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Cinema Director [RELEASED]

Discussion in 'Assets and Asset Store' started by harrington, Jul 21, 2014.

  1. harrington

    harrington

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2012
    Posts:
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    We are excited to release our new app to the community:
    Cinema Director
    A Visual Editor for Cutscenes and Sequences.



    Buy It! | Website | Docs


    Tell your story with Cinema Director, a modular timeline editor for Unity. It enables game developers, film professionals and machinima gurus to control, sequence and manipulate almost any Unity game object and its associated properties, allowing for dynamic cutscenes, and in-game sequencing, all without the need for scripting or programming.

    What we want for our Users

    • For you to be able to share your game's story and atmosphere without restriction through the use of an intuitive visual timeline editor.
    • The ability to easily create cutscenes to show off your game and help you be successful in your Kickstarter, Steam Greenlight and other marketing campaigns.
    • Re-factor and re-organize your cutscenes without strain. Authoring great cutscenes requires a lot of time and editing, you shouldn't have to pre-plan how everything will play out.
    • Access to a library of actions and events that cover a range of cutscene requirements. Awesome results without programming.
    • The ability to extend the software extension to meet your own game's needs (open source).
    • Access to a tool similar to Unreal's Matinee and Source Filmmaker for Unity.
    Our Commitment
    We are dedicated to improving the product and supporting our users. We are listening for feedback on http://cinemasuite.userecho.com and will strive to provide updates frequently that meet the needs of the community. It is our goal to make this into the best cutscene and sequencing tool for Unity.


    Features of Director
    • Shot tracks that allow control of camera cuts.
    • Audio tracks that make editing Audio in Unity quick and easy.
    • An extendable Actions library, containing over 60 actions, that allow triggering of transitions, animations (Legacy/Mecanim), physics and much more.
    • Live Timeline Scrubbing and Previewing allows you to make fine adjustments to your project without having to run unity in play mode. (Mecanim animations and physics events require play mode to preview).
    • Advanced Curve Editing for manipulating properties over time.
    • Actor and Multi-Actor grouping to keep your sequence organized.
    • Themes that change the look and feel of your scene with themes such as horror, noire, dream sequence and more.
    • Open source run-time code. You won't ship anything to your end users that you aren't aware of.
    • Extend the Director control by adding your own tracks, timeline objects and associated controls with little effort.
    • Easily create storyboards for your project.
    • Many more awesome features that a creative mind will love!
    Samples of Workflow


    Quickly edit together the shot flow, audio clips and effects.


    Intuitive GUI will have you being productive in no time.


    Create things, move them around and re-size them with ease.


    Preview the flow of the sequence without entering play mode.

    We have worked very hard on Cinema Director and are very excited for this initial release. We are continuing to develop the tool with four ideals in mind: ease of use, performance, extensibility and determinism (what you see is what you get). Please let us know what you think!

    =============

    Change Log:
    Implemented in v1.2.1.1. On the Asset store!
    • Fancy new ReadMe.txt file!
    • Exciting new Help panel!
    • Timeline library for manipulating other Cutscenes.
    • Fixed bug where undesired keyframes were being added.
    • Fixed bug where you could select non-visible keyframes.
    • Fixed bug where Actors animated through curve clips sometimes return to Origin unexpectedly.
    • Fixed "Enable/Disable Behaviour" to work for any Component that has an "enabled" property.

    v1.2.0.0.
    • Copy and Paste for track items.
    • Cutscene.Play() to be implemented as co-routine.
    • Cutscene API improved with callback events.
    • Tick marks in Time Ruler flicker black/white when camera preview is shown.
    • Multi-Actor curve clips were attempting to assign values to properties which were not defined in inspector causing exceptions.
    • In director panel, track headers are not indented to the right of parents.
    • Timeline Items don't trigger on first/last frame of cutscene.
    • "Mass Disable" doesn't turn tagged objects back on.
    v1.1.0.0.
    • Added context menus for keyframes to provide tangent control.
    • Added ability to type values for keyframes in Director.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2014
    KRGraphics and Gozdek like this.
  2. Cyrien5100

    Cyrien5100

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    Good !
    It seems to be easy to use, looks like a video editing software :)
     
    DanoG likes this.
  3. kenshin

    kenshin

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    Nice job, bookmarked!
     
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  4. mitchtheriault

    mitchtheriault

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    Yep, we spent a lot of time making sure it'd be familiar to someone coming from an NLE like Final Cut or Premiere.
     
  5. Play_Edu

    Play_Edu

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    nice 1.
    Can this 1 is advanced then flux editor or USequencer?
     
    DanoG likes this.
  6. nuverian

    nuverian

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    It looks great. Good job :)
     
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  7. DanoG

    DanoG

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    Hello Play_Edu. We always try to be very careful about what we say in regards to other packages. You can check our documentation and see the full list of features we have, which you will find are very extensive. You will also notice very tight integration to Unity without extra, unnecessary interfaces. We integrate directly with Inspector and workflow is seamless. Hopefully that answers your question.

    You can check out our documentation here.

    http://www.cinema-suite.com/Documentation/CinemaDirector/CinemaDirectorDocumentation.pdf

    Thanks!

    Dan
     
  8. argosy_ops

    argosy_ops

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    This actually looks professionally tailored looking at the documentation. I thought the same of a competing product however, which we then dropped because it was too buggy to use in actual production and didn't really contribute to our workflow.

    Will you be providing a demo? I've become somewhat cautious after my last experience with the competing product.
     
    DanoG likes this.
  9. DanoG

    DanoG

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    Hiya Argosy_Ops. We are working on demo/tutorial videos and they will start to post on our YouTube channel within the next few days. Appreciate the kind words on the documentation as well. We are exploring a limited feature free version as well.

    Appreciate your skepticism. But do know, this is a product we have developed now for over 2 years, to ensure that it is mature, reliable and provides a great experience. We are currently being used in a couple of major game studio's workflow (Can't say who they are quite yet) to ensure that this is a great product for not just Indies, but large studios as well. Stay tuned. We'll post updates as videos are released.
     
    argosy_ops likes this.
  10. TechnicalArtist

    TechnicalArtist

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    Nice job, bookmarked!
     
    DanoG likes this.
  11. Play_Edu

    Play_Edu

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    Thanks for ans.
    Would be the great if playmaker(Custom Action for it) and transition toolkit work with it.
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2014
    TechnicalArtist likes this.
  12. DanoG

    DanoG

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    Playmaker support very high on our list to add integration to. That will come soon!
     
  13. Play_Edu

    Play_Edu

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    Thanks for ans. i will wait .
     
  14. mitchtheriault

    mitchtheriault

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    We recently updated Cinema Director to include more options for types of curves. Check it out!
     
  15. DanoG

    DanoG

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    Our latest release of Cinema Director includes enhanced curve editing. We've also addressed any bugs we have found.

    Version 1.1.0.4
     
  16. StefanoCecere

    StefanoCecere

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    hi
    after checking all available (and 2014 updated) cutscene editors, i've settled with Cinema Director (even if there wasn't a demo, i trusted the developers and bought it :)

    i think some features are missing (mostly the preview of the paths), i need more actions (but will be easy to code them, since the code is open), but most important: it seems crash proof and not bugged!

    now got to go and seat at the director's chair.. :)

    ciao!
     
    DanoG likes this.
  17. Em-de-Nem

    Em-de-Nem

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    Hello,
    could I export videos or png sequences out from Cinema Director (like for later editing and uploading to youtube)?

    Thanks
     
  18. harrington

    harrington

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    We have a prefab that exports png sequences. I'd be happy to support you in getting that working no problem.
     
  19. Em-de-Nem

    Em-de-Nem

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    Thank you,
     
  20. harrington

    harrington

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    Just want to let everyone know that Cinema Director is the 24-Hour-Deal today. Make sure to check it out!
     
  21. nasos_333

    nasos_333

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    Hi, does the asset support in editor spline definition of animation paths ?

    Thanks
     
  22. Danirey

    Danirey

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    Hi there!

    I wonder if it is any way to send a message to a gameObject or call a function in a script attached to the gameObject without having to write a custom action/event inside Director.


    Thanks and anyway great job!


    EDIT: OK! Don't worry, i've just looked at the documentation and it is there! So new Buy!
    Cheers!
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2014
  23. harrington

    harrington

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    Not yet, but that is one of the top asked for features and I am currently working on it.
     
  24. harrington

    harrington

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    I am glad you noticed we have something to handle that already.

    If there is any action/event that our customers need, we are happy to make them within a few days of request (depending on complexity of course). We intend to continue development of the software for a minimum of 1 year so don't be shy to ask for improvements.
     
  25. iamsam

    iamsam

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    Hi,

    Had a quick question before grabbing the plugin. I recently saw the Unite 2014 video and they mentioned briefly about their "Director" feature coming up in later versions of Unity 5. I was confused whether the feature they mentioned would provide similar functionality to your plugin. I am sorry about the naive question but was wondering if you were aware of it and could comment on how your asset would integrate with those new features in Unity 5.

    Thanks,
    Sam
     
  26. harrington

    harrington

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    I attended Unite 2014 as well and saw the keynote. There is definitely some overlap between the two tools, but I did not see enough of their Director to be able to know for sure. It seemed like they were also placing effort into a compositor tool.

    From what I have gathered (unofficially) Unity's "Director" tool will not be available for a minimum of one year, and that it would likely be part of Unity 6.
     
  27. Danirey

    Danirey

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    Thanks.

    By the way, it would be awesome if you could have in the editor a dropdown with the functions that the actor has attached already. Like you see in the unity 4.6 ui events.

    Anyway, having a send message option it is the same thing(almost).

    Cheers!
     
  28. harrington

    harrington

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    Love the idea. I'm on it.
     
    Danirey likes this.
  29. Danirey

    Danirey

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    GREAT! :D
     
  30. Danirey

    Danirey

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    Hi!

    Awesome asset! You have made something great.

    i have a question(A noob one): Let's say i have a scene with everything from playable characters to enemies etc… I want to play a cutscene at start and then leave the control to the player. If i set a camera in the director editor, as soon as the shot ends, the camera becomes disabled. How is the the workflow to do that kind of things? Is this explained somewhere ?

    Thanks guys! :D
     
  31. harrington

    harrington

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    We are working on a new sample scene that shows how to go from gameplay to cutscenes nicely. The easiest way for now, if you are working with multiple shots for your opening cutscene would be to have a "gameplay camera" which you disable (Use the DisableGameObject event) at the start of your cutscene. When the cutscene ends it will re-enable the "gameplay camera" automatically and disable all cameras that are associated with the shot track.
     
  32. Danirey

    Danirey

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    Great!

    It is clear now! Thanks a lot! :)
     
  33. Danirey

    Danirey

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    Any news regarding how to properly go through cutscenes and game? I'm using the pause function via script to pause the cutscene after some point. Becase if i stop it, the camera used for the cutscene becomes active again.

    And one recuest... What about a camera tween movement?

    Cheers!
     
  34. harrington

    harrington

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    When the Cutscene stops, it puts all Cameras back to the state they were in when the Cutscene started. If you have a gameplay camera and a set of cutscene cameras, then do the following:

    - Have all cutscene cameras disabled.
    - Have your gameplay camera enabled.
    - At the beginning of your cutscene, add a Disable Game Object event and have it target your gameplay camera.
    - When the cutscene ends, it will automatically re-enable your gameplay camera and disable all your cutscene cameras.

    As for tween movement. Try using a curve clip, here is a short youtube video showing how:


    We are adding support for Tween systems in a future release.
     
  35. Danirey

    Danirey

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    Nice! Thanks a lot! I'll try that now!

    Cheers!;)
     
  36. DanoG

    DanoG

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  37. robocognito

    robocognito

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    Hi DanoG - really like Cinema Suite but I need more advanced camera path control; at the moment, I'm using Camera Path Animator - but the way it handles cameras is different - instead of multiple cameras for each segment, it moves a camera set along a series of paths you chain together.

    Any experience with this tool / getting that kind of functionality working with Cinema Suite?
     
  38. DanoG

    DanoG

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    Hi robocognito,

    I just want to clarify what you are asking. Would you prefer that a shot track work with a single camera that moves position from shot to shot, as oppose to multiple cameras?


    It's possible to develop your own "tracks" if you are handy with coding, or we could add that functionality to our roadmap, as we are continuing to improve the product.
     
  39. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    I bought that same asset (before buying Cinema Director) probably for the same reasons. It allows you to see an animation path for the camera, and trigger events as the camera hits points along the path. Alternately the camera can be paused at a pathpoint and wait for user interaction. It has some scene-time issues (won't go into that here) but for long "tracking shots" and visible bezier camera paths it seems like a good tool, but it's not a comprehensive timeline like Director.... I think it's functions are best described as a "rail shooter" or similar to a carnival Dark Ride
     
  40. larskroll

    larskroll

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    Maybe a silly question, but: Does Cinema Director work in Unity 5.0 ? There are some changes to the mechanim API, and of course to other kinds of APIs. Do you support 5.0 ?
    I'm using Flux at the moment, at that one broke horribly going to Unity 5 (The dev is working on it but ....) The issue in Flux is, as far as I can see, that either the dev is using unsupported 4.x mechanim api's, or the supported API changed so much... anyway ... Since I can't find anywhere where you explicitly write about 5.0 I figured I'd ask :)
     
  41. DanoG

    DanoG

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    Hi Larskroll,

    Yes, we do support Unity 5. We won't be making our official Unity 5 release until they are out of beta, due to the release of so many beta versions. We natively support mecanim's API which allows you to get full preview in edit mode, etc.

    Unity 5 does not break our software. We are very tightly integrated to Unity. We are just at the stage where we are hashing out warning messages, etc. Stay tuned!
     
  42. Remiel

    Remiel

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    "in editor spline definition of animation paths"
    Just wanted to say I would really like this feature as well. It is on top of my wishlist.
     
  43. larskroll

    larskroll

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    thank you. Cinema suite purchased :)
     
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  44. DanoG

    DanoG

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    We now have Unity 5b14 support. It's posted in the Asset Store as version 1.3.1.1
     
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  45. DanoG

    DanoG

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  46. inas

    inas

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    Hi DanoG, nice update :)

    I am waiting for improvement on curve editing. At least on par with native animation window one
     
  47. larskroll

    larskroll

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    Great !
    I have a license for the cinema *suite*, not just for cinema director. Will you update the suite package with the 1.3.1.1 version of Cin. Director please ?
     
    ThunderTruck likes this.
  48. DanoG

    DanoG

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    Hi Larkskroll.

    Yes! We will make sure this happens asap
     
    larskroll likes this.
  49. DanoG

    DanoG

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    Hi Larkskroll and everyone.

    We have submitted the latest version of The Cinema Suite to the Asset Store, that includes the latest 1.3.1.1 version of Cinema Director. This version is 1.0.2.1 - keep an eye out in your download manager or on the asset store.

    Thanks!
     
  50. larskroll

    larskroll

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    Yay ! that is awesome. Just downloaded and installed: everything seems to work like a charm. Now.... to build cutscenes!

    Oh : A small feature request (notice how feature requests are always "small" ?) :
    The camera models in cinema procams are nice, but they aren't textured. Are you planning to do that ? Cause that would be like... y'know.. pretty cool :) I'm planning a game level that takes place on a hollywood movie set, so loads of those assets could be super useful. Plus ... I suck at 3D arting. :) Pretty please ?