Wednesday, October 18, 2006

SIMS for TV creatives

Imagine the SIMS program, but then adapted in a way to use the character animations to preplan and produce TV drama or documentaries. No broadcaster will pay for rehearsal time any more, so you must arrive at a scene with a storyboard and a camera shot list already in your mind before the camera's role. I first saw Antics version 2 at IBC 2005. After a period of silence, the fruit of their work is now on sale for under 1000 Euros and, judging from the paces I have been putting it through, it is quite simply brilliant. Download a trial copy and try it for yourself. You need to devote some concentrate time to learning how to play with it, but it is a gentle learning curve. The great thing is being able to save the final scenes that you've planned as a DVD, so you can show the client just what you have in mind before any production starts. Better by miles than any paper storyboard and a great way to practice the shots. I particularly like the fact you can record dialogue and have the animation speak it for you. I am sure some people will use this program to make shows in their own right. In short, good news for the creative world - obviously a huge amount of love and care went into this. By the way, I have no commercial connection with these guys. I just believe good news should be celebrated.

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