re: Learning Maya - I second with what Teddy has said so well.  Maya is really powerful but the learning curve is steep.  While I love it, I still get frustrated by it sometimes and I've been using it since 2001!  Hire somebody.  :)

On Wed, Jan 22, 2014 at 1:28 PM, Teddy Gage <teddygage@gmail.com> wrote:

>Whether I could pull this off myself (crash course in Maya?

Do you have three 40-hour weeks free for studying and full time tutorial sessions? I mean, it depends on how quickly you pick that stuff up, but Maya especially is not forgiving of beginners during production under a deadline. Even with pre-built assets. You still have to understand what you are looking at. At least limit yourself to C4D. Each aspect of Maya (or Max, or C4D) is basically an entire career path in its own right (modeling, lighting, rigging, texturing, animating, dynamics). Trust me on this, if you want it done right and looking even half decent, hire someone. Or fake it in 2D. Especially if it's a small budget. my 2c

-TG

On Wed, Jan 22, 2014 at 3:49 PM, Rod Wellman <felistmail@cableone.net> wrote:

Thanks, Nathan.

I was generally thinking along the lines of what you outlined when you mentioned locked off cameras.  We would shoot without tracking or dolly or camera moves like tilts or pans. (could probably pull off a slight zoom). As you mentioned, we would get a small "collection" of varying angles of the 3D environments.  Whether I could pull this off myself (crash course in Maya?), or just maybe hire a 3D artist to perform this function for us, I don't know.  We're fairly versed in AE when it comes to adding "fake" shadows, using AE's lights, could even add a Show Logo on a wall with some