I feel the person holding the light in Sam's render was fearless. Never paused to peek corners, never turned back. The character didnt seem scared so I wasnt either
Exactly. There were several times where the character walked to pass the creatures, making them be behind them like entering that corridor. They turned their back to like 10 of those creatures and did not seem afraid of it at all
Same reason something like Metroid Prime isn't really all that scary, even in the blackout sections. Samus Aran is a certified badass who is well equipped to take on whatever the Space Pirates throw at her, and as the various pirate logs show, they are _far_ more afraid of her than she is of them. Since the point-of-view character is not afraid, neither is the audience.
@@farish.515bro that was definitely not vfx. It would have been way easier to just film Wren chewing candy with the wrapper on and then have him spit it out after the take was over than to go through the trouble of finding a way to recreate this shot digitally
Tbf, during danger your heartbeat can actually go down. Which is why when you see folk with heartbeat monitors play a scary game, their heartbeat tends to be decently high _until_ they get scared, then the heartbeat slows down a decent amount and stays low for a bit.
@@IhorEleven Because the body is preparing for potential and explosive physical reaction I believe? There are other factors ofc, but that is the one I remember off the top of my head. Think of it as survival reaction that can be traced wayyyyyy back.
Sam's idea was really good, the only problem was the the little monsters seemed afraid of the viewer, instead of threatening them. This is why it wasn't scary for me.
I think the little guys were also too numerous for a shot that lasted too long. The impact you get from that small glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye dies out pretty quick when it happens ever five seconds over a minute and a half video. I spent most of that clip actively trying to find them instead of feeling spooked.
it also doesn't help that the person walking there doesn't react at all, i'd imagine that when the person sees the monster it would at least jump a little which would make the camera shake, and also with the door it kinda doesn't make sense that they wouldn't at least slow down a little if the door just opened by it self
The issue for me is that there is monsters plural. Less is more. Even the scariest entity possible loses all fear factor if you fill a room with them. 90% of the work going into building terror is actually the time you let the player/viewer spend away from the creature.
Peter elevated the challenge, as usual, to the next level. By choosing cinematic suspense over the cheap scary monsters, he proved to be the scariest director. I also thought Sam's was the most technically proficient. The lighting was on point. Wren's actually spooked me the most with his jumpscare.
@@VorpalStorm true, I just think he has some serious bloody talent & needs to be making his own movies or be involved with a studio because holy hell he’s extremely talented, not to say the others aren’t but he’s just on another level.
man, its really remind me of Iron Lung. because i know why people scared of sea sometimes. because its dark and you cant see it clearly even its on earth. yea its awesome, im in awe good video
He would be WASTED on hollywood, just being another cog in the VFX studio machine. What he's doing now (making his own original VR game) is exactly what he should be doing, completely his own work. I'm hoping it's a success and can't wait to see what he does after.
Really liked the layout of this one - announce the render, then flashback to them creating it before showing it. I think this would work well for other render challenges in the future!
It took all suspense away. If they had been cold cut back to back without context. Or their usual format would have worked better for that. That and they were not all that "scary".
@@Nashley12331they are trying a new format because the viewer analytics shows a lot of people just skip to the end to watch the renders and dont bother watching the making of
15:27 Dude... Peter's render looks like something you'd see on Love, Death, & Robots... It's stellar. That dude has an absolutely astonishing level of technical ability and creativity. He's got an eye for every single type of "challenge" that it's amazing to see whatever the hell he's going to come up with. Don't get me wrong, I liked the other renders too. I loved how Wren's went into a loop animation. I loved the ambiance of Sam's render. Jordan's had a fantastic feel to the entire scenario and animation. But Peter was the only one to think waaaay outside the norm and everything was spot on. From the camera view to the lighting to the scene to the sound design, I think he made the best by a mile.
This was a fun challenge, and everyone did a great job with their renders! But creating "fear" is a difficult challenge; usually the more you "try" to be scary, the less scary you actually are. So, I think if the goal was to get Niko's heart rate up, they should've gone more "psychological" and created a "discomforting" render, which no doubt, sound design would be incredibly important for. Rather than a setting that is "obviously" dangerous, something less obvious and more relatable and off putting.
That's true, I was thinking the same. And in my opinion, jump scares are cheap, it's used to make something unscary to feel scary for a short moment. It's more getting startled than scared. For me, something scary is something my mind can't really identify, but I at the same time know what it is. Like unnaturally distorted human faces and bodies. And it shouldn't be a jump, it needs to be something you know is there, but you want to get as far away from it as possible.
@@FreakyGremlinDK yeah...100%...you reminded me of a nightmare ive had several times when i was younger about trying to get away from something but no matter how hard i tried, i wasnt actually moving away. I can picture it pretty clearly. That definitely would be the way to scare someone, but it cant just be anything
I think focusing more on what we humans fear in everyday lives would've worked as well. Maybe being stalked by someone on your way home would've made a great suspense
@@alexandertiberius1098 That's actually what happened. Niko did do a render of his own, but after multiple death's in the studio, they decided not to put it online.
I would be interested to see what Niko would do and see if it would be scary. Peter's was my favourite because the ocean is something that always freaks me out lol.
This new format of picking a contestant, flashing back to their process, then revealing the render kept me engaged throughout. Don't know what it'll do for repeat watches but I think it's better for viewer retention so keep it up!
I completely disagree. I would have wanted to first see the render and then see them make it. Now it was like watching a magic trick you know was coming.
as a kid who grew up poor, with an unsupportive family, no money to attend college and no push towards art in anyway- you folks have taught me everything i know about cinematography, vfx and filmmaking. thank you so much from the bottom of my cold lonely heart!💗
I think the absence of sound would be a better way to go with Sam's render, being alone with your footsteps with the occasional unexpected interruption of the silence is much creepier than the constant ambiance in my opinion
The audio in most of these was pretty lackluster. Stock whispering and scary music isn't going to scare anyone, especially a person who recognizes them, like Niko most likely does.
I think Sam's idea would have been better if the creatures shied away from the light, but once the light was away from them, they actually tried to get closer and closer to you--just a little quick peek behind once in a while showing them slowly closing in on you.
And maybe cut 90% of them out. I mean the first one was visible for several seconds right at the start and you got a good look at it instead of just glimpses.
Great concepts, and I’m glad they at least did this challenge. Problem is that I felt like Niko watching these. They looked good (Sam’s in particular), but didn’t really have that creep factor. A lot of what was supposed to be the ultimate moment always felt expected. Could be just me, but I feel the best moments are when you never see it coming. Jordan’s was the best at this revealing that other character when the camera quickly turns. Peter’s was the best at building tension, but I knew exactly what was happening in the final shot. I think Peter’s piece would’ve been better with more elevated breathing, and just when the diver thinks it’s safe to move somewhere safer, the shark slams into him from out of the frame. Overall, great idea and I hope they re-visit this in the future. In the meantime, I hope they watch movies like The Witch (2015), and The Blair Witch Project to get a good sense of what creeps people out.
I'm with you, I was really hoping, especially with the diver one, that one of them was holding something back in the creation to surprise us with the unexpected. Like say, what if just before the shark chomped the diver ... something bigger took out the shark. Something that had been in the shot the whole time but you didn't know that's what you were looking at.
I think the biggest missing dimension was just time. It takes time for tension to set into the viewer, to let yourself emotionally fall into the viewpoint of the POV character. Just tough to do in this super short format
@@madend agreed. More time per video would also allow for more interesting context to be built outside of just "you are diving" or "you are exploring spooky house". I want to have a false sense of security which can be broken then thrown into a shredder.
@@madend Yeah, I think this is one of the major reasons why Hereditary's finale is so effective. The time that we spent throughout the rest of the movie empathising with the character, and dredding the unknown fate that awaits them, pays off in the end. I don't see how one could successfully evoke that same sense of terror in such a short time-frame.
Agreed that Peter's was best. Though Jordan's was a strong 2nd, only part I didn't like was the camera panning over to the next creepy thing (12:05) without any visual or auditory reasoning for it. Stepping on the blood pooling up being the initiation of our attention change (and then taking a couple steps back before turning around and running (due to the spider toy), all while leaving a slowly fading bloody shoeprint behind) would've been a nice addition. Or just having the door make a creaking noise while opening if short on time would've been enough. _Edit: The door does creak, but it starts _*_after_*_ the camera pans over_ Regardless, great job guys! Feels like character animation quality has gone way up lately, just less jank in general.
you know this turned out really wholesome. tell us you're well adjusted and generally speaking not horrifically abused people, by having absolutely no idea how to be unnerving let alone psychologically harrowing without a cheat sheet on target. also love that toy story was an inspiration here, so adorable.
I just realized how to put into words one of the BIG things I love about you guys's videos: it's all about critique. Sitting around talking about art (yours or a big movie or whatever), discussing how it makes you feel, how it was done, what might be done better, etc. I come from a traditional painting background and (1) I always love crits and (2) I find that 'normal' people often don't know how to participate in this kind of activity. Thanks for all of these!
I think part of what makes horror genuinely scary is a tonal shift - if a scene is filled with tension from beginning to end, then it becomes numbing. Same principle applies if you want to make your viewers angry, happy, or sad, you create a tonal shift. The greater the shift in tone - over an appropriate amount of time - the more affected the viewer will be.
Thalassophobia will always be top of my list for scares. 5 minutes into this video I was saying to myself "do that and you win" and Peter comes in clutch.
SAM ITS SO DAMNED GOOD!! on the edge of my bed the entire time. i like how most of them also pop right back out once the flashlight leaves them. The atmosphere kind of reminds me of Amnesia, which is a huge compliment. The same sense of helpless dread where the creatures are happy to let you know they are watching. Then of course you finally strike one and his entire family is there to see it xD 10/10 kudos
If you are tracking how scary it is by how high niko's heart rate spikes, you are missing out on the possibility it was so scary that niko's heart rate drops instead.
I can't find it for the life of me, but there's this one short film about a photographer at a photo shoot. Every time he looks in the viewfinder at the model she's got this eerie smile, with a demonic presence in the background. Eventually the entire crew seems to become possessed. THAT was scary. It's a little more than a render, but it was incredibly simple in execution. You've all gone for creepy settings, but the scariest situations are those that take place is environments that we normally feel safe and secure in.
I think Peter did the best because it was a lot more subtle for the most part. The best horror works from unease and dread setting the mood. Imagine Niko watching a photorealistic render of himself, but something's not quite right, delving that bit in to the valley for the setup.
The hand held camera movement really does wonders for Sam's video. I just wish the creeper right at the end wouldn't fall in such a weird simulated ragdoll kinda way.
One thing Peter could have done i think was if we heard the diver's heartrate, and then increase it after he spots the shark, getting faster when he was "floating" before the bite. Whenever I watch or play horror games where heartbeat is audible, my own heart tries to match it.
I liked this format for a challenge video, showing the process of each one and the final product, followed by Niko's reaction to it, was a good way to keep interest throughout the whole video. Not to say the other formats were uninteresting, not in the least.
Sam should've added heavy breathing and fast, shaky camera swipes to look at the creatures to show fear. As it was they were treated almost like harmless bugs on the wall
Guys, this is the best engaging video from you so far, instead of waiting to see the results in the end you make it more engaging with this approach, Great work 🔥
According to my Fitbit, Sam's render made my bpm go up by 2 (I thought the creatures were really cute, so I think my heart was more happy than scared), Wren's render made my bpm go down by 3, Jordan's render made no change, and Peter's render made my bpm go up by 2. So, Peter wins in my book.
i mean yeah the critters sam made were weirdly cute but i also fwlt the same about the eyeball worms. like theyre so dumb looking i cant possibly be afraid of them
I literally watch all the render challenge many times so that I can make my self confidence or comfortable about 3d renders and this one gave me a. Great idea , I don't know know what's the idea right now , but I will figure it out , like wrender man
I've noticed, while these guys are good at making things in a 3D space, they're really not great storytellers. I'm here for the tech deep-dives, the behind-the-scenes looks, the reactions, and the cool looking things, but I'm consistently disappointed by the lack of real feeling, impact, etc. from their work.
I think the best part of sams was the use of the sconces on the wall everywhere. All of them having the double bulbs/candles does a great job of mimicing the eyes of the creatures in the distance of the shots. I think if he had the viewpoint slowly pick up speed as he is realizing they are all around him to a point he is running it would really help also if the creatures were coming towards him but only kind of shrink away when the light hits them. Maybe have the viewpoint look back and forth trying to keep light everywhere but it slowly becoming futile as they come clawing out of the shadows. Still wonderful concept.
The one thing that really took me out of Wren and Jordan's renders were the instant animation change when the monsters start chasing. One moment they're stationary, the next they're half way through their run animation towards you. It felt very gamey, particularly given the first-person view. As for Sam's render, I felt more exasperated "why are you not leaving?!" than spooked. And Peter's render, it too fell into the jump scare trap, instead of leaning into the unsettling nature of the ocean. Like, imagine instead if he went exploring an old wreck, but when he went to resurface, a jellyfish bloom had arrived above the ship. EDIT: I also think the sound effects on Peter's render actually lessened the scariness of it. Imagine instead the sound of a large mass moving through water, the sound of a large tail fin. Maybe some rumble as it got closer. Instead we got ear-piercing metal-on-metal, or whatever that was. Loud ≠ scary.
agreed, one of the scariest parts about water is not hearing much of anything, maybe some muffled sounds or what not. perhaps even making the shark a bit less visible when it first appears would have made it even more suspenseful. but other than that, the render did somewhat trigger my thalassophobia
It would be scarier if one of the shorts were in a house at night. When a familiar place that you tough was safe turns out to be dangerous it’s scary, also make the protagonist head to bed when it’s nighttime and your heading to bed that’s when you are at your’e most vulnerable
Love the fact that everyone uses different softwares to achieve the goal. As someone who uses C4D and Octane, I sometimes wanna switch to blender, unreal or houdini everytime I see them using a different tool or plugin.
Niko is almost as chill as I am. My heart rate is 59 beats per minute. I've also been told, after taking an EKG, that my heart beat is "textbook". Not bad for 73 years old.
Everyones renders looked like video games trying to cash out on a cheap jump scare. Peters is the only one that came close to being scary. He went for a more cinematic approach, his sound design wasn't distracting, he obscured the viewers vision (which makes us uncomfortable) and most importantly, there is a build up. Its almost like he did research on scary movie scenes 🤔
If you're going for a heart rate change what can you do aside from a cheap jump scare? You'd have to really know the person and play on their specific fears and try to push them into an actual panic attack. But I agree that the slower build up contributes majorly.
@@kamikeserpentail3778 yeah your right, considering the heart rate aspect, I guess you have a better chance with jump scares than to make someone feel uneasy. Low risk, high reward situation.
yoooo the format for this video was the best so far - im sure you'll see that translate to retention time. also A+ with having the chapters for people who legit dont have enough time to watch the whole video and wanna skip around
Hope this becomes a Halloween tradition! Gotta say tho, as someone who suffers from thalassophobia, that last part of the video was friggin hard to get by...
sam's render was good, i'm no good at filmmaking but i think it would be scarier if we barely got to see the monsters, cause we practically see the full monster in some shots. keep it up guys, you are great inspiration, at least for me and that's all I could ask for
Following one render all the way through, one person at a time is the best way you've done this yet. Can't skip to the end but don't want to cause I'm being rewarded with finished products throughout the video which is satisfying.
Shout out to the editors! Showing everyone's process and then their video instead of the old way must get way better retention and get people not to skip to the end. Brilliant idea and it feels more like a show ❤
As a video editor I really enjoyed the format of this challenge. Each person goes back in time to when they started then leads to watching the render. Well done editors on this vid
I still have no talent creating, but over the years playing games and watching this channel, the two most critical elements of horror are: Sound Design and Dread (not too much stock sounds, and build the anxiety) good job guys.
I'm amazed at superb quality of all of these clips. Like it's comparable to what would be AAA game cinematics made by big studios 7-10 year ago . It's amazing that we have tools today that make possible to achieve such fidelity by single talented person.
I'm a massive fan of the horror genre, and the first three were super cool!! But not scary....the second it hit that underwater one though, my face goddamn dropped. I have major thalassophobia and oh boy, I could feel my own heart rate spike, LMAO.
When watching Jordan talk about his render I suddenly remembered an older video where the object was for him to learn Houdini from scratch. This wasn't that long ago and now he's using motion rigs and compositing lights in Nuke! Pretty impressive actually!
I feel the person holding the light in Sam's render was fearless. Never paused to peek corners, never turned back. The character didnt seem scared so I wasnt either
Feels more like that the creatures are scared of the character.
Exactly. There were several times where the character walked to pass the creatures, making them be behind them like entering that corridor. They turned their back to like 10 of those creatures and did not seem afraid of it at all
Yeah no heavy breathing and if the creatures came in rarely rather than constantly it would be even scarier
basically sam.
Same reason something like Metroid Prime isn't really all that scary, even in the blackout sections. Samus Aran is a certified badass who is well equipped to take on whatever the Space Pirates throw at her, and as the various pirate logs show, they are _far_ more afraid of her than she is of them.
Since the point-of-view character is not afraid, neither is the audience.
Peter winning by leaving Niko's heartbeat unchanged after everyone else relaxed him is fucking hilarious.
The most frightening/visceral segment was Wren eating candy with the wrapper still on.
Little do we know, that was a vfx shot. Can't trust anything from corridor
Its just wax paper. It tastes likes cheap crayons. But its won't hurt you.
Should've had a Kitkat and just bite it sideways.
@@farish.515bro that was definitely not vfx. It would have been way easier to just film Wren chewing candy with the wrapper on and then have him spit it out after the take was over than to go through the trouble of finding a way to recreate this shot digitally
@@andrewparker318 I wasn't being serious lol
Love how the challenge shifted from raising Niko’s heart rate to not lowering it with relaxing renders, lol.
Yeah, the renders were just too good... should have used that bowling animation style... that would have creeped him out 😂
Tbf, during danger your heartbeat can actually go down. Which is why when you see folk with heartbeat monitors play a scary game, their heartbeat tends to be decently high _until_ they get scared, then the heartbeat slows down a decent amount and stays low for a bit.
@@IhorEleven Because the body is preparing for potential and explosive physical reaction I believe?
There are other factors ofc, but that is the one I remember off the top of my head.
Think of it as survival reaction that can be traced wayyyyyy back.
Sam's idea was really good, the only problem was the the little monsters seemed afraid of the viewer, instead of threatening them. This is why it wasn't scary for me.
That's a solid observation
I think there were too many of them, they weren't obscured enough and they showed too often.
I think the little guys were also too numerous for a shot that lasted too long. The impact you get from that small glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye dies out pretty quick when it happens ever five seconds over a minute and a half video. I spent most of that clip actively trying to find them instead of feeling spooked.
it also doesn't help that the person walking there doesn't react at all, i'd imagine that when the person sees the monster it would at least jump a little which would make the camera shake, and also with the door it kinda doesn't make sense that they wouldn't at least slow down a little if the door just opened by it self
The issue for me is that there is monsters plural. Less is more. Even the scariest entity possible loses all fear factor if you fill a room with them. 90% of the work going into building terror is actually the time you let the player/viewer spend away from the creature.
Peter elevated the challenge, as usual, to the next level. By choosing cinematic suspense over the cheap scary monsters, he proved to be the scariest director. I also thought Sam's was the most technically proficient. The lighting was on point. Wren's actually spooked me the most with his jumpscare.
Wren's transition from "I think I got this" to a genuine "I don't think I got this" was extremely relatable.
Reminded me of Ron Carey in "High Anxiety."
"I got it!. I got it. I got it...I don't got it!"
Anyone who has worked clearly have the same dilemma. As a programmer, that statement of Wren, made me cry.
Peter is insanely talented & always goes above and beyond every time, he’s honestly Hollywood material he needs to be working on movies.
I agree that he's talented, but he's lucky to be at Corridor where he's treated like a human and not a sweatshop worker.
@@VorpalStorm true, I just think he has some serious bloody talent & needs to be making his own movies or be involved with a studio because holy hell he’s extremely talented, not to say the others aren’t but he’s just on another level.
man, its really remind me of Iron Lung. because i know why people scared of sea sometimes. because its dark and you cant see it clearly even its on earth. yea its awesome, im in awe good video
He would be WASTED on hollywood, just being another cog in the VFX studio machine. What he's doing now (making his own original VR game) is exactly what he should be doing, completely his own work. I'm hoping it's a success and can't wait to see what he does after.
@@Kindi001 iron lung is scary asf
Really liked the layout of this one - announce the render, then flashback to them creating it before showing it. I think this would work well for other render challenges in the future!
Agreed!!!
It took all suspense away. If they had been cold cut back to back without context. Or their usual format would have worked better for that. That and they were not all that "scary".
@@Nashley12331they are trying a new format because the viewer analytics shows a lot of people just skip to the end to watch the renders and dont bother watching the making of
@CommanderLink I watched the first "making of" and half of the second one. Then, I skipped through the other two....
Agreed! The structure was so much more interesting for some reason!
Cinematography of Peter's renders is fenomenal. Really good job.
*phenomenal
Peter is so dang talented. His work is always top notch and well animated.
15:27
Dude...
Peter's render looks like something you'd see on Love, Death, & Robots...
It's stellar. That dude has an absolutely astonishing level of technical ability and creativity. He's got an eye for every single type of "challenge" that it's amazing to see whatever the hell he's going to come up with.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the other renders too. I loved how Wren's went into a loop animation. I loved the ambiance of Sam's render. Jordan's had a fantastic feel to the entire scenario and animation. But Peter was the only one to think waaaay outside the norm and everything was spot on. From the camera view to the lighting to the scene to the sound design, I think he made the best by a mile.
Video Idea: We competed for the most devious transitions
gotta make this comment top others
Can’t be more devious than the Game of Thrones cutting off scab to cutting pie transition
ooohhh thats a good shout
"devious" 😷
That one
The real question is what unholy terrors has Niko beheld that, when confronted with fear, he now finds peace?
Fatherhood
He, like many of us, was raised in the age of internet gore and extreme gore FX in movies. Don't look away.
@@dimbulb2959 real
Water is wet
@@bruhdon4748 That is just completely wrong
This was a fun challenge, and everyone did a great job with their renders! But creating "fear" is a difficult challenge; usually the more you "try" to be scary, the less scary you actually are.
So, I think if the goal was to get Niko's heart rate up, they should've gone more "psychological" and created a "discomforting" render, which no doubt, sound design would be incredibly important for. Rather than a setting that is "obviously" dangerous, something less obvious and more relatable and off putting.
That's true, I was thinking the same. And in my opinion, jump scares are cheap, it's used to make something unscary to feel scary for a short moment. It's more getting startled than scared. For me, something scary is something my mind can't really identify, but I at the same time know what it is. Like unnaturally distorted human faces and bodies. And it shouldn't be a jump, it needs to be something you know is there, but you want to get as far away from it as possible.
@@FreakyGremlinDKThat's exactly how I feel about creepy old ladies for some reason lol. Especially when they're just staring and smiling at you
@@FreakyGremlinDK yeah...100%...you reminded me of a nightmare ive had several times when i was younger about trying to get away from something but no matter how hard i tried, i wasnt actually moving away. I can picture it pretty clearly. That definitely would be the way to scare someone, but it cant just be anything
I think focusing more on what we humans fear in everyday lives would've worked as well. Maybe being stalked by someone on your way home would've made a great suspense
Now we need Niko to do a render of his own to show them what scary really is...
There's too high a chance of that render becoming one of those horror movie tapes that kills people.
@@alexandertiberius1098 That's actually what happened. Niko did do a render of his own, but after multiple death's in the studio, they decided not to put it online.
Some snuff render or something
@@mezzb Just reading this gave me anxiety lol
I would be interested to see what Niko would do and see if it would be scary. Peter's was my favourite because the ocean is something that always freaks me out lol.
This new format of picking a contestant, flashing back to their process, then revealing the render kept me engaged throughout. Don't know what it'll do for repeat watches but I think it's better for viewer retention so keep it up!
I completely disagree. I would have wanted to first see the render and then see them make it. Now it was like watching a magic trick you know was coming.
@@Isnogood12still better than just jumping to the renders right away and missing the entire thing.
as a kid who grew up poor, with an unsupportive family, no money to attend college and no push towards art in anyway- you folks have taught me everything i know about cinematography, vfx and filmmaking.
thank you so much from the bottom of my cold lonely heart!💗
I think the absence of sound would be a better way to go with Sam's render, being alone with your footsteps with the occasional unexpected interruption of the silence is much creepier than the constant ambiance in my opinion
Peter dropped all sound for his in the the right spot.
The audio in most of these was pretty lackluster. Stock whispering and scary music isn't going to scare anyone, especially a person who recognizes them, like Niko most likely does.
I think Sam's idea would have been better if the creatures shied away from the light, but once the light was away from them, they actually tried to get closer and closer to you--just a little quick peek behind once in a while showing them slowly closing in on you.
And maybe cut 90% of them out. I mean the first one was visible for several seconds right at the start and you got a good look at it instead of just glimpses.
This shows perfectly how hard it actually is to make something at least a little bit spooky.
Great concepts, and I’m glad they at least did this challenge. Problem is that I felt like Niko watching these. They looked good (Sam’s in particular), but didn’t really have that creep factor. A lot of what was supposed to be the ultimate moment always felt expected. Could be just me, but I feel the best moments are when you never see it coming. Jordan’s was the best at this revealing that other character when the camera quickly turns. Peter’s was the best at building tension, but I knew exactly what was happening in the final shot. I think Peter’s piece would’ve been better with more elevated breathing, and just when the diver thinks it’s safe to move somewhere safer, the shark slams into him from out of the frame.
Overall, great idea and I hope they re-visit this in the future. In the meantime, I hope they watch movies like The Witch (2015), and The Blair Witch Project to get a good sense of what creeps people out.
Or if your really good , you can have the jump scare visible in the background the whole time like the end of Hereditary.
I'm with you, I was really hoping, especially with the diver one, that one of them was holding something back in the creation to surprise us with the unexpected. Like say, what if just before the shark chomped the diver ... something bigger took out the shark. Something that had been in the shot the whole time but you didn't know that's what you were looking at.
I think the biggest missing dimension was just time. It takes time for tension to set into the viewer, to let yourself emotionally fall into the viewpoint of the POV character. Just tough to do in this super short format
@@madend agreed. More time per video would also allow for more interesting context to be built outside of just "you are diving" or "you are exploring spooky house". I want to have a false sense of security which can be broken then thrown into a shredder.
@@madend Yeah, I think this is one of the major reasons why Hereditary's finale is so effective.
The time that we spent throughout the rest of the movie empathising with the character, and dredding the unknown fate that awaits them, pays off in the end.
I don't see how one could successfully evoke that same sense of terror in such a short time-frame.
Peter's first two shots were amazing
Honestly I thought the 3rd shot was even better. The diver's interaction with grabbing onto the boat was top notch.
Agreed that Peter's was best. Though Jordan's was a strong 2nd, only part I didn't like was the camera panning over to the next creepy thing (12:05) without any visual or auditory reasoning for it.
Stepping on the blood pooling up being the initiation of our attention change (and then taking a couple steps back before turning around and running (due to the spider toy), all while leaving a slowly fading bloody shoeprint behind) would've been a nice addition.
Or just having the door make a creaking noise while opening if short on time would've been enough. _Edit: The door does creak, but it starts _*_after_*_ the camera pans over_
Regardless, great job guys!
Feels like character animation quality has gone way up lately, just less jank in general.
scariest part of this video was Wren eating the Tootsie Roll with the wrapper still on. Gave me a genuine fright. Hope his digestion is okay!
Wren's eaten so much worse than that wrapper in videos over the years. He'll be just fine from a slightly waxy, paper candy wrapper.
you know this turned out really wholesome.
tell us you're well adjusted and generally speaking not horrifically abused people, by having absolutely no idea how to be unnerving let alone psychologically harrowing without a cheat sheet on target.
also love that toy story was an inspiration here, so adorable.
I just realized how to put into words one of the BIG things I love about you guys's videos: it's all about critique. Sitting around talking about art (yours or a big movie or whatever), discussing how it makes you feel, how it was done, what might be done better, etc. I come from a traditional painting background and (1) I always love crits and (2) I find that 'normal' people often don't know how to participate in this kind of activity. Thanks for all of these!
I think part of what makes horror genuinely scary is a tonal shift - if a scene is filled with tension from beginning to end, then it becomes numbing. Same principle applies if you want to make your viewers angry, happy, or sad, you create a tonal shift. The greater the shift in tone - over an appropriate amount of time - the more affected the viewer will be.
Thalassophobia will always be top of my list for scares. 5 minutes into this video I was saying to myself "do that and you win" and Peter comes in clutch.
SAM ITS SO DAMNED GOOD!!
on the edge of my bed the entire time. i like how most of them also pop right back out once the flashlight leaves them.
The atmosphere kind of reminds me of Amnesia, which is a huge compliment. The same sense of helpless dread where the creatures are happy to let you know they are watching.
Then of course you finally strike one and his entire family is there to see it xD
10/10 kudos
If you are tracking how scary it is by how high niko's heart rate spikes, you are missing out on the possibility it was so scary that niko's heart rate drops instead.
peter's render is pure cinema!
heart beat overflow
He was just experiencing a series of minor cardiac events. 😅
I can't find it for the life of me, but there's this one short film about a photographer at a photo shoot. Every time he looks in the viewfinder at the model she's got this eerie smile, with a demonic presence in the background. Eventually the entire crew seems to become possessed. THAT was scary.
It's a little more than a render, but it was incredibly simple in execution.
You've all gone for creepy settings, but the scariest situations are those that take place is environments that we normally feel safe and secure in.
The scariest thing is how calm Niko is
He is so calm that horror movies bring him to the hospital by lowering his heart rate
17:28 Wren revealing that he's the true monster by just eating the wrappers XD
The problem I have with Sam's, is that the cameraman never reacts to the creepies
I think Peter did the best because it was a lot more subtle for the most part.
The best horror works from unease and dread setting the mood.
Imagine Niko watching a photorealistic render of himself, but something's not quite right, delving that bit in to the valley for the setup.
The hand held camera movement really does wonders for Sam's video. I just wish the creeper right at the end wouldn't fall in such a weird simulated ragdoll kinda way.
LMFAOOO YOURE RIGHT
One thing Peter could have done i think was if we heard the diver's heartrate, and then increase it after he spots the shark, getting faster when he was "floating" before the bite. Whenever I watch or play horror games where heartbeat is audible, my own heart tries to match it.
I liked this format for a challenge video, showing the process of each one and the final product, followed by Niko's reaction to it, was a good way to keep interest throughout the whole video. Not to say the other formats were uninteresting, not in the least.
16:19 Niko gets the prize for being the winner. Nobody scared him.
Niko doesn't fear the danger.
He IS the danger.
I love how in Sam's the hallway sconces imitated the monster's eyes, and the parallax revealed they weren't eyes.
The camera guy has to be the most chill dude on the planet
Sam should've added heavy breathing and fast, shaky camera swipes to look at the creatures to show fear. As it was they were treated almost like harmless bugs on the wall
Guys, this is the best engaging video from you so far, instead of waiting to see the results in the end you make it more engaging with this approach, Great work 🔥
The scariest thing about this video was Wren biting into the Tootsie Roll without taking the wrapper off.
My first thought was an ocean pov render where you can't quite see what's around you. Peter is a genious
According to my Fitbit, Sam's render made my bpm go up by 2 (I thought the creatures were really cute, so I think my heart was more happy than scared), Wren's render made my bpm go down by 3, Jordan's render made no change, and Peter's render made my bpm go up by 2.
So, Peter wins in my book.
i mean yeah the critters sam made were weirdly cute but i also fwlt the same about the eyeball worms. like theyre so dumb looking i cant possibly be afraid of them
The Render Challenge of "Can you scare, the unscareable man?" Truly the ultimate render challenge.
satisfying cgi make you go: aahhhhhh~
scary cgi make you go: AHHHHHHHHHHH
I literally watch all the render challenge many times so that I can make my self confidence or comfortable about 3d renders and this one gave me a. Great idea , I don't know know what's the idea right now , but I will figure it out , like wrender man
Sam's had too little suspense. They just kept popping up and saying hi, and the person with the camera ignored them completely
I've noticed, while these guys are good at making things in a 3D space, they're really not great storytellers. I'm here for the tech deep-dives, the behind-the-scenes looks, the reactions, and the cool looking things, but I'm consistently disappointed by the lack of real feeling, impact, etc. from their work.
I was hoping the camera would turn around near the end and reveal they were all following you
I think the best part of sams was the use of the sconces on the wall everywhere. All of them having the double bulbs/candles does a great job of mimicing the eyes of the creatures in the distance of the shots. I think if he had the viewpoint slowly pick up speed as he is realizing they are all around him to a point he is running it would really help also if the creatures were coming towards him but only kind of shrink away when the light hits them. Maybe have the viewpoint look back and forth trying to keep light everywhere but it slowly becoming futile as they come clawing out of the shadows. Still wonderful concept.
Peter's talent never ceases to be amazing. He's just so resourceful and manages to get the most out of the limitations.
I love this new style for the competitions! Showing each editor one by one keeps a really nice flow!! I hope they keep it up in the next ones
The one thing that really took me out of Wren and Jordan's renders were the instant animation change when the monsters start chasing. One moment they're stationary, the next they're half way through their run animation towards you. It felt very gamey, particularly given the first-person view. As for Sam's render, I felt more exasperated "why are you not leaving?!" than spooked. And Peter's render, it too fell into the jump scare trap, instead of leaning into the unsettling nature of the ocean. Like, imagine instead if he went exploring an old wreck, but when he went to resurface, a jellyfish bloom had arrived above the ship.
EDIT: I also think the sound effects on Peter's render actually lessened the scariness of it. Imagine instead the sound of a large mass moving through water, the sound of a large tail fin. Maybe some rumble as it got closer. Instead we got ear-piercing metal-on-metal, or whatever that was. Loud ≠ scary.
agreed, one of the scariest parts about water is not hearing much of anything, maybe some muffled sounds or what not. perhaps even making the shark a bit less visible when it first appears would have made it even more suspenseful. but other than that, the render did somewhat trigger my thalassophobia
I like the edit breaking up the renders instead of lumping them all at the end.
kanepixels entered the chat
14:52 that sound when the shark appears is the Dishonored spotted sound when a gaurd or enemy spotted you! Nice reference!
Peter always manages to go batshit insane in these short videos.
It would be scarier if one of the shorts were in a house at night. When a familiar place that you tough was safe turns out to be dangerous it’s scary, also make the protagonist head to bed when it’s nighttime and your heading to bed that’s when you are at your’e most vulnerable
Now that's worth competiting❤❤❤❤❤😂in this era when horror doesn't feel like horror
I have an idea for a horror film.
Basically, you're an adult and you find out about taxes.
It's like a two in one.
I miss Fenner. =(
The Jordan, Matt, Fenner dynamic was so good.
Did he quit?
@@BlazevicJosipI don't know, but he hasn't been around for several months.
Love the fact that everyone uses different softwares to achieve the goal. As someone who uses C4D and Octane, I sometimes wanna switch to blender, unreal or houdini everytime I see them using a different tool or plugin.
Niko is almost as chill as I am. My heart rate is 59 beats per minute. I've also been told, after taking an EKG, that my heart beat is "textbook". Not bad for 73 years old.
I love it how they go crazy celebrating that nothing changed xd
Everyones renders looked like video games trying to cash out on a cheap jump scare. Peters is the only one that came close to being scary. He went for a more cinematic approach, his sound design wasn't distracting, he obscured the viewers vision (which makes us uncomfortable) and most importantly, there is a build up. Its almost like he did research on scary movie scenes 🤔
If you're going for a heart rate change what can you do aside from a cheap jump scare?
You'd have to really know the person and play on their specific fears and try to push them into an actual panic attack.
But I agree that the slower build up contributes majorly.
@@kamikeserpentail3778 yeah your right, considering the heart rate aspect, I guess you have a better chance with jump scares than to make someone feel uneasy. Low risk, high reward situation.
yoooo the format for this video was the best so far - im sure you'll see that translate to retention time. also A+ with having the chapters for people who legit dont have enough time to watch the whole video and wanna skip around
woah pretty early
Hope this becomes a Halloween tradition!
Gotta say tho, as someone who suffers from thalassophobia, that last part of the video was friggin hard to get by...
0:14 Wren being up in the rafters is the most Wren thing ever 🤣🤣
sam's render was good, i'm no good at filmmaking but i think it would be scarier if we barely got to see the monsters, cause we practically see the full monster in some shots. keep it up guys, you are great inspiration, at least for me and that's all I could ask for
Following one render all the way through, one person at a time is the best way you've done this yet. Can't skip to the end but don't want to cause I'm being rewarded with finished products throughout the video which is satisfying.
I always love how Jordan tries to bring out most of the software's potential or use niche features, that's the kind of guy that reads changelogs
Yes, Wren, perfect analysis. Creativity thrives under pressure and constraints. Too much choice leads to doubt
Peter's scared me the most because im phalasophobic(fear of the deep seas) and the shark jumpscare!
Love the spooky renders, hope to see more of them. I think the biggest challenge with this is honestly just the length of render
Really loved the new format for this challenge. Seeing each person at a time, rather than all the videos at the end was really good!
Loved the new video format, every time someone’s gonna present the render you get the whole backstory
Shout out to the editors! Showing everyone's process and then their video instead of the old way must get way better retention and get people not to skip to the end. Brilliant idea and it feels more like a show ❤
As a video editor I really enjoyed the format of this challenge. Each person goes back in time to when they started then leads to watching the render. Well done editors on this vid
Really like this new format! Way easier to digest the info you're teaching
I don't think my 90bpm resting heart rate is healthy after watching this video.
I still have no talent creating, but over the years playing games and watching this channel, the two most critical elements of horror are:
Sound Design and Dread (not too much stock sounds, and build the anxiety) good job guys.
I like the old style of watching the finished products at the end.
Honestly, Sam's made it feel like WE were the monster and all the poor little creatures were trying to get away from us.
Alternate ending: it was a trick, the winner gets fired
I'm amazed at superb quality of all of these clips. Like it's comparable to what would be AAA game cinematics made by big studios 7-10 year ago . It's amazing that we have tools today that make possible to achieve such fidelity by single talented person.
Before I even start this video I stg they better have brought Peter on to this challenge
edit: oh like 3 seconds in there he is, YES lol
I'm a massive fan of the horror genre, and the first three were super cool!! But not scary....the second it hit that underwater one though, my face goddamn dropped. I have major thalassophobia and oh boy, I could feel my own heart rate spike, LMAO.
Jordan A should present all of television ever
15:31 got an ad halfway through the jump scare
The scariest part was Wren eating the candy with the WRAPPER STILL ON!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like how this one is edited, how each render is shown in the process, and then the full animation, before going to the next render
0:12 i love how ren is just up there. as if he lives there.
09:48 WHAT IS THAT GUY SHAVING HIS FACE WITH?!?!?!?!?
When watching Jordan talk about his render I suddenly remembered an older video where the object was for him to learn Houdini from scratch. This wasn't that long ago and now he's using motion rigs and compositing lights in Nuke! Pretty impressive actually!
Y'all knocked it out of the park on this one though! It's probably because of the simple lighting, but all of them looked especially good!
I like The format of this where you cut back to the making of of each one while getting the video ready for showing.