CompuServe Messages

I highly suggest you call a local video post production facility (that uses digital medium as well) and get some grounding in video. This will help you immensly when creating/designing/rendering animations for video. You'll want to ask questions about NTSC color problems, resolution, pixel aspect ratio, etc…. A few good things to remember when doing video: 1) don't use pure reds or blues, they'll bleed like crazy and make things look cloudy and blown out. 2) if you've got a Targa 16/32 you will DEFINITELY want to use 512x486x24bit and choose a pixel aspect ratio of 1.26 3) You need to compose your animation within 10% of the edges of the NTSC monitor, since most television sets lose this portion of the image due to bezel design. There is a "safe frame" feature in 3DS, check it out in the manuals. 4) Pay close attention to gamma settings. I found with my old Targa+ that 1.8 – 2.0 yeilded good results for brighter scenes, and 1.3 – 1.5 was good for dark, contrasty scenes. 5) Definitely design your colors (maps, lighting, etc…) while rendering to an NTSC monitor (at least a television set), or you'll get a NASTY surprise when you see your animation on tape the first time. NTSC monitors (T.V., video monitors) are inferior in resolution, scan frequency, and other ways and will generally look 100% different than computer RGB monitors. Unless you've got some experience with video, and can intuitively guage the difference in video appearance, you'll need the video feedback while designing your animation. best of luck, John Tissavary (LUNA cie, inc)