Blender 3D Modeling Software

3D Modeling Software
reviewed by THE STORYBOARD

is used to construct sophisticated models appropreiate for the virtual Live Set presently in use in the FCAC Public Access facility Studio C. In our opinion the single most important thing to understand about two of the most popular 3D programs is that one, LightWave from NewTek cost $795 while Blender is free . Blender is reported to be every bit as stable and well supported by the open source community. It is something you can learn in a weekend? No. To get something to work? Yes. If you are looking for sophisticated professional output, think in terms of a year. Yes. A year. Consider also that the best 3D modelers like directors of photography have one more thing that most people lack. Talent. IMHO we should consider a class in art appreciation while we are teaching ourselves to push buttons, drag and drop. Be that as it may, ...
Blender is a free 3D graphics application. It can be used for modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, rigging, water simulations, skinning, animating, rendering, particle and other simulations, non-linear editing, compositing, and creating interactive 3D applications. Blender is available for several operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, IRIX, Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, OpenBSD with unofficial ports for BeOS, SkyOS, AmigaOS, MorphOS and Pocket PC. Blender has a robust feature set similar in scope and depth to other high-end 3D software such as SoftimageXSI, Cinema 4D, 3ds Max, Lightwave and Maya. These features include advanced simulation tools such as rigid body, fluid, cloth and softbody dynamics, modifier based modeling tools, powerful character animation tools, a node based material and compositing system and Python for embedded scripting.
LightWave 3D is a high end computer graphics program developed by NewTek. The latest release of LightWave runs on Windows and Mac OS X, and has been optimized for usage on Intel Macs. LightWave's network rendering system, ScreamerNet, has also been ported to Linux platforms. LightWave was one of the first 3D packages to feature a built-in radiosity render engine, with a complex light calculation model for support of caustics. Most functions within LightWave are multi-threaded, which means that those components can simultaneously use multiple processors in the same machine when performing complex calculations. Programmers can expand LightWave's capabilities using an included SDK as well as a special scripting language called LScript, which is based on the C language. The subdivision modeling is also very similar to the 3D package Modo, thus the 2 packages have been bundled together in some purchase options

Useful Blender Links: Dont forget to use the back button to return to this page.

Blender Home
A collection of wiki books on Blender
Blender 3D Tutorials
Blender 3D Design Course

Free Video Editing Software Reviewed

MS MOVIE MAKER
Already installed on newer computers that are running Windows XP, Movie Maker has drag and drop features to make creating and editing your movie easier. Microsoft has many add-ons for this software, and upgrades are available through the website. This is one of the best free video editing software programs available. Mr. Gates has done it again. It is a program that does what it it says it does. It's free. I don't care for it one bit! It doesn't play nice with anyone else in the editing community. It produces a file that cannot be played nor even read by any other editor.

APPLE iMOVIE
Apple iMovie is comparable to Windows Movie Maker, but Apple iMovie is used on the MAC operating system. Apple iMovie has many advanced features and add-ons. Unfortunately, the software is only free if you buy a new MAC system. If you want the software without buying the system, it is available for purchase. One of the best free video editing programs available for MAC users. I'm not a Mac Head so I can't speak from experience but those Mac heads and even those that have suffered some sort of conversion tell me that like evrything else Mac - it works, and it is especially easy to use.

AVID FREEDV
Avid FreeDV is available for both Windows and MAC operating systems, and includes basic video and audio editing capabilities, as well as up to two streams of real-time effects. On the whole, a solid video editing program that is slightly hard to use, but very powerful once you learn its ins and outs.
NO LONGER AVAILABLE FROM AVID YET STILL SUPPORTED

WAX
Wax is a high performance and flexible free video editing software program. It started out as a college project, and has since grown. Wax is good for both home users and professionals. It can be used as a stand-alone application, or as a plug-in to other video editors. The software also features unlimited video and audio tracks with top-down compositing.

ZWEI-STEIN
Zwei-Stein is great free video editing software, but the user interface is very technical. It is full featured, offering many different effects. It can edit up to 256 video, audio, and still image clips. There are up to 64 effects, which can be chained serially. An interesting program that's worth looking at. Very popular but a bit too convoluted for my taste.

Ahead Fiddles While NERO Doesn't Burn

We've been using Nero, the combination NLE and burning software package since version 6. It was always a bit clunky and never in a class with the expensive professional NLE products. It was however street priced under $100 and it did do most things well enough. I always found the ability to produce a DVD with and without chapters and export in MPEG especially useful. Now comes Nero 9 and in my opinion the death of Nero. Of all the imperfections listed by users the most frightening and the deal breaker for me is, "It removes the XP Reset Points".
Here are comments posted by Dan C. "Hot Rod Programmer" (Dallas, Texas) - "I'm the biggest idiot in the world for buying this burning software that's trying to be everything that's media. I purchased Nero 7 some time ago and used it on 32-bit Windows XP for years and aside from a crash now and again I was very satisfied. Now I've updated to 64-bit Vista and I wanted a fresh new version of Nero for my new computer. Stupid me didn't take the 5 minutes it takes to find some reviews before I bought it online. What a mistake. Short list of problems: * Over an hour to install on a dual core processor machine? You've got to be kidding me! * Application locks to the first machine you install on. * You have to buy eleven applications so that you can burn a DVD. * StartSmart has dropped 50 IQ points as compared to Nero 7. * "Patent Activation" * Core CD/DVD burning applications seem untouched from Nero 7, which is all I care about. * Takes up 1 GB of disk space. * Even after an hour installing you still have to go to the web-site to download docs. * Already frustrating, you have to download each doc one at a time? * Update does not seem to do anything except send you to the web-site. * Online support is a joke. The "TOP 5 FAQ" - IS the entire FAQ. I write software for a living and I would be ashamed if I was in any way associated with a bloated piece of garbage like this. The company is based Germany, but I can guarantee the software is not written and tested by German engineers. I've worked with them before and they write awesome software. I am almost certain Nero has outsourced their development to some other country and now we all suffer. I'm done with Nero forever. "
The Storyboard is looking at DVDFlick and ImgBurn - both have free versions.