Since many of you don’t know much about me,I’ll tell you now that I am extremely optimistic,and my optimism duplicates when it comes to Tintin and the Tintin Movie. I hold news and gossip  innocent until proven guilty and I make sure to find a silver lining for every cloud. Above all,I keep my hopes high.  But I will confess if there was one thing related to this movie that I do not have high hopes for it would be it’s video game. However I would be delighted to be proven wrong.

The following may or may not be some of the first info we have had in a long time about the upcoming Ubisoft Tintin game. It may not even have ANYTHING to do with it. Time will tell. According to what I have found online,4 months before E3 a worker at Ubisoft montpelier leaked out some info about upcoming titles. I’m assuming there were more along with this picture,but this is the image of interest:

Early 2010 fits in with our first info about the making of a Tintin game.  If the title ”to be announced” really is the Tintin game,we can expect more information half way through this year. I’m hoping against hope we will have a trailer by then too. But how do we even know the game has anything to do with Tintin?

The following sketches,also found from people working at Ubisoft, could be a clue. Take a very close look at this picture:

In the top right corner of the image the word ”Dupont” can be read. I’d say it’s fairly clear. Clearer at least than whatever it says at the bottom left (I can make out Tindte ,a circled X,and either Alahli,Abahli or Alalili. I can’t find anything online that would give me more clues as to what those words mean.)

But the key is Dupont. Dupont is the French name for one of the Thompson twosome.  It would be a pretty big coincidence for that name to show up in a sketch for a video game being made my Ubisoft that mas not Tintin…so it is very possible that the sketches above really are of the Tintin Videogame. It’s like Alpha-art all over again.

What do we learn from these images?

Well for one thing we can gather from the first image that the game will be an adventure/platform game. Platform games have not been popular for a long time,especially for systems that you plug into your TV. Of course there is the notable exception of a few Nintendo titles,but even these really only bring back nostalgia from their predecessors with new looks and twists. Most people today enjoy the freedom of being able to move the camera from side to side and do more things in the game’s worlds than what the average platform game allows. However,there is one system that continues to come out with platform games frequently: the Nintendo DS. Months ago a rumor came out that this game will only come out for the DS and the Wii. Though I still don’t believe it,we can be fairly sure a DS game will come out. And anybody who has played on a Nintendo DS knows you just can’t make the same kind of game for it as you could for an Xbox 360. They are two drastically different things.

Hence it would not surprise me if they made different versions with different genres. It is not uncommon for a DS version to be totally different from other versions. I am guessing Ubisoft will only make the game a Platform game for the Nintendo DS. It is possible it be that way for all systems,but I would say that’s highly unlikely, especially since this is a movie based game. Since the sketches are obviously of a platform game,that probably means that they only apply to the DS version.

We can gather from these pictures that there will be doors that open and close, levers, and elevated parts of the floor to climb up or jump down to. We also see two characters in the same level in almost every sketch with a stick figure in it. I’m willing to bet they are Thomson and Thompson,adding to the possibility that this could be an early sketch. A drawing to the far right on the bottom looks like a character will be flung by somebody (or will throw something at somebody).  The abbreviations  at the top may stand for ”Navigate”,”Block” and the obvious ”Fight”.

Sadly,I predict that while this may be a fun game,even a great game,it most likely won’t have much to do with Tintin. Moving from left to right while searching for things,opening doors and fighting through enemies are all classics used in platform games,but have little to do with Tintin. It’s hard to see a game like Super Mario Bros without koopas or mushrooms.  But unless the movie adds a lot of new stuff they will have to add enemies for this game that just aren’t in the story. However, the extreme alternative is Tintin in Tibet,regarded by many to be a terribly boring game in which there is quite literally nothing to do but jump and dodge. Lots of things to dodge,nobody to ever hit. You actually wish Tintin was violent by the time you finish the game! Finding an intermediate stage between the two is no easy task. It may never have been their intention from the first place. And again,that is NOT necessarily a bad thing when it comes to the xperience.

I’ll definitely play it and will then decide if the game is worth it or not. Just because Tintin gets a little bit more like the hero of a platform game does not mean the game will be bad. As for what we can expect for the TV and PC,we will have to wait.

Thanks to Britto for finding this and posting this info on her blog http://www.tintimportintim.com/search?updated-max=2011-02-27T08%3A00%3A00-03%3A00&max-results=5 which I read the best I can with Google translator.

This is an overdue post that keeps getting distracted by more recent news. Regardless of it being month old news , I believe it’s good news for those of us looking forward to see ”The Secret of The Unicorn” on the big screen. The screen just got a whole lot bigger.

Imax will be digitally re-mastering the upcoming movie up converting it to  the superior quality image and sound experience Imax as well as transforming it into Imax 3D.  I personally am a fan of Imax, but after doing some research online I discovered that not all share my opinion. I do not go to Imax often but the experiences I have had with it, especially in 3D, have been very good. What are the benefits and disadvantages of seeing the potential best film of 2011 on an IMAX screen?

Cons

Over the last few weeks I’ve read up on what people have to say about watching films in IMAX. There are a considerably large amount of complaints against it,and unfortunately, most are directed at films that were not originally shot using IMAX film.

The biggest complaint about watching the big IMAX screen is, ironically, that the screen is too big!  Nearly all viewers say it is much better to sit towards the back or in the dead center,or you could find yourself turning your head a lot. Don’t make the mistake of sitting in the front row. I always sit close to the back,near the middle of the row.

Another complaint is that IMAX 3D tires your eyes. Some will say this is true,other’s won’t. Personally I love the effect of things flying out from the screen and the illusion that things are closer or farther away than they really are. But the effect is not for everybody. Know your own limits on what kind of 3D is better for you. You may want to see it in good old fashioned 2D.  Again,seating is key: your eyes will do better if you aren’t watching the 3D from row number 3.

Some complain about the low quality of movies converted to IMAX that were shot on regular film,saying they are too blurry or grainy. For the most part people agree that the best IMAX movies are those that were MADE to be IMAX movies. I do not believe that Tintin will have this problem because of it’s digital nature. I’m no expert,but it should be much easier to upgrade a digital movie compared to upgrading a movie shot on film. An example of a digital film that was just released for IMAX is Disney’s new movie ”Tangled”. I have not seen this movie in IMAX so I have no idea what it’s like, and to be completely honest, I don’t plan to. The same process will be used on Pixar’s upcoming film ”Cars 2”

And then there is the age old problem that IMAX is expensive. Depending on where you go,it can be more than some would be willing to pay. But come on! We’ve been waiting forever for this movie! I’m willing to save a few dollars now to pay for the best experience possible. Now…is IMAX really the bext experience?

Pros

While some don’t like it, many will agree that it is very impressive to watch a movie on the IMAX screen.   The standard IMAX screen is  22 × 16.1 m,but can be larger! Rather than the screen being in the center of the wall, the screen practically IS the wall. This adds to the illusion that you are actually in the movie rather than just a mere witness of the events.  I think seeing the movie in Imax will pay off when it comes to watching those wide shots of the Sahara dessert or of the Unicorn sailing across the sea. It is truly an incredible experience to watch a movie on an IMAX screen.

The 3D makes the effect that much better. Imax has been offering an excellent 3D for years and continues to offer one of the best 3D experiences. Imax is known for making things look like they are popping out of the screen due to the screen’s huge size.

The IMAX sound experience culminates the effect. I have heard no complaints whatsoever about the incredible quality of the sound,the perfect synchronization with the image frame by frame,and the excellent positioning of the surround sound that especially helps make the 3D effect more believable. Keeping in mind that John Williams is doing the soundtrack for the Tintin Movie,I recommend watching the movie where you will be able to hear the experience best.

You still have time to decide how you will watch the movie. But best I can tell, watching the Secret of the Unicorn in IMAX Digital 3D will be more than worth it. I’ve been waiting for this movie for over 2 years now,and I am very excited that it will be available on one of the best experiences in the movie business,if not the best experience. I am constantly amazed at how well this movie is coming along. Tintin movie news just keeps getting better and better. I hope the fans will be pleased.

sources: http://www.imax.com/movies/m/the-adventures-of-tintin-the-secret-of-the-unicorn-an-imax-3d-experience/

image found on: http://www.giftsandfreeadvice.com/free_advice/imax-screen-size-by-theater-list-real-imax-and-fake-imax-screens/

It’s not surprising with his big role in The Eagle and Tintin being the most anticipated of his next upcoming films that multiple reporters would interview Jamie Bell on Tintin. The following is the third interview I’ve found that has a section on his role in The Secret of The Unicorn. Some of this will sound similar to the other two interviews and there is almost no new information,but it’s fun to read none the less. The most interesting thing for me is the part at the end where he talks about Tintin’s voice.

Let’s talk about Tintin. Obviously, Spielberg is a director who’s in total command of his form, but here, he was working with technology he’s never used before. Could you see him figuring it out on set?
Oh, absolutely. He’d be like, “What does this do? Oh wow, it does that? I wish I could do that in the real world, I wish I could take out a lamppost and move it to the side of the street!” The simplistic things about motion capture that you can do with just the flick of a button are kind of amazing, but also, the use of light and color … for a filmmaker who’s incredibly visionary, I think it’s exciting because it gives him so many more options. The palette is endless, it’s infinite, and I think he definitely got a kick out of that. I think he said it made him more like a painter than he’d ever been before.

The look of the film is very painterly, just from the stills that have been released. Have you seen it in motion?
I’ve seen bits and pieces, yeah. It looks great. We call them “Tintin-ologists,” and as one of those people who’s really into it, it’s incredibly exciting. To see these characters come to life is something you’ve been waiting for your whole life, and when it’s you doing it … It’s actually got the vibe of a Hitchcockian film, a kind of noir film in a young person’s action-adventure film. It’s really great.

I’m assuming your friend Andy Serkis gave you advice on motion capture.
On everything. He’s the guru of that technology.

What’s the key thing you need to know if you’re doing it?
Just to overarticulate. He calls it “breaking through the technology,” and I like that idea because it means that you break through it and claim it for yourself. You don’t let it do the work for you, you attack it aggressively and control it. Look, if there’s anyone to listen to when it comes to motion capture, it’s that guy, so to have him next to me throughout felt great.

How do you know if you’re doing a good job?
You don’t. You trust your director, and I obviously have a great trust with Steven Spielberg. You’re in really good hands. There are some very specific beats with an action-adventure film, and you have to hit those moments of “I found a clue!” where you’re about to go into another adventure in the story. So the acting is still kind of the same, you’re still hitting these beats and those emotional peaks and lows. And you have to trust your animators, because that’s where the real work is done.

What’s your Tintin voice like?
Tintin is a native of Belgium, and we obviously couldn’t do it in French, although I would have loved to. So we kind of found an English sound that won’t distract people so much. You know, it’s very easy to upset people quickly when you’re taking on such a beloved character, so we want to remain as neutral as possible and not go too, too strongly in another direction. If Tintin had an American accent, I’m sure the rest of the world would be very upset!

Hello readers!

My name is Stephen,and due to a new time consuming business Chris Tregenza is very busy working on right now,I will be assisting him to keep this blog alive and running. It is just too great a blog to let fade away,and I jumped at the opportunity to help write the occasional blog post. I by no means plan on substituting Chris and as a fan of this blog will continue to look forward to his posts,but at the moment he does not have much time so I will probably post more than he will be able to for a while. I will work hard at keeping my posts up to the high quality of the blogs posts and the high expectations of the fans who follow this blog.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself.

I have been an enormous Tintin fan since I was in the second grade and my father gave me a 3 album set of Tintin in America and the two following albums. Since then Tintin has been more than just my favorite comic book character. For me he has outdone any fictional character from any comic book,novel or other story I have ever read,or from any movie I have ever seen. I own every Tintin album and have read each one so many times I lost count. A trip to Brussels for me meant a trip to the Tintin gift shop and the hand painted subway stop done by Hergé.

My favorite albums are the two moon albums,The Calculus Affair,and after that The Secret of The Unicorn duo. Since I heard of the project of a Tintin movie coming out for today’s modern audiences directed by 2 of the world’s best directors I have been sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting about as patiently as Captain Haddock waited for his broken stair to be replaced.  Right from the beginning I followed this blog,and you may rest assured that another true Tintin fan and Tintin movie fan is assisting with this blog. I will be checking leads and posting on new news as soon as I find things out.

I am such a huge Tintin fan for many reasons. For one thing Tintin and I instantly clicked in that we both love to travel. As a matter of fact I probably got a good part of my love for traveling reading Tintin. I have currently visited 10 countries. I loved,and still love,reading the books and being transported from my room,the car,or wherever I’m reading to the Land of Black Gold,to America,to Scotland,to Borduria…volcanic islands and tropical jungles, the Sahara dessert and the Artic ocean…and even the moon! Although this could be true with many fiction stories, it is a rare occasion to find all these great locations,especially in the world of comic books, mixed with delightful interesting stories and beautiful art. Tintin is not only fun to read,but it is fun to look at.

That’s one of the reasons I look forward to seeing the Tintin movie in 3D. Using the miraculous technology they have today they won’t reproduce something that looks like the exact drawings Hergé painted,but they will preserve the effect the stories give regarding how the viewer feels like he is literally right there with Tintin and Snowy searching for Red Rackham’s treasure,enjoying the storyline and visuals every step of the way. Digital 3D is a great way to do that and although we cannot know for sure I believe Spielberg and Jackson will pull it off.

Another thing I love about Tintin is the detail put into each book. Each page,each panel even, has lots of detail in it. I love going back and just reading the signs in Chinese,although I don’t understand them,or the numbers on the side of a tank,or some antique I never noticed before in Marlinspike Hall’s basement. I have always been one to make a big deal out of the little things. Tiny pieces of trivia fascinate me.  I love reading books or magazines with tidbits of useless Trivial Pursuit material. I don’t care if I’ll never need the info in real life. It’s just something that I have fun with,that interests me.  It’s cool to feel like you know something or noticed something that probably very few people on Earth know. After all who doesn’t like to learn a neat fact that they can show off around their friend’s with?

One of the things I hope to post is clever Tintin Trivia. I will work on posting on Tintin Movie news,but often there won’t be any,so I will work on finding information and news about Tintin. Tintin is so much more than just another comic book,and I’m convinced you could read the same book 20 times and still not see half the details and work Hergé put into his masterpiece. In a more modern sense the motion capture team is doing something similar with the Tintin movie. Just as Hergé put detail into every panel of his books, it’s clear from the first images that the makers of Tintin movie are putting immense detail into each frame of the movie. Unlike previous Tintin movie’s that seem to tone down the beauty and work Hergé put into the books,on this one they are working hard to make sure that it’s worthy of living up to it’s name. I am confident that will show on the big screen.

Of course there are more reasons,the characters,the humor,the suspense,.. but basically these are the biggest reasons why I am a Tintin fan and why I am looking forward so much for the Tintin movie. If you are new here and haven’t read Tintin I strongly recommend you do. To those of you who have followed this blog for a long time, I hope that you think of me not as a strange new writer on the blog but as a fellow fan who wants to make other Tintin fans happy. It’s my privilege to keep this blog alive and running.  Feel free to check here regularly for posts,I will do my best to post as much as possible.

Again,I hope to keep this blog as informative,as interesting and as much fun as possible. If any of you find a source to follow or write to, anything you think should be posted here, or even anything that just might be worthy of a post,feel free to write an email or leave a comment.

Stephen

Its been a week since the Empire Tintin Issue came out and I’ve had time to digest the images in it.

Below are my thoughts on those images. Note, the images, not the film itself. There is a big difference between a handful of stills and a full length film. Not to mention there is still a year to go and a lot can change. When the film is released I will judge it on its own merits and not pre-judge it.

However, several stills have been released by Spielberg and Co. so they are fair game. It has always been my intention with this blog to write what I think about the film. When I like something, I say so. When I dislike something, I will also say so. You are free to disagree with me and voice your own opinions in the comments in a polite manner fitting of Tintin fans.

The Good

Scanned from Empire Magazine

This shot is the cream of the crop.

The texture of Silk’s beard, the look of the Twins, the detailed background, the composition of the shot, the lighting – they are all perfect.

The Not As Good But Still Good

Scanned from Empire Magazine

Dark and moody, full of portent and potential action. The low camera angle and heavy shadows gives the shot a nice feeling of tension.

From Empire’s online gallery

I wrote earlier that I didn’t like “the harsh light behind Haddock”. Interestingly, the print version of this image is much, much darker. This is down to the technological and production differences between VDU displays that emit light and printed matter that reflect light. In the print version, the back lighting looks less out of place and I much prefer the image even though it is harder to make out the details.

The Worrying

From Empire’s online gallery

A close up of a scanned image from Empire. Click the image for full size

These two images are the only ones from the film that show the full body lengths of our main characters plus Snowy. In both of them, something looks off-key. Haddock in particular look unnatural in his pose in both. Maybe this is just Andy Serkis’s acting of a drunk and it will look OK in context.

Snowy also doesn’t look right. This may be because he is the only true character animation in the film whilst everyone else is motion-capture.

Given the quality of everything else, I willing to bet that in the film everything will look right but it does leave me with a Polar Express type worry.

The Bad

I really don’t like this cover. The detail is exquisite but both Tintin and Snowy look really unnatural but without any of Herge’s charm. It would of been much better if they had only used actual images from the film. I suspect that this image is influencing my opinions and unduly increasing my worries about the two previous images.

Am I Excited? You Bet!

Despite all the quibbles and doubts I have about the images, all the signs are that will Spielberg & Jackson capture the look and the spirit of the books. Roll on October 2011!

A very quick update as I’m away for a long weekend in couple minutes.

The Empire magazine December issue has Tintin on the front, the two stills we have already seen plus an image of Tintin, Haddock & co in the desert (from Crab with the Golden Claws), an image of the Thompsons with Silk (the thief from Unicorn) and Tintin greeting Barnaby (who I cannot place off the top of my head). Additionally there are several behind the scenes photos and six pages of articles.

First impressions of the new images pretty much my reaction to the first two – parts of them look great (the Thompsons in particular) but the figures of Tintin, Haddock and Snowy in the desert look off somehow. Their shape or stances is just a little too cartoony for my taste.

Once I’ve had some time to read and digest the images over the weekend I’ll post more detailed thoughts. In the meantime, if you spot these images on the web, post the links in the comments below so that fans around the world can also see them.

Back soon, have a great weekend.

The world has had a chance to digest the first Tintin images for a whole day now. So what is the world thinking?

Based on the comments on this web site, most Tintin fans are excited about it. With only one or two dissenting voices raising concerns about the nature of the animation. In the wider world, reaction is more mixed and seems pretty polorized with very negative and very positive comments in equal measure.

Wading Through the Bullshit

One of the problems with the internet is that people love to hate. The Trolls who live on forum and write blogs vent bile because it gives them a sense of purpose, not because they have anything interesting to say. Filtering out the nay-sayers from those with a genuine ability to analysis and criticise is hard.

Of those commentators and writers who can put together an articulate sentence, most appear positive.

What Do I Think?

Having run this web site dedicated to the Tintin movie since the films were first announced over 2 years ago, what do I think?

My personal feelings about the images is mixed but part of the problem is that the film’s producers / Empire magazine made a mistake.

By having the cover as a specially created image and basing it on an iconic Tintin image, they were only ever going to highlight the differences between Herge’s artwork and the film’s style.

The cover image itself is not that good either. The detail is amazing but most people don’t see the detail, they see something this size ….

And it does the film no favours. Tintin looks a bit unnatural but Snowy look stuffed. An albino Scooby-Do was how one person described him and I’m with them on that.

It is in the stills from the actual film that we learn a lot more. Here, the context, the background and the story all come into play. They will also of had more time and attention payed to them than the cover.

This instantly recognisable scene is great because you can instantly recognize it. The world around the characters is wonderfully detailed and lifelike but…

… there is something about the posture of the three charaters, Haddock and Snowy in particular, that looks wrong. Snowy seems stuffed again and Haddock looks like he is suffering from a bad case of rag-doll physics.

Oddly, in this scene, the problem is reversed. I think this is from the first meeting of Haddock and Tintin and here the characters look wonderful. The real emotion on Haddock’s face is there for all to see. His hair and imperfect, aged skin really give a realism to the character.

However, the background could be fantastic but is mostly blotted out by the harsh light behind Haddock. This is a real shame as the sou’wester on the right looks great. The lightning in this still spoils it by distracting from the character and the background.

So What Have We Learnt From The First Images?

The visuals have had a mixed response but the film was always going to generate this sort reaction. Unless it looks 100% like the original artwork it is inevitable that people will complain. Personally I’m excited by them, trusting to the directors to make the look of the film work within the context of a 3d movie, not as a magazine cover.

What is far more important is wether the film captures the spirit of Tintin – the sense of adventure, the humour and above all, the characters. To answer these questions, we must wait another year.

The first two stills for Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, have been released.

An iconic scene from The Crab with the Golden Claws

Is this Tintin meeting Haddock for the first time?

Both images have been revealed by Empire Magazine and the December issue (available 4th November) will have more comments and news from the cast. Including this:

So what can we expect from the story? Here’s what Spielberg told us. “The first part of the film, which is the most mysterious part, certainly owes much to not only film noir but the whole German Brechtian theatre — some of our night scenes and our action scenes are very contrasty. But at the same time the movie is a hell of an adventure.”

The images follow a weekend-long teaser that slowly released close-ups of their cover. A full version of which is now available.

This image was specially created for the magazine and is not from the film.

All images are copyright to someone, though who the hell knows because Empire doesn’t say. So please credit Empire magazine if you reproduce them.

In what can only be described as a teaser campaign, Empire magazine has tiny, close up fragments of the first images from the Tintin movie.

They seem to be releasing one a day. every few hours. The first five six are up and there are space for seven more. So we can expect the first full images on the 8th of November or there about Monday.

The best guess for what the images show:

• ???
• Snowy’s Fur
• ???
• Tintin’s Jumper
• A Sock

What Does This Tell Us

Not a lot except that the movie will use incredibly real looking textures. Which suggests there will be nothing cartoony about this animation. I expect to see a world that has Herge’s distinctive style but with an amazing level of detail.

It looks like the long wait for the first images will be worth it.

EDIT…

Sharp eyed Proman has spotted that they are going up faster than one a day and that new objects are added to the background images. See comments for more details.

Two new photos from the filming of Tintin have surfaced.

This shot (reportedly) shows Jamie Bell with another, unidentified actor and members of the crew. Snowy is simply a piece of cardboard on the end of a broomstick and just there so that the actors have something to react to when filming the scene.

Actually, that should be capturing, not filming, the scenes. There is no film or even video involved in this process.

The strange, wet-suit style, costumes the actors are wearing are covered with markers. These markers are tracked by sensors placed all over the room and their location are precisely recorded hundreds of times a second and stored to a computer. This data is then used in the CGI animation process allowing the director to create any style of image they want but based on the real movement of actors.

There is a second photo over at As Aventuras De Tintim, a Brazilian Tintin blog: EXCLUSIVO: Novas imagens do set de Tintim. I cannot find these images anywhere in the mainstream yet so this is a real scoop for them.