender's Game Fandom (Really it's just me) about the lack of imagery surrounding the upcoming film adaptation.I thought I remedy that by scraping the Internets for any pictures that might be related to the production that we haven't seen yet.

Lo and behold.... I found this gem of what I believe is a corridor in the Battle School.

Picture removed at a nice request from the Movie PR dept.

Yeah, I know its small.

 I found it on a website belonging to one of the movie's Art Director's Clint Wallace (www.clintwallace.com). It was on the front page of the site under the "Current Projects" section. The title of the image is "BattleSchool_s"

Still that's a small picture, let's blow it up through Photoshop and examine further. Ooooooh.

Picture removed at a nice request from the Movie PR dept.

But I do have a picture of  a represenative 3D model I made from the picture.

Much better, but how do I know that this is from the movie?  Well, from matching up elements I have seen in other official pictures. Remember this picture from the production blog this past year of Roberto Orci on set?

 Certain elements on that picture match the one I found on Clint's website:

Picture removed at a nice request from the Movie PR dept.

Come on, don't you see it?!

The second set of images I found on the Internet that might be related to the Ender's Game movie, comes from the website of Brett Phillps (http://brettphillipsart.com). He is listed on the IMDB movie page as a model maker in the art department. 

Picture removed at a nice request from the Movie PR dept.

This is just one of a series of pictures of a foam board (?) model he made that is listed under his "Ender's Game" work. (Direct link here). I'm not sure what part of the set it corresponds too, but I am going to make a guess and say that it might have something to do with Fleet Command on the Eros facility. 

Enjoy, launchies! This post is sure to self destruct in a day or two...

It's Destructed...

Told you so...

Barracks Analysis Part 2: Graff's Symbol

Back to the Barracks again. AAAATTTTTEEENNTIONNNN!

Lets focus on the symbol on Graff's right shoulder.

 

Through the magic of Photoshop I have managed to zoom in and then recreate the symbol.

 

You can recognize the movie version of the I. F. Logo at top center, with a cluster of nested inverted chevrons located below. Is this the symbol of the movie version of the Battle School symbol, or is it a sign of "Colonel" Graff's rank? Guess we will have to wait and see with more still releases when they occur.

 

Barracks Room Analysis-Part 1: Size and Layout

I am about to add some more analysis of the latest production still that will focus more on the room structure and layout.

First, let's look at the Hi-Res Still one more time, which we are assuming shows the Launchie Barracks of the Battle School. Launchies are all lined up next to their bunks while Graff (Ford), is giving Ender (Butterfield) the run down of who is boss...

"I've done the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs, out run Star Destroyers, killed aliens on multiple planets, blew up Death Stars, been frozen in carbonite, taken out off world rogue replicants, and beat up Nazis, all before you were a thought.."... I digress.

Back to the set, which is futuristic and functional with design elements consistent with the style of production Designer Ben Proctor. On a side note read my previous post about Ben's style

I just was wondering how big this Barracks is and how many Launchies you could fit into it? From the discussion on other fan sites the figures have ranged from 12 to 16 Launchies.

To get an estimate of size of the Barracks and how it was laid out I used a program called Sketchup made by Trimble. It is a 3D modeling program that has a nifty "Match Photo" feature that allows you to place a 2D picture in a 3D environment and create a 3D model to match a photo or to match an existing 3D model to a photo's context. (See in the image below)

After matching the photo to the models  I can remove the image and just be left with a scale 3D representation of the Launchie Barracks. It's not fully detailed as the picture, but it should give you a good sense of about the room size and how items are arranged in the room. Pretty cool, right?

From my estimation I think there are at least four other bunks and 8 other lockers toward the back of the room you can't see in the still because they are blocked by actors and bunks in the foreground. I believe that the Barrracks can hold a grand total of 20 Launchies (6 bunks we can see + 4 bunks we can't see) X (2 Launchies per bunk) = 20! Of course I reserve the right to be wrong. Also, this is only based on what I see in the picture. There is alot I don't know, for example that we are looking at the Barracks from the front to the back. It could be the middle of the room for all we know.  

In the picture above  you can see how I would arrange 10 bunks and 20 lockers in the 3D model of the Barracks. also notice the numbers on the floor that the Launchies would position themselves in during an inspection.

 

I also created a walk through video of my model using Google Earth,

That's all for now. Let me know what you think?

Merry Christmas, Ender!

 

For some reason this Christmas Card didn't make it to Ender.

Graff, you wouldn't have anything to do with that?

Finally A "Official" Vision of Ender's Game

At long last it appears that the cogs are starting to turn on the marketing machine for the Ender's Game Movie with Summit Entertainment dropping a still from the upcoming release with an exclusive article with Entertainment Weekly. Bask in it's magnificence.

This scene shows Battle School students in their barracks with Harrison Ford as Colonel Graff giving Asa Butterfield as Ender a stern look and probably some chastisement ala Full Metal Jacket style. I can almost hear the scene now:

This image gives us a better look at the scenery for the movie, and yes, it is not like the book. There are a couple of fan sites that delve into that more deeply into the comparison as to what is described in the book. (EnderNews, Ender's Ansible ).

From my interpretation this is how I envisioned the barracks:

I will say that the colors, structures, and room brightness of the official still reminds me of the layout of Avatar. Which is not surprising since one of the Concept Artists for that movie, Ben Proctor, is also one of the two Production Designers for Ender's Game. In the mean time while we wait for more stills if you want to give yourself some insight to the visual style the movie will take see his Avatar portfolio

Here's a little example below. I chose this image because it had beds, bright lighting, and a color scheme like the still above.

Still if you look through further through his Avatar portfolio you can see some designs that would make great looking battle simulators that Ender and the Jeesh use on Eros. For example:

THIS OR THE OTHER BEN PROCTOR IMAGES I DISPLAY IN THIS POST ARE NOT FROM THE ENDER'S GAME MOVIE. Let me be clear about that because I've gotten a note from Summit about some of my previous speculations about the movie artwork before. Since this type of setup was already used in Avatar, more than likely we will see something different for the immersive combat simulator in Ender's Game.

That's it for this post. Until next time remember....

DAP IS MY MOM. Red yellow yellow.

Ender's Game Movie Countdown Calendar- Free to Download

The Ender's Game movie is set to release in one year! To commemorate this event and give the fandom a cool way to countdown to the occasion, I have put together a Countdown Calendar featuring my fan art. You can download it for free right by clicking right here: (.pdf file about 4 MB)

These are a couple images conatined in the calendar

In addition to my artwork, it features the birthdays of most of the important cast members and producers, as well as links to popular sites related to Ender's Game. Enjoy, and give me some feedback! Thanks!