Rodney

There's something a bit odd going on with permissions and passwords these days and the closest thing I can think that would be the problem is that forum users might have to log out and then back in again to get the new permissions to take effect. Permissions should just work but yours isn't the first report of access problems I've encountered. Try logging out and back in again and see if that doesn't work. The forum you are looking for is here. And here is the direct link.

VAMP signal lit! Simon, Look for the forum at the bottom of your screen (under the Animation:Master Users Groups section on the main forum page).

Agreed! I remember the first time I saw it in a bookstore. Then I looked at the price and realized it was way out of my range. It would be at least twenty more years before I bought a copy. I use to read through the one in the store... until one day it disappeared... oh no... someone bought it! I do have one regret regarding this book, a few years ago I could have purchased a Japanese version but missed the opportunity. Whereas the English language book is really large the Japanese edition is smaller... much easier to carry around. Lloyd, I'd love to hear any specific thoughts or insight you have into the book as you read through it. As you say it's a goldmine of information. Edit: I thought we had a section of the forum dedicated to this book but all I was able to find was Yyves Poissant's review. I had to laugh as I read my post in that topic because it echos what I wrote here so my memory must not be entirely faulty. Here's the link to Yyves review: http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26414

Love the intrigue and action thus far. That surely would be easier to write than model and animate no? For what it's worth, while reading I was getting a pretty good picture of the environments in my mind. You must have done a really good job of describing them. The cemetery. The seven lane highway. Rubble filled street. You cued up some fleeting yet vivid imagery for those locations in my mind.

Sign me up Dan! (I didn't even know you had a book)

I'm liking that idea. It just might work Simon!

Of course, there are some other alternatives to consider here as well. One would be to incorporate more than one mascot into the splash screen image. An example of this would be a character jam where all the characters submitted are displayed on screen (as in those corporate photos where everyone in the building gets to be in the picture). There is another option I dare not delve into for fear that it would appear self-serving. Better to wait until this contest has ended to elaborate on that. Personally I think we should have a character jam every year independent of the mascot contest. That'd give everyone more opportunity to showcase their characters (and the versatility of A:M) and might even inspire some shared adventures and collaborations. It'd also draw out of few people who might say, "This is what I would have entered into the contest if I could have submitted."

There are at least two different ideas being discussed here. At a glance one has to do with the contest. Before moving forward, let's first jettison the idea that there is only one contest winner. There are actually three winners chosen (1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners). They all even get cool prizes. I'll read a little further into Mack's request and suggest that underlying it is a common desire for a customizable splash screen when launching A:M. That would seems to be the feature request that actually needs to be submitted. A little background Unless something has changed recently, A:M uses two images already to splash the image up onto the screen when A:M launches (one full color image and a separate but similar black and white mask to determine areas of the color image that will be seen through via transparency). Note: I don't know at this time if this second image can be grayscale or is required to be black and white. It's easy enough to test this. Importantly however, in order for Mack's desire for alternative/multiple splash screen image to appear this code would have to be modified. While it sounds simple enough understand that because of the method currently used swapping out images as desired in the current context would be a little more complicated. From a programmatic viewpoint a changeable splash screen is certainly doable. I'll forego discussion on whether or not it should be a programming priority. A few challenges/considerations: - The splash screen is hard coded into the program. It has to be changed by whomever compiles the installer. - A second screen (for video tutorials) currently pops up after the initial splash screen (this can be turned on/off) - Some folks may not want rotating splash screen (or any splash screen for that matter) One possible solution would be to have an option where A:M could be launched in quiet mode with the primary splash screen turned off. The second screen could then be customized or extended as desired. This seoondary customization would likely be done by Fuchur or whomever maintains the primary website) To invoke quite mode the shortcut to launching "master.exe" would simply be extended to "master.exe /q" A:M may already have this capability but if it does it's not well known or documented. Why even bother adding a mode for launching A:M quietly and what does this have to do with multiple mascot splash screens? At it's most basic level, quiet mode would allow customization of any visible pop up splash screens without the need for recompiling. One additional benefit would be to quickly launch multiple versions of A:M sans their splashscreens. This would save folks a lot of screen time. All this to say, there are separate needs under consideration here and not all apply to splash screen as equally as they do to the contest.

Nope. Not Emilio. Just the same avatar in use by Robert. Welcome back Robert!

You've got some nice improvements in this release! Well done. Things read so much better this time around. The only part that seems off to me is where the ball easily goes up the ramp the first time but then is extremely hard to push the second. Here's the thing... The character is easily pushing the ball with little effort as it rolls across the ground at the beginning of the sequence. So far so good. The ball is light enough and/or has enough momentum that it rolls under existing momentum almost 2/3rds of the way up the ramp. Still okay thus far. Gravity then brings the ball back down. The character stops the ball easily with only minor rolling back and forth. Here is where we see the first real indication that something might be wrong. After having established the weight of the ball suddenly the ball gains tremendous weight and becomes almost immovable. This is evidenced by the effort the character begins to exert to push the ball up the ramp. The evidence of weight suggests something has happened to change the state of the ball or that this is not the same ball. My mind begins to wonder if I've somehow missed an important story element or camera cut. As for the finale, it simply works so I won't suggest anything there. His performance could be pushed in a lot of different directions but I like it as you've now got it. There is a beat sense to it like the punchline of a joke... Da Bump bubba da. Love the furrow. It's a nice subtle detail. Well executed. As for possible solutions to the issue with the shifting weight of the ball... If I were to imagine this as a shot on a tight budget with limited time for tweaking I'd be tempted to simply tilt the soft ground on the left upward to suggest the ball was rolling more steeply downhill. This would give it some additional momentum to move so far up the ramp. It would also help explain why gravity is trying to compel the ball to remain at the bottom of the ramp (as opposed to moving further in the direction from which it came) Rock on!

For those interested in such things, the following are folks that have appeared on my radar as being valued members of the forum which I surely have neglected. This isn't to suggest there aren't many others but as for these, if you see them in your various wanderings please feel free to befriend, support, encourage... I dunno... think of sumthin'. Animus (Michel) Canada Joined: September 03 Bobby (Bobby) Thailand Joined: September 04 ddavis (Don) New Jersey, USA Joined: October 03 dyrwoolf (Sins) Trial User from ? Joined: January 13 entity (Rich) Philidelphia, USA Joined: Nov 03 Been down on his luck. No computer. No A:M. A very talented guy that someone needs to put to work! Glob Studios (Vance) Arcadia, CA USA Joined: September 10 grandma Location unknown Joined: September 03 (long time A:M Users who I believe ended up purchasing the never expiring subscription) hostler Location unknown Joined: August 11 but has been using A:M since '95? (last seen having considerable computer problems) Karl Gunnar Holmqvist (Karl) Joined: February 08 (Last seen rendering sprites) kkwaters Joined: April 04 (Last seen in Dec (?) happily printing 3D objects) Laoxiong Joined: January 10 (only seen posting an A:M report on 3 point patch image baking or something like that observed in the tradition of A:M User Malo. It looked like interesting stuff.) Manuel (Manuel) Joined: March 13 (Not sure if he ever subscribed to A:M but I still do occassionally see him hanging around) Mr. Bill (Bill) Joined: September 07 (Last seen admiring the features of v17) noewjook Belgium Joined: February 04 (Usually drops in to the forum a least once a year to share a Christmas card) pierrotsc Myrtle Beach, USA Joined: October 03 (Last seen researching water drops) renderspud Joined: October 03 (Last seen experiencing the 'ol "Failed InitBoundRenderInfo" problem. Presumably installed the fix with v17g) richard m peplin (Richard) Joined: anuary 04 (last seen happy and content but... his website is down) Scottj3d (Scott) Florida, USA Joined: January 04 themike38 (Mike) Joined: 9-January 05 Vestudio Joined: 9-February 13 (Don't know whether he was successful in getting his work to purchase A:M) Best of everything to you all wherever you are.

Hi Simon! Nice animation! I'm going to focus on the two areas that lessened my enjoyment of this heavy push. Note that this doesn't in any way detract from the good stuff in your animation. In the beginning the setup seems to reveal a fairly light but large ball. We later find out that it really heavy and must have had some serious momentum behind it rolling into the shot. This anticipatory introduction works against your main shot. My first thought was to simply begin the animation where the character is struggling to move the ball. This would sell the idea that the ball is really heavy. Edit: I had completely missed the fact that the guy has pushed the ball to the edge of an incline. This helps in understanding why the ball would roll back. Some additional detail might be nice in order to make it utterly clear that the ball has met the resistance of the incline. As it is I didn't notice the incline until the third viewing. I had assumed that something had changed with the ball (i.e. it went from light to heavy as if the guy were acting). At the end the squashed head doesn't play well. If it were cartoony squash it would read well. Likewise if it were hyper realistic with blood and guts (or in this case brains) graphically squashing out. It would read well. As it is the head just seems to disappear (as if being pushed into soft ground). The issue with that is that you've already established that the ground is hard... as evidence of it's support of a very heavy ball. So what to do... If directing/editing this I would likely begin with the heavy pushing of the ball (deleting the easy roll in just prior). I would then come up with an entertaining way to exaggerate the impact of the head against the ball. I assume we wouldn't be going for the graphic blood and guts shot and since we haven't established that the character is subject to cartoon laws of exaggerated squash and stretch we are left with displaying a chain reaction of the ball hitting the head which compacts into the neck which pushes the spine which then stops the ball. In short, the guy's head has become a doorstop. In taking all things into consideration I might try to resolve the matter by having a slight furrow being pushed into the ground up until the point of the ball hitting the incline. This would establish a constrast between soft and hard ground. You could further differentiate the two by coloring the area prior to the incline as soft green (as in grass) and the hard grey or black (as in concrete or asphalt). this would then explain to the viewer why the ball would move freely for awhile but then become hard to push; something has changed on the ground. This isn't very clear right now. I do think that in order to show the weight of the ball against the head and body of the character you need to establish something of a chain reaction. This chain reaction would likely result is some flailing of the arms and hands. If you want to imply that the character is dead or unconscious then that hand flailing would terminate after the character had time to react (i.e. it can take considerable time to die or pass out) I know you are just trying to push a heavy object here but don't miss the entertainment opportunity.

Don't beat yourself up. Such things happen. The important thing is that you recognized the need to pass it on so that it can get done. Now, if you would like someone to suggest that we know you still have what it takes to get 'er done... heck, I can do that! Where it comes to interpreting 'Rear Window' I think you are uniquely qualified. You have very valuable talent combined with a critical eye/insight into the original film that others do not.

That displacement is awesome. Without knowing your plans, I'm with Robert in wondering the same thing. Especially if you plan to echo some of the theme of the leggings at or near the chest and/or waist.

I see there is one entry that the thumbnail image isn't showing (it's showing as a tiny... "this image is not linked" icon). It's about 2/3rds of the way down the page. This one That image appears if the tiny icon is clicked on. Contest spoiler:

Okay, got it. I seem to recall Paul being a champion of a Virtual Studio for A:M. This might be a good opportunity to push that concept forward.

If this is off base just say so and I'll move on... I know this could fall into that old 'too many cooks spoil the brew' type of thing but perhaps we could use this as a learning opportunity by having two or more people tag team or jointly edit the video. It's not every day an aspiring editor gets prime animated shots like this to edit together and having at least two people involved would increase the learning experience (if not improve the final production). A few things the project could use: - Someone familiar with the original "Rear Window" movie. Such knowledge would help in that it could lead to creating some additional layered readings/references back to the original movie not intended in the disparate parts. - Sound Designer (familiarity with the original movie a huge plus) It would be nice to know if the music/score to the original movie or a similar score is available for use. Imagine if you will an online school (such as Animation Mentor) offering a class/course on video editing for animation. While animation is generally edited in the script/preproduction stage, collaborative projects like these (with a common theme but distributed approach) have a few challenges of their own. In the end several heads brainstorming together may make a more entertaining short film of the sum of the parts A separate (private) forum could be created if the Editor(s) so desire although it would be nice to see something released regularly in the main forum (i.e. dailies?) We could even use your "Victory through A:M Power" forum if so desireable. I know folks tend to shy away from putting too many heads on a director/producer/editor but we have a chance to turn this film into a very good (and educational) opportunity. Again, if this is off base just say the word and I'll move on. It's not every day folks get to inherit a cool project like this one. I'd enjoy being involved in the effort even if for no other reason than to test out some editing software (such as Camtasia and LightWorks). Other also may want to test their animaiton compiling/editing chops.

Here's a pretty cheesy* ad for the app... (It does show a few short shots of the screen) 3Cn0OpH9yyA *by 'cheesy' I think I mean 'awkward' but I'm not quite sure about that.

Yikes. I thought you were being abnormally quiet! If you are back to hiking 7+ miles then you must be doing okay. Glad to have you back with us! Captain Crazy Pants. Okay, I think I'm on to you and your wiley ways here. You have figured out that there is almost no possible way for anyone to (legitimately) critique a character dubbed Captain Crazy Pants. How would one even begin... Great character! He should be enormously fun to animate.

Those are some impressive features in the Arm setup. The one that really got my attention... well, there was more than one but the last one that got me going... was where you have the Arm stretch and then bake at the stretched length and the animator can press on to control the arm via the Hand as if that were the standard length of the arm all along. [You call it "Right Arm Scale to Reach (IK Only)... with the feature kicking in once the setting is set to 0%]. Now that is sure to be useful! Nice work David, Thanks!

Another fine (and informational!) episode. My favorite line: "...Tom is just John with a hat on." Character design should always be that easy, no? Long live Epic Gamin'!

VERY interesting John. That has real potential.

I'm on a PC here and what else can I say but... the size of those images is perfect! Very nice Behind-the-scenes page Rodger!

I would guess that a lot of the programs are at the lower level of skill to make it entry-level but any information that gets out is generally a good thing. I see from their FAQ the following: Well, the jury is still out on whether these are the actual tools... The Snow FX app sounds intriquing and who knows... it could inspire the next generation of SFX animators. The Mood Shifter will certainly get kids going on facial expressions. As it is one of my personal favorite animation exercises to theorize about, I'd be interested to see what their Bouncing Ball program entails.