Need help saving animation

[xEndlessxUrbiax]

I am pretty new to making animations in 3dsMax, I've done some minor experimenting but would now like to take it to the next level. I rendered out a test 116 images (as jpgs for the purposes of learning the process) and have taken them into the RAM player.

 

I am confused as to which codec or compressor to use, which file type is better to use... When I go to save as .avi, my list of compressors is as follows: "DV Video Encoder", "MJPEG Compressor", and "Uncompressed". I've seen turorials online that have other options but I do not see them on my list. I saw that I could also save as a .mov but when I tried this, I got an error.

 

In the "Time Configuration" settings, what are the best options to use for Frame Rate and Time Display? I am planning on doing a walkthrough of a building with not many moving parts besides people walking, the sun rotating, and maybe some doors opening or something. Should I have different settings for test animations than for my final animation in the "Time Configuration" settings? I understand the time and the frame rates pretty well.

 

I guess my main question is what are the best methods of saving and setting up the frame rates for test animations vs. final animations.

[Fooch]

Always save as frames (w alpha).

Go for a lossless format --> tga (32 bit = +alpha)

 

I would use another program to compile the frames. AE is the weapon of choice and we always export to MOVs.

Codec wise = H264 , 25 fps for the final playable version. There are some posts which i detail our export settings. Have a quick search around

[xEndlessxUrbiax]

Thanks Fooch, that's good enough to get started. What's the difference between using the RAM player and After Effects to compile the frames? It seems like it's a pretty straightforward concept. I don't have AE here at work so hopefully I can convince my office to invest in a copy. I know that it would be nice to have for video effects later on but I might need your input to help me explain what the advantages are of having AE for animations. Thank you

[erickdt]

Think of After Effects as Photoshop for animations. You can also use it for editing shots together etc. It's pretty awesome and easy to use with some web help/tutorials. Also, you can download a 1 month trail version from the Adobe website which may help you make the case for buying it (by using it on this current project).

 

E

[Corey Beaulieu]

Think of After Effects as Photoshop for animations. You can also use it for editing shots together etc. It's pretty awesome and easy to use with some web help/tutorials. Also, you can download a 1 month trail version from the Adobe website which may help you make the case for buying it (by using it on this current project).

 

E

 

This is all true, to which I would add that AE is much more powerful than a "PS for animations". I have even lately been comping stills in AE because of the differences.

 

That said, you can always use PS for comping basic animations and adjust color and things like that as if it were a still. It also has more options for exporting than it sounds like RAM player has.

 

In the top right corner of PS is a worksetthat defaults as Essentials. If you click here you can change it to Motion or Video (depending on your version) and then when you open a file, make sure you tick image sequence. The rest is pretty intuitive. The animation timeline has opacity key frames and transforms. The only thing that I have never gotten to work is the alpha channel. Interpret Video is always greyed out on my machine, but I've never really needed it.

[Fooch]

Think of After Effects as Photoshop for animations. You can also use it for editing shots together etc. It's pretty awesome and easy to use with some web help/tutorials. Also, you can download a 1 month trail version from the Adobe website which may help you make the case for buying it (by using it on this current project).

 

E

 

I've always started my classes (I use to teach an AE / Animation class) by describing AE as photoshop on drugs

[Fooch]

Heaps Endless.

The thing is, you can hide or fix a lot of work in post so not everything is done in 3D.

Archviz tends to lean towards a full 3D pipeline which doesnt take advantage of post production tools. Films have always used these to create great shots .. (Well, more nuke / fusion though)

 

Best to go to video copilots's basic training to start for the easiest tutorials

[xEndlessxUrbiax]

Thanks for the help. I downloaded a trial of After Effects and will be going through some basic tutorials when I get some free time. I saw that Adobe is now offering monthly-based subscriptions to their software which is really cool. After Effects can be obtained for $75/mo which is pretty perfect for my situation since we'd only be using it for a month or two at most.