Dave, this is a very user-friendly platform for discussion. Good find.
I have a question. I really like Ren’s animated collages, and I like to make collages. Does anyone have any ideas about what software I need to learn to make parts of my collage move? I’m thinking of collaborating with my teenage son, who studies drawing and painting.
:-) I work with my teenage son often, too. But he doesn’t know flash … I have caught up and surpassed him with Adobe.
I am using Adobe Suite because I bought it while I am a student. Costs a fraction of what it normally would so I went ahead and invested in CS3 (CS4 is already due out). But I began with macromedia flash – the early version of flash that is available online for as little as $50. Most of the animations you’ve seen were made with that.
I use Photoshop (you can get just photoshop elements pretty cheaply), and my own photos or photos from places like stock xchng so that it is all legal.
The flash files are interactive. But it is also possible to save macromedia flash files as QuickTime files so you can upload them to vimeo or youtube.
My other son – the younger at 13, is teaching himself Maya (I bought that while a student, too). He got it on the condition that he teach me some things this summer. It does 3D animation. The free version that he began teaching himself is Blender. I took one look and gave up on that.
Thanks for all the tips, Ren. My son has CS3. Maybe he could teach me some basics. I’ve never even used Photoshop! I want to make the cloogaes and write the poems, and let someone else do the animation, unless I can figure it out in my spare time.
As far as 3D is concerned, Blender & Daz 3D Studio are both free but have a brutal learning curve. Adobe Premiere is a must as far as I’m concerned. Anime Studio five and later is also a good thing rto learn and it’s cheap, too. -blue
What do you use Premiere for in regard to collage work?
Premiere’s library of video transitions is first-class as far as I’m concerned.
Christine, iStopMotion is an easy-to-use software for making animations and time-lapse videos from objects, collages etc. And fortunately, it’s not expensive! I bought mine at the Apple Mac Store but it can be ordered from the makers, BOINX Software.
Natalie, thanks for this tip. I have a MacBook, so this software sounds like a perfect fit! I’ll be sure to share what I come up with. Yay!
I was looking at iStopMotion today – neat, but does it do anything that Premiere Pro doesn’t? (I mean if you want to use higher quality camera than the one on your mac). If your son already has the Suite…
I think I’m going to test drive iStopMotion for a month for free to see if I like it. I’ve tried to use Adobe, and it’s hard for me. We’ll see. If I don’t like the results from iStop, I’ll see if my son will give me lessons.
For all I know it is better. I would be curious to hear from you, Natalie, if there is an advantage beyond the learning curve?