Rodney

Just because you install with a fresh install doesn't mean you have to get rid of the previous installation. If you adjust the name of the installation you can run multiple installations. Example: C:\Program Files\Hash Inc\v17.0 C:\Program Files\Hash Inc\v17.0a C:\Program Files\Hash Inc\v17.0b C:\Program Files\Hash Inc\v17.0c ... When you feel confident in any particular release (enough to move all your projects to it) you can then uninstall/remove those versions that aren't needed. Rationale: A higher frequency of updates is a good thing but when we opt not to move toward the new releases it works against the development cycle rather than for it. By simply adding a letter to the location where the release will be installed we get the best of all releases while simultaneously embracing the future. More frequent releases equates to more issues being resolved but also can introduce unintended results. Allowing for periodic change is essential to the process. Unnecessary resistance to change, when other options are available and viable will have us missing out on the most important changes. An interim solution would be to simply use the earlier release of A:M. Filing a report into A:M Reports will help determine if there is a pattern to be found on other folk's machines.

Still text format and highly compatible. As you know any updates do bring about changes that can be effected backwardly. The last big format change was in v13 when the file format moved to XML compatible formatting. The only real change that I am aware of with libraries is that the Tutorials tab is no longer one of the Libraries tabs. This tab went away when the MS agent was retired from active duty circa v13.

Hear! Hear! Nicely done Jason! Now if I can remember how to login... (my login password/email has been long forgotten)

She's off to a great start.

Simon Edmondson is having a birthday? Impossible. Have a very happy one!

Hope you have a great one!

So impressive. Keep that up!

Very impressive presentation! Is that a use of the Bloom effect at the very end? (I like!)

As Jason Hampton might say... Top Dollar! (Note: That eye surgery animation below this one still impresses me)

Very nice Matt!

After all these years... still thefreshestever. Happy Birthday Sebastian!

While this is a caculator that figures out video production costs (and what you should charge for them) you could still use it to arrive at the answer to your hypothetical: Videomaker Magazine Video Rate Calculator The focus here is money but that is just the common denominator commonly used as exchange for goods and services. As the calculator is designed to calculate per year you'd have to factor three times the number for your final figures. I've seen excel spreadsheets used to calculate the cost of producing an animated movie and those would also work in figuring out your target numbers. Off the top of my head I'd say 10 million pazoozas to bring the film in on time and on budget under a three year production schedule. That wouldn't account for marketing and distribution.

Doing it manually is usually quick and easyand it leaves you in full control of CP assignments. Auto assign can work but you run the risk of having Bones grab CPs you don't want. A method for dealing with that would be to hide all geometry that you don't want selected just before using Auto Assign.

Probably because the image you posted is large enough (in size) that the forum converted it to a thumbnail. The thumbnails created by the forum are JPG format (i.e. the thumbnail (unlike the original image you've posted) is no longer a gif animation) Here's the image linked directly from your last post: The code I used to post your image: [img=http://www.hash.com/forums/uploads/monthly_11_2012/post-9708-1353651710.gif]

I read through primarily for flow and it flows pretty smoothly! This part I don't think you'll need because you've accomplished the transition via the camera move upward through the trees and into the roots of the graveyard: You could still do the camera move around Gravedigger that but the primary reason for changing the background has already been satisfied. Perhaps you can just use it to show interesting elements of the Land of the Dead's grave site or to give us an initial sense of the mass and weight of Gravedigger. Your trailer script had me seeing some interesting colors contrasting with grays and I began to perceive how lights become even more important in every scene. This could really help because whatever lights are available then compliment the characters in the scene. Thinking forward to scenes from inside the city it'll be fun to play with subtle lighting coming from windows and of course The Raven itself. Lighting for this movie is really going to be a treat.

Thanks Lloyd, I'll check it out!

Great breakdown Nancy!

RedShark is the official online magazine from the folks that produce Lightworks. The current release has an (technical) article that explains how to write transition effects for Lightworks. One thing that I find interesting is that they use a form of C programming known as High Level Shader Language (HLSL) to produce Direct X Shader effects compiled via Lightworks. Somewhat trivial perhaps but I note also how the float value is used to create the interface sliders... to me that's an interesting revelation that I feel should have already been obvious to me. Also of note: Speed is achieved by processing every pixel simultaneously. Additional processing is then further accelerated through parallel processing. At any rate... it's an article about creating transitional effects programmatically and might be of interest to folks into that kind of stuff. http://www.redsharknews.com/technology/ite...-for-lightworks RedShark is the official online magazine from the folks that produce Lightworks. The current release has an (technical) article that explains how to write transition effects for Lightworks. One thing that I find interesting is that they use a form of C programming known as High Level Shader Language (HLSL) to produce Direct X Shader effects compiled via Lightworks. Somewhat trivial perhaps but I note also how the float value is used to create the interface sliders... to me that's an interesting revelation that I feel should have already been obvious to me. Also of note: Speed is achieved by processing every pixel simultaneously. Additional processing is then further accelerated through parallel processing. At any rate... it's an article about creating transitional effects programmatically and might be of interest to folks into that kind of stuff. http://www.redsharknews.com/technology/ite...-for-lightworks

This is a tough question to answer because the best Project Management tool is going to be the one that best fits with your approach. This could be as simple as using a notepad or as complex as you want it to be (i.e. for use in broad based collaborations). My feeling on this is that since it is a first time launching out into the field of project management you may want to consider some of this effort as Research and Development for future projects. In other words, what you learn in managing this project will be of great assistance to you for subsequent efforts. Having said this I remain stuck between the ultra simple of simply writing everything out onto notebooks and taking the plunge toward asset management tools such as Tactic. Exploring a few of the available tools will certainly help you refine your approach to project management. A midrange solution between notepads and huge software programs is a simple spreadsheet. With a spreadsheet you gain the benefit of search and data organization capabilities that you can't by writing on notepads. Something that many people do is paste up storyboards on their walls so they have an immediate visual representation of where their project is at any given moment. It's also a constant reminder that work needs to be done as well as a source of inspiration (if you think something is lacking in the storyboard... temporarily add something into that gap). This could start with 3x5 cards with a few words on them and over time transform into an animated storyboard (animatic). I would encourage you to do a little of all of these until you settle in with what works best for you in project management. You'll soon discover which methods are of most use to you. *As you'd be learning valuable management skills I do suggest taking a look at Tactic. (Here's an overview of Tactic)

You can either post them here in your special topic or email them to me. Posting would let others see them and they'd be maintained here. Emailing them... I'll eventually misplace them.

Hi Kat, The code to insert Youtube video is a lot simpler than that. [youtube]2t2QYjcWTjQ[/youtube] No need to use HTML, as you can use the forums BB Code to place the video's code between the youtube tags. I've edited your post to reflect that.

Yes, but don't have the voice change to another person between the trailer and the final movie. Better to record the full dialogue of both the trailer and the movie around the same time frame if possible.

Happy Birthday Steffen! Hope it was a great one!

Named Groups were mentioned before and I see promise in that area (moreso than assigning a Bone to each CP directly). Here's the basic format for assiging a Named Group to a CP: <SPLINE> 262145 0 1 -5 0 0 . . 262145 0 2 5 0 0 . . </SPLINE> <PATCHES> </PATCHES> <NORMALS> </NORMALS> <ATTRS> </ATTRS> </MESH> <GROUPS> <GROUP> Name=ThisisCP#1 <CPS> 1 </CPS> Pivot=-5 0 0 </GROUP> <GROUP> Name=ThisisCP#2 <CPS> 2 </CPS> Pivot=5 0 0 </GROUP> </GROUPS> Within this particular Spline there are 2 CPs: <SPLINE> 262145 0 1 -5 0 0 . . 262145 0 2 5 0 0 . . </SPLINE> Named Groups are then created for each CP: <GROUPS> <GROUP> Name=ThisisCP#1 <CPS> 1 </CPS> Pivot=-5 0 0 </GROUP> and <GROUP> Name=ThisisCP#2 <CPS> 2 </CPS> Pivot=5 0 0 </GROUP> </GROUPS> This seems to me to be a much safer and stable solution than renumbering CPs directly. As this assignment should not cause A:M to crash if there is an inappropriate assignment whereas it likely will where Bones and CPs themselves are incorrectly renamed. Once the Named Group assignments were made then further assignment of Bones and CP Weights would follow by iterating through the Named Groups... likely using (or associating) the Pivot as the rotation. Aside: In comparing/contrasting two models each Named Group's location would be compared and those closest to each other would be flagged for renaming. I think at this point it would then just be a matter of sorting through the list and matching... then reassiging... each in turn and leaving any problem children out that need to be manually assigned/renamed. ALSO: Using Named Groups has the additional benefit of organizing CPs into same groups which of course is ideal for use with Bones, CP Weights etc. Named Groups can also be used as a near equivalent to Bones once locked into place (I'd say usually as separate Models joined together via constraints).

Thanks. I had assumed you were watching the CP#s under the Spline heading in the Project Workspace after toggling on Show More Than Drivers in TOOLS/OPTIONS on the Global tab. That would be the likely place to put a Plugin As there are two plugins there already (Measure CP Distance and Resample Spline). Of course those plugin wizards show up elsewhere as well. Likewise the CP#s will appear under the Model in an Action or Choreography and... in the window itself (especially with the Manipulator Properties panel turned on. So all in all there are lots of places to view the CP# but (for good reason) not any to renumber them. I'd guess that a utility could be created to swap out one with another but for complex Models that sure would become tedious!