OH
MY
GOD

*first post*

Watching it, then will comment.

Second post!

AHHHHH!!!

Third post!
Time to watch now…

needs faster internet..f..sdf.dgDDKGJDG

(Awww here I get for watching before posting, I was first to load this page, I swear. :P)
First reaction: I want movie nooooow!
Wow I have to say it was really great how you released all those small pictures in the previous days. Now it all comes together perfectly. But don’t you give out a lot of the story? Like any other movie trailer out there I guess.. *looks again and laughs even more at baby Gehn*

Guys… seriously… words cannot do this justice. This has got to be the greatest presentation of what Myst could, should and will be in a theatrical form. You have soared high above ANY expectations that we could have ever had for you.

This work, has summed up what the Book of Ti’ana encompassed. Anger, Loyalty, Betrayal, Injustice, Love, Honor, Pride. It has taken the people of D’ni that only existed on paper and breathed life into them. This theatrical trailer not only wets my appetite for a movie, but I’m sure that work of this calibur would attract not only the help of Hollywood, but their utmost blessing and care to turn this into a movie that rivals that of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Harry Potter franchise combined. This takes fantasy to a whole new level, and it put a very realistic tone into it all.

Adrian, Patrick, and to all who made merely the theatrical trailer possible, I give you my heartfelt thanks and my utmost belief and support for the Book of Ti’ana movie. This will not only be received well, but also become something the likes of which has never been seen before. Myst, D’ni, the Ages and the people are being brought to life and taking from the paper into the form of something beautiful. This has to be my lengthiest post right now, but it deserves it. I have such a flood of emotion and surprise flowing from mind that it puts me to shame to be allowed in your presence. My artwork that I thought of as “concept art” pales in comparison to these storyboards. I am humbled to be around a group of people as proud, wise and mentally sharp as you are.

The Miller brothers are proud, Cyan World is proud, and now the entire Myst fanbase is proud. All that’s left is to make the world proud.

“From an expanse as wide and vast as the night skies, leap into the unknown. It is only in that place of fleeting moments that you will realize what is true and what is real. Gather the knowledge like grains of sand in your hands and let them tumble through your fingers. Let the cosmos ring and the universe echo as the world is brought to life again.”

Congratulations to all of you. This is truly an impressive landmark in the creation of the Myst Movie.

Time for 2 comments:

1) Put this up for download, or something alongside the idea. We need this on YouTube, at the Guild sites, Cyan Worlds needs to promote it, get this to the news. This is IT. This is what needs to be done and the world is ready for it. If the two of you don’t want this done yet, I understand, but the time will have to come

2) If this becomes an actual trailer, make it the last one before the movie comes out. This one gives away almost the entire plot, so it would be like a 3rd or 4th trailer (kinda like how the Dark Knight has done their trailers. Theirs give away an increasing amount as time goes on).

Again, brilliant job, and I’m glad to have been able to be apart of this (for however long I’ve been here).

Thank you so much for all you’ve done. To all who were, are, and will be a part of this.

Well Done!

~Nek’rahm

So you’re saying that we should spread this everywhere but at the same time it should be kept secret because it’s spoilery?
(But with the copyright and stuff, spreading it everywhere might not be the best thing. Links to here will have to do. )

:O

That’s all I can say.

And yes, please youtube or download or something… I want to watch it again and don’t want to wait for a year…

Wow… that was amazing. Now that I have seen that, I’m not surprised Cyan Worlds gave you their blessing.

You’re right, Veovis is kinda eclipsing everyone else… But that is perfectly all right with me!! That was well worth the wait!!!!!

Not quite how I pictured linking panels though.

And on watching the second time, I am glad no squees or reekoos were harmed!! *gigglesnort* After all, there is more than one way to skin a reekoo…

I wish that you had some dialouge from Ti’ana. XD but I suppose you couldn’t find a female voiceactor in time?

eeeeeeeeeee, pardon me while I show ALL MY FRIENDS EVER. Well, all my Myst friends. Eeee.

Wow.

Just, wow.

Years ago, watching over the shoulder of my father as he played Myst, this game unknown to me, I felt an automatic attraction to explore this world of imagination. For the time being, I could only watch my father enter D’ni, and it gave me chills; the noise of that linking book, the ancient feel to these imposable worlds, I could never, and can never, truly explain what draws me to this universe where books link to faraway worlds, other than the chance to explore - to uncover a history lost to time.

Several years later, I dug out my father’s old copy of Myst on a whim, ran it (or rather, forced it to run) on my new computer, and remembered why it was I had felt the need to dig it back out in the first place. The world of Myst had never left my mind, after years of seeming absent.

Upon the discovery that there were in fact books (I was a reading FANATIC at the time), I immediately ran over to the library to find them. Reading them, my imagination ran wild through the corridors of ancient D’ni and The Cleft. Although books are no audio-experience, the sound of linking-books always echoed in my head as I read.

Myst, Riven, Exile, the books of Atrus, Ti’ana and D’ni. What a grand movie these books would make, I thought. But who would ever be able to pull it off?

Watching your animatic tonight, I felt a glimmer of hope in someday seeing the world I spent my childhood in alive on the big screen.

A glimmer…

However, that glimmer sparked into a flame, and a full blaze since, at exactly the three minute and forty-seven second mark of your animatic, when a sound - a sound I haven’t heard in nearly ten years but have never forgotten - rang from my speakers. The sound of a D’ni linking book. It brought shivers to my neck for the remainder of the animatic.

As a independent writer of reviews for independent movies, games, and music, I must say that this is the grandest independent project I have every encountered. I am amazed at the perseverance and the product that you and your partners have pulled off. Truly no words can exactly explain it, but you have re-awoken something within me. I wait breathlessly for what the future brings of your project.

Keep up the fantastic work,
~Alehkhs

*makes incoherent happy Eleri noises*

Gentlemen, congratulations. Myst is in good hands with you.

Just a few of initial comments:

Unequivocal and unrelenting praise is not going to help the movie be the best it could be. Say what’s good, but make sure to say what could be improved, otherwise it looks like blind fanaticism, or worse, brown-nosing.

Note 1: Sexual climax implied in the hand-hold. Having seen RAWA’s comments about how one should avoid obvious consummation of a relationship in any script which wants to be taken seriously by Cyan, I am curious about this inclusion. The book uses Cyan’s apparent preference to have children delivered by stork.

Note 2: Lots of kissing. Seems to be a high percentage of intimate stills compared to the length of the animatic. James Cameron does very well including love stories in most things he does, and I support this for a powerful movie. But in combination with the suggestive hand-hold, I have to wonder where you are coming from.

Note 3: I just read the book of Ti’ana a week ago. Atrus is indifferent and observational up through Anna’s introduction to the Council and beyond to her assignment to his household. He does not know her, though he knows of her. His outburst in her defense before Council seems quite premature.

Note 4: I do not know the official pronunciation of “Veovis” and if you are 100% accurate, that’s how it should be. But I think Vee-o-vis with accent on first syllable sounds far less distinguished than Vee-ahh-vis with accent on second syllable. These people are posh, upper-crust, and the latter pronunciation sound much more hoi-poloi.

Note 5: I think the BoT fails at providing enough motive for Veovis and others to do what they do - the characters are a bit flat. I hope you can bring greater dimension and life to them. The book exactly transcribed would not convince a movie audience. That’s where a love story would come in handy, but don’t do that at the expense of other characterizations. Good characterization will make the love story even more real and important in contrast.

And to anyone worried about giving away the plot. Well, the book kinda does that already.

Awesome! I found it a little hard to tell who was speaking due to the limited voice actors though.

@Ryuu: There is dialog from Ti’ana — she just has a very male-sounding voice…

Note 2: Lots of kissing. Seems to be a high percentage of intimate stills compared to the length of the animatic. James Cameron does very well including love stories in most things he does, and I support this for a powerful movie. But in combination with the suggestive hand-hold, I have to wonder where you are coming from.

I hope that if they stay away from monkies on beaches that Cyan will accept it. Also, it’s just a hand hold. Catherine and Atrus hold hands, damn it. >>;;;

Herohtar: which is why they need a female voice actor to do the darn dialouge XD

I agree with JWPlatt on the sexual stuff, though I am not sure what the big deal is about holding hands. What makes me wonder is the horizontal, face-to-face, unclothed (at least the guy doesn’t seem to have a shirt on) situation that appears just before the clasped hands.

The last sentence in my previous was poorly worded. Read it as: That’s where a love story would come in handy, but don’t do that at the expense of other characterizations. Good characterization will make the love story even more real and important in contrast.
.
And to anyone worried about giving away the plot. Well, the book kinda does that already.
.
Now, to respond:
.
Those aren’t hands swaying in the breeze on a stroll along the beach. Those are hands pressed into the bedsheets in a quintessential PG-13 orgasm. Not that I mind. I’m fine with orgasms onscreen or anywhere. Did you all see “History of Violence?” Heh. James Cameron, who I mentioned earlier, did the same hand-squeeze thing in “Terminator” with Reece and Sarah Connor to beget John. And so does your average soap opera. But there’s nothing like it in the book, and RAWA has stated his preference for the absence of such things, so I think it warrants attention.

Just amazing, this movie is a definite winner! I agree with you two on the emotion of the last few minutes, great stuff!

*makes very annoying high-pitched noise of joy*

YES! YES YES YES!! This is . . . wow . . . words cannot describe how totally awesome this is.

Wonderful! great! WOOHOO!

Thanks for putting that up.It’s just great!

Now,to comments:

1) did I see…camels? ah,guys,it’s official that the cleft is actually in New Maxico.Oh well,horses will fix that

2) you know,maybe you can base things on MOUL? (uru).Some of the places in MTBOT were released in uru.Seeing places like ae’gura and the cleft in the uru version will be cool.

3) as I said before,I’m a bit disappointed about the look of the council hall…oh well,it’s your decision.

4) I’ve seen many movies where the characters were supposed to speak in another language.So,here’s a suggestion from what I saw: when the characters are supposed to speak d’ni,but they are speaking english,let them do this weird accent.It works very well,it really shows you that although they are speaking English,they are not really speaking English.

Again,amazing video!

Words fail me. If the movie delivers what you’ve promised in the trailer there will be at least one Myst fan who has absolutely zero complaints. I just… my mind is blown. That was awesome beyond all possible ability of words to describe.

Just a thought: Great concepts, but I think the trailer gives away way too much. It doesn’t leave tension or anything. The first bit was great, and I think that for the final cinematic trailer it would be best to stop there.

But I know you were doing this for Cyan and such.

Face it, with this crowd you’ll have to stop us from trying to design this movie by committee

That great A & P,Just one little thing, at 33 seconds in the beginning you have to pronounce D’Ni.. *DUNNY*

And, Someone in here should get a Job to pass time?

Damn that was awesome! Jeez, you don’t even need actors hahaha….it can be an animated film! WOW!

So, Adrian did nearly all of the voices eh?

For a second I thought Anna was a guy XD

Alright, seriously, I SWEAR I’ve heard that ending music before.

I don’t know where, I know I have though, where did you guys get your music score?

The Stranger: Adrian and Patrick are going with Book!Canon, becuase the New Mexico thing is stupid and doesn’t fit. Really, it is, and I feel that shift was entirely unnecessary on Cyan’s part for multiple reasons, the least of which is the horrible historical inaccuracy. And believe me, I’ve done the research - I actually read a book on the history of New Mexico, and it just would not have worked. Besides which? There’s no volcanic activity in New Mexico. guess where there IS? The Mediterranean. Which means the Middle East.

the New Mexico shift was something done purely for Uru, and therefore I agree with their use of book canon in this case. Books > Uru anyway. Uru was mildly fun, but the books were far, far better (especially BoA and BoT.)

Nek’rahm: The end music was used in the Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian trailers. Took me a few minutes to place it too… Which is actually a great reference, since John Howe is on both projects. Yay!!!!!!!!

Yey! Finnally! It looks great. You guys really know how to show the promise this story has to be a great movie. Can’t wait to see what it really looks like when it’s finished.

Remember, I’m still volunteering to be an extra when you need them.

BRAVO!!!!!!BRAVO!!!!!!!! whatever-the-italian-word-for-beautiful-!!!! that was wonderfully done! I have my full confidence that you will do a great job. (not that i had any doubts) i loved it.

oh, and just one question, are you going to have Aitrus visit any of the ages in Uru? that would be cool to see maintainers running around in Gahreesen, and Aitrus taking Anna to Kadish Tolesa.

and Ryuu, think of it this way, there could have been a bunch of tunnels leading out of D’ni, all of them leading all around the world. most of them fell in during the destruction of D’ni, but maybe one of the tunnels was in New Mexico. i don’t know if there aren’t any volcano’s in New Mexico, but i don’t know. that is the way i think it through.

Ryuu: the facts are the facts.It was told that d’ni is in New Maxico.I agree that the middle east sounds better,but it’s just the info cyan worlds gave us.This is how it is.

“and I feel that shift was entirely unnecessary on Cyan’s part for multiple reasons”

Think about it: cyan worlds didn’t just do it for fun.There’s probebly something behind their decision,don’t you think?

“I actually read a book on the history of New Mexico, and it just would not have worked. Besides which? There’s no volcanic activity in New Mexico.”

And that’s why it’s called A VIDEO GAME.Things don’t have to be real.

“Uru was mildly fun, but the books were far, far better (especially BoA and BoT.)”

For you,anyway.

Ryuu,I know what you mean,I didn’t liked MOUL (uru) that much too.But I came to accept what it is.I still don’t agree with a lot of the canon,but there are still some nice things.Think about it…New Maxico…all the wild west thing…sound pretty cool to me.

Congrats on the progress, guys! I know how great it feels to get something done.
Good luck on step two: getting the money. That is arguably the hardest part, but many writers go get it with much less than you guys already have to show for it, and still acquire the funding.
Good luck, boys.

Gentlemen: the day I watch a movie set in “ancient” New Mexico is the day during which I eat a pound of broken glass. I will say no more.

…And seriously, holding hands is a problem? Did I bonk my head and wake up in the 1950’s? Were Elvis’s hip thrusts all for naught?

Wau that looks great

This is just amazing, it’s above all my expectations!

The trailer really emphasises the impact Anna’s coming (and especially her union with Aitrus) had on D’ni.

About the hands… they are just hands in my opinion. I understand that it’s suggestive, and JWPlatt shows that’s easy to picture the rest of the scene, but only adults would do that I think. I don’t think of sex when I see two hands, and especially not as extensively as JWPlatt put it. That may be because I’m not an adult, so I don’t think it’s a problem for younger people.
I like the hands personally, because they symbolise the union between Aitrus and Anna.
If we’re talking about the shot before the hands when they seem to be undressed… Yeah, then you have a point, but if it stays like that, just a shot, it would be quite decent compared to what people see in other movies nowadays.
Nek’rahm, I too recognise the ending music. I think it’s from a movie that isn’t too old. I can’t place it at the moment… It certainly fits.

I’ve just watched it again… my heart pulse quickens each time I watch it! It’s just brilliant! I really like how Veovis and his father and their relationship have been outlined. I just can’t find enough words to describe how awesome this trailer is…

This will certainly appeal to the masses. It has to be.

Thanks for giving us this preview. I truly think you will become the ones to re-introduce Myst to the public and will regenerate the interest in the D’niverse. You have my full support!

Don’t worry about getting the money. I’m sure with what you have it will come in time. There are a lot of floating stories out there in the movie world, but by the looks of it, this is one for the taking. I look forward to the day I see this on the big screen.

“There’s no volcanic activity in New Mexico.”

Are you so sure? because I found one volcano in New Mexico in a quick google search.

“Gentlemen: the day I watch a movie set in “ancient” New Mexico is the day during which I eat a pound of broken glass. I will say no more.”

Why being so negetive? I mean,I looked around for New Mexico history,and it seems there were cowboys,indians,and all sort of things.

At the whole hand-hold thing, we have to realize something. Aitrus and Anna are married, they have a child, they had sex. It happened, deal with it.

Younger kids will see it as an expression of love. Older kids and adults will understand what is behind it. Personally, as long as it isn’t TOO suggestive, I think it will be fine. I mean, there is love in any relationship. Name me ANY movie that had two people in love and have a child in which it didn’t show SOME reference to them actually conceiving the child. It happens, it’s a part of life, as much for D’ni as it is for humanity.

It’s just a concept people have to deal with, that’s all. I doubt Adrian and Patrick will over emphasize it though, it’s probably only barely going to be mentioned.d

By the way, at 4:05 / 4:06 … is that the entrance to the Guild Hall as we see it in Uru?

Overall, I liked most of it. There were a couple rough spots, but many more good spots. I need to watch it again to give specific feedback.
Some general comments though: I don’t believe Cyan would be so Puritanical as to not allow a depiction of a married couple expressing themselves. I believe nobody will have any problem with what’s presented here. Also, the music is from “Requiem for a Dream.” It has been used in quite a few trailers. The Two Towers for one, and Babylon AD, the preview for which is in theaters now. It’s terrific music, unquestionably. BUT, when my friends I saw the latest trailer to use it, one asked if every action movie had to use that music lately. It might be TOO good, and bordering on oversaturated. As to everyone saying this trailer is too long and spoilery–this is not a a trailer. No trailer is over 4 minutes long. This is a DEMO. It’s designed to generate interest and show the tone. This will not be shown in theaters, not even if they get a huge budget and film everything flawlessly. It’s supposed to get industry people interested in the project, so no need to worry about the length or spoilers. Because this isn’t how they’ll advertise the movie to the public.
Finally, have you guys ever considered an animated movie? I know it’s not as ideal, but I wonder if it might be easier to finance? It could still look impressive as an animation, and there might be certain advantages to it. Just a thought.
Specific comments to come later!

Actually Cyan said that D’ni was under New Mexico from the beginning, and the sandy middle-east desert was just a bad guess on Wingrove’s part. D’ni was not moved for Uru, unless you have reasons to believe they are not telling the truth.

It’s not the first thing to be wrong in the books; Kerath’s arch too doesn’t look at all like the one in D’ni and it’s smaller copy in Riven.

Wow. Stunning guys. This really was thought out and put together well. The anticipation for it was well worth everything that went into it.
Just a few things to comment on really:
1) The music went really well with it. Requiem for a dream is such good piece to promote any movie. I remember the LOTR trailer and it but it really is a “Myst” piece and it fits so well with the theme.
2) I agree with the comments about the plot. Perhaps the frames could be more generalised.so as not to give so much away - like more speech for each scene and holding each scene frame for longer.
3) Perhaps the frames could be animatised a bit more. Hard to describe but everything looks kinda “still”. Maybe things could be done to the effects to make it feel like things are in motion.

Overall though, it’s looking great and I can’t wait to see more - if it’s released. Also, I think that when you tackle the whole thing, it should all fit together nicely.

I’m sure your parents would be proud.

Concerning whether or not to use New Mexico or the Middle East, it’s really up to Cyan and what they’ll agree to for the movie.

On that note, there are several volcanoes in and bordering New Mexico (see USGS “New Mexico Volcanoes and Volcanics” : http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/NewMexico/framework.html)

As far as camels go, camels first appeared in New Mexico (officially) as early as 1857, where a line of 25 camels were led by Edward Fitzgerald Beale during his exploration of the Southwestern United States, in fact, he wrote of his encounters with the Native Americans in the area, and how they responded to seeing camels for the first time (see Edward Fitzgerald Beale: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Fitzgerald_Beale)

On JWPlatt’s suggestion to do more than simply acknowledge the fine product of hard work that this animatic has become (as “Unequivocal and unrelenting praise… looks like blind fanaticism, or worse, brown-nosing,”), here are some critical thoughts on the animatic:

1) Where some find fault with the “sexual” connotations of the held-hands, I feel that romantic, and even sexual interactions can be tastefully done, and I trust that the Mysteriacs are not planning on creating a smut piece. On that note, as long as the relationship is well-developed and not simply a “you sure are mighty pretty, and here we are all alone… baby-makin’ ” type scene, I believe that there should not be an issue. Do not sacrifice character for emotion, but rather incorporate emotion in character.

2) I agree that the novel itself does seem to lack development in the area of Veovis, and I am happy that the animatic appears to go into more depth concerning his motivation and actions. As long as the sometimes rash actions of the novel are more filled-out in the film, I don’t believe that it will be an issue.

3) Again, a hollowness permeates in the novel concerning the Aitrus’s thoughts surrounding Anna. The trailer seems to develop the conflict between Aitrus and the council as they debate what should be done with the surface-dweller. As long as character is developed, and Aitrus is not simply looking for a fight, this could be very powerful.

4) As a small and final note concerning the “revealing” nature of this animatic, I agree that while it does give away a good portion of the plot, it would be an outstanding theatrical-trailer shown just before release of the final feature.

In the end, and in respect to the Mysteriacs, it is hard to find many complaints within this fine demonstration of devotion and perseverance. Even as I watched the animatic over and over in an effort to develop these few small complaints, I continue to be in awe of the raw power that emits from the images and speech. Shivers still spread through my body. Great job guys, I have full faith in your future efforts.

~Alehkhs

All I can say is….wow!

Well Tomahna, this was done about 4 years ago XD

And it was just a rough idea. I’m sure that they’d use real people for the next trailer.

I just finished a looong day at work. I get home and 4 minutes later all of this long day disappears. Great work guys. Ti’ana’s voice makes me wonder, how could she live in the desert and affortd “the juice”?

Comments on the comments:
1. They aren’t trying to make the book a movie, they are making a movie based on the book; there are going to be differences, get used to it.

2. It takes place in the middle east beacause that is where the book is set. I would imagine if they were doing a movie based on Uru, it would be based in New Mexico.

3. About the trailer giving away too much: it was designed for Cyan, not Joe Nobody. Pretty much everyone that is going to see this animatic already knows the whole story anyway.

4. The ending music: I don’t care where it came from, that was awesome! ::chills::

Great work! I look forward to the first real trailer, with you know…real people and female voices

Technically speaking, that was superbly well-crafted. One complaint: I really hope the dialogue in the final draft of the screenplay is less stilted. I know the D’ni are an elitist race, but it’ll be difficult for anyone to listen to all those “shalls” and non-contractions. I know, part of it is the delivery by a non-thespian, and part of it is that the animatic is so many years old. I’m just hoping/assuming that both of your dialogue-writing chops have developed since then, as I’d hate for that to spoil such an ambitious, creative project. There are plently of books out there on writing realistic dialogue - not that yours is bad, it just sounds like it needs some definite polishing if that’s what we’ll be hearing in the final product.

My $.02…

Heh, “No squees or reekoos were harmed during this production”. That line HAS to stay in the credits somewhere :).

Wow, looking good. I’m excited to see things coming along and I can’t wait for more of the same. Though I have to agree with JWPlatt–Cyan wants to keep stuff associated with them family-friendly so don’t push the suggestive content. But, looking good. And I coulda sworn that music was from the Two Towers trailer, not Prince Caspian…

You guys (commenters) need to give the “hand holding” thing a rest. Hand holding IS family friendly. It’s THE most tasteful way to convey a particular action/emotion. Frankly, if you’re a parent and you don’t think your kid can handle seeing clasped hands, you’re doing your job wrong. It would be a shame to make Adrian and Patrick gun-shy to do anything risky or edgy. When you’re making creative choices, you can’t be focused on how people will react–you have to think about what’s best for the movie.

I can just feel the potential oozing off the animatic.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Uru, it’s that potential will only meet you half-way… So I’ll keep my eyes open and my enthusiasm tempered, at least until the script is done and they begin the long hard search for funds.

As far as Turjan’s music, yeah I can totally see that.

But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that making a score for a film is about 9 times harder than it looks or sounds, and requires weeks and weeks of non-stop dedication, attention, and pure sweating it out… No ‘waiting’ for the muse to strike when there’s a deadline.

Not to discourage anyone of course. Let’s just all keep in mind that we can all imagine contributing whatever talents we have; the problem is, not many people think about the cost in pure grunt-work.

Wow! Straight off the plane after a 9 hour flight from England and 10 days with no computer or internet, I log on and find this very, very cool trailer. What a treat! Thank you for this glimpse of your vision. I’m looking forward to more.

Ok, look folks. Many of you do not see the issue. That is not a hand-hold, even though that’s how I initially described it. If you look at the animatic, it is two clasped hands pressed into soft bedsheets. There can be only one reason for that shot. I appreciate sexuality in films. Sexuality is not my concern here, no matter how blatent or how obscure. My concern is about Cyan giving a green light to a Myst Movie. And my concern comes from this quote, directly from RAWA himself:
.
RAWA wrote (about the scuttled miniseries):
“But I will give a hint for anyone planning to submit an outline to develop the Myst stories for another medium: The words “Atrus and Catherine consummate their relationship” do not belong anywhere in the Book of Atrus. Believe me, that one hint alone will save us all a great deal of time. ”
http://forums.drcsite.org/viewtopic.php?p=29883#29883
.
I realize RAWA is speaking of different characters from a different book, but it does represent Cyan’s views and values. As a fan of Cyan, of Myst, of Uru, I felt I should not let this pass unchallenged. Because I want to see a movie. If Cyan says okay to an onscreen cosummation or conception of Gehn as the animatic scenes suggest, that’s great. I’d love to see it. I think it’s much more realistic to include sexuality, and I’d rather it be there. But the best word I have to go on about what is acceptable to Cyan, is RAWA’s word.

Oh, and Patrick and Adrian, I sent you guys an e-mail today concerning the theatrical trailer shown here.

I know you probably have a lot of e-mails right not at your mystmovie.com e-mail, but the question is of a moderate level of importance.

It’s just a question that I’m hoping for a response from. Not to bother you, and I don’t want you to rush, but if you see an e-mail from me, please don’t mark it as spam.

JW, I think your getting all worked up about nothing. I think that if they film that scene (if it’s still in the script) and Cyan doesn’t like it, they can cut it. The scene won’t make or break the film and we are far, far from a final cut.

Very far

We haven’t even gotten to Hollywood yet. Chill

Wow Nek’rahm
Your review at the top couldn’t have been said better. That’s all I gotta say.

As for the desert, I don’t care where it’s shot, just as long as it can be dressed up to look a bit similar to Uru’s desert (which won’t take much work, right?).

And where was that music from? I agree I swear I’ve heard it before.

@AndyBlooShoes

A lot of the music was from Hans Zimmer’s “King Arthur” soundtrack (Not that great a movie, but nice music), and the Action-y theme near the end was Requiem of a Dream - The Two Towers edition. (Peter Jackson actually commisioned a “more exciting” version of the Requiem theme for the Two Towers trailer, and it’s been used in action/fantasy movies ever since.) Not sure about the rest, though.

I’d personally have been more impressed if more time was spent on the voice acting than the visuals. Yet the animatic was made to impress Cyan, and I think focusing on making the storyboards was a wise step towards that goal.

Completely mindblowingly awesome. I LOVE the angle you guys have taken on the story. It feels massively epic!! Well done

Oh, ok! Thank you. I actually saw that earlier after reading your comment.

JWPlatt, it seems you’re getting worked up about nothing. Holding hands is always fine, and I think you’re forgetting that Cyan viewed this animatic IMMEDIATELY when they found out about P&A. It was in their DVD they sent them. And so obviously, they must have approved it. (Well, who knows? But I still think they would. I always wanted a little more romance. I mean the book just totally went from “Yes, I’ll marry you” to “15 years later, Ti’ana was in labor”.) It’s not like the whole movie here will be based on heir romance, and I believe THAT was what RAWA was trying to avoid. Too much time on it.

Oh somehow my name is always changing! I’m really AndyBlooShoes.

And as to the music, I think something Lord of the Rings-esque with Middle-East influences would fit the part perfectley, a style which Turjan has pulled off quite well in his sample. That kind of tone and voice adds to the culture and mystery of the D’ni, as well as the surface-dweller aspect. I’ve always thought of D’ni music to be almost Middle-Eastern anyway, but I’m sure whatever you choose it’ll be epic.

Nice work guys. Here are my thoughts:

1) Don’t listen to anyone complaining about hand-holding. They’re probably thirteen-year-old fundamentalists. People have sex. Get used to it. Sexual intimacy is a wonderful, beautiful thing and nothing to be ashamed of, hide, or censor. Aitrus and Ti’ana love each other. I can’t BELIEVE anyone, Cyan included, would get all riled up about a shot of clasped hands. It isn’t pornography.

2) The animatic definitely conveyed a sense of your passion for the story, which I think is all it was meant to do. I’m refraining from judging it from an artistic perspective, assuming instead that the production/creative value will be considerably raised once actual production begins (with actors, real sound equipment/cameras, and an original score). That being said, the only thing I’m worried about is the dialogue, but I’m assuming that you’ve both polished your writing skills in the years since the animatic was created.

3) To the fans: don’t be afraid to constructively criticize. All the praise in the world, while good for the ego, doesn’t help a creative project one bit. These guys are still in pre-production. There’s still plenty of time for polishing. Don’t worry about hurting anybody’s feelings. Constructive criticism is given for one reason: not to put anyone down, but in an attempt to help out of respect and admiration both of the project and its creators.

Guys,if this movie goes up with a expansive production and all: we are all set up.If Cyan Worlds can survive until than,they can make MOUL a best seller,and whatnot.There will be so much new myst fans…

Patrick,Adrian.Please don’t go on cheap production.We all want this movie to be huge.Better than LOTR or HP or whatnot.This could be a HUGE comeback for myst.

I’m hoping more that they write the Book of Marrim, over Uru coming back. Cause if Ti’ana goes over well, Atrus and D’ni will be wanted. This means that we should get the next two books and a LOT more content History wise.

I want them to do both!

But really,if I have to choose,it’s MOUL.Brings more money,if more players will come.

Beside,people who see this movie will probebly care more for d’ni,good story and ages,not atrus.

MMOs are “the hot stuff” today.Think about what will happen if “the other hot stuff”,instead of elves,goblins,wars and upgrading levels will be interesting story,d’ni,puzzles and ages?

WOW.Just…WOW.

I would certainly look forward to that day every day of my life leading up to it!

And YES for Book of Marrim - it all fits in so perfectly! If Cyan just focuses on writing Book of Marrim now, that is. Gametap still has the rights for two more years (if they do not give them up first) and this movie should be out in 1-2 years. Then, once they have the rights back, they’ll use the money from the movie and the book to make their OWN Uru!

Anyone who says you guys have been wasting your time in 2004 clearly hasn’t seeen this animatic.

I thought the trailer was a good start, but it really needs to be tightened up. Right now it makes the movie look like a courtroom drama dressed up as a fantasy flick. Not the sort of thing that’s going to grab the non-Myst fan and make him or her sit up and take notice. There’s too much arguing back and forth and not enough action and spectacle. As a fan, I’m thrilled they’re apparently sticking so closely to the book, but I think a stronger sense of sweep and grandure would better serve the project.

I saw the trailer animatic yesterday - terrific work! It’s quite a payoff after reading through the blog posts detailing all the work going into it.
…
Regarding the request to see more action: I’m sure the final trailer will insert more scenes during the voice-over than these static images of people talking.

Keep in mind they were working with what they had FOUR years ago. They have likely continued and nearly completed the script, they’ve edited the script intensively, and they’re working hard to bring this to Hollywood.

Don’t you think it’s going to be a “tad” more impressive nowadays?

This is very
very
cool.
.
I love it.
.
No more words right now. Just… amazing work!!

Just got an e-mail from the duo.

They’ll be putting up, later tonight, a list of all the music scores that were cut and used in here, as well as the people who have copyright ownership of said musical scores.

Yay

If nobody minds, I’m uploading it to youtube.

“If nobody minds, I’m uploading it to youtube.”
_
I think Nek’rahm is also in the process of doing so.

Erm, I’m waiting to see if Cyan Worlds is okay with it first, cause I don’t wanna get sued.

I’d suggest sending a letter to legal, since I haven’t gotten a reply.

Actually, Cyan isn’t an issue. The animatic belongs to Mysteria Film Group and has been released publicly with the support of Cyan Worlds. Any copyright issues regarding the animatic on youtube would be from the music contained within it. As we mentioned in our email to Nek, we cannot actively encourage the publishing of the video on youtube, but we certainly cannot stop fans from doing so.

Oh…. okay.

Welp, either way, my upload has already commenced. So far, waited 20 minutes for it to upload.

storyboards look fine. that animatic was WAY too exposition heavy, with not enough drama cues.

Keep at em. I think Pat and Adrian have their hearts in the right place.

It’s up on YouTube now.

Account is: BookofTiana
Video: Myst - The Book of Ti’ana Animatic Trailer

That was AWESOME!! I’m so excited!

It’s up now.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=589qsjSlomE

Now there are two.
Oh well

Oh well

Spread the love I guess :S

Absolutely wonderful! Really got me excited and choked up. Adrian & Patrick, you have done well. Even awesome.

Patrick was pretty against me posting this comment because he thought it may be seen as too defensive, but I’m doing it anyway. I don’t really think I’m defending so much as clarifying so…Patrick forgive me…
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First off, thank you All for your comments. We really appreciate all of your thoughts (praise and criticism). It’s always nice to have feedback.
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I think there are a few misconceptions about what the purpose of this animatic was. Let me clarify- The animatic was simply a previsualization tool for our internal use only that, because of Cyan’s near folding, ended up becoming our primary pitch piece to them. Our original intent was to present a fully-produced, live action, studio quality trailer for their review. This animatic was built to shed light on the problem areas of the trailer script (of which there were many). One of our great struggles was attempting to imagine the seminal scenes and one or two lines from those scenes that would be significant enough to include in the trailer when we had no developed script at the time. Personally, I think the animatic served its purpose quite well. We saw a lot of things that needed work, but after multiple conversations with Cyan, it was determined that continuing to develop a trailer was a waste of time. We had planned to revise the script for the trailer, and by association the animatic, but that was abandoned when pursuit of the feature film went into full swing. The animatic was a first-pass at our concepts.
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I tend to agree with the idea that it lacks the scope that a Myst film deserves. There is one major reason for this: Big shots cost big money. When you’re working with an environment that doesn’t exist, you have to create the entire thing through practical sets, CGI, matte paintings, etc. All of these things cost a great deal of money (even when you have artists working on the cheap). The animatic was a rough representation of what we planned to shoot. This meant being realistic about what was achievable on our budget and would still allow us to maintain the level of quality in our visual effects we were intent on. Necessarily, we were forced to compromise and determine which shots were absolutely essential.
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Another limitation with the animatic was that no set-design or concept art had yet been completed. This made it difficult for our artist, Phil, to render exactly what we planned to have in our shots. That being said, we also determined that is was wise to stay somewhat tight in our framing to maintain a “reasonable” budget. The more you see, the more you have to build. These are just the facts. We were already looking at a $300,000 budget for the trailer. We needed to be as conservative as possible while still giving a clear picture of our tonal vision and thematic focuses.
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In short, rest assured that this animatic is not by any means the end-all-be-all of our ideas, vision or intentions for the feature film. It is merely a rough glimpse into something far larger and far more epic in scope.

Saw messages attacking this trailer saying it wouldn’t impress Hollywood.

Can you guess whether or not they actually watch the site regularly?

WOW Looking good so far!! I am looking forward to seeing more!

Herm, might be me, but I’m beginning to understand some arguments about the content.

I love it, plain and simple, but there are parts that do seem over/undersaturated and boring at times. My brother even went so far as to say that the entire animatic bored him. I thought he was off his rocker but I can understand it coming from someone who’s never read the Myst books.

To put it simply, I can’t wait to see how you guys pull another “trailer” together to show the public, not just the already-fans and casual gamers.

P.S. I think this might hit 100 comments O-o

The music has indeed gotten quite popular ever since it’s original debut! I heard it playing earlier, but I think it fits Myst the best.