A:M for Forensic Accident Reconstruction

[CSIGuy]

Models, Models, Models...

 

Also - where can I get (preferably realistic, european) vehicle models for A:M?

 

Thanks

[CSIGuy]

Guys (and gals?),

 

I have been trying to get hold of Heath at A:M for a while, but my e-mails sent to him and support @ hash.com (support@hash.com) is coming back to me for some reason!

 

Anyway - I needed to ask HASH some questions, but I am battling to get incontact with them. I phoned Heath, and he GAVE me his e-mail address, but that came back as well.

 

I am (stuck in) from South Africa, and wanted some specific anwers to questions before buying A:M...

 

Perhaps some of you would care to try and answer, or to get Heath to pop me a PM or an e-mail?

 

Anyway - here are the (specific) questions I had:

 

I have been studying your site extensively, and even bought the Animation:Master training DVD by Jeff Lew.

 

I am very interested in buying A:M, but I have some questions…

 

See, I am a Forensic Accident Reconstructionist, and I am very interested in using Animation:Master for animations of accidents.

 

Now, I see from all the movies and examples on the Hash web-site that a lot of work is very “comic-character” like in style.

 

Now, if I look at the works created in software like 3DSMax, I wonder if there is a place within AM for serious work?

 

So, my specific needs can be described as follows:

 

1. The ability to import 3DS or MAX models of vehicles in to AM.

 

2. The ability to (easily?) create new models of vehicles within AM.

 

3. The ability to overlay animations onto still images or video footage of accident scenes.

 

4. The ability to animate pedestrian/vehicle interactions (kinematically correct) for reconstruction purposes.

 

5. The ability to animate vehicles individually (bones for suspension?), and show all dynamics, including occupant kinematics.

 

6. The ability to render animations fairly easily.

 

If the software can accommodate these needs, I would be more than glad to provide some of our AM work for inclusion in the actual gallery on-line.

 

As a national expert doing work for National Government regularly, we are leaders in our field. Our use of AM would most likely lure our followers to your software as well.

 

Can anyone answer these questions?

 

Thanks guys (and gals)!

[luckbat]

Hopefully DDustin can answer some of those for you in detail, but the short answer is, yes, A:M can handle accident reconstructions. See for yourself:

 

http://www.accident-recreation.com/finnell-animation.htm

[ddustin]

Guys (and gals?),

 

I have been trying to get hold of Heath at A:M for a while, but my e-mails sent to him and support @ hash.com (support@hash.com) is coming back to me for some reason!

 

Anyway - I needed to ask HASH some questions, but I am battling to get incontact with them. I phoned Heath, and he GAVE me his e-mail address, but that came back as well.

 

I am (stuck in) from South Africa, and wanted some specific anwers to questions before buying A:M...

 

Perhaps some of you would care to try and answer, or to get Heath to pop me a PM or an e-mail?

 

Anyway - here are the (specific) questions I had:

 

I have been studying your site extensively, and even bought the Animation:Master training DVD by Jeff Lew.

 

I am very interested in buying A:M, but I have some questions…

 

See, I am a Forensic Accident Reconstructionist, and I am very interested in using Animation:Master for animations of accidents.

 

Now, I see from all the movies and examples on the Hash web-site that a lot of work is very “comic-character” like in style.

 

Now, if I look at the works created in software like 3DSMax, I wonder if there is a place within AM for serious work?

 

So, my specific needs can be described as follows:

 

1. The ability to import 3DS or MAX models of vehicles in to AM.

 

2. The ability to (easily?) create new models of vehicles within AM.

 

3. The ability to overlay animations onto still images or video footage of accident scenes.

 

4. The ability to animate pedestrian/vehicle interactions (kinematically correct) for reconstruction purposes.

 

5. The ability to animate vehicles individually (bones for suspension?), and show all dynamics, including occupant kinematics.

 

6. The ability to render animations fairly easily.

 

If the software can accommodate these needs, I would be more than glad to provide some of our AM work for inclusion in the actual gallery on-line.

 

As a national expert doing work for National Government regularly, we are leaders in our field. Our use of AM would most likely lure our followers to your software as well.

 

Can anyone answer these questions?

 

Thanks guys (and gals)!

 

CSIguy,

PM me with an email and we can start some dialog.

 

We've used AM extensively for Forensic Animation.

 

My site doesn't show much of our latest work.

 

Looking forward to talking with you.

David Dustin

[KenH]

Good to see you're interested in AM! Here's some answers:

 

1. You can import poly models as props. This means they exist within AM, but you can't animate/change them at the vertex/cp level. However, you could animate the car moving very easily.

 

2. There are some usable AM car models on the cd. Whether you can easily model a car depends on your skill level. AM is a spline based 3D modeller and so it differs from other poly modellers. Once you get the hang of it, it should be easy.

 

3. Yes, you can do this with a camera rotosope. However, a compositor would naturally give you more control.

 

4. Yes if the models are .mdl type.

 

5. Again yes if it's a .mdl.

 

6. Yes. AM also has a net render module.

 

Most of the work done in AM is "cartoony" because that seems to be what the average AM user likes. But that doesn't mean you can't produce realistic animations. Indeed there are plenty if you look hard enough.

Hope to see you again!

[KenH]

Here's the cars on the cd. I'm sure there are others floating round too. There are also trucks, trains and other vehicles.