Topic: RMS Lusitania

[blendman]

Hi All,

I have been working on a short film about the sinking of RMS Lusitania.  I spent over a year modeling the great ship, and also modeled the Head of Kinsale, and the lighthouse.  This short film is an experimentation of importing and simple animation using Lumion, and Blender.  

The final work will be modeled, animated, and rendered in Lumion and Blender.



Just by way of background, RMS Lusitania was sunk by a single torpedo off the Irish coast on a beautifully sunny day on the 7th May, 1915.  She sunk in a mere 18 minutes taking approx.  1198 souls, many women and children.  It represented the end of the Edwardian era, and innocence, and was a contributing factor, that led towards bringing the United States into the war WI) , some two years later.  The reasons for her quick sinking remains extremely controversial.  The wreck lies on her port side, approx. 90 metres, and is in poor condition.

Pity one cannot fully animate the smoke from the chimneys, WITH the ship, though I might show how I did emulated this.

I'll probably treat you with other images as the short film develops.  

Regards,

blendman

[billet323]

Hi All,

I have been working on a short film about the sinking of RMS Lusitania.  I spent over a year modeling the great ship, and also modeled the Head of Kinsale, and the lighthouse.  This short film is an experimentation of importing and simple animation using Lumion, and Blender.  

The final work will be modeled, animated, and rendered in Lumion and Blender.



Just by way of background, RMS Lusitania was sunk by a single torpedo off the Irish coast on a beautifully sunny day on the 7th May, 1915.  She sunk in a mere 18 minutes taking approx.  1100 lives, many women and children.  It represented the end of the Edwardian era, and innocence, and was a contributing factor, that led towards bringing the United States into the war WI) , some two years later.  The reasons for her quick sinking remains extremely controversial.  The wreck lies on her port side, approx. 90 metres, and is in poor condition.

Pity one cannot fully animate the smoke from the chimneys, WITH the ship, though I might show how I did emulated this.

I'll probably treat you with other images as the short film develops.  

Regards,

blendman

Cant wait to see it!  So far, it looks terrific!

[blendman]

Thanks Billet,

Unlike Titanic which has a Romantic element to the sinking (took over 2 hours!) and stories got to be told before she plumeted to the depths, Lusitania was nothing more than chaos and panic, esp. the untold story of those below decks who could not make it to the surface. 

Also unlike Titanic, plenty of lifeboats but not time or organisation to launch them.

Regards,

blendman

[billet323]

Sounds like you certainly have a passion for this topic!  I am sure it will (and has so far) shown in your work!  Cant wait to see more

[blendman]

Thanks Billet, yes I do have a passion for the subject.  Part of is the love of wreck diving, and the other is a love of history.  Many people do not know the terrible circumstances of those last eighteen minutes before approx.  one thousand and one hundred innocent lives were extinguished.

Note:  I wish I could do all in Lumion, but some animation will require another animation package , in the case Blender.

Regards,

blendman

[Derekw]

Would love to see some close renders of this ship. It sounds like you've gone to a lot of effort creating it. Must look amazing!

regards

derekw

[blendman]

Thanks Derek, yes we are almost there, but the modelling has been frustrating, since it is such an immense sized (& details) ship.

I have a few more chores to finalise then I expect to post more in the near future.

Many thanks for your interest!!

Regards,

blendman

[blendman]

Hi Guys,

I enclosing three images of Lusi utilising the smoke effect.  Unfortunately beyond the animated smoke, it is not possible to animate (move laterally) the smoke, so beyond a static view of the ship, or emulate movement panning the camera, Lumion is to date limited for such simulations.

Note the black smoke from the burnt black coal from Lusi's boilers, and the white steam coming forn the stack flues!  A picture of the real ship can be seen here:

[Architectural Innovation]

nice work blendman.

I assume you have done a lot of work in Blender... how do you like it compared to other rendering packages? I was thinking about checking it out as a supplement to Lumion.

I have used Accurender, Viz, max, Kerkythea, Podium & Twilight in the past, some more than others, but since Lumion came out I have been trying to focus on getting the best bang for the buck out of it and post render photoshop.

Blender looks interesting because it fits my goal, much like kerkythea, of trying to move away from expensive, complicated programs like max and keep the cost and time down while still achieving good quality.

if you get a minute, let me know what you think and drop me a few good resource links that you find most helpful if you dont mind.

Thanks,

bob

[blendman]

Hey Bob,

I have been using Blender for about 2 years now.  I actually started RMS Lusitania as one of my first projects.  The beginning was terrible and took various breaks in-between.  Now I have three models - all designed for different purposes.

Blender software
After about a year ago, a major overhaul was made to the interface and features.  Blender now is a serious piece of modelling, animating, and compositing software!  There is no other 3D software that has as many tutorials for it - because of the tremendous following - approximately 2 million users worldwide.  

Let me make it clear, that is not to say that the propriety software is poor in any way!, but more to say that Blender has matured quickly.  For now Blender is used commercially only by small Boutique like production houses, and it is fair to say it is not being used as mainsteam, i.e. in the gaming and animation industry.

I also have real doubts it will ever threaten advanced rendering software etc. including the likes of Lumion. It just isn't designed to cater for this type of market, though it is possible to create something nice, after a lot of sweat.


Also I would not be wasting my time with Lumion if I did not see it's great strength, and future! - to be able to render a movie, and put to a client so quickly.  But for me now - at this time - Lumion can't do what I need to do, so I'm forced to use / supplement Blender in the meantime...!

In terms of links, there are many but I suggest BlenderArtists, and put Andrew Price (Blenderguru.com).  His Nature Academy is truuully amaazzing!!!  Just see his work, and his students work!

Hope this helps.

Regards,

blendman

[Architectural Innovation]

Blendman, Thanks for the info. I have downloaded the new version and hope to experiment with it over the holiday break.

good work on your projects!

[blendman]

Hey Bob,

You have a very powerful pieceof software, enjoy the journey!

Regards,

blendman