But Wait! There's More
The Director module has always been one of Hash Inc's strong points. Actors, props, lights and cameras can be set up in the scene to follow motion paths with channels. Lights and cameras are also completely controllable allowing the director to set the mood with the type of light, color, camera angle, and lens aperture he chooses. Like action, objects, cameras and lights can be added with seven different types of constraints.

Rotoscoping can be done at the level of modeling, action, or final compositing. In Sculpture mode, the Rotoscope is an image imported into the program as a template. Using one image from the side and one from the front the artist can build an object accurately from real life or from artwork. In Action mode, a series of images in sequential order, like Muybridge, can be used as a template to animate. In the Director module, a Rotoscope can be a compositing element for final output.

"Phil," a character designed in 2D by Lin Larsen and translated into 3D by Tim Elston.

As in all computer animation, it is best to have a computer that is the highest level Pentium or Pentium II one can get or an Alpha NT machine. 32 MB of RAM is necessary and at least 64 MB or more is recommended. Martin Hash and company believe that people wanting to animate with good tools should have access to good tools. The version 5 of Animation:Master is therefore available on Windows 95/NT, the Power Mac, and the Alpha NT platforms at an accessible price. You can get all of the features described here for $199.00. An upgrade version with more features, like `Multiplane,' a compositing feature, 'Lip-synch,' a utility to help animate dialog, and `NetRender' for rendering over a computer network, is available for under $700.

Most people would think that the $199.00 price makes this program a cheap competitor to the likes of Kinetix's 3D Studio Max $3,000 package or Microsoft's $13,000 Softimage. However in comparison, the power of what you get for your $200 is truly amazing and in the hands of a true animation master can make dreams come true.

Glossary
Although I have tried to explain things as thoroughly as possible, this is a highly technical field. For those readers who are from a traditional background and would like to understand more, I have included a small glossary. If you have more questions, please email me at time@plasmadyne.com.

Apparent Resolution - In complex characters, the level of detail of a character. As a general rule of thumb, a character modeled in a polygon-based program has a file size 40 times the size of a Hash spline-based character.

Bones - A bone is made by assigning animation control to a part of a character created in Animation:Master. A skeleton of `bones,' not unlike our own, makes up the `handles' that allow one to grab and move the computer character.

Channel - A window that describes the changes in an object's movement (y axis) over time (x axis). It allows the artist to visualize and tweak motion subtlely.

Constraints - A way of putting motion limits on an object. For example, a human's knee or elbow doesn't normally bend backwards. In Animation:Master there are seven types of constraints: Aim At, Kinematics, Path, Translate To, Orient Like, Aim Roll At, Spherical Limits.

Control Points - Attachment points on a spline allowing the connection of other splines' control points. It is like spline Velcro!

Hooks - Splines are designed to loop around an object or to pass from one end of the object to the other. But in the case of a head where there is a lot of detail on the face and not as much on the back of the head, it allows the modeler to redistribute the detail from the face where it is needed to the rest of the head by being able to end the spline without creating other problems. This was not possible before Version 5.