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Home ? For New Users ? I've had a couple of weeks with the product now...

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30/11/2013 11:47:53

BigWhirl2012
BigWhirl2012
Posts: 32 		I downloaded Muvizu a couple of weeks ago and have thoroughly enjoyed it! I had an issue with navigation at first but an uninstall/reinstall corrected the problem immediately. The first download must have been corrupted or something. Since that time I've worked on small scenes just to get the hang of things. I often distract myself after discovering some new trick and lose too many hours but I can't blame the creative team for my ADHD.

My first recommendation to any new users is to go through the tutorials and follow along carefully, The learning curve is minimal but the tutorials are very informative and packed with information that will have you up and running in no time. My second recommendation is to practice. I'm far from an expert at this point but have noticed a marked improvement in my skills since I first started. Another recommendation is to make sure your computer has plenty of power and a decent video card. I'm fortunate that my own machine is also used for high-end audio production so it was powerful enough to handle the demands without tweaking it. I could see where some older machines or laptops may struggle to keep up though, particularly with longer scenes. If you wish to do a longer scene it may be helpful to break it down into smaller chunks then use the video joiner or another program such as Sony Vegas to join them together.

For the creative team, I'd like to thank you for a product that's wildly exceeded my expectations thus far! I have no professional aspirations as a film-maker but have always been intrigued by the thought of animation. However, I struggle to draw even stick figures so animation was out of the question for someone like me. Now it's not only possible but I'm having a blast with it! There are no hours of painstakingly drawing character movement, no 3D skeletons to move, etc. Just have fun bringing your ideas to life! It's hard to ask for more than that!

I have some questions and a few recommendations however. First the questions. I noticed my menus sometimes don't match up with those in the tutorials. For example, in the tutorial about dialogue it shows three empty slots in the sound effects screen. I don't have those empty slots. It's obviously not a big deal since I have both Vegas and a full-blown audio production studio at my disposal but I couldn't help but notice the difference. Also, I'm unable to change the duration of an event on the timeline. For example, if I place a character action event on the timeline, let's say a character waving his arms wildly, and I'm a dork and forget to reset the character to an idle state. I can right-click on the event and choose edit and it opens a box that tells me the exact spot on the timeline when the event takes place and the duration of that event. I can change the place on the timeline in which the event occurs but I'm unable to affect the duration at all. I've tried clicking into the box, highlighting the numbers in the box, everything I can think of, but cannot alter the duration. Again, nothing a second pass can't cure but it would be nice to change this without having to record again. Is this a function that's disabled in the free version?

Now my recommendations. It would be helpful to have a list of character actions that are more serious in tone. There has to be a range of emotion represented somewhere between "I just scored with a supermodel!" and "I'm so depressed I want to blow my freakin' brains out!". For example if a character is talking to a second character who is sad it would be helpful to have a concerned expression available, or at least a lesser-degree of contentment than the above supermodel-induced euphoria. It would also be great if the edit options weren't character-specific. Let's say I wanted to put a cape on just a regular Boy or the Fat Guy, or even the Blobs. Why should the superheroes have all the fun? Also, I'd love for you guys to make a version of the software with less cartoonish characters in order to tell more weighty tales.

All in all, it's a terrific product though and I'm enjoying the heck out of it! I look forward to using the product for years and plan to upgrade to the full paid version as soon as possible.
edited by BigWhirl2012 on 30/11/2013
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30/11/2013 13:03:08

MrDrWho13Muvizu mogulExperimental user
MrDrWho13
Posts: 2220 		Hello,
Wow, that's a brilliant review!
Here are some answers to your questions.
  • Most of the tutorials are recorded in the beta version of Muvizu, so you have to guess where some of the options may have moved to. Everything is still inside Muvizu, it's just more user friendly this time. The timeline is probably the thing that's changed the most.
  • You cannot change the duration of an action, and this is not going to change anytime soon because it's caused by the way Muvizu has been designed.
  • The capes and other fluid clothes have not been implemented on the cartoonish characters because they're the original bunch with exactly the same skeleton as each other. This means that if you want the cape working for one, you have to get it working for all of them.

I agree with the more subtle character expressions though.



Anyway, I hope this helps,
MDW13
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30/11/2013 17:49:57

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		Prepare Character properties + animate Expression slider = Range of emotions
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01/12/2013 04:46:52

primaveranz
primaveranz
Posts: 520 		MrDrWho13 wrote:

  • You cannot change the duration of an action, and this is not going to change anytime soon because it's caused by the way Muvizu has been designed.


This is a major flaw in the software.
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01/12/2013 12:15:15

BigWhirl2012
BigWhirl2012
Posts: 32 		ziggy72 wrote:
Prepare Character properties + animate Expression slider = Range of emotions


Thank you very much, Ziggy. After reading your reply I remembered seeing that in the tutorials but it slipped my mind. I re-did a scene I created and it looks much better without one character pouring out his heart while another is grinning from ear to ear.
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Muvizu is easy to use 3D animation software that allows anyone to create high quality animations quickly and easily. Muvizu’s animation engine is ideal for storytellers, animators, teachers and businesses looking to engage, enchant and delight audiences with animated content.