DVD NOW AVAILABLE
The ridiculously long-awaited Passenger DVD - which is now reputed for being so long-awaited that people have begun to forget that they were even waiting for it - has, in an unprecedented turn of events, actually become available!
So, with all that waiting out of the way, there’s nothing left to do now other than to buy it I suppose (and if you want it for Christmas, I suggest you hurry).
Or if buying stuff isn’t your thing, you could defile your senses with the quality deprived version that I uploaded to YouTube during a moment of self sabotaging madness, before I come to my senses and decide to take it down again.
November 20th, 2009 at 4:27 am
Great! I’m surprised you released a free Online version. Won’t that cut in to your potential revenue, now that they’ve seen it? I’m ordering it anyway!
November 20th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Perhaps… but then again, if they don’t still want to buy it after seeing it, maybe they wouldn’t have been a happy customer anyway. Hopefully it will work as sort of a demo version, try before you buy and all that. At least this way everybody gets a chance to see it in some form, eh.
On the other hand it might have been a horrible mistake! Which is why I reserve the right to remove it at my discretion.
November 20th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Looks great. The clouds in the beginning are beautiful (both clear and cloudy with a chance of passengers).
A couple other colleagues of mine could instantly tell there’s a lot of subtle tweaking/refining in the animation that gives it a very living feeling (like the creatures are alive), not just animated. This was ahead of its time on all levels. Excellent job!
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Thanks Ryan
November 23rd, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Cool! Ordered mine already!
BTW, I haven’t been told it’s shipped yet. Any idea how long it’ll take to get to the states?
November 23rd, 2009 at 4:56 pm
14-21 days by the looks of it:
http://chaos.com/help/beginners.asp#despatchtime
I restocked their warehouse this morning, so it should be on its way pretty soon I should think.
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:40 pm
yay, ordered.
i’m trying to resist watching the low quality version. not gonna be easy.
well done chris, got there in the end
are you gonna mention this on the newtek\cgtalk\spinquad forums i bet you’ll get a ton of interest.
n.
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I prefer to stand by and watch while someone else does…
November 25th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
congrats on the cgtalk front page chris
November 25th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Yeah congrats! BTW, if you don’t have an account, I would get one. People have questions/requests for you over there.
Well done!
November 25th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Congrats man. I bought the DVD right after I watched the video and read your blog.
I think you did good by posting it on youtube.
And just go over to cgtalk man!! People are talking about it!!
So what’s next for you?
November 26th, 2009 at 2:19 am
Hi Chris, just wanted to say excellent work! It may have been a struggle getting there but in my opinion well worth every minute of it!
I’ve only been learning 3d from home for around a year now, but that film is an inspiration and has got me back off my backside and studying again!
I’ll be purchasing the dvd as soon as possible and hope to see more work from you in the future.
All the best
Gavin
November 26th, 2009 at 10:42 am
YES! FINALLY!
I’ve been anxiously awaiting this DVD since I saw the film at a screening in Los Angeles in 2006. Honestly, I thought The Passenger was far, far better than the films that were nominated for the Academy Award that year.
I rather wonder if I’m the first from the U.S.A. to buy a copy.
November 27th, 2009 at 4:34 am
Hey Chris
I badly want to get a copy of ‘The Passenger’ ASAP, But unfortunately, chaos doesnt ship it to India, which is where I reside. Is there any other online store that i could order a copy of it.
Thank You
November 27th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Amazing. Thats for sure one of the most stunning short movies i have seen in the pass years. Fantastic Work! I ordered the DVD. Hopefully it arrives Germany.
November 27th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Thanks everyone! Been a tad preoccupied lately…
Vinay R: A few people have been asking about this - Chaos have just told me they can ship to most places, and to try customer service (info@chaos.com) asking for a PayPal order.
November 27th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Thank You
November 28th, 2009 at 12:06 am
First, amazing film. One of the best short animated flicks I’ve seen. Really funny and great. Loved loved loved it.
I’d like to get it on DVD so I may watcheth it in nice sharp quality!
However, I’m not quite sure which version to buy…
I know there are different sorts of ‘codes’ that DVD’s run for regional stuff but I honestly dont know what the difference between the PAL and NTSC one is.
I live in Florida, and I ‘think’ I need to get the NTSC one in order to view the film (because PAL is european isnt it? i dont know).
Once again, lovely film.
November 28th, 2009 at 1:08 am
NTSC is the one you want if you’re in the US. Region coding is a different thing, and my DVDs are region free so no need to worry about that anyway! :o)
Thanks Zekey (kooky website/animation by the way - I dig!)
November 29th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Hi Chris,
your movie is really awesome, honestly.
Therefore, i don’t understand why the release is just on DVD. Blu-Ray ? maybe an HD version online too on vimeo or whatever ?
I’m just so frustrated to have to see this movie in just DVD quality.
Regards.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
hi, is there a HD version of the DVD / on the DVD?
(i noticed that the trailer is 1024×576)
November 30th, 2009 at 12:25 am
1024×576 is the highest res the film exists in; that’s one of the casualties of having a tiny budget. If it was too much higher than that I’d probably still be rendering it today… Also bear in mind that back in 2002 when I began rendering, consumer HD formats were still a way off, and not as much of a consideration as they are nowadays.
I’ve considered re-rendering the whole film in HD, but it would be a fairly monumental undertaking, especially since all the compositing, rotoscoping, post processing etc would have to be redone - so that’s one for the future I’m afraid (provided the demand is strong enough).
November 30th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
10 days since my order…shipped from the Land Down Under to America’s Finest City (San Diego). Waiting.
December 1st, 2009 at 11:07 am
HI,
I really want to buy this DVD but i can’t bear to buy some data encrypted with CSS, i’m running linux and the first thing i would do (if i get it) will be to convert your DVD to avi, so i can read it without issue.
But it will be more simple if all the people who are interested could download it with a paypal service.
The resolution 1024×576 is only use for the trailer or is it the whole movie?
If it is positive it will be great to buy and download it online.
(A big .zip with all the bonus)
Do you have order from France?
December 1st, 2009 at 11:26 am
…ok, bt so does the DVD contain a 1024×576 version, if so i think it should say on this page. (loved it btw)
December 1st, 2009 at 11:27 am
oops, forgot link page,
http://chrisj.com.au/thepassenger/dvd.html
December 1st, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Got it in the mail and just watched it tonight with my kids–several times. The “Deconstructing” the movie was worth the price alone. That was another major, little production in itself. It’s really fun to watch the split screen versions too. That DVD’s pact with goodness.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:40 pm
I have to agree 100% with Ryan. The extra features are worth the money, not to mention the better print of the film.
Chris, you’re amazing.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:11 pm
I have to admit. The DVD rocks!!
I agree with everyone else here.
The extra features are so worth it.
And we are not talking about some early tests just put together. These are meticulously made footage of how everything was done. He took the time to re render some stuff just to show us how the textures were put in to the character, how the camera was moving, how the sound effects were built etc.
Really really good!
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Thanks early DVD adopters!
Fury_jin: a little bird told me it’s not CSS encrypted (shhhh… we don’t want that to get out) The download/Paypal option may be on the cards eventually, but don’t expect it any time soon.
erikals: the DVDs are at the standard resolution of their respective formats (ie a bit less than 1024×576), but you’d be hard pressed to spot the difference I reckon.
December 5th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
First of all, let me express my infinite respect for you. What a beautiful piece of work at every level, music, sound, animation. Congratulations.
Second of all, I was wondering if you will ever have the DVD for sale on Amazon or perhaps itunes. I live in southamerica but I would love to get it.
Finally, may I ask you what education do you have?? On anything, not just animation. I was just blown away by the music and the sound. They were just brilliant.
Thank You very much.
Many best wishes for the future and if the Pixar people have any brains they probably have their eyes set on you already.
December 8th, 2009 at 12:06 am
alright I ordered it.
accordin’ to that chaos site, shipping it from Australia to Florida didnt cost anything extra in shipping costs. I dont know how thats possible. either voodoo djinn magic or they’re charging YOU for the long-distance delivery.
I certainly hope it’s the voodoo!
December 8th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Cesar M:
1. There’s a good chance Chaos will ship to South America - try emailing info@chaos.com and see what they can do. No plans for Amazon/iTunes at the moment.
2. I have an Industrial Design degree, and did a two year art and design course before that (I was mostly left to my own devices though). Self taught in everything sound/music. Oh, and thanks!
zekey: Chaos are doing free shipping everywhere on everything until Christmas. It’s probably Santa’s doing. Note that it’s on special at the moment as well - crazy!
Just noticed I’ve made it to their website’s front page, down the bottom, by the way. Yay for me!
December 8th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Just ordered my version. Chaos told me about an hour later that it had shipped so I am pretty impressed. I haven’t watched the youtube clip, just the trailer, so I am hanging out to see this.
(I assume the Bendigo Addy are/were all over this? They love a bit of local celebrity!)
December 8th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Actually some relatives tried to get the Addy’s attention around the time when the whole Oscar thing was happening, but they were disinterested.
I remember when I was a kid they published a photo of my family and I out riding our bikes, for no apparent reason… so perhaps I should revert to the old tried and tested publicity tactics.
Where’s my bike…
December 9th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Wow. Got my DVD less than 27 hours after signing up to chaos. I’m impressed. (I will watch it tonight!)
December 10th, 2009 at 8:19 am
So, today I found the DVD on my desk. It came a long way to Poland but it was worth it. In other words - respect. BTW, I believe in next 8-9 years another short appear?
January 20th, 2010 at 7:46 am
I just got the DVD in the mail. All I have to say is Awesome!
You have created a classic! Keep up the outstanding work.
Best regards from California.