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New Blender Competition: Open Movie Remix

There are now four open movies created by the Blender Foundation; Elephants Dream, Big Buck Bunny, Sintel and the latest addition; Tears of Steel.

These short films are unique because every single file, texture, model, video or asset, can be downloaded by anyone and used completely free!

So far the blender community has done a few funky things with them, but I’m hoping for more…

The Theme: Open Movie Remix


Create an image or animation that uses elements from any of the open movies created by the Blender Foundation. These movies include, Elephants Dream, Big Buck Bunny, Sintel and Tears of Steel.

You may use as many or as little number of elements as you want, just do something creative with them!

Example Ideas

All the characters from ever open movie battling it out.
Taking a clip from Tears of Steel but replacing the robot with a dragon.
Using one character in a completely new scene created by yourself (like I did with Sintel).

(these are just examples though, feel free to do whatever you wish)

Robot from Tears of Steel (Download)

Prizes

For the first time ever there will be two categories… stills and animations! To avoid cross over, you may enter into one category only.

1st Prize – Animation

1st Prize – Image

Guidelines

  • Only one entry per person
  • It must be created with Blender
  • It must contain at least one element from the open movies
  • You may render it using Cycles or the blender internal renderer only
  • Minor post processing in Gimp or Photoshop is allowed
  • Minimum image size is 1280 x 720, but the bigger the better (any aspect ratio is fine)
  • Minimum video size is HD 720P (1280 x 720)
  • Your entry must be a new creation, not something you have made in the past
  • No bought commercial models allowed
  • Photographic elements are allowed, but must not be a central part of the image (sky backgrounds are okay)
  • The winner will be asked to submit the .blend file for proof of its creation

Download the Open Movie Assets

Criteria for Judging

Entries will be judged by me on the following criteria:

  • Aesthetics
  • Creativity
  • Impact

To increase your chances of winning, aim for all three.

“The best art has meaning beyond just an image; perhaps it will bring you to tears, make you laugh, or remind you of something you’d almost forgotten. It stands out in a crowd, and dares to be different.” - Source

6 Reasons to Enter:

  1. Competitions push you to better your work by exploring new themes
  2. It teaches you the importance of deadlines
  3. It can help you to think creatively by working around the constraints of a set theme
  4. Competing alongside other artists is a great way to stay motivated
  5. Your entry will be posted here on Blender Guru, increasing your online exposure
  6. You’re helping the world! This is a rare opportunity to use your artistic talent to donate money to a charity of your choice.

Submissions and Deadline

Entries must be submitted before 29th of November 2012 at 11:59pm GMT (5 weeks from announcement).

Submit Your Entry Here

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About Andrew Price

User of Blender for 9+ years. I've written tutorials for 3d World Magazine and spoken at three Blender conferences. My goal is to help artists get employed in the industry by making training accessible and easy to understand. I'm an Aussie and I live in South Korea ;)
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  • Allix

    I posted my submission on the site, but it’s waiting for approval from a moderator. Please don’t disregard it if it gets the approval after the deadline! I didn’t think about it :(

  • http://www.facebook.com/michael.b.beatty.5 Michael Bean Beatty

    its free on youtube fool

  • LswaN

    Hi, so I’m wondering if it’s also alright to use models and such from the Blender Open Workshop training DVDs, since the normal “no third-party models” rule obviously doesn’t apply to this competition. Or are the open movie files the only third-party ones we can use? Because I would love to use the mountain environment from the Creature Factory DVD.
    Thanks for any reply!

  • #1fan

    Hello. Just wanted to ask – Is there a version of the Sintel Cycles file with a rig? I have cycles, but when I use the old Sintel Lite model in Cycles, the textures are a mess. Please reply soon. Love the tutorials!

    • LswaN

      Andrew has a link above that takes you to the Sintel Cycles version 2 on blendswap. That should work.

  • http://www.facebook.com/khler.marcus Marcus Köhler

    is there only the sintel model available from the whole sintel project?i hope someone can tell me if there is also the model of the giant dragon, the streets and the town habitants available. if not i think i cant submit anything to this…

    • LswaN

      There are some Sintel files on the Blendswap website, you can try looking there for the stuff you need.

  • draguu

    hey andrew, can we use our own environment ? or is it like we can only remix from past 3 movies ….. and cannot add any of personal models

  • NathanWilkinson

    Can Somebody please show me where to get the Sintel environments. All I can find is the sintel light character.

  • miquelvalverde

    HELP! I can’t find Sintel Textures. Someone can help…? I think i’ve a good idea but… PLEASE :)

  • Owldude

    Why are the Big Buck Bunny textures so freakishly huge?

  • Yach snap

    It said me to wait an hour for complete download.

  • Yach snap

    Hi Andrew,
    Its good to have such contest but downloading model is to lengthy,takes much time!! ? 2 doo

  • Drison

    http://www.blendswap.com/blends/characters/tears-of-steel-quad-bot/

    Free tears of steel robot on BLEND SWAP You don’t have to buy the dvd!!
    But the dvd would be just as good (It has more stuff included like tutorials etc…)

  • Simonas Karevicius

    This look like a great opportunity to begin doing some serious Blender work. Got some crazy ideas already, I just hope my lappy can handle it all…

    An observation: since all those movies and their source files are under CC license, it doesn’t matter where they come from, does it? So if someone were to share the files it wouldn’t be against the law… or did I mess something up?

  • Choirul Rizal

    It should uses elements from one of open movies for the entry? I’m still confused about “Create an image or animation that uses elements from any of the open movies created by the Blender Foundation.” :)

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  • Amogh

    When is the competition thread going to approve?

  • Thomas M.

    Hi Andrew
    I wanted to enter the competiton because it is different then the others before. I even have a great idea but sadly I don’t have the money to buy the Tears of Steel DVD and because of that, I can’t realize my idea.
    I think everyone should have the same chance. The competition is about using the Source files of the open movies and do something fresh with them. But if not everyone can access that stuff the whole competition is unfair…
    Just my opinion..
    Thomas M.

    • Cian Mc Sweeney

      I agree i have the same problem

    • Andrew Price

      Agreed, but as far as I know, the tears of steel files should be available online somewhere. It’s completely open source so there should be multiple torrents up.
      I had a look myself and couldn’t find any, but then I’m not too good at finding them. If someone happens to spot one, shoot me a link and I’ll add it.

    • duckhands

      life’s not fair, but this comp. is.

  • Saifuddeen

    Hi guys, I really need help!

    I cant download any of the models except for Big Buck Bunny.How can I download the rest ?

    Thanks for your fast reply.

    • Chaos

      look the reply to Dallas Lammiman

  • http://cgsiino.daportfolio.com/ Carlos Garcia Siino

    Not sure if its because its because of my lack of knowledge, but the Big Buck Bunny models have some very complicated riggs. Again, not sure if it’s because I don’t really understand how they are set up but just thought I should mention it. Also downloading 114 GB for Sintel seems a bit over the top. Is there another way to get just the model without having to download such a huge amount of data?

    • Chaos

      The softer file available is this torrent for the 4 DVDs, raising 25GB: http://thepiratebay.se/torrent/5947800/Durian_Open_Movie_Project_-_Sintel_-_full_DVD_set
      The problem is the lack of seeders, so downloading can be very slow.
      And finally, remember that there are some sintel files available on Blendswap that you can use for this competition.

      • http://cgsiino.daportfolio.com/ Carlos Garcia Siino

        Thanks a bunch for the link! I was thinking I wasn’t really gonna be able to do anything but looks like there’s still hope for me yet ;)

  • http://www.facebook.com/javontaymcelroy Javontay Mcelroy

    Ok so I’m having a bit of a problem..say for instance that I wanted to put Big Buck Bunny, Sintel, and the characters of Elephant’s Dream, how do you put all of them in one Blender project? (And maybe keep the rigs)

    • John C.

      You could append the objects/rigs to one project by pressing shift-F1 then browsing for the files.

      • http://www.facebook.com/javontaymcelroy Javontay Mcelroy

        Thanks!

  • Ryan Baldwin

    This is great.

  • John C.

    Hi Andrew Price, is motion tracking, like in Tears of Steel, allowed?

  • therealnoz

    A remix competition?
    Using pre-made assets?
    Why?
    Working from the ground up shows skill in every level of CGI production. This doesn’t really do that.

    • Chuckie

      The people who win will probably have a will composed scene with good lighting and rendering.

    • http://www.facebook.com/javontaymcelroy Javontay Mcelroy

      Another thing, when working in the animation and visual effects field, toy will need to learn how to share and receive files so that things can be added. One person cannot do EVERYTHING in a feature film.

    • Sebastian

      But its about creating a good composition not just loping characters together

  • Ristridyn

    Great theme! I ‘m afraid I’ll have to pass on this one since I’m a bit occupied by school at the moment. but I’ll be following this on BA for sure!

  • Amogh

    Where can you get the tears of steel files for free??

  • Dallas Lammiman

    I don’t understand how to download any of the files except the Big Buck Bunny files… Its very confusing. When I try and download the Sintel files all I can find is extremely large files of some unknown file type… Help?

    • Chaos

      It’s not a strange file. It’s a free file format commonly used on GNU/Linux stations. If you are in windows, you can use 7-zip available freely on its website. Take into account that the Sintel files in that FTP is broken in several parts that have to be joined through your uncompressor program, and that it’s so heavy that raises 114GB that you have to download. You can use 7-zip for the uncompression.
      Luck.

      • Dallas

        Im in a Mac, how do I combine the files? Why no blend files seeing as it is a blender movie?

  • masluch

    Hey. Can I use models from sites like blendswap?
    Can I composit my images from passes in photoshop ? or/and make color corection ? blur etc.?
    When… if I win can I choose a cultural or religious institution insted of charity?
    Thanks for reply.

    • Kieran

      Read the guidelines, but he doesnt specify blendswap

      • masluch

        yeah I read it. that’s why I ask. He said “No bought models” but what about free ones and those with CC licences?
        And I’m still curious about other questions.

    • Chaos

      Yes. You can use them. Definitely. Some of them are just copies of the original files.
      Luck.

      • masluch

        yes but i mean models not from open movies. Like props (table, chair or something) or other models with cc licences. Maybe I sholud write an email to Adrew, becouse he’s not repling. I don’t want to make every little spimple things that are already made (there’s no sense in making everything from scratch every time)

    • Chaos

      What about donating for free software?

  • Nick

    So we use the source files to create the video or image?

  • Munya

    This is a brilliant idea Andrew. Pity I am not at this stage yet but when I get there I will just post for you guys to see. I feel like I’m in a coma (alive but can’t move)

  • http://www.facebook.com/EvenTarash Even Tarash Tudu

    All the best guys

  • Kieran

    It seems that you have to pay for tears of steel source files… Where is the .blend source files??

    • Wwza7

      Yes, I was wondering too about that. Looks like you don’t have any other choice like pay, or put Sintel somewhere in scene…

    • http://www.facebook.com/EvenTarash Even Tarash Tudu

      thats for free

  • http://www.facebook.com/javontaymcelroy Javontay Mcelroy

    Finally an easy competition that I can give a gander XP!!!

  • http://twitter.com/ferretwilliams Garrett Williams

    Sounds like we’re about to make their site hit its bandwidth limit with all these asset downloads. Sintel has 114 GB of data that can be downloaded!

  • Fil

    Is a month enough to create a competitive animation?

    • Andrew Price

      It’s easy, just don’t bite off more than you can chew. A 5 second well made animation will always beat a 3 minute bore-fest.

      Don’t forget you can take the pre-made animations from the movies and modify them. This is what I’m actually hoping to see. Characters dubbed, soundtracks changed and scenes altered in subtle but memorable ways ;)