Digital Video - September 2007 - (Page 46)

Imagination In Action Pre-viz animation software isn’t just for big-league players anymore. BY DAVID E. WILLIAMS D igital pre-visualization, or “pre-viz,” specifically refers to the creation and use of fullmotion, 3D digital storyboards and animatics in preproduction to simulate specific shots or effects—allowing creatives to make decisions about composition, angles, camera movement and cutting strategies before their cameras ever start to roll. Today, a number of major independent pre-viz companies—including Proof, Inc., Pixel Liberation Front and Halon Entertainment—use such highend, complex software as Maya and Lightwave to complete digital design work for the industry, helping to devise such disparate scenes as highoctane car chases (in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof), swashbuckling battles (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End) and superhero adventures (Spider-Man 3). Interesting, but what does this have to do with smaller producers that can’t afford such services? Ten years ago, the VFX department was the only sector of production that had the computing power and 3D animation software necessary to do pre-viz work. But times have changed: even the most humble production now has access to plenty of processing power, as well as innovative 3D animation software designed specifically for pre-viz work, replete with intuitive interfaces that require no animation training. These are pre-viz tools for the rest of us, allowing anyone to create a useful full-motion proofof-concept piece with little more than a capable PC or Mac workstation and the software package of their choice. Antics The Cambridge, U.K.-based developer Antics Technologies recently began upgrading its real-time animation pre-viz software, with the first stage (version 2.5) released in April. The second upgrade, version 3.0, is due in December. Retailing for $595, Antics uses a videogame engine that allows you to not only create a 3D environment for their virtual production but control human characters and tactile objects within it— including a variety of CG props ranging from a cuddly baby to a machine gun. The resulting fullmotion storyboards can be exported to QuickTime for review and editing. New features in Antics v2.5 include a reduction in the of mouse-clicks necessary to navigate the program, achieved by merging the Move and Rotate tools, providing middle mouse wheel Camera Rotation control and offering enhanced keyboard shortcuts. The Antics timeline now supports exporting to QuickTime, the playing and output to a video file between ranges, the output of sequences of images and full preservation of the alpha channel information. In terms of content, v2.5 offers a new library of more than 200 poses with additional content packs available that include a range of new characters. Also new is the Floor Markers function. A standard method for blocking character choreography in film, television and theater is to place helper markers on the floor to facilitate actors’ movement to the right location. The Floor Markers tool gives Antics users more control over their digital characters, allowing them to specify not only a target destination for the character’s movement but also the character’s path. After the release of v2.5, Antics Technologies’ focus will be on openness and ease of use—facilitat- 44 DV SEPTEMBER 2007 WWW.DV.COM http://www.dv.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Digital Video - September 2007

Contents News AG-HPX500 HD Camcorder First Look: Color V8000HD 8" LCD Monitor Shoulder Mount System Instant Expert Close-Ups Fest Cercuit Q&A Flight Plan Cutter's Way Imagination in Action Motion Graphics Production Diary

Digital Video - September 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.