Animating

[rct]

What programs do you use for making complex film scenes, and why?

[Tbone]

What do you mean?

 

Movies or something like flash animation?

 

Final Cut is used for a lot of movie stuff.. I'll be using it next year for school.

[co1dfus1on]

I don't know quite what you mean. If you wwant to make a flash movie I'd recommend Adobe Flash. If you don't want to pay a load of money for it I'm sure there are pirated versions loose on t3h interwebs (not endorsed or supported in any way).

[teh silly]

I don't really do a whole bunch of animating in the video sense. When I do, though, I use Adobe Premier.

[Everlast7]

I don't really do a whole bunch of animating in the video sense. When I do, though, I use Adobe Premier.

Adobe Premier costs a lot of money though >_<. Windows Movie Maker is more than sufficient for most things if you aren't pro.

[rct]

I mean to create cgi backgrounds for movies

[foxxyD]

I realize this is a pretty old topic, but I just had to respond because nobody else had and I thought it was my responsibility as a filmmaker to do so.

 

CGI backgrounds can be tricky, but I suggest Maya or 3d Studio Max for truly professional results. Expensive, but most things of that caliber are. :S If you want a totally free approach to CG backgrounds, you could always try anim8or, render the results to video, chroma-key out a greenscreen, and plop it in. Granted, it's not the same as Maya / 3dsmax, but it's free, and free is always good.

[teh silly]

foxxyD knows what's going on -- 3DS Max and Maya are quality products, if you're doing the render/animate models thing. If you're doing video editing, Adobe Premier and Final Cut do the same thing (that is, video editing) pretty much just as well as each other (all the people who say one is better than the other are usually just grousing over the one they dislike). As to the cost of these products ... yes, they are professional grade and come with a professional price tag. However, you can get the trials to see what they are about and, if you are in or are planning to attend college, many universities will give you these products or sell you them at a very discounted rate. For instance, I get Windows XP, Vista, Server, Office, .NET, etc, etc for free. Professional/Enterprise editions. And it's 100% legit; the only catch is I have to download the iso's off MSDN Alliance on the horribly slow (haha, just kidding) T3.