CompuServe Messages

Hi Philip, I think I can answer your questions: >> I plan on purchasing an SGI Indigo II, and either Alias or SoftImage or ? Big production houses such as Industrial Light & Magic use Alias for modeling since it has the most comprehensive modeling tools and in a platform such as the Indigo II or the new Power Indigo II you'll be able to get instant feedback giving way to all your creativity. SoftImage is really known for it's animating abilities. There is a feature that was used in the film "Little Budha" I think that's the title of the movie. To make the baby talk adult lines, they manipulated his lips so that the lines would seem to come out of this baby's mouth seamlesly. Again, this is done by the major animation houses who have the money to invest in these software packages. However, they do run $20,000 to $40,000 EACH, just for the software. And the hardware will cost you about $35,000 to $45,000 depending on the platform. If you *only* (g) have $20,000 to spend on software, I would strongly suggest you get Alias Power Animator 6.0 that should be out already. I've seen this product in action, and it's definetly the best, most comprehensive package out there. >>What is the best way to capture facial movements and gestures?Are there any >>companys out there that make reasonably priced motion capture hardware that I >>could purchase (e.g. less than 20K) or am I going to have to rent equipment? Absolutelt, positively Motion capture. There are a couple of solutions where thjis is concerned. One is by "Ascencion" and their system is called "Flock of Birds." this system works by generating a magnetic or energy field and having you or your actor wear a suit with the nodes or just by gluing the nodes to your body. These nodes are usually wired to a box that interprets their x,y,z position within that field generating this way a motion file in your system that you can assign to a mesh or model (like they did with the Shell commercial where they have the car dancing). The other method is done by cameras that only pick up certain wavelengths at really high speeds. You'll have the camera positioned so that they capture the movement of little dots that will be placed on your face so that the natural movement of your features is captured. Unfortunately, I don't have the number or the name of this company. This is however a more expensive solution. There are of course equipment rentals for these type of jobs. Well, I hope this helps you out. If you have any more questions, let me know. Alex Karamanoglou Network Graphics & Animations