I’m using Animate Pro 2 and am looking to import a Storyboard file or video file with a better level of efficiency.
Currently when I import, I get an individual image for each frame, bloating the project folders size. Is there a way to import a Storyboard (either a storyboard file from Toon Boom’s program or a movie file) and it only create a new frame when the image changes? So for example, when importing a Storyboard file into AP2, it sets everything up just like it was in Storyboard, only ready for animation. I created the boards using an older version of Storyboard where it only exports to digital and harmony.
Secondly, is there a way of deleting the drawings from a symbol that aren’t used on the timeline? I’ve been clearing out the frames from the import so it only shows a new frame when the shot changes. I’d like to get rid of those unnecessary files in my project folder now though, without having to manually check the names of them, etc.
When you export scenes from Storyboard Pro to Toonboom (Animate or Harmony) you have the option to specify the rendered animatic images. The default is one image per two frames but you can specify the value.
If you want to remove a drawing inside a symbol you must first enter the symbol by double-clicking it in the timeline (frame). It will show the contents of your symbol inside another timeline which you can edit directly.
However, the answers don’t fully get to what I’m trying to solve. By setting the export to less than 1 image per frame, I may lose synchronisation with my animatic, and this would still leave me with many surplus frames.
The editing of a symbol you mention is useful but I have already found this, and it does not prevent the laborious process of manually removing the unwanted frames.
Basically, is there a way to export your storyboard file to Animate Pro whereby the images in the animatic import as a single, held image for the time they are exposed?
Actually there’s another option that’s really the best one. Instead of choosing Rendered Animatic, what you really want is Original Scene. It will preserve the original images, as vector artwork, and will turn them on or off only when needed.