BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!

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mkopelke	BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	Lead	[-]
Posts: 1278 (10/27/03 15:25:53) BTR Producer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None OK, so the above subject line is just a bit of a joke on my part, but the purpose of this post is to get some feedback on my first ever CGI sequence! Yes, last night I sat down with a copy of AlamDV2 (cost me $120au, which isn't too bad at all) and some 3D models, and decided to composite a small sequence involving everyone's favourite time machine - the TARDIS (I also did a sequence involving the Enterprise NX-01 attacking Nerva Beacon from Ark in Space, but the less said about that bit of fluff, the better)... Anyway, you can download the 4-second CGI sequence by clicking here. I left it in AVI format, so that it was at full resolution. Would love to get some constructive feedback that I can apply to my next render/s! Way hay!
DoctorBooBu	Re: BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	#1	[-]
Posts: 155 (10/27/03 16:29:22) CEA Producer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Both the TARDIS and the star-scape look very nice, Matt. However, the TARDIS does look a bit static just moving across like that, rather than spinning or something. But otherwise a nice bit of work
mkopelke	Re: BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	#2	[-]
Posts: 1278 (10/27/03 16:35:35) BTR Producer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Yeah, I agree Morgan - that was about the only thing I didn't really like about it. I am still learning about how to rotate the 3D models I download, but that seems to require me to insert a heck of a lot of keyframes and tween the model between these keyframes. But, I am hoping to ensure Version 2 of this sequence is a bit more dynamic! The other thing I really like about this sequence is the way the TARDIS slowly dissolves into shot. The original idea had been to show it entering the Vortex, but I am still working out how to add in a TVM-style Vortext thingy.
witold tietze	Re: BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	#3	[-]
Posts: 1023 (10/27/03 16:48:46) BTR Story Editor Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	my comments tally with moragn's, i've got to say. but it's good to see you finally got the sucker working. i've been having endless troubles since i acquired my copy of the software, so any help you can provide on this front would be, well, probably a lot faster coming than speaking to tech support. nothing is certain. maybe.
mkopelke	Re: BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	#4	[-]
Posts: 1278 (10/27/03 16:52:17) BTR Producer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	That's interesting. I've not had a single problem with the program (aside from having my jaw drop at realising just how easy this CGI lark is!), so if you were able to tell me specifically what problems you are having with it, I might be able to assist in answering them. I'm more than happy to help.
witold tietze	Re: BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	#5	[-]
Posts: 1023 (10/27/03 21:01:06) BTR Story Editor Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	it's a pretty fundamental one, actually: any avi files i try to import come out all screwy, like alamdv can't decode them properly. i've tried pre-rendered stuff, freshly captured material, the lot. i recall having a similar problem with v1 a couple of years back, which i think i overcame, but i honestly can't remember how! maybe i should just reinstall the thing. nothing is certain. maybe.
mkopelke	Re: BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	#6	[-]
Posts: 1278 (10/27/03 22:26:00) BTR Producer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Sounds like a codec issue mate - I know AlamDV has issues with certain codes when it tries to import / export. I've had similar trouble with a few different files myself, but I find that if I run them through Virtual Dub and export them uncompressed, I get around the issue. Maybe try that then?
witold tietze	Re: BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	#7	[-]
Posts: 1023 (10/28/03 02:06:47) BTR Story Editor Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	that's ringing a bell as what i tried before. will do. is there any way of totally generating a new video file, though? i imagine the sample you created doesn't contain any "real" elements. nothing is certain. maybe.
mkopelke	Re: BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	#8	[-]
Posts: 1278 (10/28/03 03:32:42) BTR Producer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Yes, that's right - the sample here does not contain any "real" elements, as such - the entire thing was generated and animated directly within AlamDV2. If you wanted to create a brand new blank file, I'd just make a black BMP file with DV dimensions, and then use that as the backdrop for your new project. That's what I did for the TARDIS sequence.
DBS Producer Aurora	Re: BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	#9	[-]
Posts: 100 (10/28/03 11:00:41) QRP Producer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	giggle Whee! That was kinda neet. I'm sure as you get the hang of that program, your effects will just keep getting better and better. Well, you guys certainly are expanding your repetoire. So, does this mean you'll be putting more CGI effects into your fan films? Or does this mean that there's something new and exciting on the horizon for BTR? Come on, dish!! Ciao! Aurora ~~@~~@~~@~~ Quantum Realities Productions Aurora and MJ's Insanity TSM Online
mkopelke	Re: BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	#10	[-]
Posts: 1278 (10/28/03 16:25:08) BTR Producer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* Well, you guys certainly are expanding your repetoire. So, does this mean you'll be putting more CGI effects into your fan films? Or does this mean that there's something new and exciting on the horizon for BTR? Well, we have no intention of allowing CGI elements to take control of any video-based work we do, simply because we're not like that. We prefer to focus on telling good stories with solid acting and cinematography. However, now that we have very easy access to an almost unlimited number of CGI effects, we won't be saying "No!" to scripts we are submitted that happen to contain various CGI elements in them, which is what we've done previously. As for new and exciting things on the horizon, well, we do have a few big projects potentially up our sleeve at the moment. Negotiations are continuing, and we are hoping to know for sure in the New Year. So watch this space!
witold tietze	Re: BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	#11	[-]
Posts: 1023 (10/28/03 21:21:55) BTR Story Editor Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* However, now that we have very easy access to an almost unlimited number of CGI effects, we won't be saying "No!" to scripts we are submitted that happen to contain various CGI elements in them, which is what we've done previously. that said, i'd still be in favour of keeping cgi elements somewhat limited at this early stage as we continue to find our feet with regards to skills and techniques. but what it does obviously mean is that we can at least bluff shots of the tardis exterior and so forth. which will be damn handy for "the death harvest", whenever that gets made, as it means we no longer have to use the sorry excuse of claiming the tardis has gone invisible for no good reason! nothing is certain. maybe.
mkopelke	Re: BTR Visual Effects department opens its doors!	#12	[-]
Posts: 1278 (10/28/03 21:48:19) BTR Producer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* that said, i'd still be in favour of keeping cgi elements somewhat limited at this early stage as we continue to find our feet with regards to skills and techniques. Well, from my perspective I think that all depends on what the effects in question are. I would love for us to really start using a lot of effects based around enhancing films (such as lightning and explosions and other simple and less-demanding effects), but I agree I'd like to avoid us having to depict great alien hordes invading Earth. What it will probably mean is we'll take CGI elements on a project-by-project basis. What I'd suggest doing is amending the writers guidelines to allow this to be well known, and for writers to include any and all CGI effects they want in their films. However, they should also be made aware that we will most likely consider all effect requirements for each project at a time. Does any of that make any sense at all? *Quote:* but what it does obviously mean is that we can at least bluff shots of the tardis exterior and so forth. which will be damn handy for "the death harvest", whenever that gets made, as it means we no longer have to use the sorry excuse of claiming the tardis has gone invisible for no good reason! Agreed. Although I will admit that we'll have to keep a close eye on lighting for the scenes involving the TARDIS (from watching several downloads off the AlamDV web site, it seems to me that improper lighting is the major cause of bad CGI with this software), but that can easily be fixed in the New Year when CSB-Digital (the makers of AlamDV) release their new digial grading software, Digi-Grade. I am sure that piece of software will be very useful for us - and it's less than $100au!

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