#We're here! We're Here!
51 messages in this thread
At long last, the area we've all been waiting for!! Playmation and
Animation:Master Tech support folks will be here, yes here, in this area, to
satisfy your every wanton
desire(well almost anyway)!! We will endeavor to sign on daily to address
your problems and questions… please feel free to share your feelings with
us on any area of the product, let us know what you like and what you don't
like, let us know what you'd like to see in future versions… tell us what
you want to see in this area.. and please, please share your graphics and
animation creations with us by uploading them here!! We are here for you, so
let's get something goin' Huh?
Steve@Hash Inc. Tech Support
BTW or products are available for SGI, Windows, Mac and Power Mac..
Call 206-750-0042 for more info… our file library will be filled with all our
press releases, text files on tips and techniques, the famous "Martins Minutes"
and many, many examples of work done with our product…
Hi Stephen.
I'm your first ever reply!@ (grin)
I just got back from SIGGRAPH. I stood on the floor next to (was it MARTIN)
demoing the product Animation master with true enthusiasm. I must say my bottom
jaw was hangin around floor level. Allen (the boss man) just gave you guys a
call today. I cant wait to get my grubby little paws on the package and start
messin with it. I am truly impressed that you have managed to support such a
great application across so many platforms. If you ever need a BETA tester I'm
your man! (grin) Can't wait to see what you guys do next! Bye for now.
(p.s. are you going to put up any demo versions of the products ever?)
Ron Millar Creative Director BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT
Ron,
Watch the libraries later today for more great stuff from them.
Glad to hear of your interest! We really do try maintain a good product, and
boy do we have some secrets up our sleeves for future releases! Keep in touch!
It looks like this forum is going to take of like wildfire!
Steve,Hash Inc.
steve To be sure I glad you are here I glad to hear you are getting better
support system. Since get CIS 1 month ago I recomended Playmation to 2 people I
did so so enfusitaticly that I thought they would think I worked for Hash. I
hesitated though to give 100% indorsement because up till now your sopport
system has been so poor. I saw an I for AM in 3D magazine thats the first ad
for a Hash product I ve seen I m glad to see it . Good luck .
Welcome to CompuServe! I'm very happy you're here now. I dial in to a 14.4 node
here and much prefer that speed for downloading. Have tried the BBS lately with
no answer and the last time I got thru I couldn't access the free file area.
Will Pickering still has his hands full with that BBS.
Like the last message I left you on the other service, I just got A:M and am
having
a ball watching the tutorial tapes! I will stay in touch!
Kevin
thanks for telling me about this forum.
Tom Trevor
Steve,
That's great that finally there will be a forum with you guys! I've been using
Playmation and Animation:Master for quite a bit of time and will hang around
here to learn and share…
It is a different feeling to dial a local number and write notes off-line… I
wish you guys best of luck!
Pawel
Btw. Did you send out that update we talked on the phone about? I really could
use that DXF import — you wouldn't know if Corel generated 2D DXF files would
open in A:M?
Thanks for the good wishes Pawel… and yes, your update was sent out as
promised…
Steve, Hash Inc.
I am glad to find Hash in Compuserve!!
I received Playmation 2.07 and DXF import and export nicely now. Thanks.
Anything else in 2.07 that I should know about?
Mei-Tien
Mei Tien, All the rendering bugs are fived as well…
Steve, Hash Inc.
I see, thanks.
Mei-Tien
Welcome to CIS! Glad to see you guys here now! Keep up the stupendous work!
-Kevin
Thanks Kevin…. Glad to see you here too… gosh! this kinda feels like the
first week of school!
Steve
Dear Steve,
I 'm glad your are here, but why is it so darn hard to get tech.
support from hash? I ' ve been using you products for about 1 year now and it
is very odd for me to get through to you on the phone or bss. I love the
programs, but I have sseveral promblems. I can work around most of them, but it
would be nice if you people could once in awhile help me out. Thank You Tom
Trevor.
Tom, that's one of the reasons why we created this forum! All calls that come
into the office, we try to return in 24 hours or less if they go to voice
mail… As fo our BBS…. well, what can I say? I will be replacing the
cureent software with Wildcat within the next two weeks, until then expect our
BBS to be down…
Steve, Hash Ic.
Thomas,
We invited Hash to support their product here so that it would be _easier_ for
you to get the help you need. Please feel free to ask the questions you need
answers to. <g>
Matt Drury
The 'Go Graphics' Group
Thank-you, Thank-you. Glad to see you here. Be talking to you soon. Love the
program. Happy Happy Joy Joy!
Mike
Thankyouthankyouthankyou!
I am so happy (as are the rest of us I see<G>) to have you guys on CIS! Keep
up the great work!
I have and love A:M, but there is one problem I am having. I can't seem to
get the Director Module to rotoscope a series of pictures. If anyone can help
me, it would be great. I've read the manual forwards and backwards but can't
for the life of me get it to rotoscope the pictures.
Anyway, thanks again for showing up!
Michael Johnson
Michael, why don't you e-mail me some specifics as to exactly what kind of
rotoscoping problems you are having….
Steve, Hash Inc.
Hi Steve,
Got the upgrade — thanks. Your installation is as clean as I've seen them,
almost no intrusion into windows or system directory. Very nice.
I've got a bunch of work to finish and get out of the way before I get started
w/Master but am looking forward to digging into it. Can you recommend any
_general_ books on this subject? My background is paint-type programs, like
Photoshop etc., all 2D stuff. Also comfortable with digital video, i.e., Video
for Windows, Premiere, MediaMerge. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Best of luck in the new forum!
Regards,
Tim
Tim, a bible around work is "Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life" It's a
great book about what to acheive when doing 3D character animation,
unfortunately it's from a more traditional approach, not CG but it still has
alot to offer…
Steve,
Hash Inc.
Also, Shamus Culhane's book, Animation, Script to Screen is excellent and can
be
found at books stores. I'm still having a devil of a time locating the Disney
Animation: Illusion of Life book.
Based on your discussion I went looking for a book "Disney Animation: The
Illusion of Life." The closest the bookstore could find is "The Illusion of
Life: Essays on Animation." (ISBN 0-243-31373-2) from Indiana University Press.
Is that the same book or is the Disney book out of print?
An author or ISBN number would be a big help!
Thanks.
Shamus Culhane refers to it in his excellent book "Animation, From Script to
Screen" (1988, paperback "A Thomas-Dunne Book", St. Martin's Press, which I
recently picked up at Border's)
"Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life" by Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnston,
New York: Abbeville Press, 1981
I haven't been able to locate a copy yet, either. Get Shamus' book. He's one of
the old Disney animators who's worked all over and has run his own company. He
also has a positive take on computer animation which was rather new in 1988!
Kevin
Thanks.
Ordered it today. For anyone else that needs the contact information, the book
can be obtained from St. Martin's Press at 800-288-2131. The ISBN number is
0-312-05052-6. It's $13.95.
Finally found the Disney book in the online books in print (eek–$2 per
transaction). It is OUT OF PRINT so you probably need to work with somebody
who specializes in finding out of print books. There was a version that was
listed as still in publication, but after tracing it through three different
publishers, the current "owners" say they don't have any more.
To save folks the inquiry charges, the ISBN the data on the Disney book is:
Hardback (0-89659-232-4) originally $75/$125 for the collectors version.
Paperback versions were (0-89659-498-X $29.95) and (0-89659-698-2 $39.98).
They were published by Abbeville Press and went out of print in late 1989.
Thanks for the tip! The search now goes to the used book stores! There are a
bunch of them here in the Detroit area.
BTW, you will really enjoy the Shamus Culhane book. He really gives a ton of
information on how to bring animated characters to life. He even covers
stylized
animation for a more well rounded approach. There are some pretty technical
chapters for standard animation, but he tells you when to skip such things if
you're a casual reader or won't come into contact with the equipment he
mentions.
Pick up a copy of Computer Graphics World, if you haven't already…good couple
articles explaining how Disney did The Lion King and how they use computers.
Yup. This month's issue came this week and it's about "The Mask".
Thanks! I'll have to pick up a copy. I think that movie's great! The dog is
somethin
else…makes you wonder if they animated him from time to time..great
reactions…
and the digital work looked pretty darn good!
A word of warning on the Disney book. The first contact with a used book
dealer we learned that the book is well known and hard to come by. He said
he'd want $200 for it.
Hey, I'll take a beat up copy from one of the hole-in-the-wall places I know.
Guess
I just don't want to seem too desperate! I'll let you know in the days ahead if
I
turn one or more up. Thanks for the warning!
John,
Out of curiosity, does anyone maintain a database of all these older books and
what stores have copies of them, or do you have to wander about from place to
place until you find what you looking for?
John Parker
Hello Steve,
It is great to see Hash Inc. on Compuserve. I have been using the Hash
animation software for over a year now, upgrading from Playmation to Anmiation
Master as soon as it was released. I think they are great programs that can
produce work every bit as good as software costing ten times the price – the
best thing is it runs on comparitively low cost hardware. I am using a 386SX PC
with maths co-processor and it runs fine.
I call into the Hash BBS from time to time but this is going to be much
better for me because even with the Compuserve charges it is going to be a lot
cheaper than calling the USA from the UK.
I have a question you might be able to answer. I read somewhere that to
get the best from a Pentium processor the software needs to be optomised for
it. Can you tell me it Animation Master has been optomised for the Pentium. I
am planning to upgrade my computer and am trying to work out the best value for
speed ratio – a fast 486DX; a Pentium or a Mac PowerPC. All of these machines
sell at around 1500 UKPounds so it is a difficult choice. I am using the
software for recreation so the platform is not important.
Best wishes, David Jefferson. Editor Animator Magazine, U.K.
re:"I read somewhere that to get the best from a Pentium processor the software
needs to be optomised for it. Can you tell me it Animation Master has been
optomised for the Pentium. I am planning to upgrade my computer and am trying
to work out the best value for speed ratio – a fast 486DX; a Pentium or a Mac
PowerPC. All of these machines sell at around 1500 UKPounds so it is a
difficult choice. I am using the software for recreation so the platform is not
important."
Currently, you'll see slightly better speed from a 90mz Pentium system.
However, you should seriously consider the PowerMac: not only is the speed
substantial, but you'll spend more time working and less time futzing with
Windows. I run both machines side by side here and I find that I'm much more
productive on the Mac.
Gavin.
David, I would strongly reccomend a Pentium 90 or a Powermac….. you will be
extremely pleased with the blazing speed of A:M on these two platforms!
Steve,
Hash Inc.
Hi. I'm just getting started in all this stuff, and was wondering if you have
any pricing for University Students?
Thanx.
Adam Hendershot
Unfortunately, no student discounts 🙁 sorry
Steve, Hash Inc.
Hi Steve!
Glad to see you on CompuServe, since I'm here daily as opposed to aol where it
runs every 10 days or so.
Gavin.
Great to see you here too Gavin! Keep in touch! (Hey all you animators, this
guy does some SERIOUS work) Look forward to seeing more images from him and
take all his tips seriously!
Steve, Hash Inc.
re:"(Hey all you animators, this guy does some SERIOUS work) Look forward to
seeing more images from him and take all his tips seriously!"
What Steve doesn't say is that I can make a million suggestions without
actually trying them myself. That's why I make them — so somebody else can
render them for me… ;>
Gavin.
Hi!
I am writing from the United Arab Emirates.
Can you tell me where I can find a 3D software called TOPAS. I am told it is
sold by AT&T. Also what photomorphing software works well with Autodesk 3D
Studio and Topas.
Thanks for your help.
Please reply by E-mail on COmpuserv
>>>where I can find a 3D software called TOPAS. I am told it is sold by AT&T.
`I think it went back to it's original developers — Crystal Graphics…
International sales number (in USA) is (617) 229-6900…
Direct info: Crystal Graphics 3110 Patrick Henry Drive Santa Clara, CA 95054,
USA Tel: (408) 496-6175 Fax: (408) 496-0970
Good luck!
Pawel
Sorry, can't help you with these issues….
Steve, Hash Inc
Are there any demos available? I'd love to try one. I'm currently using
MMGRASP, but I hear PLAYMATION is fine as well.
Thanks,
Jacqui Kinnie
Unfortunately no functioning demo….we do have a demo tape (VHS) which I'd be
happy to send you if you would e-mail me your address….
Steve, Hash Inc.
Steve,
I went looking for the file you suggested would be a good example of what your
software does, but darned if I could locate it. Tell me again where it's
located and I'll grab it next time through. Sorry to be such a bother!
John Parker
No bother, but I've forgotten whivh file I recommended <g>… refresh my memory
and I'll refresh yours 🙂
Steve, Hash Inc.
BTW It may have been newt.fli or mistpist.gif…..
Steve,
I believe it was SNAKE something. It was a .zip file.
John Parker
John,
I recommended SNAKED.ZIP.
-GreG
Greg,
Indeed, that was it! And as I recall I couldn't locate it for love nor money!
John Parker
Marvelous .. watch your E-mail!
I do have the version which came with Phil Shaddock's book, btw.
Jacqui Kinnie