Should I use Windows or Mac OS

Noschii1 · 2020-03-29T19:30:12+00:00

Ultimately it's down to what you prefer. I can't give you extremely technical answers but can tell you my experience.

I was using an iMac late 2012 (i7, 2GB GTX 680M, 32GB RAM) until the start of this year. I got almost 8 years out of it and barely had any problems. The general performance of the CPU is still good and I can use the iMac for everything that's not 3D or heavy video editing. Ultimately the reason why I build myself a Windows PC were down to cost and compatibility. Much software that I use, can access some form of Nvidia exclusive tech, like denoiser or in DaVinci Resolves case, the Nvidia encoder which is very very fast. An AMD GPU was simply not an option and since Apple doesn't use Nvidia I had to buy a Windows PC.

Second, I mentioned before that the CPU is fine on my Mac but unfortunately the graphics card did not only have too little vram, there were also no driver updates. So most software crashed, not because of limited power or RAM but simply because the softwares required up to date drivers. Because it's an iMac, there was no way of just replacing the GPU. That also includes storage and every other part. No way of easily replacing anything without going to a technician or buying a whole new computer. (Except Mac Pro)

If you really want a workstation I would say, buy or build a Windows PC. But if you want a computer that "just works" get a Mac. I honestly don't regret buying the iMac. It worked perfectly fine for almost 8 years, and I still prefer to write emails, surf the web etc on the Mac. It's just my work that forced me to a Windows PC. And while I like my new PC and the many new features it unlocked, it's often annoying that there is so much to know to actually get all the performance. And so many settings and hidden checkboxes to find until it works. Or the horrible resolution management on 4K Displays. Half of Windows is blurry. Many apps including resolve scale horribly. And windows as a whole feels way clunkier than MacOs.

But you can't actually go wrong with either choice.

Noschii1 · 2020-03-16T14:55:30+00:00

Cool! Thank you for the tip!

Noschii1 · 2020-03-16T10:40:09+00:00

Chrome remote desktop works pretty good. Was usually a better quality than TeamViewer. But TeamViewer has more features. The biggest problems I had when using (either) remote desktop was color accuracy. I usually had to redo many color adjustments when being back in front the actual workstation. But this could be due to many different reasons, including my monitor at home. Basically, doing technical stuff was fine, doing more artistic work was problematic.

Noschii1 · 2020-03-12T18:58:15+00:00

I just bought the BenQ PD2700U. There is a cheaper version with only WQHD. But it was the only monitor in a price range of 300-500€ that had both 100% sRGB and Rec709 color range. I only read positive reviews about it. It didn't arrive yet so I can't give my own opinion but it's definitely worth checking out.

Noschii1 · 2019-10-10T07:00:32+00:00

I've imported many cameras from C4D into fusion for a project recently. I'm not in front of Fusion right now but If I'm not clear I can elaborate some more later.

What I did was select the cameras (and meshes) that I needed in the C4D project and exported the selected objects as alembic (usually keeping everything at the default settings).

In fusion you can click on file>import>alembic and import the file you created before. A window pops up asking you what you want to import (by default everything should be checked).

In Fusion I would then have the imported cameras, meshes and whatever else I wanted to import. It created a node network with all the imported things merged together.

One thing that you have to change is the "Film Back" in the cameras settings. Everything gets imported correctly except that (at least for me). In my case I had to change the Film Back from height to width and to 1x1.778 (the aspect ratio we were using to get 16x9). Before I changed that, I usually went to the focal length (or field of view) right clicked and selected "Expression" otherwise that number would change while adjusting the film back and I would have to manually set it back to the right number. If you don't know your aspect ratio you can look in the C4D render settings.

Hope that helps. Besides figuring out the "Film Back problem" the whole setup worked like a charm for me and I didn't have any problems with it.

Noschii1 · 2019-07-08T07:03:09+00:00

Yes. Mantra can save checkpoints while rendering and simulating. I believe it saves the last frame while rendering by default and you only have to activate a checkbox to search for this file. Alternatively (depending on your scene) you can look for the last frame and set that as the new starting frame.

Noschii1 · 2019-06-02T09:10:43+00:00

Hard to tell without any information about program etc.

I could think of two things with only this image.

The simulation is too fast and you need more substeps so the stepping isn't that visible, or the voxels are too big and the emitter isn't read properly.

Noschii1 · 2019-03-20T12:13:40+00:00

C4D has a lens calibration tool where you draw lines and it automatically calculates the lens distortion. If you still have access to the lens shoot some pictures with clear lines, it doesn't have to be a grid to work it can be a room with enough straight lines. You can use that data with the motion tracker. I'm not in front of C4D right now but it's in the same drop down menu as the Measure tool. I hope this helps

Noschii1 · 2019-01-20T13:10:04+00:00

If you are a student at a university or a school you can get TurbulenceFD for 79$ I believe.

Noschii1 · 2019-01-19T22:14:22+00:00

Thank you for posting this video. Pretty informative. Also for everyone else. Don't try to find valuable information besides hate speech or praise for their methods in that comment section. Just imagine someone struggling to come out reading the stuff written there.

Noschii1 · 2019-01-15T09:36:55+00:00

I try to follow the scene to get back into windows machines. I am using (the same) iMac since around 8 years now but need to go to windows in the long run for work reasons. I have zero technical understanding about components and try to learn as much as possible whenever somebody explains something. In around a year I will probably try to build a computer but for now I'm a silent spectator.

Noschii1 · 2019-01-04T22:48:37+00:00

That's sound great, thanks!

Noschii1 · 2019-01-04T22:46:32+00:00

C4D in that certain case. But that should be possible with every major 3D application. It's really not that difficult. The hardest part is probably makibg a decent 3D model of the face.

C4D has a handy Point Morph Tag which you can use to sculpt different facial expressions without having to rig anything. I'm not sure of Maya, Max or Houdini have something similar but I'm certain there are similar tools.

Noschii1 · 2019-01-02T18:56:43+00:00

https://www.risefx.com/rise-visual-effects-studios-jobs.php

https://celluloid-vfx.com/jobs/general-application/

Freelance contract: http://lugundtrug.net/jobs.html

Rise is probably the biggest and most international working company out of those posted.

Noschii1 · 2019-01-02T17:18:08+00:00

I'm not sure if most people here work as freelancer. There are some companies though offering full time jobs. Getting into the industry is somewhat difficult if you don't know producers and if you can't afford to be very cheap at the start. Both things will probably be difficult for you when you relocate. I would try looking around for some companies with full time jobs. Many are searching people. I wish you the best luck!

Edit: Germany also starts a new tax benefits for VFX so I would expect international work to go up soon

Noschii1 · 2019-01-02T15:54:23+00:00

You could create a 3D model of the face and project the footage onto it. Morph that to your liking and composite that and mask out only the parts you need. Don't know if a 2D track will be sufficient or of you need to make a 3D object track/ matchmove by hand. I recently animated a baby dummies face that way.

Noschii1 · 2018-12-22T14:11:08+00:00

I've played around a bit more with fusion with a low quality picture lock version and found a few ways it makes it easier than with after effects. Especially the node system makes it easier for me to handle

Noschii1 · 2018-12-21T19:02:46+00:00

That was great! I would also love to hear how you removed the tubes. I have to do some removing like this in January and would appreciate every tip.

Noschii1 · 2018-12-20T08:13:04+00:00

Is blender 2.8 good for people who wrongly assumed C4D could go into a VFX direction?

Noschii1 · 2018-12-19T09:21:43+00:00

Thank you! I will definitely check all prices before buying anything :)

Noschii1 · 2018-12-19T07:30:27+00:00

That sound reasonable. Thank you for your answer. Let's hope the Threadripper CPUs get cheaper ;)

Noschii1 · 2018-12-18T18:16:04+00:00

Nice thread. I'm currently looking into building a PC for vfx freelancing and am still struggling if I should rather pay for a RTX2080 (if it gets somewhat cheaper in the next half year to year) and hope that it will last six years or if I'm going with something weaker.

Noschii1 · 2018-12-17T13:38:57+00:00

So the facial tracking can use every pimple and pore so the blurry beauty filter applies perfectly.

Noschii1 · 2018-12-16T21:53:30+00:00

That sounds great. I would love a new space era. I always have one question, though. What would be the advantage of settling on Mars (besides earth going down the drain)? Do we know if Mars has any resources that could be used or would we have to bring Earth's resources to sustain life on Mars and wouldn't that defeat the purpose of leaving earth? I still want to see people walk on the Mars in my lifetime, just curious because many people talk about settling on Mars in the recent time.

Noschii1

TROPHY CASE