I met Richard Schrand at Siggraph first at the e-on software
booth and, then, through Syyd Raven. We talked in bits and pieces
about writing and about the book on Vue d'Esprit that he was
writing, and I asked would he mind if I did an e-mail interview
with him for my Renderosity column. When I first met him his name
was familiar to me because I own and have use extensively the Poser
4 Pro Pack f/x and Design book that he wrote. It gives me a lot of
pleasure to be able to present this interview. Q1 - How did you
first get interested in writing books on graphic software
programs? I have always enjoyed writing. In fact, in my former
career (broadcasting), I became senior writer for a television
station in Cincinnati while I was still a teenager. So, I have
written in one form or another for a lot of years. I also had
always taught in one form or another. Because of the positions I
held in that industry, I was asked to lecture and make appearances
to talk with students in high school and college, plus I headed
different career groups that showed students what the broadcast
industry was like from the inside. When I left broadcasting and
turned to graphic/web design as a profession, I thought I could
continue this multi-decade-long tradition. Thanks to an author
friend of mine, and contact with a 3D software company (Pixels:3d)
who passed my name along to him, I wrote some tutorials for the
author's books. He then introduced me to an agent who,
subsequently, obtained my first book deal. From there, I was off
and running. Bottom line: I was able to start a business, a portion
of which gives me the opportunity to indulge in one of the things I
love to do--write. Q2 - What is your background? 30 years in
the broadcast industry in both local and national television, as
well as international radio syndication. Of those 30 years, I spent
almost 20 in upper management positions, overseeing everything from
the graphical look of a station and the design/presentation of
print and on-air advertisements, to creating entire television and
radio venues from scratch. I would say that, prior to turning
full-time to graphic/web/3D design and animation, that I had over
10 years overseeing and approving the work other designers
produced. I have won some extremely prestigious awards for my
writing and producing, as well as helped create a soap opera for a
national broadcast outlet, and an award-winning radio program that
is syndicated world-wide. I have owned my production company in the
Nashville area for going on six years now. Q3 -What parts of
your background do you feel contribute the most to this type of
writing? Two things: having been a reporter/anchor and a News
Director, I am not shy in asking questions or asking for things
that I feel are important in order to reach my goal--namely the
publishing of my books and the completion of my clients' projects.
The other is my natural love of people watching and psychology. I
enjoy dissecting what people are doing and why. I watch people and
study the minutia of movement and body language. It's fascinating
to me. Between the two, I think I am both able to convey something
different in my books. I try to decipher the technical terminology
and put it into words that are clearer to the majority of people.
If I don't understand something, then I know there are lots of
others who don't as well. Q4 - What made you interested in
writing a book specifically about Vue d'Esprit 4 aside from the
fact that there isn't one? I was contracted to co-write the
update to 3D Creature Workshop for Charles River Media. Wanting to
expand on the original, we looked at programs that augmented the
big packages we focused on--LightWave, 3D Studio Max--and Vue
d'Esprit was one of them. Up until then, I had only used Bryce. But
when I started to work with Vue (version 2) I thought to myself
that, if it ever was ported over to the Mac, I would switch
programs. (Yes! I'm a Mac person, although I do use a PC as well
for my work.) Having kept in touch with eon Software, and finding
out that a Mac version was imminent, I began researching the
viability of a book. Without another one on the market (or planned)
and seeing the questions being asked on discussion boards such as
the one at Renderosity.com, it seemed a natural fit. The program is
so deep and so powerful (yet so inexpensive) that a book to augment
the User Manual seemed a good idea. Peachpit Press thought so as
well, and now I'm hot and heavy into the writing of The Vue
d'Esprit Book. Q5 - How do you go about writing a book that will
be "antiquated" almost before it is released? Ahhhhbut does it
become antiquated? Most of the time, a new version has a few more
bells and whistles, yet the basic controls remain the same.
Sometimes a new version comes out that totally revamps a program,
but, in all reality, these are rare. A few new tools might be added
or a new rendering engine. In all reality, if you aren't more than
one generation behind an update (book-wise), the book can still be
extremely viable. What needs to be remembered: A new software
package comes out and there's an influx of people updating to that
new release. Many of these are, in actuality, the vocal minority.
Read the Vue list and you will see there are still people deciding
whether or not to update from version 2 or 3 to version 4. There is
a vocal minority that, often, can make the casual observer feel as
if everyone has upgraded. They can make that casual user feel they
are behind the times. But, even at a fairly low cost, most people
have to save up before purchasing an upgrade. Or they have to
discuss it and justify the expense to themselves because of family
commitments. But, yes, you do want to keep the books as up to date
as possible. But, if you focus on some of the basics (in the case
of Vue, detailed discussions on texture editing, object placement,
etc.), the book's viability remains strong because the information
will still be pertinent to the updated software. Q6 - When you
initially start a book, what type of reference material do you
use? As mentioned earlier, I turn to discussion boards and
e-mail groups and pay attention to what people are wanting to know.
I use that as one of my starting points. I also turn inward and
look at the areas that I want to know more about as well. Then I
get into my reporter/anchor mode and ask the owners and programmers
of the software companies what they think is important to convey. I
then build my tables of content based on those three things. Q7-
Do you have any suggestions for people who want to write computer
books? That's a tough one. I have a real pet peeve about the
internet: it has made many people extremely sloppy writers. The
Associated Press and United Press International did a lot to lessen
the rules of proper grammar. So, I see a lot of people who have
become lazy, substituting numbers for words because it's the 'cool
thing to do', or butchering their native tongues because they don't
have to write correctly in order to be understood. So, while
indulging my own steadfast beliefs here, my biggest suggestion is
to study your language and learn how to use and write it properly.
Don't go with the convention d'jour, but really learn to speak and
write correctly. Q8 - Can you give us a few highlights from the
new book on Vue d'Esprit? The Vue d'Esprit Book is going to
feature in-depth descriptions on how to create original textures
(the chapter for that is slated to be almost 70 pages by itself),
one of the most asked about areas of the program. I'm also
discussing how to utilize cameras as actors, and discussing tricks
of the trade to help the reader not only work faster but more
efficiently. I'm also going to go into the new Mover4, which allows
users to import complete Poser animations into Vue. Q9 - When
can we expect it to be released? It was originally scheduled
for release in September, but due to some personal issues, it looks
more like October before it will be available. Q10 - Which
versions will it apply to and what if another version of Vue
d'Esprit comes out soon after it is published? While the screen
shots and tools are from the latest version (4.1), the way the
information is disseminated, it is pertinent to users of version 3
as well. When Vue 4.5, 4.675, 4.97826, or 5.0 is released (which we
know will be eventually), this book will still be extremely useful.
That's why we didn't put a version number in the title. This is an
all-around book that, while it shows and discusses the latest
version of Vue, the information is multi-generational. Q- 11
What are some of your other books? My other books are:
Macromedia Web Design Handbook and 3D Creature Workshop 2nd Edition
(Charles River Media), LiveMotion Visual Jumpstart and Photoshop 6
Visual Jumpstart (Sybex), and Final Cut Pro 3: The Complete
Reference (Osborne). I also have written Canoma Visual Insight,
GoLive 5 f/x & Design, and Poser 4 Pro Pack f/x & Design, all of
which are currently out of print since Coriolis went out of
business. The Poser book, however, should be in stock again because
it is being distributed by a new company.
- The Paula Sanders Report is a regular Renderosity
Front Page featured column, where Paula investigates and comments
on graphic software, techniques, and other relevant material
through her reviews, tutorials, and general articles.
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