Customer Reviews

CGI Filmmaking: The Creation of Ghost Warrior

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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Timothy Albee's book 'The Creation of Ghost Warrior' is simply an inspirational book to anyone who has ever wanted to make their own CGI film. Not only does he go through what software he uses, how he uses it, and why he did certain things, but he also coaches you on things like acting, timing, scriptwriting, how to be as efficient as possible in your production and so on. Timothy not only is showing the world that HE absolutely can make a Hollywood calibre film for an independent budget, but he's showing you how YOU can do it too. Instead of giving you 1000+ pages of fluff, each page is distilled down to the most important information. You don't finish a chapter and feel like it was a big waste of time - it's obvious that he puts as much care in writing books as he does in creating animation. Even when I was reading about a subject I already have experience with, I felt like I came away learning a new perspective on it. This book goes hand in hand with his other 2: Essential Lightwave 7.5 and Lightwave 7 Character Animation. You will not regret buying this book.

Well-written and an excellent guide, Ablee goes into detail of every stage of making a CGI film. Essential for anyone who is even considering making a film, especially if your primary program will be Lightwave.

The book is really great. Cannot stop reading the book. The book is very inspiring. hats off to Timothy Albee. A must read for people who enter in to the field of animation.

Excellent book. It is very well written and has a lot of very useful information. Although at times Mr. Albee gets a little heavy handed with his philosophies or life and art, in general his advice is most welcome.

I especially recommend this book to people who are just starting in the business, or are looking for a break in.

Having an inside perspective of the animation industry, it is easy to see why there is a growing number of very sour animators when it comes to books with insight such as this one. Mr. Albee's work is very dangerous for the animation industry. Not only does he do for animation what "Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain" does for artwork, he explains the tools and techniques that the average Joe can use to create work comparible to today's large production companies.

Albee's film, "Kaze: Ghost Warrior" has drawn some critisism from other animators. However, the film is, in fact, very impressive. You would be hard pressed to find productions of comperable quality on television and in many movies. And as Albee created the film entirely on his own, and in less than half the time and one tenth the cost as it would take a team of animators from any current computer animation production studio, it's easy to see why certain folks at ILM are jealous.

This book teaches you, the average person, how to do the same thing. And in terms that don't require a degree in computer teminology. If you are interested in animating your own productions, this book is simply the best.

This book, to the uninformed, might seem like something special however, it seemed more like self promotion on a product that is over hyped and severely lacking in quality content... the DVD of Kaze.

If you are lacking self confidence and have very little knowledge of how to work with 3d and create a short, you may want to invest in this book. Mr. Albee is constantly touting how amazing and special he you are. This seems to me like a thinly veiled attempt at fooling the reader into liking the book. While it is a good marketing technique it is not what the someone needs if they truely want to succeed in the film industry.

It does seem that Mr. Albee definitely has a bit of technical experience and must be commended for finishing his DVD and writing a book about it. The animation of the DVD is riddled with problems though. Intersections, sudden stops, no overlap, arms moving rapidly with no impact on the body, broken wrists, obviouly constrained controls and much more. The camera moves and staging are alright for a student film but, full of novice mistakes that cg artists commonly make.

After reading the book and seeing the DVD, I would suggest your time is better spent with books on animation such as "The Animator's Survival Kit" and "The illusion of Life". Books on filmaking and production such as "Story", "In the blink of a Eye" and "Film Directing Shot by Shot". These are quality books that will help you grow. They will not pat you on the back and tell you are great when you may not be. The production process is very hard and it's very difficult to become good enough to produce the quality that the big studios require. This book doesn't really put you in the right direction.

As a both a graduate of the New York Alternative Film School and The University of California's program of interactive media design, I've probably read over 100 books on filmmaking, CGI and animation. As a writer and mythologist, I've read 100's of books on storytelling. But I have never read a book that fired my imagination and made me believe in my abilities the way this one has. Disguised as a how-to book about CGI filmmaking (in which it is unsurpassed) - it is so much more. This tome is a labor of love, seeded with self-revealing passages that empower its readers. Its pages are ablaze with hope, ignited by sparks of insight, enthusiasm, and Timothy's own delight in and dedication to his craft. It is a tale of persistence and the elegance of ideals set against the backdrop of America's last frontier. Everything you need to know about making a CGI film is in here, to be sure. But sprinkled in amongst all that knowledge is what you need to become a great storyteller. This book is a must for ANYONE who yearns to tell his or her own tales. My favorite sentence is the last one: "All dreams are already real. You just have to find your way to where they are."

Did you ever admire someone's abilities who shares an interest with you? Wouldn't you love to speak to him/her and ask them questions how they got to that point in there career to help guide you? Say a chef, and artist, maybe someone who succeeded in business?
Well, being somewhat deeply involved in 3D as a hobby/freelance, I, along with many of us, know of Tim Albee. He has a deep background in 3D and has worked at some fine studios. But, more importantly for me, he's dived into making his own shorts. This is of special interest to me, since i don't expect to be working at pixar anytime soon. That being said, there are certain issues that arise for the artist looking to make his own short. Tim walks you through his journey. From start to completion. How he work up a script, how to design characters, ways to cut corners. He even goes into improvised ways of doing your own audio! Then he wraps up with different ways to market your film with actual websites and film festivals all while giving you "insider" tips.
In short, if your have dreams of making "your own" animated short, with a limited budget, this is the book for you.

My review for this book was published in Keyframe magazine (issue #37) but it wasnt enough for me. I still feel the need to spread the word about this great body of work to other anxious readers! The way Albee describes the path to the finished product is more than simple for the average person but the results are anything but! To put this power in the hands of any one with the will to use it is a gift to the human race! I hope this encourages others, in all walks of life, to share their knowledge just as freely as Albee shares his own.

This book and the upcoming DVD release of the full short are destined to become a classic! This is more then just a how to book, more then biography, its a true work of art in itself. The book is crammed full of inspiration to keep one walking the path of their dream creation through the months and possibly years it could take one to create your own Oscar caliber short. But it will keep you going! It covers everything one needs from conjuring up the first crude idea, to scripting, storyboarding, modeling, animating, audio and ADR (in a homebrewed soundstage we can all have no less), compositing and other post work, marketing, distribution and so much more. He talks a little about the software he choose for the project but more importantly he describes the how and why he found that software and what you should look for in your path of creation. In short whether you want to create the next 'Lord Of The Rings' or just want a very inspirationally great story to read this is a MUST OWN book!