Hi,

Getting optimised visopt settings would be great.
I look forward to you posting interior settings as well.

I would like to help out more here but I am off on holiday tonight.
(Spending 10 days at Coral Bay in Cyprus. Lovely!)

For this to work and obtain any results that can be properly compared don't we all need to use the same test scene?

Anyway, just as a very quick test, I made this scene and rendered it using your "SRVeryHigh.visopt".
(Yes, I changed the file names).

Don't know if it helps you at all, but see attached.

Regards
Mr S

Optimised_Visopts_Test.skp

I have just tried to download the files from the link you provided.
But I am getting the message "This user is out of bandwidth".

Obviously there has been a fantastic demand (surprise, surprise!) for your work.
Can you supply new links so I can download them?
Thanks.

Regards
Mr S

Here are your last renders after a bit of tweaking in Photoshop using levels and contrast adjustment. If these look too bright on your monitor you really need to make some adjustments or get a new monitor.

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

If you want the windows to be real geometry I would make life easy for yourself by downloading and using the Windowiser plugin.
Visit: http://www.smustard.com/script/Windowizer3
If you are lazy, this is the simple and quick method.
This took me just minutes to create.

Absolutely superb.
Exquisite workmanship.

I would love to see this produced on a 3D printer.
To see this come to life with all that detail would be fantastic.
Could 3D printers cope with all that detail?

Some tutorials for us mere mortals would be appreciated.
Especially your creation of the ocean.

Regards
Mr S

Hi All,

Visit: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/02/national/main5129748.shtml
Click on the video clip towards the bottom of the page.
The comments section has some funny quips as well.

I think that had it just been teenage kids no real harm has been caused.
But they were primary school kids.
Not sure how this would have affected me at that age!
I don't think I would have liked to have seen any of my teachers in this way! But maybe thats because they were all butt ugly.

Cast your vote here!

Regards
Mr S

Wow!!
I am still drooling.
Can this really be true?
I looked for the NASA type computer specs needed to run this software.
But no, they claim simple off the shelf (top of the range) systems will suffice!!
Pete, did you just come across this software or is it something you have been aware of for some time?

Yes, the price is beyond most of us mere mortals, but if this technology becomes more mainstream then rendering as we have known it is redundant.

If, the claims made here are true, then this statement on their site is true.

@unknownuser said:

How does real-time 3D workflow change the cinematic language of CG production?

When the vocabulary of the process changes, the language of the image changes. A good comparison would be a reflection on how non-linear editing changed the cinematic language of filmmaking or how a product like PhotoShop redefined design and photography. MachStudio Pro redefines the 3D creation processes thereby creating a new language. Since lighting, materials and camera properties such as HDR and Depth of Field (DOF) are designed to be changed in relation to each other, a new visual language emerges in a single intuitive flow. We believe this will democratize the production process so that the winners are the artists with the best ideas and not just the ones with the most money or technical know-how.

I know what I want for Xmas!!

Regards
Mr S

I was going to add my 2 cents to this debate.
I watched as reasoned, rational, logical points were made.
And all that was provided in response was the same irrational (and always long!) quotes from the "holy scriptures". Quotes that can usually (and have) been interpreted to support any viewpoint you choose.

Pete, Alan, Stinkie, EscapeArtist etc, you are wasting time trying to reason with a "faith belief".

We just have to hope that one day the vast majority of people will start to see the world as viewed here: http://richarddawkins.net/

I don't agree with everything on this site but it has to be a much greater starting point than adopting those childish superstitions called religion.

Regards
Mr S

Hi pinari,

I would refer you to my original first post here.
Rising Anti-virus does a boot-time and memory scan before launching Windows.

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

I have just installed Windows 7 64bit.
Added 8gig of memory and everything seems to be zooming along nicely.

Now, I'm going to start installing my graphics applications.
Anybody here using SketchUp on this platform?
Any tips or tricks (or problems!) I need to be aware of?
I assume that Sketchup is not going to be much different due to it being 32bit?
Will any of the third party renderers show an improvement?

Any help appreciated?

Regards
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

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

They are superb images,
The metal, glass and stone textures are spot on.
These could easily be entered in to a "is it real or a 3D Render image" type of competition.
I have to congratulate you on you patience as well.
Modeling on almost a vertex by vertex basis takes real dedication.

Regards
Mr S

Hi Mike,

If all those tips work they are nice to know.
Though I hope I never have to try out the "forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM machine" solution.

Regards
Mr S

Hi Bob,

I was responsible for producing all the "bid" materials that were required by the Senior directors when pitching for new business. This could include Powerpoint presentations, portfolios, brochures, leaflets, large display prints, animations, videos, photography and of course 2D and (using SketchUp, of course!)3D visuals.
I believe that the high quality professional results I supplied helped win many of these bids.
Much of the work we do (did?) was in the public sector such as Healthcare, Schools, Universities etc.
Most of the potential clients involved in choosing which Architectural practice to award the bid to, are lay people.
2D CAD drawings mean nothing to the them. Only when they see 3D visuals do they understand what the proposals mean.
The quality of the supporting literature gave the potential client an indication as to the professional standards employed. After all, if an Architectural practice can't even produce a professional looking sales presentation what kind of building are you going to get from them?
My background is in Graphic Design. I can't design buildings, I leave that to the Architects.
Architects aren't Graphic Designers. They left the graphic design to me.
Or they used to. Now all the staff have been told that they have to produce it themselves.

I was also the unofficial desktop IT support guy. If any staff had software or hardware issues they came to see me.

Regards
Mr S

Hi modelhead (and others)

Just to thank you all again for your thoughts.
I have taken a while to respond to these posts because I wanted to re-read the posts, especially modelheads contribution as there were a great many points made that I wanted to carefully consider.
The upshot is I applied for the menial position and was offered the post.
24 hours later I informed them that I had changed my mind and no longer wanted the job.

I am 50 years of age so I am no spring chicken.
Being made redundant was a bad enough kick in the teeth but this "alternative" was just too humiliating for me to deal with.
Yes, I know, "Pride before a fall" and all that.
But in my previous position I had played a role in helping the company win millions of pounds worth of business.
In the six years that I was with them I was given three fairly substantial pay rises and told it was because they regarded me as a highly valued member of staff. Then the economic crisis hit and I was told that I was a luxury that they could no longer afford. So, along with eight other members of staff I would be made redundant.
No matter how hard I tried to sell it to myself, I couldn't persuade myself to, as modelhead put it, "throw your time away for a company that has essentially thrown you away".

This is my decision and my responsibility.
Fortunately, I have a wife and family who support me.

I was not being "snobbish" in turning down the "menial" job.
If I end up having to stack shelves in a supermarket to help pay the bills I will do so.
But to have been reduced to the level of "tea maker" and "photocopy" guy amongst my former colleagues was too much.

Hopefully, I will weather the storm and find something else in the not too distant future.

Thanks again.

Regards
Mr S

Hi All,

Solo recently posted a link to a video file showing what could be the future of computers.
It featured an "interactive" computer character called "Mylo".
Visit: http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/14354412/lionhead-mylo-project/videos/lionhead_natalproject_e3.html

I have just watched a film trailer that could be the ultimate result of all this.
I thought it looked interesting and entertaining. But I'm a sucker for Bruce Willis films.
Visit: http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/surrogates/large.html

Regards
MrS

A resounding victory for some of the 27.6% of people who bothered to vote.
70.4% obviously couldn't give a toss one way or the other about their future.
Or have just completely given up on the system.

Regards
Mr S

That looked really cool... but I'm a cynic.
I don't believe we just watched a free interactive exchange but a carefully timed and well scripted performance.
Its still cool and is a good indicator of what lies in the future.
But, considering how even the best voice recognition software available today still struggles to work smoothly I think you have to ignore the hype.

Regards
Mr S

Hi Jim,

Thanks for that interesting insight.
I assume that because of the lack of support from your party that this venture actually left you out of pocket?
Members of the established parties always manage to come out of the process making a handsome personal profit. Perhaps thats were you went wrong.

I am not completely familar with the Americian system of politics.
Did your spouse stand under the banner of the Republicans or Democrats?
Was she an independent or representing a smaller party?

If she was representing anything other than the established parties what chance of success is there?

In the UK, millions seem to vote in much the same way they follow sport.
"I've always voted Labour/supported Manchester United" and always will" is the type of comment you will often hear.
Since children they have voted for the Red (Labour) coloured party and supported the local "Red" (Manchester United) team.
The same applies to the "Blue" type of people.
No rational thought seems to come in to it.

The other type of voting pattern springs from the view that the Red (Labour) party represents the average working man. The Blue (Conservatives) tend to support those who think they aren't working class.
A view thats outdated by about 50 years.
Bizarre!

Regards
Mr S