CompuServe Messages

Jim, an animated opacity map would probably do the trick, mapped to a shape lofted along a twisty path (mapping on, normalize length, length repeat = 1 and perimeter repeat = 1). Create the path in the 2d shaper with the freehand tool and edit in the 3d lofter. Create the animated opacity map in animator pro or even 3ds. It would be a flic of the black screen filling with white from left to right over x number of frames. If the direction of the opacity is incorrect then you can rotate the opacity map 90 degrees in the material editor setup dialog box. The other method would be morphing which, in 3ds, is almost too hard for me to even complicate. Good luck.