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Posted on 24/09/25 09:21:20 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5858 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
Well you found one I never would have thought of!  _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 24/09/25 11:31:13 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5858 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
I have posted this here once before long ago. I think before your time and your post reminded me of it immediately. My apologies to those I may be boring with this a second time. Shot in the mid seventies. Before the days of digital FX and 3D. All done completely for real! The French army agreed to do it as an exercise. We did it with multiple cameras as they gave us just one bite of the apple. (Three cameras on the ground, one in a helicopter and one fixed inside the van itself) The very last shot is done in the studio with model landscape and vehicles. Shot with a moving camera through a layer of smoke to give the feeling it is from the launch plane. It was a fun crazy shoot! It has sound. IVECO _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 24/09/25 12:05:05 PM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3373 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
I remember it well David... had to have been a fun shoot. The last time you posted this would have likely been in July of 2018... that was my previous air dump animation: |
Posted on 24/09/25 1:32:32 PM |
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Frank
Eager Beaver Posts: 1786 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
So many good and varied entries, difficult to come up with another: agree with Anna : Who could've guessed there were so many uses for a phone box? Great entries everyone.  |
Posted on 24/09/25 2:07:27 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5858 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
Very nicely done Frank. You've used saturated colours to very good effect here. I guessed this must probably be a modern Dr Who but I had to go and look him up. For me he's always been this: 
I can still clearly remember the theremin music. The theremin was a big novelty then. Do they still use the same music I wonder? Showing my age ........  _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 24/09/25 4:08:31 PM |
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Frank
Eager Beaver Posts: 1786 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
Thanks David. Have never heard of a theremin so looked up some videos on it - quite an amazing instrument. |
Posted on 25/09/25 01:21:08 AM |
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Ben Boardman
Printing Pro Posts: 673 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
road train for David  |
Posted on 25/09/25 06:31:32 AM |
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Tom
Texture Technologist Posts: 403 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
The best I can do is this HTCIP entry from 2006. Ha ha.  |
Posted on 25/09/25 08:10:45 AM |
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Ben Boardman
Printing Pro Posts: 673 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
I was working in LMArena doing some photo restoration & thought.. This is scary s..t! |
Posted on 25/09/25 08:20:08 AM |
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Ben Boardman
Printing Pro Posts: 673 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
Actually sketch talents don't matter much. My sketch from 1991 |
Posted on 25/09/25 09:39:21 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5858 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
That's exactly as I remember. With the accommodation behind the cab. Because of the vast weight to be hauled gears had to be shifted in small increments. I seem to remember a gear stick with a kind of joint near the top enabling the top grip to be moved independently of the main stick, allowing shifts and sub-shifts. 12 or maybe 16 gears in all. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 25/09/25 11:36:56 AM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 4054 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
i wanted to spend a lot more time on this to develop the theme but it has been a very busy week so this is all you're getting for this one. Back in the day British Telecom (BT) developed a new launcher for their communications satellites. http://vimeo.com/1121825683 _________________ Why is it that all the contestants in the ‘Miss Universe’ contest are all from Earth? |
Posted on 26/09/25 05:00:42 AM |
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tooquilos
Wizard of Oz Posts: 2915 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
What a great ad, David. Such a wonderful experience to be a part of. _________________ Dorothy: "there's no place like home!" |
Posted on 26/09/25 07:01:00 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5858 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
Thanks. It was great fun! _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 26/09/25 08:29:20 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7068 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
First to fill the phone box this week was lwc, solidly addressing the elephant in the room. I like how the box bulges, as well as the surprisingly domestic setting. A good fit. Great activity in the bats entry, both inside and outside the box. That street lamp really isn’t helping much – or is it the notorious London fog that’s darkening the scene? A fun mime entry, with multicoloured phoneboxes – although I have never, ever seen a yellow one. The fish tank works well, but why the head-on view of the box? It always looks artificial to me. The phonebox certainly makes a great soapbox in its repurposed form, although possibly not very aerodynamic. An extraordinary phonebox disposal entry – do such lifting machines really exist? Ah – I see they do. Glad you’ve discovered Upscayl, it’s a seriously useful tool. The cargo plane entry is terrific, with great phonebox hurling. I like the white cliffs of Dover in the distance. Outstanding. Superior tourist tat from Ant Snell, with a giant model phone box (now I’d want one of those) repurposed as a birdcage. Good job finding someone in the right pose to hold it! I like the red-green theme. There’s a lot going on in the box on a chain entry, but I am having trouble weaving all those elements into a story… a stage show in which someone drowns in a suspended box while one man is horrified but another seems uninterested? Is this a newly unearthed Becket? Ah – just read it’s Houdini. Hmm. Wouldn’t have leapt to that conclusion. I enjoyed DavidMac's homage to Planet of the Apes, with its expertly buried phonebox and its attached shadow – although judging by the kneeling man’s shadow, the one of the box isn’t nearly long enough. Not the Statue of Liberty, maybe, but a more subtle ending. A fun Superman entry, with his cloak caught in the door. I like the hole it’s being ripped out of, and the Clark Kent hat and glasses. Cute. Personally I’d love a phonebox as my bathroom shower, and I’m surprised no one has thought of it before. And you do seem to have a very coy search engine. (For those of you who don’t know who Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen is… think yourselves lucky.) Always good to see the Iveco film again. Aside: I built a theremin once, from a kit. Didn’t work very well. A novel earring approach from dwindt, and intrigued by the process you used to light it. Is that really easier or more controllable than just painting a shadow on in Photoshop? The render of the woman’s face is spectacular. (While the earring, of course, is specular.) I like the implausibility of GKB's ET entry, which is really made by the bicycle leaning against the phonebox. A fine spaceship, too. Nicely judged. The satellite launch animation is hilarious – what a cute little rocket! I enjoyed this. Christmas has come early for Mariner, with Santa already in full costume with a stuffed toy sack. I like the recoloured box and its new sign, and it’s a fun concept. I do have to challenge you on your shadows, though. First, why is Santa’s shadow so thin? And second, if the shadow of the phone box door recognises that the glass panes are transparent, why doesn’t the shadow of the rest of the box, since it’s glazed both sides? A detailed outback setting from Ben Boardman, with its splendid Coins Only phonebox neatly counterpointing the man’s credit card. The telegraph poles are a fun addition. Some well-judged shadow here, but take a look again at the shadow of the man’s toe: shouldn’t be curling up like that. Given so little shadow is visible, it would have been easier just to paint it in rather than, as I suspect you have done, to distort a flipped version of his legs. The toilet entry is so convincing it looks real, although I’m not sure a glazed toilet door offers the best privacy. Tricky perspective to match! Is the road train a real thing, then? Astonishing! Have you seen one of these in real life? Fascinating to see the AI versions of the image, in particular how ChatGPT completely misinterpreted the relationship between the truck and the sign. The portrait conversion is extraordinary. I enjoyed tooquilos's conversion of the phonebox into a snack dispenser – and there’s even a tray flap at the bottom. Hungry, indeed! I like how they all drop down in the animated version. A whimsical soundtrack. A Doctor Who homage from Frank, with my second-favourite doctor (David, William Hartnell? Really? Has to be Tom Baker) giving his usual sardonic raised eyebrow. I like how you’ve made the box look so ethereal, and it’s not just extra saturation; there’s a really luminous quality to it. Very nicely done. Very interesting to see Tom's entry from 2006 again – very nearly twenty years ago! You clearly have a very well-organised archive. Thanks, Ant, for an inspiring starting point. |
Posted on 26/09/25 09:15:45 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3153 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
Steve, my heart wasn't in this one. What on earth are you supposed to do with a London red telephone box except create something silly and or boring? |
Posted on 26/09/25 09:29:59 AM |
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Ben Boardman
Printing Pro Posts: 673 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
Is the road train a real thing, 
In 1987 on my second outback adventure, I was stuck behind this one for around 3 hours, only passing when he stopped at this petrol station. A road train typically has three or four trailers on public roads, but this can vary by location and route, with some areas allowing more, and private roads within mining operations allowing for even greater numbers. S The record for the longest road train is 1,474.3 m (4,836 ft 11 in) where a single Mack Titan prime mover, driven by John Atkinson (Australia), towed 113 trailers for a distance of approximately 150 m (490 ft) in an event sponsored by Hogs Breath Café, in Clifton, Queensland, Australia on 18 February 2006. This length is the equivalent of 156 London buses! |
Posted on 26/09/25 09:38:23 AM |
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dwindt
Realism Realiser Posts: 959 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
Steve said; "and intrigued by the process you used to light it. Is that really easier or more controllable than just painting a shadow on in Photoshop?" Just demonstrating the beauty of PS and the ease of creating an alpha plain for use in 3D applications. Had I set up the model specifically for this image, it would have taken a long time. I had however, just finished a scene with her. Although pressed for time, the speed in which I could do the earrings and incorporate them into a 3D scene, was minimal, so I opened the set-up model and included a pair of positioned alpha plains for the earrings and rendered the scene. If I didn't have a completed Daz model, PS would have been the quicker root. The alpha principle is very easy and a life saver in many instances. For the benefit of the 3D artist here, I have attempted to explain the process. I took many months trying to get my head around the explanation of it. When I succeeded, I wondered what the fuss was all about. It's very easy. Here are my maps that I used. If Anna, Frank or David, or anybody else wants me to recap, please feel free to ask. 
_________________ The grass is greener on the other side of the fence because there is more $hit there. |
Posted on 26/09/25 10:51:18 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5858 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
I have a 3D app called Strata3D. It will export 3D models as PSD files with alpha and all the various lighting and bump elements as separate layers already set to their appropriate blend modes. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 26/09/25 11:44:48 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5858 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1072: Ant's phone box
Yes. Absolutely! Don't know how I missed that.
The practical side of me says that the small panes and glazing bars would be a terrible dirt and moisture trap. I wouldn't want to be the one who has to keep it clean.
I looked up some videos to find out more about its workings. Seems that even if it works perfectly it's very hard indeed to get a lot of sense out of it. Because it is movement driven the player has to be completely still except for hands and arms. Needs a lot of body control and concentration and obviously as much practice, if not more, as any musical instrument. Here's someone who knows how to do it. He makes it look easy(ish), but you can see clearly how difficult it must really be, particularly when he gets into the quicker second part. I find it absolutely fascinating to watch. Its a kind of visual music in itself. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
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