Sunday-Monday UFO Animation
So, yesterday, I created yet another UFO model. Why? Because they’re pretty easy to do, that’s why! I’ve got to work my way up to creating something fancier, but, right now, my modeling application doesn’t get along well with the rendering application, which means I either need to wait for the company that makes the modeling application to fix things or pony up some money to buy an add-on for the rendering application that will supposedly let it open files in another format to which the modeling application can save models. Yeah, I know. It’s complicated. But, I like the modeling application and I like the rendering application, so what can you do?
Anyway, so here was the model and very simple animation I came up with:
Neat, but kind of boring, much like many of my other UFO animations.
Well then, how about this one, which includes SOUND!?
Yeah, I know. You’re overwhelmed.
I won’t tell you the trouble I went through to get sound in there. Oh, yes, I will.
Yesterday, I mentioned that I was looking for my sound effects mixer. Today, I found it. Well, late Sunday night that is. And it was in the place under all the heavy things where I looked yesterday but didn’t find it. Somewhat convinced that I would not have put it in some place too remotely disconnected from my other equipment, I looked again in the place under all the heavy things. Sure enough, under some lighter things, there it was. I just didn’t look hard enough yesterday, I suppose.
So, I got it out and then I needed a cable. Looked in my ammo box where I thought I would surely have a cable. (I store my audio-video adapters and stuff in an ammo box. I figure if the case is designed to survive a war, that ought to be a good safe place for stuff.) But, nada. Adapters, but no cables. Finally finding a cable, I hooked it up to my converter box that lets me bring audio-video into my computer.
Couldn’t get that to work, no how, no way. I’ve used the video converter box before, so maybe it needed a video signal to transmit the audio too? Well, according to info I found online, it can do audio conversion only as well. But, no go. Was my sound effects mixer no longer functional? It seemed to work, but not having in-built speakers, I didn’t know if it was actually sending out audio or not.
So, put the converter box away. Next to try the computer’s microphone-in port. Except that it doesn’t accept the kind of plugs on the sound cable I’m using. Back to the ammo box for an adapter. Presto! That works.
Now, of course, I need to try to match the sound to the animation. Well, not easy, considering I need to play the animation in one window and record sound in another, and push a button for play and then jump over and press a button for record while also pressing a command on the sound effects mixer to play the sound. Obviously, that doesn’t work.
So, I start recording, which won’t actually start until it hears a sound. Next, I start the sound. Then the animation. Once the animation is playing, I can control the sound level to match the animation.
Yes, I realize that I could just do that kind of manipulation in my audio-video software, but I’m more used to the analog way of doing things, oddly enough, and I’m just trying to do this quickly, so I do my way instead of the digital way.
Next, I match up the video to the audio. For whatever reason, I couldn’t figure out how to cut the beginning of the audio, so I had blank video at the beginning of the audio until the video kicks in at the right time. So, I export that video.
From there, I take that video into another program, where I edit out the blank video portion I didn’t want to begin with.
Yes, it may seem very complicated and, were I working on a larger animation, this is probably not the route I would have taken. But, it was the quick and easy method of getting this done. And, since it’s not terribly important in the scheme of things, the quick and easy method was perfectly appropriate for this little animation.
That’s the one I rode in 10 days ago. It seemed like an hour, but was really a week. Must have been the time of my life!!
We missed you that week.
So did the aliens probe you while you were sick, because I avoid NyQuil for that reason?
No, I take the OTC version.
You should be rendering these with a Green or Blue Screen background for future Adobe Premier or After Effects editing.
I remember the days I fooled around with rotoscoping for a funny Jedi Wannabe video I made a long time ago. Fun stuff.
Ones like this are just quick and dirty models. I just do them to play around a bit and try to keep up with how to use all the different programs I have. If I don’t use some of them for a while, it’s like starting from scratch again!
I thoroughly appreciate how difficult EDITING is.
(I have made many a movies- and they have all kicked my ass.)
These are fantastic.
I hate to say it, but I’ve never found editing to be too difficult. I started with all analog equipment, before computers were really equipped to do video editing, so a lot of the timing was in your hands, literally.
I’ve still got to get a good handle on using Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 (and soon CS4 will be out…). I used Adobe Premiere 4.2 or something many moons ago, but CS3 is so much more advanced! Plus, I use Adobe Soundbooth CS3–I do pretty well with that audio-wise, but I still have to learn how to work with video within it, which can be done, but I haven’t done before.
Nice job. The audio really does make a big difference. So are these little clips you do just for fun, for practice or do you do something else with them? And don’t be too hard on yourself for not finding the equipment yesterday. After all, a cold messes with your head. Hopefully you are feeling better.
Fun and practice. I’d like to do a movie, but I don’t think I’ll be able to do that on my own. I waver between 2D and 3D. I got ToonBoom Studio a couple years ago, and I like it a lot (although I’ve forgotten how to do even the basic stuff in it because it’s been so long since I used it). It’s for 2D animation. It works in 3D space but with 2D images. Some of the animations you see on TV and in movies are done using the higher end versions of it. But, I just can’t draw to the extent required. I can do some basic animation, such as this clip (where I completely broke the “Rule of Thirds” by centering). To do more, I would need to have an illustrator create many, many of the images for me (as was done for my avatar).
And, if I go that expense, I could have a modeler create 3D models for me, which would be easier for me to animate (as well as use again and again) in 3D animation software, which is what the UFO was done in.
Flying by …..
Zoom. Zoom. ZOOM!
hello? are you alive?
Yes.
I cannot get the Firefox plugin to work for flash … why is that???
I think I just passed Michelle Gartner