Softimage Videos!

THESE VIDEOS ARE (SORT OF) CURRENTLY UNAVALIABLE
I DO HAVE A FEW OLD SETS THAT I WILL SELL (CHEAP)
CLICK HERE If you want information on how to order these old videos.
This is because, a sequel to them is currently being created.
If there is something that you would like to see covered in the sequel,
please send your requests/suggestions to: EdHarriss@EdHarriss.com

SOFTIMAGE|XSI: Mastering Rendering This Two tape set covers all the complex rendering controls in SOFTIMAGE|XSI. It comes with a bonus CD-ROM* containing all of the scenes, utilities and texture maps used in that video.* During the video, all the important dialog boxes and dropdown menus are blown up to full screen so that the user can easily read the contents and follow along using the files on the accompanying CD-ROM*.

SOFTIMAGE|XSI: Mastering Rendering covers all the rendering tools available in SOFTIMAGE|XSI.
Learn how to tune mental ray to get the results that you want!

Here are a few examples of what's covered on SOFTIMAGE|XSI: Mastering Rendering.
1. Rendering set up: Differences between The render region, previewing and full rendering. How to adjust their settings.
2. The Types of passes, what they do and when to use them. (Highlight, Ambient/Diffuse, Shadow, etc...) and a "mini tutorial" on how to composite them.
3. Understanding Partitions and Overrides. How they work with Passes to save you time.
5. Understanding scanline and ray tracing, reflection and refraction ray depths, sub region rendering, etc....
6. Misc settings: Back Culling (front, back, both), Dithering, Gamma, etc....
7. Motion Blur Different types: Ray Tracing VS Scanline. Shutter Speed Sampling Misc: Motion Blurred Deformations, Motion Blurred Shadowmaps, Etc...
8. Field Rendering: What's it for? How it works. When to use it and why.
9. Determine how much ram a scene will need based on poly count, texture map sizes and system resources.
10. Setting up File types: the difference between JPG, PIC, TGA, TIFF, SGI, etc... When to use what type, what they are for and what information they include.
11. Shadow Types: Regular, Segment, Sort and None. What's the difference. When does it matter and what setting's best for you.
12. Antialiasing explained in depth. How it works, techniques for speeding up rendering while still getting smooth edges on your objects.
13. Ray Depth: Reflection, Refraction and Maximum Ray Depth.
14. Pre and Post Frame scripts. A simple example and how they can really save you time.
15. Layers: One of the best ways of organizing your scene. Why these things are so incredibly useful.
16. Creating Glows. Why they are occluded by other objects. Two methods on how to get around that. One that's material based and another using compositing.
17. Wireframe rendering. Using the Capture tool and Toon Wire rendering. How to mix real rendering with Wire rendering.
18. Creating a flipbook, avi, quicktime, etc...
19. Motion blur. How to get good clean results and keep your rendertimes low.Optimization, applying different types to specific objects.
15. Pass Shaders:
A. Environment Shaders: The Legacy Atmosphere Shader. Create a Planet that renders in seconds with out using any geometry.
B: Output Shaders: Change the background of your renders with the Background Shader and the Background Pic shader. How to use the Fur shader.Using the Halo shader and how to get around it's limitations.
C: Volume Shaders: Creating Fog and Depth of field and Lightning from within SOFTIMAGE|XSI.
16 . Acceleration methods. How Grid and BSP really work. When to use which one, why, and how to tune it so your renders are faster.
17. Distributed rendering. Use idle computers to speed up the rendering on your machine. The usage and ceation of a .ray2hosts file.
18. Simulating real world cameras: using Z-depth information and external applications to create Depth of Field effects.
19. More on Z-depth images as a post production tool: 3D Fog. How it works and a "mini-tutorial" on how to achieve these effects in Adobe After Effects.
20. HDR like rendering. Using a High Dynamic Range image to Simulate Image Based Rendering using mental ray map files and Final Gathering.
21. Pixel Ratio, Picture Ratio, Picture Standards, Render Resolution. How they are all related and how to make them work for you.
22. Plus a whole lot more than what's listed here.

These videos are hosted by Ed Harriss, an 10 year veteran of SOFTIMAGE. He started teaching Softimage over 6 years ago. He'll show you alot of the tricks that he's learned over the years to help you create some of the effects like the ones you see above.


SOFTIMAGE|XSI: Renderingis produced independently from SOFTIMAGE®, and is not endorsed by SOFTIMAGE.
SOFTIMAGE is a registered trademark of SOFTIMAGE, Inc. a subsidiary of Avid Technology Inc.
Flood and Harvest images copyright 2001, Alternate Route Studios.
*For copyright reasons, some of the textures and models will be replaced with working substitutes or locations for the dowload of working substitutes

THESE VIDEOS ARE CURRENTLY UNAVALIABLE
This is because, a sequel to them is currently being created.
If there is something that you would like to see covered in the sequel,
please send your requests/suggestions to: EdHarriss@EdHarriss.com

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