May the renders be with you!

Hello All,

So we are fast approaching the middle of the year and over the last month I had been doing research.  Related to this years project but mainly the alternatives to my current animation pipeline.
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Rendering

With iClone being a real time 3D animation tool, the native render engine is very, very fast. Even with everything on max you can still preview.  Only when you have a busy scene with multiple lights and characters does it begin to lose FPS (Frames per second).  However I generally only use this as a preview to check the look before rendering out.

As any animatic project it works incredible and I'm sure with so many facilities like video within iClone, many people can produce some breathtaking stuff.  However when it come to broadcast / professional animation it falls short.

I have used the native render engine and will need to continue with it until the technology catches up and allows me to produce the quality I want.

Website

So here are some indigo RT renders of the quality I would like to animate at.

I might still be able to do something at this quality but it will not be the main animation piece.

There are a number of other render engines that I have heard might work with iClone.  One can only hope that enough people want to have a professional render engine option.  I however would like either of these.

Website

Website

Only time will tell if we get these options, improvements to the existing issues or something completely different.

I hope that I'm not forced down a road I don't want to go down as I might be able to switch to Maya this year, we will see? 

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Music

As well as producing the animation for "A Tale of Time" the second biggest part of this project is the music.  Mainly because there is no dialogue in the piece and that the music will play an even more important part.  With the normal score, I'm going to need emotion filled music as well as melodic songs to tell the tale.  Any songs will be in "English" but will be used only appropriately not to spoil any language barriers.

Check out my music on Soundcloud.

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New Animation Logo

So this year I've come up with a new animation logo design.

"A Tale of Time" will feature this for the first time.

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"A Tale of Time" Teaser

So I'm pleased to announce that the release date for the first teaser will be the weekend of the 15th May 2016.

I hope you all are looking for your first tease for this project.

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"A Tale of Time" Production Update

Project is currently on target with a 23% ready.  I should make some big movements to this over the next couple of weeks as I get the teaser ready for release.

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So that it for this month, keep an regular eye on Facebook and Twitter.

Until next, thanks for passing by and seeing what we're up to.

Take Care

Colin (aka Capemedia)

After Easter and April fools, do I stylze or not.

Hello All,

The year is flying

Well this year is really motoring, with Easter having gone as well as today being April fools day.  Soon be Christmas....noooo!!!

So as always a lot happens over a month but last month I was looking at moving my films over to Dailymotion as I was unhappy with Youtube.  After thinking about this I'm going to use Dailymotion to premiere new content but then use Youtube as well.

I need to use Youtube to help me grow and no matter how I feel, sadly that is the place to be.

You can view the first uploaded short film here now:-

The Sword Dance by capemediauk

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I released some storyboard art I had been working on since the beginning of the year now that I had completed this phase of the project.

These are taken from Scene 3

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There have been some amazing developments in iClone this year with new tools and amazing add ons.  Due to this I've started to rethink the way I want "A Tale of Time" to look and feel.

One of my main decision has come from using Character Creator and a number of morph packs, some from the talented Toko Motion.

So I have made the decision to use more stylized characters in this project:-

This is Albert before, with just the older version of him stylized:-

Then after a bit of thought, design and implementation here is the new Albert Thomas:-

Here is another character:-

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The biggest decision that I've had to turn down is the render engine.  The above images are all rendered out of iClone and take around a few seconds on the highest settings.  They look good and will fulfill my needs, but Indigo RT doesn't half look beautiful.

The same images but rendered in Indigo RT - Girl 20 minutes, Albert 15 minutes:-

Now considering that this project will be around 10 - 12 minutes, that's 720 seconds, which is around 17,280 frames.  To render this project in Indigo RT without the setup times would take 95 hours.....very painful!

Sadly, I think I'll use this mainly for PR.

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So that's the end of this month's Blog.  Please use the Facebook page for more regular updates.

Until next time, take care and thanks for visiting.

Regards

Capemedia (aka Colin Cooper)

A leap year without a leap of faith

Hello Everyone,

Frustration and video hosting

I've left updating this month BLOG until today the 29th February 2016.  An interesting day in that as you know it only comes around once every 4 years.  To some degree this is similar to major decision that I have made.  They only happen every few years and today I feel events are forcing me to make one.

I have been a long time user of Youtube, all my videos that I have produced over the years have always been uploaded and my small but dedicated subscribers have been notified of them.  Over the years though things have gotten worse, the merge of Youtube and Google was not great for me.

 

Google around 10 years ago banned me from Google Ads.  This I have tried on many occasions to address but I get no where, so I gave up trying.  Now over the years I have been stung by Youtube's "Copyright" issues and some I have accepted but in some cases they have been downright wrong and the hassle to prove your innocence is incredible.  Even in one case where I wrote, performed, produced and recorded my own song they tried to tell me I had used someone else's work, it was mine!  But the guilty until proven innocent issue has always bothered me.

In some cases I used the fair usage policy to protect myself.  But even this has now come under attack by Youtube's systems algorithm! 

This last week my video "Be Water - Bruce Lee Tribute" had a copyright claim put on it based on the fact I'd used a piece of audio from his 1971 Pierre Berton interview.  My account now is in "Bad Standing" and I've been warned that if I receive two more claims my account will be terminated.  I need to wait 6 months now to get my account back!

I wouldn't mind if everyone adhered to the rules but they don't and in some cases the videos are so wrong from a copyright point I'm amazed they are still playing?

So where does this leave Capemedia UK and Youtube/Google.  Well I'm seriously thinking of moving my work to another hosting website like Vimeo or Dailymotion.  Haven't decided which platform is better but I am leaning towards Dailymotion.

 

I've never made any money from Google or YouTube so you would think I was safe, sadly that is not the case and I feel I would prefer to jump then be pushed.

I will keep this BLOG posted of my choice.

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Projects

Last month I mentioned my project for 2016 and gave away a snippet of an image from a set I was working on.  Over the last few weeks I have posted other artwork and shots from the project on my Facebook Page.

Today I'm proud to announce the name of this project and the first teaser poster.

"A Tale of Time" was an idea I had over the Christmas period 2015 during some very difficult times for me and my family.  I want this to be my best work to date, I want this to be enjoyed by everyone regardless of language and I want this to be classed as an animated film not a piece of "Virtual Cinema" or "Machinima".

I can only live in hope.

Production Update - "A Tale of Time"

Please come back for more information on this as we move forward towards a release date.

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Thanks for popping round and taking the time to read my BLOG.

Until next time

Thanks

Colin (aka Capemedia)

Out of the ashes we will rise

Hello All,

A bit of a somber title "Out of the ashes we will rise" and to think where I am today from only a matter of weeks ago.  I think that myself, my family, and a collected "we", are rising out of a period of pain.

We are all slowly starting to look forward and to see where and what 2016 brings.  Strange but every year I plan so many thing, sometimes I get them done other times I fail.  But what happened in December 2015 took me and everyone close to me by surprise.  It made me think about my own mortality, those closest to me and what was important.

But the circle of life states that life must go on.  We cannot stay still no matter how much we want to.  We cannot shut the world away and hide behind closed doors.  That's not what we want of our loved ones and surely that don't want from us.  We need to live life to the fullest.

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PROJECTS

I have decided that 2016 will be a great year for me because I'm not going to set targets or project timelines and the stress and worry when I don't meet them.  What I'm going to do is work on my projects and complete them when I finish them.

So at the end of December I had an idea based on the event in my personal life but also inspired by what I was watching over the Christmas period.  I'm not going to give away to much too early but I have made a start.

The first draft of the script is written and will just need checking before it's finalised.  The asset document has been started with the scenes, sets, characters etc.

Work has started in iClone building the models, the characters and setting the scenes.

There is a working title but for now I shall refer to it as "My 2016 Project".

Here is the first image.

I have a approached a couple of people to help me on this project and I'm looking forward to what they come up with and add to this.

The above image is very important but I'm giving nothing away now.

Stay tuned for more updates

Take Care

Colin (aka Capemedia)

2015 in Review and Tribute

Hello All,

So after an interesting year with so many activities, new ideas and a few completed projects the year has ended on a very sad note.

Someone who has been part of my life since I was in my teens, who I respected and loved, passed away on the 7th December 2015.  The final few weeks leading up to this were very difficult for me and my family, but nothing can compare you for the overwhelming loss you feel.

R.I.P Peter Hartley

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So to the review of the year:-

At the beginning of the year iClone 6 had been released at the end of 2014 and part of my work as a beta tester was to produce various images and videos to show the capabilities of the software.  I produced a showcase of this work and released it.

• In January one of the first things that happened in 2015 was the fact Capemedia UK Ltd was to be frozen due to lack of commercial work.  It wasn't a great time then but in hindsight was a good thing in the end.

• In March I redesigned the layout in my home studio and upgraded my hardware and software.  This had something I had needed to do for sometime to create more space in my room.

• April 2015 we hit 500 likes on our Capemedia UK Facebook page.  That number has remained a constant throughout the year and as I type stands at 524.

If you haven't already done so, why not pay a visit and click the Like button.

• In May Capemedia UK became 10.  Back in 2005 I had the idea to start a production company producing, videos, music, animations etc.  10 years later I was still doing it.

• In June I released my entry for the Reallusion Game Character Animation Contest, first a WIP progress and then a final video.  Sadly I never completed what I wanted to produce due to time constraints and my day to day job.

The final entry:-

• August 2015 saw me venture into Vlogs with me making a "Introduction and Welcome" for Capemedia UK.

• In September 2015 Reallusion released a new addon for iClone called Character Creator and one of the first things I did was created a Bruce Lee model.  I made the choice to do the model with glasses as I couldn't quite get his eyes right.  However you decide.  On the back on this I made a tribute video.

The tribute video:-

There was also two pieces of music written for this project:-

• Finally in November 2015 I released my final project of 2015.  Again using a model created in Character Creator.  I combined new lighting within iClone to show the difference between night and day.

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So that's 2015 in review.  There will be no more projects completed this year and over the next few weeks I will need to spend time with my family as we adjust to our bereavement.

Thank you for reading, watching and supporting Capemedia UK over the last and finally I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

Until 2016.

Signing off Colin Cooper

I missed a month and I liked it.

Hello Everyone,

Well it seems, no matter how I tried I have ended up missing a monthly Blog.  This was not done intentionally, it just happened.

Never mind!
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VLOGS

OK so I have managed to release 2 more Vlogs since my last post.

Capemedia's World - Composing Music Ep1 (Vlog4) 

Capemedia's World - Artificial Intelligence (Vlog5) 

I have been trying to do weekly vlogs but when I try and work on my projects it seems this has a delaying effect on getting my vlogs published.

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PROJECTS

With the new Character Creator plugin for iClone I have been creating some new avatars for my productions.

This outstanding tool allows so much flexibility I've not even scrapped the surface yet with what it can do.

So my next short project called "Light and Day" is based around a new designed character and the new lighting system in iClone.  I may even throw in some Indigo renders as well.

Come back next month to see the finished project.

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In the mean time you can keep up to date with everything going on in Capemedia's World,

On Facebook

On YouTube

On Soundcloud

Or at www.capemediauk.com

Major update coming for the website in 2016, our 11th year.

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Please come back for more on this BLOG.

Thanks for passing by.

Take Care.

Colin

Wake Me Up When September Ends

Hello Everyone,

As you may have noticed I'm publishing this blog update for September on the 1st October...strange...weird!!

I'll explain, during the first 2 thirds of September everything was ticking over nicely.   I had started my new VLOG at the end of August and had managed to keep things going over the first few weeks and released 2 more VLOGs

And

Things got a little time stretched when I wanted to release "Be Water" my tribute to Bruce Lee.  I had created the character in the newly released Character Creator from Reallusion in early September and I got stuck into writing the music and creating the film. 

Sadly my day time work came into play and arrangements for my son's 18th Birthday party delayed things and I finally released the video on the 29th September.

You can now watch this film tribute here:

Please let me know what you think in the comments on here, YouTube or Facebook.

The music from the film "Be Water" is now available to listen on Sound-cloud



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So onwards into October:

I will continue my video VLOGs, I have some new ideas and hopefully something people will enjoy watching.  I will be writing new music and thinking up new creative ideas.

Please come back for more on this BLOG, follow me on Facebook, YouTube, Sound-cloud to keep up to date with everything Capemedia

Thanks for passing by.

Take Care.

Colin