Steve Shanks

Maxon's Cinema XL Version 6 is an Editor's Choice Award Winner!

June 15, 2000

Cinema 4D XL is Maxon's flagship 3D software and version 6 is the latest upgrade. Normally when reviewing an upgrade of an application we look at the new changes first, well in this situation its everything. I've yet to find a section of the program that hasn't been changed for the better. Lets first look at the interface.

As you can see from the image above I'm running it on a dual monitor setup (On Windows 2000) which Cinema 4D is perfect for, as all the windows can be UN-docked and moved to any location you wish. This configuration can then be saved for later use. But where this really comes in handy is you can have different setups for animation or material setups. That's not all though, you can also assign shortcuts of your choice to any command, or change the icon arrangements, or even create your own pallets of commands you use regularly. Here is a small one I created for 3 tools I use regularly.

Now lets move onto modeling, in my opinion this is where the new version of cinema really shines and it is jam packed full of new features. HyperNURBS are the greatest and newest feature in V6 and any object can be converted into HyperNURBS, for example the Zebus below was created in about 20 minutes from an extruded poly shape drawn over an image.

Once the basic shape is made you can then add detail by modeling in point or polygon mode and there is an abundance of tools to help by a simple right click. The only feature I'd like to see added here is a trim tool or the ability to draw freehand with the knife.

Spline modeling is still here in V6 but again much improved with the addition of freehand Splines and again a right click opens a menu letting you change the properties of the Spline or individual points.

When the Splines are ready to be used to create a model it's a simple process of creating a NURBS object and dragging the Spline/spines onto it in the object manager, the object can then be adjusted or renamed by double clicking on the NURBS icon or name.

Of course your NURBS object can then be converted to a polygon object and placed into a HyperNURBS one for further adjustment, this is a classic example of how Cinema 4D lets you be in control of how you model. Now I've only scratched the surface of the new modeling features here to go into all of them in detail would take a long long time but before we move on lets take a look at importing models, the image below shows the choices available.

All formats imported with no problems but there have been a noticeable improvement with Wavefront imports and VRML 2. The way Cinema 4D XL handles a Wavefront OBJ is the best I have seen in any 3d application. After the import is complete it's a simple matter of going through each material sphere in the material manager and applying the texture or color to each part. No longer do we get an object for every material, Cinema now supports multiple materials on one object. Here is an example of an imported OBJ fully textured.

Animation is much improved with a complete new timeline and better controls, but the biggest feature in animation is Motion sequencing. An animation track can be converted into a single motion track and an object can have as many of these motion layers as you desire. The great bit is they can be reused in different parts of the animation without having to redo them. Also sound can be placed or recorded in any position by adding a loudspeaker or microphone. This can then be animated and rendered giving actual Doppler effects. The image below shows a stereo microphone and loudspeaker.

Maxon says that Cinema 4D (all versions) is the fastest renderer in the world and I believe them, but with this new version they have added area shadows to the lighting system. These look fantastic but with the penalty of a much longer render time. Now this isn't a complaint it's a penalty I'm only to willing to pay as I can still do my fast test renders and leave the area shadows until the final render. This isn't the only improvement to lights and rendering, the lighting now has many more features one of which is shadow noise, which again hits on the render time, but is too good a feature not to be used. Even with all the new added items to slow down the render time, Cinema is still quick compared to other high end 3d programs using similar features.

Cinema 4D V5 is a great program but now with V6 Maxon have moved into the "Big time" taking on some of the top 3D companies. Cinema 4D has always been used by some of the top movie and TV company's, in fact the list is too long to put here but includes the likes of the BBC, Disney, NBC, Fox and the recently released Gladiator. Here is a quote from Mill Studios

"We used Cinema 4d XL to create elements for four matte paintings in gladiator, making 3D representations of roman temples, archways, colonnades and columns. These were then combined with buildings photographed on location in Malta using Adobe Photoshop to make the final matte paintings. These were then tracked into the live-action plate using inferno. As everyone knows Cinema is renowned for its speed and stability and this came into play for Gladiator because most of the shots had to be pre-visualized at very short notice but at a sufficient quality for the director to make aesthetic judgments over lighting and composition. Cinema 4D XL allowed us to create elements that closely matched Ridley's design sketches in a hands on fashion: he could give us a sketch in the morning and then critique the result in the afternoon, moving things around on screen until he had achieved the correct balance of elements. This 3d 'sketch' could then be worked up into the final piece. With the release of version 6.0 we are stepping up our usage of Cinema 4D XL: in up and coming productions. Currently we are using it for pre-visualizing effects shots so we can plan our approach before we get on the actual set ('A knights tale'), as well as for finished digital matte paintings ('Band of brothers')."
Simon Wicker, Mill Film

Demos ordering and more information can be found at.

Visit Maxon's Website

Prices
US $2,195 or upgrade from V5 $495
UK £1395 or upgrade from V5 £349

System Requirements here

Copyright 2000, Steve Shanks, All Rights Reserved