Intro

[Bruce Del Porte]

This is the intro to a home movie I am sending to my girlfriend currently deployed in Iraq. The movie is a compilation of greetings from friends and family, updates on news from the home front (not really important here). The mood I was after for the intro was the surreal ambiance of fall foliage in dawn light. We are from Colorado so of course fall foliage means, for the most part, Aspen trees. The under-the-bridge is sort of her joke, claiming that I would probably spend her year away sitting under a bridge somewhere drinking whiskey. As far as the joke goes, I am sure she will get it.

 

There is an artifact I don’t understand if someone has some insight.

 

All the trees are photos on hair. As the camera pans, some of the foreground trees sway. Dynamics are off and the movement appears to mirror grooming tweaks I make to the tree’s position in that chor. I know you can’t animate hair and I can’t find any keys but it appears like the hairs are following grooming over time. The entire sequence was rendered as a single render in sequence (no multiple instances, TGAs). I can’t get hair to actually animate but I don’t seem to be able to get rid of the movement either. I can live with it but does anyone know what is going on? V14

 

Some of the artifacts in the background trees I think can be attributed to viewing angles of individual hairs. I will live with those.

 

All the models are from the discs except Brucebert who is a derivative of Fatguy. All the trees are photos attached to a hair material.

 

Sorenson 3, 45 seconds, 15MB

Fall04.mov

[Rodney]

Bruce,

I like it a lot.

 

It reads very well even without knowing the background about being under the bridge.

 

Better for me not to speculate too much about the hair as I'll have you exploring and searching for years. Its been too long since I played with hair.

It does seem to me that the ones with the artifacts aren't facing the camera. Perhaps the 'Face Camera' setting is turned off?

 

The hair experts should be able to steer you in the right direction.

 

Best wishes to your girlfriend in Iraq.

From one armed forces member to another tell her 'keep safe!'.

[robcat2075]

I'm impressed with what you got out of stock objects. That's just the sort of thing Hash could use to sell A:M to con-goers.

 

I know you can’t animate hair and I can’t find any keys but it appears like the hairs are following grooming over time.

 

You can animate hair. Don't ask me how, but Mark Allen (PFmark) did it for the shot in TWO where TinWoodman flips a mop up and over into the air and catches it.

 

 

 

Sorenson 3, 45 seconds, 15MB

Hope she's got broadband in that tent.

[mtpeak2]

It appears you may have groomed the hair in the chor.

 

Mark Allen used an image sequence/qt to animate the hair. You can also groom hair in a pose or action, not sure about the chor though. You can add a bone to the model and add smartskin to it and groom the hair, then you can control the hair with a bone.

[Bruce Del Porte]

Thanks

 

I guess animating hair is possible, it would make sense for it to be in a chor. If I have created keys, and I must have, I can't find them anywhere. I am just going to live with it.

 

It will be on a DVD, they have dial up and only a few internet connections for the entire brigade. She will have to wait for A-mail (Army mail).

 

Thanks for the wishes Rodney, this is her second deployment. So far, all is quiet on the southern front. Knock on wood.

[TheSpleen]

My best wishes to your lady as well.

I myself am a disabled veteran.

Anything from home is like Christmas to them. Keep sending her stuff.

[Bruce Del Porte]

The last video letter was a success, so I of course did another. Same story as above. This is the intro redux centered around the Halloween theme. A similar start reusing the same joke, ah la The Simpsons opening. The video letter included home movies of trick or treaters and a Halloween party I attended plus the usual family news and stuff (of no interest here). The intro was done with AM, primarily using models from the CDs. They had a costume contest at Gloria's base and she went as a GI, thus the GI is her (Ruscular did the face). (45 seconds, 8MB, Sorenson 3)

HalloweenIraq.mov

[TheSpleen]

I liked it!