Silent Running - the gauntlet is cast

Sean Kennedy · January 5th, 2005, 11:40 AM

Well, the gauntlet has been cast at my feet once more. Dana Augustine ( http://www.danaaugustine.tk ) wrote me an e-mail challenging me to take on a project of outrageous proportions. It is one I think everyone will recognize.
The Valley Forge - from Silent Running. here are two images from the first three hours of work:

January 5th, 2005, 12:28 PM

It's also the Bio-Dome ship from BSG.. I always loved that ship, it always looked like what I would expect to be a cruise liner in space..

Looking good

January 5th, 2005, 12:44 PM

I really love that movie. My eyes leak everytime I see it. Am glad to see you working on it. Looks like a lot of progress for such a short time............Darlene

General Phoenix · January 5th, 2005, 03:17 PM

I remember that movie, too. I was almost crying at the end myself.

Excellent work on the garden so far!

Sean Kennedy · January 5th, 2005, 03:50 PM

Thanks! Lots to go yet.

January 5th, 2005, 05:01 PM

Is it gonna include Huey, Lewey, and Duey ?

Ryoken

Sean Kennedy · January 11th, 2005, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryoken3D

Is it gonna include Huey, Lewey, and Duey ?
Ryoken

Sure.... We'll put their little broken bodies out on the hull....

Here are some quick updates:

More Superstructer detail:

And two views of the Fuel pods:

As you might notice in the second picture I have some point welding issues to resolve (IE: cracks in the mesh).....I might be able to get more done this weekend, but i'm in the midst of moving--so who knows....

Thomas P · January 12th, 2005, 04:12 PM

I'd really like to see this done! There are (excluding my sorry attempt) a couple of guys trying to do this in 3D. This one is the best I've seen to date - eager to see you get the drones in too!

January 12th, 2005, 05:43 PM

Sean,
For some reason the pictures have turned into white squares with red Xs in them and they will not open. I know they showed when you first posted them but not now. Did you change something to cause this? If so, can you change it back?

Sean Kennedy · January 12th, 2005, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfalconet

Sean,
For some reason the pictures have turned into white squares with red Xs in them and they will not open. I know they showed when you first posted them but not now. Did you change something to cause this? If so, can you change it back?

I'll re-post them to my website when I get home tonight.

Sean Kennedy · January 12th, 2005, 08:38 PM

fixed...

January 12th, 2005, 09:09 PM

Thank you very much..........Darlene

skyhawk223 · January 18th, 2005, 10:46 AM

This looks like an immense project. Can't really comment on the design since I have not seen the movie.
It sort of reminds me of the ship from The Black Hole.

January 18th, 2005, 11:01 AM

Skyhawk,
You must see the movie if you possibly can..............Darlene

Sean Kennedy · January 18th, 2005, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyhawk223

This looks like an immense project. Can't really comment on the design since I have not seen the movie.
It sort of reminds me of the ship from The Black Hole.

Thanks skyhawk!

I won't be posting anymore updates for about 2 weeks as I'm in the middle of a move across state, but I will try to post once or twice in the forums when I have the chance.

BTW: Here is a brief description which was shamelessly borrowed from: http://shipofdreams.net/sfmovies/silent.htm

Its central theme is that man, even at the risk of madness, must be his own saviour. Bruce Dern stars as Freeman Lowell, adrift in the spaceship "Valley Forge", part of a fleet of ships which are in essence a Garden of Eden. Each ship has attached a number of huge domes, like sophisticated greenhouses, each one housing a different flora and fauna. These were intended to refurbish an Earth devastated by nuclear war.

WARNING: Spoilers Below!

Lowell is in constant disagreement with his three fellow crewmembers - they simply don't care about the domes, or share any of his ideology. It is left to Lowell to care for the plants, helped by the three small drones Huey, Dewey and Louie. Then an order is received from Earth - destroy the domes and return. This is the turning point of the film - Lowell must stand up for what he believes is right.

The other crew members attempt to jettison the domes, and in trying to prevent this, Lowell ends up killing them. He then takes the Valley Forge away from the main fleet, with a flight through Saturn's rings : thus begins his battle for the survival of the last of Earth's flora and fauna. He has to rely upon the drones more and more, and is devastated when one is blown away while working on the outside of the ship. He takes the remaining two back out to where the third was lost, harangueing them to be more careful. The drones are almost human in their actions and responses ; we see them look sadly at the severed foot of their colleague stuck to the ship's superstructure. This is reinforced by their gait - they don't roll or glide smoothly, they waddle !

Eventually, the other Earth vessels track down the Valley Forge, and believing Lowell to be in trouble, want to mount a rescue attempt. Of course - the domes must still be destroyed. Lowell knows he cannot continue, and rigs the Valley Forge to blow. His last act is to jettison the remaining dome, sending it out into space to seed a possible second chance for mankind. The final images are some of the most powerful seen in science fiction films, both sad and optimistic : the forest tended by the remaining robot, with a battered watering can, all alone.

skyhawk223 · January 19th, 2005, 05:35 AM

Interesting. I will add it to my Netflix queue.

Thomas P · January 19th, 2005, 06:05 AM

One small correction; It was not a war. They never really say but the inference is over industrialization (our first Global warming message).

This movie has numerous faults but, all-in-all, is an often overlooked classic. Bruce Dern's Freeman Lowell character is fantastic but ultimately was another part that ultimately type cast him as the dark twisted type we would seem him portray in later films.

The movie was directed by Doug Trumball after he worked on 2001: A Space Odyssey. In various filmographies this movie was imagined to take place in an undefined but far future time (I had read once 2200). The ship is hugh and one of many in a fleet. The ultimate decision to 'Nuke' the forests is economic (the ultimate irony in the films message) with the 3 ships dedicated to this mission needing to be returned to commercial service.

I was lucky enough to find a copy on a discount shelf a few years ago at Barnes and Noble.

Sean Kennedy · January 19th, 2005, 02:28 PM

The movie was produced duringthe end of the conflict in Viet Nam, during the height of the cold war. It was also the time of the "Age of Aquarius", the peace movement, and the free rights movement. The feel of the day was very anti-war and anti government, but there was a lot of concern about mankind's destruction of the environment as well.

It was a clear mix of influences. 1970s environmentalism and the success of 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, the book, as I remember it, talks about nuclear waste and war (not necessarily nuclear war --but could be). In any case, I shouldn't quibble about specific detail, suffice to say: earth has been ruined by man's wastefulness.

Sean Kennedy · February 16th, 2005, 09:41 AM

Updates

Thomas P · February 16th, 2005, 11:00 AM

This thing is even better than the model! What an impressive project and the detail is incredible. I'll go out on a limb and rank this up there with Jason's Discovery.

Sean Kennedy · February 16th, 2005, 05:18 PM

Thanks Thomas! I'm glad you like it so much. I'm still not looking forward top creating the forests for each dome.

Thomas P · February 17th, 2005, 05:06 AM

..and remember, they each were different ecospheres!

skyhawk223 · February 17th, 2005, 06:24 AM

How do you plan on creating the plants? With the level of detail you are putting in you will have to model the plants. No cheating with texture maps

Sean Kennedy · February 17th, 2005, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas P

..and remember, they each were different ecospheres!

Let's see...I was thinking of doing these:
1. Desert
2. Rain Forest
3. Temperate Evergreen
4. Jungle
5. Temperate Disiduous
6. Tundra (or marshland)

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyhawk223

How do you plan on creating the plants? With the level of detail you are putting in you will have to model the plants. No cheating with texture maps

runs screaming..................

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Thomas P · February 17th, 2005, 12:29 PM

The one dome I had done was just a texture map

Poor Sean!

Sean Kennedy · February 18th, 2005, 06:19 PM

I think I'll doo the floor as a texture map, but model the plants...or maybe use hyper voxels.... who knows....

Sean Kennedy · February 28th, 2005, 12:31 PM

Hey everyone! Some updates:

A modified FWD antenna:

Some updated detailing on the main superstructure:

The desert dome:

The temperate forest dome:

The coniferous rain forest dome:

Starship · February 28th, 2005, 02:18 PM

AWESOME !!!

skyhawk223 · March 1st, 2005, 05:40 AM

Was the AA on the ship in the movie?
Spectacular detail work so far. Don't shoot me, but the rainforest trees don't look like rainforest trees.
The domes themselves look great.

Sean Kennedy · March 1st, 2005, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyhawk223

Was the AA on the ship in the movie?
Spectacular detail work so far. Don't shoot me, but the rainforest trees don't look like rainforest trees.
The domes themselves look great.

1. yes the AA logo was on the ship.
2. The rain forset is the Pacific NW type. Evergreens and ferns. Not the tropical rain forest type.