overcast #035
Phil and Ricky start off with some news and current events, and then share their impressions after spending some hands-on time with iClone version 3.0… including an exclusive bit of impressive news about the product that you’ve likely not heard before now.
Thank you for listening! Your feedback is so valuable to us; when we get fatigued, it energizes and motivates us. So please tell us what you think!
This Week’s Hot List (URLs from the show’s content):
- Music Credits for this show:
- Opening music is by Nine Inch Nails, from the album The Slip, the track title is “Demon Seed.”
- This musical selection is used under the Creative Commons license graciously chosen by the artist. Please consider supporting them with a music purchase if you enjoy what you hear.
- Pamela for Skype - call recording utility
- 100,000+ Gorillas (CNN)
- The International Machinima Expo - November 7-9, 2008
- Machiniplex.com
- GTA IV coming to PC!
- The Awful Show (Phil was guest on 8/1… interview audio coming soon)
- Google Lively
- Marque Cornblatt
- Game - Stalker: Clear Sky
- Expansion - The Sims 2: Apartment Life
- Next Machiniplex Premiere - “The Demise” by Daniel Walisuk on August 24, 2008
- G.I. Joe stop motion “The Thing”
- Zombie Zombie
- Antics version 4 now available
- Moviestorm version 1.1 now available
- SIGGRAPH 2008
- Vue 7 to debut at SIGGRAPH
- 3d World Magazine covers Open Source Tools this month
- Autodesk acquires RealViz
- Zign Track 1.4 (camcorder facial motion capture)
- TOPIC: iClone 3.0
Pingback by Overman’s Blog » HUGE iClone news in Overcast, plus a new Dissect Lab — August 8, 2008 at 3:40 am
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Comment by Ricky Grove — August 8, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Thank God for Charles Bowbuck. Phil, I never knew you had a compost heap. You know, I don’t think I’m prouder of any other show we have done. I’m breathing into my paperback as I write…..gasp…..this.
Seriously, IClone 3 is a monster machinima program. Today (Aug 8th) is launch day and I predict it will be a big one for Reallusion. Congrats to John Martin and his crew. After Siggraph, I hope to put in some serious time with this new version. I’ll report back with more info on the “Persona” animation concept after I’ve talked to John.
BTW, if you use a portable recording device that has a 1/4″ jack input, be sure to buy the TRS cable and not the TS cable. Even though the TS cable is like $20 cheaper, it doesn’t have a separate audio ring on the plug end, so both the electrical current and the audio signal travel through the same metal element. Which means your recording device will crash continuously and screw you over when you are trying to record your part of the Overcast. Mea Culpa Maxima Culpa. Thank you Phil for your overactive imagination in solving the problem.
(Watch that GI Joe movie!)
Comment by Tom — August 8, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Thanks guys for excellent show. About iClone3, after just few days of toying with it I must admit that it is first Machinima making tool I am really impressed with, capable of many things I wasn’t expected in Machinima for two or three next years. Congrats to Reallusion.
And it looks that new version of Moviestorm is big, big step in right direction. Interesting movie making time ahead.
There is one thing (well, one group of functions) left to develop that every filmmaker will salute and scream of happiness: physics. In a moment when we will be able to made crash of two hard bodies with softbody deformations without leaving main tool, whole new world of real time animation will be born.
I can almost smell this day.
Comment by John Martin — August 8, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Awesome guys! Thanks for the kudos and feedback on iClone 3. I am happy we can announce the availablity of the free iClone 3 EX version along with the PRO and Standard versions here on the Overcast. As the premiere voice of the Machinima community I am very happy to have you guys cover the release and exclusively announce the free version. iClone 3 will be online and ready to rock late tonight 8/8. The chemistry between you two is fantasitc.
To answer a couple of points: iClone 3 comes with 3DXchange, so all who get iClone 3 Pro or Standard will get iClone 3DXchange with their purchase. iClone 3DXchange will import 3DS, OBJ and Google SKP (3D Warehouse) files.
Ricky’s explaination of the “Persona” feature is dead on. Personas are a combination of motion files controlled by a DramaScript text file (XML). Personas are made so that an actor can have a randomly cycling set of idle motions when the actor is standing idle in a scene and Personas can be used to add additional movement triggers to hotkeys. Hotkeys (W,A,S,D & 0-9) can be assigned any moton from the iClone motion library or a motion you have created yourself with the IK/FK motion editing. The Persona collects all the idle motions and the assigned motions to hotkeys and saves all the data in one file. So, to use Ricky’s example in the podcast… If you have a “Punk rocker” and he has a certain walk, dance moves, head bangs, anarchist gestures, etc… you can create all of this and collect them into a persona. Then any actor can be assigned the “Persona” and all the idle and hotkey motions will be inherited by the actor. I’ll talk/show more with Ricky at Siggraph and we’ll be demonstrating more of the DramaScript funcationality soon in videos and tutorials.
@Tom, It’s great to know your take on iC3. I’m happy you were a part of the early access program. You are thinking in the right direction… Physics is coming.
I’m really looking forward to seeing what the community creates with iClone 3. The measure of the tool will be made by everyone’s ability to realize their imagination. If we can successfully help to export the mind’s eye then we can consider iClone 3 a triumph.
Comment by Ricky Grove — August 8, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Hey, thanks, John. Appreciate your in-depth comments. And really glad to see that you are ahead of us in getting the 3dXchange included with Pro. Smaaaaaart!. Can’t believe I actually understood what the designers were trying to do with the “Persona” concept. Yes, indeedee, I’ll be hanging out with your guys at Siggraph. Good luck with the opening! And thanks for the good words on our podcast.
Comment by John Martin — August 9, 2008 at 9:50 pm
The iClone 3 DramaScript AML (XmL) scripting let’s you use code to control the motions and actions of actors and props. Create actor Personas with DramaScript or the interactive motions of a prop. We’ve put together a Wiki that explains the full DramaScript operation: http://www.iclonewiki.com
Comment by alec — August 11, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I might want to put an entry in I have been working on this movie for about a week now and its about half way done so ones I finish I can submit it to the expo. Also can’t wait for the BIG announcement next week! see you guys around
Comment by Russell — August 11, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Great show, very useful info on the different tools! Thanks
Comment by kradproductions — August 25, 2008 at 8:59 am
LOVED the Charles Bowbuck skit as well as the opening music!
It wounds like iClone 3 has made some major improvements. Very cool information about a base version.
Comment by kradproductions — August 25, 2008 at 9:03 am
**sounds, not “wounds.” Damn my thick fingers!