3dmm Studio / GALLERY Z

Zero
Directed by: JP Released: August 2002
The first film ever by JP is surprisingly more standard than his movies became. As far as style goes, this film shares the moody, dark style that JP has made his trademark. The story involves an elite group of New York City detectives as they struggle to keep the most dangerous criminals from wreaking havok on the city. The presentation is key. Zero's camera is active and smooth, juxtaposing tight, intimate shots, with large moving panoramas. There are some basic attempts at rotation and quick movements, which all come off well enough. One aspect of JPs films is they have a sort of stylized realism. Although the scenes are dark and moody, there's always realistic action taking place, such as bobbing up and down with the motion of a train. The sound is MIDI based for the most part, but JP's selection of MIDIs compliments the action well and blends with this sort of movie. It would be nice to see the movie with some voice acting, but the text boxes work well enough. Overall, this is a must download for any director to take some lessons on presentation and style. Review by Andrew Salter.
Overall rating: 8/10	Download Zero [4.13 MB]

Zero 2
Directed by: JP Released: May 2003
There’s something about a JP Film that reeks style. Zero 2 is no different. Although not as spectacular as the Doom movies, Zero 2 consists of stylish visuals and a slick camera to create the atmosphere the movie lives within. Zero 2 consists of the titular character trying to avoid being killed and saving the city from Kliff, a former member of the Covert Detectives, an elite police force based in Manhattan. The plot is unclear about what he wants to do, but it appears that Kliff is set to kill 5 members of the covert detectives, and it’s up to Zero to prevent this from happening. The movie is very moody, with the majority of the scenery being composed of grays and blacks. One can’t help but become overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the piece. The visuals are basic, but it’s the camera and how JP works with it that sets his work apart. There’s no voice acting in the piece, but the music goes a long way to back up the theme that’s been created in the film. The text boxes are a real problem, though. The boxes end up being too small for the dialog. This was incredibly frustrating, and brought down the score of the film a bit. If you’re a fan of JP’s work, this is a must have. Even if you haven’t been keeping up with the series, Zero 2 is a good download for everyone ready to confront the sense of mood that JP is known for. Review by Andrew Salter.
Overall rating: 7/10	Download Zero 2 [8.31 MB]

Zombie
Directed by: James Ballard Released: April 2001
Zombie, as the title suggests, is a thriller/horror zombie flick. It is the first in a line up of 4 Zombie movies. The basic gist of the story line is that a Zombie is terrorizing a city, and the hard cop is out to go get it. The story has well thought out twists and turns, which do take you by surprise. All scenes are custom made, and very nicely detailed throughout. As are the props and characters, which are all superbly animated. Throughout, the movie makes use of some excellent music which creates a genuine sense of suspense, but is sometimes ruined by the occasional lack of music or "background noise", but it doesn't spoil the movie too badly. The download size may be a bit hefty for us 56k'ers, but, it is worth it. An extremely worthy addition to anyone's 3dmm movie collection.
Overall rating: 8/10	Download Zombie [7.56 MB]

Zombie 2
Directed by: James Ballard Released: July 2001
The sequel to the awesome 'Zombie' (see above) is out now: 'Zombie 2: Kabcoo Conspiracy'. As in the original, it is a great mix of 3 genres: action, drama and horror. Again, as in the original, the majority of the scenery is excellent, and well detailed. The character and prop animation was smooth, with very little 'jumping'. The main problem with the movie is that it is very heavy on the dialogue, and like in the original, there are a few awkward silent spots with no background sound or effects. Zombie 2 is an extremely worthy sequel, and should be downloaded immediately!
Overall rating: 8/10	Download Zombie 2 [6.03 MB]

Zombie 3
Directed by: James Ballard Released: November 2001
James Ballard's Zombie series continues. This chapter involves the tragic death of Domonic and the search of his friend and colleague Bob to find out why he killed himself. James created some interesting drama sequences in this chapter, which I find pretty well fitting in this whole movie. The scenery is ok and the animations and camera movements are not superb but still very well done. Voice acting is of great essence in a film like this and it seems James has done a good job of setting up good voice actors to do their lines. The musical score is very well placed and accompanied by good sound effects. Overall this movie is another great chapter to the growing Zombie series and deserves a place in everyone's 3dmm movie collection.
Overall rating: 7/10	Download Zombie 3 [5.63 MB]

Zombie 4
Directed by: James Ballard Released: June 2002
The fourth installment in the Zombie series, and defiantly my favorite. Once again is a fast-paced action/thriller following the mysterious story about the creation of zombie creatures and the cover-up going on. The plot is hugely involving and I suggest you watch the previous 3 prequels prior to this so that you can take everything onboard. Zombie 4 kicks off where the last movie ended clearing a few events up for us. James has got the animation and scenery for this series down to a tee - the whole formula is fantastic. The music he uses, I love, and it is obvious that he has spent some time choosing a score that fits the on-screen action perfectly. He has also included some other nice extras in the download; such as, deleted scenes, commentary and a small 'Zombie: the story so far' movie to help refresh your memory of what has happened so far in the previous episodes. A superb movie that should be in everyone's collection.
Overall rating: 9/10	Download Zombie 4 [13.16 MB]