Countless Galaxies Born And Dead (107.5MB)
Mandelbrot Cellular Division (278.5MB)
Thanks For Dropping By (106.5MB)
Lifespan Of A Universe (2.3MB)
The life and times of a fractal.
All videos are MPEG-1, 6500kbit and require BitTorrent to download.
These four animations were generated by fractint with the help of my perl script (which, in turn, uses the Math::Gradient module to calculate the smooth transitions). I have since updated my script to use gnofract4d instead of xfractint since it can generate TrueColour images and it is a lot more user-friendly for the exploration neccessary to find this stuff. Unfortunately, it's generation algorithm is also a bit slower...
time_passes.pl takes arguments that specify the starting location and detail level in the mandelbrot universe, followed by how many frames to generate, followed by the ending location and detail level. As many intermediate points as you wish may be specified along the way with frame intervals. The ImageMagick software is used to annotate the images with timestamps.
Once all of the images are generated that I need to make my animation, I use ImageMagick again to convert them into one RGB file, which I then pass off to transcode to convert into an 6500kbit MPEG-1, suitable for burning onto a DVD.
The biggest problem, is when the Z/W axis (real/imaginary pertubation) are tweaked. By tweaking these axis you can make just about any part of the mandelbrot set undergo a beautiful metamorphisis. The problem is that as the "part" you are looking at morphs, it also usually flys wildly around, most of the time in an unpredictable cylindrical pattern. I'm still trying to figure out an easier way to track objects than spending hours in gnofract slightly adjusting the time, then slightly adjusting my coordinates. If anyone has any advice, please let me know. :-)
If you use this program, or write or use a program like it, to generate cool, high-deal fractal animations, please email me to let me know, I would love to check them out!
-- Tyler MacDonald <fractal@crackerjack.net>. Last updated: 2004/04/25.