In 3DMM, movies are recorded from frames in quick succession, featuring a destructive editing paradigm. Many sample voice and MIDI music clips are included, but original voices can be recorded using a microphone while external.

While the actors and props are rendered as polygonal meshes with affine texture mapping and basic shading, the scene backgrounds instead are pre-rendered images with an associated depth buffer that is compared against the runtime-rendered meshes so that aspects of the scene at hand can appear to occlude the meshes once a character or prop is placed behind a static object from the background. Twelve different scenes are available to the user, each containing several different static camera angles. By default, 40 actors/actresses are available (each with 4 different costumes and a number of actions), as well as 20 different props.

The installation disc of Microsoft 3D Movie Makerįilmmaking in 3D Movie Maker is a straightforward process, allowing users to create various kinds of movies with ease. is still used today by many 3DMM enthusiasts.įollowing the open-sourcing of the licensed BRender engine prior in similar fashion, Microsoft released the source code of the program under the MIT License in May 2022, following a request by the Twitter user Foone a month earlier. In 1998, a user named Space Goat created the website that allows users to upload movies and mods for 3DMM. The models and backgrounds were made by Illumin8 Digital Pictures (a now-defunct graphics studio) using Softimage modeling software, while the cinematic introduction and help sequences were made by Productions Jarnigoine, a now-inactive production company founded by Jean-Jacques Tremblay. In Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker, the user is instead guided by Stick Stickly.ĭeveloped in accordance with Microsoft's broader ambitions towards multimedia software in conjunction with the release of its then-new Windows 95 home computer operating system, 3D Movie Maker is built on BRender, a software rasterized 3D graphics engine created by Argonaut Software.

The program features two helper characters to guide users through the various features of the program: The character McZee (voiced by Michael Shapiro), shared from other Microsoft Kids products like Creative Writer, provides help throughout the studio while his assistant Melanie provides other various tutorials. The user manual (left) and the installation booklet of Microsoft 3D Movie Maker

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