response 1 of 12:

Nov 1 02:00 UTC 1996

Greetings.  One of the best ways (I think) to start a video project is to look
at other low budget films, the lower the budget the better.  This is
especially helpful when you don't have fancy video equiptment or gobbs of
money to throw away.  Take notes about special effects, film angles, etc.
Keep in mind that even low budget means that many thousands of dollars were
spent in it's production.  Most films have a list of some of the
equipment at the end of the end credits.  Sketching roughly ideas for
scenes can create

~p

response 3 of 12:

Oct 12 04:43 UTC 1997

I hear macromind Director is decent though I haven't tackled it yet because
the learning curve and price are steep for me.  I hope you check back in,
I would be interested in hearing more about your project.

response 5 of 12:

Oct 24 19:32 UTC 1997

To give you an idea how behind my info is, the last great thing that I know
of that's great for all kinds of special effects and animation is
Video Toaster for the Amiga.  Also, Paint VII was supposed to be a great
thing for animation, as well, as one could save your work on the medium of
your choice.  (including VHS and other format tape)  I hear that they have
something similar (don't know who) and are calling it "new technology".
Give me a break.  How very 1982 of them!
I have also heard that Silacon Graphics stations are great to have, and
that they actually come with some of the best software in the business.
(doesn't everyone know that???)
The only other lead I have is that Xaos is coming out with a new Engine for
graphics that's  supposed to be unpresidented.  (aren't they all?)
I Think it's called "Flash" and that it's coming out (in the US) in December.
I am very curious about this one, for new standards are always in my interest.
(Microsoft must *die*, and Adobe is too comfortable in it's business.)
Chao,
v

response 7 of 12:

Nov 25 17:36 UTC 1997

Still watching saturday morning cartoons, huh Vanessa? ;)
Anyways, speaking of actual computer animation, I just saw a *new* coca-cola
polar-bear ad, and thought it looked great. There was some water in it, which
I am not sure whether it was animated or not. Does anybody know the technical
details of these ads? I think that they are about the most 3d looking full
cgi that I have seen in a while... so I would like to find out the tech
details of their production...
On another note, I would also like to mention the WORST comp animation i have
seen on broadcast television: a cartoon called BeastWars. The animation is
positively dreadful -- to the point that it is hard to figure out exactly what
is going on, and what character is what. (Of course, the fact that their
voices are all terribly overacted doesn't help too much either). The animation
in this is definitely not terribly much better than MechWarrior 3 <grin>.
Anyways, for those of you doing animation, i suggest taking a look at this
show to figure out what NOT to do. I don't really know when its on, but the
entertainment section of the A2 news probably does. :) I personally think
about the only thing this show does well is textures. Hell -- if they were
doing comp graphics for a steel ad, it would be downright formidable... :)

response 9 of 12:

Dec 23 16:16 UTC 1999

Re 3: I hear that Macromedia hasn't called itself Macromind in many, many 
years now.

Re 5: Yes, your info is quite dated. The name of the company is "NewTek", 
not to be confused with "Newer Technologies", which makes CPU upgrade 
cards. The Video Toaster was once the breakthrough piece of video gear. 
When the Amiga started turning belly-down, they switched to NT. You can 
still get a "New Video Toaster", which is D1 through and through, but the 
real news is happening elsewhere.

A bunch of people from NewTek defected (including Kiki Stockhammer) and 
formed a company called "Play", which makes, among other things, the 
Trinity, which is very much like a Toaster. On crack.

While the Toaster is no longer anywhere near the leading edge, I wouldn't 
worry about NewTek. There were many people who once considered the 
Toaster a "$5000 dongle" that you had to buy to be able to run LightWave 
3D, and that was their main use for it. NewTek had the sense to unbundle 
it from the Toaster, and it's still one of the leading 3D apps. 

And they're also doing quite well with their Calibar, which is a $300 
signal/test pattern generator, about the size of a tire pressure gauge. 
We have one. It's pretty effin' handy.

Toaster Trivia: One of the primary people behind the early days of the 
Video Toaster was Brad Carvey. He later animated the dragonfly sequence 
in "Men In Black". And he also served as the model for his brother Dana's 
"Garth" character on "Saturday Night Live".

And Flash had already come out and was well on its way to establishment 
during the summer of 1997. Memory is failing me about who developed the 
first version, FutureSplash, but since it's been called Flash it's been a 
Macromedia product, all the way.

Re 7: Many of the key people behind the Coca-Cola Polar Bears ads were 
also behind "Stuart Little".

Re 8: Depends on what that question means. You can see "non-animated" 
films all the time. But if your question is "doesn't anybody make films 
that have exactly no computer animation in them at all", well, that 
figure is dwindling. A lot of time animation is snuck in, 
surreptitiously, to fill in sets or locations, or to make stunts look 
more spectacular.

response 11 of 12:

Oct 19 15:41 UTC 2001

I hate most movie comedies of the "stupid" variety. I find Tom Hanks'
comedies tolerable. But I don't think comedies relieve much stress
since whatever causes one's  stress is there waiting for one when the
movie ends.