Right around the launch date for iClone 3, James Martin’s blog Certified Training in iClone and CrazyTalk made its debut… and it has been ferociously busy adding content ever since. It is quickly becoming an encyclopedic reference book on how to use the latest incarnations of iClone and CrazyTalk.
Check out some of the articles there, I’ll bet some of them give you a “wow, a machinima tool can do that?” moment! I know they have for me.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on iClone 3 and CrazyTalk 5 right after they hit market, and I’m just getting started with them. James’ blog has been an invaluable resource.
By the way, CrazyTalk owners, don’t miss the recent 5.1 free upgrade!
I was pleasantly surprised to see this come through one of my Google Reader feeds yesterday. Sounds like Leo is pretty excited about the possibilities of the Reallusion toolkit.
Leo’s animation skill set is remarkable, to put it lightly; by comparison, I’m the skinny scarecrow to his Lou Ferrigno. Easily, he’s the machinima director I most look forward to meeting in person one day, after having talked and collaborated so many times across the Web. It’s really great to see him given this kind of recognition in this nicely put together little documentary / interview, filmed by John Martin of Reallusion.
The Sims 2 has a reputation for being one of the easier machinima platforms out there - a reputation that is mostly true… there are indeed a lot of great things about the engine. However, you might have noticed the preponderance of music videos and other non-dialogue-based films which are made with The Sims 2. This versus say Halo, which seems to be the talkie magnet. And if you look at a cross section of some of today’s finer machinima filmmakers, you’ll find that many avoid lipsync altogether - not because they wouldn’t like to use it, but because why do it if it’s not going to look great?
There is a very good reason for this: to do lipsync well in machinima is not easy, and it has never been easy to do well… (okay, not until Moviestorm, but I digress). The costs of production (in terms of time) skyrocket in most machinima engines when one hopes to get precision lipsync that actually elevates the film instead of bringing down the overall quality. And this challenge has a long history.
(more…)
“What do I love about Christmas? Wow. Where do I begin?…”
Enjoy the dark satire, and take comfort in the fact that somewhere in the world there’s probably a family situation twice as crazy as yours.
This film was made with Moviestorm, Pivot, CrazyTalk, Paint Shop Pro, and VectorMagic, and edited with Vegas 8.0.
Concept to completion time: 25 days.
This film contains adult language and bitter disillusionment. It is not for those sensitive to sacrilege. Viewer discretion is advised.
Versions:
A) EXTREME: See it the way it was made to be seen, in HD (1280×720) over on Vimeo.
B) EXCELLENT: Not up for HD? The 800×450 render is still superb quality. Check it out on Stage6 (DivX) or at Z-Studios (Flash).
C) IN A HURRY: Want the quick and dirty? It ain’t the prettiest but you’ll get the idea. There’s a QuickTime 426×240 version on Moviestorm’s site, or you can catch it in low-rez on YouTube.
D) DOGGY BAG: Take it to go, ingest it later. Download mirrors are available at Z-Studios and on the ZS Blip.tv channel.
** Embarrassed you didn’t get me a gift this year? The way out is clear: support the film over on Will Ferrell’s comedy site, Funny or Die! **
Your comments, and your own crazy Xmas stories, are welcome!
