Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?

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Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?
by Nic on Aug 18, 2004 at 7:48:50 pm

Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?

One of my clients is looking to bring 3D into his company. So far, we've been doing great things with After Effects and Invigorator, but we want better modeling capabilities, texturing, animation, etc. He has Lightwave 6.5 for PC, and could save some money upgrading, but I'm trying to nudge him into a G5 and Cinema 4D. I'd like to know what the experts think ... that's you people.

Thanks for your time.

Nic

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Re: Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?
by IQ Nill on Aug 19, 2004 at 1:10:51 am

hi,
been there, done that.
i've used LW7 for some time.
c4d beats LW when it comes to the learning curve (c4d must be the easiest 3d software to learn).
The way it is structured allows you to work in "easy mode" without having to learn the lot and progress as you need.
When it comes to the renfering speed - again c4d wins!
Radiosity (speed and quality) ditto.
etc. etc.

get c4d

g

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Re: Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?
by Adolfo Rozenfeld on Aug 19, 2004 at 2:30:09 am

No other 3D application comes remotely close to what Cinema 4D offers in terms of integration with After Effects (and Final Cut Pro and Combustion in the soon to be released version R9). Because of this, Cinema 4D is king in 3D for motion graphics.
Go to Maxon's site and check the information on C4D > Integration. If you have any questions regarding that, let me know.
Also, as IQ Nill said, C4D is as intutive and easy to use as pro 3D app can get. Heck, some of the new interface elements in the new version even resemble Apple's Motion!
I have been using C4D for less than a year and I don't find it hard at all to do what I want (in motion graphics, I mean, I have no clue about character animation).
Hope this helps.

Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires - Argentina
http://www.adolforozenfeld.com
adolfo@adolforozenfeld.com

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Re: Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?
by Bob Gerber on Aug 20, 2004 at 6:25:40 pm

I hear two issues in your post: LW vs C4D and Win vs Mac. LW vs C4D: My first 3D package I seriously tackled was LW 7.5. The interface overwhelmed me and the disconnected nature of the two program modules seemed bizarre unless I figured that the programmers needed two screens to stash all the menu options. My conclusion was that LW might be a great product but it was a huge mistake for me to start my 3D career on it. I moved to C4D and have never looked back. I now work with a number of people who use a wide variety of 3D apps. We have the typical passionate discussions about our favorites but, frankly, LW seldom comes up.

Win vs Mac could be a bigger issue depending on how you and your client decide to operate together. It is not a show-stopper but it is worth discussing. The issues, in my opinion go beyond which 3D package you choose. What will you do with the rendered output? Probably put it into a compositing package like After Effects, right? Suppose your client wants to use After Effects 6.5 Pro which won't even run on a Mac. You, of course, want to use Final Cut Pro or Shake. You might consider a Win-Mac discussion disguised as a pipeline discussion about what exactly you want to do together.

Bob Gerber
Gerber Grafix

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Re: Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?
by Adolfo Rozenfeld on Aug 20, 2004 at 6:53:11 pm

[Bob Gerber] "uppose your client wants to use After Effects 6.5 Pro which won't even run on a Mac"

WHAT???

Bob: You're opening the pandora box, here.
Not only does After Effects 6.5 pro work on the Mac, but....
1) Adobe made a public statement that the next version will also will work on the Mac (the release of Apple's Motion made some people speculate about whether Adobe would kill AE for the Mac, they made clear they won't)/
2) The independent benchmark tests designed by no less than AE guru Brian Maffit show consistently the G5 beating anything Intel/AMD CPU on AE (I'm not saying they're always faster, they are for AE).
3) After Effects on the Mac still has featues the PC version doesn't have. While 6.5 is the first version that allows prosumer level, native Firewire DV previews on Windows, the Mac version has had external previews up to 16 bit uncompressed with for years. Still has the edge there.

So, if you are interested on compositing, both Windows and Mac run After Effects and Combustion. But only the Mac runs Motion and Shake (well, there's a Linux version of Shake too).

Please try to be more informed.
All the best.

Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires - Argentina
http://www.adolforozenfeld.com
adolfo@adolforozenfeld.com

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Re: Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?
by Bob Gerber on Aug 20, 2004 at 7:45:06 pm

Thank you, Adolfo, for setting me straight. Everyone has a big lapse in recall from time to time and I have now had mine for the year! What I meant to stress was the downstream divergence with Premiere Pro etc.

May I assume, at least by your silence, that you pretty much agree with my other points?

Again, thanks for catching me on this important point.

Bob Gerber
Gerber Grafix

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Re: Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?
by Adolfo Rozenfeld on Aug 20, 2004 at 8:28:01 pm

I do prefer Cinema 4D over the others, so yes, we agree on that. It's not that we are right or wrong, it's our taste. Unlike killing AE on the Mac, which isn't true :)
Mac vs. Window is also something which is based on each's taste and convencience (though I have a huge preference for one over the other!).
All the best!

Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires - Argentina
http://www.adolforozenfeld.com
adolfo@adolforozenfeld.com

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Re: Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?
by Adolfo Rozenfeld on Aug 20, 2004 at 9:03:22 pm

One more thing:
I apologize for entering "plarform war mode". I am a bit embarrassed for doing that.
It's just that for some of us the only mention of Adobe klling AE for the Mac touches a nerve :)
All the best.

Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires - Argentina
http://www.adolforozenfeld.com
adolfo@adolforozenfeld.com

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Re: Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?
by Bob Gerber on Aug 20, 2004 at 11:20:43 pm

Apology accepted, Adolfo, but in the final analysis you are correct. One of the best aspects of the COW forums is that the information here is authoritative and accurate. The portion of my post that you challenged was neither.

You also demonstrate an important point that Nic needs to consider. This is a highly charged issue. That is why I often find it best argued on the merits of what is best for a particular production workflow and outcome. It won't be the first time if Nic or his client rolled their sleeves up and worked together "on the other side of the street" for the good of the project.

Bob Gerber
Gerber Grafix

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Re: Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?
by Adolfo Rozenfeld on Aug 21, 2004 at 3:02:05 am

Yes, Bob. My rational me realizes you're correct. My irrational me feels stupidly feels happy because I didn't go to the other side of the street in four or five years :)
All the best!

Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires - Argentina
http://www.adolforozenfeld.com
adolfo@adolforozenfeld.com

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Re: Cinema 4D or Lightwave? Why?
by Nic on Aug 21, 2004 at 10:42:18 pm

Ok. Group hug.

N

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