Tutorial 4 : Special Effects and Other Tricks

Purpose

This tutorial introduces some of the features and controls provided by MotionSampler that can help you add special effects to animations.

While MotionSampler cannot duplicate all of the animation functions provided by PowerAnimator, it does provide a mechanism for performing animation on a wide variety of Alias objects and channels.

Existing Animations

MotionSampler reads and attempts to replay most animation channels found in wire files. MotionSampler also keeps track of this initial animation so that when you select Scene Clear Animation, you can restore the original animations (as well as deleting all newly captured data). This feature can be useful if you are inserting previously captured animation into an existing animation.

Viewing Animation

Select File Retrieve Model to load the Tutorial4.wire model.
Dolly the camera back until the set and all of its elements are clearly visible as follows:

Select Playback

Use Min/Max to set the shuttle's frame range to values appropriate for this wire file.

Select the RevolveOCam camera from the Camera option menu.

Select Loop from the Play menu at the end of the shuttle controls to set the shuttle control to repeat during playback.

Press the Forward playback button, or use the key combination Ctrl-f. The existing animation in the wire file is played back.

You should see the view revolve as the camera moves, and the red bowling ball on top of the green cone has an animated shader which is turning its red color on and off.

Select the CrazyCam camera for additional camera motion.

Return to the Persp 2 camera and stop the playback either by clicking the stop button, or by using the key combination Ctrl-s after you have observed the camera motion.

Select RevolveOCam as the viewing camera.

Adding a Control Pipeline

Select File Retrieve Pipeline and load the Tutorial4A.pipe pipeline. This simple pipeline controls the bowling ball's shader.
Switch from the single view mode to the pipeline editor to examine the pipeline which appears as follows:

Switch back to single view mode and press the F1 key to start sampling. The ball is now blue and the intensity is controlled by the mouse.

Exit Sample mode by pressing F1.

Reset the shuttle's current time to zero.

Recording on Top of Existing Animation

In this section of the tutorial, some blue animation is recorded on top of the red animation already in the wire file.

Press F1 to return to Sample mode.
Press F2 to begin recording, and move the mouse to change the color of the bowling ball. Notice the camera begins to move.
Record for about six seconds (watch the Current time in the shuttle).
Press F2 to stop recording.
Press F1 to leave Sample mode.
Reset the shuttle's current time back to zero and play back the animation.
The ball is blue until the shuttle reaches the point where you ended Record mode. After that point it returns to the red color. You have inserted six seconds of animation into the existing animation in the wire file.

Select Scene

Clear Animation to delete all captured animation and restore the animation from the original wire file.

Reset the shuttle and play back the animation.

The bowling ball flashes red.

The menu selection Scene Clear Animation IN/OUT is used to clear only the captured animation between the shuttle's In and Out points.

Controlling Shaders, Cameras, and Lights

Virtually any parameter that can be animated on a shader, camera, or light can be controlled within MotionSampler. Few of these parameters are actually previewed, but the respective sink modules for each of the listed items can access a complete list of animatable parameters.

Retrieving Animation

Select File Retrieve Model to load the Tutorial4.wire wire file.
Select Pipeline Clear Pipeline to clear any existing pipelines.
Select File Retrieve Pipeline to load the Tutorial4B.pipe pipeline file.
Select the RevolveOCam camera.

Open the pipeline editor.

The pipeline appears as follows:

The sink camera is used to control the camera field of view on the RevolveOCam camera.

Switch back to single view mode, and select Playback

Use Min/Max to set the shuttle to play back the animation in the file.

Set the playback mode to Loop and click the forward play button to start playback.

Press F1 to start Sample mode. As you slide the mouse back and forth, the camera field of view changes as follows:

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