Dearmad

Rats and here I was about to mention the channel window and all... <shudders>

That leap shot is vey vey nice... yes... vey vey nice.

I *love* this stuff. She kicks ass- I think I have a crush on her. My only two crits: His initial grab motion- reads a little slow to me. Seems like he could hit the grab on the same frame but start his motion to grab her about 3 frames later (assuming 24fps). Maybe even 4 with a strong overshoot (his hand) once he's got the grip. So it's really quick but with that strong initial pose and (again) a strong overshoot. Then his body begins the whip motion he does (like you have already- which, BTW is GREAT) and his hand pulls her that much harder from where it's at: a little further away from where he grabbed her. Does that make sense? Other one: I'm not sure how she gets him to let go. Possible confusing issues: the camera makes a large move as she's doing something to the guy. I get that she IS going to do something, BTW (brilliant use of her eyes to telegraph that and let the viewer know something's up), but then I lose focus. Oh and a personal wish: Can my sweety lower her left foot in the kick? Oh... about 6 inches lower...? Heh. Ok, I'm sad, I know it.

Scott, I see the moment where it goes wrong now- it's totally clear. Consider it fixed... Breaks over- dagnabit. But I have a *very* odd schedule this coming term: preinternship, final clinical rotation (minor stuff), and studying for comprehensive exams... It's entirely conceivable I could continue to animate a bit as I go through this term... The end is just coming into site enough that I get anxious now and want to finish!

The clip. Most crits acted on. One little detail hard to see in quick renders like this is the lighting- the right headlight goes out after a little flicker. Well, *I* liked that little details- right as the cat looks at the car. Stuff still needed: Cat head dip when he returns to looking up while walking forward; possible slight repositioning of Ravel and how he's looking around the canopy. Maybe add some more "bounce" to the ambulance when it hits. Anyway, moving on to the next shots. My crit notebook remains open, however. While I'm moving on, when I go back over the whole film before final renders, I WILL be going through the crit notebook and working out any last things. DiVX- 400x224 size. 0803c_divx.zip

Scott, Funny thing is, Ravel solved how to get out of the ambulance himself. See, the actor is too short to even see over the canopy top if he was standing on his tiptoes. This is a short man. Also, his initial concern is for the cat who caused the accident. There's more to this sequence than this one brief shot- it's a whole build up where the cat is the focus and clearly the cause of the problem. I understand your concern for wanting to know the state of the character- injured/not? There's narration over this portion, and a previus long sequence of near-accidents he gets into again and again and again on this stretch of road. The narration indicates he was always OK after the accident and so was his ambulance... and that in fact for him there's an encounter coming up that he's talking about as the important detail he remembers of this night. -shrug- maybe the wider context will make that a non-issue when it's all put together. Zach, Yep. Hands weren't locked down at all at that point- that was just a rough sketch of the shot to ensure things were about where I wanted them. Next post will have the latest version. Thanks very much for the compliment. Wow. And as for TWO, I will certainly be updating AM versions, refamiliarizing myself with it, and then wanting to do something for TWO once finished with BPMF. Here are some stills from this shot. Next post the updated animation.

Thanks guys. Crits noted. I've made some changes to the camera (good call), with it reacting faster it seems more kinetic. Added a quick bone to the canopy and have it reacting with a little lag to the body. Hard to see in the 60 frames or so it gets, but maybe the "gestalt" of it will mean improvement. Made a few changes to the ambulance timing, but... I'm still looking at it. Thanks again- as usual, the crits are spot on and helpful! Paul: 'twould be nice if 2006 is theyear. I'm about to finish section 8 tomorrow that leaves 9-12. The finish will happen, oh yes it will... sometime.

Weightless, hm? Interesting. I tried for heavy looking. Maybe with the street part put back in (I removed it for quicker render time), it'll look more "grounded." When I finish up the scene, I'll repost it, if I tweak that part at all.

I love it when I get a break from school, 'cause then I get to ANIMATE! I've moved ahead completing 2 scenes (about 11 seconds of footage). Here's the latest 17 seconds worth that I'm still working on. I think I'll be able to finish section 8 by the time brak is over! Then there will be only 4 more to do! For those who are curious, this scene is pretty much blocked out timing wise, and needs cleanup now, along with final detail animation (eyes looking, blinking, small things like that), and then the camera jitters added to the last bit. I call this scene: "A typical damned cat!" This bit wasn't storyboarded like this at all, but as I animated it, it sorta hit me exactly what the cat was gonna do. The scene to this point took about 6 hours of work. It's in the DiVX codec. 0803divx.zip

LOL. Yeah... that is a good one. Makes me wonder what was supposed to happen though...

I can't believe it's been a YEAR already since the last one you guys did! THANKS AGAIN for sharing! I love your stuff...

Nice nice nice nice nice stuff... funny I saw the angle between the patches and just though hook- but yeah it's pretty obivous a 4-point now that I LOOK at it. :o/ Thanks for the top view too.

Wow. That is an INTERESTING mesh. Are those two hooks at the finger tips? Obviously it reads OK in rendering, but that mesh would fall apart for me in 8.5. I wonder if the latest versions are subdividing better. Fascinating mesh though. Can we see the top of it?

Heh. Uh... That's gotta be about one of the dumbest mistakes I've made since I'm so anal about lighting. I left the practical light that goes through the glass at 200 intensity(!)... -sigh- Thanks Ken. Colors are not blown out into white anymore...

Nancy, Sure- anytime I have the time I'm happy to share. Scott, Ok, here's an updated still with the changes. I think it's much better. Thanks, and respond to my PM.