This READ ME document contains information about using the AppleVision interactive presentation and the story of how this all-digital production was accomplished.
CONTENTS:
- Getting Started
- System Requirements
- The All-Digital Production Story
- Credits
GETTING STARTED
Save and quit all programs currently running on your Macintosh. Insert the AppleVision CD-ROM and double-click its icon on your desktop. A file with a movie projector will appear among a number of support folders. This is the AppleVision Interactive file, double-click it . This will bring up an interface on your screen that will allow you to choose one of four segments about the AppleVision monitor:
- Resolution Switching & Color Control
- Geometry & Sound
- Color Accuracy & Microphone
- Cross-Platform Compatibility
You may also play the entire full-length movie by clicking on the PLAY ALL button.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
- Double Spin CD-ROM player
- 25 mhz 68040 microprocessor (Quadra-Level Macintosh or Power Macintosh)
- 8 megabytes of memory
- System 7.1 or later
- QuickTime 2.0
THE ALL-DIGITAL PRODUCTION OF THE APPLEVISION CD-ROM & VIDEO
The AppleVision script was written on a PowerBook 165 in QuarkXPress (Quark was chosen for its column management). The production designer went to the designated blue-screen stage with a tape measure and his Duo 270c and in 90 minutes modeled the space in 3D using ArchiCAD. He then selected props from a library on his hard disk and e-mailed the lot via eWorld to the director. The director manipulated the virtual props and actors using ArchiCAD on a Quadra 800. Once a camera angle was found using ArchiCAD's camera tool, a PICT image was taken and placed (with text from the script) in StoryBoard Quick. The script, storyboard, and set layout were then printed on a LaserWriter 16/600 PS and distributed to the cast and crew.
Because of clear communication and exact pre-visualization on the Macintosh, AppleVision was shot in one day. A special digital camera from Sony (DVW-700) recorded the images on Digital Betacam tape. These images were then compressed into QuickTime via DiaQuest and VideoVision onto a Quadra 840AV with a Micropolis 2 gigabyte AV hard disk. Animation sequences were modeled and manipulated with form*Z, Strata, PhotoShop, CameraMan and rendered with Strata Studio Pro on 5 Power Macintoshes over 4 days. The production was then edited and composited (effects, music and all) with Premiere on the Quadra 840AV. The finished images and an edit decision list were then exported to a Sony 9000 editor and conformed onto Digital Betacam tape. The digital master (source of videotape copies) was then compressed into to a CinePak movie and burned onto a CD-ROM. The movie is driven by an interface created with PhotoShop and MacroMedia Director. The only things analog in this production are the happy humans who made it.
CREDITS
Apple Computer, Inc.
Susan Salciccia
Kathi Fox
Rick McEachern
Cast
Graphic Designer--Terra DÎva
Game Developer--Jesse Moises
Magazine Editor--Marsha Graham
Pure Grain Digital Productions
Robert Miller, director, producer
Karen Carlson, line producer
Jennifer Kate Ward, writer, casting liaison
Brett Lama, art director, props
Alex Batlin, props, wardrobe
Terbo Ted, composer and sound effects
Scrappy D¸Champ, digital audio engineer
Joshua Troderman, production assistant
Alex Sterling, makeup and hair
xFarm
Charles Rotter, digital production consultant
Keith MacGowan, interface designer, lingo
Landon Elmore, cover art
VIZability
Bob Staehle, computer visualization, animation
BlueWaters
Ming Lau, Premiere and QuickTime consultant
Pacific Video Resources
Steve Kotton, director of photography
Dana Levy-Wendt, Video Computing Specialist
Tony Jensen, sound recording
Michael Albanese, on-line editor
Jim Pusch, stage manager
Christine Odegard, client services
Diesel Design
Jeffrey Harness, production graphics
Luis Domingese, production graphics
Special Thanks
Strata Inc., for QuickTime clips and still art
The Interactive Media Festival
All vendors located in San Francisco with the exception of VIZability in Walnut Creek.