Jabba The Hutt Diorama (The Viewing Frame WIP)

Nicely done!

CHEERS!

Thanks, Roger.

I agree, very nicely done. This is really coming together now.

Thanks, Guv.

At this point, I’m done with what I can do. Though I do need to make a cross-cut sled for my table saw to continue with the cabinet build.

Amazing, makes me so happy to see this coming together! Good luck with the cabinet....

Thanks, Skywalkersaga. Appreciate it.

DAMN!!!! I cant even get over how good this is looking. The paint on the Rancor pit grating is a perfect aged metal, and the texture of the sand floor is amazing. The lighting is so atmospheric. Seriously man, you are absolutely killing it on this.

Appreciate the compliment, Brother. Glad to see you back with more Radio Kings.

Stryker2011 wrote:Received the third power supply for the LED spot lights today, so I was finally able to light up both overhead lights above the band.

Man, Your palace is such a Masterpiece. When i watch this picture i hear the music in my head, and it was many Years ago i watch the movie

Thanks, Ephi. Thanks to MerylAkiba for suggesting it, I’ve been looking into the idea of adding a sound chip to this that would play the Max Rebo Band song whenever it gets switched on — even though “sound” doesn’t translate in photographs, it was such a brilliant and fun idea, I feel compelled to give it a shot. So, big shout out to MerylAkiba for adding to my workload!

Just make sure you're playing the original music, not that horrid animated monstrosity Lucas did for the Special Edition (or whatever it was).

GubernatorFan wrote:Just make sure you're playing the original music, not that horrid animated monstrosity Lucas did for the Special Edition (or whatever it was).

I honestly don’t remember much about the SE versions (other than the idiotic way Lucas messed with Han’s character in the first one). Was the song different in the SE from the theatrical version?

Stryker2011 wrote:I honestly don’t remember much about the SE versions (other than the idiotic way Lucas messed with Han’s character in the first one). Was the song different in the SE from the theatrical version?

Yes, they changed the song and added additional footage and characters, most of them extremely corny and out of place or unnecessary.

See here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p9ozSFOMQY (at 7:20 "Lapti Nek" replaced by "Jedi Rocks")

You can easily find full versions of both the original and later footage for a fuller comparison.

Oh. For. The. Love. Of. God!!! I wish I hadn't sat through that video. Now, I remember all the horrible changes Lucas made to those films. What an imbecile. ROTJ has its faults, most notable among them the Leia is Luke's sister BS which was never the original intent, and the idiotic Ewoks -- well, most of the second half of the movie falls flat apart to be honest, aside from the cool Speeder Bike sequence.

I did recall the moronic move to have a young Anakin pop up as the ghost of Vader -- when everyone else appears as they do at the moment of their demise. It's tragic to think that they're are folks out there who have never had the pleasure of the original (unedited -- or undamaged imho) versions of the OT.

And, no. I won't be using that horrible new song -- that whole sequence was embarrassing even in its abbreviated form. I was, however, thinking about using the version that MerylAkiba posted a few pages back -- it's a decent mix of the original song by the Rebo band.

Love the lights over the band! The grate is looking really nice too.

Thanks much, Alex.

I particularly love that display stand....so exquisite and many accessories come with.... and the Jabba looks better than the old ones....

Thanks, lawlaw91. And I agree that the new Jabba does look great. I don’t have the old one, but I’ve seen pics — so, of course, my opinion about which one is better is probably too biased to be taken as an accurate assessment.

Hi all. It’s been awhile since I posted updates, and sadly I don’t have anything yet. However, I’ve been struggling with a lighting issue — so the wife suggested I crowd source for a solution. Anyway, my concern is with all the highly directional light sources in this environment, and once I back light the photographic backdrop that blackpool has been working on, that Jabba, et al, will become a large mass of dark shapes. Any suggestions for possible subdued lighting that won’t detract from the existing spots, but will help pull the figures out of the shadows?

Stryker2011 wrote:Hi all. It’s been awhile since I posted updates, and sadly I don’t have anything yet. However, I’ve been struggling with a lighting issue — so the wife suggested I crowd source for a solution. Anyway, my concern is with all the highly directional light sources in this environment, and once I back light the photographic backdrop that blackpool has been working on, that Jabba, et al, will become a large mass of dark shapes. Any suggestions for possible subdued lighting that won’t detract from the existing spots, but will help pull the figures out of the shadows?

That seems like a good thing to think about. I think part of the solution would be to go gently with the back-lighting -- or rather the lighting of the backdrop (which is coming along gorgeously; I congratulated blackpool on the beauty of the finished product, forgetting that it was not yet finished, because the grill was still missing). The other thing would be some gentle lighting right over the throne dais, and especially its front side. Now there you can probably already experiment with how much light reached Jabba naturally from the front and whether this enhancement is actually necessary (your photos above were taken at night, I believe -- although of course you might want it to work at night too). If necessary, whether you choose a weak light or perhaps a colored one (or one shining through colored transparent acrylic or whatever), is something you would have to figure out.

Stryker2011 wrote:Hi all. It’s been awhile since I posted updates, and sadly I don’t have anything yet. However, I’ve been struggling with a lighting issue — so the wife suggested I crowd source for a solution. Anyway, my concern is with all the highly directional light sources in this environment, and once I back light the photographic backdrop that blackpool has been working on, that Jabba, et al, will become a large mass of dark shapes. Any suggestions for possible subdued lighting that won’t detract from the existing spots, but will help pull the figures out of the shadows?

Don't bother, many photographer even use up their whole life to study the lighting, it is nothing wrong and you are really normal if struggling on lighting.. that is a crazy subject to understand...

By the way as a really hobbyist photographer, I suggest you just buy some christmas use LED lights and stick to the ceiling side (which we can't see when you shoot from God view angle... Or you can hide beneath candles or fire torches for reality looks...but that only you understands the scene structure, so you might need to figure out how to "hide" those LEDs if normal way don't works...

It's good that you are working through this potential issue in advance. Wish I had some great ideas, but I find lighting to be a rather dizzying topic at best, lol. I can't even figure out what type of lighting to use for the ceiling lights at our new house. 

In all seriousness, I feel confident you will be able to work out some kind of solution. Can the back-lighting issue be 'cancelled out' somehow by making sure the whole area has enough soft, diffused light coming from another source/direction?

GubernatorFan wrote:That seems like a good thing to think about. I think part of the solution would be to go gently with the back-lighting -- or rather the lighting of the backdrop (which is coming along gorgeously; I congratulated blackpool on the beauty of the finished product, forgetting that it was not yet finished, because the grill was still missing). The other thing would be some gentle lighting right over the throne dais, and especially its front side. Now there you can probably already experiment with how much light reached Jabba naturally from the front and whether this enhancement is actually necessary (your photos above were taken at night, I believe -- although of course you might want it to work at night too). If necessary, whether you choose a weak light or perhaps a colored one (or one shining through colored transparent acrylic or whatever), is something you would have to figure out.

Yeah, the lighting behind the backdrop has to be just right. Enough to show all the amazing details, but not too much to wash everything out — or overshine everything. And yes, blackpool has been doing an amazing job. I can’t wait to add that masterpiece to this dio.

lawlaw91 wrote:Don't bother, many photographer even use up their whole life to study the lighting, it is nothing wrong and you are really normal if struggling on lighting..  that is a crazy subject to understand...

By the way as a really hobbyist photographer, I suggest you just buy some christmas use LED lights and stick to the ceiling side (which we can't see when you shoot from God view angle... Or you can hide beneath candles or fire torches for reality looks...but that only you understands the scene structure, so you might need to figure out how to "hide" those LEDs if normal way don't works...

I’ve been contemplating the idea of dimmable LED strip lights, hidden somehow in the ceiling panel. Similar idea to your suggestion.

skywalkersaga wrote:It's good that you are working through this potential issue in advance. Wish I had some great ideas, but I find lighting to be a rather dizzying topic at best, lol. I can't even figure out what type of lighting to use for the ceiling lights at our new house. 

In all seriousness, I feel confident you will be able to work out some kind of solution. Can the back-lighting issue be 'cancelled out' somehow by making sure the whole area has enough soft, diffused light coming from another source/direction?

I don’t think lighting from the front would necessarily work to bring out the backdrop “room”, without over-lighting everything in front of it. If I had made the dio deeper, which I don’t have the room for, I probably could have gotten away with hiding lights behind the arch to light that part. But that still leaves my current issue.

I think Lawlaw may have hit on something.

Stryker2011 wrote:


I think Lawlaw may have hit on something.

Not surprised such a good photographer would have a plan!

skywalkersaga wrote:

Stryker2011 wrote:


I think Lawlaw may have hit on something.

Not surprised such a good photographer would have a plan!

You are helping, to agree that idea ..see if we can help out Stryker2011 with this way

It's been awhile since I had anything to update. Just recently received a small set of strip lights to test for additional front lighting to the throne area.

Left over strip section:




Interestingly, the phone camera lightens much more than they look in person. But they work great imho. I can even change the colors and the brightness -- I can go Disco style, and even have the lights change colors after a few seconds (but I have no intention of doing that).

All of the colors are on the lowest setting (as I said, they look more subdued in person):

Orange:


Yellow:


Pink:


Red:


Lavender:


Purple:


Light Green:


Dark Green:


White:


Light Blue:


Dark Blue:


Dark Purple:



Whichever color I choose, and how intense the light has to be, will depend greatly on how the image blackpool is working on will look when it's in place and lit from behind.

Here is my personal preference at the moment (orange) with low light, and one step up in intensity:

Really happy to see an update, glad something worked out! And I agree with your pick...the orange tone seems perfect.

Ahw, Man ! You build such an amazing place

They look excellent. And having seen blackpool's updated graphic for the background (though apparently still not finalized), I just know that it will end up even more glorious. I like the orange version, but the background might end up dictating what works best in the end. To be screen accurate, white or light blue might be advisable.