Chell's Mind (Demo)

[night hal 1]

Hi. I'm a fan of Freeman's Mind, probably like you. I was excited and disappointed to see Ross's epic Machinima series come to an end. To know that there wouldn't be any new episodes for up to a year stinged a little bit. I tried watching other "Mind" series, but none of them really did the trick other than "Barney's Mind" and "Shepard's Mind". There was a third one that I watched and loved centering around Chell from the Portal franchise, made by Youtuber CyhAnide. Unfortunately, although she says she is still working on it, the last episode released from her was over 4 years ago. While I remained hopeful to see a return, I had secretly begun working on a baseline to create my own rendition of Chell's psychological journey in case she announced that she would stop working on it altogether. But with the end of the first season of Freeman's Mind, the completion of all other Half-Life based Mind machinimas, and the indefinite hiatus that surrounds CyhAnide's series, I felt like it was the right time to at least give it a shot.

 

Please note that this is NOT the final product and is only a test of my recording, writing, editing, and my previous voice actress's skills. Much will change before the first episode of the show is released on Youtube, so take this demonstration video with a grain of salt. With that in mind (heh), please enjoy the Pilot to my take on Chell's Mind.

 

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IN THIS VIDEO:

No "Chell's Mind" Logo

No Cinematic Intro

Random Perpetual Testing Initiative chamber

720p video quality

30 FPS

N/A frameblending

Airy, snide, and overall annoying personality of Chell

Inexperienced voice actress (just a nearby friend)

Uploaded on my personal Youtube Channel

 

IN THE INITIAL SERIES:

A full vector "Chell's Mind" logo

Unique Intro Cinematics for every few chambers

A following of Chell from the beginning to the end of Portal 1

720p video quality

30 FPS

4x frameblending (actual motion blur)

Astute, sarcastic, and tenacious personality for Chell

EXPERIENCED actress's voice acting (a college peer)

Uploads on a separate "studio" Youtube channel

 

 

The most important thing to take note of is THIS IS NOT THE FINAL VOICE OF CHELL! I can not stress this enough. I realize how important the voice of a Mind series is. This was a friend's input for the test video while I looked for the actress I could proudly cast as Chell. Needless to say, I have found a very nice replacement that is extremely pleasant to listen to and who I think really fits the personality I have assigned to this character. I should have a video showcasing the change in actresses up sometime around next week on my same personal channel.

 

With that out of the way, I'd like to address a few other important things. To get some idea on what I was going to be getting myself into, I contacted Scott. I pretty much got the response that I was expecting. This show is going to KICK. MY. ASS. While I knew this from the beginning, I had no idea the amount of work that went into the actual quality of the video and how much space it eats up on a standard hard-drive. Think of it this way: If my hard-drive represents Earth, and all of my programs used in the creation of the show and other necessities are about the size of Canada; the amount of space required to record, edit, and render one episode would be around the size of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean COMBINED. And this is just for my planned quality for the actual first episode. If I wanted to bump the quality up to 1080p, 60fps, 4x motion blur (and I really want to), that would take up around the size of EVERY MOLECULE OF WATER ON EARTH. While I could cave in on the quality on the account of my limited hard-drive space and use something like Fraps, I'm not going to. I'm sticking with the in-engine recording software to ensure video purity, even if that means ditching archives of past episodes and project files. There are too many "Mind" series' out there that could have been much more, and I intend to make mine the best it can possibly be. All I'm asking is for a little mercy when it comes to things like video quality and the frequency of episode releases. Well they're not actually going to be called "episodes", but "chapters". Which brings me to my NEXT point.

 

My commitment to the completion of the first season of Chell's Mind is NON-NEGOTIABLE. I WILL be finishing this series hopefully before the end of 2015, thanks to the limited number of levels in the original Portal's campaign. The schedule for the releases of each "Chapter" however, is completely up in the air. I was HOPING I could make a deadline of two weeks for each chapter, but it all honestly comes down to how much work I can get done in the 2 HOURS that I have with my voice actress. Yup, that's right. A machinima series that takes around half a week of work to complete the editing of all comes down to the intrusion of a dance-rehearsal. I'm both embarrassed and humored to say that the date of each chapter's release all depends on if Sarah makes a wrong step and the entire cast has to retry the whole scene again. There's nothing I can do to control this, but hopefully I should have the first chapter up sometime during March, preferably near the beginning.

 

In the end my main concern is quality, and if that means it takes a month to get a single chapter up, then so be it. My end goal is to give Freeman's Mind fans like you guys something similar to follow and watch, while still providing a fresh take on the genre. I will be taking some inspiration from CyhAnide's rendition, but hopefully I can refrain from taking any actual jokes or lines straight from it. The hardest part is the writing of Chell. Whereas Freeman, Barney, and Shepard all have semi-detailed histories to work with, all poor Chell has got to her name is a human body and a reference of stubbornness from a schizophrenic. That and a love for potato science.

 

Alright, I think I'm done. If you have any questions or feedback, don't hesitate to ask. If not, thanks for watching and I'll see you guys next Friday!

[Binky The Rabbit]

It looks promising The speech needs to be a lot slower and deliberate, but I'm assuming your college peer knows that anyway.

 

Also, thanks for the insight into what making a Mind series requires. I'm planning on making an 'Across The Universe' spin-off, in which Freeman finds himself in another FPS. I've got a chunk of the script written, but I'm just about the enter the final run of University, so I'm purposefully stopping myself from starting production until after I've (hopefully) graduated.

 

Best of luck on Chell's Mind! I too am subscribed to CyhAnide, and have eagerly awaited another episode. Hopefully you will be more successful!

[night hal 1]

It looks promising The speech needs to be a lot slower and deliberate, but I'm assuming your college peer knows that anyway.

 

Also, thanks for the insight into what making a Mind series requires. I'm planning on making an 'Across The Universe' spin-off, in which Freeman finds himself in another FPS. I've got a chunk of the script written, but I'm just about the enter the final run of University, so I'm purposefully stopping myself from starting production until after I've (hopefully) graduated.

 

Best of luck on Chell's Mind! I too am subscribed to CyhAnide, and have eagerly awaited another episode. Hopefully you will be more successful!

Hey, thanks for the input. As long as you're not using a Source engine game, you probably won't run into the same recording difficulties that I have. I say "difficulties" because it's not impossible using the game's built in recording plugin, but it is very daunting to see how much space it eats up for just a single episode.

 

Anyways, for an all-around recording software I would recommend Fraps (of course), and Shadowplay. Shadowplay actually gives you a lot of feedback as to the quality of what you're recording while you're playing. I've recorded quite a bit of other failed experiments with it. Good luck with your own series and your graduation!

[HLPrincess]

Wow... Pretty nice.

I'm prepraring myself to make Portal 2 mind series as well. It's been like... over a year since I recorded anything (I can't even remember). so yeah. There will be 2 Chells, probably. Except my idea will be somewhat experimental and much more like a hobby, so no need to panic. We can share this cake

[night hal 1]

Holy crap, does frameblending make a difference. IT LOOKS SO GOOD. Thank you based Ross!

[night hal 1]

Just a quick update video before I start working on the actual first episode.

 

This IS the final voice for Chell, but do take the quality of the recording with a grain of salt. I had less than 30 minutes to get all of these lines from her.

 

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[night hal 1]

I have some bad news. My previous voice actress has just informed me that she has dropped from the project. This is especially aggravating, since we already recorded lines for the first episode. This will delay the beginning of the series at LEAST a couple months. I know it could less time to find a suitable replacement voice-actress, but in all honestly I'd rather take a break from production for some time.

I was beginning to get a little burned out for Chell's Mind, and this was the last little push I needed to put the whole thing on hold. I don't want to work on something I don't have passion for at the moment. It would end up bad, or even worse, worse. This does NOT mean I'm giving up the project all together. Hell no. I've made a commitment to somebody close to me that I would finish at least the first "Season". I will get back on the horse sometime probably around April.

I'm sorry I don't have anything for you guys. I'll be back.

[[sk]lebowsky]

I'm glad to hear you're not giving up i just saw the video and it looks very promising, I like how you put a lot of quality in the videos like Ross . I hope it all works out for you man.

[night hal 1]

lebowsky"]I'm glad to hear you're not giving up i just saw the video and it looks very promising, I like how you put a lot of quality in the videos like Ross . I hope it all works out for you man.

Thanks, man. I wish you could see the old video since it showcased some cool things like the logo and the frameblending that I use. I took it down because it had the voice of the actress that dropped out, and I didn't want anyone to associate her as the final voice like I said she would be. I'll probably redo it once I find someone else. But thanks again, I'll probably get back on track with it soon.

[Jeb_CC]

:3 If you need any help, I'm willing to offer. Just take your time with it. X3 Projects can be hard work.

[[sk]lebowsky]

Yea, same here if you need any help I can donate my time.

[Jeb_CC]

If you need any help, I can donate my soul. :3

[Xalder]

I'd offer my voice but it's probably too masculine lol, unless you wanted a male voice for Chell's mind as part of the humor.

[[sk]lebowsky]

If you need any help, I can donate my soul. :3

Hmmmm.

[night hal 1]

I'd offer my voice but it's probably too masculine lol, unless you wanted a male voice for Chell's mind as part of the humor.

Thanks, but I'd rather keep it as simple to follow as possible. I can see multiple ways of using a masculine voice as her conscious, or even use a filter on my own voice to make it appear more feminine, but I've decided against it. Like I said in the OP, I'm looking to emulate a combination of Ross's and CyhAnide's style and humor (while still giving it a unique flavor) and having anything but a REAL, cynical, tangy chick as the voice of a mind puts that notion to challenge.

 

Not only does it take the experience out of the realm of the Half-Life universe (something Ross expertly avoided), to be quite honest, and this is going to sound a bit low; female voices and roles typically tend to draw a larger crowd when they are advertised as such.

 

I've already got my eye on a specific, but I want to wait until I have an episode laid out before I ask anything of her. HOWEVER, if you do know anyone who has a friend of a friend who's looking for voice work, just go ahead and see if you can send them my way. I can't guarantee them a part, but having options is always nice if my original pick for the voice doesn't work out.

[Jeb_CC]

Can I send mySELF your way? X3

I'd gladly take a part in your expedition to find a female voice.

[night hal 1]

Can I send mySELF your way? X3

I'd gladly take a part in your expedition to find a female voice.

Of course, much appreciated.

[Jeb_CC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HyjG0nIEXs&feature=youtu.be

X3 Here. A video of basically my voice. Just for referencing I guess.

[night hal 1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HyjG0nIEXs&feature=youtu.be

X3 Here. A video of basically my voice. Just for referencing I guess.

Wow, thanks a lot for this. Unfortunately, I think your voice is a little too sweet for the inner monologue of a borderline-psychotic, cynical, stubborn character. Your voice sounds REALLY good, and you'd probably be able to enhance the quality with my help, but I'm setting the bar quite high and you're just too nice sounding (and you've got a bit of an accent). I know beggars can't be choosers, but I'd rather try with my first choice.

 

Thanks again, and if things don't pan out you'll be the first I come to!

[Jeb_CC]

Thanks! No problem. I understand you gotta be picky. XD That's fine. And yeah, I do have an accent. Last time I checked, Chell wasn't British/Australian. XP