I'm working on a virtual instrument in the midi-controlled animation genre at the moment. This is a "beauty shot" from the virtual instrument I call the "Pianophone". ~Crew Update: 9/7/03 Care to see the finished movie? 11Meg d/l http://www.eminentfaith.com/crew/pianophone.wmv -- For those interested in midi-controlled animation, let me refer you first to www.animusic.com for some superior examples. This is what got me interested in the concept. I'm just a hobbyist trying to emulate the "big-boys". An animation of this type just won the Caligari July animation contest. You can see that at www.caligari.com. While you're there, check out my honorable mention ... a python made ironically using the "Python" scripting language embedded in trueSpace. Here's the basic concept in a nutshell. Take the "note on" timing data from midi file and use it to synchronize an animation with the music that the midi file produces (ex. a .wav or .mp3 file). This is done using a plug-in or a scripting language. A model of a virtual instrument is designed. Then, using the note timing data gleened from the midi file, the script can cause the appropriate mallets (in this case) to start rotating, say, 10 frames before the note is played so that when the note sounds, the animation is showing a perfectly synchronized mallet strike. The viewer would be convinced that the animation is actually playing the music since this pre-note animation gives them a clue. This could just as easily be a piano key press animation, a ball falling and striking a xylophone key, or anything you can imagine. The key is to get the note to be stuck in the animation right in time with the audio track. Midi timing makes this possible. When you visit Animusic site, check out their videos clips and then -immediately- purchase the DVD which I highly recommend. For $19 bucks, you will be absoutely stunned for 30+ minutes ... and then proceed to watch it 3 more times in a row. No kidding. Thanks for the interest in midi-controlled animation. When I get a final render out on the net, I will post a new image and a link it to the animation.