Hasta La Motion!

I was watching a scratch demo at assimilate’s website. HE was working with 4k plates that were in an HD 1920 project. So he resized the image "down" to fit in the 1920 window. I said to myself, wow that must be nice to compact all of those 4k pixels into a 2k project. ( almost 2k)

Should I be doing the same with HDV 1440 X 1080 if my goal is to render to DVD?
For example, I set up my project to 1440 X 1080 and then render out to DVD standard. I’m guessing that the transcoding dumbs down the resolution to 720 X480.
So my question is which is the better deal? Working in a 720X 480 project and Resize "down" to fit 720 x 480 (which should compact those nice 2k pixels into 720)

Or

Work in 1440 and let the transcode do the work for me?

Thanks,
Lou

cmiVFX Releases New BodyPaint UV Layout and Texture Painting Video
High Definition Training Videos for the Visual Effects Industry

Princeton, NJ (August 18th, 2010) – cmiVFX launches its latest training video for Maxon’s premiere texture painting application named BodyPaint. This package allows for the most complete toolset for creating UV’s and 3d texture painting for the Film, Broadcast and Gaming industries. This training video will guide the project through a clearly defined process. Immediately learn crucial information on specific topics without slowing down your productions and wasting unnecessary time. cmiVFX continues to deliver high level detailed content direct to the topic. cmiPlayer technology was designed to let professionals access information from any computer on the internet. Whether your at work, at home, or some where in between.. cmiVFX will be there for you waiting with the information that you need to know RIGHT NOW! When it comes to high end CG and VFX training, there is only once choice… cmiVFX!

Don’t forget about the cmiSubscription plan! Get one today. cmiVFX launched the most affordable subscription plan in Visual FX Training History for only $299 USD, and if you were a subscriber, this New Training Release would already be in your account. For more information on our subscriptions:

http://www.cmivfx.com/productpages/p…ns_And_Pricing

BodyPaint UV Layout and Texture Painting Techniques
http://www.cmivfx.com/productpages/p…xture_Painting

Introduction
BodyPaint 3D offers complete control over your textures with layers, filters and tablet support while working in 3D. Multichannel stroke support allows for painting across many channels at once while working in the 3D View. Maxon’s RayBrushTM technology lets you view the results of your painting in real-time without ever having to hit the render button.

Projection Painting in BodyPaint 3D allows you to virtually tattoo across UV seams and objects. Laying out UV’s couldn’t be easier in BodyPaint 3D. This software includes three automatic UV unwrapping algorithms, including the new Optimal Cubic Mapping system.

BodyPaint is included in Cinema 4D or as a stand alone application. Either way you use it, it becomes a powerful translator, albeit a bridge, between multiple CG applications. If you haven’t learned how to use BodyPaint, then your only half way there!

Basic Tools
Before you can run, you must walk, before walking you must crawl, so… We take you through the necessary steps through out the video in order to achieve a better final result in your real world project. Whether it’s realistic or cartoon, this video will get you started with the look development that is desperately needed in CG today.

UV Layouts
3D Modeling is certainly not the beginning or end of a film, broadcast or gaming production pipeline. After the character design team creates the look of the character and the modelers create the initial 3d digital asset, it is crucial to layout each polygon for proper projection mapping in a UV set. BodyPaint 3D makes this process extremely easy compared to many CG applications. You can model your geometry in any application like Maya, Houdini, Max, Lightwave, Silo, Modo or anything that you can think of without messing with one UV. Then bring it into BodyPaint for a complete work over. We show you how!

Detailed Modeling From Painted Displacements
Often times in order to keep animators happy, the modeling team will create lower resolution poly models that can be subdivided at render time. BodyPaint allows the use of a HyperNurbs subdivision tool for this exact purpose. You can then create a painted displacement map that deforms this geometry in great detail. This technique has been the industry standard for several years now, and all technology in the near future is leaning on the same principals for detailed and deformed paint weighted geometry. Confused still? Hit the buy now button and lets get into it right now!

Color Texture Map Creation From Displacement Maps
Still reading? Wow your a tough customer! Ok if that wasn’t enough, our next step in the process is to generate our color textures by modifying our displacement maps. This way you get the look of occlusion and natural "dirtying" that occurs in creveces and corners. Use the displacement map layer to help further define color periods in your current UV structure.

Normal Maps and Execution
Normal mapping takes off where displacement mapping stops. Normal mapping can help create post lighting effects in 3rd party compositing applications, and can also help fake displacement mappings in CG renders. We show you a few tricks to keep in mind while using them. (Its a pros and cons kind of thing)

Rendering Notes
Once you have something manageable, you can start doing some render tests. many times people jump into test renders way to soon. Fortunately BodyPaint 3D has RayBrush technology and keeps you current one what it might look like during a final raytracing. We take it one step further by explaining a few tips about rendering and time management.

Final Words
When it comes to texture painting, or any kind of painting, the artist only knows when its truly complete. We work our videos in real time. You see at an accelerated pace that we achieve fantastic results in extremely little time by using proper techniques and the proper software for the task. We encourage you to enjoy this video to its full extent today. Why wait another day?

About the Author
After studying film and sculpture at the San Francisco Art Institute, Greg Kulz began working full-time as an artist in the SF Bay Area. Always interested in experimenting with new techniques and methods, Greg turned to 3D motion graphics as his new medium in 2001. Since that time, he has worked on such projects as the Team America and WWE video games, Ironman, various short films and a number of product modeling contracts for corporate clients including Sony, Panosonic and Frito-Lay. Greg’s first love remains character creation, but he also enjoys working with motion graphics, texturing, and modeling.

This video is available today at the cmiVFX store. http://cmivfx.com/store/Browse.aspx?Category=12

About cmiVFX
cmiVFX is not a conventional training company. We know that a problem can have many solutions and we aim to drive the industry with the latest information available for our user base. Our training is aimed at expanding your marketability so that you can get and maintain a consistent revenue stream. Don’t be fooled by our pretty pictures! We mean business here at cmiVFX. Its one thing to be able to create a pretty image, but its another thing to know how to create it for the proper venue. At cmiVFX, your will learn the difference!

cmiVFX is the leader in High Definition Video Training for the Visual Effects Community. Register for FREE and receive hours of FREE content at cmiVFX: http://www.cmivfx.com/cmi_vod.html For additional information about cmiVFX, visit www.cmivfx.com. © 2010 cmiVFX | cmiStudios. All rights reserved.

http://www.vfxdesktop.com/

cmiVFX Releases New Syntheyes Complete Training

High Definition Training Videos for the Visual Effects Industry



Princeton, NJ (August 13th, 2010) – cmiVFX launches its latest training video for Syntheyes 3D Matchmoving software under the long format video structure plan. This video is complete training for Sytheyes utilizing several projects that overlap complex problems for the matchmoving artists. Topics include, 3D Tracking, Cleaning And Adjusting Tracks, Difficult Nodal Pans, 3D Stabilization and SO MUCH MORE!* When it comes to High End Visual Effects Training, there is only one choice, cmiVFX! Get this video at the store today!



Don’t forget about the cmiSubscription plan! Get one today. cmiVFX launched the most affordable subscription plan in Visual FX Training History for only $299 USD, and if you were a subscriber, this New Training Release would already be in your account. For more information on our subscriptions:
http://www.cmivfx.com/productpages/p…



Syntheyes Complete Training
http://www.cmivfx.com/productpages/p…8232;Syntheyes, available at http://www.ssontech.com, is one of the fastest, feature-rich and yet surprisingly inexpensive camera-trackers out there. This tutorial not only gets you started with basic and advanced tracking, but will also dig deeper into the vast feature tool-set of Syntheyes that goes way beyond simple tracking.



[ Excerpt From The Author ]



Introduction

For starters we’ll use a simple shot and do the most obvious thing when you first open Syntheyes: A completely automatic track. In a matter of literally seconds you’ll have a pretty usable result, that will quickly improve by using some simple clean-up techniques. Orient the scene in 3d-space and insert 3D-objects into your scene to test if everything works, export your camera-solution and voilá – you have a decent matchmove in just a few minutes.



Solving a shaky handheld shot

Life not often makes it easy for you, and so you’ll often be confronted with things like motion-blur, camera-shake and lens-distortion. So for the more difficult shots we’ll have to bring the big guns in. Automatic tracker cleanup, manual control over each tracker-curve in the graphs-editor and fine-tune trackers can really improve your camera solution. To solve fast and shaky hand-held footage with lots of motion-blur it’s best to use supervised tracking to give you the most control over each tracker. If you’re footage was shot with a lens that has barrel-distortion then you have another problem that can make things more complicated. Tracks will have lots of errors, and 3D objects will not fit to the footage not matter what. Luckily Syntheyes has a clever way to get rid of lens-distortion. Or even to re-distort the CGI, if the director wants to work with the original footage later in compositing.



Modeling with Syntheyes

With the tracking-features and resulting 3d-points you can not only define the camera, but also re-model the scene,* just use the points to define a mesh! And if there are not enough features for you to re-create the scene, insert zero weighted trackers (ZWT) that don’t affect the camera solution but will position themselves in the correct place in your 3d environment. And if you need more organic shapes to be rebuilt, add thousands of 3d-points all at once to build your mesh. You can even texture that mesh by using camera-projection right within Syntheyes, to test if camera-mapping will work later in your 3d- or compositing-application.



Solving Tripod shots* – with 3d environment?

The common problem with tripod shots is that it is impossible to get any usable 3d information out of just a camera-pan. The solution of the camera movement might be good, still it can be hard to position it in a reasonable and exact way in 3d-space. That problem can quickly be solved with Syntheye’s lens-tools. Use any straight perspective lines in one frame of your tripod-shot to setup a coordinate system that let’s you position objects in your scene more easily – that makes life easier for the 3d-artist! You can even use that method on still images.



A moving camera – and a moving object!

Although primarily a camera-tracker, Syntheyes does a really good job at object-tracking. The last chapter of this tutorial shows you how to track camera and objects in one scene altogether, how to setup their coordinate systems and how to orient them in 3d-space. You can really do amazing things with this great software. Make sure you have some time and your favorite compositing and 3d application at hand! You’ll want to try out all these goodies immediately!



About the Author

Sebastian König is a German 3D-artist who is working as a freelancer and CG-instructor for several years now. During his studies for Education of Art he discovered the joy of modeling and creating 3D-Animations with Blender and hasn’t stopped since.* Being a passionate Blender-User he has been teaching Blender at the University of Art and Design Halle/Germany.* He has been working for various studios and companies as a 3D-Artist and freelancer.* During the dozens of projects and jobs he completed with Blender he got a profound knowledge of almost every aspect of this great Open-Source 3D-application. Since 2010 he is an official Blender Foundation Certified Trainer.

This video is available today at the cmiVFX store. cmiVFX Video Player Online Store http://cmivfx.com/store/Browse.aspx?Category=20

About cmiVFX

cmiVFX is not a conventional training company. We know that a problem can have many solutions and we aim to drive the industry with the latest information available for our user base. Our training is aimed at expanding your marketability so that you can get and maintain a consistent revenue stream. Don’t be fooled by our pretty pictures! We mean business here at cmiVFX. Its one thing to be able to create a pretty image, but its another thing to know how to create it for the proper venue. At cmiVFX, your will learn the difference!



cmiVFX is the leader in High Definition Video Training for the Visual Effects Community. Register for FREE and receive hours of FREE content at cmiVFX: http://www.cmivfx.com/cmi_vod.html For additional information about cmiVFX, visit www.cmivfx.com. © 2010 cmiVFX | cmiStudios. All rights reserved.

I’m looking to create my own 18% grey ball for my VFX shoots and I’m wondering if anyone has found some good spraypaint online that I could use to make one with.

Thanks!