b3d Studio Pro

1. Platform, Price, and Company
• PC with a PIII processor and Win 98, NT4, or 2000
• $995.00 - Single License; Free - trail version
• Brilliant Digital Entertainment: http://www.b3d.com
2. Applications
• b3d Studio is an editing and production package for 3D animated movies. It brings together 3D animation, audio, model gestures, effects, and interactivity, all into a single scene time line. It can be used to create multi-scene, multi-path movies that offer both interactivity and variety - from 3D banner ads to music webeos, to multi-episode web movies or CD ROM training. b3d Studio gives users a range of compression, streaming, caching and other features to optimize your movie for delivery over the Internet
3. Examples/Samples
• b3d showcase: http://www.b3d.com/showcase.asp?memberID=0
• Case study of a 3D web banner ad: http://www.b3d.com/case_studies.asp
• b3d Studio resources and home page : http://www.brilliantdigital.com/productdetails.asp?ProductFamily=1
• b3d Studio samples and examples : http://www.digimation.com/asp/product.asp?product_id=25
4. Functions
• Creating models for 3D animated movies
• Create reusable animation, models and morph targets from the model files
• Control character gestures and emotions
• Model once; use in multiple projects and scenes
• Cache models and textures on users' machines for one-time download
• Scale models to match user's CPU
• Adding and editing events
• Insert effects: camera control, fade, reusable animation, lights, sprites, URL links, volume control
• Insert resources: audio, animation, subtitle, bitmaps
• Preview immediately using the only real time rendering engine available
• Edit multiple windows and scenes
• Use shortcuts with markers, message palette and timeline
• Visual plotting and story branching
• Draw lines from scene to scene to set story path
• See links to scenes launched by icon or hotspot clicks
• Auto-lipsyncing with visual editing
• Auto-lipsync using advanced waveform and text analysis with the click of a button
• Enhance sync using dialog text
• Preview and edit lipsync
• Redo lipsyncing from within the timeline
• Compression and streaming
• Set automatic animation key reduction and geometry compression
• Split files into upfront downloads and streamable parts
• Optimize for 28k, 56k, 128k or CD-ROM delivery
• Auto-create optimal caching for episodic delivery
• Fiting in 3ds max workflow
• Having plug-ins to 3D Studio Max
• Correct textures and other display
• Create objects fixed in camera view
• Create objects always facing camera, and lots more
5. Web Resources
• An review article from internet.com: http://ipw.internet.com/development/rich_media/937849958.html
• A company who are using b3d to create interactive 3D banner ads: http://www.mindgel.com/main.htm
• http://www.web3d.org/vrml/wb31.htm