💠 ✨ 📦 misc. Microsoft Kids - 3D Movie Maker Collection 2022-02-10

Microsoft Kids - 3D Movie Maker Collection
and everything else you need to use it on a modern computer

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3D Movie Maker (commonly shortened to 3DMM) is a children's computer program developed by Microsoft Home's Microsoft Kids subsidiary in 1995. Using the program, users can make films by placing 3D characters and props into pre-rendered environments, as well as adding actions, sound effects, music, text, speech and special effects. Movies are then saved in the .3mm file format.

The program features two helper characters to guide users through the various features of the program: The character McZee (voiced by Michael Shapiro) provides help throughout the studio while his assistant Melanie provides other various tutorials. In Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker, the user is instead guided by Stick Stickly.

3D Movie Maker is built on BRender, a 3D graphics engine created by Argonaut Software. The models and backgrounds were made by Illumin8 Digital Pictures (a now-defunct graphics studio) using Softimage modeling software, while the cinematic introduction and help sequences were made by Productions Jarnigoine, a now-inactive production company founded by Jean-Jacques Tremblay. In 1998, a user named Space Goat created the website 3dmm.com that allows users to upload movies and mods for 3DMM. 3dmm.com is still used today by many 3DMM enthusiasts.

Filmmaking in 3D Movie Maker is a straightforward process, allowing users to create various kinds of movies with ease. By default, 40 actors/actresses are available (each with 4 different costumes and a number of actions), as well as 20 different props. Twelve different scenes are available to the user, each containing several different camera angles. Many sample voice and MIDI music clips are included, but original voices can be recorded using a microphone while external .wav and .MIDI files can be imported.

The way movies are made in 3DMM is not like that of a movie camera. In 3DMM, a movie camera works by recording frames in quick succession. 3DMM stores the positions of the characters and objects for each frame; it moves at about 6 to 8 frames per second, which makes the movies choppier than expected. The finished movie can only be viewed inside 3DMM using the virtual auditorium or the studio, unless converted to a video file format with a third-party utility. The application's user interface is centered upon a theater building consisting of several rooms: the ticket booth, where the user is greeted by McZee and then asked to play or create a movie; the lobby and concession stand; the theater for watching movies, a projecting room for tutorials for 3D logos and tips, an idea room for movie ideas (also where the talent book stands); and the studio for movie-making tools. The V3DMM version of 3DMM restricts viewing movies only in the studio.

The infamous Comic Sans font also made its first appearance in 3D Movie Maker.​

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• 3dmm Capture - (necessary tools for capturing 3dmm movies to avi, see this thread for more info.)
• 3dmm Pencil - (lets you mess with the internals of 3dmm datafiles.) Note: You must extract 3DMM Pencil to a directory of your choice, and copy 3DMOVIE.EXE into this directory before it will work. -Haynes
• 7gen - (7gen_0.7_2.zip) (lets you make expansions, textures, and other stuff like that)
• BMDL2OBJ Tools - (converts 3dmm's native .bmdl model format into .obj, which is readable in all 3D modelling programs, and vice-versa, for model editing.
• Ogg Vorbis Codec remover - (some people get an error message for no reason when trying to run 3dmm. Use this if symptoms point to Ogg Vorbis)
• 3dmm Animation Pro 2.7 - (3dmmap2&scripts.zip) (essential for doing complex scene movements. Probably the most handy tool in all of 3dmm land) Note: Includes texture-scrolling and sceneed script files. Move them into the 3dmmap\scripts folder.
• Py-Q - (use this to put full quality sound files in your movies)
• Sound Extractor - (se5.zip) (take out 3dmm default sounds, recorded or imported sounds and convert them to a playable file)
• The 3dmm -> GIF maker, Spider2.1 - (create animated GIFs from your movie clips)
• 3dmm MIDI Converter - (Convert the 3dmm midi's into a useable format, like for ringtones etc!)
• 3DMM MIDI library - (3dmm_mids.zip) courtesy of Terrum
• 3DMMFPS - (Change the framerate 3dmm runs at -- see this thread for details on making it work with v3dmm.
• Chunk Explorer
• 3DMM Actor Extractor - (extracts actors from 3DMM for modification.)
• Cursor Fix - (run this while 3DMM is running. Fixes the "jumpy" cursor issue on Windows 10, see here for more info)
• VMM Cleaner - (removes unused expansions from your movie to lower the file size)
• CalcRunTime - Calculate the runtime for .3mm or .vmm files. Doesn't count dissolves or credit box time. May not be 100% accurate, but it's close.