New Camera Tool : Kite Camera
Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 12:57 am
Kite Camera
WHAT IT DOES: Select a Layer, specify a Frame Range, specify a Distance Range.... EXECUTE... the result is the Camera will animate through the distance range during the frame range.
For example, setting frame range to 1 to 48 and the distance from 1 to 2, the camera will move from distance 1 to distance 2 from the selected Layer in the first 2 seconds.
The direction of motion is directly from the layer to the camera. A way to think of this is this: if the camera was directly facing the layer, then it will look as if it is backing away of moving closer visually.
Note that this does this by moving the camera ONLY. It does not affect the camera's pan or tilt or the layer position.
NOTE that Point Camera and Kite Camera were designed to be used together, though they both have a lot of uses separately. Plus, Point Camera and Kite Camera are COMMUTATIVE: it makes no difference which one you perform first.
Warning: Do not start the distance range at zero, because it has no way of knowing which direction to move the camera away from the layer! In this case the tool will do nothing.
installation: http://www.peteroid.com/share/pao_kite_camera.zip
Tutorial:
Bring up Tutorial 5.8.
Select tree 2.
Use Point Camera for frames 1 - 192.
Watch video (camera is always pointing at tree, but varies distance in a complex way).
Apply Kite Camera for frames 1 to 192 with distance range 1.0 to 1.0
Watch video. (camera stays at fixed distance 1)
Apply Kite Camera again to frames 1 to 192, but set distance range from 3 to 1. Now it moves closer during animation smoothly. Try it again with distance range from 1 to 3, now it backs away.
Experiment!
Video Example
Using 'Tutorial 5.8 Final', this is the result of applying Point Camera and Kite Camera to Tree 9, with the Kite Camera distance range set from 10 to 1. I also turned off 'facing the camera' for Tree 9 to show how it is actually looking at Tree 9 from different angles. Turn it back on and you'll see what was 'missing'.
YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xby3AVFGHY4
---------------------------
NEXT:
Lock Camera: This will match the motion of the layer (3D position only). Thus, the camera will be locked to the Layer. Only effects the position of the camera.
Lock Camera will allow some interesting affects. It can be combined with Point Camera and Kite Camera (and to a lesser degree Float Camera) for some interesting effects...
Best to think of them this way (so far):
Point Camera: face layer
Float Camera: match layer height
Kite Layer: control layer distance
Lock Camera: follow layer
Lock Camera is what 2D projects will want to use most. The others tend to 'liberate' the camera into the third dimension (and are really 3D camera operations meant to exist in a 3D world). So if you are doing 2D work and you use the other camera tools and say...hey, wait a minute! this just destroyed my 2D feel... wait till Lock Camera... it should help.
Some of these are independent of each other (Point Camera and Kite Camera), but most depend GREATLY on order of application. So should be fun to find cool combos!
Should have Lock Camera tomorrow...
WHAT IT DOES: Select a Layer, specify a Frame Range, specify a Distance Range.... EXECUTE... the result is the Camera will animate through the distance range during the frame range.
For example, setting frame range to 1 to 48 and the distance from 1 to 2, the camera will move from distance 1 to distance 2 from the selected Layer in the first 2 seconds.
The direction of motion is directly from the layer to the camera. A way to think of this is this: if the camera was directly facing the layer, then it will look as if it is backing away of moving closer visually.
Note that this does this by moving the camera ONLY. It does not affect the camera's pan or tilt or the layer position.
NOTE that Point Camera and Kite Camera were designed to be used together, though they both have a lot of uses separately. Plus, Point Camera and Kite Camera are COMMUTATIVE: it makes no difference which one you perform first.
Warning: Do not start the distance range at zero, because it has no way of knowing which direction to move the camera away from the layer! In this case the tool will do nothing.
installation: http://www.peteroid.com/share/pao_kite_camera.zip
Tutorial:
Bring up Tutorial 5.8.
Select tree 2.
Use Point Camera for frames 1 - 192.
Watch video (camera is always pointing at tree, but varies distance in a complex way).
Apply Kite Camera for frames 1 to 192 with distance range 1.0 to 1.0
Watch video. (camera stays at fixed distance 1)
Apply Kite Camera again to frames 1 to 192, but set distance range from 3 to 1. Now it moves closer during animation smoothly. Try it again with distance range from 1 to 3, now it backs away.
Experiment!
Video Example
Using 'Tutorial 5.8 Final', this is the result of applying Point Camera and Kite Camera to Tree 9, with the Kite Camera distance range set from 10 to 1. I also turned off 'facing the camera' for Tree 9 to show how it is actually looking at Tree 9 from different angles. Turn it back on and you'll see what was 'missing'.
YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xby3AVFGHY4
---------------------------
NEXT:
Lock Camera: This will match the motion of the layer (3D position only). Thus, the camera will be locked to the Layer. Only effects the position of the camera.
Lock Camera will allow some interesting affects. It can be combined with Point Camera and Kite Camera (and to a lesser degree Float Camera) for some interesting effects...
Best to think of them this way (so far):
Point Camera: face layer
Float Camera: match layer height
Kite Layer: control layer distance
Lock Camera: follow layer
Lock Camera is what 2D projects will want to use most. The others tend to 'liberate' the camera into the third dimension (and are really 3D camera operations meant to exist in a 3D world). So if you are doing 2D work and you use the other camera tools and say...hey, wait a minute! this just destroyed my 2D feel... wait till Lock Camera... it should help.
Some of these are independent of each other (Point Camera and Kite Camera), but most depend GREATLY on order of application. So should be fun to find cool combos!
Should have Lock Camera tomorrow...
