REVIEW | PRODUCTIVITY
108 MacDirectory
One of the most interesting new offerings
in the realm of 3-D animation is the
presentation application, Kinemac ($299)
. Thanks to its mastery of
Apple's Quartz imaging technology,
Kinemac enables the user to create
broadcast-quality animations in minutes
and then view them in real time without
the need for rendering.
While billed as a presentation app,
Kinemac is clearly an animation program.
Rather than using a slide metaphor, it uses
sprites, a timeline, Bezier-controlled
keyframes and other motion graphics
tools. In addition to such basic features as
importing vector objects and the
extrusion and manipulation of text, it
provides a range of 3-D primitives and can
import OBJ and 3DS 3-D models.
Presentation
The three main elements of a visual
presentation are text, images and charts,
and Kinemac handles all three with style.
Kinemac supports drag-and-drop RTF files
for importing formatted 2-D text. You can
also use the built-in 2-D and 3-D text tool
to create extruded text to which you can
apply existing art and adjust such
attributes as transparency, reflection, and
the like.
You can import pictures and video clips,
apply them to surfaces and animate them
as you wish. You can also create animated
3-D graphs by importing tab delimited
text files.
Animation
Animation is created via Bezier-controlled
keyframes. As with text and other objects,
lights and camera are manipulated along
animation paths. In addition to extruding
text, you can extrude paths and apply a
still image or video clip to create an
animated filmstrip.
Kinemac also provides scripting tools for
creating interactivity. For example, you
can create clickable animated 3-D buttons
that will trigger certain actions, such as
animating another object, jumping to a
frame, launching an AppleScript, etc.
Everything is handled via an interface
featuring a stage, timeline, Bezier window
and others, along with a Keynote-style
inspector panel, which offers tabs for the
stage, geometry, surface textures, object
attributes, alignment and anchor
positions, lights, scripting, a sprite library,
and a file browser.
Hands-On
The more time spent, the better the result,
but you can become productive within
minutes. Pop a primitive on the stage, slap
some art or a video clip on it, slide in some
text, assign an audio file, drop in a couple of
key-frames, and you have created your first
multimedia animation. You can run it as a
Kinemac file or output it as a QuickTime
movie with or without an alpha channel
(handy for compositing in other applications
or creating animated buttons in Keynote).
Kinemac provides a number of tutorials on
the website in the form of videos and
corresponding Kinemac files. Online help
is available in the form of illustrated text-
based tutorials and FAQ info. Email
support is also available and there is a user
forum with links to such content as
artwork, 3-D models, etc.
Observations
Kinemac has a glitzy feel and is great for
creating slick, complex, and precocious
logo animations with a distinct ESPN look,
but if you are looking for a toned-down,
organic feel, Kinemac doesn't have much
to offer. Even so, it is a great application
for creating timeline-based 3-D
presentations as well as for creating clips
for use in other applications.
Kinemac is an excellent tool and provides
a slick and easy means for creating
impressive animations and for taking your
presentations way beyond the limitations
of traditional tools. A perusal of the online
video introduction is informative and well
worth your time. Its price is a touch high
for hobbyists but in a professional setting
it can easily pay for itself in a single use.
KINEMAC > PRESENTATIONS THROUGH ANIMATION
WORDS BY TREY YANCY
Product Kinemac
Made by Kinemac
Price $299
Pros Easy, powerful, fun
Cons None
Rating
HHHHH
