ALAMDV2

Has anyone here ever used this program before. If so, how did you like it? I may purchase it, but not if it has a bad rep. Hope you guys have some insight. Thanks.

 

Most people will say that it is really bad...

because it is definitly not a good program if you are making a serious movie, because the special effects look really fake and in some instances it is just overlaying a picture... (however, They aren't THAT BAD if your a beginner)

but if you are just making a video for fun, like for school or something, it is the PERFECT program because it will help me make the effects FAST and cheap...

I bought it myself... I would never use it for any of my serious projects but for school projects i use it all the time, because i never have the time to use my other programs...

I like the program.

But it shouldn't be your only one.

 

Its a pretty good deal if you're looking for clips of explosions and stuff like that that you can bring into ae and modify. But I wouldnt think of using it instead of ae. No way in hell. I bought it just because of the explosions. Better than buying 1 clip off artbeats for $150.

 

I recommend that you view several of the films in their cinema to get an idea of what some of the effects look like in action. I use it all the time and once you buy the program you can download all the cool plugins and use them as image sequences in After Effects too.

If you're looking to do quick and easy lightsabers Alam is great, but don't expect them to look like Ryan's.

In closing, I think the program is great for a beginner. It gets you some decent quality effects on the cheap and once you figure out the inner workings of the program it's pretty easy to manipulate the images on your video. Version 2 added some great features like keyframing and tweening which was heaps better than the previous version where you had to hand paint every frame. It has some limitations, and you don't really have alot of control over the plugins besides placement/size/color/opacity on most of them but for the price you won't find any better effects program on the market IMO.

 

Only good for cheap, short explosions. NOTHING ELSE.

The plugins can also be used in AE. Nobody has really noticed this, but you can just DL the plugins, and compose the frames in an AE comp. Then use that comp as a plugin!

 

If explosions ( and smoke ) are what you're after, particleIllusion (www.wondertouch.com) is the way to go.

Much more versital, higher quality and very quick/easy to use.

This clip (5meg AVI) was made using only the free demo of pI2 SE.
(The timing and animation on this are being redone, but it still shows some fun explosions and smoke.)

The non-demo SE version is only a few bucks more than Alam. Someone even made a lightsaber plugin for it.
The full version 3.0 is what I used to blow up the Jedi Temple for durbpoisn's OobiWan teaser.

Have fun.

 

arg! Partical Illusion demo for some reason wont install on my computer!

 

Ok that was just awesome. Love those board animations. Hidden Phantom rocks!

 

Ok one question.. Does anyone know the difference between the $400 Particle Illusion and the $100 Particl Illusion SE?

 

$300.

/nerd

 

oops.. did i mention i cant read?

EDIT: "particleIllusion 3.0 for Windows (CD) $399 (US) buy now"

oooooo... Who said $400? uh huh.. I was right.

 

All the details about what full v2.0 can do that SE can't are listed on the SE page. Then check the specs for v3.0 to see what else it can do.

Some biggies in full v3 that are not in 2SE:
Super emitters can emit more emitters, as well as particles.
Forces to affect particles (change direction).
Alpha channel can be used as emmiter mask (make burning or smoke people).
Multiple layers.
Compositing masks (blockers) to hide areas so emitters can pass behind background items (can be done in post with AE, Premiere, Ulead MSP, etc. instead, though).

Really, if you have a tool that can do alpha compositing (just about all video editors used around here) SE will handle just about anything you'd really need for a fan film.

Here's the link to the guy with the lightsaber stuff. (I don't use pI for sabers though.)
particleIllusion stuff
These should work fine in SE.

Have fun.

 

dude PI 3 is only like $150 on studica.com

 

Not everyone is a student!