Moviestorm 1.7 is now available!

After some frustrating delays, we are thrilled to announce that version 1.7 is now fully live for Mac and PC.
Users downloading from our website will now get a brand spanking new 1.7 installer, featuring the much improved Launcher ...

Grab of the new Launcher

Add to that a whole host of fundamental improvements that move Moviestorm to a new level of performance, and user functionality.

Here is a full list of what you can expect ...

• Launcher re-designed - a cleaned up look, and a more intuitive layout
• Drop down menus for Install a File, and My Moviestorm
• Important messages are now displayed using a ticker-tape, with a button for More Details
• Modder's Workshop
• The re-texture wizard now allows re-texturing of parts based objects - select a part in the master browser and right click and select re-texture.
• Updated door templates from TownBuildings.
• Updated Cartoon Tree template.
• Core functionality
• Moviestorm now has a memory monitor in the top right, which shows what proportion of available heap space is being used, and if garbage collection is happening frequently - very useful for tracking whether your film is pushing your system resources too far!
• More fundamental performance improvements attended to - we think we are getting close to getting them all!
• Moviestorm should now function on case sensitive file systems.
• Dialogue lines and Play Sound activities now show the filename for the audio file.
• The viewpoint position when looking at a scene is now kept after going to the Cutting Room and back.
• The viewpoint position when looking at a scene is now kept after saving and reloading your movie. It is also saved with a stock set.
• The default viewpoint for looking at a scene now works the same as centering the viewpoint.
• Content pack names now sorted when shown in the requirements for loading a movie, on the Load Movie screen.
• Movie admin
• Load backup versions of a movie now has a tick box rather than a separate load button, and works for movies not stored in the default place.
• The settings Graphics panel now lets one choose how many lights can affect any object. Previously only 4 lights (three plus the sun) could illuminate something. Using a high value all the time can slow your framerate down - you might want to just turn it up for rendering.
• UI improvements
• When inserting time on the timeline, extra time can be added to held prop containers or gesture containers, to extend future gestures too.
• Time can now be removed from the timeline if nothing is happening.
• Dragging part of the timeline that does not have any activities will change which part of the timeline is visible- without changing the time.
• Using the mousewheel over the timeline now zooms the timeline in or out.
• When selecting 'Gesture' with an existing gesture sequence that is unfinished, open the existing gesture sequence rather than creating a new one.
• When adding a filter in the Cutting Room, you can now choose a preset when applying the filter to all clips.
• Set direction enhancements
• A Facial Expression customiser has been added - an alternative to using a Mood Change, which allows you to change the facial expression only.
• Motion Path activities now have an option to change between constant speed, and having a smooth start and stop - the previous default.
• Resolved issues
• File browsers remember recent folders, even if you cancelled the browsing.
• Addons from the pre-1.0 version of Moviestorm now work when installed in the user Addon folder.
• Walk cycle names are shown in sorted order.
• Fix for a problem where videos could not be added to the clip bin in the Director's View (after they had been added in the Cutting Room view)
• Trying to create a plain black image to add to the timeline (in the Cutting Room) now produces a black image rather than a white one.
• Memory leak relating to buttons in the clip bins in the Cutting Room fixed.
• Memory leaks relating to the script editor have been fixed.
• Better removal of old movies from memory.
• Warning message when old movies have not been removed from memory correctly to advise a restart.
• The camera lens slider now shows the lens length based on selected real world camera details.
• Sliders with numbers on should be easier to read now.
• Fix for some look-at animation snapping that was occurring during improvised looking at the person who was talking.
• Taking a camera snapshot now works even if the movie name includes an apostrophe.
• Fix for an issue which changed the texture border of a screen when playing video on a different, similar, screen
• Scrubbing is a lot faster in some situations.
• Deleting clips (video and audio) from the Cutting Room, now also deletes the related files from your saved movie - if you save it!
• When displaying the amount of time available to delete, always round it down so that typing in that amount always works.
• Fix for a bug that can prevent the Cutting Room from loading, if an image was previously taken from a drive that is no longer available.
• The recent folders list (after choosing a file) no saves properly.
• Fixed some issues caused by converting filenames to lowercase in languages with different uppercase/lowercase mappings to English, such as Turkish.
• Sorted the different templates when displaying lots of templates for a prop (doors needed this most).
• When determining which content packs are used by a character, it is now correctly determining which pack any decals that are used are in, rather than just including all packs that had decals.
• The prop browser can be hidden by clicking it's button again.
• Images on the Load Movie screen are now reduced to the size shown on the buttons, rather than kept in memory at full size. This could use up a lot of memory if one had a lot of saved movies in the default save folder.
• Changing the gait of a character that was walking through a door no longer fails depending on where the timeline marker is.
• Content Pack improvements and fixes
• TownBuildings - The doors matching those for the Town Buildings now have tintable architraves.
• Filters01 - Changed some filter presets. The Red Cutout and Night Time filters have better named presets with more usable values.
• CartoonWorld - Cartoon Tree is now scalable.

We would like to thank the Moviestorm team for all their hard work, and of course the Moviestorm users that helped us with testing the new version - we could not do it without you!

In commemoration of a great filmmaker, Loris Rizzo

We were recently notified of the very sad passing of Loris Rizzo, filmmaker and valued member of the Moviestorm community.

Loris was an accomplished creative, and those keen to find out more about him can visit his personal website at www.webalice.it/lo.rizzo/

Since joining us in May 2010, Loriz uploaded 25 movies, ranging from highly chilling to very funny, always with well observed scripts, engaging characters, great cinematography and well designed sets. His contributions were always eagerly anticipated, and he will be sorely missed by all of us. Please visit his Moviestorm Director page to see them all www.moviestorm.co.uk/community/?u=lorisrizzo

Now for a few personal favorites.  Loris Rizzo, rest in peace.

Comedy...

Horror ...

Thriller ...

Young Moviestorm animators encouraged to apply for Future8 Awards

Young Moviestorm animators are being encouraged to apply for the Future 8 Awards in association with The Guardian newspaper.
The Future8 Awards are designed to reward and recognise the very best 7 to 17 year old emerging digital talent in the UK and Ireland.
The awards are working with leading brands and experts across the industry to provide life changing prizes and support to help get future careers off to a flying start.

Moviestorm are supporting the awards with free use of our software through extended trials, and are calling existing Moviestorm users aged 7 to 17, and any potential new users, to apply for the awards.

Moviestorm CEO Andrew Kennedy said:

 "I would encourage young Moviestorm users to enter the Future8 Awards for the journey as much as the reward. 

"If you have a passion for something, then rather than just being a consumer, try being a creator. 

"Kids are great at adopting new technologies, and there are tools out there that can enable anyone like never before.  

"It is never too soon to get involved - we are born with unrestricted creativity, and though education unfortunately tends to erode that potential, awards like Future8 are rewarding the young for developing themselves through utilising technology and expressing themselves.  

"The more we can make stars of these innovative students, the more students will follow."

So far, only three prizes for the competition winners have been announced so far, including trips to LA to be a WeMo Engineer for a day with Belkin, a chance to be mentored by one of Penguin Random House’s top talent and an opportunity to shadow a top music video director on the set of a Sony Music artists video!

Charlotte, community manager for Future8, said that today, kids and teens today are far more technical and digitally skilled than any generation before them.
She added:

"We designed The Future8 Awards to support and inspire young people into becoming digital creators; to develop their skills and share their creative projects so that we can connect them with incredible opportunities they couldn't find elsewhere. 

"We celebrate creative and technical talent and are extremely excited to find the next digital stars in the UK and Ireland.”
 

THE CATEGORIES 

1. MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT 
What are they looking for? Original App Developers with a love for all things mobile and technology

2. COMPUTER GAMES 
What are they looking for? Game designers and developers who have created or thought of great concepts for new games

3. MUSIC 
What are they looking for? Musicians, singers, producers with passion. Original music and covers welcome

4. ANIMATION 
What are they looking for? Animators with real skill and originality. Stop motion/hand drawn graphics/computer graphics...you name it - they want to see it

5. ONLINE VIDEO 
What are they looking for? Video creators who know how to tell a story/speak to their audience. It’s all about great video content

6. MAKER (INVENTORS) 
What are they looking for? Inventors who want to make life easier/better using technology. Invention ideas of all kinds welcome.

7. BLOGGER 
What are they looking for? Music, food, fashion...any topic you love to shout
about. They’re looking for someone who is passionate about blogging and their readers

8. WEB DEVELOPER 
What are they looking for? Creative web designers and coders with big ideas

Where to download?

Entrants who want to enter the awards but have not yet downloaded Moviestorm can download the software from the following links:
Aged 14 and over - http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/hub/download_edu_unlimited - contains adult themes
Aged 13 and under - http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/hub/download_edu_junior - content suitable for all ages
As part of the installation process, entrants will need to register to get a Moviestorm account and a free 14 day trial.
If entrants wish to extend their trial beyond 14 days, please contact us at support@moviestorm.co.uk and say that they are planning to submit to the Future8 awards, and we will extend their license to well beyond 14 September.

For more information about the Future8 Awards or to apply, visit their website here  like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

Submission period extended for the Harb 40 Passion Competition

The submission period for this year's Harb40 Passion Competition has been extended.

The competition urges contestants to make a film set to a specific theme of passion. There are usually some restrictions on content, but films could be made using any animation program, video game or live action technique.

This year, the specific theme for the competition, 'objectify' was released on August 2, and the submission period has now been extended to October 25.

Watch the third promo video for the competition by Moviestorm user Joseph Kwong, aka JosephKW, below:

All submissions will go through a specific thread on the competition forums which will be opened at theme release.

Competition winners aim to be announced on November 22/23 during the Machinima Expo (which is run by a group that includes Kate Fosk, aka kkffoo, and an actor named Richard Grove, aka Ricky Grove).

Moviestorm will once again sponsor the competition this year. In the past, the competition has received other sponsorship from Sony and Reallusion.

Want to know more?

To find out more about the competition, visit http://www.harb40passioncompetition.com/
Visit the competition Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/211515672195252/.
You can also follow the competition on Twitter @Harb40PassComp

Support needed by Moviestorm users for comic kickstarter project

Moviestorm users are being encouraged to pledge their support to an exciting new kickstarter project.

The kickstarter idea by Sam Midwood, or 'Zuckerman' on the Moviestorm forums, is for a comic based off an old Moviestorm short movie.



Sam spoke to Moviestorm recently to tell us about his kickstarter. He said: 

"I’ve written a mini-series called The Projectionist and I need your help, your generosity of spirit, to breathe life into issue number 1.
"That’s 24-pages of supernatural detectives, tough-as-nails cops, poltergeists, clairvoyants, goo-guns, and shadowy corporations."
"With this kickstarter we will be producing the first 22-page issue of The Projectionist six part mini-series in digital and print formats.
"The script is all ready for art, we've got a good price on a small but quality print-run, and we are beyond excited to get this first book out to you fine souls."

Sam created a short Moviestorm film entitled the Paranormal Transit Authority, which he based his new comic from.

Watch the video here

WHY MOVIESTORM?

Sam added: "Some years ago, before the story of The Projectionist fully came together, I began to play with the idea of the Paranormal Transit Authority. 

"I’d had these dreams where I was a ghost and was being chased by something. The dreams lead me to create The Paranormal Transit Authority which in-turn lead me to create The Projectionist.
"Around that same time, I was using Moviestorm quite a bit. I'd even entered a few contests with short films I’d made using Moviestorm, and won said contests.
"Moviestorm is an excellent 3D animation tool for hobbyists and professionals alike."

FIND OUT MORE AND MAKE A PLEDGE

To see more about the project or to make a pledge click here: http://kck.st/1mpDtEt

Moviestorm features in MTV teen drama Degrassi

Today we're posting to share some more good news - Moviestorm was recently featured on two episodes of MTV teen series Degrassi!
Degrassi: The Next Generation, which was renamed Degrassi from the tenth season, is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979.

Screenshots from the Degrassi series

Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, following The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and Degrassi High.
Degrassi: The Next Generation follows a cast of students at Degrassi Community School who face various challenges, such as self-image, peer pressure, child abuse, sexual identity, gang violence, self-injury, teenage pregnancy,drug abuse, death, suicide and more.
Moviestorm features in series 13, both episodes 33 and 34 of the programme.

The producers of Degrassi used Moviestorm to mock-up a fake fantasy game called 'Realm of Doom'. 

In episode 33, Moviestorm is featured in the time frames 10 minutes through the episode and again at 17 minutes and 35 seconds through the episode.

You can watch it here:

In episode 34, Moviestorm can be seen at the very start and 8 minutes 32 seconds into the episode. Watch that episode here:



Matt O'Sullivan from the Degrassi series art department said Moviestorm was chosen for the show due to its its 'combination of great looks and ease of use'. 

He added: "We needed a fast and intuitive tool to create something that looked like a real online 3D game, and our first thoughts were either to make machinima of some kind or to use a professional tool like 3D Studio Max, but then through some online research we found Moviestorm and realized it was the best of both worlds and perfectly suited to our needs. 

 "We loved the intuitive, movie-maker style and the wide variety of premade characters and locales. It all came together quite nicely. As a creator of “digital props” and various graphics and VFX for film and TV, I can say I’ll use Moviestorm again in a heartbeat if similar script requirements arise in a production I’m involved in. Thanks, Moviestorm!".

For more about Degrassi, you can visit the website here: http://www.mtv.com/shows/degrassi/series.jhtml.

Harb40 Passion Competition set to return this year!

Good news film competition fans! Moviestorm are pleased to announce the return of the Harb40 Passion Competition, which will take place from August this year.

The competition urges contestants to make a film set to a specific theme of passion. There are usually some restrictions on content, but films could be made using any animation program, video game or live action technique.

This year, the specific theme for the competition will be released on August 2, and the submission period will run from August 23 until October 11. 

All submissions will go through a specific thread on the competition forums which will be opened at theme release.

Competition winners will be announced on November 22/23 during the Machinima Expo (which is run by a group that includes Kate Fosk, aka kkffoo, and an actor named Richard Grove, aka Ricky Grove).

See below for the first promotional video for the 2014 competition, by Moviestorm user Joseph Kwong, aka JosephKW:

The

Competition creator, Craig (Harb40) began experimenting with animation back in 2005 after playing a game called 'The Movies'. After following a website called The Movies Underground, he was introduced to other games animation tools such as Moviestorm. 

Today, Moviestorm is now one of his primary animation programmes.

Competition creator Craig told Moviestorm:

"Animation programmes like Moviestorm, The Sims and iClone are taking over in the competition.
In 2013, BiggsTrek (Pioneer) took top honours with an iClone creation but has used Moviestorm since it's inception.
"Second place went to JosephKw, using Moviestorm, while fourth and fifth places were MysterysGames, aka mystery_egypt, and Nahton, both using Moviestorm.
"Also, in 2012, Animatechnica took first place with an iClone creation and Chatnoir Studios took second with a Moviestorm film.
"One of the nice things about the prizes like Moviestorm is the winner is given a choice of a free user license or to receive credits to purchase more gaming assets and enhance their animation video skills
"Clips from the winning films are shown at the Machinima Expo which in turn puts the name Moviestorm out to wide audience of machinima and animation creators.

Watch below for the film by Moviestorm user JosephKW that scooped second prize in the competition last year:

The winning films receive software prizes and the creators were interviewed on The Movies On Air Radio show.

Moviestorm will once again sponsor the competition this year. In the past, the competition has received other sponsorship from Sony and Reallusion.

Want to know more?

To find out more about the competition, visit http://www.harb40passioncompetition.com/
Visit the competition Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/211515672195252/.
You can also follow the competition on Twitter @Harb40PassComp

Meet 3DTree; founder of a new 3D asset creation service for Moviestorm

Here at Moviestorm, we're inspired by users who not only use our software and enjoy it, but those who go one step further.
Meet Trevor, or Moviestorm user 3DTree, who recently decided to set up a 3D asset creation service for other animation users.

Speaking to Moviestorm, Trevor explains more about the idea and service he created.
He said: "Since the launch of Moviestorm, I’ve been a fan of it’s concept, form and function. It’s only got better over the years.
"It’s game/director centric storytelling platform so intuitive and fun to direct within."
He told us that CG and Moviestorm is just one side of his work, though a major passion he continues to build on his craft and 'hopefully mixes up something artful at times.'

"I consider my 3DTree output, a CG mix, somewhat like a DJ remix at times, sometimes so transformed that the original source - anything from a drawing or photos is lost and built into something interesting. 

"Many artists and tools may go into building any single creation."

I do hope the fruits of what I have put together will look and play great in the stories and worlds that we build in Moviestorm. 

 

Creation of the service

The big question I had on my mind was how best to foster my 3D CG passion hobby.
 “Patron of the Arts” really suited with my ideal and supported what I like to do, and at the same time my patrons could enjoy could enthe fruits of my labours.

Hearing more about the idea

3DTree describes his project as 'an experiment in artist progressive crowd funding, funding the output of an artist rather than a business.'
"So Patreon is a platform to share creations, where patrons support each creation with a clear budget per month", he adds.
"The KickStarter concept appealed to me in part, though lacked any sustainability in building lots of new assets and focused on a business side rather than on fostering an artist's creativity."
3DTree said the main appeal of Patron of the Arts is that the artist is happy to do their thing and patrons are happy with what the artist creates.

What's in it for the patrons? 

"Newcomers may not be offered every possible add on at first, though there will be a good group of rewards to download."
"There are rewards to higher committed pledging patrons and people who stick with me over time."

"If there is no content one month, nobody need support that and nobody pays anything. There is a plan to get out at least one full Moviestorm add on per month."
Some of the addons will appeal, some may not; though overall I do hope the value will be high."

3DTree said he likes to concentrate on practical and fun content first before getting into less valued content. For example, samurai animations take a backseat to getting falls and conflict animations out for release.

How does it work?

Patrons can’t directly request assets, though through a group voice they can have some practical influence on the projects 3DTree works on.
He adds that he would 'never want to take the fun out of his hobby by working for other people’s needs or wants' above what he is enjoying doing, but he still takes into account what people want.

"It’s not a business, it’s not a voting system. I just don't have enough people to even consider that costs would be met to then develop assets, and prices would be much higher than what people are willing to give for assets.
The solution for me was to go with the old Patreon of the Arts model."

Why Moviestorm?

Moviestorm started by the backing of people and companies that believed in it’s success, says 3DTree.
He added: "I have always been one of it’s core fans and with my patrons hope that I too can continue building on what makes Moviestorm great."



Future plans
"There is still a lot I’d like to do with Moviestorm in 2014, like new characters beyond the Male01 or Female01 characters.
"I and many core fans have liked that idea of being able to have other sized characters in Moviestorm."

I'm working on a plethora of animations, props and some clothing for the standard characters. With hope, my assets will branch off into other engines and platforms. 

Though Moviestorm is where I like to think it all started for me.

How do I sign up?

More information about 3DTree, including how to sign up to his asset creation service, can be seen here: http://patreon.com/3DTree 

New Moviestorm Education 1.6 goes live to further support flipped learning!

Further to the recent 1.6 patch release, we have settled on 1.6.3 as the build to support our education users through 2014.

 

The new 1.6 release includes loads of new features to support teaching and learning, such as:

• The ability to click a button and create a .sharedmovie file is essential for collaborative student projects and for templates for their students to adapt. Importantly too, Moviestorm now manages the import process, advising and director the user to any missing Moviestorm or mod content, and if required, replacing assets with placeholder objects where necessary, to ensure that if you need to open that file, you can.

• Improved UI elements and better auto-improvisation make film creation faster and more intuitive.

• The Modder’s Workshop is now faster, and Modders to assign licences to their packs.
  
  

For a complete list of all the feature enhancements, check out the release notes on our website.

For users with current Moviestorm Education installations, who would like to install 1.6, please follow the guidance on our support website.