free rock and roll show

[Animus]

Hi hashers!

 

 

I would appreciate some comments on a animation i am working on.

It is my first big practice in animating. The scene, the lighting and the camera

are done and i have been working for a while on the characters. There are 3

musicians playing a 1 minute song. I feel i need some comments and advices

to go on.

 

It is an avi file compressed with Divx, and it is 12.4 M. I tried compressing

to quick time but I get huge files. I guess i need advice on compression as well.

 

 

http://www.cam.org/~mgigue/backyard.avi

[Iham Wrong]

Hmm.. Doesn't look like a WIP to me, but it's nice. From what I see, you appear to be finished and won't get much feedback. Give us a few hints please.

 

 

I'll start with a few questions.

 

 

What are some of the things that you are not satisfied with?

 

and

 

How realistically animated do you want the band members to be?

[johnl3d]

looks great to me..nicely done!

[Animus]

Thank you Tham Wrong and johnI 3D.

 

To answer Tham Wrong. It has a finished look because I registered

all the frames early in the process. I just rewrite over 50 frames here, 70 frames there. I work in AM with a single camera constrained to other cameras, so I get

the same camera order working in AM than the final render. I could actually

render an avi file in a single render in AM.

 

I am not actually looking for a realistic look that much, but movement,

balance and timing still have to be right. After looping the same music hundreds

of time i tend to get hypnotized and have a hard time finding where the movement

is way too slow or off with the music. What I was expecting is critics like "this

looks right but the hands there are definetely off". I plan to work on it for one

more month and I can' t look at it the same way you look at it for the first time.

So don' t be afraid to say you don' t like this or that.

 

Thank you for taking the time to watch.

[Parlo]

I'd like to take a look Animus, but I'm on a Divx free machine at the moment. Perhaps you could try compressing with quicktime. Here are some QT pointers -

 

- Use the QT pro 'Export' fuction. If you haven't got QT pro I really really recommend it!

 

- Use Sorenson3 at a medium setting.

 

- If there is audio, make sure that it is compressed and try reducing the quality to reduce the file size.

[Ross Smith]

Animus,

 

Looking good! I like the way you moved around with the camera. It's so easy to forget about it in 3D, but with video it's impossible to ignore. Looks good.

 

These are things I noticed that, were I in your chausseurs, I would fix:

 

- The hand motions of the guitarist should reflect the music a bit more. Perhaps make some hand poses for different chords and switch between them at times. I would go for a little more energetic, perhaps even frenetic look with his hands.

 

- The chick in the back has a microphone, but you can barely hear her sing. Only the second time through did I hear her voice track under the piano and guitar. I would either change her instrument, or if you can, maybe add lyrics or boost the volume. 'Course, lyrics involve lip sync, so it all depends on how much time you want to commit.

 

- The lighting isn't bad at all, I like it a lot. But it doesn't seem completely stage-like, if you know what I mean. Maybe make the light a little harsher to increase the contrast with the darkness. I'm really not the best at lighting, though, so don't take me too seriously about that one.

 

I love the close-up and fly-around of the piano player! Overall a great piece of work. Keep it up.

[Animus]

Thank you Ross!

 

I am pleased with your comments on camera. And your observations

on animating will be very useful. As for the hands of the guitar player, and

the hands of the piano player (I think there is even more work to be done

there) i know there is much tuning to be done. I planned to fine tune the

hands at last when i am sure of the posture. I agree with you for lack of

energy. It is useful to read what strikes people first. The chick is a last

minute character that will remain accessory. I also agree with you for the

lighting, i am happy with it but it could more contrasted.

 

 

To Parlo

 

Thank you for your tips on compression. But i tried a few settings

and i can not get decent file size.

[entity]

EXCELLENT!!!!!!!

BRAVOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

 

Just a few things I noticed (I used to routy for a band). The guitar player could use his knee up on some of those longer "wow" parts. Good work on the piano player's feet--- you must have been in a band--- his foot pedal movments are RIGHT ON! Now, he does a double "stide along the keys" it sounds like he's using two hands there instead of just one. His elbowcould turn outward while he does a quick jump from high keys to lower keys to be correct. Overall, the singer just floats there. I can't FEEL her getting to into it. Maybe, have her "jerk" slightly a few times. It's because the other members have active hands that draw your eye and match the music... her part seems to be very placid and so she falls out of the picture, unoticed almost. The jerky movements would cause youe eye to look at her, but they should be well placed between the other member's movements, so there is no conflict in visual tension.

 

Hope that helps... it's only advice... It ROCKS without any changes!!!!!

[Animus]

Thank you Rich!

 

All tips are useful. A few exclamations makes you feel good too!

 

Glad you liked it.

 

Michel