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PatMarrNC - all messages by user

2016/9/2 14:27:44
An open Letter to Muvizu's developers Dreeko wrote:
ukBerty wrote:
Sadly Dreeko's interpretation of the situation is the same as mine and I agree with everything you say Pat.

I made a conscious decision not to comment on Muvizu's direction about three years ago as I realised that I didn't understand it and it was not in line with what I wanted or needed from the software. My mum taught me that if I have nothing good to say then say nothing.


Your Mum was right but this situation with Muvizu is ridiculous. It's obvious that Muvizu is never going to recover the money invested without a serious rethink.


the irony of this statement is that I think Muvizu is positioned to make a KILLING on this software! They should be able to make back many times more than has EVER been invested in it! It's priced low enough that everybody can afford it... its easy enough that anybody can learn it.... its addictive enough that nobody wants to stop using it.... it creates a product that is useful for internet advertising, memes etc...

if we had quadrapeds it would be useful for making CAT VIDEOS!! What in the name of heaven is more popular and easy to sell than cat videos???

On a positive note. They did release an expansion pack with keyframing for cameras etc. That was a huge improvement and not an easy thing to implement.
So yay! Go Muvizu!

D
edited by Dreeko on 02/09/2016


I agree! The keyframe pack is AWESOME! I love it and use it in every video! It's exactly the kind of content pack that makes me want to buy it as soon as I see it in the store!
2016/9/2 0:30:45
An open Letter to Muvizu's developers
The following may or may not be true...


it sure sounds like it could be true. Especially the part about not having any idea what they want the product to be.

But if return on investment is really all they want... all the more reason to follow my advice and the advice of everyone who has posted on this forum asking for specific things over the past few years.

Money is always flowing from one place to another, and if they aren't getting their share, it indicates they are either not marketing effectively or not offering products that their demographic wants. The demographic that opts for the $30 animation package instead of the $200 package is more likely to make several small purchases than one large one. Accessories that enhance the usability of their preferred product are easy purchases to make.

it is an awesome product, I think a large percentage of the world's population could find a use for it (that's potentially MILLIONS of customers...)

I can afford any product I want... and I have many of them... but I like this one because I believe it is easy to learn and you can extend its capability if you know how to model. That's a good foundation to build on.

  • Provide new users with an easy to learn interface (done)
  • Provide experienced users with the flexibility to create custom content (done)
  • Provide a steady stream of new (and useful) characters, accessories and actions in competitively priced expansion packs (not done)
  • Market the heck out of it (I have no idea what marketing is done, but I regularly look for products like this, and I only stumbled across it by accident. Somebody who is looking for your product diligently ought to be able to find it in the very first web query, or somebody isn't doing his/her job.

edited by PatMarrNC on 02/09/2016
2016/9/1 18:32:28
Heaven Bound Test Render looking very impressive from here! Good job!
2016/9/1 18:27:29
An open Letter to Muvizu's developers I want to start by saying that I love this software. Whoever conceptualized it and created the amazingly intuitive interface is brilliant! At the current price it is by far the most affordable and usable product of its type on the market. In my opinion, you haven't even scratched the surface of your earning potential. If you focused on making money through sales of add-on products (and if you actually dedicated resources to CREATING useful add-on products) you could arrange deals with all sorts of hardware manufacturers to include Muvizu as bundles with their products. Every video card should come with Muvizu. That would position you for a huge active user base who would all want to buy your accessory packs.

Instead, you dedicate your development resources to create 3D rotation packs and Oculus rift viewer packs that are useless to 99.9% of the people who use your software. That's not good marketing strategy.

I have to wonder why the dev team would spend resources to develop useless stuff when there are features we've been asking for and which we are willing to pay for! It had to cost Digimania a fair amount of money to pay for the man hours involved in the development of the oculus and 360 degree rotation features, neither of which is really useful in the world of video creation. I have to guess its because Muvizu is based on a game engine, and you probably hire developers from the gaming industry, who come to the workplace with ideas and skills that are useful in that environment. But although there is some overlap, they are two different paradigms. Your customers are basically film makers, and until Muvizu starts catering to the specific needs of video production the products you release will continue to be useless to us, and money losers for the company.

Given the low price of the base product, the expansion packs are where you stand to make money. Develop what we want, and we'll buy it. Develop things we can't use, and we won't.

My suggestion (if anyone at Muvizu gives a d@mn about what the users think) is:
1) Devote resources to providing accessories for the new characters. Cool as they are, they remain fairly useless without the ability to change their outfits and appearance.

2) Also a utility character that has the best features of the potato heads (lots of skeletal attachment points) and of the newer characters (ability to turn off the various body parts we don't need) would be useful. We could use such a character to create our own specialty creatures without all the constraints we have when trying to modify the current characters

3) And finally, in the absence of dev team involvement with the forum, users have started experimenting on their own. We now know that it is possible to create quadrapeds by editing the XML files. True, we are prohibited from doing so by the user agreement... but knowing that it is possible changes our expectations for the dev team. You can no longer tell us that it isn't possible to do what we've been asking for.

We want at least one professionally designed quadraped that has enough attachment points that we can morph it into other creatures with a little modelling skill. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd pay whatever you asked for such a character! I think just about everyone would.


In summary: expand your user base with bundling deals, then fill the store with useful accessories, and I predict your revenue will take off like a rocket. Or not. Your call.

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edited by PatMarrNC on 01/09/2016
2016/9/1 17:09:41
Easy not perfect face attachment you can put textures on any attachment... if you know how to model and you don't mind taking time for trial and error development, you could make your own face mask with an opening for the mouth

Or you might even try creating a face graphic that has the mouth area "alpha'd out" to make that part of the face mask transparent, revealing the character's mouth underneath. This works on ASE models that are imported separately, but on attachments I'm thinking the alpha area will just be turned to black. (because you don't get the chance to pick how alpha channel is applied to attachments)

Which character are you using? I might be able to make you a custom face mask for that character that leaves the mouth uncovered

Shoot me a PM telling me which character and your email address, and we'll take it from there.
2016/9/1 16:58:38
Render Muvizu using virtual machines (AWS, Azure) you're over my head, so my only thought is "GO FOR IT!"
(then let us know how it worked!)

sounds exciting... and it also sounds like you know how to make it happen. That's a good combination! ;-)
2016/8/31 18:21:42
End of August sale - 50% OFF! gimmick wrote:
Hello,

I have an old licence of Muvizu Play+ (January 2014 - 75 GBP!)
Is it ok for use with Play+ v1.7 or 1.8 ?
I can't test at the moment because my graphic computer is out of order.


I would think that your old license should still work, although if it doesn't enable the latest version automatically you may need to contact support. It is my understanding that the Muvizu license doesn't expire.
2016/8/31 14:12:07
The End of the Chase clayster2012 wrote:
Also the legs are attached to the feet, and the body is attached to the chest, when the legs are adjusted to where the feet meets the knees the legs work a lot better without the bow legged walk, and they are more closer to the hip, if the thighs attend to stick out when walking then adjusting the body and legs will fix it.
edited by clayster2012 on 31/08/2016

OK, so if I understand correctly, the invisible block is what the internal character actually walks on... right? Cool.
The reason the T-Rex feet look like they're slipping on the ground is because the character is moving based on the step length of the internal potato head, whose legs are way shorter than T-Rex's. In order to compensate for the difference, the easiest fix would be to "green screen" the T-rex and then move his clip at whatever speed was appropriate to make it look like his legs were propelling the movement.

Or, inside Muvizu, a combination of actual forward motion plus an animated environment moving past him would accomplish the same thing.

Knowing what a great modeler you are, I'm guessing you modeled Mr T? Nice job! I hope this will end up in the store....
2016/8/31 13:56:24
COMPETITION ENTRY Gman7877 wrote:
ok I think its on now!

Hi GMAN7877... welcome to the forum and thanks for submitting your video to my contest! The first rule of story telling is to write about a topic for which you have some passion... and I'd guess the gang resistance topic is a good one for a police officer! Part of the contest includes a review of each submission by the judges. Their comments are typically geared toward helping others learn from their experience.

I like what I see so far, and I look forward to seeing more from you as time goes on! And please keep us posted on the social implications of your project. It sounds like something worthwhile.
2016/8/30 17:32:51
The End of the Chase ReggieMetalFox wrote:
Good stuff :-) and an impressive T-Rex !


yeah, now you need to show everybody how you built it up around the core character...
(every cool video needs a second video to show how it was done)


note to anybody else who plans to submit something for the end of summer contest:
Clayster has set the bar pretty high! Can you beat this? We want to see what you got!
edited by PatMarrNC on 30/08/2016
2016/8/30 15:53:17
Pat Marr's Contest: Entries due by Sept 15 blickfang wrote:
Hi Pat

I recently had a hard drive crash and lost A LOT of stuff, including the Moscow band video I was working on ( I have heard about backups, yes).
Anyhoo, I would like to submit my other video which is only available at my Reverbnation page. Is this submittable to the contest?


only videos that were created during the contest period (Aug 15 2016 thru Sept 15 2016) are admissible. Otherwise, everybody would just break out their best past video and it wouldn't really be a contest. If it was created before that (and I'm guessing it was) then it doesn't qualify. Sorry... hard drive crashes are a beeyotch. ;-(

Having said all that... entries don't have to be long. There's no time limit. Muvizu is great at whipping up something very fast


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edited by PatMarrNC on 30/08/2016
2016/8/30 14:33:41
The End of the Chase hahahahhaha! That's AWESOME!! Where did you get those phone messages? They're perfect for this clip! Especially the Asian lady with the baby...
2016/8/30 14:19:22
placard or sign The newer characters (like Beefy) can "turn off" the top, legs and hands. This makes it possible to replace any of these body parts with an attachment.

If you have the base character models, you can copy Beefy's midsection and reshape it into his torso and arms holding a sign. Then save it as FBX and attach it to his BACK slot. Next, turn off Beefy's TOP and LEFT HAND and RIGHT HAND

You'll end up with something like this (but with a little modelling the static part can be anything you want.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e7k8eysvm42tsdk/BeefyMidsectionReplacement.jpg?dl=0

base character models are found here:
https://www.muvizu.com/Forum/topic5765-base-character-reference-models.aspx

The nice thing about this approach is that the midsection is frozen, and it won't do anything unexpected that leads to clipping... but the rest of Beefy works as usual.
2016/8/30 12:55:42
Pat Marr's Contest: Entries due by Sept 15 clayster2012 wrote:
Ok Pat not sure if I'm still eligible to submit an entry, but here's my submission to the contest, its not that long of a video, just something I been working with, it started off kind of long but i just went ahead to the last part, its why I call it The end of the Chase.


oh sorry I been quiet, not been feeling good.


Clayster! I love this video! and of course you're still eligible to submit an entry... contest deadline is Sept 15... over two weeks away!
I'll review all the entries after the contest ends. so I won't say much about it now.

And I know what you mean about being quiet when you aren't feeling well... I'm the same way.


By the way... these T-Rex videos have helped me to realize that people sound like carrots when they're being eaten by T-Rexes ;-)


HEY PEOPLE! CLAYSTER HAS SET THE BAR PRETTY HIGH ON THIS FIRST ENTRY TO OUR END OF SUMMER CONTEST!
It will be interesting to see if anybody out there can beat this....

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edited by PatMarrNC on 30/08/2016
edited by PatMarrNC on 30/08/2016
2016/8/30 5:28:29
Pat Marr's Contest: Entries due by Sept 15 cat update: On the previous cat character both left legs moved forward when both right legs moved backward. RodRSilva commented that isn't the way cats walk, and suggested pairing left front with right rear (and vice versa)

The following video shows both cats... the original, plus the one that has been modified according to Rod's suggestion (his is on the right, original is on the left) In my opinion, Rod's way looks much more like the way a cat walks! Thanks for the idea Rod! (Contest members will get both cats. )

2016/8/30 1:14:18
Week 1 of Visual Effects for Guerrilla Filmmakers Awesome, Ziggy! With the tools you have in your creative toolbox, there's no stopping you now! I liked the surprise twist with the arm coming out of the barrel.... ;-)

Every one of these classes has been a game-changer, and especially the one on 3D compositing. The ability to create 3D layers and apply 2D graphics to them... and arrange them into 3D buildings... with transparency... and EVERYTHING is keyframable and numerically controllable!

Its such a good fit with Muvizu because all the principles are the same, and much of it even WORKS the same way... Its a bit different in terms of work flow, however. In order to make the most of it, a person would need to use Muvizu or other animation package to create simpler elements that can be assembled later. I see opportunity for people making green screen animations for use in HitFilm.

One application might be to rig all of the Muvizu base models and create animations with them that don't exist in the standard set of Muvizu actions... like fiddle playing. Then green screen it and make it available to others who need that action. So many new possibilities introduced by the base models and HitFilm...
edited by PatMarrNC on 30/08/2016
2016/8/30 1:04:28
Muvizu price dropping I can't speak for Muvizu... only they know their game plan and reasons behind their pricing. But I can speculate, and here's the only thing that makes sense to me:

The niche of 3D graphic animation is really two different markets. The first market is between all the different companies that sell similar products (MAYA, DAZ, iClone, Poser, Muvizu, etc. ) Each of these companies appeals to a different demographic with different budgets.

The second market is in add-ons. If you can get people in the door and get them used to the product, then you have a pretty good shot at selling them content packs. As an entry-level product, Muvizu is positioned to put a lot of active users on the ground, and therefore equally well positioned to sell lots of add-ons. EVERYBODY can afford Muvizu! Imagine a user base that consists of over a million active users... highly possible with a reasonably priced product that has global appeal in the information age!

In the same way that the old razor blade manufacturers used to practically give away their razors so they could sell you the blades that fit them, Muvizu makes a little on each license they sell, but hopefully will offset that on future sales of content.

This would explain why all the new characters don't come with lots of accessories... I figure that eventually we'll have an opportunity to buy more accessories . I could be wrong. But I think that explanation explains a lot of what we're seeing
2016/8/29 22:46:41
Pat Marr's Contest: Entries due by Sept 15 tonyob67 wrote:
Pat, what if you don´t have a paypal account?


Good question. PayPal has become the defacto currency for online transactions. It doesn't cost anything to set up an account, and in my opinion, everybody should probably have one.

However... if the winner doesn't have a PayPal account I guess I could snail-mail a paper check.
2016/8/29 20:33:33
Pat Marr's Contest: Entries due by Sept 15 Okay! Good news! Ikes has agreed to let me offer his amaaaaaazing T-Rex as a gift to everyone who submits an entry in my contest!


The T-Rex isn't in the store, and may never be... so if you like it and want to examine it to see how Ikes worked his magic... this may be your ONLY CHANCE to get it! He is making it available in 2 versions: One for walking and one for head movement / eating people. Need I say more? Who doesn't need a T-rex in his character lineup?

so far the prizes for this contest are as follows:

-- Best submission from somebody using the free version wins a paid license!

-- Best submission from somebody using the paid version wins a minimum of $50 USD deposited to their PayPal account. I've budgeted $100 for the contest, so depending on the cost of other prizes, any leftover funds will also go to the winner.

-- Random drawing winner (one drawing from all submissions) will receive $25 USD

Everybody who enters a video created with the paid version of Muvizu will get:
1) Ikes' T-Rex
2) my cat (including a whole zip file of eye textures & animations and OBJ models for improving it)
3) the talking orange, in case anybody wants to dissect it & see how that was done

(These will also go to the winner of the paid license... but not to users of the free version, since they can't use them anyway.)

remember, there are practically no restrictions on this contest... any topic... any length.... there is no excuse not to enter!
2016/8/29 20:08:57
Pat Marr's Contest: Entries due by Sept 15 Rodrisilva wrote:
Very well PatMarrNC!
How did you get time for such awsome work ?
I saw that cat legs were moving at same time. Not a natural cat step but if you try to use crossed models; I mean right front leg with left rear leg it could work.



WOW! Great idea! Yes, I think that could work Rod! I'll give that a try this evening and post the results! I love how people build on an idea and make it better! Continuous improvement is alive and well!


If you (or anybody else) has time to experiment with the idea, I'd love to see what you come up with! That's why I'm giving the cat and all of its OBJ files to everybody who enters the contest. I'm hoping to see others take the idea to a better solution. I'm not the right guy for the finishing touches.


I used this approach because Eugene Cheese recently posted a similar example which piqued my interest, and I wanted to experiment with the idea. The cat pays homage to Eugene and to Ikes for their clever ideas about how to create new and interesting characters given the constraints we have in the Muvizu environment.

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edited by PatMarrNC on 29/08/2016
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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.