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[vidgms4me]

Ok.  Hi everyone.  I would like to start off by saying that I love mxm.  Great, featured dashboard.

With that settled, I am hoping to try to design a skin.  Heres my toolbox so far:

The Gimp (gimp.org) - Basic graphic development
Notepad / Vi Improved - Writing the info for the skin xml file.
Audacity (audacity.sf.net) - (possible) mp3 editing.

Now as you can imagine, I am without any SERIOUS 3d graphic design program, or in the future, any good video editing software.

Can anybody reccomend any good tools?  I am running a WinXP laptop, and have a Linux box available.

Any good tool reccomendations would be appreciated, preferable free or cheap (under $40) shareware.

Thanks again,
Vidgms4me

[theagent]

photoshop's a must...and i'm using Sonic Foundry Vegas which was recommended to me.
it's a fun video editing tool.

[BenJeremy]

QUOTE (theagent @ Jun 23 2003, 08:54 PM)

photoshop's a must...and i'm using Sonic Foundry Vegas which was recommended to me. it's a fun video editing tool.

Well, it's nice if you have a license at home because your employer needs your skills to compose videos... but VV4 isn't cheap.   US$600 just to get your feet wet.

Of course, we won't discuss other ways you might get it (like robbing a liquor store for the cash).  

[vidgms4me]

QUOTE (BenJeremy @ Jun 23 2003, 09:57 PM)

QUOTE (theagent @ Jun 23 2003, 08:54 PM) photoshop's a must...and i'm using Sonic Foundry Vegas which was recommended to me. it's a fun video editing tool. Well, it's nice if you have a license at home because your employer needs your skills to compose videos... but VV4 isn't cheap.   US$600 just to get your feet wet. Of course, we won't discuss other ways you might get it (like robbing a liquor store for the cash).

Heh... $600.

I'm sure theres some other ways to make some decent skins, animated or not.  Ill use Windows Movie Maker before I shell out 600 big ones.

I guess I could always make some huge animated gifs, convert them to avi, and then convert them to .wmv  Okay, I'm kidding.  Suddenly I understand the lack of skins in MXM.

And BJ, I'm gunna kinda try to make this skin legal (a skin for a modded xbox playing unsigned code)   .

I could make some very low recource skins with very little (read: cheap) animation.

If I have learned one thing though, it is that for every commercial tool, there's a free / sw one that can do the same thing.  So I'll keep looking.

Any other suggestions.  Theres got to be something cheap before I shell out another $150 for photoshop.

[BenJeremy]

Well, also you can use StoikVideo, which is Freeware, I believe, to so the conversion to WMA.

Isn't there a movie version of GiMP?

[vidgms4me]

QUOTE (BenJeremy @ Jun 23 2003, 11:54 PM)

Well, also you can use StoikVideo, which is Freeware, I believe, to so the conversion to WMA. Isn't there a movie version of GiMP?

Yeah the gimp includes movie support, but it aint that great.  Thanks for the prog.  Ill try it out

[Cofi]

Virtualdub. Free and good with filters... I needed to make a black overlay over a text in a movie. I first tried Video Vegas, but searched everywhere to find how to do it. Suddenly I gave up and used vdub. Much easier...  But I haven't used Video Vegas a lot so I guess there are a lot of features there I havenät seen yet.

[Crash N Burn]

  . I loaded it went to there website and upgraded to 4.0b for free .  
I know it sound like ALOT of money but if your into Multimedia Editing . This is the best way to go . There's also tons of websites that offer HUGE price reductions in software if your in school . My son got WinXP Pro for  $89.00 just by showing his HighSchool ID .



,,.............................................................Crash N Burn

[thetruethugg]

If you want to expiriment with 3d modeling, and maybe use some renders in your work, check out Blender..  It's nice and free.  Kind of a bitch to use, however..

The GIMP is pretty good, I've sorta used it on and off for a year..

I recall using another modeling app, and a couple video editing apps, for 'nix, but I don't recall their names..  If they come back to me (took me awhile to remember blender) I'll post em here..

[vidgms4me]

QUOTE (thetruethugg @ Jun 24 2003, 12:47 PM)

If you want to expiriment with 3d modeling, and maybe use some renders in your work, check out Blender..  It's nice and free.  Kind of a bitch to use, however.. The GIMP is pretty good, I've sorta used it on and off for a year.. I recall using another modeling app, and a couple video editing apps, for 'nix, but I don't recall their names..  If they come back to me (took me awhile to remember blender) I'll post em here..

Just downloaded blender, and it appears promising.  I'll start trying to learn how to use it.

EDIT: Heh... 200 page Documentation.  Well, its summer, got nothing better to do  

[Crash N Burn]

You also might want to try anim8tor or Alice there both free . Whats kewl about anim8tor is it accepts 3ds and obj files . Rendering is awesome but the splines and bones placement can get tricky . Not to mention they has a great forum .



,,..............................................Crash N Burn

[vidgms4me]

A bit complex, but I think OpenFX (openfx.org) will fit my needs.  Downloading it now.

[phantazma1]

QUOTE (Crash N Burn @ Jun 24 2003, 09:33 AM)

If any of you are in College , check out the 'Student Software' program . VV4 was under $300.00 for me     . I loaded it went to there website and upgraded to 4.0b for free .   I know it sound like ALOT of money but if your into Multimedia Editing . This is the best way to go . There's also tons of websites that offer HUGE price reductions in software if your in school . My son got WinXP Pro for  $89.00 just by showing his HighSchool ID . ,,.............................................................Crash N Burn

$89.00 for XP? i got mine for $5 w/student id.  
virtualdub is good.