Bobbysworld

[Nephilim]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 2690664154

Hi, here's an animation project I have been working on for a few months. I placed in some sound effects but have not created voice yet. It seems that when I export my animation from moviemaker it always is a worse quality then the original. I also don't like AVI format because parts get choppy a lot. I used moviemaker to patch together my scenes but it doesn't accept quicktime so I had to use AVI. If anyone knows of any better alternative instead of moviemaker (I don't want to pay for a software) or a way to get better quality animations with moviemaker please tell me. Like I said, at times parts can get choppy like when the two guys are walking by their house and when the tall guy turns his body around. Also, I didn't add sound affects when they are next to the door of the house because I didn't feel like wasting my time rendering it again.

Please tell me what you think and any suggestions you might have. Even though I'm aware of many flaws you should still tell me just in case. I am planning to buy AS once I am finished with this project so I can export it without a watermark.

[Genete]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 2690664154

Hi, here's an animation project I have been working on for a few months. I placed in some sound effects but have not created voice yet. It seems that when I export my animation from moviemaker it always is a worse quality then the original. I also don't like AVI format because parts get choppy a lot. I used moviemaker to patch together my scenes but it doesn't accept quicktime so I had to use AVI. If anyone knows of any better alternative instead of moviemaker (I don't want to pay for a software) or a way to get better quality animations with moviemaker please tell me. Like I said, at times parts can get choppy like when the two guys are walking by their house and when the tall guy turns his body around. Also, I didn't add sound affects when they are next to the door of the house because I didn't feel like wasting my time rendering it again.

Please tell me what you think and any suggestions you might have. Even though I'm aware of many flaws you should still tell me just in case. I am planning to buy AS once I am finished with this project so I can export it without a watermark.

1) I use linux. No help for windows. Maybe ffmpeg for windows a good choice for movie conversion. Try FFWin (a nice GUI)

2) Pros: You have an story to tell. I like the grass close up shot and final embrace. Also bus travelling in the sunset is liked.. Story flow is convincent. Used some 3d for the furniture? (Chairs and table?)

3) Against: Daddy's walk cycle is better then son's one (so rigid) or mummy's one (so exagerated). You need the make a eye blink sometime. Camera travel in first shot is wrong. Don't follow daddy. Final soht camera movement looking daddy and after mummy again should be a cut out not a travelling.

Very very good. Congratulations.

Genete

[Nephilim]

Used some 3d for the furniture? (Chairs and table?)

Yes, my brother helped me out with that (he uses Blender). He does a lot of 3D work and game creating. I'm saving a spot in the credits for "3D models made by" for later. He was going to put a wood texture on it but I guess he forgot about it (looks a little plain now). BTW, the big guy is not the daddy, its the son's brother . Not sure if I will have a Daddy if I'm too lazy to make another character . The son's name is Bobby and the brother's name is Mike.

Daddy's walk cycle is better then son's one (so rigid) or mummy's one (so exagerated)

Maybe when I add sound the mom's walk will make sense. You should of seen Mike walking before you told me how to space out the animation, more of a sprint then a walk The story goes that Mike is a potential rock star and failed to get his old band together when he found Bobby in the city. He explains to him what happened on the bus and gets taken home. Mike is going to try to repay his family's debt and get a nicer house by winning a band competition. A little cheesy but i dont care:P I don't even know why it is called Bobbysworld because Mike is going to be the main character

You need the make a eye blink sometime

I planned to make more eye blinks when I add voice. I think your assuming that the mouth movements are saying the actual words. Actually those are left over lip syncs from a previous animation (see if you can understand what they are saying )

Camera travel in first shot is wrong. Don't follow daddy. Final shot camera movement looking daddy and after mummy again should be a cut out not a traveling.

So you are saying I should focus in on Bobby first? I kinda liked this because I could focus on Mike's whole walk cycle. Yeh, at the end I guess the camera traveling gets a little much.

Very very good. Congratulations

Thanks

I probably need work on head on walking movement but I decided to save that for later.

[Gnaws]

Hey Neph - not sure how long you've used AS, but you seem to have an excellent command of the program. Looks like you have the rigging and point animation down solid. I like your camera work. Excellent command of the camera tool -- very cinematic. Nice hold shots. Good storytelling.

The 3D work done by your brother aside, did you do the rest of this in AS?

Shows tons of promise. Can't wait to see more from you.

[Nephilim]

Hey gnaws, thanks for the compliments man!!

Yes the rest was all in Anime Studio (Moho, lol i still have the demo). Image textures were found from various sources. I really thought I was a beginner when I got onto these forums . I've only had the program since june-julyish last year. I started to get interested in animating when my friend did a demonstration speech about it. I then went on to find a good program to animate with. I found that AS was quicker and more user-friendly then all the others I saw. I'm working with my bro to make voices for my characters so look for me posting back when I am finished. Although, I feel as if my characters need a little boost in style and seem sorta plain right now. Does anyone else think so?

Again, ty for all your comments and criticisms.

[Mikdog]

KNow what part I enjoyed the most? When the 2 guys are sitting in the bus, and Bobby's looking at the other dude with a dumb puppy love open mouthed look on his face. That, for me, was classic.

Also, kudos on the last hug at the end. That must have taken some clever layer ordering.

More please.

[Nephilim]

Well, the two guys are eventually going to be talking on the bus so Bobby won't be smiling Mike's going to tell him why he left the house and that he couldn't get his band back together. I'm putting together a script now so soon I will have voice.

[arthbard]

Well, if you're looking for a free editing solution, I tried a few out several months back before I finally broke down and decided to spend money on something. None of these really did it for me at the time (most are pretty glitchy), but if you're feeling adventurous, they all work on Windows:

http://www.debugmode.com/wax/
http://www.thugsatbay.com/tab/?q=zweistein
http://www.jahshaka.org/
http://avid.com/products/freedv/index.asp

Of the lot, the Avid FreeDV software is the only one that seemed very stable when I tried them. It's pretty limited, being a very scaled back version of their professional software, but it may suit your needs.

Or ... You could use VirtualDub (http://www.virtualdub.org/). It doesn't have the flexibility of a full-fledged editor and only works with avis, but it can get the job done if you only need to do some very basic editing.

[Nephilim]

I tried avidDV but am having problems with it.

It said while I opened the exe. file that I didn't have an audiocard on the system so I couldn't play audio. Does this mean I can't export with any audio either? Also, I am having tons of trouble with the interface, if you still work with it can you help me out?

I can't even figure out how to import audio

I'm looking for something that has similar capabilities as moviemaker but can export to quicktime or something with better quality.

[arthbard]

Unfortunately, I only experimented with Free DV very shortly and some time back. I never ran into the problem you describe, but it sounds like maybe some sort of incompatibility issue between Avid and your sound card.

There is a forum for the software, though (http://www.avid.com/exchange/forums/38/ShowForum.aspx). You might be able to find more information there.

[Nephilim]

Hi again,

Well, I'm going to take a step back from the moviemaker problem for now. Thank you arthbard for your care and concern. Here is my script so far. Tell me what you think.

http://www.geocities.com/rljdmontgomery ... script.txt


Make sure you always scroll to the right to see if there is more words. I'm going to make voice over the weekend, I just wanted to keep this topic alive.