Page 1269…
So…I couldn’t decide if today’s page should have sound effects or not.
Thoughts?
If anyone is going to be in Cookeville, TN this weekend…I’ll be a guest at OmniCon!
I’d love to see some of you come out to this show. Should be a fun little show for me to drive to.
Also…
Have you downloaded our new iPad app?
OK the first comment and i have to say “OH MY GOD THIS IS AWESOME” the epic confrontation between Alex and Nick FINALLY begins. But is the ending near or is it just the start of something more?
I’m not sure about sound fx though I was confused at panel 2 and how jumpy all 3 panels are for the fight sequence. It still looks awesomely cool and I have the Matrix end battle music going on in my head over it.
Personally, I don’t want cheesy sound noises covering up the art of this fight.
PS I’m also eager to find out how things turn out as there’s still 10 more chapters. You gave me a big surprise when you started dragging out this epic fight between Nic and Alex rather than go with the cliche of the bad guy simply running away to fight another day.
I’d say no to the sound effects. They’d just detract from the awesomeness of this page.
No sounds! The silence of this grim fight, is more ominous.
The Sounds of Silence have a far more profound effect.
Turns out that Simon & Garfunkel were right after all.
I also think this page is amazing without the sound effects. That last panel especially has so much movement to it, wow! 😀
No sound effects, please. The Dreamland Chronicles is a webcomic, not a web video.
I agree with the other comments about no sound effects. We can make the sounds in our heads, and seeing these pages without sound makes such an awesome scene.
Do I see shattered helmet in panel three?
I like it without sound effects. It gives me the impression that the sound of the storms wind and rain are louder than the sounds of the fight. Makes it seem more dramatic 😀
By an amazing coincidence, or maybe by an inspired decision by someone somewhere, for me the Project Wonderful ad near the cartoon said “KA-POW!! CHOICECOMICS.NET share, rate & review webcomics!”. The “KA-POW!!” was the exact wording, in the exact font and size, that I would have used if I was going to add side effects to this page; and it works – exactly where it is i.e. outside the panels. I agree with the others above about it being best not to cover the artwork of this page. Perhaps it could be arranged for that ad to always accompany this page?!?
(incidentally I hadn’t seen the ad before, so I had to click on it. It looks like it’s a brand new start-up forum, still pristine, waiting for comments and links to be added. So, to anyone interested in that kind of think, here’s your chance to make your mark on a new website. I’d add something about The Dreamland Chronicles there myself but I don’t have any more spare time right now)
I had the same thought, the sound of the rain pounding down imo should be all you would be hearing for the most part in this, to emphasize how terrible the weather is.
Well, so long as they’re not Batman sound effects
no need for onomatopoeia here ^^ This works perfectly. “silent” action, everything muffled by the downpour – there you go with an excuse for no sound-effects, if you wish so.
I’d rather you let this speak for itself. It’s pure awesomeness ^^
Agreeing with no sound effects please, final panel…DAMN that’s gonna hurt O.O
I agree. No SFX, because it’s almost like we’re onthe ground with the townspeople watching.
I think sound effects would add to the story, but would totally destroy the visual quality in the process. Better to have a scene not be all it can be than to have a scene shot to worthlessness.
I don’t know. Without sound effects it gives me images of a “revenge scene” if one can call it that. Like when in a movie the hero’s (someone) has just been killed by the main villain and the hero goes like into a revenge rage. :/
Well, I think that normally SFX would be useful, but due to the magnificent panels, they’d subtract the visual astonishment.
So, no, in this particular case, it’s better to let them soundless.
As others have said, there’s something truly powerful about these images you’ve created Scott, and sound effects would only detract from it. NORMALLY, yes, sound effects would be better, but this is no ordinary page, and all the better for it. 😉
I think it’s better without the sound effects, even though on previous pages they were so prominent. Before, the ‘BAM’ and sheer magnitude of the noises was part of the story being told. Here, it… feel more appropriate being almost a silent-film moment, I can almost hear orchestral music starting up. 🙂
No sound, but perhaps a sword-following something in panel 2…I missed that he’d done any damage until I figured out what that stray green line was.
Add my vote to the no sounds side.
I agree with Ikaru, there do appear to be helmet bits flying off. But I’m guessing with magic armor that sort of thing is repairable? Or … “Chicks dig scars.”
I still remember that the most effective battle (in my opinion) that happened in Avatar: The Last Airbender was one that had virtually no sound effects, but just music. I know you can’t put music into a comic, but I think it’s fine without the sound effects.
Motion lines, however, are a different matter….
It amuses me that one of the ads I ALWAYS see is for The Dreamland Chronicles.
Hmm… personally, I think that sound effect, if done right and in a non-intrusive manner could add a lot to the motion and action of this page, but it seems that I’m in the minority…
Maybe using sfx of the weather, thunder crashing and the like. That’d work for me.
I guess my vote isn’t a big deal anymore, but I agree, no SFX would be best I think.
And is it bad that the first thing I think of is that Nic b—-slapped Alex…?? ^^;;;;
The sound of the impact on Alex would help.
On the sound f/x? I would only have them for the storm.
Thanks guys!
Very helpful!
I’m digging it without the sound effects, personally.
Great stuff!
Outstanding! Classic fire-breathing dragon vs. knight in armor! Go Scott, go!
Getting a ‘Reign of Fire’ vibe here….!! Last panel, major ouch.
DRAGON PUNCH!!!
…well, somebody had to say it. 😛
In my mind, I’m re-mixing “The Final Countdown” into “The Final Showdown”
Think it’s been reiterated enough, but yeah, the page definitely has more impact without the sound effects. Adds to the whole ‘epic’-ness of the fight. Limax described the scene pretty much exactly how I played it out in my head.
And I’m quite pleased to see that the armour isn’t completely indestructible. It would be a pretty one-sided fight otherwise, don’t you think?
On the one hand, sound FX are very exciting, but on the other hand, if this was a movie, I’d rather it be dead silent for this scene. 🙂
You, my young fellow man, are totally right.
Now go and rip ‘im a new one Alex. *muches an apple while pressing F5 frantically*
yes! Why is Nic’s blood green? That throw anyone else off?
keep it without sound fx, it draws attention to that and away from the action
Oh, I hope it doesn’t end like that, because the only scene with a man and a dragon airborne that I remember looked really cool until the dragon just ate the guy, and I’d hate to see that happen to Alex.
My vote is no FX because it would distract from the action of the panels.
My question is, if Alex gets scars here do they carry over to the Waking World when wakes up?
sweet epic fight scene GO!
It doesnt need FX for the web comic but if it was a movie, having thunder sound when he gets hit might kinda cool
1. No sound fx please.
2. I thought that Alex’s magic elven armor was indestructible, yet we can clearly see small pieces of the helmet after Nic’s claw-blow.
Is this correct?
Quick, what epic orchestral track comes to mind when you look at this?
Call me a sucker, but I’m going with Ghost Love Score by Nightwish.
I’m pretty sure the little pieces are from Nic’s claws, but I’m not sure.
that last panel…
OMG!
that was so awesome!
i think that ‘Here comes the king’ by X-ray Dog also fits very good! But then you should see those panels in slowmotion as in a movie!
Scott! you’re so cool!
trust me… YOU ARE THE KING!!!!!
I like the slice in Nic’s belly. Green Blood. no SFX
How about, “Row! Row! Fight the Powah!”
(I blame my recent marathon watching of Gurren Lagann)
Alex’s armor has a rather real claw mark in its chest from earlier. Obviously it isn’t indestructible; it’s just extremely durable.
Well, there’s always “O Fortuna”, but that’s already been used a lot.
How about “The Reapers” by Hamster Alliance? That one sounds like a good fit. (Can’t post links here, but it’s easy enough to find via Google.)
Definitely good with no sounds. Gives it more gravity.
ow!
those are also good but we must not forget Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria! that’s also a nice one!
This… page… is…. AWESOMESAUCE!!!
If you did you sounds, make them small and unobtrusive, so the rain is drowning them out. The sword could have “slice” slicking along with the blood when Alex gets in his cut, and there should be… *something* when Nic smacks half Alex’s helmet off… It’s a closeup shot, so the sound would be heard from the camera position. Maybe “BASH!”? I don’t know. I know I’m in the minority here, but, done right, audibles in the panels would add to the fight and define the impacts and cuts more. I’m just sayin…
And Scott… awesome job on this page, man… just AWESOME!
I still hear the apocalyptic choir singing…
On the other hand, I missed the swipe that Alex took on Nick the first time. I was too busy noticing that Nick had taken chunks out of Alex’ helmet! Maybe a bit more pronounced motion blur on the sword itself to indicate a full swing?
If you did do sounds*
SHEESH! And I proofread it TWICE before posting… GAH!
Maybe also adding some bits of water being flung off of the sword through the arc would help.
Great action, nevertheless!
‘Nuff said. The panels stay silent. The silence is golden. The gold has been divided. And the kingdom divided shall return…
Okay, I’m not good at writing storylines.
Summing up the sound of claw-to-steel would be so awkward to do as a written sound effect I think its better the way it is. There is a reason books always go something along the lines of “the ear rending shriek of steel as his claws glanced across his armor” its not something that can be summed up in one word.
I’m pretty sure most of us here knew that Nic was from the Nightmare realm, or was at the very least not the same as other Dreamlanders (that much, at least, is obvious. I mean, do you see any other dragons around? Hello-o?)
I think it’s much more effective without sound effects. You know like how sometimes in movies something so epic happens they mute the sound to let you soak it in. I love it.
I’ve heard that one before, but not sure how much it fits epic battles, especially with non-choral lyrics involved. The Mass Effect track (The Reapers one the other person specified) seems more on the ‘epic battle’ front, but it is, of course, tailored for a futuristic setting (Mass Effect being a Sci-Fi RPG).
“O Fortuna” is overused, but it’s got the right feel – moving choral and striking orchestral performance. Jeremy Soule’s soundtrack work is a stellar example; his music made the games associated with them feel even more epic during battles.
Oh, and I just thought of Pompeii, by E.S. Posthumus.
There should only be one sound effect for the duration of the fight, in my opinion: the sound of the final blow.
Do that, and the silence of the fight leading up to that moment will hold much more impact in the long run.
I’m sure Alex will win, but at this rate it seems like he’ll end up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. D:
According to when Alexander first got the armor, he was told that it could “resist most any blow.” So it is not indestructible, just very durable. And has some magical properties, of course.
http://thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/chapter-04/page-201/
The pirates had green blood, yet Bognok spat out red blood.
Sound effects never quite seem to fit the action, with the possible exception of the occasional resounding boom. They work in some situations (mainly humor) but mostly I find them distracting from the focus of the action.
Hi All!
Still working on Wednesday’s page.
It’s got lots of “broken things”. Ugh.
Hopefully will have the page for you by morning.
No worries. We’ll wait. 🙂
Yeah I’m thinking of the sound effects from “The Six Million Dollar Man” as the action pans in slo-mo. Of course, that would not be for the comic, but for Dreamland: The Movie in 3D.
First panel -WALLPAPER- !!! totally epic! and right – no sounds – it’ll only detract from the pure awesomeness that is the epic Final Battle!(On the other hand, I am expecting Alex to have to vanquish Abaddon(pretty sure that’s his name) as well, but this is likely the final Nick battle)
Alex: Who the **** do you think I am?
You know, it occurs to me that, character-wise, Nic bears a striking similarity to Lord Genome. They both became tyrants in order to “save” their world.
Poor Nick, please don’t kill him….
I don’t know if this is a recent fix or if it has always been this way, but the first time we saw Nick’s blood on page 26 it was green also.
http://thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/chapter-01/page-26/
With the sound missing, I ended up assuming that the driving rainstorm was drowning out all of the sounds of battle.
Here Comes the King is epic without a doubt.
Yet I couldn’t shake that nagging, subconscious feeling that I was hearing the main chords for the Pirates of the Caribeean theme halfway through. It wasn’t bad, just surreal.
Even more surreal, there was an orchestral rendition of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers theme on Newgrounds that I think would work, only if the blue ranger was in charge.
Must be that “Wasserman Factor” that internet reviewer Linkara talked about.
Panel 2 does kinda look like Nick is going to Nom on Alex’ head.
Sound effects or no. I agree that panel 2 is definately missing something. When compared to panel 3 which is spot on with or without any sound effect. Panel 2 needs a blurr or some type of trail that shows the arc. Seems there was a lot of movement there that is just not captured with the small smear of green blood.
Arkan, your ‘trust me’ sounds like something Nic would have said to Arthur.
I don’t know if anyone else brought this up, but Alex’s arms don’t seem… right. The direction he’s swinging the sword in panel 2 almost looks like he’s twisting his right arm over his left. Doesn’t look natural to me, I guess.
Uh… Alex, bud… You’ve never read anything on air combat tactics, either, right? ‘Always above, seldom at the same height, never below.’ You’d be standing next to a dead dragon raising your sword and shouting, ‘I have the power!’ now if you had. Trust me.
Actually, in this case, it’s more a case of dragon-fighting tactics, rather than air-combat tactics. It is a fairly well-known fantasy fact that the dragon’s belly scales are considerably softer and less protective than their outer scales. Though I find it odd that Nic is baring them so easily for Alex to target. Perhaps he’s been polishing them with armor-all…….
Yeah, but this time, our hero has a sword that cuts everything. Even the dragon scales. Or so Scott told us. Nick has Fiery Breath and Paw Punch attacks, both of them only useful against same height or below. We’ve never seen him flying belly up, and as long as Scott keeps it aerodynamically realistic, never will. A few feet up, and Alex has the ultimate advantage.
Yea! Kill that human bastard! Foreign interests with no investment in the greater good of a nation have no right to rule! Obliti privatorum, publica curate!
*shakes head* Alex, Alex, Alex,
It’s the wings and tails you want. A down dragon is a dead dragon.
omg…
i does…0.o
Specifically the wings, really. They can still fly without the tail, it’s just way more difficult to maneuver.
but i’m not nic
trust me…:p:p:p:p:p
just joking… i’m not nic:p hèhèhèhè
i’m only making this worse am I?
Score one for the How to Train Your Dragon refs!
Love the grim silence- SFX just take away from the art, sometimes.
A lot of the time, actually.
Nic gets a belly scratch and Alex’s helmet is bitty-fied with one hook.?
Does not bode well.
“The Force”?
Alex, use your Peeps!
Hey all!
Frames are STILL rendering. And I’ve been in a few meetings today.
Wednesday’s page may very well become Thursday’s page if things continue.
Thank you for your patience. Please check back in a couple hours and hopefully I’ll have the page for you.
no sound effects needed for this page, we get what is going on.
I think if this scene was in the eventual movie, there wouldn’t be sound effects here. The martial music, heavy on the drums and trumpets would swell during the fight. Maybe the sounds of the battle in general would be in the background. Great updates lately, btw!
Definitely no sound effects needed, IMO. I think the action speaks for itself, and adding sound effects would just distract from that.
You have some great dynamic movement going on. I think you should leave it as is.
Oh wow. That last panel is intense! Epic! Amazing! Shocking! Impressive! Super Cool! *goes on and on*
I like the double shadow effect of Nic’s arm across his wing on the first panel. Very nice.
OmiGawd. D: He’s gonna die D: But of course he’s not because this is the comics and the good guy always wins! 😀
Evil twin: But maybe this has all been leading to a plot twist and Alex is the bad guy :O Everyone would be like *pause for dramatic effect :D* “GASP :O “
I would argue that webcomics are actually better in that regard, because the music is in your head instead of coming from the speakers. Thus it’s the music YOU think most appropriate for the scene, rather than the music someone else picks …
😉
Not really that amusing, unfortunately, when you consider that that represents an unsold advertisement slot …
😕
Nicodemus: “I AM GETTING TIRED OF THIS WHOLE SWORDED AFFAIR!”
Good choice on going without sound effects. Silence just as battle begins can be quite effective. Just a few sounds highlighted, one at a time, like the swish of a blade or the crack of armor… Once again, very well done. Looking forward to the movie 🙂
Definitely.
Sound.
Effects.
It was always like that.
Maybe a tiny ‘SNIKT’ sfx wouldn’t hurt the image all that much….
Just based on the positioning and motion lines that can be seen in panel 3, it looks more like a open hand (palm contact) slap than a back hand slap. Sorry.