Digital Video - April 2008 - (Page 24) IN REVIEW ANTICS V3 descriptions. All the familiar elements are there — the construct and direct modes, camera and character controls. Antics is designed around a Windowsbased GUI. You have your 3-D workspace, a Set List for organizing individual scene elements and a Project Bin for all your project elements. Creating sophisticated scenes with voices, interacting characters and elaborate camera moves may take some time, but getting started can be as easy as building a floor and walls into your 3-D space and then simply dropping props and characters into the environment. Sets can be as small as a bedroom, or as huge as a city block. At this point, your only limitation will probably be the speed of your computer (recommended spec requirements: 3GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 128MB video card with support for Open GL 1.4). One of the most noticeable V3 additions is a content viewer that allows the user to sample any one of the hundreds of detailed characters, props, sounds, textures or animations before they are implemented. The viewer can browse asset libraries on local or remote sources, such as Antics’ own expansive online Content Warehouse. Users also have the option of importing 3-D model files from For version 3, Antics has AWARD OF other programs for manipulation in the Antics environment. A adopted the mantra “3-D animanew feature I found particularly tion for everyone” and has skewed away from a strictly pre- EXCELLENCE useful is the ability to scale virtually any object to any size. If a viz approach to embrace the door is too big, use your mouse or enter a fields of machinima, 3-D hobbyists, educanumber value to scale it down. Need a tion and military, police, and fire training. pear the size of a beach ball? Scale it up. Opening the software up to a wider All elements in the 3-D environment audience required a jump in accessibility, react intuitively towards each other. If you and for those who aren’t familiar with direct your CG character towards a desk Antics, the latest release is a great way to chair, he or she will automatically sit in it. get acquainted. The developers have manWalk someone up to a book on a bookaged to add a boatload of new features to shelf and click the “pick up button” and the program and have also streamlined its the character will grab an item. All characcontrols — the “drag and drop, point and ters come designed with a series of builtclick” aspects have been greatly emphain animations that are tagged to correlate sized. For me, jumping back into Antics to whatever objects are being interacted after a long absence proved to be relativewith, be it inanimate or another virtual ly painless, and after some befuddled clickactor. The system isn’t infallible, however. ing about, I either remembered what funcSometimes I would perform what I tions did what, or was guided to the thought was an easy point-A-to-point-B answer by helpful button icons or pop-up SIMULATIONS FOR DUMMIES BY IAIN STASUKEVICH hen I tested Antics version 2 last year, it was as a director of photography who was intrigued by the software’s potential as an affordable and user-friendly previsualization tool. My impression was that while Antics was an extremely versatile program, its steep learning curve and somewhat obtuse interface made it better suited for the enterprising production designer or individuals with storyboarding or 3-D animation backgrounds. ANTICS’ UPDATE FURTHER SIMPLIFIES ITS 3-D PREVIZ PROCESS. W DV SCORE ANTICS V3 PROS: Improves on previous versions in almost every way; flexible interface; easy to use. CONS: Can be a little buggy at times. BOTTOM LINE: Can easily be used as a multi-purpose visual aid. MSRP: $595 CONTACT: www.antics3d.com 24 dv april 2008 www.dv.com http://www.antics3d.com http://www.dv.com
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