Open-source animation
A selected list of quite brilliant free and open-source tools for beginners as well as experienced animators – be it for 2D, 3D or code based animation – can be found in our P2P Audiovisual Guide in the June 08 update (on the main page, just scroll down…). This update further includes some interesting (online) video related links…
With the June 08 update I am now stepping down as the guide’s maintainer, after working on it for the last two years the time has come for me to focus more on actually using some of the tools we list in the guide – it is no coincidence that the June update is about open-source animation – this is simply what I’ve been doing for a while now already. If you are interested in some results have a look at vivaldi rock, my latest 3D project, almost exclusively made with free and open-source software (I work with blender).
Reminder: Terms of Service
There is one thing I’d like to remind everyone of who uploads video, music or text works to any web 2.0 site: always make sure to read a site’s “Terms of Service” agreement (or TOS etc.). There are many, otherwise interesting services, that we never linked in the Audiovisual Wiki text for one simple reason: their TOS!
Why is this important? Some sites still make you hand over all sorts of rights (which often is bad enough in itself) – but not just for a limited period of time (until you decide to remove your work or close your account). They ask you to license your work to them forever and for free! Two words to watch out for in a Terms of Service agreement in this context are “perpetual” and “irrevocable”! Reading a TOS is not fun of course, but with a bit of practise (and by using your browser’s find/search in text options) you can do yourself a big favour…
Note that e.g. a Creative Commons license is also “non-revocable” (see the CC FAQ for details), but there is a big difference: by using a CC license you are allowing anyone to make copies of your work, basically encouraging free distribution (= free promotion for your work) and – depending on the kind of licence you choose, maybe even provide a foundation for others to build upon your work. But a TOS that asks you to license your work in a “perpetual” and “irrevocable” kind of way to one single company that makes money with your content is of course mainly in the interest of that one company and not so much in the interest of the general public!
I really don’t understand why sites with such Terms of Service agreements are still around, maybe someone else will put together a list with services to boycott because of their TOS. Better be safe than sorry and always read the small print before uploading your work to any web 2.0 service…!