Rodney

Very Nice! Baldylocks too. Now that... is a scary... very interesting guy. Nice job on that model! An easy way to get that blade to lighten up a little would be to crank up the Ambiance Color and Intensity. (Assuming you don't add an environment map) I like it! But you know... in a later episode she should add some other cool parts... modular-like...all the latest and greatest on the market. You simply have to demo two handed gunsword mode... insanely humongous (but amazingly lite) ranger finder mode... You know... accessorize! I really like the rendering of Gwen. It has a calming effect and yet, I feel like I'm about to see her open a can of whoopass. (whatever that is) You are getting really good at this.

I'm trying to find a reference but haven't found it yet. It refers to some effects that don't kick in until 4x4 passes is set. I see a minor reference to that above but it isn't the quote I was after. But... that information is why I started to always use at least 4 passes set if I turn on Multipass.

Martin wrote this concerning Multipass (and pretty much any post effects added to a render during or after the rendering) and it's worth noting:

The Tech Reference should have a good write up (with pictures!) that states the following: There is more but this is from the 2003 write-up that tried to capture many of the benefits of Multipass rendering. The takeaway is that once you turn Multipass on there are quite a few things you can get in a rendering without it costing you more in time rendering frames.

Here is evidence of Gary mixing it up with some guy named JohnL... who was already a Tinkering Gnome way back when.

I think Gary Newby was the same guy that ran Amxchange.com back in the day. He also recreated the utility LibMaker (the first utility that created A:M Libraries by searching harddrives... not the later one by Rusty Williamson and Glen Anthofer) I exchanged an email with him back in 2005 wherein he stated: The rest of the email relates to my interest in the AMxchange URL. I have an email address for him if anyone is interested in contacting him. Since I don't know if he wants it published, please email me at: rodney.baker@gmail.com I've already launched an email toward Gary.

Please clue us in to how you perform that magic. (Sorry, I don't think I know the musician)

Awesome doesn't begin to describe you Marcos. Very innovative. Forgive me for a moment as I imagine how such things can augment our ability to analysis animation in A:M.

Bumping this up because one of Matt's commercials is now playing near the top of the forum.

Steve Sappington is the demonstrator for most of the TaoA:M videos. A couple years ago he traded in his demo hat for work in the medical field. He did teach computer animation from time to time at colleges in the Portland area. I'm not sure if he teaches there now as the last I had heard he had moved to Seattle. One of these days we'll have to corral him and convince him to create a new video tutorial. All of this mostly speculation. Several generations of animators have learned CG animation from Steve (I've got a secret. Can you keep a secret?) Sappington.

Aha! Holding out on us eh? You'll have a captive audience when you do get to the big reveal.

Look for the download link on the top right of the menu here: http://www.hash.com/amtutes/X_Vol001/Menu/html/Mach5.htm For those interested... with a little luck and a whole lot of work the next Extra DVD should have a menu similar to this.

I don't know where I was when this topic was posted but it sure wasn't here. Wow! You've done some great work with hair Mark. I so need to use some of this. Count me as one of those people, I sure didn't know that MatCap shaders could be used with hair. Thanks for bumping this up Tom! If my memory serves correctly Matt included it with the Mach V (Speed Racer) project so look for it in the project files on the Extra CD (not sure if it's on the Extra DVD but it should be).

I hear ya. Normally I would but I don't think I've actually used Sony Vegas. If I have used it, I would have to conclude that it didn't measure up to FCP and Premiere in my experience. Since it is so well considered I don't think I've yet tried it, therefore I cannot recommend it personally. FCP and Premiere I have used and can wholeheartedly recommend either. If/When I get a chance to try it out I will!

Need more Treeeeeeez! We love you for more than just your plugins. So come visit us more often. Happy Birthday Marcel!

You'll have to make a proxy model of yourself... you know.... for those long shot full figure effects. I don't want to scare you off but the episodic nature of Epic Gamin' might make it perfect as a Special Projects topic here in the A:M Forum. You are already leaning heavily into production and that might help to keep the A:M related aspects focused. Note that I am NOT suggesting Epic Gamin' itself move here. No way! BlipTV appears to be a perfect place for that. Maybe more of a "Making of Epic Gamin'" where others enjoy the show and regularly provide feedback. Of course we can do that just as well in this WIP thread too. No pressure. Something to think about. If the WIP ever gets too unwieldy it might give you some room to breath.

Thanks guys. Hmmm... sounds like still very much a work in progress. As I get time I'll try to investigate to see if they've been able to improve upon it since last year. Thus far I am of the opinion that for the really big projects programs like Final Cut Pro and/or Premiere are about the only videos worth investing in. If I would have just bought one of them years ago I would have saved quite a bit of time investigating the alternatives. I'm fine with that now because I don't have any tight deadlines or big projects to edit. There are a ton of video editors (free and paid) but very few pass the basic usage test.

Now you've got me curious. How often did everyone click on the vintage A:M Films link when it was in a prominent place?

Dan, If you already use another program to edit your EG episodes together you should be able to use that to smash your sequential images into a .mov. Most of the better editors can even use images sequences directly. I'm thinking mostly of program such as After Effects or Premiere but others as well. The thought being that if you've already rendered the images out separately you might be doing yourself a disservice by smashing them together if the program will actually work better with them as separated imagery.

There you are... interacting with 3D characters on the screen... how many people can say that? You are living the dream. Keep it up! I really like your sense of setup and how you are leveraging your current understanding of computer animation... I'd say optimizing even. A great example of this is how you introduce your co-host and then she interacts with you through voice over the course of the show. No need to actually animate her in those scenes. As your knowledge and proficiency increases she'll be able to interact in ever more complicated scenes. Way to leverage A:M's capabilities and turn constraints into solutions for EG! I assume you script and storyboard each episode? My other question would relate to Gwen... or the voice of Gwen. Is she having fun with this or what? She can pretty much be anything she wants to be. Excellent episode!

That is great fun! Do you know if Shaun ever completed more of those? I know he had planned to create a whole series. He's come a long way since first pushing his mouse into computer animation. One of Shaun's recent jobs was on 'Open Season 3'. He's also an instructor at Animation Mentor.

Longshot here... I don't have any insight into this except to say that this might be due to your screen capturing software. My thought being that the software -could- interfere with how A:M senses your mouse's location. If this occurs when your screen capture software is not activated then it's probably something else.

Stephen's film is a great piece to study and not just from the aspect of animation. You can readily see the care he took in the design of these characters and sets. The sound alone is entirely captivating (close your eyes and just listen to it). Story and conflict. Mystery and intrigue. Elements that engage all our senses. The use of opposing elements to enhance our sense that the environment is changing. Movement from out of the cold toward the heat as Stephen keeps directing and diverting our attention Our growing sense that all is not well... dark shadows, locked door, sharp knives... all heighten our apprehension. Stephen expertly directs us exactly where we need to be as our empathy with Briar Rose increases. ...and then he breaks away from all of that and gets silly. Stephen is not just an artist. He's a genius. It's not the software that makes the movie... but I'm glad Stephen made this one with A:M. I think my personal favorite part of this film is at the very end with the credits. Just when I think I know what is going on Stephen manages to recapture my imagination.

I'm bumping this topic up because Stephen Millingen's 'Briar Rose' is playing at the top of the forum. Even today, it's still a piece of outstandingly tremendous work. Highly entertaining too! ...and in case the info is not easily found... this short was created in A:M v11.

This isn't exactly A:M Films material but it is a great interview with one of the programmers of Animation:Master. In just a few short minutes Ken Baer covers some of the basic philosophy behind A:M and explains why it will be a better fit than other programs available. Those that might be interested in purchasing Animation:Master should check it out. Ken Baer is now an independent programmer but five years ago he was know as Hash Inc's enlightened marketing guy. If you live in the US Northwest and are a fan of the various brews on tap you may have even used his custom application to locate the finest spirits in the Portand area. He still hasn't forgotten his first love in programming; computer animation and rumor has it you may be hearing more from him on that. Time will tell. http://vimeo.com/101185 Original video source: www.themovieblog.com