A huge favor... and a challenge

Many of you have already seen my original Yae no Sakura 1/6 figure music video that I first posted on YouTube and linked here back in November. But did you know that I've since completely revised it and posted it on my Yae megathread , as well as in the video section? I know several of you have seen it, YT analytics tell me that at least 17 views came from this site since I published it a month ago, with an indeterminate number (maybe another 5-10) viewing it on my YT page. Big thanks to all who have already seen it and commented on it, but I think many of you may have missed it because it just got buried in all the updates I was posting. Or, you thought you had already seen it, so what's the point? 

I promise you it's much better! Not only does it incorporate my updated/improved Yae figure, it's just a better video composition with all new composite shots and more of a "story" feel to it, with all the static figure shots moved to the end. I reused only one single composite shot from the first version the rest are all re-edited or completely new. And, it's rendered in 4k, so the video quality is way better. 

(I've since removed all links to the first version of the video and delisted it. It's not the version I wish people to see.)

I worked really hard on it and hope as many people can see it as possible. It's only three minutes, surely you can spare that from your busy lives!
The video starts slowly and builds, with some of the best "action" and composite editing coming in the second half, so please be patient and watch it all the way through.

Please select 4k (2160p) from the settings icon (the gear icon) before watching! Even if your device is not 4k compatible it will work and is superior to the horribly compressed HD 1080 version which YT offers, and you will get the actual HD version I intended!




And now, the challenge:
Most of you probably don't know that this forum was started back in 2018 when One Sixth Warriors seemed to be collapsing in on itself under new ownership, and the founders here like GubernatorFan and Stryker2011 wanted to offer a safe landing place for those of us who feared OSW was going down for good. I was one of the original few dozen that signed up in the first week. I never posted on OSW again. Well, it turns out OSW didn't die, it just became a ghost town, but it has undergone a total technical revamp recently and still gets tons of eyeballs, mostly from non-member lurkers who check it out from habit (at least 150-300 at any given moment). Their new functionality is actually pretty smooth, so I decided to try it out and posted a condensed version of my Yae thread over there and asked people to view my video. Well, in just one week, those people on OSW doubled my viewcount from the previous three weeks, including all the views from here and from all sources (search, email links I sent to friends, etc.). In other words, they beat the pants off of us in supporting a fellow 1/6 hobbyist.


Are you going to let that stand?!   Surely you can't let that old has-been site beat us in supporting one of your own can you?   So, I ask you as a matter of forum pride, watch my video and show those OSWers this site can't be beat! C'mon people, let's pull together here! That also goes for all you non-member "guests" who show up to lurk--you can still view my video and help me out. The embedded video above is legit and won't redirect you to malware or some random website, I swear!


Thank you. That is all.

Deleted

I may have skewed your stats because I ended up opening it in the You Tube, but I did get there from here, so maybe not. It was beautifully photographed and edited.

Great Work again

Ah, yes, I did notice OSW seemed to have had a revamp in terms of the aesthetics and overal functionality of the site. Wasn't sure how much activity was still going on there, though, so that's an...interesting comparison.

I love your Yae video (well, both versions), and I hope others will take a chance and view it. The amount of time, effort, care, and love for the subject matter that went into this entire project really shines through.

TGF - good luck with the new video, I also thought it was an improvement, and watched it on YouTube (I usually do that to linked YouTube videos even if they are viewable in a particular non-YouTube space).

The new video looks great. The differences, while subtle, are really well done. I like the morphing shots considerably better in this new version. Still love the music from this series.

Well I watch it anytime you repost it, so it's many times already.

I think I already mentioned it but I have to think of these respectful war stories like Band of Brothers and the Pacific, with peaceful solemn music to horrible events, a mood you captured so well.

I think turning static shots into artistic videos is one of the best things do with our figures multimediawise.

Oh and TGF, Eowyn was mentioned often here but she was nowhere to be found on this forum, which made me stalk your early 2000s thread on OSW from 'back in the olden days' when I didn't know what's Internet.
I too think OSW looks much tidier now. But I have not posted anything on there yet as it is just too much for my tiny brain. It would take some time to acclimate to this new environment and filter the interesting stuff out of all these collective Birthday threads, haha.

But I would not want to view 'them' as 'these other guys' as we are of the same blood/tribe etc. and many here are also there. So an years old, thousands member forum is better at supporting you than this small forum? Count friends not likes!    But what do I know, I wasn't around back then.

It really is amazing the way you recreated the scenes from live action, the posing is spot on and the editing/blending transitions are just well done all around. The serene music is fitting for the setting too. I am unfamiliar with the source material, but I am a fan of some oriental pop culture stuff (mostly anime and video games). It is why I loved Ghost of Tsushima so much, and also have you ever seen Sword of The Stranger? It has one of my favorite instrumental soundtracks ever for a Feudal-Japan themed motion picture.

Ephiane wrote:This is a little piece of Art. Very intresting " Morphing " technic between a real actor and the figure. You spend so much time in the details to copy the actors equipment.
I really like the HS, it´s very special Kind and i know many Fans like that little Manga style. But if You really like to copy the  Character the actress plays, maybe there are some real hair Headsculpts that looks like the actress ?

Thanks so much Ephiane! I really enjoy copying poses as exactly as I can, although it's somewhat masochistic because it is so much work!
I'm glad you like the HS, although I don't know what you mean by manga style. Do you think she looks like a manga character? I actually thought it looks fairly "real" even with the molded hair (I know a perfect lambswool rehair is ideal, but it's too difficult for me and I would rather spend time/energy in other ways. Anyway, glad you enjoyed it!

Xavion2004 wrote:I may have skewed your stats because I ended up opening it in the You Tube, but I did get there from here, so maybe not.  It was beautifully photographed and edited.

No worries Xavion2004, and thanks for the comment! YouTube is a little wonky in tracking stats for embedded videos, but you can generally get an idea based on trends. Glad you liked it!

skywalkersaga wrote:Ah, yes, I did notice OSW seemed to have had a revamp in terms of the aesthetics and overal functionality of the site. Wasn't sure how much activity was still going on there, though, so that's an...interesting comparison.

I love your Yae video (well, both versions), and I hope others will take a chance and view it. The amount of time, effort, care, and love for the subject matter that went into this entire project really shines through.

Thanks again for watching/commenting sky! Your support means a lot to me!
My mention of OSW was meant tongue in cheek and was just trying to goad people to watch. It really is amazing though how many people still look at the site at any given moment, despite how few people are posting. This is not a brag, just a fact: my Yae thread there got over 1000 views in about 10 days, while it took months for my thread here to reach that same number, and I was constantly posting updates while I haven't done any over there.

GubernatorFan wrote:TGF - good luck with the new video, I also thought it was an improvement, and watched it on YouTube (I usually do that to linked YouTube videos even if they are viewable in a particular non-YouTube space).

Thanks Guv, one of "we happy few" who have consistently supported this topic! I will say that this little stunt worked, because OSF has retaken the lead and the views are spiking! 

Stryker2011 wrote:The new video looks great. The differences, while subtle, are really well done. I like the morphing shots considerably better in this new version. Still love the music from this series.

Thanks again Stryker! Also one of "we happy few"!

Ovy wrote:Well I watch it anytime you repost it, so it's many times already.

I think I already mentioned it but I have to think of these respectful war stories like Band of Brothers and the Pacific, with peaceful solemn music to horrible events, a mood you captured so well.

I think turning static shots into artistic videos is one of the best things do with our figures multimediawise.

Oh and TGF, Eowyn was mentioned often here but she was nowhere to be found on this forum, which made me stalk your early 2000s thread on OSW from 'back in the olden days' when I didn't know what's Internet.
I too think OSW looks much tidier now. But I have not posted anything on there yet as it is just too much for my tiny brain. It would take some time to acclimate to this new environment and filter the interesting stuff out of all these collective Birthday threads, haha.

But I would not want to view 'them' as 'these other guys' as we are of the same blood/tribe etc. and many here are also there. So an years old, thousands member forum is better at supporting you than this small forum? Count friends not likes!    But what do I know, I wasn't around back then.

Ovy, any comment from you is appreciated for its consideration and thoughtfulness so thank you for your support! I'm working on a new video which is even more influenced by BOB, so hopefully I can show it soon. It is so much work I have no time for anything else! Every shot has to be altered, every sequence has to be properly paced with the music.   But it's a challenge, and I like a challenge...

So you saw my Eowyn thread over there? I've been thinking of porting over the pics in a new thread here, but it will be a lot of work as I will want to reorganize it and edit the text down. It was a mammoth thread because it was huge amounts of WIP. It really makes Yae look like a quick kitbash.

I'm not sure if you are being ironic/sarcastic about my comparison between OSF and OSW, but I was being completely tongue in cheek/sarcastic/ironic in "challenging" this board to have "forum pride" and "show those guys" ! So, if you didn't get my bad attempt at humor, sorry!   I know internet/social media can be weird when people are trying to be funny. This forum has a fantastic group of regulars, it's the lurkers and some of the newer folks I'm more "concerned" about.

AlKelAstra91 wrote:It really is amazing the way you recreated the scenes from live action, the posing is spot on and the editing/blending transitions are just well done all around. The serene music is fitting for the setting too. I am unfamiliar with the source material, but I am a fan of some oriental pop culture stuff (mostly anime and video games). It is why I loved Ghost of Tsushima so much, and also have you ever seen Sword of The Stranger? It has one of my favorite instrumental soundtracks ever for a Feudal-Japan themed motion picture.

Why, thanks for dropping by AlKelAstra91!   (You know I'm just ribbin' ya!) No, really, thanks so much for your kind comment, it is gratifying and makes my hard work worth it to hear support from people who appreciate it. The amount of work it takes to put together a three minute video like this is staggering, especially if, like me, one is not a professional nor has much experience at it and is just learning as you go! Weeks of long nights. Every composite shot took days, between the photographing, photoediting, background editing, blending, etc. But, I love this show and this character, so it was compulsion.
That music is pretty cool, although pretty different from the Yae soundtrack. There is a lot of talent in the Japanese film/TV music industry, and most of it is totally unnoticed here in the US. I also enjoy lots of different anime soundtracks (ghost in the shell-SAC is one of the best), but this Yae drama one was pretty special (60 to 70 tracks of excellent music; of course I own one CD album and the rest of the digital albums, four total!). The headline composer was the great Sakamoto Ryuichi, who has composed many Hollywood films including The Last Emperor. He only did the main theme and another one called Yae's Theme, but this one used here was composed by the "other" composer who brilliantly did the bulk of the work, Nakajima Nobuyuki. To me it's the real Yae's theme and is used whenever she has an especially poignant/emotional moment in the series.