ElfQuest - The Audio Movie?

http://elfquest.com/audio-movie/

So right off the bat - the LOWEST TIER YOU CAN DONATE IS $100.

ONE. HUNDRED. DOLLARS.

For an AUDIO movie. AUDIO. AUD-D-O.

This means people recording lines.

Now unless they're paying for A-List celeberties to play the roles of Cutter, Skywise, etc., - there NEEDS to be a lower tier.

Like 5, 10, 25, 50, and then 100 dollar tier.

Because these days not everyone can drop ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS for a freaking AUDIO movie.

Granted the reward is you get prints, etc.

But make a 5 dollar tier where you get an MP3.

10 dollar tier you get an MP3 and a thank you email.

25 dollar tier, you get an mp3, thank you email, and a high res scan of some art.

50 dollar tier, copy of mp3, thank you email, scan of art, and a thank you card mailed to you from Wendy & Richard.

Then go into the hardcore tiers.

That is... disappointing. To say the least. And feels like setting the campaign up for failure.

*no idea what an audio movie is*
Hörspiel? ... something like "radio drama" or audio book? Obviously an art form without pictures.

Well, my first and main access to ElfQuest is the visual art of "the good old times".

Embala wrote:

*no idea what an audio movie is*
Hörspiel? ... something like "radio drama" or audio book? Obviously an art form without pictures.

Well, my first and main access to ElfQuest is the visual art of "the good old times".

It's essentially a "Radio Drama" - (with "movie" like "quality" - sound effects, sound track, etc).

As Kojiyumi said - they're setting themselves up to fail. They're going through a third party - which has had quite a few successful shows "Dorkness Rising" and such - but ElfQuest is a very niche market - and I don't think there's a lot of fans who can afford (or would want to spend) $100 for an "audio movie."

I took the time to read the info linked in the beginning of this topic. There it says, among other things:

"Why pre-pledge? Every dollar raised now reduces the crowdfunding goal when the official campaign launches in April! You will only be charged if that full campaign succeeds."

And it says these are "early-bird pledges", and there will be an official crowdfunding campaign later. Hopefully with reasonably priced tiers.

I did not take the time to listen to the hour-and-a-half facebook podcast thingy. Did I miss anything important?

I don't know. It feels like it would have made more sense to hold off and launch then. There's only going to be so many people who can pre-pledge. And most kickstarters I've been a part of have an option for early-bird during the kick, just in limited amounts at a lower price. Once sold out, you have to pay the higher one for the same goodies.

We'll see how it goes!

Thanks for the information, Tymber.

A radio play you have to pay $100 for? Nah...

this is so bullshit! Elfquests beauty lies in the visual stuff not audio! If there is no movie, there is no need for voices. Maybe WP has some favourite voices , she wants so hard to have for Cutter and some other characters, like I love to dream of some special voices for Rayek and my own elves I find on you tube etc.
But what should be the outcome for her? Just an audio feature!
Or does she want to draw her own movie with the voices recorded for it?

Elfquest Comic Digest, the Graphic Novel, Audiobook Peepshow addition....

Yeah, I dunno... Wendy has excelled at drawing... HAND drawing comics. Thats her thing. The early attempts ad doing CG (which was probably not her, but someone she knew or something, I cant imaging learning 3d modeling toolset and software around 2000 just to make on attempt and never do anything with it again), and while I like that she did work on a short animation fo Leetah to have around, Wendy was going to need some coaching on keyframing, adaption, and asking for help to get beyond that. Those were still visual though. A 'visual movie" (never thought Id have to type that), while not her forte, is still visual. Audio only? ....well there would be one giant reason for it if she was heavily involved and disnt scare off the team: we would possibly get the voices, language, and sounds of the World of Two Moons to go with the visuals we have, but thats a HUGE if...

It's highly interesting to see this discussion.
For once I am slighty irritated that I found this just by random. I rarely look at those "social" media sites, the EQ FB account seems blank (or needs one to be logged in?), and - when it was too late - I discovered this on IG. No mention on the website.

Either way, I wonder what to think of it.

It is good to see some activity for EQ, but then I wonder if that isn't too much of an arthouse project. Does it really appeal to many people?
Best thing was that the stream was embedded on their eq.com website. WTF? But no announcement there.

Then there was mention of little figures. Yes. Rayek included. However, I did not find any image. I'll probably ask via e-mail. Also I downloaded that interview/announcement talk and fast forwarded in it. An image of some baseball cap (phew...) but no figures. Oh, and title music. Well... phew! Okay. Title music. Whatever.
But why is this called "movie"? There are EQ conventions where people record audiobook-like things. But where does "movie" come into play? Is there any artwork along with it?

Still no image of the figures.
Why is it so darn complicated to have some statues, figures, something? Goddarn, services like Heroforge exist, 3d printing, modeling in Blender, classic casting, ... but with 3d print on demand you don't even need that much of a large scale investment.
(Still angry second row of action figures (including Rayek ) never made it. The original models looked very nice.)

And yes, 100 USD might be much for one person, it is different, once you take into account the scale and the time these people invest. Still, lower tiers would likely mean more supporters.
I also wonder if it is worth enough for me, for I'm more interested in figures and art, and money isn't great at the moment.

jaRf wrote:

But why is this called "movie"? There are EQ conventions where people record audiobook-like things. But where does "movie" come into play? Is there any artwork along with it?

The difference (to my understanding) - an audio book is someone reading the story (and doing voices), where as an audio movie has different people playing different parts. (It's like watching a movie with your eyes closed). So there's probably sound effects and such, which an audio book typically does not have.

For example, I took the MP4 (movies) of the original Star Wars trilogy and pulled them into a program called GoldWave - then did a "Save As" MP3. So that way when I take long drives, I can if I want - listen to audio versions of A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

I found a translation "audio drama" for "Hörspiel". I think that matches it. Yes, different voice actors for different roles (or at least trying to imitate a different voice). And maybe added sound effects and occasional music (they played some intro music in the interview / announcement). Still, some images with it would be nice.

As far as 3D printing, Im quite surprised there isnt any just about anywhere (thingiverse, for example) even with more apps for converting 2D images to 3D models. Elfquest just isnt present. I was going to try to make some models a few years ago, back when I had time and software... Anyway, there was this little program targeted at anime character conversion from image to model, and I was going to try to get it going (long story short, it had too many hoops to jump through). I attempted to model Picknose twice, and he didnt come out right. I modeled him without a beard so I could add it as effects later, as the target was a troll based video game in blender. Anyway, whole point I was getting at is its going to take someone talented at modeling with a passion for EQ before we see new figurines. Otherwise, waiting for professional renditions is going to cost money, and I dont think WaRP is going to see that being worth it at this time, withough something to make EQ relevant again.

I feel like my earlier post was a bit harsh, now that I've thought about things. I've always told myself that anything new and EQ related is ultimately a good thing one way or other... I'm timid when it comes to dealing with money online, so I havent looked int anything, is the fund raiser set up that one could donate a lower amount than the lowest teir and it still be accepted, as just something? I cant even consider $100, but I might consider $5-10 towards it now with a hope to see... I mean hear it... some day if I see it available for purchase.

I would still like to see something, anything, of animated (live acting, drawing, video game, whatever) content. Always have, and while I have my "'druthers" (slang for "would rather"), and opinions, I still hope something comes out somewhere.

@Tymber: I get the MP3 rip of movies to listen to... I used to work in a repair shop (before MP3 players but after DVDs, but not quite until HD-DVDBVDs) and we would put Pirates of the Caribbean (back when there was only one) playing into the stereo to test things out. I hadnt seen thr movie yet so it was a rather interesting experience not having Jack Sparrow in my mind's eye while hearing sword fights and water splashing... Anyway, good times.

Sorry for being overly rambly about nothing, Ive had a few too many days lately with no one to speak of to speak to about things Id rather speak of...

TrollHammer wrote:

I feel like my earlier post was a bit harsh, now that I've thought about things. I've always told myself that anything new and EQ related is ultimately a good thing one way or other... I'm timid when it comes to dealing with money online, so I havent looked int anything, is the fund raiser set up that one could donate a lower amount than the lowest teir and it still be accepted, as just something? I cant even consider $100, but I might consider $5-10 towards it now with a hope to see... I mean hear it... some day if I see it available for purchase.

In the current "Early bird" fundraiser, $100 is the lowest. But there will be an "official" fundraiser later, with lower pledges. (See my post earlier in this thread)

Someone from the campaign got back to me by email and told me that this campaign is still at an early stage and there will be different backer levels later. Currently it is some early bird thing with extras.
Moreover, more images could be expected soon. So maybe keep your eyes open for what is to come, also different backer levels with different rewards.

Damn you broke my heart. Here i was all excited and ready to voice act a character...and my dreams have been crushed.

I wouldn't so much mind an audio movie...it just better be good. But 100 is waaaay too much in one go for me!

jaRf wrote:

Someone from the campaign got back to me by email and told me that this campaign is still at an early stage and there will be different backer levels later. Currently it is some early bird thing with extras.
Moreover, more images could be expected soon. So maybe keep your eyes open for what is to come, also different backer levels with different rewards.

I feel like it was a mistake starting with only $100 tiers.

Unless folks emailed the campaign team, they may be turned off like I was.

Vaeri wrote:

Damn you broke my heart. Here i was all excited and ready to voice act a character...and my dreams have been crushed.

Should we try a fan made audio? Of like the original Quest? Start with a few issues.

I have plenty of experience editing audio.

I would be all for that! I just dunno who i should play..i'd probably want someone important like Leetah or Winnowill...lol

I have experience with graphics amd could make the video showing the comic images.

Edit: well darn! I looked on youtube and someone has already stsrted a comic dub...seems decent. Perhaps i could try joining them

Sign me up, Im figuring I may be able to pull together some pro audio recording equipment, I think I can pull off a troll or a half lef half troll...? Eh? Eh? Lol.

My deep voice would fit maybe for Khavi or another Go-Back . But my Computer might have not the microphone working. I am no computer nerd...
But the idea is nice

It's called audio-movie, because it has the word 'movie' in it and fans have been waiting for an EQ movie forever...

Dunno, hearing that they already plan for various rounds of fundraising campaigns sounds suspicious to me. As if they don't have a real idea of the overall costs and/or the amount of money they'll be able to raise.
And as most of you pointed out, 100$ is a pretty high sum to start with. Also, we cannot see how much was already pledged, it's a black box. What are the financing goals? Why not do a kickstarter directly? I don't think they're trying to defraud their fans, but this is poorly planned out.

I highly doubt they will hire any A-league names (they are too expensive and they would also probably not be interested).

For you Germans out there, here is a website on the cost of a "Hörspiel" in Germany. I'd assume the costs in the US are lower. (Couldn't find a English-language source quickly, "costs audio movie" did not yield any useful results

The Pinis have been trying to realise an EQ movie for ages and I think they're trying this as their "last shot".

"The Pinis have been trying to realise an EQ movie for ages and I think they're trying this as their "last shot"."
Yes, it smells like that.
And , yes, I thought so, astronomical expensive, and all that just for audio stuff. The Pinis should forget this obsession ...
That only leads to financial catastrophe, and in the end we don't get any more comics because they calculated stupidly and are ruined.

Well, I get why they'd try....

Especially now. With the success of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, fantasy movies are in. And then you add in the success of the MCU (Captain America, Avengers, Iron Man) comic book moves are in too.

So right now would be a perfect time, to strike the iron and get an ElfQuest movie made.

But a movie. Not an audio movie.