Slipin Lizard

7). Q: Will I write a response to this thread? A: Seems likely.

It came out nicely. I agree with the comment about blue on blue.. you can see that the 3D version is struggling a little bit... maybe a different color sky like more sunset colours? Is this your logo, or a logo for a client. I've done this kind of work for corporate clients and they usually are pretty sensitive about changing any elements of their logo, like colors or background. How was the transition from AI to AM? I tried the AI plugin, but have not gotten satifactory results, but that's mainly due to the fact we were working with a very complicated logo. Did the plugin do a good job, or did you have to tweek it a lot? You can see the 3D logo stuff I did on my demo reel at www.burntlizard.com. Its a little old now, but its the same kind of idea. I think there's just a couple of 3D logos at the very begining, and they were done with Maya. Yours looks really nice.

For compositing you'll want Adobe After Effects... its not cheap, but its a great program and will serve you well for just about situation. You could always try and pick up an older version, like 5 or 6. SL.

You've got a distinctive style going there.. I think that's the strongest thing going for you. The pacing is rather slow, and the gore doesn't seem all that motivated. I'm not against violent content at all, but it just seems like we're just waiting for the sick and twisted gore fest to start without any real reason. But hey, that didn't stop a ton of horror movies from being made... Just a reminder to anyone posting something like this, you should put a disclaimer saying that there is extreme violence or sexual content (the former, not the latter in this case), just to give people a heads up before they watch it.

do you have access to After Effects at all? If you did, the type of compositing you want to do is very easy to learn, and the program will give you a lot more flexability than Premiere. Don't get me wrong, I do video editing with Premiere, but I do all my motion graphics with After Effects... just a lot more to work with. If you have access to the program I'd be more than happy to give some tips on how to get started, its not that hard.

Just thinking of that from experience... lightning that strikes close by tends to be a all encompassing blinding flash, while lighting in the distance tends to be seen up in the sky/clouds. Either can have a fork, just depends wether you want to simulate that or just sheet lightning. So for your near flashes, you could probably just make the whole screen flash white for a frame, while for far lighting you could just have flashes in clouds far off in the distant background. Think of the scene in "Wrath of Khan" where they go into the nebula... there's lots of "distant lightning" used for that part. Looking forward to seeing the next version!

Okay, I just want to preface my response with that I tend to look at things with the eye of a cinematographer... first impression is that its actually quite good. Too dark? No! Its night, the wind is howling, and some where lurking in the darkness is a monster tornado... hey, in film school we had a guest speaker/director tell us "be brave! Underexpose now!" I like that it's really dark. Like a shark swimming in the murky waters, you just never seem to get a good look at the monster, then, FLASH!, a glimpse of lighting. Only two things I don't like, first, the funnel. I am facinated by tornadoes, and have watched a lot of documentaries about them. While the funnel shape you have could almost be correct, the garden variety tornado tends to either be a big, wide scrappy looking cylinder, or a narrow twisty snake funnel. Yours seems to go from too narrow to too wide. Do a google search and you'll see what I mean. I think a narrow twisty one would be really cool. The debris field I think looks really good. Finally, remember your clip has two light sources. The first which is your main source, just general "night time light", and the second which is your lightning flashes. At the end of your clip, the main light source suddenly spins around and comes from a bunch of different directions. This to me says "its moonlight... no, wait, it was a helicopter search light and he just got wiped out by the tornado...". I'd recommend keeping your primary light source stationary. I think you should rework it, because its really cool looking and the kind of thing that's impressive for a 3D animation. Maybe add sound, and have it wipe out a barn or something... but I really like the light level, I wouldn't brighten it up, it'll lose the mood. Nice work! SL.

Hey, that's some good info. Here's a suggestion for your first tutorial topic... camera movement. Specifically, easing in and out of the movements. That part of your video was really well done. I think that would make a great tutorial.

Just watched your little movie again... I still say that its an amazing achievement to go from opening the program to that in two months... I actually find it kind of depressing, like my brain must be resistant to input or something. I really enjoyed your camera work, it was very well done. Sometimes people come out with what they think is "da bomb" short, but the camera work leaves something to be desired. You nailed it on yours, really using the movement to help tell the story... loved the quick pull out from Mt. Fuji. You should really do some tutorials. With so much aptitude, if you can convey that to other users, I'm sure they would be a hit. By the way, how did you make your all white background? I notice you had shadows, did you render those out seperately and then composite in an all white background, or was it all done in AM? Great job, SL.

That's awesome. To be able to do all that in within two months of getting the program is just great, you must just have the nack for it. I think people like you should write tutorials for the resst of us slow witted wanna be's! Nice work.

I agree with Jim... they're just great. The pilot is really awesome, and has a lot of "built in" character to him. I really like the look he has, there's something very soothing about the style you have. I think your cow is awesome, and the horse looks really good too. Wings? I don't have a suggestion though the duck does look a bit too penguinish doesn't he? You need to find a way to make the duck have stylized wings, maybe its the lack of feathers, though you'd want to keep feathers a subtle suggestion with that style. You could always do a Daffy Duck tribute and give the duck arms instead... just a thought. Really nice work! SL.

Looking awesome! You should send it to NASA, maybe they'll get you to model more stuff for them.

Okay, cool! Now this is seems a bit of first... you've actually taken a character designed in Animation Master and had it made into an actual figurine/toy. Could you tell us about how it was done? It looks like molded plastic... who did it for you, what process did they use and how much did it cost? Are there thousands on their way by freighter from Taiwan? Really neat... need details.

Hey, I remember this guy when you posted him last. So yeah, is this a picture of an actual toy we're looking at now or another render? What does it say about Animation Master when we can't tell the difference? Either way, he looks great and ready to take on the world!

Well thanks for the compliments. Its nice you mentioned the wheels, because I'm still learning AM, but it finally got through to me how splines affect each other. The first wheel I made was more like a doughnut, and then I realized I needed to make a few extra splines to act as a buffer, allowing me to create the inner curve while still keeping the rolling surface of the wheel relatively flat. I was really happy with how the wheels turned out. The Anzovin "Quick Start" CD helped immensely. I first started with Maya, but I feel AM is by far the easier program to use. Thanks again. SL.

Looks awesome! Nice job with the material shading. Did you have the real thing to model from or just pictures?

Its an odd ball... I was just screwing around.. I'm not going to "rework it" but I don't think its perfect. Just was having fun getting all nostalgic about 70's skateboards.

Hey, I tried to be gentle. I can see that you put a lot of work into your project. But you know, its not "all about taste". We used to have new directors in film school come up with that statement as an answer for every thing they did, basically making the point that they are not open to criticism. I had my wife watch the short, and she just totally didn't get the story at all. Neither did I the first time through, and I think a couple of other people who posted replies expressed similar sentiments. I've been a camera operator for 7 years, and I can say without hesitation that cutting off the talent's head is just a mistake. As a director, you're making two choices constantly for your audience: what to show and what not to show. By cutting her head off, well, ok, so we don't see it and we "imagine" her expression (though I don't understand why) but we are looking at her body and her hand, so you're sending the message "don't look at her face, its her body I want you to see." If you didn't want to have people see her face then why not choose an overhead shot as she crumples to the floor? There are a lot of other options better than "well, lets just cut her head off". But there's nothing particularly important about what her body is doing... so the shot just isn't working. Go on to some of the other forums out there that talk about cinematography and ask them about it. You can take criticism and learn from it, or you can just dismiss it and consider you piece "perfect". But in a film fest, I bet a lot of people would be left saying "huh?" at the end. Like I said in my first post, I thought you came up with a great story, but the wonky camera stuff hurts it. Keep in mind I'm not talking about the whole thing, just the shots I already mentioned. I had a feeling that you weren't going to take my post well. Its tough to put a lot of hard work in and then force yourself to admit you can do better. When I finish a video project I grab a pen and paper, watch the video, and make notes about what does and doesn't work. Its hard to do sometimes, but it really helps for the next time out. I think you could do the same. I also think that while your short is a really great first effort, there are also some really good shorts done with AM out there that show a greater refinement. Have you checked out that free-range chicken commercial? It was awesome! Sorry if my critique bothers you, I guess I'm cutting against the hype grain.

Sorry to post again, but I forgot to mention, the quote on the door is great, and really seems to be the moral of your story. I had to pause the animation to read it though. Maybe you could hold that shot a little longer, while slowly dollying in towards the door before fading to black. Or maybe I'm just a slow reader, I don't know if anyone else had a problem reading it.

As an aspiring animator I thought the short was very well done. I really liked the way you established mood and story immediately with the opening visual of the poster, and then transitioning to the computer screen. Keeping it real though, there were a couple of things that bothered me. Her facial expressions just seemed weird at times, I wasn't getting a clear message of the emotions and it muddled the over all story a bit. Not all the time, just a few times like when she's looking into the mirror, or when the room starts to change back to normal. I know some people have complemented the camera work, but for me as a cinematographer, I felt that was the weakest part. There seems to be some unmotivated movement at times, and also some strange framing choices. Near the end where she starts to collapse on the floor, I wondered why the camera framing follows her down cutting off her head the whole way. Cutting off your lead's head is a pretty big no-no. I wanted to see her face as she realized what she had done. Instead the camera goes down to her hand. I'm assuming that you're trying to remind the audience that she threw away the disk, but for me the shot just didn't work. I think if you reworked the camera framing and movement, particularly the last half (the dynamic framing and movement at the begining was cool) you'd have a stronger piece. I think the biggest success with your short is the story itself. A lot of people don't realize how hard it is to tell a story that quickly, and yet you established story, character and plot within a matter of seconds. You might want to check out a the short "Bunny" by Blue Sky Studios for ideas of camera movement and framing. Great first effort!

I felt like I embarrassed myself so I removed the post. Still too much of a newbie to post in the Showcase forum. My apologies.

As for shooting in confined spaces... in reality yeah, it tends to be a set with removable walls. Whatever wall or walls are not going to be in the shot are usually non-existent to allow freedom of movement and lens choice. Don't let the set dictate your lens choice, but rather visa-versa. Looking good so far... how about some cheezy beer posters on the wall? Cal.

Looks cool so far... it has kind of an "Incredibles" feel to it. Almost that old 50's James Bond meets Frank Lloyd Wright. Its also a death trap. If a fire starts in on the far side of the stairs, everyone's going to suffocate in those plastic tube shafts. Things can still go wrong in animation land too you... look at what happened to the Smurfs! C.

Yeah, just to touch upon what James is saying. Parker, you've got a great start. I tried modeling a Nascar and it was a disaster. As I am learning Animation Master, and particularly the modeling aspect, I think one of the most important steps is to be able to go back and rework a model. At first I would just try making something, and then move on to a new idea. But lately I've tried building something, getting the over-all gist of it, and then going back and trying to improve elements. I was modeling a skateboard, and made the wheel for it. The first time round, I had an ok wheel, but going through the process really made me think about what I needed to do with the splines to get what I was after. So, my second try at building the wheel went much better. Very basic, but it was satisfying to improve the model rather than just say "good enough" like I had been doing. I think you could work up you car to a pretty sophisticated level just by nit-picking it a bit, and pushing yourself to make it better. Oh, and James, my name is Cal. Sorry man, when I signed on to this thing I just used my normal handle, I didn't realize that I would be so active with the forum. Ok, Parker, lets see round two some time in the future! C.

You've got the shape down, and the startings of a very nice model. Adding little details can help sell the model, and over all it could use bit more "weight" to it. If it hit a telephone pole, I feel looking at it that it would tear like tin foil, not crush like metal. Probably not much help but more concrete suggestions would be: -add a steering wheel -try to add small details like mounting brackets around the headlights, valve stems on the wheels, a little trim and molding here and there. -the back window area is what makes the car seem flimsy to me... its seems impossibly thin. Keep in mind that I think the shape is really nice, and the model is better than what I could do so good job! C.