Videos of our Models Being Built.

[Gus]

When using some "illustration" programs we can record a video of the creation of those drawings. The playback is usually at a 10x speed or greater. These recordings are always a great way to see how a work of art is created.

I know that architects are always trying to find ways to explain to clients why it is that projects take so many man-hours to create. A video of the creation of a model, which architects could show their clients (at 100x or greater speed) would be used by every firm using ArchiCAD software.

Not only could it be used as a sales tool, it might also inform us about how much time is put into what types of processes while using ArchiCAD. We may realize we are spending too much or too little time on a particular part of a project if we can see the process in video format.

[Erwin Edel]

I don't know, I've had (very few luckily!) occassions where a client visiting the office for a meeting would end up sticking around while I make changes. This is the worst really.

I allways compare it to when I bring my car to the garage for maintainance. I don't stand there staring over the mechanics shoulder or question the time put in. It just seems rude.

That said, there are a fair few tutorial type videos on youtube of people modelling buildings. They are not sped up, though.

[Erwin Edel]

Also not sure if you mean you want a built in screen capture feature. There are lots of programs for both windows and mac that do this.

[Gus]

Erwin wrote:
I don't know, I've had (very few luckily!) occassions where a client visiting the office for a meeting would end up sticking around while I make changes. This is the worst really.

I allways compare it to when I bring my car to the garage for maintainance. I don't stand there staring over the mechanics shoulder or question the time put in. It just seems rude.

I'm not sure you are understanding what I'm saying. I'm not talking about having clients stand around while we design. I'm talking about screen recording the modeling process to show how the design changed over time, and how many changes are required to finish a project. It would be a presentation video, hopefully no longer than a minute long when sped up.

[Gus]

Erwin wrote:
Also not sure if you mean you want a built in screen capture feature. There are lots of programs for both windows and mac that do this.

I have used these programs before, and they slow down the computer dramatically. This is why I'm thinking the screen capture would be more efficient if it was done by ArchiCAD itself. Of course it would be something you could toggle on and off if it slowed down the program too much.

[Barry Kelly]

So are you saying you would like to show the client the entire process of you placing a wall, stretching it, adjusting surface materials, creating a composite, changing the renovation filter settings, creating views, etc., for the entire project (at a much increased speed)?
Or do you want a view of the 3D model only so you can see it at it progresses.

The first I think would be terribly boring for you clients.
The second may be interesting but you would constantly have to adjust the 3D view to show the parts of the model that you want them to see.
For both you would surely have to edit out (or stop recording) bits you don't want the client to see - so you would become a movie editor as well as a CAD operator.

There is the construction simulation add-on that can show you the 3D model as it would be built from the ground up.
Maybe that could be manipulated to show different design changes as well - I don't know as I have never used it.

Barry.

[Gus]

So are you saying you would like to show the client the entire process of you placing a wall, stretching it, adjusting surface materials, creating a composite, changing the renovation filter settings, creating views, etc., for the entire project (at a much increased speed)?
Or do you want a view of the 3D model only so you can see it at it progresses.

The first I think would be terribly boring for you clients.
The second may be interesting but you would constantly have to adjust the 3D view to show the parts of the model that you want them to see.
For both you would surely have to edit out (or stop recording) bits you don't want the client to see - so you would become a movie editor as well as a CAD operator.

This is another reason why it would be better if the model creation video was created by ArchiCAD rather than a separate screen recording software.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qid5gBRUUKE

The link above shows the "painting software analogy" I'm talking about. Videos like this are interesting for people to look at, because it shows the process that people went through to create something. It could be sped up faster too without much trouble. The human eye comprehends images extremely quickly, especially when there is continuity like there is in a painting or a model. This same thing could be done with ArchiCAD model creation. Notice that the painting software does not include any frames that include menus. These frames are automatically removed by the software itself. Like you said: this would be boring to clients. However, when the software automatically removes these frames, watching the creation of the painting is quite interesting. I think clients would love to see how their buildings were developed. I also think that it would benefit architects if clients could see how much work, and how much re-design is included in the designs they receive. Many clients have no idea how much redesign is included in a project. If they could see it sped up they would see the changes being made, but would only have to spend a few minutes watching the video, which would be interesting and informative so they wouldn't mind watching. I can't think of anything that I wouldn't want clients to see, but I guess if you wanted to cut things out you could do that with editing software post production pretty easily with simple video editing software. Again, I don't think it would be necessary though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HSh_w9rrjc

I think if the above video were sped up about 5x it would be pretty close to what I'm talking about less the menus that are visible (probably because they were using a screen recording software).