- Wed May 30, 2007 4:14 am
#229563
A spinoff from this thread: http://www.maxwellrender.com/forum/view ... 561#229561
ivox3 wrote:iandavis wrote:yeah. LOL
It's a contradictory statement.
Easy as taking photos.
Newbies: don't find taking pictures at all easy. They buy rangefinder digital cameras and several SD cards and complain about the price of film. Once you explain that you can ERASE the film and start again there is excitement, then immediately anger toward the person who sold them so many SD cards.
Newbies on Maxwell: Kidding right? They can't use a digital camera, there is about a .00001% chance they can get maxwell up and running without somebody sitting right there helping.
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Intermediate Photographer: Knows what an SLR is, though couldn't tell you what the acronym stands for. Likes the idea of interchangeable lenses and often can be spotted with the latest fully automatic Canon or Nikon gear. Decent results can be seen in their work, though mostly it's photos of the wife, son and cat in various stages of stupidity.
Intermediate on Maxwell: This user stands a chance of getting an image. Though would never in a million years connect looking through their SLR and taking a picture with the jumping through of hoops upon hoops that CG imaging has become. A dedicated intermediate with a liking for computers could eventually produce and render decent images, though the connection to photography would be pretty weak in their minds.
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Expert Photographer: This person knows what 'f-stop' means and what a 'stop' actually is. Can explain how film works and even talk about all the critical things like Depth of Field. Knows how to mix ambient light with flash.
Expert Photographer on Maxwell: here is where the fun begins. This photographer is used to getting the shot. Imagine his frustration to find that there are so many ways to mess up a render and so many ways to not get the shot. most photographers (myself included) would NEVER mistake rendering software for photography. The primary issue of course is that photography is pretty much instant. And if digital one can get exactly the result required pretty much without bother. Maxwell is more like getting Flash to work properly. Nothing to do with how easy it is to take pictures methinks.
In a nutshell.
the statement, 'as easy as taking a photograph' while in some cases can be true, is misleading. Those who need photographic help will be clueless to actually understand the principles underpinning maxwell, and those who understand will want to have complete control over the maxwell environment to 'get the shot'. So, maxwell seems to be aimed at a very rare person. See below.
Newbie Photographer, expert CG artist.
Problem is, even this newbie photographer knows he wants a zdepth render and multiple pass output and lights, etc. Even if the idea of Depth of Field may be alien (unlikely) integrating the 'maxwell camera' into the other tools that make artists go is essential. Without crosstalk tools for things like AE, photoshop, DFX, etc. Maxwell will remain in it's bubble. The "go to maxwell to make art, come back to everything else to get paid" bubble.
Just one man's opinion.dilbert wrote:Don't you just love clients and their ludicrous deadlines! The funny thing is, if you do actually take the time and give them an image that you are 100% happy with, I've found that most clients will actually notice the difference. The problem is, once you've done that once, the next time they come to you with a project they expect nothing less than perfection again. At which point I usually put my foot down and give them a no BS quote for how long it's going to take. Usually, they moan a little, but you'd be surprised how many "urgent deadlines" will be compromised for a final product that everyone is happy with.iandavis wrote:yeah, actually everyone has the attitude. "don't care, just get the image I want".
In my own experience in CG and clients I must agree. One client asked me why it took so long, then when I started to give him some of the basic steps he threw up his hands and in an exasperated tone says "I don't care about that stuff!! I guess, just get it done". Yes, he's blunt, but that kind of attitude is pretty common.
A few months back I read an interesting article on how the author believed that some 3D artists are selling themselves out, and consequently the rest of us, by doing work for clients at less than the market value, or even for free (with the promise of their work being "exposed" to the public). He made some good points. One of the best was that we as 3D artists have a skill that is earned over extensive time and practice, and that skill is worth something. If a client is shopping for an artist to complete a project, and he is confronted with two choices a) hire a 3D artist at the market rate, b) hire an up-and-comer who is willing to work for little or nothing, who's he going to choose?
I think that's why working 3D artists can have such a hard time getting work, because there's always someone willing to do it for cheaper/quicker. However, I think in the log run it's better to give a client a product that you are 100% happy with, because then you know what you produced was worth something. I turned down 2 freelance projects this month as the deadlines were totally unreasonable. I could have given them a sloppy product (and got paid my rate of $70/hr for a crappy product), but that would have turned something I love doing into a "job" churning out trash. Consequently, it turned out well as the very same company came back to me with another project in June with a very resonable deadline, with excellent direction. I think if you let yourself get walked on once, you'll never get the client to do anything on your terms. On the flip side, if you're clear about the quality of your work up front, and the time required to achieve the final result, most clients grow to respect that, and enevitably become stronger business assets.
Just my opinion though.
@ Ian ..... gospel.
@ dilbert ..... truth.
By the way, ..... we're breaking Nicole's law about separate topics within a given thread.
I'm gonna mosey along now ....
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