Here is the scene: This is a POV of my character (a dog) flying down to earth while holding an object in his mouth. In frame, you will only see part of the dog’s nose and the object in his mouth as the camera flies in Z towards the background.
I have the camera attached to a peg which rotates 360 degrees in Z direction. I have tried attaching the element to the same peg as the camera but the element rotates wierdly out of frame. I have also tried attaching the element to a separate peg and copying the path of the camera’s peg. Doesn’t work either. A different wacky movement. What kind of works is attaching the camera and element to the same peg w/o the rotation. The camera travels in Z w/the element but unfortunately I need the 360 rotation. Any suggestions? If you’d like to see the clip, send me an email: grizztrek823@gmail.com
Thanks!
Put the camera and the dog element together on the same peg with no motion path for rotation.Then take all your background and other tracks and peg them together and rotate that hierarchy in the x-y plane as you truck down with the camera and the dog. The camera and the dog stay steady as they descend into the scene but the background rotates and visually it is the effect I think you are after. -JK
As a follow-up to my reply yesterday, I wanted to add some insight as to solving problems of producing complex camera work in TBS. It is probably a good idea to separate your thinking in terms of cinematic shots and “live action” camera work. The camera in TBS is not meant to be used as a “live action” camera. That doesn’t mean that you can’t produce complex cinematic shots, it just means the technique of producing those shots is different in 2D animation from the techniques of “live action” filming.
2D animation software and environments are modeled after traditional photographic animation techniques unlike 3D software which is modeled after “live action” cinematography. In “live action” cinematography you set up and move the camera around and thru the scene. In 2D animation we use the techniques developed for use on an animation camera stand.
The camera is fixed above the artwork and primarily travels up and down to widen or narrow the field of view. The artwork is positioned below the camera on multiple planes and we can move those elements independently or as groups. So often times we don’t move the camera but rather we move the artwork relative to the camera and, in the case of the shot you described, we move both.
Studying how traditional photographic animation camera work and cinematic shots are produced is a great way to learn to master the TBS camera. Obviously you have to translate camera stand concepts to the software’s interface tools, but the techniques of the animation camera stand will show you the way to solve most shot production problems. -JK
Thank you JK. I haven’t had a chance to work on the particular clip that I had this issue with, but after reading your first response, you nailed it . . . and it is so simple too. I spent several hours trying to figure out how to make the shot with no success. You are right too about having to think differently when setting up camera work in 2D vs 3D. This will definitely help me plan the rest of my film. Thanks once again!
I finally got the clip done. Here is a link to the clip on youtube.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq8Jholjxkw&feature=channel_pageIf that doesn’t work, look up Driftwood8 on youtube, then look for the video "Sparky’s POV"Thanks again JK!