The Guide to IMP

Project Overview

What is this project all about?

We are making movies for the Public Domain with the POV-Ray raytracer and other Open Source tools. This guide will explain how we are doing it and point you in right direction if you want more detailed information. Our project is broken down into individual movies. Each movie is a self contained production. It can be as simple a bouncing mirrored ball on a checkered plain or a Pixar style feature length animation. IMP provides a framework to assist in the production of the movies.

Who can join?

Everybody! There is no money in it! You will not be paid! Remember: We do this for fun, not to get rich or to build an empire...On the other hand: If you are planning for a career in the computer graphics / 3D field, having been involved in our project will certainly benefit you!

Can I just look?

Sure! IMP is now a public domain project. The whole website is open. You only need to register if you wish to contribute to the project with data, for example POV animation files, sounds effect wav files, or some storyboard art work Jpeg files.

So how can I help?

We need people that love POV-Ray and that have a little bit of spare time to give for a fun project. And we need processing power! So even if you don't feel up to the challenge to contribute as a crew member (or don't have the time), you can still donate your computer's time as a Render-Farmer.

Simply read the member agreement and follow the instructions given on that page.

For additional information, send e-mail to the Webmaster.

How do we make movies?

IMP revolves around movie projects. A project ties together all the indivdual units of work. The scope of a movie project is defined by a Producer. The producer is responsible for recruiting the cast and crew for his production. The size of the cast and crew can range from as small as just one person(the producer) to scores of people. The only requirement to be a producer is to join the project as a member.

How can I produce a movie project?

1. Register with IMP
2. Make a request to the webmaster to be the Producer for a new project
3. The webmaster creates: a cvs module, a wiki database, a forum and a project webpage.
4. The Producer is notified when it is ready for use
5. The Producer recruits his crew
6. The crew commits their POV-Ray animation sourcefiles to CVS
7. A request is submitted to the IMPFarm for a new renderjob
8. The webmaster reviews the job and submits it to the IMPFarm
9. The IMPFarm renders the animation and posts the completed movie to the website.

Current Projects

Rings

This is small test animation for the project. It is used for testing the different systems in the project such as the CVS server and IMPFarm.