PatMarrNC - all messages by user

2016/7/27 15:05:17
uv mapping texturing good stuff ... thanks for posting it!
2016/7/27 12:42:52
help - biting off more than computer can chew.. another workaround I've used when I have too many characters is to frame scenes in such a way that only a few characters are in the scene at a time. I usually save multiple copies of the set so each scene has its own set.. then I remove everything that won't be shown in the scene. That way , you may have one brief scene where every character is shown at once, but it will take a lot less time to render it... and the other scenes with fewer characters will run much better.
2016/7/27 12:36:29
help - biting off more than computer can chew.. I notice on my computer adding a lot of characters (20 is a lot for me) really slows things down. You could try to buy back some resources by substituting 2d graphics of any characters that don't need to move.

Or, you could divide your characters up between 5 layers so each one has only 4 characters in it.. then turn off all but one layer at a time, and record the video for that layer only. You can rejoin all the layers in your video editor later in post production.

group the characters in layers by distance from the camera.. all the closest characters in the same layer and all the farthest characters in their own layer and likewise those in the middle. That way when you combine the videos for each layer in your editor, the ones in the back will be eclipsed by the foreground characters, as expected.
2016/7/26 17:47:05
IMPORTING FROM SKETCHUP PROBLEM its been my experience with objects downloaded from sketchups warehouse that simple objects import best.

I have yet to import one vehicle successfully from sketchup. A lot of the models have overlapping polygons which can double or triple the polygon count. I think there is a limit in muvizu about how many polygons a model can have, so its best to use the lowest polygon models you can find unless you plan to do a lot of clean up on the model before trying to import it.

In almost all cases, after trying all day to import and clean up a sketchup model, I end up making it myself in a tenth of the time, and with a much cleaner model in the end.

If you have other software that can reduce the polygon count, or remover overlapping surfaces, that's a good start.

One quick way to remove a lot of duplicate polygons is to highlight the entire visible surface, then copy - paste and drag the top layer of polygons away from the original. Then delete the original. What you should have left is a single layer of polygons that you can examine and repair fairly quickly.

This rant may or may not address your actual question. ;-)
2016/7/26 17:37:16
1st person view techniques fazz68 wrote:
mr dr who i quite right all effects are muvizu effects bar one. the only one that isnt is the phaser hit which is a crudely draw GIF done in gimp and overlayed in editing and keyframed to stay with the body of our psycho killer. as i was going for the cheapo original star trek look it works quite well lol


everything looks great to me! I really enjoy all your videos, Fazz, and I wish you'd participate here on the forum more often. I'd also like to see more new ideas from you.
2016/7/26 15:14:44
1st person view techniques MrDrWho13 wrote:
PatMarrNC wrote:
all of the slaying action and spurting blood was seamless... what editor do you use? The flashing lights and various effects were quite good.

Most of the blood seems to just be coloured and moved Muvizu effects. One where a throat is cut is the tears effects textured red. Another is the roman candle all red.


very observant, MDW13... there are so many ways to do things....
2016/7/26 15:13:08
Introducting myself christian_clavet wrote:
Hi, My name is Christian Clavet. I live in montreal. I'm a computer tech and a level designer. I'm working on my passtime on open source projects like IrrRpgBuilder (a game builder application made in C++/Irrlicht).

I buyed the pro-version of Iclone 6.5, and after buying it, found out that for importing stuff I had to pay for everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Even if it look nice, I will not use it. I would need to buy their "exchange" program that is sold separately at 500$, this is really abusive.

Just found out Muvizu in the weekend, tested the demo(was a little worried that it would be like IClone), then after seeing what I could do with it and that It can import without additionnal fee (the full version). I got it. Just activated it this morning, and I plan to use it for my grandchildrens (1 and 2 years old now) and create some little cartoon and see If I can make something to make them laugh.


welcome to the forum and to the truly enjoyable world of animating with Muvizu! I had pretty much the same experience of starting out with software that includes very little content, requiring many additional purchases to make it truly useful. Muvizu comes with a lot more functionality, and the active user base has provided a huge selection of free content

And it's pretty tough to beat the price tag of Muvizu... no sticker shock here! Speaking as somebody who has bought and tried most of the animation packages available, I'd have to say that muvizu is by far the "best bang for the buck"
2016/7/26 15:05:21
My first little video with Muvizu... MrDrWho13 wrote:
That's actually really good, especially for your first clip.
I see you had fun with the depth of field and lighting, and everything was timed really well.
I look forward to seeing what you can come up with in the future!

Any chance you want to enter the 20 second film competition? http://www.muvizu.com/forum/topic5813-20-second-film-competition-summer-theme.aspx


length is just about perfect for the contest! we could imagine that it's a scene from STAR TREK: VACATION MISADVENTURE

or the theme could be relaxed to include any kind of disaster scenario

nice job, and welcome to the forum!


Speaking of star trek, the new movie was just released this past weekend here in the states.. has anybody seen it yet?
2016/7/26 14:58:07
1st person view techniques fazz, everything about that video was incredible!

The characters were truly creepy, the integration of external sound was perfect, the enterprise sets were amazing...

all of the slaying action and spurting blood was seamless... what editor do you use? The flashing lights and various effects were quite good.

Fading thru a blur from eyes closed to eyes open was also very effective. I liked the passing floors in the elevator...
I could go on and on.
2016/7/26 4:18:52
1st person view techniques well, for starters, I think this would be best done in your video editor.

If you go ahead and use muvizu to record the basic 1st person event, then in your video editor you can just use a 2d graphic shaped like eyes (with the eyes transparent and everything else black) on the layer above your muvizu footage.

Then you can add 2 more 2d graphics ... black rectangles, one for each of the eyelids.. and use keyframes to move them up and down.

I think this approach will be pretty easy and it will also give you maximum control over the timing and positioning of the eyes & eye lids.
2016/7/25 20:57:14
Base Character Reference Models I deleted the link to the OBJ files I sized for ASE and FBX.... for a couple of reasons:

1) I think the sizing is only a deal in my own modelling environment, so it probably doesn't add value for anybody else, and the OBJ files are already available in the original sizes

2) a recent thread on use of Muvizu assets made me rethink my decision to post their assets in a way that is accessible to the general public and which makes their proprietary characters portable to other environments.

upshot is that anybody who tries to follow the links above to access the files will get a dead link. Sorry.
2016/7/25 20:48:28
» Owning rights to your films and distribution Muvizu's policy includes any of the content they provide. Basically it's royalty free to use it in videos But that doesn't include the right to repackage their content and redistribute it in any way at all, whether you do it for free or for compensation.

The set containing blanks of their characters is a bit of a wild card, but in .set format they can't be exported for use in other libraries or animation apps.

When users upload sets It is implied that they are making their content available for free use in other peoples' projects. Putting proprietary content on a free public forum is the functional equivalent of placing it in the public domain, unless specifically stated terms of use are included in the download. It is a courtesy to credit the creator of sets and models when you use their work, but unless their terms of use require that you do so, it's pretty much your call.
2016/7/25 19:35:05
20 Second Film Competition (Summer theme) ikes wrote:
hehe, thanks Pat! Too bad you can't partcipate in the competition, unfortunately you can spend your time only once... Maybe next time.


I might still be able to submit if I can wrap up Claysters music today or tomorrow... depends on my ability to stay focused (not a good track record since retirement) ;-)
2016/7/25 16:47:49
Help with an passanger airplane there are free sets in the user assets that model the interior of both large and small planes.

If you need to show the outside of the plane and you can't model, by far the easiest way to include extra content in your videos is to find a photo online and put it on a backdrop. As long as you don't move the camera in the scene very much, 2D graphics on a backdrop work great. And its fast.

If you need to show characters thru the windows of the plane and you know how to create transparent areas in your 2D graphic, just make the windows transparent and position your characters behind the backdrop. You should be able to frame the shot in such a way as to make it look like a 3d plane with passengers looking out the windows.

If you need to show the plane flying, then make everything around the plane transparent, and position the backdrop with the plane in front of another backdrop with moving scenery (clouds, earth whatever)
2016/7/25 16:36:34
20 Second Film Competition (Summer theme) IKES, that was awesome!

Great job on the set and on setting a believable mood with party music! The story did escalate quickly, but it remained cohesive and continued to make sense throughout. Fires DO tend to flare up quickly, after all.


It's looking like I won't have time for this contest, unless I get inspired in a couple of different ways and wrap up some other commitments way earlier than expected. In addition to the main commitment that's keeping me busy, I promised Clayster a set of utility mood songs for his finger pistols series. He's been waiting over a month already, and it wouldn't be OK to push his project back to make time for a contest.

Yeah, I know its only 20 seconds, but I'm working on retirement time, and I'm really slow at everything.
2016/7/24 14:39:20
20 Second Film Competition (Summer theme) Good job, Eugene!

Apparently Wimbledon got rained out in '96? I'm not familiar with that bit of sports history, but I enjoyed your short film nonetheless!
2016/7/23 14:08:03
20 Second Film Competition (Summer theme) I've never had a disastastrous vacation, so for ideas I Googled the phrase "vacation horror stories"...

Man! Apparently lots of other people have had bad vacations! It made for interesting reading, but I still don't have an original idea that can be squished into 20 seconds. But the deadline's about a month away, so ....
2016/7/22 19:35:18
20 Second Film Competition (Summer theme) nice looking set

(and so is the beach set)

anybody would be happy to win either of these great prizes....
2016/7/21 16:19:59
Not that Tie again maybe they wear red so the blood doesn't show as much...
2016/7/21 16:19:26
Not that Tie again But why do the extras who beam down to the planet with Kirk and Spock (only to die predictably) always wear uniforms of a different color than the rest of the excursion group?
edited by PatMarrNC on 21/07/2016
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