Turbo: Video game inspired student film

[RenardMF]

I am part of a 4 man team called Ember Lab. We did all the visual effects for this 20 minute film in about 5 months. We mostly used After Effects for compositing as well as some asset creation, plus a little bit of Shake. For anything 3D we used Maya, and most of the 2D asset creation was done in Illustrator. We had to motion track almost every shot, too depending on how much the camera moved.

The idea behind the design was to use a style from old school games and movies that we grew up playing and watching like Punch Out, Street Fighter, Karate Kid, and Tron and project that into the future, since the story takes place in 2051. So most of the visual effects elements use a neon glow with some 80s influence for the colors and the players' UI controls were inspired by the Playstation buttons (square, circle, triangle).

This was only our second big project, and you can check out our reel with shots from this and some other projects at www.emberlab.com. The site is a work in progress, but we should have it finished by the end of the month.

They have just wrapped the sound and the film is just about finished. It will be premiering in LA on April 30th. For more info about the movie you can check out the website at www.turbothemovie.com

Check out the trailer:

Oh, and btw it looks like we made it onto Kotaku and Gizmodo now!

Feel free to digg the story if you'd like:

http://digg.com/gaming_news/Turbo_The_Video_Game_Movie_Not_Based_On_A_Real_Video_Game

[Dhsu]

Very impressive! I like the movie's concept of future arcades.

[Rozovian]

Trailer left me with a couple of impressions: young people, future fashion, and flashy visual effects. I'm impressed.

[Elex Synn]

Nice. I'd be very interested in seeing this.

[Gario]

Great concept, it's a shame I'm not out there at the moment...

By the way, @ 0:27 'Show me your moves!'

Awesome.

[zircon]

Wow, for a student project this is incredible. Looks like great visuals, great sets/props, great effects, and really nice foley/music. Way to go, guys.

[PrototypeRaptor]

Yeah, this looks sweet. Really cool concept with the 4D arcade thing - plus it helps that you know your way around adobe's products...haha

I'll definitely be seeing this

[MkVaff]

Wow, for a student project this is incredible. Looks like great visuals, great sets/props, great effects, and really nice foley/music. Way to go, guys.

Lol for a student project that features established actors, worldwide talent, and was shot for shy of $100K...

Nevertheless, the story looks a little campy but damn the visual FX look great. For me, you guys are MAKING this movie worth seeing. I've seen stuff on network TV that don't even come close to this quality. Hopefully you guys get some good exposure from this project, and it leads to bigger and better projects in the future.

Just one thing - please don't work on Speed Racer 2.

[Arrow]

Man, I'd kill to be able to see this. Too bad that preview looks like an industry only event (and I'm nowhere near L.A. anyways).

[AmazinJason]

Where were you when the second D&D movie was made?

Seriously though, 1000% better than I expected. Wtg!

[Raziellink]

Awesome!

I find some things to be a bit cliché, but i guess it works. All in all, it's a great effort.

[Broken]

Wow, I'm very impressed. I checked out the trailer and I definitely am feeling the different influences you cited. The visual effects are top notch as well. I can't wait to see the finished product!

[Arrow]

NECROBUMP

The short film's director uploaded the entire 24 minute shebang to Vimeo. About two months ago, actually, but I didnt find out until yesterday thanks to a Joystiq post.

http://vimeo.com/6932347

[Nabeel Ansari]

Wow, this movie's amazing!

I love the concept of future arcades.