Animation Variables

 

So you are thinking of using an animation in your case. You hear they are very expensive and take a large amount of time and oversight. While this is certainly a possibility, it need not be. There are a few things to be aware of before you begin shopping around for a graphic consultant.

First – Not all animation is created equal.

On the simpler end, animations can be created in Microsoft PowerPoint in a matter of minutes that contain simple zooms and repositioning of 2D elements on a page. On the other end of the spectrum you will find photo-realistic, 3d environments with physics calculations and dynamic lighting systems. The high end will generally be done in a program like Autodesk’s 3DS Max or Maya.

Second- Not all animators are created the same.

The video game industry is overflowing with animators today. Many schools now have a degree program designed to get students into games. These students’ only knowledge of the legal system is generally what they see on television these days. Contrast this with the handful of graphics consultants nationwide that have actually been in the courtroom on numerous occasions. These few will be able to create something that works for your case without trying to push for using the latest in “normal mapping” or studio lighting if your case does not warrant it.

Third- Completion time is quite often difficult to accurately predict.

This is a fact of life in the industry unfortunately. There are so many factors affecting a project that most clients are not even aware of. Things like the availability of pre-existing models to purchase versus building from scratch, setting up advanced lighting systems, changing render engines,  re-animating any part of a composition, and render times.

The modeling phase can take quite a bit of time if a premade model can not be purchased. A particular vehicle may take a few days to build, and this will raise the labor cost significantly, whereas a purchased model may only require a few hours of changes. Re-animating mechanical, hard-surface items is easier than organic items, but both may be time consuming tasks since one item may affect another and the changes could begin to snowball. Rendering means to export each frame of the animation in order to ultimately create a video file. Most video files play at 30 frames per second and a single frame can take anywhere from a few seconds to several hours. If a rendered file needs changes and requires re-rendering, it might only take the consultant a few minutes or hours to make the change, but the render might take many hours, or even a few days depending on the complexity.

In order to keep the cost down ask yourself a few questions:

Do I need it to be photo-realistic? If not, simplify the scene. Instead of using fully animated 3D characters to populate your crowd scene, can you use a flat plane with video of a crowd instead?

Will there be physics calculations? The systems that would need to be created are extremely complex and often take a lot of time to dial in.

Do I need the exact model? Is it necessary to use, for example, a model of a 1996 Ford Bronco with custom paint, a 3 inch lift kit, and numerous aftermarket parts; or can I just as easily tell my story with a 1998 Chevy Tahoe with no aftermarket parts because it just sits in the background?

Will the lights or shadows in the scene be moving? I know, it may seem like a strange question, but it is one with huge ramifications. For instance, if you are showing a building exterior and moving a camera around it to show defects, you may want to “bake” the lighting. This will allow your consultant to calculate the lighting once, and overlay that result onto the model so that it never needs to be calculated again. This will save hours and hours of rendering. This is particularly good if your trial is already moving along and changes need to be made overnight.

How much of the scene do I really need to show? If there are things in your scene that will distract from your key concepts, leave them out. Do you really need to show all the fire hydrants along a street, or put in every rivet on an aircraft? If not, don’t pay for it!

In short, unless money is no object, ask your graphics consultant where they advise cutting detail. It could save your client tens of thousands of dollars in the end. Also, if a graphics consultant asks a few questions that seem odd, feel free to ask why they are inquiring, but realize that they are likely just attempting to nail down some of the variables. Don’t pay for something you don’t need, the same animation that costs $3,000-$5,000 could end up at $50,000-$60,000 if too much detail is put in or asked for.

Real World Example:

I once created an outdoor scene of a pool after dark to show a person dive into shallow water. The original model had too complex of a lighting system and physically accurate water, as well as patio furniture and other people. While it all looked great, it did not allow the jury to see what happened under the water, due to refraction and reflection. The final animation ended up being just the subject without others around him, a standard lighting rig that did not cast shadows, and a flat, semi-transparent plane for the water. This allowed render times of approximately 5 minutes per view and the diver could be seen at all times both above and below the waterline. By changing the lighting, I was also able to brighten things up for better viewing since it was happening in the middle of the night.