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Hobbit Challenge, 2015!!
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banaili
Bree


Mar 1 2015, 8:14pm

Post #26 of 52 (1457 views)
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*shares a pint with* ^_^/ [In reply to] Can't Post

If you ever need a recommendation for or have an interest in self-study with Japanese, let me know! I can recommend a good book series for that! (It's really easy to follow, and actually fun to read and use! :D )

Also, I know precisely what you mean, about watching films in their original languages! I abhor dubbed versions of films! >_< It's sometimes okay with animation--Ghibli dubs are generally never too bad, for example. I think that's because the mouths aren't real and the movements not always too specific, so the actors can adjust the lines to suit the mouth movements of the animated characters, and it works for basically any language.

That's just not the same with live-action films (as you perfectly pointed out, haha)! It's often done so sloppily, too, like the voice actors couldn't be bothered to add real emotions to the lines. (It's usually either monotone or over-the-top, haha!) Watching with subtitles really is the best way--and you get the added bonus of hearing another language, too, which is always fun! Smile

Oh wow! You know, I still haven't watched "Arietty" yet! I was really looking forward to that one! Smile And wow! I'm surprised (and a bit disappointed) to hear about the dub! Perhaps I should watch the original Japanese, then! (It would be easier to get here anyway, haha! ^^) Thanks for your advice! Smile


banaili
Bree


Mar 1 2015, 8:24pm

Post #27 of 52 (1459 views)
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Thank you so much for that... [In reply to] Can't Post

...on top of your kind feedback! Heart I can't say how much we truly appreciate it! ^_^ I may have already mentioned it, but we'll be having a cast and crew party some time this month, regardless of whether we passed the Japan round of the competition or not. I will absolutely tell everyone the wonderful things you have said, and I have no doubt how happy they will be! We are most definitely all amateurs, so words like yours are truly inspirational! Thank you! Heart

The Hobbit book/film trilogy really does lend itself to all sorts of scenarios, doesn't it? Smile That was part of the fun we had with just these two scenes. Thinking of being able to come up with more stuff for the rest of the book/films is really very exciting! (And you're right about the Eagles! We had that sort of idea with the helicopters! Smile And perhaps some "foreign extras" as the Eagles, to show people of other nationalities coming in to help fight the battle!)

Oh wow! You're a fan of Japanese cinema? In that case, I have a recommendation for you! You have to see "Ai no Mukidashi," or "Love Exposure." It is a very odd film, but so very worth it! The actual runtime is 4 hours, but it feels as though it goes by in 2. Very interesting story, which comments on the perverted aspects of Japanese culture, religion, and also the typical sword-slashing sort of stuff. (Alliteration for the win! XD)

Anyway, sorry to go off-topic! If we manage to find a way to get a Japanese Hobbit series up and running, we will absolutely post about it here! And I do hope we can! Smile Thank you so much, again!


banaili
Bree


Mar 1 2015, 8:27pm

Post #28 of 52 (1452 views)
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Gandalf high-fived! XP And... [In reply to] Can't Post

That is awesome to hear! :D Cast and crew party is coming up shortly--this may be a topic we will have to discuss! Wink

(After working with these actors, I've been wishing that Gandalf had a scene with Smaug...those two together would be intense! *_* Hahaha!)


banaili
Bree


Mar 1 2015, 8:32pm

Post #29 of 52 (1455 views)
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Hello! :D (I think I just replied to a thread you started about music!) [In reply to] Can't Post

 
Thanks bunches for your kind comment! Heart Did you also enter the contest, by any chance? I'd like to see more of these from around the world! It was a lot of fun to do--would love to make more of these in the future, too! Smile

By the way, about your disappearing idea--that's precisely what we had in mind! Smile The only thing is, I would probably use a tripod, if only because my hands are naturally very shaky, so the effect wouldn't work as well without one! X'D It's a very simple technique, but effective indeed! (We used it for an older Hobbit project we did, but because our hands shake and we didn't have a tripod that time, it came out a bit wonky--but still a good trick of the trade to know! ^_^)


banaili
Bree


Mar 1 2015, 8:38pm

Post #30 of 52 (1456 views)
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Oh my goodness!! [In reply to] Can't Post

WOW! I'm blown away by your kind comment!!! Heart Thank you so much! *_* It's wonderful to read things like this and know that someone really enjoyed our work so much! I am humbled and honoured, so thank you! ^_^

(And I've been saying it in replies to other comments on here, but I will absolutely have to print out the nice things that have been said in this thread and share them with the cast and crew at the little party we will have this month. Everyone will be so thankful for your thoughtfulness! Smile )

The world should remember...never underestimate the passion of Tolkien fans, hahaha! Tongue


Gianna
Rohan


Mar 2 2015, 12:17am

Post #31 of 52 (1454 views)
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Sadly I was too young to enter the contest :( [In reply to] Can't Post

I would have loved to, though! Filmmaking is one of my hobbies. Smile

~There's some good left in this world. And it's worth fighting for.~


banaili
Bree


Mar 4 2015, 2:26pm

Post #32 of 52 (1410 views)
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Oooh, I see! :( [In reply to] Can't Post

 
Well, you absolutely should not give up! Smile Film-making is one of my hobbies, too, and it is definitely one worth striving for a career in! Keep doing what you're doing! I wish you the best of luck!! Heart


Gianna
Rohan


Mar 4 2015, 5:23pm

Post #33 of 52 (1399 views)
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Thanks! :) // [In reply to] Can't Post

 

~There's some good left in this world. And it's worth fighting for.~


Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Mar 4 2015, 8:44pm

Post #34 of 52 (1402 views)
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Those are really delightful! [In reply to] Can't Post

I enjoyed them very much. Now I'm off to facebook to share them with friends and family. My grown kids have always loved Japanese culture, so I think they will love these.

I really, really loved what you did with Smaug.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories

leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



(This post was edited by Aunt Dora Baggins on Mar 4 2015, 8:44pm)


banaili
Bree


Mar 5 2015, 9:41pm

Post #35 of 52 (1377 views)
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Thanks for such a lovely comment! <3 [In reply to] Can't Post

Hello there! ^_^/ As said in the subject, thank you for such a kind comment! And THANK YOU so much for sharing them on Facebook!!! Heart That means so much! It's very cool to hear your kids like Japanese culture! Have they been to Japan? (If not, they must absolutely visit!!! :D)

Smaug was really a treat to film! Smile It looks like only our Gandalf one made it into the final round for Japan, but we're still praying for some good results there! (And maybe those who enjoy the Gandalf scene can find the Smaug scene from it, too! Smile)

I probably sound like a broken record now, but I'm sincerely grateful for your sweet comment, so thank you bunches, again!!


Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Mar 5 2015, 9:59pm

Post #36 of 52 (1374 views)
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None of us have ever been to Japan. [In reply to] Can't Post

But my kids have been fans of manga and anime for about twenty years now.

My daughter commented that your Bilbo was really cute.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories

leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



tattooed_dwarf
Rivendell


Mar 6 2015, 8:57am

Post #37 of 52 (1365 views)
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Final 10 [In reply to] Can't Post

Get did your videos get into final 10 on your country?
(Mine didn't and I'm bit salty, especially after I saw others which beat me)


Otaku-sempai
Immortal


Mar 6 2015, 1:58pm

Post #38 of 52 (1357 views)
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I love your Gandalf! [In reply to] Can't Post

I get the sense that he is a professional actor. Is that correct? He certainly has a gift (and face) for comedy.

Smaug as yakuza boss? Brilliant!

"At the end of the journey, all men think that their youth was Arcadia..." - Phantom F. Harlock


banaili
Bree


Mar 6 2015, 3:46pm

Post #39 of 52 (1342 views)
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You must go! :D [In reply to] Can't Post

 
It really makes an excellent vacation destination, whether you're into futuristic-type cities or astounding nature--there's a little bit of everything! Smile And it's a very unique culture, to be sure~ (Do your kids have children who are interested in manga and anime, by any chance? The figurines and toys they sell here for their manga/anime industry are to die for! *_* I always think that if I were a kid again, I would absolutely go to town with the toys here! XD)

And how nice! Heart Bilbo will be especially happy to hear that! Tongue Thanks so much! ^_^


banaili
Bree


Mar 6 2015, 3:52pm

Post #40 of 52 (1342 views)
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Hey there! :D [In reply to] Can't Post

Thanks for your comment!

I don't blame you for feeling bad about the Final 10. The competition was a bit difficult there, especially for certain countries where the competition was bigger (like the UK or US). The competition here wasn't as big, but it's never easy to make the Final 10 for a competition when it's all based on voting. (I hate that sort of system, to be honest. >_<)

Luckily, our Gandalf scene made the Final 10 here! I think that's because he is a student that we teach at the school we work for, so we asked the students and staff at the school to vote. That probably helped. Our Smaug scene sadly didn't make it in... :( Although we're thinking the reason it did not is probably because of the cigarette at the end of the clip. The rules did say that tobacco products should not be depicted in the scenes, but we didn't want to destroy the artistic aspect of our take on that scene, haha~ It was very important to us that the scene end with fire, the way the original scene does--a cigarette was the perfect way to do that, especially for the way we decided to interpret Smaug.

For the record, we don't expect to win the local competition, even though many people here in Japan have been saying that our videos seem to blow the competition out of the water (which is truly kind X'D)! The thing is, although we have lived in Japan for five years and call it home, we expect that the Japanese judges who will choose the winning video would prefer someone with a Japanese face as the winner. Which we do understand, although if that ends up being the case, can't help but feel a bit down... :(

Which country did you enter from, can I ask? Did you feel like the other videos weren't up-to-par with yours? Voting really should not be how the first round goes, because then it's all about who you know, ne? :(

EDIT: OH!! *slaps self* And since I forgot, like the idiot that I am... X'D Why don't you share your video(s) here? Smile That's what this thread is for, actually, even though I have been the only one to share so far!!


(This post was edited by banaili on Mar 6 2015, 3:54pm)


banaili
Bree


Mar 6 2015, 4:00pm

Post #41 of 52 (1339 views)
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Hey there! (Great name! ;) ) [In reply to] Can't Post

 
Believe it or not, our Gandalf is actually a first-time actor. He's a devoted student of mine from the school where I teach English. When thinking up ideas for this contest, my sister and I immediately thought of him for the role of Gandalf. Although he says he has never acted before, his personality in real life just suits the character, and when we got him in front of the camera, OH MY GOODNESS! XD We decided to call him "One-take Jiro," because it never took more than one take to get excellent work from him! Tongue

We will absolutely share with him your kind words here, because he still thinks he is a crap actor, and we're sure he could use the motivation. He has a genuine talent, we agree! Smile

And so glad you like the (perhaps unusual?) take on Smaug! Tongue It just seemed befitting--and with our own Lonely Mountain not too far away, everything we imagined just seemed to fall into place for the scene! Heart

Thanks bunches for your kind comment!! ^_^


tattooed_dwarf
Rivendell


Mar 7 2015, 9:40am

Post #42 of 52 (1318 views)
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From Finland [In reply to] Can't Post

http://youtu.be/CZPsBRcWTho
that was my entry. Nothing special with small twist. I didn't turn out as well as I hoped since I had to do it in bit hurry compared to my normal video making style. And I didn't get crane and some other equipment I was supposed to use. Nevertheless, it was fun to do and hard working with dog. Even though I'm not 100% happy on it, I still think my video is well above most of entries in Finland, quality wise (I don't want to put anyone down though). I think judges didn't like that I took some liberties with scene. I feel that they didn't really care if other videos had some clear editing errors, problems with compositions and no color grading. But nothing I can do about it, and it was still fun to do. It's shame your Smaug video didn't get to top 10, it was great and clever video.


VeArkenstone
Lorien

Mar 11 2015, 6:42pm

Post #43 of 52 (1236 views)
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Neat !! [In reply to] Can't Post

 

Please, call me Ve.


banaili
Bree


Mar 11 2015, 10:36pm

Post #44 of 52 (1223 views)
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I just watched it! [In reply to] Can't Post

 
The quality of your fan film was very good, especially the shots of your dog! :D (Who, by the way, is ADORABLE! Heart ) I'm guessing the competition in Finland must have been very big!

You shouldn't feel bad about your film, either--that first round was about how many votes you got, not about the quality of your film. That's why I think it's a bit sad that the first round was based on voting only. If it had been based on how well the films were made or how creative, then we would have a lot cooler videos to see in this final round, I think! Unfortunately, the videos that made it to the top 10 were essentially about who knows the most people. (Like I said, we had to ask our students at the school we teach at to help vote so that we could make it to the next round!)

Thank you so much about our Smaug scene! Smile Although it didn't make it in, we are hoping that we can do well with the Gandalf video (although we haven't heard anything yet, hmm), and then perhaps link anyone interested to the Smaug scene via the Gandalf one.

By the way, gave your video a like and commented to it! Nice work! (^_^)b


banaili
Bree


Mar 11 2015, 10:37pm

Post #45 of 52 (1223 views)
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Why, thank you very much! ^_^ [In reply to] Can't Post

 
HeartHeartHeart


tattooed_dwarf
Rivendell


Mar 21 2015, 5:46pm

Post #46 of 52 (1105 views)
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Hey thanks!! [In reply to] Can't Post

I appreciate your compliments a lot.


banaili
Bree


Mar 22 2015, 1:50pm

Post #47 of 52 (1087 views)
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No problem! It really was well done! :D By the way... [In reply to] Can't Post

Did you ever get the "Initial Notification" that is mentioned in the contest rules? The English and Japanese rules say that we are supposed to get some "Initial Notification" when we first enter our videos. My sister and I never got one of those when we entered, but we saw our videos had been included, so we didn't complain or think anything of it at the time.

Now though, we read that the winners for the Local Contest will be contacted in the same way that they were with that Initial Notification or something. Since we never got one (and have not heard anything from Japan's judges), we're a bit concerned. Just two days left until the contest ends. I'm wondering if there's something wrong on the Japan side (especially with just five entries having made it to the final round... >_>).


tattooed_dwarf
Rivendell


Mar 23 2015, 11:47am

Post #48 of 52 (1079 views)
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Nothing [In reply to] Can't Post

I didn't get anything and it just appeared there. Hopefully you get message you are waiting for.


banaili
Bree


Mar 23 2015, 1:23pm

Post #49 of 52 (1076 views)
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So you didn't get one either... [In reply to] Can't Post

...I see. Perhaps that was some sort of flaw in the system for all countries. I know several countries, Japan included, were not allowed to vote every 24 hours during the voting period as promised. The issue was only fixed about three days before the voting period ended. That was pretty strange. They were very strict about rules on the contestants' ends, but I guess they've been more lenient on their side--seems like the contest site itself has had many technical issues. Gotta cross our fingers that such is the case this time, too.

Thanks so much for your well-wishes!


banaili
Bree


Mar 25 2015, 2:57am

Post #50 of 52 (1071 views)
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According to the following webpage... [In reply to] Can't Post

 

https://bench.addisoninteractive.com/hobbitchallenge/?entryid=271&loc=us

We lost for Japan's local competition. T_T

I feel really sad, sadder than I can say, because I really think our video was a lot better than the one that made it to the final round. (You can see the winning one for Japan at the above link). Our Gandalf scene made it to the final five, and yet...no go.

The Japan contest website says there are five hours left, but they added that today because they had not chosen a winner in time yesterday. To be honest, I think that's because they were too lazy to properly judge the videos during the month they had, and now they have to quickly choose a winner so the video can be sent to Peter Jackson for the final round. I know the girl who won the contest here, too, and she won the fan contest last year. So since there were supposed to be a whole bunch of forms to be filled out by the winner BEFORE this past Tuesday, maybe the Japan judges just chose her video last-minute because they already had her information from her win last time.

And to be honest, I think it has a lot to do with heavy nationalism here, too. My sister and I are not Japan-born even though we've lived here for a long time (over five years). I think Japan wanted a Japan-born entrant to win the contest, even though our actors are all Japanese and we do live here. Just very, very sad... T_T

It hurts so much, because we really just wanted to make it to the grand prize round so that Peter Jackson would see our work. (He has always been our inspiration.) We never expected to win the grand prize. And yet, now he won't even see our hard work... T_T

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