By setting up groups and relocating rotation points, mechanical animation is very easy to do.
Performance
The renders, both vector and bitmap, that I did were fantastic. Clean, crisp and flicker free. Smooth curves on vector shapes, shading with no banding on bitmap textures - really nice.
Render time is something users need to learn how to control. Basic animation renders are very quick in both vector and bitmap formats. However, I found complex animations (transparency, multiple moving parts and imported 3D geometry) rendered very slowly. My test 30 second animation was going to take hours to render completely. Interestingly, I then performed some renders of only selected objects - essentially manually creating layered renders - and I had the entire project completely rendered in less than 5 minutes. It’s seems like there could be some optimization routines that would prevent requirements like this. But as with all 3D software, knowing thy renderer is the key to eternal rendering bliss.
S3D still has a few rough edges. I’m working with third update (877) since it’s release slightly over a month ago. I’m glad to see the dev team taking an active approach to fixing things that aren’t quite right. On my system, the Rectangle Render doesn’t work at all, forcing me to either use the Render Window option or take a trip to the Preview and Export Editor. Not a deal breaker, but I was surprised to find this at the center of the program instead of a fringe element. When the program was first released there were some issues in exporting to Papervision 3D. Those have been resolved so if you already have S3D, make sure to get the latest free update.
Animated realism is quite possible with S3D. While objects like this watch can be created within the program, other dedicated modelers may be better suited for complex, rapid object development.
Value
Simply put, Swift 3D v6 does exactly what it says it does. It doesn’t over promise or under deliver. It’s a solid solution with excellent rendered results. For complete on-screen 3d animation for cinematic needs, I’m not sure that this program is a good fit, although it can create animation you could rotoscope into your work.
However, if you are responsible for your own Web development and marketing for your film, this software gives you imagery and animation presentation capabilities that are hard to match with any other toolset - especially if the utility of Papervision content is attractive to you.
Final Comments Swift 3D v6 is in a unique niche for filmmakers. It’s not really a 3D solution per se, it’s not a web design package nor a marketing “gotta have”. However, like it or not, independent filmmakers are competing with the marketing panache and sophistication people are accustom to seeing for just about everything from mouthwash to blockbuster movies. Because of that, Swift 3D provides filmmakers with a very unique tool that can effortlessly ramp up the visual sophistication of online marketing and Web sites.
If you have no intention of doing any of your own Web marketing (and wear garlic around your neck to ward off HTML) and simply have somebody else do it for you, then S3D isn’t for you. But, if you have become one the increasingly common Renaissance Men and are capable in Web design work, even if it’s only using tools like Site Grinder (http://www.microfilmmaker.com/reviews/Issue40/SiteG2_1.html) then S3D can enable you to create some marketing imagery that would either cost more than you want to spend to have somebody else do it, or, require a much more advanced knowledge to create in the stand alone Flash program.
Ease
of Use
8.4
Depth
of Options
8.0
Performance
8.3
Value
vs. Cost
8.1
Overall Score
8.1
Mark Bremmer has operated his own commercial studio for 15 years. He’s been fortunate enough to work for clients like Caterpillar, Amana, Hormel Foods, Universal Studios Florida, and The History Channel; producing stills, digital mattes and animations. Mark contracts regularly as an art mercenary with production houses that shall remain nameless by written agreements. His production pipeline is Mac-based, with the FCP Studio2 workflow. He loves Shake and Motion. And his family.
