This is fantastic!
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http://www.etereaestudios.com/movies/fallingwater_movies/fallingwater_mov_qt.htm
Unfortunately I can only get half of the movie to load. Anybody else get it to load all the way? Do you have to have Quicktime Pro to load the whole thing?
Anyway, even if I only get to see half, it is fantastic.
Check out the home page too... Here is a link to the Works section, the portfolio.
http://www.etereaestudios.com/docs_html/general_index_htm/works_01.htm
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i saw this over at the PPB 2 forums.. i couldnt even see half the movie.. i took the divx format to see it though.. gotta try it with QT!
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DANG!!!
That's awesome, thanks for sharing.
The interior is amazing, wow!!
What app was used for that???
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I noticed on the WIP stills that Modo was being used. Probably not the only app though.
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Well, that is so good it is depressing.
I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that native sketchup animations just don't cut it when clients are beginning to be aware of this level of sophistication.
I am putting together a large series of animation for a proposal and to say that it looks wooden and computery compared to this is a huge understatement. Between jagged lines flickering across the screen as a model rotates, and moire patterns swirling around on the roof and siding textures, and less than predictable exports (at times) I am suddenly feeling quite amateurish.
I have no idea what amount of time went into fallingwater, but I am sure it was a huge amount. Between modeling, texturing, setting all the lights for rendering, the actual time exporting out a rendered animation (had to have been weeks of rendering, probably in many passes) and post production (itself a huge and varied task) we are talking a level of product that has to be very expensive.
My concern is that clients see this sort of animation, as well as Pixar/Disney stuff and that is the level that they come to comprehend as "good" with no thought about the hundreds and thousands of hours required to produce it. So, they see a non-rendered animation with minimal effects and they are less than impressed, though the price is still not cheap as we are still talking about modeling, texturing, setting scenes, exporting, post, etc.
I suppose I am having a bit of a crisis of confidence because I just can't compete with this level of sophistication and knowing that it is possible makes me even more less than thrilled with what I am producing.
sigh................
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!WOW!
Boo...got it all to load (love my 2gig of ram:`) but the last fifth is credits.
Chuck...such is the way of the world, some just get to play and play, and for the big bucks too.
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Chuck, just tell your clients who see stuff like this that you can do it but it will take at least 400% more money and a 6 month delivery time. That way you can buy the proper software and learn how to do it.
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Good idea Eric!
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someone sent this to me yesterday....so awesome.
i too need to find something other than sketchup to do animations in
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@solo said:
DANG!!!
That's awesome, thanks for sharing.
The interior is amazing, wow!!
What app was used for that???
Number 3 on the FAQ lists the software.
http://www.etereaestudios.com/docs_html/general_index_htm/faq.htmI never heard of it beofre... E.I.A.S.
http://eitechnologygroup.com/products/electric_image_animation_system -
I guess what bums me out is that I am a compulsive perfectionist and I have an inner angst when I see that awesome things other people are doing and I know that I am not in a market that will allow me to even approach this level of animation.
I am a one man operation, and I wouldn't have it any other way, so this sort of product is really beyond my reach and that is a drag. I want to be able to produce top of the line and technology has basically made it impossible for me, as a solo guy, to do that.
Oh well, I guess it's back to spending all day filling in the lines that Sketchup's dxf exports (which is very poor IMHO) left out.
I have this funny, yucky, feeling that Sketchup is rapidly not keeping up with the Joneses. What was awesome and impressive 4-5 years ago begins to pale against things that are happing now. And, unfortunately, I really think that being in Google's hands (who, let's face it, are only interested in populating Google Earth with low poly rudimentary 3D structures) will end up being the kiss of death for Sketchup going in the direction that professionals who are as interested, if not more so, in output (be it animation, still images, blueprints, etc.) than ease of modeling will need to compete in an increasingly knowledgable and demanding market
The time I save modeling in Sketchup, (whose interface and ease and speed of modeling is most excellent and satisfactory, of course) begins to look not so impressive when you start spending tons of time cleaning up dxf exports, post processing animations to achieve a professional product, not to mention having to use ver 5 1/2 the time due to export issues with ver 6.
Perhaps I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, but I have a increasingly disturbing feeling that two years from now, I won't be able to use Sketchup anymore because the work arounds and poor export product will just not be satisfactory for the sophisticated market in which we will be working.
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@unknownuser said:
@solo said:
DANG!!!
That's awesome, thanks for sharing.
The interior is amazing, wow!!
What app was used for that???
Number 3 on the FAQ lists the software.
http://www.etereaestudios.com/docs_html/general_index_htm/faq.htmI never heard of it beofre... E.I.A.S.
http://eitechnologygroup.com/products/electric_image_animation_systemAnd no mention of Sketchup, as if we are already falling of the map, so to speak.
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I feel you Chuck.
Did you notice however that Eterea is a one man show?
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Could it be that while SketchUp was once "novel" and "new" it has now become "standard" and "old"? As a result its lost some of its "cool", perhaps losing a bit more with the free version?
Are the old glory days gone?
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I did notice that Eterea is a one man show. That is impressive, no doubt. My hat is definitely off to him. Like I said in my earlier post, his animations are so good they are depressing. It just feels to me like the "bar" is continually being set higher and higher and Sketchup hasn't really improved in years. In fact, somethings have gotten worse.
I definitely think the glory days have passed us by. I'm just starting to wonder if I need to move on to softwares that are both producing high end output and are showing a track record for wanting to improve and evolve.
I think Cheetah3D, a modeling/rendering software that is mac only is a perfect example of a software developer who is heading in the right direction. He has something like 6 updates since the flawed Sketchup 6 came out, and when I say updates, I am talking about significant additions and improvements to major portions of the software. The silence out of Boulder is deafening. If it wasn't for Craig, think how silent it would be...............
And Layout is still beta?!?! I mean, I find all of this very disturbing and definitely not encouraging for the future.
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I have to agree with Kannonbal. Sketchup really does seem slow to progress. Not to take away from the "Killer" tool that it is, since Sketchup has truly caused for my 3D abilities to be where they are today. I have to admit that I'am disapointed that Sketchup does not seem to progress with the times. There seems to be so many 3rd party application that have come out since V.6 and have continued to pregress when SketchUp has not. I just want to get excited for some new Sketchup stuff.
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The little thought and research I've given just recently to animation added to this thread prompts me to ask: Is there another 3d program more suited to presentation that will accept skippys? One that will take the work I get paid to do and jump it to the next level?
SU5's my main man and as much of one as I will ever need for my little practice. I use SU6 only for photo match (and rarely use that interface, just the image background and fuss it match on my own...I haven't yet even downloaded the latest beta release :`)
But so far, every time I've dangled a carrot in front of my clients they've followed along if it hasn't appeared to cost too much...which means I've been paid some for learning and having fun. I'm certainly willing to raise the bar for myself.
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There are plenty of softwares that will accept 3ds, fbx, or obj formats, all of which Sketchup Pro will export. As far as taking skippies, that list is much smaller, and perhaps empty in the Mac world.
Tom, I, too, am running a "small" business. I have actually been a custom builder and furniture maker for the last 17 years and architectural visualization is a pretty recent reinvention of myself. When I first learned about Sketchup it was the closest thing to religion I had encountered in a long time. I mean, I was a total believer. But, I have a nasty habit of pushing envelopes and taking things to their limits. And my initial euphoria is waning because I have run up against limitations that are not being addressed. There are no quick and easy (one of the things that Sketchup completely kicks a#$ at) solutions for quality presentations. At the least, it takes a few softwares working together and lots of practice. My main workflow usually starts with Sketchup, then Quicktime Pro, Photoshop, Cheetah3D, autopanoPro for my cycloramas, Cubic converter to make my virtual tours, etc. etc.
But, and this is a big but, almost every software I work with, other than Sketchup, has really improved drastically in the last 2 years. Compare, for example, the difference between the most recent Photoshop (CS3) update and Sketchup's. Photoshop worked flawlessly from the get go, added features that were not only really useful, but WORKED right out of the box, and there has been not one update since it released because they had it right when they released it. Compare that to Sketchup's release, which was fraught with peril right from the get go (remember the license fiasco, thank god for Craig for helping us all out during that crazy couple of weeks) and was a less than amazing update. Just like you, Tom, I still use ver 5 for almost everything and I use an Intel Mac which means that big models suck to navigate through.
How crazy is that! We were given a free copy of SU6, which everyone had been waiting for, for what seemed like ages, and a lot of us have tried it and gone back to 5. Yikes! And Layout has been a terrible disappointment; there has been talk about "grizzly" for almost three years and Layout is still it's original beta from 9 months ago!?! And needs so many work arounds as to be almost useless. Yikes again. And I need Layout; I would love to use Layout, but it is not the best piece of software.
Spence, I hear you!! I was so excited that morning when I logged into the Sketchup forums and saw that 6 had just released. It was like Christmas for adults. And it has been nothing but downhill since that moment. Everything since has been one letdown after another.
The ONLY bright spot has been this forum!! Can you imagine how low we would be without it? Where would we be if Coen hadn't stepped and pulled off a miracle? I am just saying................
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So... check out this bad boy on Eterea's site:
http://www.etereaestudios.com/docs_html/sentinel_htm/sentinel_index.htm -
I have been using SU since version 4, I too had a revelation the day I found SU and downloaded (I think) the 4 or 8 hour trial. I purchased Vue easel in order to render my models months afterwards, but it failed to handle interiors as I needed. I absolutely love using SU, the interface is comfortable and easy to learn. Coming from a Max 4 backround SU modelling ran rings around everything, and it (with a little effort) imported my CAD designs and could turn them into models with just a push and pull. These days my workflow has improved and now use up to six apps in order to get my products out the way I like them, I also have moved on from just a 2d flat CAD design to a 3d SU model, then a 3d rendered model, to a 3d rendering and SU animation, to now a CAD based SU model that is animated with Max 9, Vue 6 or Maya 8.
Seeing the waterfall clip is so inspirational, gets me wanting to strive to achieve results like that, or even better, sure it will involve many hours of learning, but the result of achievement worth every moment.The earning potential alone with those skills and results is worth the extra effort.
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