Gerry

thanks for the response guys. Glad you like it, Robcat! I think you're both onto something, I'm just concerned that there are folks who can't see it and just give up. In any case, the final version on the co. website is a WMV file, since most of our clients (lawyers) are on pc's. So this isn't an issue for the company, but I would like to get to the bottom of this for my own satisfaction. Gerry

I've heard from a couple of folks who can't download or view this file. If you've tried and it won't play, let me know as I'd like to figure this out. One guy gets an error message that he's missing some component (probably a codec) in his QT software, and another friend gets the blue Q logo but no download. Both *claim* to have the latest QT software, which I can't check. But if you've tried and failed, then given up, let me know what behavior you're seeing. Thanks!

Here's the "final" version, though we still have a few more days to tweak, so there's no telling what else might change. In any case, this my official "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays" to all you Hashers out there! Gerry 2007_Holiday_finalh264.mov

Hey, that's what I was gonna say!

Ya know all this work is so gorgeous, but the renders of just the ship alone have such grandeur, and this setting takes that away and makes it look tiny. I hope you plan to show it to us in another setting, or even a camera angle that features the ship in dramatic foreground, and the paint cans and scissors etc. as background elements...? Just a suggestion. the work is really killer!

I tried yesterday to do some tracks in the snow for that last shot, using a bump map, but the effect was so slight it wasn't working. Having the snow "pile up" in front and on the sides was also something I thought of, but doing it with bump maps isn't the way. I still have some time so I may think about this a bit more. I did kick up the percentage of the bump map but that didn't appear to have any effect. Not even sure what the "percentage" setting is supposed to do. Maybe I could have an intersecting model of piling snow just come up through the snow on the ground. Hmmm... EDIT: Tried to make tracks with boolean cutters but I started getting the same wacky behavior I got with the footprints! So for now, no tracks. I may take another swing at it in the morning.

Well, my boss might have something to say about that! But after this is all done, I would like to contribute the Santa model for the next Hash CD, and maybe even the sleigh if there was interest. I put a lot of work into the sleigh and I'd like to see it get more use.

Here's the final render sans sound, which my bud Randy will be starting on tomorrow. I did the snow in After Effects. I might still tweak some things but for all intents, this puppy is on its way! Mastercomp_final_h264.mov

Dang, Matt, I thought your original solution was so elegant I've been showing it off around here to show what AM could do. I like the comment about all the Maya guys stepping back from this one. I know your solution will be good no matter what you end up doing.

Fantastic!

Dhar - you can import the .mov file itself as an animated decal. You apply it to the mirror surface as a decal in the usual way. Once in the chor, click on the "Show more than drivers" button (the one with the red X through it) for the model, and then click open the Decals folder. In the Properties panel of the decal there should be an option showing for frames. You can specify what frame of the chor you want the .mov to start on, and then what frames you want to play for any specified stretch of the chor. In Graph view you'll have a graph line indicating frame count. If your .mov is the same length as the chor, then just set the .mov frame 0 at chor frame 0, and .mov frame 330 at chor frame 330. You should be able to step through the chor and see the frames play. But an animated decal is super flexible. You can have it sit at frame 0 for a span of time, then play the .mov starting at a particular point in the chor, then stop it, etc. If you want to do this, it will help a great deal to make all the graph points peaked. Also, you may notice in the Properties window that the decal is displaying, say, frame 18.32 of the .mov. Don't worry about this, it will still play fine.

I'll check those things Dhar, thanks. There's something about the hand movement when it checks the harness that seems wrong too. And I think I want to show the snail for another beat in the second-to-last shot. Gerry

Here's the final animation with all the bits in place. There are still a few rough areas to smooth out, and once sound is added it will really come to life. Comments welcome! finalcomp_h264.mov

this is really coming along. the walk still looks mechanical, but others could probably advise you better as to how to fix that. But the guy on the park bench is priceless! It really makes the piece.

What Eric said. The stars need to be more like pinpoints, with more variation, and the planet needs a flatter, hazier appearance to give the overall image more depth.

Now my fabulous boolean footprints in the snow are misbehaving, well, one of them anyway. Here's a quick test I did because in the shot I was going for, the second footprint was appearing as a grey rectangle. So I set up a new camera and rendered just the footprints, and got this. I've replaced the bone, the geometry, the camera, and the one footprint continues to appear as a grey rectangle. Suggestions welcome. This has me stumped. I've checked that it's a boolean throughout the chor, so it's not like the setting is jumping back and forth. EDIT: Problem solved! newcam_footprinttest.mov

Now I've got some other issues going on but I'll continue over in my wip thread.

Okay, so remember that comment about user error? It seems SOMEONE forgot to group the ipod cable to the bone along with the rest of the model. Well, he'll get a stern talking to, believe me! heh.

Ken, I'll try those things, but I'm tellin' ya! I didn't try the spacebar thing. I did close it and relaunch to no avail. I will take a few minutes to try your other suggestions just to rule things out. Last thing that happened in that chor before I gave up on it is a pose slider that I made for Santa's smile stopped going to 100%. It worked just fine yesterday. I will be the first to admit to user error but I find it's easier when these things happen to just move on and come back to the problem areas when the easy bits are done. I have a revised rough cut that I will post in my other thread before the end of the day. EDIT: actually I posted that yesterday. Gerry

As I suspected, it appears the choreography is just buggy. Here's a screen shot showing a model of an iPod. This morning I added the cable, but it refuses to show up in the chor in question. I created a test chor, and the cable appears as it should. As for the action I was having trouble with, I created a new chor and it works just fine.

I'll post one from work tomorrow.

Thanks, fuchur. I tried alll three to no effect, but those are settings that I don't know enough about. However I played through the entire chor and the action never worked. The odd thing is that it did work at first, but just partially. Then it just quit working at all. When I was doing the co. holiday animation last year, I had a hair material that I was using for the tree's pine needles, and another for gold tinsel. The tinsel material just wouldn't behave no matter what. I finally deleted it, saved out the pine needle material, then brought it back in and colored it gold. It worked like a charm with no probs at all. Sometimes a chor can just get buggy! I started a new one and the action is behaving just fine so far. I'll let you know how it progresses. Gerry

So I've created an action for the snail's movement, but when I drop it onto the model in the chor, at first it only partially worked, then I deleted all the other keyframes on the snail model, and now it doesn't work at all. Here's the action. Apologies for starting a new thread but I was afraid it wouldn't get looked at in my wip thread. EDIT: I think the chor may just be buggy. I'm starting it over, so we'll see! snailmovetest01_h264.mov

Here's another update. Still some rough spots, I want to get all the scenes done and then go back and tweak. Critiques welcome! Comp01_04_h264.mov

that is so cool! I had the same sort of effect in one of the ideas I pitched to my boss for our christmas greeting, where a gift appears on a computer screen and unwraps itself in just this way. Of course they went with the Christmas Snail, but I was sort of sweating whether this effect could be achieved in AM. I shouldn't have worried!