i’m new to 3d so my questions may sound stupid, but it seems the more research i do…
the more confused i become. maybe someone can help.

my goal is to animate a virtual rock band performing a song in a concert/stage/audience setting.

autodesk has so many programs that i’m not sure which one would best suit my needs.
3ds max has CAT and CHARACTER STUDIO,and lipsyncing via voice-o-matic.

but then i read all the stuff about MOTIONBUILDER being specifically made for
character animation. does MB have something like CAT and some sort of lipsinc tools
built in? lipsinc would of course be the biggest challenge in a music video animation.
i guess autodesk also has MAYA, XSI and FACEROBOT.

considering the money involved and the learning curve -(which i presume is intense and
time consuming) i would really like to be pointed in the right direction.

i am not concernrd with learning modeling and stuff, i’ve seen enough characters and props
for sale on the web that would suffice; heck there’s even lots of free stuff out there that
i could use.

i’m a musician with original songs who doesn’t have a real band.
so i will never be heard of unless i get my stuff up on youtube and itunes.

somebody please help out a fellow starving artist (pardon the pun) and point me down the right
walk cycle path.

any input at all would be greatly appreciated.