#ILM
13 messages in this thread
So how much would you have to pay for say three minutes worth of animation? Do
you use the S-VHS as a test rendering device? Why doesn't it provide broadcast
quality? How many lines of resolution does it offer?
I'm not sure about your first question. If you're asking how much I charge, it
really depends on the project, and how hungry I am. Usually between $50 and
$100 per hour, depending on how efficiently I work, and how much skill is
involved in the animation. If I'm just animating an already existing logo, for
instance, then it would be less than if I had to design a logo myself. Just an
example.
S-VHS is a pro-sumer/industrial tape format. It really does not depend on the
lines of resolution, but it has 400 lines, which is very good. It just doesn't
have the image quality of Beta SP (Broadcast), or the generational integrity of
3/4". It is an excellent format, however, and looks great. I use it for
previews and industrial/lower end clients. It is used at cable TV stations a
lot, too, but for animation I prefer to use a high end medium. It makes my
work look better when other folks see it.
John Tissavary (La Luna cie)
So how much would a S-VHS go for. I'm not in the business of logos, etc, but
rather exploring 3D animation more for artistic sakes: movies, short films,
etc. I could probably get away with S-VHS for now, considering what I'm doing
on 3DS is mostly demo work. Of course, if it's not much more to go to 3/4" or
Beta SP, then I'd get one of those and use it when I move up to the bigger
platforms…
PMJI,
Ya' Knew I jes' Had to!<g>
If your interested in the Sanyo GVR-S950 Unit E-mail me your Address and Phone
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I'm a Dealer.
James M. Murphy
I've got a Sony SVO-9600 with Timecode generator and RS 422 module. Combine
that with my V-LAN Animax controller and you're talking around $4500, maybe a
little more. Then I've also got a Targa+ 16/32, which is a 32 bit framebuffer
(essential for single frame recording), and that cost me around $1000 used.
They're over $2K brand new, but deals can be had. I'd get an Illuminator Pro
if I had it to do all over again. I'm going to upgrade to one of those when I
can, since they have much better resolution capabilities than the Targa+ and
some goodies that the Truevision ATVista doesn't, and they're cheaper than the
ATVista.
If you're not planning on doing a lot of editing and adding of DVE and stuff
like that, then S-VHS is as good as 3/4. It's just that the signal starts to
fall apart after about 3 generations, so for a normal editing environment 3/4
is better.
Beta SP starts at @ $9000 with the brand new lower cost UVW series,
aimed at animators, and the standard PVW2800 goes for around $15,000,
and the broadcast BVW-75 is around $40,000. For just a tad more you
can get a Beta Digital ($50,000 I think). But these formats are
totally out of my reach for now, so I use the Exabyte/Abekas deal to
do my high end work. I get D1 output for @ $.18 per frame. Gotta do
a lot of frames on a Beta Digital deck to make up for that!
I like to do animations for my own sake, too (some of them will end
up on music videos), so it was both a good buisness investment and a
personal investment to get the Sony S-VHS deck.
John Tissavary (La Luna cie)
Thanks for all the info, John.
Boy, that's about $7000 less than what I was quoted for a S-VHS, and
controller. Some dweeb figured the video controller alone would be
$2000! But I'll tell ya, we're getting there. If I can access these
prices from Canada, then things could be good. I also have the
Targa+16/32, although I use a VIPER VLB for working on. Hopefully
with the gamma control, I can take my finished product to the Targa+
and not experience any weird changes in color.
What is a RS 422 module? I don't know what I'll be doing a week from
now, much less a year or two. Maybe I'd be editing although I've got
quite a few connections down at the local post houses. Beta SP is way
out of my range for now. $50,000 would put me up with the SGI
big-wigs, software inc.
James
There are deck controllers that cost over $2000 (Diaquest), but I so
NO need to spend that much. V-LAN is more flexible, works great, and
costs less. Plus they give you a multi-pass utility free, whereas
Diaquest will charge you $900 for theirs. I'm testing V-LAN's
utility now, and it's great. A few bugs to work out, but great.
RS422 is a serial device protocol. I don't know much more about it
than that. the RS 422 module installed in the SVO 9600 VTR allows
you to connect it to a controller via serial (D9) cable, and allows
devices to controll it by carrying info on PLAY, RECORD, FF, etc… .
I got my deck and controller for @ $4000. I use it almost daily.
If you don't use Tconfig, and just put a "TMODE 11" statement in your
autoexec.bat or 3ds startup batch file, then you won't have gamma correction on
the Targa+. It works just fine for me. I use it for all rendering, since 99%
of what I do ends up on NTSC. NTSC WILL look different than RGB computer
monitor. It'll look worse, no matter what you do.
John Tissavary (La Luna cie)
Well, this definitely is the next step. Do you know whether on of
these tape decks are compatible on the higher platform machines, ie:
SGI? If I'm gonna invest the $4000, I'd like to know I can use it for
a few years. I'm sure they must be, just running off a different
controller…
But you think no gamma correction is better with the Targa+? I thought
the point of gamma correction was to make the image more uniform over
a variety of displays. But now that I think, gamma CORRECTION is not
wanted, because the outputted file should have the proper gamma
settings…??
Thanks for the info, John. I'm saving all your messages on these decks so I can
look back when I'm ready to buy…
James
If you buy an external V-LAN controler, which consists of a
transmitter box for your computer or switcher, and a reciever box for
each device to be controlled, then you can use it with SGIs or PCs or
whatever. They are a little more expensive, though, around $2000 for
a reciever and transmitter. But if you know you're going to upgrade
or add a different platform, then it may be worth it since it'll be
cheaper than buying a different controller when you do
expand/upgrade.
As far as VTR's go, they have nothing to do with what platform you're
running off, just what controller and software you use. Someone
correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks for the info John. When it looks like we may be going ahead and buying
this stuff, I'll drop you a line again about it, just to finalize and further
question <g>.
James
You've got it. Gamma correcting twice is worse than on gamma at all, according
to some knowledgeable folks on this forum. If you've enabled gamma in 3DS,
which is recommended because of the 64bit colorspace it operates it, then you
should not enable it in the Targa+.
Correct, John. You should NEVER gamma correct an image twice.
Thank for re-confirming the evils of double gamma correcting. I did
some aesthetic tests after you mentioned that earlier this fall, and
I have to agree.
John Tissavary (La Luna cie)