 What do you get when you combine a DC-10 passenger jet, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the 405 freeway in southern California (not to mention a little old lady with an attitude)? 405themovie.com - a 3 minute independent film that has all the special effects of the summer's biggest blockbuster, yet was created by two guys with virtually no budget but lots of free time.
Now you're probably wondering why we're even mentioning this on mike's totally free jeep news - well, once you see the movie, you'll understand. A Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of the stars of the film. Admittedly, all of the exterior shots of the Grand Cherokee are computer generated - here's some of the details from the site: The Jeep used in 405 is a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It was chosen for its ease of modeling and also for its similarity to the much curvy-er (and more difficult to model, we admit) 1999 body-style Grand Cherokee used for live-action close-up shots and interior filming. In almost all shots the Jeep seen on camera is actually the CG model and not a real car. A lot of attention went into creating a totally photo-real Jeep model so that it could be seamlessly integrated with the physical car without detection. Inside the CG car is a CG character representing Jeremy Hunt who in addition to being the co-creator of 405 is also its star. (Some fans might think that the actual star of 405 is the DC-10, however.) This low-resolution head geometry was created using a handheld cyberscan. The face was mapped on using several digital photographs. The reality of the digital Jeep with its life-like occupant, the photo-realism of the DC-10 and the look and feel of the Los Angeles freeway environment are the details that combine into a unquestioned reality and hopefully let the viewer get pulled along into the story.
Check out this film soon at 405themovie.com or at iFilm.com - you won't be sorry!
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