New Tools and Technologies-IClone

As I have almost finished my video about Alexander von Humboldt, I decided to check out IClone software. Once I began watching the video ICone Beginners Guide:Scene Creation, I knew this is the software I have been looking for to create an animated version of the Alexander von Humboldt film.

This video shows how to create a set for filming an animation.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvlSi1jLl54 It is somewhat like building in virtual reality, but easier. The software has a "snap to" function which automatically aligns parts with each other. When I built my environments in virtual reality, I had quite a few problems with the individual parts lining up with each other. IClone also has a feature where one can rotate a component at a 90 degree angle so building an architectural structure would be a lot easier than guessing how close the walls were or if they were perpendicular to each other.

The second video goes into more information about textures and lighting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUX2ZsyowjY Knowing there are so many textures and building materials is very exciting. Roof tile for instance which is basically a photo transfer in virtual reality. I also was excited to see the amount of props which the software comes with. The props in virtual reality are somewhat simplistic and the scale is always off. Generally a room tends to look out of proportion or has a "science fiction sense to it as you can see in this shot I took in Second Life of my avatar wearing a balloon for a hat. I think it looks like a retro futuristic post card from a World's Fair from the 1950's or 1960's

Marjorie Thompson copyright 2014

The video IClone 6-Your First Scene by M. D. McCallum was also interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21j7xii-sHs

In this video, creating the landscape, lighting and avatar animation are briefly discussed. I was relieved to find this video as I was unsure about how one would create a set which did not have architectural walls as a defining boundary. After I watched the last videos, I thought that perhaps the set would have restrictions about how far the edges of it extended before the grid the virtual reality sets are built on showed up.

When I was building my virtual reality island, I found that plants really added quite a bit to the believably of the space.  On the SUNY Island, I thought the addition of plants made the gardens a very nice space.

Marjorie Thompson copyright 2014

When I built my virtual reality island, I added quite a few palm trees and many other bushes to give it a more tropical feel. Although most trees are from one tree prop, I varied the size them and rotated each so that they seem like they grew in a somewhat random fashion.

Sculpture Island, Marjorie Thompson copyright 2014

All this will be extremely helpful in creating sets for a movie about Alexander von Humboldt. As he explored, he collected plant samples. All the paintings of the area are extremely lush but I think if I were to use this software I would be able to create something that would have a feeling similar to the paintings from this time period.

Alexander von Humboldt und Aimé Bonpland in der Urwaldhütte, Oil, Eduard Ender (c.1850) in the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, public domain United States

I do not feel bad coming to this conclusion at the end of the semester. I really do not think I would have been able to build multiple sets, learn about lighting and animate avatars in the amount of time that I had. I would have had to do that in addition to writing a script, creating a storyboard and all the things that were accomplished this semester. Another project...

References

Alexander von Humboldt webpage, Wikipedia,retrieved from;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_von_Humboldt#/media/File:Humboldt_and_Bonplant_in_the_Jungle.jpg

Google Sketchup, Google 3D Warehouse website
retrieved from: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/

McCallum, M. D. aka Warlord720, 2015. IClone 6-Your first scene, Youtube, Jan. 1 2015.
retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21j7xii-sHs

Reallusion, 2015. IClone Beginners Guide:Scene Creation Part 1, Youtube, April 9, 2015.
retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvlSi1jLl54

Reallusion, 2015. IClone Beginners Guide:Scene Creation Part 2, Youtube, April 9, 2015.

retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUX2ZsyowjY

Reallusion, 2014. IClone 6- New Features Guide, Youtube, Dec. 19, 2014.

retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM7328frqSI&list=PL_VXo2OHwix8FZhP5pxpFQo9z8Oi03op9