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Killer Bean Forever - CG animated feature film created by one animator

killerbean

killerbean

dvd_cover.jpg


Hi Everyone!

I recently finished my feature film directorial debut: Killer Bean Forever. The movie is 85 minutes long and was primarily created by just me.

A little bit about myself: I'm a professional animator who's worked on projects such as Transformers 2, Matrix Reloaded, X-men, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Kung Pow, The Simpsons Ride and The Spiderman Ride. But it has always been a dream of mine to make my own movies. In fact, it was the sole reason why I got into CG animation in the first place.

So after working on Matrix Reloaded for more than 2 years, I took a 4 year break from VFX animation to follow my dreams and make my own movie. I pretty much worked 14 hour days, 6 days a week to complete 85 minutes of CG animation. And now my movie is finally done and released on DVD.

I'm handling US & Canada distribution myself, but I do have some international distribution in place. Here is a list of territories that Killer Bean Forever will be distributed in: Albania, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, India, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ex-Yugoslavia, and the Middle East. It has actually been released in Australia already.

You can check out the trailer and also the entire first scene on my youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/killerbeanforever

Also, you can find info about the DVD at:
http://www.killerbeanforever.com/

It includes about 2 hours of special features and 2 different audio commentaries, one as a producer/director and the other as a CG animator. I'm hoping to make enough money to fund my next project. Yes, I am truly an independent filmmaker!

Hope to hear what you guys think.

Jeff Lew
 
Looks a really great film, love the humour in the first scene. The concept is great too, I can see it appealing to a very wide audience.

I'm gutted you don't have UK distribution, are you considering distributing in the UK?

Good luck with it.

Smith
 
Quality work. Really nice animation. I'd love to see a little more detail in the textures...a few grunge layers...but overall it's very clean (too clean is my point).

Your animation skill is what impressed me most. This isn't just keyframing is it? That's MoCap right?

Oh and of course your camera framing is nice...a few of the moves might look better with a bit more ease-in and ease-out, but overall the framing on a lot of the shots is awesome.

What app did you use?

ps. I like how the main bean has a Jack Nicholson voice...that was clearly intentional correct?

Good work. I prefer Maya. Great app. Max is nice too, but not as cool overall as Maya. I'm really into learning character animation...I use the standard rigs you can download for Maya to practice, and of course Max has character studio, so I can use the box character...but I'm not at all good at character modeling or rigging...that's tough work for me. Kudos on your awesome skill.
 
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killerbean outstanding buddy.......i just want to hug you for the passion you have shown..........you are simply rocking.........
 
Very good stuff man! I like the details like the depth of field, and the reflections in the gun.
Looks like a good action flick... with beans!
 
Smith said:
Looks a really great film, love the humour in the first scene. The concept is great too, I can see it appealing to a very wide audience.

I'm gutted you don't have UK distribution, are you considering distributing in the UK?

Good luck with it.

Smith
Click to expand...

Thanks Smith! Yeah, I too am disappointed with no UK distribution. My sales agent was in the talks with Revolver in the UK, but in the end no deal came through. So now I'm stuck until I get my movie rights back so I can sell worldwide on my own. Right now, my sales agent has exclusive right to find distribution internationally. I'm only allowed to self distribute in the US & Canada.

Best,
Jeff
 
M1chae1 said:
Quality work. Really nice animation. I'd love to see a little more detail in the textures...a few grunge layers...but overall it's very clean (too clean is my point).

Your animation skill is what impressed me most. This isn't just keyframing is it? That's MoCap right?

Oh and of course your camera framing is nice...a few of the moves might look better with a bit more ease-in and ease-out, but overall the framing on a lot of the shots is awesome.

What app did you use?

ps. I like how the main bean has a Jack Nicholson voice...that was clearly intentional correct?
Click to expand...

Thanks M1chae1!

Yes, a lot of it is very clean. For my next project, I'll focus more time on art direction. Probably I'll come up with some dynamic solution so I can literally toss trash around and have it collect in the corners and such. It could save a lot of time.

The animation is 50% mocap and 50% hand keyed. I tried to use mocap where I could to save time.

I used Maya for all of the 3d production, plus Final Render to render the frames. I used Vegas for video and sound editing. Audition for sound mastering.

Oh yeah, the actor who played Killer Bean proposed a young Clint Eastwood voice. I thought it was a great idea, so we went with it. I enjoyed working with all the actors. I only had 4 voice actors, but they all played multiple voices.

Best,
Jeff
 
ad2478 said:
killerbean outstanding buddy.......i just want to hug you for the passion you have shown..........you are simply rocking.........
Click to expand...

Thanks ad2478!

It was just something I needed to do. I needed to make my first feature film. Now that I have done that, I feel more at ease, but I'm not done just yet. I have a bunch of stories I want to get out of my head and onto screen. ;)

Best,
Jeff
 
indietalk said:
Very good stuff man! I like the details like the depth of field, and the reflections in the gun.
Looks like a good action flick... with beans!
Click to expand...

Thanks indietalk!

Yeah, depth of field was really important to me, to get that film look. I love shallow depth of field. So I used a renderer called Final Render which does physically correct depth of field. It does the whole bokeh effect and everything and acts almost like a real camera. Unfortunately I did sacrifice motion blur to save on render time.

Best,
Jeff
 
Hi killerbean i dont know are you allowed to self distribute in Pakistan or not but i will suggest you to contact DHA Cinema in Pakistan. They might be interested if they come to know that the animated film is by the lead animator of Matrix reloaded and etc..
Just thought to give you a suggestion. :)
 
These are coffee beans, right? I'm going by the butt shape :lol:
 
I remember seeing the original Killer Bean on iFilm back in 2000. Seeing that you've turned that great little flick into a feature all these years later is pretty inspiring. Can't wait to see it.
 
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