REVIEWS Got the DVD today. My wife and I watched it this evening. WOW! We both thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a GREAT DVD. Not only was the movie great (no, it's not perfect, but it IS great), but the "making of" and "behind-the-scenes" just added so much more to the purchase. Jeff, I bought your Learning 3D Character Animation series and thought it was great - and this movie was just as good and EXTREMELY inspiring. I just wanted to say... congratulations on completing this epic and thank you very much for sharing your experiences and various techniques. It is VERY MUCH appreciated. This DVD is WELL worth the cost and it's been a long while since I felt I got MORE for the money I spent on anything. Thanks Again! D.S. Williams well the DVD arrived today...all the way from a friend in the USA who bought it and shipped it to me over the pond to here in ole england..he bought 2 dvd's, one to keep for himself and one as a present for me! film story etc..loved it. extra's..still going thru them but very good so far commentry's..2 of them...just going thru 1st of them currently loved his home made mocap system for lip sync and head animation Your render farm is just crazy funny! and Jeff's main pc for animation is waaaay lo tech reagrds ram and video card. character animation were a mix of canned mo cap files, his home made mo cap system [amazing idea btw] and hand keyframing for the action sequences and stuff that mo cap could not supply in either quality or type for the shot. The hand keyed stuff is of excellent quality and what you'd expect from a top animator who's also worked on the matrix and transformers 2. 124,000 frames color dome light and main light with dof 124,000 frames ambient occlusion! rendered out to HD res with a few tricks to speed up renders. excellent DVD. go get a copy if you can or find a friend in the usa! stephen gilbert Ordered my copy of KBF last Friday, received it in the mail on Monday which seemed amazingly fast for normal first class mail (Jeff is obviously right on the ball as far as getting those orders in as well, so props to him as well). Anyways the feat of one man completing a feature length action film is an amazing story in and of itself (the fact that it's an ANIMATED action film qualifies him as insane). Since I was so amazed by Jeff's accomplishment I watched his "making of" documentary before I watched the actual film. If there's any short animated film makers out there sitting on the fence when it comes purchasing this DVD, I want to say the "Making of" alone is worth the cost of this film. It's 90 minutes long and Jeff is really open (even showing some Maya screens for setting things up)about the shortcuts he used to cut production time and still maintain a polished professional look without the rendertime associated with the look. Thanks for that Jeff, there were a couple tricks in there I'm totally adding to my "toolbox". As far as the actual film....what can I say. I've been much less entertained by animated films that spent A LOT more money on production. I knew it was done by one guy, but while watching the film it didn't really feel like it and wouldn't be suprised to find out Jeff has a room full of artists chained in his basement. I HAD to watch the final fight scene twice in a row it was so cool (and will probably watch it many more times). I know you said you were probably finished with Killer Bean, but the final thing I can say (and probably the biggest compliment I could give) as Killer Bean drives off at the end of the movie...I can't wait to see what happens when he gets to where he's going, you HAVE to make.... Killer Bean Begins!!! (c'mon you had to know that was coming, you totally left it open for a sequel) Michael Smith Just finished watching your film last night, really great stuff! You actually had me laughing several times, the action was really entertaining and overall it has a professional quality to it. Considering you were just one man making this is really inspiring. Grant Moore DUDE - a must see for every aspiring DIY artist and control freak! I received my copy yesterday and watched the feature and 'the making of' immediately after work! First of all let me say I consider myself just a hobbyist. My opinions are probably of the slightly enlightened average joe. First impressions: Incredibly inspiring! Loved all the action and gun play. Was a bit bored during some of the dialogue but never for too long. Final Thoughts: Jeff Lew is an extremely talented and motivated modern day Leonardo DaVinci, a pioneer and true indy filmmaker. He is also a totally crazy mofo and I will buy and watch anything he makes. The best part of this DVD is "The Making Of". He goes into fine details about his process that everyone will be able to appreciate because he talks about every single area of production. Most of it is him talking right into the camera pretty raw and unrehearsed, a lot of time seeming to speak whatever comes to mind. He even shows us his work stations and render farm setup! Honestly the main reason I bought the DVD to see how the heck he pulled this off and I think Jeff knows that is one of his best selling points - A feature film written, directed, and animated by one person. A monumental achievement! Eggo I received my autographed pre-order copy of Killer Bean Forever straight from Jeff Lew's hands into my mailbox. I had pretty high hopes as Killer Bean 2 was one of those high points in indie animation for me and most everyone that I showed it to loved it. First thing, Jeff Lew is one heck of an animator. This is most apparent in the action scenes. KBF includes some great high flying gun play, acrobatics, hand-to-hand fights and one well choreographed dance party. The story begins as a remake of KB2 and then delves into the aftermath and details of Killer and his bean world. Very enjoyable and some clever bean related humor. On top of the movie itself the DVD includes an 87 min "Making of" feature. This one is unique in that being produced by one person Jeff includes the techniques and pipelines he used to make his indie. While I like seeing all of the mega setups of the larger production companies Jeff's is something that anyone can implement without too much impact. Quite valuable to someone like me with similar aspirations. There are lots of previs recordings, voice recording sessions, extensive commentary from Jeff and copies of Killer Bean 1 and Killer Bean 2.1. Great job Jeff, I hope we see many more projects from you soon! Wyatt Harris This 3d film "KBF" has got to be the coolest piece of work I have ever seen in a very long time. It is beyond remarkable that you a one man rendering team could pull this off given the limits of your budget and home life. Hollywood, Pixar and the rest of those fools should be crapping in their over priced pants seeing what you have accomplished. You are the man!!! I too am a 3d modeler and I have some idea of how hard it is to do this type of stuff but my work pails in comparison to your works. I just sell 3d models on turbosquid, take a look if you like, look up mvcomputers. Again, great work man! Matt Viets Great movie! The making of was really insightful. Especially your poor-man's motion-capture system. Dwayne Elahie I just wanted to say what a great movie this was. Not only was the animation great, but it was genuinely funny, and even emotionally resonant at times. And of course the action was just flippin' brilliant. And the DVD bonus features were very entertaining in their own right. The making of had a LOT of good tips for those trying to create films on their own, and I really appreciated the level of detail that went into discussing your techniques. Great film, great DVD, worth the price. Clayton Spinney