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Posted on 02/03/04 3:20:07 PM |
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Carl
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Can most participants at this forum view wmv files?
I know Steve and others use Macs, but can Macs read windows, wmv files? With Steves OK, I would like to post a link to an approx. 1/2 meg file on an animation that I am having problems with judging where the shadows should go on a certain segment. But I wanted to first check to see if you guys can read a wmv file if your running a Mac. I am having problems for some reason making good web encodes in Quicktime ( I do recognize that it is a more universal format) but I must not be doing something correctly or I need to update to a better version of QT. Thanks in advance, Carl |
Posted on 02/03/04 3:41:04 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6838 Reply  |
Re: Can most participants at this forum view wmv files?
Yes, macs can read everything, given the right plug-ins! I've temporarily changed the permissions so you can upload a 500K file. Steve |
Posted on 02/03/04 3:58:15 PM |
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carl
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Re: Can most participants at this forum view wmv files?
Thanks Steve, I'll go ahead and do that. The main character in the animation absolutely needs a shadow somewhere to complete the compostion , In my test, I put it against the back wall, I am having trouble judging what size and distance it should be. (using After Effects) But there may be a better place all together that it needs to be. At the end of the day, I just want to see a shadow moving around that looks appropriate. The orginal photo of the background you see did not have many shadows in the image that were visable to judge how they should blend in, it was a very overcast day & there really wasn't many shadows. Shadows are the one major thorn for me right now , I really have a tough time judging where they should go and matching them to existing backgrounds. I need to encode it so give me a little time to send it. After you view it, if you want, I can send you a frame capture if it would help. Thanks again, Carl |
Posted on 02/03/04 4:35:16 PM |
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Carl
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Re: Can most participants at this forum view wmv files?
Wasn't as big as I thought, 122K. Appreciate any input you can offer. Carl [Attachment: shadowhelp.wmv (122.53kb)] |
Posted on 02/03/04 5:48:36 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6838 Reply |
Re: Can most participants at this forum view wmv files?
Carl, Not really sure I'd recommend shadows at all on this piece. It's an overcast day (you can see by the sky and the flatness of the building) so ny shadows would be bound to look artificial. And I think the movement happens so quickly you don't notice. What I'd really like to see is the ball coming in from the other direction and dropping into the hand at the end - possible being thrown out of the hand of the man lying down. Here's a rough idea... [Attachment: AEmovie.mp4 (58.10kb)] |
Posted on 02/03/04 10:07:29 PM |
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carl
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Re: Can most participants at this forum view wmv files?
Wow, that clip would actually work good Steve as part of the total compostion done slightly different to better suit the other parts of the total animation. Except I would feel real guilty if I swiped your idea. Back to the shadows.. I agree that the background does'nt really lend it self to shadows for exactly the reasons you mentioned...but take a look at the clip that would be coming right before it. I attached a different clip that comes before the first one I sent. If you could take a look at what I was thinking of doing using a shadow. Let me know if it looks too out of place. Disregard the following because I haven't fixed these areas yet in the attached composition. 1) glass will be shattering out of the window ( I have other challenges on this one) but it will be added and will "rain" down behind the statue with a little debris falling in the foreground. 2) For the life of me I can't get what the proper scaling should be for the statue as it is falling down to the ground. I think its getting too big to quick. If you have any thoughts, I would be curious. 3) When sending the original comp. I hadn't changed the window to appear broken out like on this comp. Thanks again for all your help Carl [Attachment: windowjump56k.wmv (99.64kb)] |
Posted on 03/03/04 08:46:50 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6838 Reply |
Re: Can most participants at this forum view wmv files?
OK, I see exactly what you're getting at. The shadow in the new clip is, as you say, essential. In which case I'd recommend changing the weather - more contrast on the building, a patch of blue sky - to hint at the location of a strong light source (see attachment). I think the scaling on the figure works pretty well: what I'm not sure about is the distortion as he falls. If you want to make him look more 'alive', which the distortion does help in doing, then consider applying a very slight spherize to the chest to give the impression of him breathing. I find this technique works pretty well. Great looking project, by the way. How long will the finished thing be? Oh, and feel free to swipe any ideas! Steve  |
Posted on 03/03/04 3:40:29 PM |
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Carl
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Re: Can most participants at this forum view wmv files?
Steve, I think I will change the lighting and sky as you suggested which will allow me to use the shadows to add more realism. It will mean changing some backgrounds on various clip to match, but I think its the right thing to do. A little background on this project... My poker friends & I got on the subject of superbowl commercials and how much money is spent on them and how much you really remember after its all said and done. (that was after discussing the Janet Jackson halftime show 
The next day I was messing around with this statue to use in another video project when I decided to challenge myself to make a superbowl quality type commercial. I am working on 2 versions, a 30 & 60 sec spot. I'm also making an alternative version that features more of my son in it for fun. I approached this in a very serious way and have put more hours & days into this than I care to mention. But I am really proud of how its turning out. Let me ask you something.. If I use that idea of yours in some similar way, would you still be OK with it if I decide to actually submit this to the company. I doubt that anything would ever come of it, but it's OK to dream a little right? I was thinking it might be good enough for them to have fun with at a sales meeting or something similar. I would like to privately send you the 30 second cut so you can check it out but it will be at least 2 - 4 megs. I don't know if you are on high speed internet or dial up. I would probably wait till I am completed with adding these 2 clips & the changes. In any case thanks again for all your input, you will definitely be in the credits along with a few others for creative and technical support. Carl |
Posted on 03/03/04 4:28:24 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6838 Reply |
Re: Can most participants at this forum view wmv files?
Carl, Hey, an idea is just an idea - feel free to use or ignore any suggestions I make. Sounds like a good project to be working on. If you want to send me longer cuts, then please do so - you can email me directly at c@plin.com. Looking forward to it Steve |