So there's a new game coming out called Starfield, which seems to be basically a sandbox adventure game with a very Star Warsy feel to it. It features modular customisable ships, and Bethesda (the game studio) have done a collab with Adam Savage to let him 3D print one of the ships from their files, turn it into a practical effects model and then shoot it on a motion control stage, just as if it was being done for a real movie.

It's a really good insight into the process of movie model making and I've found it fascinating, especially for how the blend of age-old techniques with the latest high-tech is getting the best results these days. There are seven videos in the series (although one's just a short aside (funny though) ), so rather than post them all, here's a link to the playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuM_1xSQCFw&list=PLJtitKU0CAejiJisqHdCX4O-1-zJzfW36

Adam confirms in the last video that there will be a model you can buy retail (probably as a 3D print file) as well.

Thanks, H! I don't have 5 hours+ to watch that in one hit, but I've saved the link & will watch it over the next week or so.  

Quote from: Weaver on September 13, 2023, 07:58:24 AMSo there's a new game coming out called Starfield, which seems to be basically a sandbox adventure game with a very Star Warsy feel to it. It features modular customisable ships, and Bethesda (the game studio) have done a collab with Adam Savage to let him 3D print one of the ships from their files, turn it into a practical effects model and then shoot it on a motion control stage, just as if it was being done for a real movie.

It's a really good insight into the process of movie model making and I've found it fascinating, especially for how the blend of age-old techniques with the latest high-tech is getting the best results these days. There are seven videos in the series (although one's just a short aside (funny though) ), so rather than post them all, here's a link to the playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuM_1xSQCFw&list=PLJtitKU0CAejiJisqHdCX4O-1-zJzfW36

Adam confirms in the last video that there will be a model you can buy retail (probably as a 3D print file) as well.

Sub 3-minute "beauty pass" video of the finished ship:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBqDFYJRg4Q

Hmm, what you can do with a full workshop of milling machine and a 3D printer too. 

Quote from: PR19_Kit on September 18, 2023, 11:14:23 PMHmm, what you can do with a full workshop of milling machine and a 3D printer too. 

And your own laser cutter to make custom transfers/stickers...

Still, the painting and weathering techniques apply to any model, and 3D printers are getting more and more common.

In the process of watching that now (well, last night & I'll probably finish it tonight).

I don't think 3D printers that big are actually household item prices, yet, & the cleaning baths probably aren't either.

Even if they were, the fact that I'd have to learn, from scratch, a completely new skill set to design the parts & supports, etc., would be enough to put me off (it is for the smaller ones, already).

Still, it's a fascinating series of videos & gives me hope that real physical models may make a return to the cinema (especially sci fi) in the not too distant future.

The big thing they've found in general over the last 15-20 years in movies is that the best approach is to do as much as possible in front of the camera and then use CGI to clean it up and do the bits that that are simply impossible any other way. Doing it like that, the actors have real people and stuff to act to, the subtleties of lighting are right etc... Even for 'space stuff' they often build a physical model and film it, just to get the feel, even if ultimately they end up 'painting' large amounts of CGI over it.

The film Moon (excellent, if you havn't seen it) used all-model SFX because, IIRC, the director was a big Space 1999 fan and wanted to pay 'homage' to it.

I have seen "Moon" & I loved the real models! I, also, loved the story & the twist. (I have it on DVD.)

I, personally, don't think CG has quite hit the point where it can be quite as realistic as well done models.

The LCD "matt" screen was pretty good, though!


I think the Starfield model, as completed, wasn't quite up to a proper movie standard but was still very good. Things that caught my eye were that the thing above the cockpit (plasma cannon?/laser cannon?/missile launcher?) had a hole in the back of the top centre tube that you could see through &, as much as Adam loved the vinyl decals, some of the ones on the outside of the model had too much depth/texture & could have looked better with dry, rub-on decals.

In The Mandalorian they used a combination of actors with props in front of a giant screen that projected the background terrain or scenery. It seem to be a good combo. I suspect they are using it on other shows like Bobba Fett and Asoka. It's good to see models coming back to film making. Better yet is when they use the real thing as in Maverick.

Quote from: Old Wombat on September 19, 2023, 07:54:38 AMI, personally, don't think CG has quite hit the point where it can be quite as realistic as well done models.

I've a nephew who teaches this subject area at Sunderland Uni (I think he's got a professorship in it ?) and is often consulted by both UK and US filmmakers. Some of what they are doing now is both amazing and in some ways frightening.

Quote from: Old Wombat on September 19, 2023, 07:54:38 AMI think the Starfield model, as completed, wasn't quite up to a proper movie standard but was still very good. Things that caught my eye were that the thing above the cockpit (plasma cannon?/laser cannon?/missile launcher?) had a hole in the back of the top centre tube that you could see through &, as much as Adam loved the vinyl decals, some of the ones on the outside of the model had too much depth/texture & could have looked better with dry, rub-on decals.

You'd be surprised how rough 'movie standard' can be. It's a very different requirement from the display models that hobbyists make. Movie models are generally only on screen for under a minute per shot, in motion, under carefully controlled lighting, and shot with carefully chosen lenses. They never get put on a table in a sports hall under harsh flourescent light and examined from three inches away for half-an-hour. I've seen some up-close and they can be really rough in any area that isn't seen in the film or that flies by in the blink of an eye. This isn't neccessarily a failing by movie model makers either: compared to hobbyists, they usually have WAY more money and resources but WAY less time and higher stakes.

You're right about the hole in the cannon - I noticed that too. Another thing I noticed is that they didn't bother to perfectly clean up the 3D print artefacts such as striations or facetting in areas that wern't conspicuous. This might have been a time issue: I presume that Bethesda wanted the videos to come out at the same time as the game launch and that gave the Tested team a hard deadline to meet. They were also making up some of the process as they went along, and some of them hadn't worked on a filming miniature before.

Quote from: kerick on September 19, 2023, 09:09:33 AMIn The Mandalorian they used a combination of actors with props in front of a giant screen that projected the background terrain or scenery. It seem to be a good combo. I suspect they are using it on other shows like Bobba Fett and Asoka. It's good to see models coming back to film making. Better yet is when they use the real thing as in Maverick.

The stage they shot the Starfield model against was, in fact, invented for that very purpose - it's discussed in the last of the main videos. They also said that this is the first time they've tried using it for a miniature shot rather than live action, which is probably why they gifted the studio time to Bethesda/Tested: they were itching for an excuse to try it out.

I've seen a few movie prop models, too, & I concur whole-heartedly that they are often very rough in places but the decal thing caught my eye &, as Adam said, he's used to using dry transfers for most of that type of marking but, unlike him, I think it's something they should stick with (the vinyl works fine for some things, though, especially the deck matting, where its 3D quality adds to the scale effect).

Incongruities, like 3D markings on a spaceship, that catch your eye can unravel the whole suspension of disbelief that Science fiction relies on to work.

They're doing a livestream about the Starfield build on Thursday:

Starfield Live Stream: Thursday, Oct. 5, at 2 pm Pacific Time

One for the fantasy wargamers, but also for anyone doing a diorama.

"Concept artist and sculptor Johnny Fraser-Allen visits Adam's cave for the first time, and brings along creatures and landscapes from his tabletop miniature builds! Johnny walks Adam through his origin story, how he created the fantasy world of The Gloaming while working at Weta Workshop, and how he's bringing tabletop gamers into that story."