thanks for the feedback...i'm kind of stuck with it the way it is though cause i rendered it at school and 1) that's currently the only computer capable of rendering 3D that I have access to and 2) it's 3D rendering capabilities pretty much suck...I'm hoping to purchase a machine really soon, and then maybe re-render the whole thing the way I ultimately want it to look...but as it is, it took about 25 hours to render 900 frames...and I had to go through that excruciating experience about three times before the camera paths and everything else were close to what I actually wanted....so, anyway, yeah...I'll wait til I've got the right equipment before I attempt anymore modifications

and, as far as shadowy ripples being cast, there actually is a caustic being projected from above...I think it's just hard to see in a still...

thanks again for looking though

if/when I rework it, I'll repost...