The Energon Pub

An_de wrote:

Den-O wrote:

An_de wrote:

Den-O wrote:

An_de wrote:

YeekJat wrote:This has really been bugging me. When the transformers transform, they get really big, even if they are a small car. I mean, a lot of the car is hollow, so how does this happen? Also, where are the seats and steering wheel? And where does the gas tank go?

Here's another question: Where does the robot head go in alt mode?

It just folds away and tucks in somewhere. But in the Movie Prime's head itself had a lot of sliding parts.

I've noticed the same. Well, it does come out from the driver's seat. It would be very annoying if his head watches you while you're driving.

And how do they see in vehicle mode? Through the headlights?

Maybe their eyes go somewhere... Perhaps in the headlights. This question isn't only about the movie, it is about all the TF series. And in TF: Cybertron their headlights were lighting and darking during talking in vehicle mode.

And in the Movie, the wheels could be retracted into the leg itself. How is that possible? And what would happen if a TF transforms with a human sitting in it?

Den-O wrote:

An_de wrote:

Den-O wrote:

An_de wrote:

Den-O wrote:

An_de wrote:

YeekJat wrote:This has really been bugging me. When the transformers transform, they get really big, even if they are a small car. I mean, a lot of the car is hollow, so how does this happen? Also, where are the seats and steering wheel? And where does the gas tank go?

Here's another question: Where does the robot head go in alt mode?

It just folds away and tucks in somewhere. But in the Movie Prime's head itself had a lot of sliding parts.

I've noticed the same. Well, it does come out from the driver's seat. It would be very annoying if his head watches you while you're driving.

And how do they see in vehicle mode? Through the headlights?

Maybe their eyes go somewhere... Perhaps in the headlights. This question isn't only about the movie, it is about all the TF series. And in TF: Cybertron their headlights were lighting and darking during talking in vehicle mode.

And in the Movie, the wheels could be retracted into the leg itself. How is that possible? And what would happen if a TF transforms with a human sitting in it?

The human will die. He will be crushed.

YeekJat wrote:This has really been bugging me. When the transformers transform, they get really big, even if they are a small car. I mean, a lot of the car is hollow, so how does this happen? Also, where are the seats and steering wheel? And where does the gas tank go?

Sub-space.

OMG People. Imagination. Plain and simple, not everything needs to be explained in scientific detail.

Robinson wrote:OMG People. Imagination. Plain and simple, not everything needs to be explained in scientific detail.

Hey its fun to speculate.

Meverix wrote:

Robinson wrote:OMG People. Imagination. Plain and simple, not everything needs to be explained in scientific detail.

Hey its fun to speculate.

Agree

An_de wrote:

Meverix wrote:

Robinson wrote:OMG People. Imagination. Plain and simple, not everything needs to be explained in scientific detail.

Hey its fun to speculate.

Agree

Sometimes its too much, I agree on the speculation aspect but some things are just better left to the imagination, you try to break down every last element and sooner or later you may be dissapointed with what you find.

... then we get into the debate of how all these parts move and then hide the seems in alt-mode ... especially the fabric interiors, I enjoy a though out, spirited debate

Dark Zarak wrote:I've been thinking the same thing, and I'm going into the CGI field. The TF's still look fake to me because their complicated transformations that needed a mathmatical algorithm to create still are done too fast for us to notice how they work.

I'm not sure the transformations took seats into account. There's a part where Bumblebee transforms into a car and his windows are black. Maybe they are anyway, but that seems like a convienient excuse to hide all the robot parts in the car, and just use the regular vehicle for the next shot.

They are surprisingly fake looking, from the ent-like way they walk to the super fast transformations. Yeah they're detailed and awesome, yeah they're rendered wonderfully, but they still look fake. And coming from me, that means something because I almost always defend CG effects.

Personally, working as a Freelance Animator, I hanve nothing but praise for ILM's work on the movie - I would challenge anyone to find a shot in the film where the Bots are poorly composited into the live-plate. I think the transformation speeds, etc have more to do with Bay's direction than any Algorithimicly calculated collision detection.

Yes, some fudging occurred - such is the nature of the beast, either for time / rendering constraints or "Artistic Licence" (it took me ages to learn that people want things to look good, not necessarily "real"), however I would highly doubt the ILM team would simply leave out the interiors...to do such a thing would only serve to destroy the credibility of the visual.

On a related note, most of the characters change into vehicles with no rear seating, which would help reduce the number of bits you have to find homes for.

PS: looking at photos of the "live" Bumblebee, my best guess is that the seats reside folded into either his calves or thigh areas.

ah, the seats split apart into multiple plate pieces, and move around all over the robot, forming "tissue"

I think they break into pieces, compacted and kept internally/become part of their body, more or less what Autobotic said. I think. This is a concept I got from cgsociety.org some time ago for Bumblebee's transformation, I'm not the best judge when it comes to things like this, unfortunately, so you'll have to see this for yourself.

Guys they used a cheat to fit all of of them into their respective robot modes.

I slow-mo'd Bumblebee transforming back into a car in there is now way he can really pack all that without resorting to mass-shifting.

YeekJat wrote:This has really been bugging me. When the transformers transform, they get really big, even if they are a small car. I mean, a lot of the car is hollow, so how does this happen? Also, where are the seats and steering wheel? And where does the gas tank go?

All to the same places G1 Prime's trailer goes.