I am a newbie used to working with time-line programs like Vegas etc. Following the tutorial and ($60!) training video – When I import an image into the TB time-line and try to drag it, to set the image for a backdrop for instance, it makes a highlight line, like many other programs, but when I release the mouse button - it vanishes! No extra images! I have tries right clicking too (it;s a PC) and holding down “control” yet nothing happens except a red line in the “camera” row that makes layers disappear!
The only way I have managed to get content in several cells is copy and paste one cell at a time! >:( This is driving me crazy. please help
Using TBS 4.0 / OSX 10.4.11
Right-click your image (the exposure at frame one) in the Timeline and choose “Extend Exposure” - and type the frame No,
or move the Time-slider into your preferred position, right-click the exposure and choose “Extend Exposure,
or open the Exposure Sheet, mouse over your exposure (if you have more than one, go to the last frame) until you see the “double-arrow”, drag-down that arrow to increase or -up to decrease the exposure,
or in the Timeline select the last exposure (preferable increase the exposure to at least two frames (by hitting the “R” key)), hold down the command-key and drag the last exposure to the right.
(not sure if all shortcuts work for PC as well, you might have to replace com. with ctrl./opt.)
Cheers
Nolan
Nolan gave you a great recap of the “how to”, and I can’t add anything to that, but I think it might be useful to give you a brief explanation of the “why”.
Animation unlike live action is drawing centric not frame centric. A frame is a composite of many drawing elements in animation where as in live action a frame is a photographic image. So as you may have noticed each drawing (I include image elements under the heading of drawings) is uniquely identified by a name. In animation you assign a drawing to one of more frames as a component part of the picture you want to composite for that frame. So when we are animating we think in terms of drawing instances of usage referred to as exposures. An exposure is a photographic term but it really means assigning a drawing to a frame. One of the great features of TBS is this relationship of drawings to frames and the exposure sheet as a tool for making those assignments. This can also be done in the timeline. But the key concept that differs from working in a non-linear editor like FCP or Primere or Vegas and working in animation software like TBS is the focus on drawings and frame composition and not just on frame to frame sequencing. -JK