3D-Pangel
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Posts posted by 3D-Pangel
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4 minutes ago, PerAnders said:
Hi, thank-you for the wonderfully kind words. You know ego, I talk about what I know best… and then I don’t stop talking! : D
That’s a great question. So to answer, at the beginning absolutely you’re right, Paul was my partner developer and we shared the development burden equally and did a great deal of brainstorming together, I of course additionally architected the vision and within Maxon I because I had negotiated us in as a package deal, he was my ward. To my great and ever lasting shame and in no small part due to my own naivety and inexperience in a role that I did not realize at the time was lead I was not able to protect him fully within the system and he and Maxon parted early on, as seems to be an ongoing motif with Maxon - acrimoniously and in my estimation entirely unfairly.
From then on I built up, maintained and updated MoGraph as well as of course implementing general workflow through many areas of Cinema to strengthen that Motion Graphics experience. However don’t believe for a moment that’s a sole lonely act, I would have failed completely if I hadn’t been able to build up a team, vision and direction and it had ended up just being me on my own every once in a while throwing out random tools that no-one used! While I was primarily responsible for MoGraph, Maxon is a company of over time an increasing number of developers. In my speech I mentioned those key, who had been instrumental in being a part of the MoGraph team helping bring my hallucinatory visions to life adding feature (such as Dynamics which Ole provided) and providing support in other ways, technical and design. At the same time It was also always something I had to fight for, far too hard against a great deal of resistance, I would have failed if I had not had the support of a few key players especially in the US and among our distributors who saw first hand the value return.
Now as for the award itself. Well when the Academy Award came along the Academy itself interviewed many people, both in an outside of Maxon and made their own decision based on the testimonies given and their own incredible industry experience, and let me tell you just meeting those guys alone was an honor, serious industry heavyweights and incredibly fascinating minds! They decided exactly who the award was to based on their own evaluation, which fortunately for me, saw true.Thank you for that further insight into the process of the Oscar selection committee (Honestly, how many people can speak to that in this world! Just being interviewed would be an award in and of itself). I would imagine that it was a bit of relief that the selection committee made the decision on who would be the award recipient as theirs was an unbiased decision that no one could argue with. What a relief.
Also, as a Senior Manager for Cisco, I fully understand the challenges of leading in a technical company -- particularly a diverse team including people from many parts of the world (I have people in 4 different countries) and many ages (one employee - a data scientist going for his masters in AI - fresh from college). Sometimes it is hard to navigate the political waters of any company unless you have crashed your boat on the rocks a few times. Failure is a great educator. And sometimes you can't prevent those for whom you feel some responsibility for from driving their boat directly at those rocks at full speed. I have cringed at what some people have said to others and wished I could take away that moment but there are times when that may not be the best option. Jumping in can sometimes make things worse for everyone. It is sometimes better to just be quiet, let the moment pass, and wait for the "teachable moment" in the future. Also, it is always better to praise in public, but correct in private.
Pretty confident that whatever the outcome or the events leading up to it, both you and Paul grew from those early days at Maxon.
Thanks again for sharing!
Dave
As an aside, I need to try that mango juice! Really....that is your goal in 5 years! Must be good juice!!!
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Ericns,
Did you also forget to include NOTA - Not a Text Animator in that lineage?
Dave
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Amazing interview!
Overall, Per-Anders is a fascinating person, and his insights are amazing. There is a lot of wisdom there and not just about technology but about pride, ego, the pressure of success and how that pressure can be the antithesis of creativity. There is a lot to unpack in that interview so thank you!
I also loved hearing about the birth of what everyone considers to be the jewel in the C4D crown: MoGraph. Funny that its humble beginnings were to make a parametric modeling tool. Good thing Per-Anders had other ideas!
What I also did not realize was the level of Paul Everett's involvement in MoGraphs' development. The interview implied that Paul was an equal collaborator and developer and the two played off of each other's strengths to create something powerful but with an intuitive UI. At least that was my take-away from reading the interview. If so, then when the Oscar award was being announced, was there some discussion as to who would be receiving the award? I sense that in that semi-private technical awards ceremony (a far cry from the pageantry of the regular Oscar awards ceremony), they wanted to limit the number of people who could appear on stage. If so, that must have been an interesting discussion to determine who would appear on stage. How do you make that decision to everyone's satisfaction? But, to Per-Anders credit, he did a great job of recognizing everyone and while most people got mentioned by their first name (including Hrvoje), Per-Anders made sure to mention Paul using his first and last name. So Bravo!
Dave
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Interesting tool from Autodesk but it still left a lot unsaid. For example, ngon creation, corrupt UV's, etc. You may get interesting shapes quickly, but what you are left with could be unusable during the texturing, sub-division or rigging process. IMHO, I think you would get more mileage with C4D's new bridge tool even though it would be a few more clicks but you would stand a better chance of preserving edge flow and quads.
Dave
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18 hours ago, Hrvoje said:
I feel old now
You are not that old unless this was your first graphical interface.
Dave
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Better to reference reality rather than other animations. Fortunately, YouTube is a good resource for this as found here:
So as you can see, this has more to do with volume builders and solid shapes than with pyro blobs. You could start with two cylinders or two spheres, add a little randomness to their basic shapes so that they are not too perfect and then place them under a volume building. Now align both shapes exactly over each other and slowly animate them moving away from each other while at the same time keying down the connection radius in the volume builder to simulate the cells reconstituting as they pull apart (keyframes are set on the overall "Objects" menu under the volume builder).
Just a thought. I hope this helps.
Dave
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So...........in three years all Maxon will do is update the shaders?
Honestly, that is a very limited vision and understates the hiring that Maxon has been doing.
The best way to figure out what Maxon is going to do is to follow Dave McGavran on Instagram. I think he leaked both pyro and the performance improvements to dynamics and general VP performance well in advance of their release.
I keep watching Instagram for a vidoe of Mr. McGavran jumping into a pool with his arms in floaters, bathing cap on his head and a horse head inner tube around his gut.
That will mean we are getting liquid fluid simulation.
Do it Dave! Do it!!
But.....I do like the incorporation of music ripped off from the Matrix movies. Don Davis did it much better with "Pale 3 - In My Head" though from Matrix Revolutions.
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This is really impressive work. A couple of thoughts:
1) Some basic road design principles and/or design rules should be considered. For example, there has to be a minimum radius of a round-about for cars exiting a highway at a certain speed or a minimum length of off-ramp that allows a car to stop safely when coming off a highway. I tried to find a highway design rule book but while the internet has a lot of links, I could not find a simple list of design principles as a reference. But I did find this site from the US Highway Department on "Geometric Design". It just has lots of links to other documents. So, while nothing straight forward, it may be a good place to start.
2) Banking. You need to allow for the road to have a slight bank when making a turn --- especially if it is to be a highway with cars traveling at high speeds.
3) Libraries. While the freedom to create "anything" is great, consider pulling in and connecting pre-defined libraries of intersections, exit ramps, entrance ramps, merges, one-way, 2-way, 4-lane, 3 lane, etc pre-built assets. Allow the user to build their own libraries with the tools you have already developed. Here is where you could incorporate the necessary "banking" of a road or the highway design rules (if you can find them) as mentioned in 1 and 2.
4) You need to allow for the integration into the plugin "Real Traffic" which also starts with a spline. These two plugins together would be an outstanding combination. Real Traffic needs to have things defined to it as stops, turns, merges, etc. so it would be cool that as you "build" the road from you pre-defined assets (see Item 3), those assets also have the traffic rules built into them to get Real Traffic to simulate accurate traffic patterns.
Dave
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Relative to the actor and writer's strike, then yes for US movies it will be a lean 2024 summer season for VFX in the big blockbuster movies simply because live action production had to shut down. But with that said, it will NOT be that bad for feature length CG animations because those movies are planned well in advance with voice acting talents locked down ahead of time. Not sure what the ratio is of reshoots (or re-rather rewrites) for a CG animation is relative to a live action movie but I would have to imagine it is a lot less. Therefore, I have a higher expectation for character animation in a 100% CG movie to be less impacted than for VFX animation in a live action film.
So, anything from Marvel (given that their process depends on re-shoots as they actually budget for it more than most other companies) will be impacted.
....and of course, anything with a short development timeline (like advertising and TV) will be less impacted that anything with a longer development timeline (like movies, etc). Plus, there is streaming which can tap into global content not impacted by the strikes in the US.
The only big summer 2024 summer blockbuster I would bet on would be MI: Dead Reckoning Part II simply because live action finished on that prior to the strike.
Dave
As an aside and not intended to derail this thread: Is lack of Marvel content during the summer of 2024 necessarily a bad thing? I only mention that given how poorly MCU's recent movies have been doing along with the rest of the movies coming from Disney: $1B loss in 2023 for all Disney films across all of Lucasfilm, Marvel and Pixar with bigger losses in Disney+ AND nothing to base a big Christmas 2023 toy campaign on. These missteps do not just impact movie revenue. The bigger golden goose getting killed by making movies no one wants to see is the toy market driven by these IP's. In fact, the initial strategy of Disney buying Lucasfilm and Marvel was because Disney (while strong in the toy market for girls with all their Disney Princesses) had no strong presence in the toy market for boys. So, they give a Star Wars reboot in 2015 with very little Luke and lots of Rey and kill Han off right away. Sorry, I just don't see a big draw for little boys to play with Rey action characters. What were they thinking? Also, word is that when the Mandalorian Season 2 ended with Grogu going off with Luke Skywalker, Hasbro was pumped!!! Now there was a toy merchandising opportunity: Luke training Grogu!!!! Pure gold. Nope, killed that quickly in the "Book of Bobba Fett". Hasbro was pissed as they pay a premium to Disney for the license to sell those toys and they have nothing to sell. On the Marvel side, they killed off Iron Man, turned Captain America into an old man, made She-Hulk stronger and more in control than The Hulk in "She Hulk", and made Thor look like a buffoon in "Thor Love and Thunder" in comparison to Lady Thor. So not much useable IP left in the toy market for boys from Marvel. I think Disney forgot their market and the simple fact that young boys are more likely to want to live vicariously through strong male oriented hero action characters. If that was not case, then Mulan would be selling like hot cakes into that market. Again, what were they thinking?
But getting back to movies....
Anyone pumped up for the "Marvels"? Yeah....my point exactly. This movie is projected to tank badly (based on pre-ticket sales and theater bookings) well below the worst performing MCU movie which was The Hulk in 2008 ($264M worldwide gross). This probably explains why Kevin Fiege is already "soft" announcing a re-boot of the MCU ahead of "The Marvel's" release in November. These execs are realizing that they killed the golden goose in Phase 4 (also known as the "M-She-U"). I guess Disney stock price hitting a 10-year low can be a bit of a wake-up call. Well, that is what happens when you lose sight of your market. Not sure that is possible with SW or any other Lucasfilm property given current management. So how do you make a million-dollar franchise? Easy. Buy a billion-dollar franchise and give it to Kathleen Kennedy.
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1 hour ago, srek said:
I actually drive a Smart
Regardless this is what I heard:
Are you sure that isn't you on the medical gurney?
Dave
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2 hours ago, HappyPolygon said:
What else does Nemetschek produce except "Media" ?
And is MAXON part of Nemetschek or Nemetschek part of MAXON ?
And who's Nemetschek anyway ? I'm trying for 5 minutes to correctly type it ...
Nemetschek is the parent company of Maxon. Nemetschek's main businesses are in Architecture, Engineering and Construction software programs which makes up about 87% of the annual revenue ($800 M Euro). But Nemetschek does reference a "media" group in their financial statements. When you look at how Nemetschek lists their brands, you find that Maxon is the ONLY brand in that group:
So, it is really easy to follow how Maxon is doing in Nemetschek's annual financial statements because all you have to do is search on "media". Now remember that Maxon is more than just C4D. So you while you can figure out how well Maxon is doing in Nemetschek, you can't determine how well C4D is doing in Maxon. But a rising tide lifts all boats, and Maxon's tide is rising.
So I am not worried about the future of C4D. Solid program with a smart architecture in a strong company.
You can learn more here
Dave
P.S. One thing you do hear in Nemetschek annual report is the move to "cloud" based computing. They are not saying that specifically about any of their brands other than the opportunity it represents. Something to keep your eye on going forward.
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Honestly folks....Maxon is doing EXTREMELY WELL!
This is not based on speculation but rather an analysis of Nemetschek's 2022 annual report (released in March 23, 2023). I have posted these numbers before, but the updated 2022 numbers for their "Media" segment (of which Maxon is the only member) are pretty impressive:
This may explain the brand new 2024 BMW 8 Series that Srek is driving around in!!!! The man is just rolling in cash!!!
Plus when you read the various sections of the financial report, the outlook for their "Media" segment is nothing but roses and raindrops in comparison to their core business (AEC/O or Architecture, Engineering and Construction). A few choice excerpts are below:
QuoteIn the Media segment, the Nemetschek Group addresses the global 3D animation market, which is characterized by structurally high growth rates and potential. The market volume is estimated at around USD 18 billion in 2021, with even higher growth momentum anticipated in the coming years compared to the AEC/O software industry. The market volume is expected to grow to around USD 40 billion by 2028. That equates to average growth of around 12% per annum and thus higher than the anticipated market growth rate for the AEC/O software industry. The current high and expected further increase in demand for high-quality content and animations by creative professionals, as well as the increasing use of visual effects (VFX) in films, videos and the gaming industry, are some of the most important growth factors. Moreover, increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in 3D animation is expected to give an added boost to market growth. In addition, the proliferation of VFX in the entertainment industry and the trend of using VFX in advertising and infomercials to showcase products with 3D elements is driving the growth of the 3D animation market. The main competitors in the Media market segment include Autodesk, The Foundry, Side FX, Adobe, MAGIX, and LumaFusion.
From Nemetschek's Opportunity and Risk Report
Further opportunities may arise in the Media segment as the creation of digital content and worlds as well as 3D animations is increasingly growing in importance, particularly for the young generation. One example of this is the metaverse, which merges the virtual with the real world. The metaverse offers numerous opportunities for global networking as well as new possibilities in the working world and education. In addition, there is a growing need for digital content and rising demand for gaming. These trends could have a further positive impact on demand for solutions in the Media segment.
On the subject of Competitive Risks
The Media segment largely targets the media industry through a wide range of products and has developed continuously and positively in recent years. Due to this strategic positioning, Nemetschek considers itself well placed and thus less vulnerable to risks than other market participants who operate only in individual market segments.
On the Subject of Opportunities
The Media segment, which Nemetschek has boosted considerably in recent years, is growing at an above-average pace for the Group and also offers a high level of future growth potential. The comprehensive range of solutions now covers all five key areas of application, from modeling, animation, and rendering, to painting and sculpting. As a result, Nemetschek has significantly expanded its client base. With the expanded portfolio, Nemetschek has already established a good position in the huge 3D animation as well as emerging Metaverse market.
2023 Outlook (specific to Maxon)
In the Media segment, the Maxon brand began the migration to subscription in the third quarter of 2019, which is now almost complete. The Maxon ONE product suite bundles all features into one attractive offer for its creative users. In the meantime, Maxon has almost completed its transition to subscription, and the acquired and previously integrated brands have also contributed to its success. The success of the transition is additionally reflected in its strong growth and high profitability and in the significant expansion of the Maxon brand’s customer base. The strategic objective is to increase visibility and predictability as well as customer lifespan with the successive increase in recurring revenues from rental models while still maintaining close customer contact and increasing customer satisfaction through faster innovation.
The Nemetschek Group has become significantly stronger in the Media segment over recent years, due in part to the acquisitions of Redshift, Red Giant and the acquisition of the Pixologic business operations. The comprehensive range of solutions now covers all five key areas of application from modeling, animation, rendering, and painting to sculpting. As a result, Nemetschek has significantly expanded its client base. With the expanded portfolio, Maxon has already established a good position in the large 3D animation market, as well as the emerging metaverse market.
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I do have a semi-related question to the educators on this thread: What is the direction for DCC education given the insurgence of such AI based tools as Stable Diffusion, Dalle, Picsi AI, Insight Face AI, the list goes on. On top of all this is Unreal Engine with its free standard license that has modules for doing pretty much everything from fluids to facial animation via their Metahuman model.
So, what are students looking to do digitally? Make digital assets (models, shaders, etc) or tell stories?
I only offer those two choices because the entire DCC pipeline is extremely fungible right now with the advent of AI (just look at Wonder Studio).
In short, are the days of the "3D generalist" becoming short lived simply because new tools are coming along that have automated vast portions of that pipeline?
So what "career" guidance would you give to a freshman student wanting to learn 3D? Given the pace of technological development and the growth of AI, do students face the risk that what they have learned will be negatively impacted by changes to the entire DCC pipeline which could be made before they graduate?
Thorny issues to be sure and (IMHO) far more perplexing than a low cost of entry to a "traditional" DCC application.
Honestly.....my advice would be to learn "3D Theory" first. That is focus on the core concepts behind digital content creation independent of any application. Go deep on knowing the basics (e.g. topology, color space, studio lighting, rendering concepts, camera work) right down to the algorithms behind some of the most common 3D techniques. They will need this base to successfully navigate the constantly shifting CG landscape.
Then I would steer the student into learning how to create the assets (e.g., modeling, retopology, and texturing) simply because whatever direction the technology moves in you will need a 3D asset. So far, they have yet to create a version of ChatGPT that creates models (though they are trying, and the results are laughably bad).
Just my 2 cents.
Dave
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Your animations are getting better, and you are definitely developing a unique style. I loved the handheld camera work and the black and white photography.
Given the gothic horror themes, I think black and white animation works best but there were at times it made everything appear a bit too flat. Subtle shading, soft shadows and strategic uses of color could really add a lot to the story. Or approach your next work with the mindset that it is being filmed in color but it is just a very black and white world that you are shooting in. Weird concept, but the best example I can think of is from an old animation called "Eroica" made back in 1998 on 3DS Max:
Note the blue to the fog, the red in the characters eyes. A slight blue key light from the moon. But for most of everything else (until the end scenes), it is very black and white.
Dave
P.S. I have to ask....those names on the tomb stone. Are they friends and family? If still alive, did they want to be a name on a tomb stone? I would catch hell from my family if I did that.
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I only have the "Center Axis To" command in my layout so it hard to messy click "Center Object To".
Now this is a rather random issue and tends to occur more with models converted from FBX files that were made up a bunch of separate objects that were then converted to one "object" in C4D. The Millenium Falcon model I worked on was a good example where I was kit bashing pieces of it together. So that piece I wanted needed to be split and disconnected from the original object but in doing that they picked up the Axis Center location of the original parent model. So for placement, scaling, etc. I needed to use the "Center Axis To" command but then ran into the issue of the object moving to the axis rather than vice versa as expected.
I wonder if this could an FBX conversion issue as when you try to duplicate this issue with C4D primitives in various combinations of hierarchies (objects under objects, object under separate nulls), it all works as expected.
When I find something, I will post it.
Dave
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Very informative.
One other issue that I keep coming across is using the Axis Center command and rather than having the axis move to the center of the object, the object's center moves to the existing location of the axis.
This happens regardless of the axis center command settings (or so I think) but only on rare occasions.Any ideas why?
Thank you in advance!!
Dave
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3 hours ago, EricNS said:
I don't think it was a wise decision to make Redshift CPU the default Cinema 4D renderer. For many reasons:
- It doesn't improve the renderer as users would have expected. Redshift CPU might be a more realistic engine, but the calculation are so slow that it's just not worth it. I get faster results with Physical, a 15 years old renderer.
- Cinema 4D was always known for its simplicity and good performance. Back in the early 2000s it was one of the only 3D software capable of delivering renders on a single PC. Anyone could grab it and start rendering directly. This advantage is now lost. By default the rendering are shockingly slow. It's ultimately bad publicity for Cinema 4D.- Cinema 4D requires de facto to buy RedShift to run correctly. It raises the price of Cinema 4D from 750 to 1000 a year. That's quite substantial, just to get a modern useable render engine.
An ideal solution would have been to add a "Redshift Lite" in Cinema 4D - a positive, functioning teaser for the full render engine. It would be just like Redshift GPU, but with limited features. It could exclude for example: hair, skin shader, displacement, volumetric rendering, proxies and out of core geometry.
Other than this, I appreciate the unified simulation system of this 2024 edition - we have dreamed of it for decades.I also welcome the improved viewport performances, but I wouldn't brag about it. Cinema 4D is just catching up with modern technology. It was rather absurd to see Cinema 4D crawling without even exploiting 20% of modern PC CPU/GPU capabilities.
I think Redshift 3.15.19 will improve CPU performance based on this comment in the MaxonOne release notes:
Now, this only applies to CPU with 6 or more cores (12 threads) but I would imagine there are very few 4 core processors on the market these days. You can find out what version of Redshift you are running in the Preferences section.
Dave
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For me, a simple way of distinguishing between Xpresso and scene nodes/capsules when referring to their strengths and the best way to apply them to your workflow is as follows:
Scene nodes/capsules gives you the tools to build the assets.
Xpresso gives you the tools you need to help manipulate them.
Now this is NOT 100% accurate and there are of course exceptions because there are always more ways to do the same thing in C4D. But viewing them this way helps me breakdown how to approach them when problem solving. Just my humble opinion.
Dave
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On 9/15/2023 at 6:41 PM, BoganTW said:
Everyone can read between the lines but I suspect the Maxon devs are happier this release is behind them rather than ahead of them. And even with a couple of less feature heavy updates here and there, generally the releases from last year on have shown a lot of promising stuff finally arriving, so I expect C4D 2024 to help this process along quite a bit.
Excellent point and I never looked at it that way. I would imagine optimizing such a vastly complicated set of code was a hard slog and filled with frustration because there are so many connection points to other major code functions that the developers were faced with unintended consequences each time they changed something. All of this also points to the architecture of the program and the methodical way Maxon connected features to that new core over each release while "still" implementing new features....further increasing the programs complexity and interconnections.
I get a headache just thinking about it. To use a construction analogy, they have essentially been rebuilding the foundation while still adding new floors on an ever-rising tower. That is no easy trick.
Now...does this mean a rapid increase in new features and/or the much-needed revamp of aging portions of the program like TP and BP? I don't want to say that because it will lead to over-speculation and increased expectations. What I will say is that Maxon program management has obviously been pretty methodical over the years. It had to be given what they have accomplished.
Most likely, that methodical approach will continue.
Also.....capsules are amazing. I could not see the benefit of Neutron in its initial release and the back and forth on how to implement its capabilities was a bit confusing. But they nailed it with Capsules. Each is a non-destructive mini-plugin that provides more flexibility than any single plugin could ever provide. I could not have created some of the things posted on this forum without them and they certainly have come "into-their-own" in the past year. So, while they seem like such small things in the release notes, we do forget what each brings to the table in terms of flexibility and creative capability.
Dave
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Interesting comments in this thread. It appears that the thirst for new features outweighs the thirst for performance improvements. Now, no disagreement from me that both are great but let's not understate the effort required to re-engineer and optimize the underlying foundation of a program to improve its performance while still trying to add new stuff to it. Kind of like mounting new tires while still maintaining your lead in the car race. It can be done (we've all seen pit crews) but requires a lot of planning or else it will result in disaster. So let's give some credit to the Maxon developers for attempting to do both and pulling it off.
I am actually quite impressed with the performance improvements, but I look at it a different way. Rather than ask "what new features did I NOT get because they were focusing on performance improvements?" I would ask "how much of a hardware upgrade would I need to make to my PC to get the same level performance improvements using R2023".
If those hardware upgrades cost you more than the annual subscription price than consider yourself ahead of the game because you not only were saved the cost of that hardware upgrade with this release, but you did get some new tools as well.
Just a thought,
Dave
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Kind of surprised to see R2024 not announced on the main Core4D page.
Did I miss it?
.....well...with the expansion to Houdini and Blender threads on the site and the loss of "C4D" in the sites title, I guess Maxon releases are not big news anymore.
Even though I understand why...it is kind of sad actually.
Dave
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On 8/23/2023 at 7:31 PM, HappyPolygon said:
buy ? this is Disney property. You should only find it for free.
https://www.gambody.com/blog/50-cool-star-wars-models-with-stl-files-to-3d-print/
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/millennium-falcon-2c0783d083e44b959c691682b4cb1f16
Many thanks to HappyPolygon for these links. Who would have thought that a Sketchfab model would could be so impressive. They offered it in an FBX format as well and so I downloaded it and went to work.
- While not modeled in quads with any polygon flow to consider what-so-ever, the modeling was solid with excellent UV's. There was very little corrupted geometry for me to correct.
- I think it was game rip, so there were some details that were just not adequate as textures and needed to be replaced. The Engine intakes and radar dish needed to be replaced. Likewise, there was no landing gear and the corruption of the geometry around the landing bays was pretty bad so that needed to be replaced as well.
- Landing gear rigging was added.
- Engine glow was added.
- Interior cockpit lights were added.
- The whole model was converted to Redshift.
And now the finished model:
Very happy to get that monkey off my back. Now I can start on the DS tunnel.
Dave
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11 hours ago, HappyPolygon said:
Hard for me to accept the screen idea ...
At whos' cost was that the purchase ? Productions' or performers' ?How did they even move it to the stage ?
What kind of screen is this if it extends all way ap to the ceiling ? Screens like this are only put on buildings and I'm not sure how modular they are (number of pieces) ... There must be some very elaborate rig behind that screen to keep it up, and it has to be designed for fast assembly and disassembly... I've never seen how they put up screens for concerts but I don't think they do this in 20 min...
I don't think it's possible to match the viewpoint for some number of viewers in the audience. That would require for the screen to be 3D... I'm not aware of a screen that big to be 3D and not require glasses. I think different angles where only viewed by the television.
Screw what the audience sees, whichever camera was "live" is where they switched the background to match that camera's position. Also, I agree that while the size of the screen and its "projection" method (front, back or self...meaning LED) is not defined, to do this all-in post is a bit of a challenge on a weekly show unless it is REALLY more fake than we all believe. Fake audience reactions, fake judge reactions, all of it. Plus, at some point particularly towards the end of the season, the acts start to appear on the same stage. None of that can be determined ahead of time because no one knows who those acts will be. So is it THAT FAKE (predetermined winners and losers) just because we can't accept the size of the screen?
We accept real time rendering but we can't accept a big screen?
Really?
Dave
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Well...this video required a little inspection.
Personally, I felt it was a little scripted...from the camera cuts (some appeared carefully framed) to the back and forth between the judges and the animation. Not saying that the whole thing lacked a "live on stage" believability, but something just did ring not as true.
Now....how did they do it?
Most likely Unreal Engine including the new hair rendering capability that came out early this year. Notice that the dog had a very binary movement to his mouth for the lip sync. Open or closed. That is all you got. While the body had deformation that was built into the rigging, the lips not so much. So while there are really only 8 basic mouth shapes used in animation, breaking down the "unscripted" dialogue into those shapes and morphing between them in real time may have been a "bridge too far" for real time animation.
What the audience saw?
While it was apparent that there was a screen on the stage that replicated the background of the real stage. The screen extended from the floor to beyond the ceiling. The stage design also helped because there were lots of vertical columns on the sides to hide the edges of screen and make the blends better regardless of camera angle.
Now, if this was in fact live, then you would need multiple renderings going on at the same time to match the angles from each of cameras recording the performance. This was not a cheap performance. To cut down on the computational complexity, there was only one moving camera and that shot was for a very short time. It could have been added later for the TV broadcast. Note also the final shot of the dog walking off the stage. They cut it right before he broke the edge of the screen and cut back to the judges.
All in all, great planning and quite the investment in time and equipment. I would imagine that this was a professional VFX house specializing in CG for stage productions who put this together. Even if they don't win, it will provide great PR.
Dave
0
What music do you listen when working or for inspiration ?
in Discussions
Posted
You and I share a common love of the same music.
So these sites should make you happy:
Extreme Music | Production Music Designed to Inspire
Note that of their stable of artists is Thomas Bergersen of Two Steps from Hell fame: Search for “THOMAS BERGERSEN” | Extreme Music
Other artists at the site: Hans Zimmer, Michael Giacchino, Junkie XL (aka Tom Holkenberg), Mark Motherbaugh (from Devo), Brian Tyler, Harry Gregson-Williams, John Powell, Nick Phoenix (the other half of Two Steps from Hell). And for prestige there is Sir George Martin and Quincy Jones. Just an amazing collection of free music to stream and searchable based on mood, genre, and even tempo (e.g. beats per minute).
This site has EVERYTHING: classical, pop, rock, grunge, along with accomplished film composers posting original works...all free for streaming without ads. My favorite categories are SpaceTone and EarthTones along with Director's Cuts.
Other free music streaming sites (again .... no adds like on YouTube) are:
Audiomachine
Luminary Scores
Albums - Gothic Storm | Label | Harmony Music (sourceaudio.com)
Brand X Music
Twelve Titans Music
Albums List | EMVN (sourceaudio.com)
Now, be aware that as this music is intended for multi-media production, some of the compositions are nothing more than a collection of "braaaahhhhmsss" and sound design more so than actual music. But there are amazing compositions to be found in what is essentially a bottomless pit of choices.....too many in fact for some people to want to bother with. As for me, I just pick a theme that suites my mood and hit play. If the music is not to my liking, I pick again.
Enjoy,
Dave
To add to this list is AMAZING music from one of our very own: Jay Wood. But I cannot find his music anywhere anymore!!! Big sad.