Demo Reel = Freaking Out

[tealin]

Hooray! Copperbadge has come to the rescue. If you still want to see me losing my mind to Video Format Dysfunction, it's here.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

How do you convert a WMA to an AVI (or, in a perfect world, a MOV)? I can only use Windows Movie Maker to put together my clips (... as far as I know ...) and stupid Microsoft only saves in WMA format (unless there's some super secret hidden switch I cannot find) and AAAAH.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

Maybe I can ... upload it to YouTube as a WMA ... then use that video grabber thing to save it as a Flash file ... then import it into Flash ... then export it as an AVI ... then somehow convert it to MOV ... Because THAT won't degrade the picture or sound quality at ALL! Does QuickTime Pro open WMAs? Maybe I should ask the tech guys, or someone at the school...

[whimper]

EDIT: Okay, well, here's a webby version of it (neither AVI nor MOV) so you can see what I'm freaking out over. It was all done five years ago (back when my drawings were so soft!) but it's pretty much all the animation I have. And somehow the audio has gotten a couple frames off sync. Gnurh.

Comments

[veetvoojagig.livejournal.com]

http://www.zamzar.com/

This is a file conversion site. I don't know if they do exactly what you want, but I know they do handle videos. Check it out.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Sweeeeeeeeeheeheeheeeet.

Am trying it out now... THANK YOU. In advance. I hope.

[veetvoojagig.livejournal.com]

Good luck!

[mothos.livejournal.com]

Media Coder (http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/index.htm) is a free open source transcoder that may be what you're looking for.

Quicktime Pro does do WMA to AVI.

Toast reportedly can too.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Hmm, Media Coder only imports MOVs, so that's out... Glad to hear QTPro is a friendly one. Perhaps there's a computer around here that has it.

Toast? a.k.a. grilled bread? I'm guessing this is an amusingly named media program.

[mothos.livejournal.com]

Media Coder doesn't? Oops, I thought it did. Toast is disc burning software which I have just discovered is Mac only. But Roxio (toast's maker) do make a program called Copy and Convert. It's not free but there might be a demo that lasts long enough to serve your purposes.

Isn't WMA audio? Shouldn't you be converting WMV to AVI? I'm kind of lost in the Windows world.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Erm... yes, Windows local video file format, whatever it is. I suppose V makes more sense than A, doesn't it? Distressed! Not thinking clearly. Thanks for the heads up on Roxio; I'll check it out if the other options don't work. I seem to remember being really frustrated with something of theirs a while ago, possibly a burning software, but I'll give them a second chance.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

There's a program called AVS Video that does it, but it's a purchase program only. I have it -- if you upload the WMV to me I can convert it and shoot it back to you. I know I can convert it to AVI, I may be able to convert to MOV.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Upload? Upload how? Where? Hmm, I could put it on my infrequently-used domain thingy if that's convenient... wow, that would be fantastically awesome of you. Really?

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Is it small enough to email? copperbadge @ gmail.com. Or use sendspace.com if it'll fit there.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

OK, emailed it ... THANKS!

[malicious-alice.livejournal.com]

Hey awesome animations. So crisp and the actions are very fluent.
I'm sorry i can't help you with converting stuff, I'm computer retarded.

[shadowmaat.livejournal.com]

Dunno if Internet Video Converter (http://www.snapfiles.com/get/internetvideoconverter.html) will do what you need, but I've found it handy, myself. Although demo reels probably rank far above my own vid hoarding needs. I'm a bit late to the party (as usual) but maybe it'll come in handy later.

[dragonclaws.livejournal.com]

Oh. My. God. I love it. The kitty!

[last-archangel.livejournal.com]

I'm about as proficient in the higher programs as most forms of rodent, so I can't really help you in that area. I just wanted to say how impressed I am. Really, that was amazing.

[roga.livejournal.com]

That is freaking incredible. Really awesome. I love the crow, and the way the way the girl fell down.

[aysquid.livejournal.com]

What was the sound clip with the crow from? Because that girl's voice cracks me up. xD

GORGEOUS animations, man!

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Those are classmates of mine, hence the rather amateurish sound quality. Thanks, though! I wish I could watch them without wincing.

[noodledaddy.livejournal.com]

Send me a file (gmail) and I can not only reexport it for you in nearly any format of your choice, I can re-sync the audio as well.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Already done, I'm afraid, but thanks! The audio is only off in the Photobucket thing, dunno why.

[viqii.livejournal.com]

omg the CAT , IT IS AMAZING!!!!!!!
omg i loved it soo much
that's what i plan to get to do dome day..aahh

[tannhaeuser.livejournal.com]

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Oh, if I had my time over again, I'd fix lots of things about everything on that reel (except maybe the slipping-on-ice; I started that one over so many times I've probably run out of alternatives) but it remains that these are the best animations I have 'finished' at this point in time.

Sigh.

[tannhaeuser.livejournal.com]

[toffeeliz.livejournal.com]

*claps* that was awesome. My favourite was the cat. "and I'll put it in a box, and then I'll put that into another box" lol. You really should post some more animation up!

[maggiebloome.livejournal.com]

Hee, it's cute. The voices sound X-TREEMly Disney, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not...

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Well, one of the voices is Disney, or rather Eartha Kitt working for Disney, with an inexplicable hissing in the background. The others are amateurs, but good amateurs!

[papaya-island24.livejournal.com]

OMG!!

That was amamzing!!! My favorite scenes were the cat, and when the girl tripped over that rock and saw that bird

wow :O

[papaya-island24.livejournal.com]

P.S. the girls feet were cool XD

[hobbitonic.livejournal.com]

Haha! Emperor's New Groove.

[leksey-esor.livejournal.com]

Could you post a link? Quicktime has taken over my computer and says I can't play the video.

[kathuerun.livejournal.com]

Dear twirlynoodle:
Your animation looks awesome, as does the rest of your journal - may I please friend you?

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Friend away! Thanks for he compliments!

animating for the first time,,,,

[method22madness.livejournal.com]

Hi
I was just wondering if you had an suggestions/tips/advice (which are pretty much the same thing) to someone who wants to start animating...in her spare time...
for fun, really.

I've always wanted to try my hand at it, but I really have no idea how to go about starting.

any help would be greatly appreciated
thank you,
Heather

storm610@gmail.com

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Pick up The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams. Watch lots and lots of DVDs (ones with good animation anyway) frame-by-frame, for long stretches of time, so you get used to seeing the drawings that make up a movement. Learn to draw solidly. That's pretty much all I can suggest....

[pippins-nose.livejournal.com]

THE AMAZINGATUDE! *bows down* I love the slipping guy...and when she pushes past the bushes...and...okay I love it all.

[infiniteviking]

*cackles* The cat's revenge speech takes the cake. But I was cackling throughout the reel.

How long does it take to animate one such sequence?

[phonixa.livejournal.com]

HA HA HA HA I WILL ANSWER.

I'm not in third semester yet, so i haven't gotten these assignments yet, BUT the teachers usually give us between one week and two weeks to finish assignments. I think the last one Tealin posted probably took longer (and maybe the ice one? I really don't know LOL)

AHHH! Third semester terrifies me!!!!!!!!!!! Especially the ball one. Dear god.

[browncoat.livejournal.com]

I think it's fantastically good. I also think you worry too much. You've got more talent in one of your fingernails than most of us have in our whole body.

[lepitot.livejournal.com]

Oh! That was awesome. I loved the girl and the crow. I can tell it's five years old (not by the quality, but by the style)

This makes me want to try my hand at animating. Then again, it makes me want to just DRAW something, since I haven't even done that in a long time...

Again, they were awesome. I love the expression of "I'll turn him into a flea"...I thought that was great haha.

But, my favorite clip was the last one.

[sparrowofjack.livejournal.com]

Okay this has nothing to do with the topic at hand, but...

WHAT THE HECK IS WITH THE NEW "BOMBAY DUCK" SECTION ON THE PAUL KIDBY WEBSITE??? http://www.paulkidby.com/bombayduck/index.html

It frightens me! I think it's supposed to though...

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Wow, um ... I don't know.

That is way too much pink vinyl for me, though.

[lizetm.livejournal.com]

I use Xilisoft Video Converter 3 to converter almost any kind of format, including AVI to WMA.

But wow, great animation, you are very talented. Love the Emperor's New Groove part, very funny scene. :D

[kobb-cheetah.livejournal.com]

Nice stuff, makes me want to animate. I think the Yzma lipsync bit could be a little more exaggerated, as the character is basically crazy. The cat herself reminds me of your version of Tsarmina, and I imagined her saying ths stuff about Martin or somebody... t'was good for a chuckle.

And I loved the crow. There was just something very appealing about him to me... so yup. :)

[out-tonight889.livejournal.com]

i looooove it! the cat, omg the cat!! *squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*