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glasgowjim - all messages by user

2010/9/9 11:13:56
Importing from Google Sketchup Oopsie.......

Sorry about that - I will be re-recording the audio for it tomorrow (my voice should be back to normal by then) and submitting a new version - which will also have subtitles and big, bold text showing any file locations that may be difficult to read. (They looked fine on my PC - I didn't realise that they would be so difficult to read on YouTube)

I will also (hopefully) get one or two other tutorials uploaded tomorrow, so you will see how to add proper collision to your models.

Take care, and hopefully the next one will be a bit easier.
-Jim.
2010/9/9 10:52:37
Additional textures Hi tripfreak,

The extra textures that you can access are the ones that are present in your "Stills" section on your profile, for instance when I log in I gain access to my profile picture that I use on here.

It means that if you use Muvizu on a couple of different machines you can upload custom textures to your stills section and access them from Muvizu on any PC.

Take care,
-Jim.
2010/9/9 10:43:05
How Do you get the Best Out Of Muvizu Hi Macdot,

Toonarama is right - you should be able to run Muvizu on that machine, but the processor and amount of RAM may be a bit on the low side. The graphics card should be fine though.

If the processor is Dual Core then you should be fine, if not then it might be slightly underpowered.

1GB of ram is less than I would recommend, so I would advise getting another stick of RAM - ideally a 2GB one but the motherboard might only support an extra 1GB stick.

If the motherboard supports DDR PC6400 (not all do) then these should do the job:

1GB:

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2231927&CatId=1872

2GB:

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3322895&CatId=3410

If not then these should be ok:

1GB:

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1558820&CatId=1654

2GB:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3128122&CatId=3409

If I were you I would try to find out the exact processor that it has and, if possible, the exact motherboard that it has as well.

Take care,
-Jim.
edited by glasgowjim on 9/9/2010
2010/9/9 10:25:05
Unable to update Muvizu Hi Bobbus74, sorry you are having trouble.

That error indicates that the Muvizu launcher cannot write to the Program Files directory - have your tried right-clicking on it and running it as an Administrator?

If that doesn't work try reinstalling it do a different directory (such as C:\Muvizu).

Please let me know how you get on.

Take care,
-Jim.
2010/9/8 15:47:45
How Do you get the Best Out Of Muvizu Hi again,

If you let me know what your budget is I could point you in the right direction - but in the meantime give the performance enhancing tips a try - they can make a pretty big difference.

-Jim.
2010/9/8 15:11:43
How Do you get the Best Out Of Muvizu Hi The Pea,

The Unreal 3 engine that Muvizu is based upon is pretty resource intensive - your Processor and Graphics card both have a huge impact on how it works.

I have posted a guide on getting the most out of your machine in the FAQs section:
http://www.muvizu.com/forum/topic464-muvizu-runs-slowly-or-gets-out-of-memory-errors.aspx

But as a quick guide, going from best to worst:

Processor: (Intel seem to be the best at the moment - the i5 and i7 are particularly nice)
Quad Core>Dual Core>Single Core

Graphics Card:
Recent GeForce>Recent ATI>Older Geforce>Older ATI

Operating System Types:
64 Bit>32 Bit (we will be moving towards a proper 64-Bit version of Muvizu in a couple of releases)

Ram:
DDR3>DDR2 (The more the better, but 3GB is the most you can have with a 32-Bit system)

Operating System:
If 32-Bit:
XP>7>Vista

If 64-Bit:
7>Vista>XP

If you want any specific recommendations let me know.
-Jim.
edited by glasgowjim on 9/8/2010
2010/9/8 14:13:44
graphics card A decent PSU is one thing that's often overlooked by people building a PC - a decent 400-500W PSU can outperform a poor 750W one most times, and they are also a lot cheaper to run. I also love the ones that have a modular design - that allows you to remove the cables you don't need and improve airflow inside your PC.
edited by glasgowjim on 9/8/2010
2010/9/8 13:57:18
Google Sketchup Object Import No problem, I am really looking forward to seeing what people do with their own models.

There will be some more coming along, based on adding collision, editing the model to increase compatibility with Muvizu and editing the .ASE file itself in a text editor.

Take care,
-Jim.
2010/9/8 11:52:17
Help! Importing google warehouse Hi again idealess,

Sorry for the late reply - I wasn't in the office yesterday - I am guessing that the stadium has 20+ colours/materials? If so the only way to get it to work with Muvizu is to reduce the amount - you can do this by editing the model in Sketchup.

You can also edit the .ase file using a text editor (Right-Click on it, go to Open With and select a text editor such as Notepad). If you go to the section with all of the entries like:

*SUBMATERIAL 5 {
*MATERIAL_NAME "Glass"
*MATERIAL_CLASS "Standard"
*MAP_DIFFUSE {
*MAP_CLASS "Bitmap"
*BITMAP "C:\ut3\toto.bmp"
*UVW_U_OFFSET 0.0
*UVW_V_OFFSET 0.0
*UVW_U_TILING 1.0
*UVW_V_TILING 1.0

and delete anything above 15 it may work, but save a copy first as it can break the model.


I am going to be doing a tutorial on this at some point in the next few days - if you give me the link to the model I could use it in the tutorial.........

Take care,
-Jim
2010/9/8 11:25:47
will this program run on vista Hi Stonehead,

Whenever I run Muvizu on my laptop I need to sit the rear corners of it on coasters so that it has proper airflow - the joys of mobile PC use.

-Jim.
2010/9/8 10:56:33
graphics card Hi Marvin,

It's a pity that it didn't work - the rest of your machine looks like it could handle the Unreal 3 engine thought.

Good luck on the job hunt - I know how much I hated being unemployed!

Take care,
-Jim.
2010/9/6 16:31:50
3D Modelling Packages (For Object Import) It's probably cheaper to go to Uni for 3 years than buy Maya or Max too
2010/9/6 16:30:51
Stock Images/Textures I am a big fan of CG Textures (I forgot to mention it earlier)- I think it's great for building components.

I quite like Wikimedia Commons for specific things like Books or X-Rays:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
2010/9/6 15:30:04
Video Editing 1. Virtual Dub - Main one we use at Muvizu. Basic video editor, best results can be achieved combining it with AVI Synth - http://virtualdub.org

2. AVI Synth - Much more than a video editor, it'll let you do all sorts of effects as well - http://avisynth.org (see http://sourceforge.net/projects/avisynth2/ to download)

3. WAX 2.0 - Lots of transitions and effects to use in videos - http://www.debugmode.com/wax/

4. AVIEdit - Free AVI editor - http://www.am-soft.ru/aviedit.html

5. Any Video Converter: converts files from most formats into avi - http://www.any-video-converter.com/download-avc-free.php

6. Submagic: a free subtitles tool: http://www.submagic.tk/

7. Windows (Live) Movie Maker - Should could pre-installed on most windows machines but if you don't have it - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx and http://explore.live.com/windows-live-movie-maker

8. Avidemux - http://avidemux.sourceforge.net/

9. Jahshaka - http://sourceforge.net/projects/jahshakafx/

10. Youtube Editor - Youtube's own online video editor - http://www.youtube.com/editor
2010/9/6 15:29:33
Stock Video 1. Dotgovwatch: government & political videos: http://www.dotgovwatch.com/?/archives/35-The-Best-Copyright-Free-and-Government-Video-Libraries.html

2. Public Domain Comedy Video: http://www.pdcomedy.com/

3. The open video project: http://www.open-video.org/
2010/9/6 15:28:58
Stock Audio 1. Librivox: free audiobooks from the public domain library: http://librivox.org

2. CC Mixer: community music remixing site: http://ccmixter.org/

3. Fish & Wildlife service: great for animal sounds: http://www.fws.gov/video/sound.htm

4. The freesound project: http://www.freesound.org/

5. Electronic music: http://www.sectionz.com/

6. http://www.members.tripod.com/~buggerluggs/ie/wav-dir184.htm

7. http://simplythebest.net/sounds/index.html

8. http://www.wavsource.com/

9. http://www.a1freesoundeffects.com/

10. http://www.freesound.org/

11. http://www.thefreesite.com/Free_Sounds/Free_WAVs/

12. http://www.stonewashed.net/sfx.html

13. http://www.lankalinksystems.com/directory/tools/it/free_wave_sounds_freeware.htm
2010/9/6 15:28:10
Image Editing 1. GIMP - Open source image editor, useful for backdrops, text on screen and much more - http://www.gimp.org/

2. Paint.NET - Alternative to photoshop - http://www.getpaint.net/download.html

3. Sumo Paint - An online image editor. No need to install a program to your computer - http://www.sumopaint.com/home/

4. Aviary.com - A web based range of image and sound editing tools. No need to install a program to your computer Registation required - http://www.aviary.com

5. Inkscape - A open source vector editor - http://sourceforge.net/projects/inkscape/

6. CinePaint - http://sourceforge.net/projects/cinepaint/

7. Open Office Draw - Part of the OpenOffice.org product - http://download.openoffice.org/index.html

8. Adobe Photshop Editor - Adobe photoshop's online image editor - http://www.photoshop.com/tools?wf=editor
2010/9/6 15:27:42
Stock Images/Textures 1. The Alaska state library - a directory of images, sounds & videos - http://library.state.ak.us/is/free_images_sounds.html

2. Istockphoto - register account and download a free video, vector and photo every month - http://www.istockphoto.com
2010/9/6 15:26:38
About the Resources section Here is a collective (but by no means exhaustive) list of websites and programs which Muvizu users might find helpful in creating their Muvizu videos.

The Muvizu application does not contain any image or video editing software, you can of course edit your animation before you render the final video but this isn't really video editing.

We do supply a very basic video joiner; this allows you to record your animation is separate parts and then to join those parts into one final video.

We do not endorse any of this software, they are simply recommendations of alternatives to packages such as Photoshop Premier or After Effects for example.

There are many free and open source software available out there, this section of the forum includes a few of what we would consider to be the best.
2010/9/6 15:25:08
Resource / Stock Directories 1. The Alaska state library - a directory of images, sounds & videos - http://library.state.ak.us/is/free_images_sounds.html

2. Istockphoto - register account and download a free video, vector and photo every month - http://www.istockphoto.com
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Muvizu

Muvizu is easy to use 3D animation software that allows anyone to create high quality animations quickly and easily. Muvizu’s animation engine is ideal for storytellers, animators, teachers and businesses looking to engage, enchant and delight audiences with animated content.