Oh the things we learn we never dreamed we would ever need to know. After far too long, I've finally gotten around to working on Rosentendo & Guildenwii (working title), a machinima piece based on a tennis theme.
Actually I have been working on it for a while. I've bought 2 different tennis games over Steam, and figured out how to play them (as previously mentioned not something I would do otherwise).
Today, however, I knuckled down to figure out what shots I needed and set to work with FRAPS. Before long I had enough clips to get started. I fired up Adobe Premiere Pro, imported the files, and thought I was cooking. That was until I discovered that the audio on 3 of the 7 files disappeared after 33 frames. Drag.
Well, obviously, google to the rescue. Seriously, google is starting to scare me, the way it knows all that is known. But i digress. The point is that one quickly learns that A, fraps doesn't have its own forum, and B, the fraps codec isn't premiere friendly.
clearly, a conversion is in order, and as Im on a budget, a free tool was a priority. VirtualDub is well know to the machinima community to so that was my first choice, and it did work. But the file sizes weren't so good and I didn't trust the ancient codecs that appeared on its default list of choices.
back to google, and presto! HuffYuv pops up double-quick. Download, install, and I'm good to go seconds later, right? SORRY!
Didn't work. But I've been learning. Could VISTA be the culprit? Google says, 'Youbetcha!'. But Google also says, 'wise man reads forum post, learns complicated method for installing codec!' And sure enough, after carefully following instructions, Premiere Pro is playing my clips, with Audio. But who knew I'd be learning how to authorize Administrator level installs by typing 'cmd' in the run-box and pressing Ctrl-Shift-Enter? Or even that I'm teaching myself Premiere, even though I already use Avid and Final Cut Pro on a regular basis? Complete the trifecta, I guess.
Stay tuned, y'all for upcoming video.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
I'm not a machinimator, but I play one on the web
This isn't strictly machinima related. However!
A while back I found out about a neat program called 'Animata'. Nifty 2d puppeteering programming. Sort of like Anime Studio, but without the drawing tools, and performed live instead of keyframed.
Anyway, I wanted to use it. Thing is, it was never written as a product for public consumption. The creators used it for their own performance needs and afterwards decided to release it into the wild. So there's no support beyond the user group. Now admittedly, the creators are very active on that list, offering quick response to questions. But there's no manual, no readme, and just a few basic tutorials.
The thing is, to do any actual puppeteering you need another application that can send OSC messages. Don't know what OSC messages are? Neither did I.
That brings me to the point of this post. The internet. Or rather, how things have changed in my lifetime. My entire experience with Animata is conditioned on the tremendous role in my life of the internet.
How did I hear about Animata? On somebody's blog. Where did I get it? I downloaded it. How did I finally figure out that I needed another program to act as a puppeteering controller? By posting a question to the email list. How did I figure out what OSC messages are? Google. Of course.
But it doesn't stop there. You can't just download a OSC compatible puppeteering app.
[Hold on a sec, let me google that to be sure. Dang, its seems that there's Touch Designer. I'm going to have to d/l that and check it out. Its a programming environment, but it sounds like its a much higher level environment than Processing, which is what I"m using. More on that in a moment. Touch Designer is only WinXP only, Vista with caveats, and I'm bi-curious mac and pc. So its not an ideal solution for me, but hey, its free (non-commercially).]
To puppeteer with Animata, you've got to create something that sends appropriate OSC messages. I gleaned from the fora (there's that internet again) that PureData and Processing, two open-source programming environments, are popular options. Max/MSP is another, but it's proprietary and expensive. Once again off to the internet to download both PD and Processing. Take a moment, to consider the 'open source' movement, of which both PD and Processing are stellar examples. The internet is the oxygen that sustains it; without the internet, no open source software, shareware, freeware or donation-ware would be remotely possible. Certainly what I'm doing right now.
As it turned out, PureData wasn't working on my mac. Off to the forums in search of help. Alas, this time I was foiled; no help was forthcoming. I was bummed because I really liked the look of its graphical, rather than text-based, programming metaphor. Ah well, Processing was the winner. I can only handle learning one programming language at a time anyway. And though I used to write code all the time, and used to have pretty decent C chops, object-oriented programming is rather mystifying. It was just a theoretical construct back when I was stuffing 6502 machine code into the memory (a whopping 48KB; my 4GB laptop has 87,381 times more memory!) of my ATARI 800 with POKE statements!
Anyway, back to puppeteering with Animata. So I know that I should be able to write an interface for Animata using Processing; first thing I have to figure out is how to send OSC messages. Back on the internet, I learn about and download an OSC library for Processing. After much pulling of hair, a query to the mailing list set me straight (there was a typo on one of the few tutorial pages for animata), and I was able to control bones and joints in Animata using the mouse in a Processing app.
So now I'm cookin'! Next brilliant idea is to use my midi keyboard as a controller. Now I have to figure out how to use midi from Processing. By now I'd gotten good at this combing the internet for this sort of stuff, and in fairly short order got it all going on. Of course, I had to download a couple more libraries for Processing and update Java on my mac, but I got there!
From here there lies a fork in the road ahead. On one side I can start writing a midi implementation, which would be cool because that would allow me to use midi sequencers to help control the puppets' animation. On the other side is motion tracking; creating a system to control puppets through a video camera. I'm starting with the midi; its easier code to write, and I really like the idea that off-the-shelf sequencers can help me animate!!!
The video camera idea sounds incredibly cool. The reverse shadow theater example on the Animata website is terribly cool, but after doing a bit of internet searching I suspect that it will suck up a lot of my psychic resources. There's something called EyesWeb, but its Windows only (see above), and non-trivial.
Meanwhile, today I crossed the first hurdle. I wrote a Sketch (that's what programs are called in Processing) that translates key presses on my midi keyboard into skeleton animation. That opens the door; all the main conceptual obstacles have been cleared. Learning Processing woud have been impossible without the internet. Not long ago the only way to have learned a programming language like this would have been from a book; today I can use the awesome online documentation available at Processing.org.
[Seriously, if you're interesting in good website and documentation design, check out the site. the language is fully documented and cross-referenced with code examples that execute in-browser. What an asset when trying to figure out how to do stuff with it!]
The next big step is to really master Animata, which, as I mentioned comes with no documentation. (I think I volunteered myself to start a wiki about it.) The rigging process in particular is challenging. Stay tuned!
A while back I found out about a neat program called 'Animata'. Nifty 2d puppeteering programming. Sort of like Anime Studio, but without the drawing tools, and performed live instead of keyframed.
Anyway, I wanted to use it. Thing is, it was never written as a product for public consumption. The creators used it for their own performance needs and afterwards decided to release it into the wild. So there's no support beyond the user group. Now admittedly, the creators are very active on that list, offering quick response to questions. But there's no manual, no readme, and just a few basic tutorials.
The thing is, to do any actual puppeteering you need another application that can send OSC messages. Don't know what OSC messages are? Neither did I.
That brings me to the point of this post. The internet. Or rather, how things have changed in my lifetime. My entire experience with Animata is conditioned on the tremendous role in my life of the internet.
How did I hear about Animata? On somebody's blog. Where did I get it? I downloaded it. How did I finally figure out that I needed another program to act as a puppeteering controller? By posting a question to the email list. How did I figure out what OSC messages are? Google. Of course.
But it doesn't stop there. You can't just download a OSC compatible puppeteering app.
[Hold on a sec, let me google that to be sure. Dang, its seems that there's Touch Designer. I'm going to have to d/l that and check it out. Its a programming environment, but it sounds like its a much higher level environment than Processing, which is what I"m using. More on that in a moment. Touch Designer is only WinXP only, Vista with caveats, and I'm bi-curious mac and pc. So its not an ideal solution for me, but hey, its free (non-commercially).]
To puppeteer with Animata, you've got to create something that sends appropriate OSC messages. I gleaned from the fora (there's that internet again) that PureData and Processing, two open-source programming environments, are popular options. Max/MSP is another, but it's proprietary and expensive. Once again off to the internet to download both PD and Processing. Take a moment, to consider the 'open source' movement, of which both PD and Processing are stellar examples. The internet is the oxygen that sustains it; without the internet, no open source software, shareware, freeware or donation-ware would be remotely possible. Certainly what I'm doing right now.
As it turned out, PureData wasn't working on my mac. Off to the forums in search of help. Alas, this time I was foiled; no help was forthcoming. I was bummed because I really liked the look of its graphical, rather than text-based, programming metaphor. Ah well, Processing was the winner. I can only handle learning one programming language at a time anyway. And though I used to write code all the time, and used to have pretty decent C chops, object-oriented programming is rather mystifying. It was just a theoretical construct back when I was stuffing 6502 machine code into the memory (a whopping 48KB; my 4GB laptop has 87,381 times more memory!) of my ATARI 800 with POKE statements!
Anyway, back to puppeteering with Animata. So I know that I should be able to write an interface for Animata using Processing; first thing I have to figure out is how to send OSC messages. Back on the internet, I learn about and download an OSC library for Processing. After much pulling of hair, a query to the mailing list set me straight (there was a typo on one of the few tutorial pages for animata), and I was able to control bones and joints in Animata using the mouse in a Processing app.
So now I'm cookin'! Next brilliant idea is to use my midi keyboard as a controller. Now I have to figure out how to use midi from Processing. By now I'd gotten good at this combing the internet for this sort of stuff, and in fairly short order got it all going on. Of course, I had to download a couple more libraries for Processing and update Java on my mac, but I got there!
From here there lies a fork in the road ahead. On one side I can start writing a midi implementation, which would be cool because that would allow me to use midi sequencers to help control the puppets' animation. On the other side is motion tracking; creating a system to control puppets through a video camera. I'm starting with the midi; its easier code to write, and I really like the idea that off-the-shelf sequencers can help me animate!!!
The video camera idea sounds incredibly cool. The reverse shadow theater example on the Animata website is terribly cool, but after doing a bit of internet searching I suspect that it will suck up a lot of my psychic resources. There's something called EyesWeb, but its Windows only (see above), and non-trivial.
Meanwhile, today I crossed the first hurdle. I wrote a Sketch (that's what programs are called in Processing) that translates key presses on my midi keyboard into skeleton animation. That opens the door; all the main conceptual obstacles have been cleared. Learning Processing woud have been impossible without the internet. Not long ago the only way to have learned a programming language like this would have been from a book; today I can use the awesome online documentation available at Processing.org.
[Seriously, if you're interesting in good website and documentation design, check out the site. the language is fully documented and cross-referenced with code examples that execute in-browser. What an asset when trying to figure out how to do stuff with it!]
The next big step is to really master Animata, which, as I mentioned comes with no documentation. (I think I volunteered myself to start a wiki about it.) The rigging process in particular is challenging. Stay tuned!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Hairpin Learning Curve
Getting a PC has really jump-started my machinimaking. It would be nice to be able to use my Mac for all my needs but that's just not the case.
For example, I've been working on a piece with tennis as the central metaphor. While I admit I didn't do an exhaustive search, I wasn't able to find a suitable tennis platform on the mac. Ideally I would have liked to use TopSpin3, but that is still console-only. Buying a console is definitely not in my budget. TopSpin2, however, is cheap on Steam. Plus buying it though Steam saved me a trip to GameStop.
Now I've actually got to learn how to play the game, and curse the luck, play it well. Oh, and I've got to start combing game boards to see if there are any hacks for removing the HUD and other onscreen graphics. In short, I need to know all there is to know about T0pSpin2 in a hurry. And here's the rub. I'm not particularly interested in the game - for its own sake at least. Shazzbat!
For example, I've been working on a piece with tennis as the central metaphor. While I admit I didn't do an exhaustive search, I wasn't able to find a suitable tennis platform on the mac. Ideally I would have liked to use TopSpin3, but that is still console-only. Buying a console is definitely not in my budget. TopSpin2, however, is cheap on Steam. Plus buying it though Steam saved me a trip to GameStop.
Now I've actually got to learn how to play the game, and curse the luck, play it well. Oh, and I've got to start combing game boards to see if there are any hacks for removing the HUD and other onscreen graphics. In short, I need to know all there is to know about T0pSpin2 in a hurry. And here's the rub. I'm not particularly interested in the game - for its own sake at least. Shazzbat!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Tempus fugit
Yeesh! Has it really been four months since I last posted an entry?
Sadly, yes. But here I am again. The big news is that I've finally reacquired a PC, and thereby the ability to run some key machinima apps I'm interested in: iClone, GTA IV, Steam, Machinimation Studio, Far Cry, and others. Sims, Spore, Top Spin, to name a few.ada Psyched!
So stay tuned to this space. I've got a clutch of short scripts to get done, and even a few bigger projects.
Sadly, yes. But here I am again. The big news is that I've finally reacquired a PC, and thereby the ability to run some key machinima apps I'm interested in: iClone, GTA IV, Steam, Machinimation Studio, Far Cry, and others. Sims, Spore, Top Spin, to name a few.ada Psyched!
So stay tuned to this space. I've got a clutch of short scripts to get done, and even a few bigger projects.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Devil's Playground
I've been neglecting my blogs, and that's because I've been neglecting my machinima.
As usual, the root cause is too many distractions. In my defense, some were calendrical: the holidays rolled through like a typhoon, both in my work and family life. Nevertheless, just as I'm starting to get the hang of Blender, along comes Animata. And all the while Im working with SketchUp and MovieStorm and Studio Artist. Oh, and PhotoShop, Illustrator, and AfterEffects, too.
These last three I'm actually pretty handy with. But mostly as a sort of 'swiss army knife' toolkit. I'm not as good creatively, using them as design tools rather than problem solvers. Of course this is a reflection more of my lack of design talent, but that's why I want to spend more time with them, to try up my game a bit creatively speaking.
Then our economy (and the world's) has this little hiccup, I'm sure you've heard of it, which has left me with more unbooked hours than I'd like. Well, idle hands are the devil's plaything, so I've decided to make use of my new found free time to tackle some of the larger projects I've been neglecting for too long. This being the 21st century, the obvious thing to do is to blog about it. Et voilá! - my new blog.
I wil not be neglecting machinima entirely of course, so do stay tuned here for updates.
As usual, the root cause is too many distractions. In my defense, some were calendrical: the holidays rolled through like a typhoon, both in my work and family life. Nevertheless, just as I'm starting to get the hang of Blender, along comes Animata. And all the while Im working with SketchUp and MovieStorm and Studio Artist. Oh, and PhotoShop, Illustrator, and AfterEffects, too.
These last three I'm actually pretty handy with. But mostly as a sort of 'swiss army knife' toolkit. I'm not as good creatively, using them as design tools rather than problem solvers. Of course this is a reflection more of my lack of design talent, but that's why I want to spend more time with them, to try up my game a bit creatively speaking.
Then our economy (and the world's) has this little hiccup, I'm sure you've heard of it, which has left me with more unbooked hours than I'd like. Well, idle hands are the devil's plaything, so I've decided to make use of my new found free time to tackle some of the larger projects I've been neglecting for too long. This being the 21st century, the obvious thing to do is to blog about it. Et voilá! - my new blog.
I wil not be neglecting machinima entirely of course, so do stay tuned here for updates.
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