New Contest Coming Soon!

Touched · Post by **Touched** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:06 am

Quicktime Pro will also export to FLV. Should those of us who join your Youtube group upload the videos there if we can convert them to FLV nicely, in addition to sending you the 640x480 files?

jahnocli · Post by **jahnocli** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:18 am

Could I make a request? When the contest details are worked out, could they be put into a separate read-only post?

ulrik · Post by **ulrik** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:19 am

Touched wrote:Quicktime Pro will also export to FLV. Should those of us who join your Youtube group upload the videos there if we can convert them to FLV nicely, in addition to sending you the 640x480 files?

I can only export to something named FLC, is it the same as "flash" video and FLV?
I use QT pro 7.1.3 on mac

Touched · Post by **Touched** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:28 am

FLC is an old Autodesk Animator format, not the same thing. Look for "Macromedia Flash Video (FLV)". It may not be in all versions, but I have it in version 7.1.

Genete · Post by **Genete** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:40 am

If I can put mi opinion here I have to say:

1) Time limitation: I agree with the range of 10 to 30. But no strictly. I mean, if the story is funny and it needs one or two second more than 30 or less than 10, it should be admitted. As far as Title and Credits must be shown in the movie, do they count for the time limits? He, he... I can imagine a single frame with the credits in order to use ALL the "allowed" time exclusively for the animation... (like subliminal messages in spots

).

2) About props: They have some extra points...

My computer takes about 1 second to select the layer of the dynamite box front... Every movement in the timeline takes me a looong time. My CPU is an AMD Athlon 2000+ (1.6 GHz) and I have 1MB of RAM. I'm using ASP for linux beta version.... So, I suggest to render the gun, the dynamite and the box and put them into the movie as Image layers. It will improve editing time.

3) About codecs, formats and others: I think that file should be uploaded into Youtube, Google videos or whatever is finally decided. The uploading of the file rendered with a format or other is an option that always can do any participant by itself. I use linux and I don't have any problems with any of the comented formats/codecs to render mi sequence of images, and I suppouse that any other linux user won't.

4) Questions:
a) Where do I have to send the .anme file and the txt file with contact data?
b) Where to post the Youtube (or whatever it be) link to my movie? In this discussion?
c) Credits and title are taken acount on the maximum animation length?

Regards
Genete

EDITED

My CPU is an AMD Athlon 2000+ (1.6 GHz) and I have 1MB of RAM.

Well I wanted to say 1GB... Linux is good but NOT SO good

(Thanks Touched

)

DarthFurby · Post by **DarthFurby** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 1:06 am

I'm in! Hope this gets a nice turnout.

Touched · Post by **Touched** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 3:41 am

One last note on optimal conversion settings for Youtube. I've worked with a friend on this, giving him the specs, and he tried several audio settings, and the results were:

Video format: 320x240 30 FPS
Video bitrate: 300 kbps
Audio bitrate: 22,050Hz, 64 kbps, mono

Anything higher will be reconverted. FLVs posted with these specs will become viewable immediately, without the usual processing time. This is pretty much the same info as before, but with the added specs on the audio. This will eliminate the audio sync problem that sometimes occurs on Youtube, and give you the opportunity to get the video looking as good as possible within their limits.

Genete · Post by **Genete** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 1:05 am

Hi all!!
Did anyone started any animation to participate in the contest?

My animation is about 75% done. Dubbing is 100% pending.
I'm having a LOT of fun!. One of my lakcs if to have a story to tell. This contest opened my imagination.

The story itself is a little silly but it is supoused basically to have FUN!!!. And I'm having!!!

Please post if you are working on. I don't want the contest to be void for no participants!!!

-Genete

Touched · Post by **Touched** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 1:09 am

Hi, Genete. I had to think about it for a while, how to appropriately use the props, but I came up with an idea, and I'm trimming and arranging the audio for it. I took a few clips from a movie, and chopped and re-spliced the hell out of it to make something appropriate for the contest. I haven't begun on the animation yet, as I'm finishing up a paying project.

rylleman · Post by **rylleman** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 12:18 pm

Must I use the supplied props as they are or can I alter them to fit the design of my piece?
(I would like to completely redo them, they won't look at all as the originals but they will still be a raygun, a crate and explosives.)

Genete · Post by **Genete** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 12:48 pm

rylleman wrote:Must I use the supplied props as they are or can I alter them to fit the design of my piece?
(I would like to completely redo them, they won't look at all as the originals but they will still be a raygun, a crate and explosives.)

I've rendered and inserted them as Image layers. As well as I don't make point animation with them it is not neccesary to have points in the props. Anyway you can deform them with bones if you like.

rylleman · Post by **rylleman** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 12:45 am

Thanks Genete, alas that was not quite what I was asking about. I would want to draw completely new ray guns, boxes and dynamites (but based on the ones supplied). Would that be allowed or would I be disqualified?

Genete · Post by **Genete** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 1:23 am

I don't know. Perhaps you should ask bupaje...

bupaje · Post by **bupaje** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 1:54 am

I would have to say no, only because once I start down the slippery slope of change we might have to deal with incremental changes of other things. I probably could simplify future contests by requiring specific objects but allowing you to do them.

Can I offer a suggestion? The way you actually use the items is open. For example the dynamite, gun and so forth could be an image on the cover of a catalog, comic book, magazine or poster that is on a table or on the wall in the scene. It could be included in black and white adventure photos on the wall, they could be graphic elements on a board game, or used in a fake news cast, or cartoon visible briefly on a TV. They could be a logo on a cereal box, a sign on a store ie Dynamite Books!

I hope this helps, I guess I didn't think of every eventuality but at the end of this contest lets have a post-mortem poll and the next one will be more user generated. Hope that helps. :/

Rhoel · Post by **Rhoel** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 3:51 am

In respect to uploading to a public site, I'd suggest Atomfilms. This is for several good reasons.

You get paid for it - youTube and google won't.
Atom is affiliated to Comedy Central and they do deals to get films on air.
The contract is such that you retain the rights ans are still free to submit to festivals.etc.

As for encoding to FLV, use Riva Encoder 2.0 - its free and does everything I need it to do, including making 480*270 16:9 widescreem frames. It can direct crunch a 7Gig HD film into a microscopic FLV file, in one pass.

It can convert both avi and mov formats.

Rhoel