UNAA Times: We have been following closely the production of Galiwango. We couldn’t help but wonder what technology is driving the creation of the Characters in the upcoming film. Can you give us an inside look into what kind of computer software you are using?
Solomon: I am more than happy to share. For the longest time I have wanted to see more Ugandan’s be a part of the Computer Graphics Industry. That is why I have enjoyed cataloging the creation process of Galiwango. Over the 10+ years that I have been working with 3D software packages, none has captured my imagination more than Autodesk’s Motionbuilder . It’s a very robust application and extremely user friendly.
(http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=10231758)
This summary of Motionbuilder’s usage captures best what the software is about:
“As one of the leading real-time CG technologies, MotionBuilder enables the process of virtual cinematography, allowing directors and cinematographers to interactively direct a virtual camera with the same freedom as a live shoot.”
UNAA Times: What do you find to be its most impressive feature?
Solomon: It has so many awesome features but I have to say the Story Panel. This is where mocap (Motion Capture) data is applied to the character via a timeline similar to other Non-linear editing packages. It’s an absolute delight to work with. It offers the ability to mix keyframe animation with data captured from an actor wearing a motion capture suit.
UNAA Times: Do you enjoy working with motion capture as opposed to a hand animated approach?
Solomon: Absolutely. The advantage to using a motion capture approach is that you save a lot of time. To animate a character realistically takes a long time and requires lots of hours of refining. When I use motion capture data, the bulk of the time is spent cleaning up the mocap. This means looking through and finding areas where a marker on the suit may have been obscured during the recording which results in a loss of keyframes and hence a jerky motion. It is a tidious process but not as time consuming as key frame animation.
UNAA Times: Thank you for the insight. We will be looking forward to the next sneak peek and the film when it is released.
Solomon: You are more than welcome. A new video will be uploaded soon.
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