Why lightwave looks sometimes so "bad" and "cheap"?

#1

Hello

What makes Lightwave VFX quality look sometimes so bad and cheap compare to other programmes such as 3ds max, maya and houdini?

I started watching the battlestar galactica trailer on their website, at first i was “mmm that’s nice, not maya and max level but that’s nice (for a TV show)”…then came some “green screen” shots and my god it looks so ugly, it looks so cheap we cleary see people standing in front of a green screen and VFX/3D added post prod.
Is it the best results this software can give? It seems to be only good for making spaceships and space stuffs. Other than that, it looks generaly bad and fake in TV shows (even on my dear LOST). The only not that bad cg and vfx integration i’ve seen from lightwave is from the walking dead.

IF what i see on TV shows is the result from guys knowing the software perfectly and working in big studios for famous TV show, i guess it can’t reach higher results? I know it’s more a software for TV show, but for example few months ago i was watching i don’t remember what TV show, and i was “wow, nice cg and vfx, it seems better than usual, more natural, kind of like in movies, lightwave can achieve some nice results” so i searched the company that made the vfx for the tv show, to see what other TV vfx they have made and…i was disapointed… because i discovered that made their cg and vfx with maya. That was the reason why it looked better.

No troll inside, i’m jsut starting to use max as an enthusiast but don’t do anything good for now, i’m just searching for the right software to start to learn, and lightwave seemed more easy (which is improtant) but what we can achieve seems so much lower quality than its competitors.

#2

Trollololollolo!

#3

wow seriously???

:argh:

#4

Yeah, I know…hard to believe that anyone could have a different perception :rolleyes:

#5

wow, someone got a different opinion than you on the quality of what’s made with a software and it’s a troll?

Do you know that in this world, some people, sometimes, won’t always have the same opinion as you? Hard to accept, i know…it prooves lot of things your reactions.

#6

“What makes Lightwave VFX quality look sometimes so bad and cheap compare to other programmes such as 3ds max, maya and houdini?”

i respect and accept other peoples opinions when they are based on reason and fact. It is my opinion that yours are not.

enjoy the rest of the thread.
byebye

#7

As far as I can see his opinion is a matter of personal taste, and he is fully entitled to it. But if you want to persuade him, maybe try to use those reason and facts you seem to rely so much upon instead of rolling your eyes or labeling him a troll. The only thing you accomplish with that is to further the impression (especially in this place) that LW users are fanboys.

#8

I think the OP had already made his mind up and was simply trying to justify his purchase of max. There is very little point in trying to convince these types that Lightwave is more than capable of creating stunning visuals as no matter what you say they will always fall back on the ‘max am bestest’ attitude.

Believe me I have seen some complete and utter shite from Max and Maya.

For the benefit of the OP, have you seen Avatar, Hellboy, Fifth Element, Blade, Tropic Thunder, CSI, Stargate Atlantis, DaVinci Code, Muse ‘Sing for Absolution’ video, Iron Man, Star Trek (Voyager, DS9 and Enterprise).

Those are just the ones I can remember, if your preconceptions of Lightwave are that is a cheap alternative to more costly software and therefore must produce cheap results, you are sadly mistaken, oh and one more to throw in the mix for you… Star Wars episode II.

Now, I’m sure that many will think that other software packages were used in the productions I mentioned above and they are correct but Lightwave was used and it was used because it provided a solution that the other packages could not, not because it was cheap and certainly not bad.

#9

Studios can get great results with Lightwave if they are not rushed with schedules and other projects to do. Sometimes, a studio only has a day to do a VFX shot.

#10

Love the avatar Shawn :slight_smile:

#11

Wouldn’t the green screen issue have more to do with the comp than the 3D work?

#12

There’s little things like lighting. Some studios don’t bother with it for green screen, so it doesn’t matter how good the lit CG scene is. Then there’s the poor smuck that has to AE the scene to make all the footage match lighting-wise.

#13

So for a scene, like for example some from battlestar galactica trailer (on lightwave website), wherethe green screen scenes look so fake and ugly, it’s more a problem with bad compositors and/or comopstiros that work with AE and not nuke?