Life Beyond II: Exclusive Sneak Peek 👀
Added 2020-09-23 19:19:05 +0000 UTCHappy Wednesday my friends!
In advance of the full film (runtime: ~35 minutes), I'm excited to share this short clip from Life Beyond II, exploring what alien plant life might be like.
Researchers like Nancy Kiang at NASA GISS have studied photosynthesis and its relation to our sun's light spectrum, deriving some intriguing predictions about how other stars would affect the appearance of alien vegetation. This sequence explores some of these predictions, and also looks at the Purple Earth hypothesis: the idea that the Earth appeared purple before the evolution of chlorophyll.
You'll notice an unfamiliar voice in this clip; I decided early on that this installment would need a narrator to clearly explain the sometimes complex ideas instead of long lines of text that conflict with the graphics. I auditioned a lot of professionals for the job, but they all sounded too stuffy, too old-school, or too "professional". I needed something that felt intimate and personal. I ended up recruiting a close collaborator and friend, Will Crowley, a science teacher from Oregon. Working together in my home studio, we crafted a natural narration track intended to guide the viewer through the film without breaking the immersion.
I would much appreciate your feedback on his voice in this clip, as well as the clip as a whole. I will also be preparing a captioned version of the video for anyone who wants to experience the film without any voices whatsoever.
Looking forward to your thoughts on the clip. Less than two weeks until Patrons get access to the full experience. Thank you all again for your continued support, it wouldn't be possible without you!
Peace and love,
melodysheep
Comments
Absolutely amazing!
EclipseGamma
2020-09-29 11:02:18 +0000 UTCJoined today, hoping against hope that there were Chapter II clips here, and I'm not disappointed! His voice works great and personally, I like the general idea of voiceovers instead of captions. Chapter I was amazing, I can't wait for Chapter II. Roll on 7th of October!
Psychachu
2020-09-25 12:40:27 +0000 UTCI am looking forward to it. It is thoughtful of you to offer a captioned version also. I suspect I'm going to prefer captions to voice, it feels more immersive.
Erica Kane
2020-09-25 11:18:25 +0000 UTCI didnt notice it personally
Achuu
2020-09-24 17:22:41 +0000 UTCI think I know what you're referring to, it's on my list of todos, but time is running low and I have to prioritize what most needs fixing.
John Boswell
2020-09-24 16:59:21 +0000 UTCFair point! A couple of the jump cuts are there to hide incomplete shots, but some are intentional and I will revisit them in the final edit. Thanks for the feedback.
John Boswell
2020-09-24 16:58:48 +0000 UTCFair point! A couple of them are there to hide incomplete shots, but some are intentional and I will revisit them in the final edit. Thanks for the feedback.
John Boswell
2020-09-24 16:58:12 +0000 UTCAnd the voice is a good match 👌
2020-09-24 13:49:30 +0000 UTCOh, my! THIS IS JUST BREATHTAKINGLY BRILLIANT! It gave me chills! Sooo looking forward to see it!
2020-09-24 13:48:46 +0000 UTCThis is amazing! I can't wait for the whole video! Honestly I wish you had a team of hundreds of it could get me one like this every week! 😃 Also your videos should be teaching material to help teachers.
2020-09-24 11:11:20 +0000 UTCVery pretty! And the music is soothing and mesmerizing as always! I was a bit distracted by the light particle simulations disappearing so suddenly. Perhaps this is something that you're still working on? Keep it up!
Ilja Kocken
2020-09-24 10:01:28 +0000 UTCWait those are real world? I honestly thought those were CGI... graphics are getting too good man.. can't tell what's real and whats not
Bradley Gallant
2020-09-24 07:31:00 +0000 UTCThis is amazing John, love it. Clip narration is amazing (personally, I prefer text in your video). Visuals are stunning and so cinematic, I just felt sudden zoom in (cuts when camera slowly zooms ins and then jumps to more zoom in) just breaks the momentum a bi, other than that, for it's so exciting.
2020-09-24 04:13:25 +0000 UTCThis looks great John and the sound is stunning as always. I love the integration with real-world video like the forest and waterfall. My only concern is that the jump cuts are a bit jarring. I think I would prefer longer continuous shots. The first time I saw one I thought it was a video fault.
2020-09-24 04:06:54 +0000 UTCStunning as usual. The music. Oh the music... this is what elevates Science into Art. Excited to see the final product!
John Maier
2020-09-24 03:07:41 +0000 UTCLooks and sounds fantastic! I love it!!
2020-09-24 02:42:20 +0000 UTCYou been interested from Hong Kong, congratulations!
2020-09-24 01:27:50 +0000 UTCI'm really excited for this
2020-09-24 00:26:34 +0000 UTCThank you!
John Boswell
2020-09-23 23:08:42 +0000 UTCHi Melodysheep, I just found your work today and immediately joined your Patreon. Absolutely blown away by your work. Beyond superb. Sound, light, and intelligence. Looking forward to exploring your catalog. - love from VA
2020-09-23 22:55:57 +0000 UTCWonderful ! The narrator also does a great job.
2020-09-23 22:27:38 +0000 UTCThanks for the feedback! Point taken
John Boswell
2020-09-23 22:11:40 +0000 UTCGreat work! Looking forward to the release. My only recommendation on the voice-over is to increase reading speed slightly. The current slower speed leads to words being pronounced a bit unnatural at times.
2020-09-23 21:43:44 +0000 UTCThose are intentional edits. Sorry if they seem out of place, not all will make it into the final film.
John Boswell
2020-09-23 21:36:30 +0000 UTCLife Beyond Chapter 1 had a thin letterbox (same as this clip) to align aesthetically with Timelapse of the Future, which placed the timeline information in the letterbox. I will likely keep it for chapter II but I can upload a version without as well.
John Boswell
2020-09-23 21:35:05 +0000 UTCThanks! There will still be soundbites from scientists interspersed in the film.
John Boswell
2020-09-23 21:32:34 +0000 UTCIn my opinion is a very very good work. The voice is very nice and "soft", it integrates into the clip in a very natural and pleasant way. I've only a question. I don't know if it's an effect of my laptop but there are some points in the video that appears to be "discontinuos" like if it skip some frames (but I've checked the video player and it seems to work correctly). For example around 0.17, or 1.21. Anyway is an excellent video as you always do.
2020-09-23 21:28:27 +0000 UTCThanks - the captions approach is preferable in some ways, agreed, but very limiting in others. As mentioned I will be releasing a captioned cut at some point for those who want a voice-free experience.
John Boswell
2020-09-23 21:11:47 +0000 UTCOne more thing: What apsect ratio will this be released in? I have an ultrawide monitor, and my biggest pet peeve is when youtubers add the black bars into their videos as opposed to just changing the aspect ratio so that the video is scaled up on my screen, and it still appears with black bars on 16:9 displays. I've always dreamed that your longer videos would be in 21:9.
Bradley Gallant
2020-09-23 21:03:13 +0000 UTCBrilliant, just leave it as it is! Love from Germany <3
julian
2020-09-23 21:01:56 +0000 UTCI'm speechless... The graphics are just... wow. I can't believe it. While I like how you did narration in previous videos (excerpts of other scientists speaking) better, I see that having your own narrator gives you a lot more freedom. So I'm all for it! There's something different between the old narration and the new, but i'm just not sure how to describe it. Again, I think you should keep using your own narrator in the future. There's many pros and only one con. This really feels like a new era in your videos. I'm sooo excited to watch the full film, and listen to the album!
Bradley Gallant
2020-09-23 20:57:28 +0000 UTCExcellent all around! Though I prefer the more austere mood of the silent titles, I understand why they could be needed to tell more complex stories. If VO is a must, then this is the way to go. Voice sounds natural and pleasing. Great direction!
2020-09-23 20:49:39 +0000 UTCI am "Beyond" excited for the full experience! This small tease was unsurprisingly on point.
William Ronholm
2020-09-23 20:33:40 +0000 UTCOmg, non-stop chills. Loving it. The voice works very well.
B.J. Tomiko
2020-09-23 19:57:54 +0000 UTCI think you're hearing some UI sound effects that correspond to the molecule graphics & text. The sound design is not final, and I will be refining this.
John Boswell
2020-09-23 19:47:25 +0000 UTCAwesome!
2020-09-23 19:43:21 +0000 UTCCan't wait to watch and translate it (send me CC if you can please). I already can't wait chapter III before I watch chapter II. This series will be a masterpiece! .. Peace and love
2020-09-23 19:32:16 +0000 UTCSuper cool! Nice voice, sounds natural. The voice audio around 1:30-1:35 sounds compressed or a bit glitchy? I'm not an audio-guy, so I don't know how to explain it.
Gene
2020-09-23 19:29:00 +0000 UTCI need to watch it again at home on my computer to see and listen more clearly! Looks amazing!
Chung Tran
2020-09-23 19:26:16 +0000 UTCI'm pumped to watch the full video now! 🔥
2020-09-23 19:24:15 +0000 UTCAwesome, can't wait for this one Melodysheep!
Andrew Fleckenstein
2020-09-23 19:22:49 +0000 UTC
