I've been following this thread since day 1 but have hesitated to make any comment until today.
I discovered Iclone about 2 years ago when I bought my first copy of CrazyTalk. I studied Iclone until it got to the 3.2 version and then, about a year ago, I created an original post up here in an effort to find a team of Iclone animators that would be interested in making a slate of 10 animated films for theatrical release. I assembled that team and like all involved very much. A couple of the team members have contributed to this very thread.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Charles Chen, the CEO of RL and had a greater pleasure and honor to attend a 5.5 hour meeting with him in Silicon Valley in the early fall of last year. Two of the members of this forum were also present. During the long meeting, I had the pleasure of having Iclone 4, in beta at the time, personally shown to the meeting room by Charles Chen himself. It was a wonderful presentation and very encouraging.
When it came time for me to present my film slate idea to Mr. Chen and the fact that the films in our slate were intended for theatrical release, I was informed that Iclone output would not conform to theatrical release standards. This was a little shocking however our discussion continued and Machinima was discussed as well as the making of a "parser" that may make the Iclone output acceptable for theatrical release.
While Machinima films were not interesting to me, for they are still in an early stage of development of the new format, and still are....the parser was indeed interesting. Personally, I was still convinced that Iclone had the ability to turn out theatrical release quality....using a parser to render. The parser became a major topic between all of us for several months.
Having issued a Private Placement Memorandum for investors/investor groups to provide funding for the films, we soon learned that a combination of things caused the original Memorandum not be to accepted by investors. First, the tough economic situation, worldwide, was an issue and, secondly, the investors/investor groups did not believe that Iclone could turn out a theatrical release product. We continued to believe in Iclone.
In Jan. 2010, we pulled the Memorandum from the public due to lack of interest. A few days later, we re-released it due to the fact that three investors had suddenly expressed an interest in our slate. After months of talking to the parties, we again had no takers, due again to the economy and the disbelief in Iclone. Last week, in our annual company meeting, my fellow members in our LLC specifically stated that after a year of trying, they saw no reason to continue believing that Iclone would lead us to success. Reluctantly, I agreed and we signed a deal memo with a high end animation company that would give our films a theatrical release quality comparable to Disney or Pixar.
It was like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for, immediately, investors came forth with a serious interest in our slate. In my 57 years in this industry, I've never seen smiles and excitement like I saw exhibited once we went to the high end animation software. I even saw a high powered NY lawyer smile. That's unheard of.
Charles Chen is a great guy, an honest man, and a true leader of his company. I know, in my heart, that sooner or later he will get IClone to where it is a major contender and a high end animation product. I'll be back when he does. I believe in IClone.
Bob
www.bigchief.tv