jobusfest
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If anyone could help me locate Emilio Le Roux's epic tutorial (30+ pages) for converting Hash models to 3D Gamestudio it would be much appreciated. I'm missing some pages at the end of my printed copy. When the tutorial is located it is definitely worthy of pinning on Rodney's Tutorial page.
Thanks
Eric
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Chris
I am sorry to hear that your X file plug-in is currently in limbo until you find someone to take it over. I have just recently gotten the game building bug and have found an immediate need for your plugin. I am playing with 3D gamestudio and have discovered that texture info and vertex weighting cannot be transferred with the files that are converted to X format unless the Hash AMXtex plug-in is registered. It appears that there is not currently a way to purchase a registration number. Please save me from having to texture models in the Gamestudio Med program. Your help with getting registration info (I'm willing to pay) would be greatly appreciated.
Eric Warner
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Sorry you guys had to cancel. Actually it turned out for the best. The pool bubble thing we helped put up took a lot longer than expected. My wife and I with the kids got there around 7 am and it took until after 2pm and we left before they finished (the lights inside still had to be installed). Crazy. I'll get back to you later with new dates for October.
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Hey guys
Just checking in to show you progress on the dwarf dude that we started at the last meeting. Anticipate getting into building a body for him at the next meeting. If anyone else has anything to show I'd love to see it or I'll just have to wait 2 more Saturdays. Also think it would be good to do some texturing and bounce some balls to get those f-curves going.
[attachmentid=20749][attachmentid=20750][attachmentid=20751]
As a sidenote, I have an engagement in the morning on Sat the 30th and wonder if we could slide back to the 12 noon starting time. My engagement involves a swimming pool and helping to put a huge rubber balloon over the top of it with like a hundred other people. Everyone promises that it will go quickly with that many people.
Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
Eric
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11 to 3 on the 26th sounds great.
I like the idea of a group project and am formulating an idea that will run 1-2 minutes max with just 2 main characters in a simple setting. We will model the 2 characters, rig, texture and animate. In the process everyone will learn a lot and hopefully have loads of fun. And if everything works out the goal would be to have a funny short that could be posted on YouTube and Hash in about 6 months (ambitious but doable).
Looking forward to the 26th!
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Let's go for the 26th mostly because it's sooner rather than later.
I propose we model something. Some potential subjects include: Killer Bean all the way through some type of rigging process, a human tavern keep girl named JoJo who works on Goonsocket Island, a cartoon goose who is the nervous deputy of the island's finest, a Cushman 3 wheeled vehicle similar to what Norfolk traffic officers use, an old style early 1800's train called the "Rocket". Or something else.
I could have rotoscopes ready to go and we could use the big screen while others follow along on the laptops. Anyway, it's just a thought. Let me know if someone has other ideas.
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Thanks Doug for getting the first meeting going. The response from everyone was fantastic. Looking forward to getting the group together again soon. I need to just check with my scheduling committee (Joanne) and I'll be able to give you some dates that work for me.
Eric
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The date and time work for me. Your thoughts on a loose un-agenda are probably best. The option of having more than one computer is ideal since everyone will have different interests and levels of expertise. New users could play with splines and bones, etc. on one computer while others could wrestle with hair, cloth and stuff like that on another. I will bring my AM CD for temporary one-day use. (My actual computer equipment would be an extreme nuisance to disassemble and cart around. It's all so big and untidy.) Two computers should work unless others think differently?
Look forward to seeing everyone there.
Eric
Note: I've never met a pizza I didn't like. Also quite happy with any non diet soda. (My waistline is a testament to these two philosophies.)
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Here's hoping we get a good crowd!
I understand that your office would have access to video, internet and computer. If you have a computer available, will you have a version of Hash loaded, and if so, which version? All of my stuff is in version 12 right now.
It would also be really good to hammer out an agenda so we can maximize our time.
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Thanks again for the generous offer to meet in your office. I know I said previously that July 29 is a good date for me but if we back up just one week to Saturday August 5th I can clear my whole day instead of just the afternoon because swim season for the kids will be over! On July 29 is the final swim meet and these are time consuming 7 hour affairs. I didn't realize the final meet would be this soon. Sorry for any confusion but I really want to maximize my Hash time with any group that gets together.
Eric Warner
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Joe C and Doug Wills
If Saturdays are still the best days, then afternoons (later than 2pm) on July 1 (maybe tough for others due to the holiday), July 8 or July 29 should work for me. My kids have swim meets into early August on Saturday mornings. Norfolk as a meeting location is ideal for me since I live here. Beyond those dates I need to consult with my planning coordinator (my wife Joanne) again.
Eric
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Doug
E-mail me directly at jobusfest@yahoo.com and we can HASH out a time to meet. I've been fiddling with this program for like 5 or 6 years and I can honestly say that I've never met another user in person. Such confirmation that you all are really out there would be cathartic (I think that's a real word) and educational to boot.
Eric
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Tadpole and Doug Wills,
I haven't checked this thread in awhile and I was happy to see your messages. It would be awesome to get together with fellow A:M users. Just holler and I'll be watching this thread a lot more closely this time.
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What a cool contest. Please throw me into the raffle bin.
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Thanks, I'll give it a try.
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TSM2 and Weightmover work great with v11 and I am trying to decide when to upgrade to v12. A big part of my decision is whether these two programs will work with the latest hash. Thanks for creating awesome software.
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The Georgia connection makes me jealous. They have a who's who of hash power users getting together. But Virginia needs to start somewhere.
I've been using Hash on and off about 5 years. My current skill level is intermediate. I am finally comfortable with the modeling tools and can pretty much make whatever needs to be done with speed improving. I'm a big fan of Anzovin's setup machine and weightmover (A couple years ago I gave up hash completely for awhile because my rigging ability stunk so badly. These products have helped a lot). The shaun freeman method of facial rigging with control point weighting is now in my toolbelt. Actual animation skills are improving but not there yet. Areas I'm desperate to improve on are materials and decaling.
My library of Hash resources includes a bunch of CD's and videos, the Jeff Paries book and a file drawer full of printouts pulled from the A.R.M.
Getting together could be an awesome learning opportunity for both of us. If you didn't mind traveling Virginia Beach is only a half hour from my house and could be used as a vacationing excuse in addition to Hashing out the 3D stuff.
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george
I'm not aware of any Virginia Hash groups but I would love to get involved with one. I'm trying to rise above this plateau of 3D graphic mediocrity I'm stuck in. The online forum is awesome but it's not the same as people just showing each other how to get the most out of this crazy program.
I live in Norfolk and anywhere in Hampton Roads is ideal and out to Williamsburg or even Richmond would be easy enough. Northern Virginia would be a stretch but possibly doable with the right situation (i.e. I'd have to check with my wife).
Here's hoping there's some local hashers!
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Willam's idea of TW just telling the part about the axe to leg whacking is sound but mediaho's assertion that it is difficult to maintain interest during a long narrative is true to. I like the idea of props being brought out to illustrate the story and this would help with some of mediaho's concerns, but I also like the idea of the whole story being told for the first time and the excitement it would cause. The boldness of Woot's asking the "forbidden question" makes him more useful as a character. Hmmm.
Maybe a "prop" could be a souvenir from TW's romance with Aimee (aside: at some point can her name just be shortened to something like "Aimee". I can't figure out how an actor could make Nimmee Aimee roll off the tongue. Aimee could maybe be TW's pet name for her and at some point you could even include a funny bit about Scarecrow or others verbally fumbling trying to pronounce her full name). I'm not sure what the souvenir could be yet (class ring, garter, small picture) but maybe this thought will set off a discussion.
Now after they decide to go on the road trip, there could be a moment that parallels the Wizard of Oz where instead of "We're off to see the Wizard!" it could be a similar joyous sort of send off, especially if a multitude of Winkies are present. "We're off to see Nimmee Aimee!" but obviously avoiding any copyright infringement.
A souvenir of TW's past love to Aimee could also be useful later when the trio meets the Loons. The Loons could take the souvenir and help escalate that conflict. Like maybe a Loon could just float on by and snatch it out of someone's hands. It would be a good way to pick a fight. Maybe the souvenir could be something big and obnoxious to carry like a chair or broom or bucket or something. Such a device could be used to add humor. Anyway, just a thought.
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Thanks, PixelDust. More action and less talking would be my mantra for improving the current script.
A lot of hard work obviously went into crafting the current script. Its strengths are that it structures out the main events quite clearly in a usable manner. An injection of whimsy and broad humor are needed, however, to increase the entertainment value for both the audience and the artists who will be working on the film. Any current humor is subtle and word based. And I don't know that anyone would be up to doing that much lipsyncing. The Scarecrow would be a perfect catalyst for broad humor but can certainly be serious when he needs to be.
On my initial reading of the current script I established no connection or empathy with the Woot until he started doing stuff like taking the deflated Loon. That is one reason I suggested having him tussle with the Winkies, to establish some empathy for his character and see what he is made of. I don't mean to portray Winkies as evil, however, but maybe just annoyed and human-ish.
I think that the turning point when TW's heart breaks in half is so important that the fact that TW can actually open a trap door and remove said heart needed to be foreshadowed. The audience should know that TW's heart is just sitting in there. Foreshadowing the quality of Scarecrow's straw could also prove beneficial for the later scene with the Hyppogryf.
I'm not sure my story suggestions do this, but the current story's relationship in time to the story everyone knows, The Wizard of Oz, should be clearly established.
The power of Ozma needs to be foreshadowed so the deus ex machina effect at the end is reduced (i.e. the Greek god walks in at the finale and fixes everything). I certainly have not addressed this issue in my suggestions up to this point.
On the later "perforate" debate, I vote for the word "POP". Loons are balloons and balloons get popped.
Okay, I'm guilty of too much yakking. If I receive a positive response to my scene suggestions, I would certainly enjoy exploring them in a more polished script format. But I need to go to work now.
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Here is a proposed new scene breakdown for the beginning:
(opening credits could roll during some of this sequence)
- Woot walks down country path in a relaxed but purposeful manner. A dog barks at him.
- up the road a bit, Woot pauses when he sees a gleaming tin castle in the distance, then starts walking again.
- cut to interior of castle. Servants bustle around the Tin Woodman, polishing his tin. A nervous bureaucrat admonishes everyone to hurry. Scarecrow is getting stuffed. He admires the quality of the straw but is quite ticklish as its being inserted.
- cut to Woot approaching castle. As he passes a farmhouse, a mother shoos her curious children away from him.
- cut to interior of castle. A crown is lowered onto TW's head. The nervous bureaucrat approves. A servant approaches Scarecrow and tries to replace his old, worn, comfortable hat with a pompous monstrosity form of headgear. Scarecrow objects and flees.
- cut to Woot crossing drawbridge into castle. There is much traffic of Winkies flowing inside.
- cut to Scarecrow being cornered by servants. His old, worn hat is most unwillingly replaced with the pompous monstrosity. TW is stoic and wistful.
- Woot enters castle courtyard and queues up in a line that is forming. His neighbors look over him disapprovingly.
- cut to interior of castle where the nervous bureaucrat notices a dull spot on TW's tin. The bureaucrat directs a servant to fix this spot in a hurry. While polishing, the servant accidently knocks the trapdoor to TW's heart open. The nervous bureaucrat is mortified and the Scarecrow even stops fidgeting underneath the weight of his new hat. TW calmly pulls out his heart, looks it over, then puts it back and shuts the door. He reassures the servant that everything's OK while the nervous bureaucrat lets out a flabbergasted sigh.
- cut to courtyard which is packed. The line of Winkies zigzags a bit and there is much talking. Woot is lost in the crowd. A trumpeter blares a triumphal blast and the crowd silences. The nervous bureaucrat announces the arrival of Emperor Tin Woodman and his court (derisively referring to Scarecrow). (For some reason I picture the trumpeter spinning his tin horn around and wearing it as a hat) Woot is short and tries to look past the taller Winkies to see better. The nervous bureaucrat directs the first person in line to step forward and state his business before the Emperor. A ruckus ensues in the line as Winkies jostle with Woot. The nervous bureaucrat calls for order and the cause of this disruption, Woot, is brought forward “to be punished, for sure.” TW notes that Woot is a stranger and to state his business. Woot states that he is a curious traveler and merely wishes to ask a single question. TW responds that he will entertain Woot’s question. Woot asks, “How happened your majesty to be made of tin, and still be alive?” The entire court falls out that someone would ask such a bold question. Women faint, men shout, the nervous bureaucrat orders militia to arrest the Woot, etc. TW calmly announces that he would be happy to answer this question. The court goes absolutely dead silent except for the sound of everyone simultaneously leaning forward to hear better (reminiscent of old E.F. Hutton ads - when TW talks, Winkies listen)
- Enter flashback sequence (My current thoughts are that the flashback should be stylized and not 3D, similar to intros of “Beauty & Beast” or “Shrek.” A big concern is that a sequence of someone getting their legs hacked off with an axe is way too gruesome for kiddies. A stylized sequence could help mask this impact)
- Post flashback. Clueless doctors are summoned by the nervous bureaucrat to see TW’s broken heart. Scarecrow shoos them away. TW decides that he must go on a journey to find Nimmee Amie. TW asks Woot to accompany them because Woot has opened his eyes to what TW has been missing. Scarecrow makes sure to get his old hat back. The nervous bureaucrat is put in charge until TW’s return and servants groan while the nervous bureaucrat beams with pride. The travelers leave immediately.
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Thanks, guys. Your guidance is most helpful. I'm going to purchase Vegas "Junior" and get busy. The Live Action CD would make a most excellent Father's Day gift.
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My current video editor is Adobe Premiere LE which lacks a chromakey function. Being a newspaper graphic designer with a family I am broke but was looking at video editors in the price range of Pinnacle Studio Plus v9 or Vegas Junior anyway. Both of these consumer grade editors have chromakey. Animation Master amazes me with all the things it can do. Before going on e-Bay or to CompUSA or, heaven help us, the computer show to get one of the other editors I just wanted make sure I wasn't buying something that would duplicate Hash's capabilities. I promised the kids I'd put them in a movie. With the help of chromakey I want to slap the little buggers into outer space. If chromakey is one of the few things that A:M can't do, that's fine, I'll buy a multitrack editor.
Third Party Video Tutorials?
in A:M Tutorials & Demos
Posted
I also recommend the Barry Zundel lessons. After a hiatus from 3D to learn Flash and web stuff, I am jumping back into Hash. My Barry Animate DVD is helping to lead the way. The Barry Zundel Animate DVD gives all kinds of nuts and bolts explanations that you won't see in too many other places. You can check out his website for downloads.
www.keithlango.com offers some excellent free tutorials for animation as well as a subscription service for advanced training. Definitely check out his free tutorials. His workflow suggestions are very valuable and give great insight into what the pros in this industry are expected to do.
Eric