#Don't be FOOLED
I want to pass on some knowledege that I've learned the hard way (read
incredible cost-overruns)…
First, as a guy that bought an Apple ][+ many years ago because it did four
color (!) graphics, has been through to SVGA and 3D Studio on the PC, I have to
say that I have great respect for what can be accomplished with the Toaster and
Lightwave… but…
For those of you considering getting into this stuff with visions of creating
beautiful lightwave animations FOR PAY, don't be FOOLED by the ads that show
beautiful still images, or the NewTek demo tapes, and think you can do
animations like that for just a couple of thousand bucks…
You CAN do some amazing stuff with the Toaster, as long as you have enough $$$
and TIME…
To be realistic, in a commercial environment you need:
1) Amiga and Toaster (THIS is the "couple of thousand" part)
2) a 68040 accelerator card (without it, or even with a '030 card, you can
easily wind up spending an HOUR rendering time per frame (1/30 second!!) of a
moderately complex scene with SHADOWS and REFLECTIONS turned on. Can you spend
12.5 days waiting for a 10-second piece to render? If not, add a thousand-plus
$$$ to the system cost.
3) a single-frame videotape machine (e.g. Sony EVO-9650 for about
four-and-a-half grand). Sorry folks, renting time or farming
out frame-to-tape work won't cut if if you're doing the animations for $$$ and
you need it done NOW.
Don't get me wrong – the Toaster is truly amazing stuff. B*U*T you'll HAVE to
spend some significant bucks if you want to REALLY use Lightwave for animation
– despite what the demo tapes and ads may lead you to believe… don't be
mislead.
It's a lot like the VAR that walks into a business with a $999 PC saying "Hey,
you can completely modernized your business with this machine! Yes, sure you
may want to expand it a bit, but it's still a great value!! (Hint, the
"expanded price" is more like 6 thousand!)
Bottom line: Don't expect to buy a Yugo and run the Indy 500 with it…
Luke Montgomery