Animate Mode Sample Project

 

This project demonstrates how to use animate mode to modify existing animation

channels.  The project contains a simple animated camera. Press play to watch

how the camera moves. 

 

The Animate Mode Button is the last button on the Manipulator toolbar.  You may

have to reset this toolbar to make it show up.  Animate mode is on by default,

so the software comes up wit this button depressed.  Each keyframe on the camera

was created with animate mode on.  When animate mode is on one key is created at

the current frame. Turning animate mode off signals the software to not add any

new keys, rather alter all existing keys to create the desired change.  This is

handy for positioning lights at time 5:12, but you don't want the light to

animate from where it was positioned at time 0:00 to where you moved it at frame

5:12. Rather you want to modify the 0:00 keyframe so that the light just moves

over at all frames from 0:00 to 5:12.  It does this by altering the keyframe

that was already set at 0:00.

 

To try this feature on the sample data, stop playing and change the frame to

0:00:20.  If your timeline window is open, and the camera is selected, note that

there are no keyframes at this frame.  Note that the camera is not at the

origin, but is close.  Translate the camera to the origin.  Notice that a

keyframe was created in the timeline at 0:00:20.  The camera now ramps up to the

origin at frame 0:00:20.  This is what animate mode always does.  But, we want

to take the entire curve of soft motion and move it up so that all keyframes

are higher and the camera passes through the origin at frame 0:00:20.  Undo the

last change or delete the keyframe at 0:00:20 by grouping the points in the

timeline and pressing delete, or just reload the project. Now turn Animate mode

off, implying we do not want to add new animation keys. Now go to frame 0:00:20

and translate the camera to the origin again.  This time no keys are added to

the camera.  Instead all existing keys are moved in the direction your mouse

specified.  In fact if you watch the channel window while you drag the mouse,

you will see that all of the keyframes are moving around.  Frame 0:00:20 looks

just as we wish, yet AM didn't even add a keyframe at 0:00:20.  Play back the

motion and check it out.

 

This concept works on rotates too.  Notice how the camera wiggles back and forth

but points primarily to the left.  Go to frame 0:00:20 again, and make sure

animate mode is off.  Rotate the camera to point straight up.  Now play back the

animation, and note that the camera still rocks back and forth softly, but it is

aiming primarily up now, and it is exactly up at frame 0:00:20 where we set it.

Again there are no new keys at 0:00:20, it just changed all the other keys to

rotate it straight up at 0:00:20.

 

 

Click here to d/l sample project(If project shows up in brower and doesn't save you can right click on link and select "save As"