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29/09/2016 19:45:50

daddycoolj
daddycoolj
Posts: 12 		Hey guys !! I have only been working with Muvizu for a few short weeks but feel like I have actually come a long way. In this short time I have also become familiar with sketchup and importing models into Muvizu.
I have come across a few situations already where you are trying to place a character within a fairly complex model and because of either too many collision points or the lack of them I have wanted to just float a character slightly above an area or item without the use of invisible objects because they can actually become lost and you cannot regain control of said object again i.e. invisible block. Is there no physics to just suspend a character in the air without the use of other objects?
Another question I have is on timeline editing. Let's say you are wanting to edit a character action and it is packed up against other actions on both sides. Is there not a way to shorten the duration of that action so that it can be adjusted? I have right-clicked on the offending action and it brings up edit or delete. I choose edit but all that is available to edit is the start position. The duration time is not editable in my paid version of Muvizu. It would be so nice to just be able to split the action and delete one of the two sections like you can do in such programs as Sony Vegas. Am I just missing something about this edit action function. Can you do it from only a certain timeline like tools/timeline or maybe direct/timeline. If this function is not available to be able to shorten an existing action etc... The software sure needs to have this option.
My first Muvie !!
yes I did borrow from some already made sets afterall it was my first time.
Thanks
Jim
edited by daddycoolj on 29/09/2016
edited by daddycoolj on 29/09/2016
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29/09/2016 20:22:15

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		Hi Daddycoolj - the good news is that you're not missing anything. The bad news is also that you're not missing anything...

You cannot suspend or elevate a character without them standing on something - the thing they stand on can be set to 'not visible' of course, but they have to stand on something.

The timeline editing problem with changing the length of actions is one of the most commonly asked for features for the very reasons you mention - not going to happen any time soon, I would wager. In order to help with managing actions, it's always best to just trigger the action and then immediately hit an Idle animation - this gives you a starting point and an end point to help you queue up the actions a little better on the timeline. Hope that helps. Going to watch your movie now
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29/09/2016 20:35:53

MrDrWho13Muvizu mogulExperimental user
MrDrWho13
Posts: 2220 		daddycoolj wrote:

  • Hey guys !! I have only been working with Muvizu for a few short weeks but feel like I have actually come a long way. In this short time I have also become familiar with sketchup and importing models into Muvizu.
  • I have come across a few situations already where you are trying to place a character within a fairly complex model and because of either too many collision points or the lack of them I have wanted to just float a character slightly above an area or item without the use of invisible objects because they can actually become lost and you cannot regain control of said object again i.e. invisible block. Is there no physics to just suspend a character in the air without the use of other objects?
  • Another question I have is on timeline editing. Let's say you are wanting to edit a character action and it is packed up against other actions on both sides. Is there not a way to shorten the duration of that action so that it can be adjusted? I have right-clicked on the offending action and it brings up edit or delete. I choose edit but all that is available to edit is the start position. The duration time is not editable in my paid version of Muvizu. It would be so nice to just be able to split the action and delete one of the two sections like you can do in such programs as Sony Vegas. Am I just missing something about this edit action function. Can you do it from only a certain timeline like tools/timeline or maybe direct/timeline. If this function is not available to be able to shorten an existing action etc... The software sure needs to have this option.
  • My first Muvie !!
    yes I did borrow from some already made sets afterall it was my first time.


1. Welcome to Muvizu, I'm glad to hear you've been learning quickly, especially the slightly more advanced features like importing from Sketchup.

2. Unfortunately, you can't just suspend a character in the air, they need to be stood on something. If you uncheck the "visible" property in the edit menu then it should still give you a translucent shape/ground plane to work with. If you lose one of these items, you can find it in the scene menu. (Ctrl+W)
3. The action system is very locked down. You can't edit or import your own actions, and the action speed can't be changed. You can stop an action mid-way by using the "idle" action though.
4. Your first video looks good! You might want to try using the image sequence output if you're using Sony Vegas because you won't have any compression issues. To improve what you've done, you could experiment with Muvizu's lighting and shadow settings.
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29/09/2016 20:38:38

MrDrWho13Muvizu mogulExperimental user
MrDrWho13
Posts: 2220 		Maybe you'd like to enter our Halloween contest: http://www.muvizu.com/Forum/topic5933-muvizu-halloween-contest-2016-entries.aspx
Even if you don't enter, having something to base your video on can give you more focus to learn some Muvizu skills!
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29/09/2016 20:39:28

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		Ambitious for a 1st! You put yourself at a disadvantage straight away by uploading at 360p - most people won't watch something that low resolution these days because it looks so bad - 720p is the goal. It's a bit chaotic and it was hard to work out who Jack was as you didn't give us a close up on him when he was first mentioned (the back of this head doesn't count). Some very odd colour choices too (but hey, it's a fairytale so fair enough). At the beginning, the King puts his arm through the throne more than once - if an action does this and you can't get around it, move the camera to hide the clipping. Never show the audience your mistakes! Good effort for your first movie though, and I'm sure you'll only get better with practise
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29/09/2016 20:49:21

daddycoolj
daddycoolj
Posts: 12 		Yea thanks for the tips. I had to use invisible blocks in the scene with the gold car because the characters fell thru and the tiniest blocks would not go anywhere inside. I had to seat both characters outside the vehicle and use camera angle to mask it mostly. When I made this it was a couple weeks ago and I have learned so much more about the program already including lighting. This is a way too much fun program for someone with a lot of time on their hands. LOL !!
I had only played with the free version of the program about a week and told myself you just gotta buy it !!
Since getting this software I have learned some of the delicacies of sketchup, splashup for importing real faces, gimp and of course Muvizu. This thing sure has put me thru the paces in a month's time.
I am planning out a Star Trek muvie now. I have imported and saved so much Star Trek stuff from the Sketchup warehouse that I had to create a folder just for the items. I managed to bring in whole Star Trek Bridges, engineering decks and various other large, but scaled-down, things like cities and what-not. Got big plans for this next one.
I am sure there will be many little ones in-between but Star Trek is slapping at me hard since I grew up on the stuff. LOL
Thanks
Jim
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29/09/2016 20:58:04

daddycoolj
daddycoolj
Posts: 12 		ziggy72 wrote:
It's a bit chaotic and it was hard to work out who Jack was as you didn't give us a close up on him when he was first mentioned (the back of this head doesn't count).



Jack was meant to be introduced in a slow manner because it is not revealed until later just how short he is compared to the Princess.
Yea I had several mistakes in the clip. Some were timing issues while others were like what you said about the arm thru the chair.
I had so many hours in it by the time near the end and I saw that arm thing I just said heck with it since it was a first and I was excited to get it out. I am taking more time with the little things now as I learn this stuff.
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29/09/2016 21:17:07

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		Yeah, it's easy to get caught up in the fun of making the movie and you just think 'later' for the details. You'll get there Incidentally, there's a Star Trek bridge set (called 1701 for legal reasons ) that you may find handy...
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30/09/2016 00:48:39

PatMarrNCMuvizu mogul
PatMarrNC
Posts: 1738 		Welcome to the forum daddycoolj...

I especially liked the stained glass windows made in the likeness of Muvizu characters! Very creative!

Are you in North Carolina by any chance? I ask for two reasons:

1) North Carolinians all seem to like Andy Griffith
2) at 6:30 in your video, your background image is Pilot Mountain.

(I'm in Winston-Salem)
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30/09/2016 02:55:48

daddycoolj
daddycoolj
Posts: 12 		Nope !! Not North Carolina here but instead L.A. ~ Lower Alabama. Grew up with Andy. I am at the young age of 60 and have always been an Andy Griffith fan.
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30/09/2016 04:52:15

Rocque
Rocque
Posts: 359 		Well golllleee, or however Andy says it. That was a very cute animation, and great work for the first one. Welcome to the small group of active Muvizu users. They are very helpful and encouraging, and definitely will watch your videos, and volunteer suggestions to help you improve.

This is a great forum group, and there is a lot of talent here. I am always amazed by the generosity of this group. Like Pat, I thought the stained glass was very nice, and you imported characters into your video on the very first attempt. I am not sure if I will ever be able to do that, since I lack the time and talent to begin to figure it out.

Not being able to edit in the time line is a giant pain, and forces us to learn how to use a film editor. That is probably better for us in the "big picture" of skill improvement.

I am interested in seeing more of your ideas show up. You are off to a good start.
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30/09/2016 16:35:28

PatMarrNCMuvizu mogul
PatMarrNC
Posts: 1738
Nope !! Not North Carolina here but instead L.A. ~ Lower Alabama. Grew up with Andy. I am at the young age of 60 and have always been an Andy Griffith fan.


so, the Pilot Mountain backdrop image was a coincidence?
(Pilot mountain is near Mt. Airy NC which is where Andy grew up, and was the inspiration for the imaginary town of Mayberry. The show often referred to Pilot Mountain as "Mount Pilot")
edited by PatMarrNC on 30/09/2016
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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.