3D on TV?

Mr S

Hi,

Does anybody here have any knowledge about what software is used in the production of 3D graphics used on Television?
When you actually take time to watch out for this type of stuff it is amazing just how commonplace it is.

Nearly 50% of the adverts seem to use 3D graphics in one way or the other.
I assume they use the industry standards such as 3DS MAX, Maya, Lightwave etc. Or do I assume wrong?

But what about things like the News?
Often, things like a plane crash will appear on the news and within hours a 3D simulation is shown to illustrate what happened. There simply isn't enough time to render these animations so they must work in (almost?) real time.
What software and hardware is used to produce these images?

Regards
Mr S

dylan

I think Cinema 4D is also used a lot.

It would be interesting to get the input from someone who actually works in this line.

ScottPara

I would say there are a lot of them but some being bigger than others and after talking to a friend in LA who works in the film industry this is the list he gave:

For motion/Animation
3D Max
Maya
Cinema 4D
XSi
After Effects

Those would be the most used. It truly all depends on what is needed.

Scott

solo

http://usa.autodesk.com/industries/media-entertainment/television

http://download.autodesk.com/us/smoke/smoke12/

Gaieus

Hm. I once made an animation for a national TV channel here with a straight SU output. They actually liked it. They even came to my place to make interviews and such (true it wasn't an "illustration" for something more important but it was the topic about)

linea

I have a friend who does ads for UEFA, I know they use Lightwave, I'll ask him what else they use.

johnsenior1973

@linea said:

I have a friend who does ads for UEFA,

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Mr S

Hi All,

Thanks for those links, Pete.

The software listed claims to enable you to "get on air fast"
TV stations obviously can't wait hours, days or weeks to produce 3D images.
This is what I was curious about. How can they produce high quality work so fast?

That list refreshed my memory.
Software listed for doing this type of work are:

Flame
Flare
Flint
Inferno
Lustre
Smoke

If I remember rightly, this software runs on Linux only. Why?
Why no Windows versions (or Mac)?

If these programs are restricted to such a minority OS platform how do people ever get to learn it?
Can this only be done by getting a job in the TV industry?
Is it just a case of software vendors "restricting" this software to the media industries so they can put high price tags on them and charge for support etc?

Has anyone any experience of using this software?

I am aware of the Video Toaster: http://www.newtek.com/vt/index.php
But I am pretty sure that this is aimed at smaller media companies who can't afford the big bucks like the BBC etc.

Lots of questions!

Regards
Mr S

linea

john wrote
@unknownuser said:

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

something I said? I don't get what you mean john.

mr s wrote
@unknownuser said:

Flame,...Smoke

......this software runs on Linux only. Why?
Why no Windows versions (or Mac)?

If these programs are restricted to such a minority OS platform how do people ever get to learn it?

but
Just an uninformed guess (probably not what your after) do these programs run on unix so almost by default run on linux? Either way, if you can afford the software, linux is free.

johnsenior1973

@linea said:

john wrote
@unknownuser said:

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

something I said? I don't get what you mean john.

The boo was for UEFA.

johnsenior1973

@mr s said:

If I remember rightly, this software runs on Linux only. Why?
Why no Windows versions (or Mac)?

Inferno

Inferno is a high-end system for visual effects creation, originally designed by Discreet before they were bought by Autodesk.

It is used primarily for high-speed compositing and effects on feature films and television commercials. In the past, Inferno has run on SGI workstations. Its fast performance means minimal rendering times, so artistic decisions can be made during a session with directors or clients. Inferno systems are priced in the range of half a million to a million dollars (USD).

When SGI supercomputers began to lag behind in performance compared to other emerging technologies, Autodesk moved the Inferno package to 64-bit Linux workstations which take advantage of GPU acceleration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodesk_Media_and_Entertainment

Alex Jenyon

Most of the post houses I've worked for in London who do TV work (idents, commercials, bumpers etc.) use Maya as their 3D solution, and then send the renders for compositing in Inferno or Flame.

Long-form TV tends to have the same pipeline as film - 3D in Maya, followed by compositing in Shake / Nuke.

Cinema4D seems reasonably common for motion graphics / logo work in TV, usually supported by After Effects for compositing.

Note that this is only based on my own experience - but as a (rough) rule of thumb:

3D applications:

Film / TV: Maya (occasionally Houdini or XSI)
Games / Arch-vis: mainly 3DS Max (occasionally Lightwave or Maya)
Motion graphics / Pre-vis: Cinema4D (occasionally Lightwave)

Compositing:

Commercials / Idents: Inferno or Flame
Film / TV long form: Shake / Nuke (occasionally Fusion)
Motion Graphics: After Effects
Games / Arch-vis: Don't really do compositing