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MillimeterEdit Review: Kinemac 1.0
Jan 1, 2009 12:00 PM, Reviewer: Franklin McMahon
New 3D animation program lives up to its promise of realtime playback with no rendering.
Kinemac’s Bézier curves editor provides exact keyframe tweaking of every element in the scene, from the objects to the camera.
I have already used Kinemac on client projects, exporting out to the Apple ProRes 422 format for beautiful anti-aliased HD results. One recent project required some tracking of objects to specific paths, as well as some complex camera moves. Kinemac has many tracking options, including the ability to simply draw a path with the pen tool and then set the camera to track along the path. So I was able to mock up several test runs in a fraction of the usual time before heading into actual production. The client for that project wanted some substantial changes after I'd completed it. If this had been another 3D program that I typically use (such as Autodesk3ds Max or Maxon Cinema 4D), the redo would have been fairly time-intensive. With Kinemac, it was remarkably easy. The requirements for the realtime goodness are fairly specific. You can run the program on anything from a G4 to a G5 to a Mac Pro (the processor is not that essential); however, a powerful video card is necessary. The company's website has a list of supported ATI and Nvidia cards.
One thing I did not like about the program is certain aspects of the keyframing. First, there's a lack of automatic keyframing, and the method by which keyframing is implemented is not ideal. With most 3D programs, you set up your object, create a keyframe, click further down the timeline, move the object or camera around, and set another keyframe. With Kinemac, it's the opposite. You actually move down the timeline, set a keyframe, and then move your objects. If you've never used a 3D program before and followed Kinemac's manual, you'll be fine. But if, like me, you've been using all sorts of 3D programs for years, it will cause some initial frustration and hunting through the instructions before you settle into the rhythm of how Kinemac works. Ideally, some sort of auto-keyframing option should be included, which would add even more speed to initial mockups and previz work. Another annoyance is that the Bézier panel opens up as a separate window, which makes it feel very disconnected from the rest of the program.
I often say download the demo, but this time, I really mean it. Grab the demo and then download several of the free example project files from the Kinemac website, load them, and play them. Prepare to be dazzled by the smooth, professional, complex animation all playing back in realtime. Then drill into some of the layers, make some tweaks, and play around. It won't take long to realize that Kinemac is a very powerful 3D animation program at a great price that can pay for itself almost immediately. The only drawback? You might not be able to go back to regular 3D rendering ever again.
bottomline
Company: Kinemac
www.kinemac.com
Product: Kinemac 1.0
Assets: Plays video back in realtime with no rendering; capable of sophisticated animation; can map movie file onto any object; bringing in graphics and video is drag-and-drop easy.
Caveats: No automatic keyframing; Bézier panel opens as a separate window.
Demographic: Professional 3D video animators.
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