Animation Software Buyer's Guide
Animation is everywhere. From the flying logos that accompany the opening of a football game to the "did-they-just-say-that?" cartoons on late night cable, animation inundates the airwaves.
Until very recently, working animation into the average video was prohibitively expensive. Now that the kind of animation power that used to be reserved for studios is available to anyone, that's no longer true.
Though powerful packages like Adobe After Effects manipulate what was recorded by the camera, others like Autodesk's Maya 8 and Newtek's LightWave 9 offer full production systems right out of the box. The capabilities that these tools offer to a producer cannot be overstated. With enough time, effort and practice - lots and lots and lots of practice - users can create almost anything they can imagine and bring it to life on the screen. This is not hyperbole. This is the state of consumer animation packages today. That power is now yours for the taking.
The Big Boys in the Playground
Most video producers have already dabbled in animation; they just don't realize it. Any editor who has moved a title placard for a video in a non-linear editor has animated something for the screen. Most NLEs offer robust systems for handling complex animation tasks like movement to a motion path or even perspective shifting.
Powerful? Sure. Yet in a world where viewers expect to dive through the letters of an opening title like a warp-powered cruise missile, the ability to move a piece of text left or right just won't cut it.
The venerable Adobe After Effects is already well-known as acting as "Photoshop for Video." That's no longer the only option available. Major animation packages like LightWave or Maya offer complete animation solutions. Everything needed to take a project from modeling to final shot "render" is included in the box. Though the packages aren't cheap, they offer a lot for the money: Maya has several Emmys to its name, and LightWave is best known for work on shows like Babylon 5, Seaquest DSV, and even films like The Aviator, as well as parts of Star Wars Episode III.
But What About My Needs?
So these big packages are available. That doesn't address the real question: What kind of package is right for you?
To answer that question, read and answer the following questions:
- Do you ever anticipate the need to composite objects into your video that will be dynamic and will need to interact with the rest of the scene?
- Do you expect that you may ever need to alter the appearance of a shot by adding or subtracting elements captured on camera?
- Do you expect to provide work for clients that might need a more "cutting-edge" look to their videos?
If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, then you should seriously consider learning one of the large 3D animation packages. If not, software like Adobe After Effects will likely serve you better in the long run.
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