Part VII: Working with Specialized Functionality
This animation uses RealView display, which the customer has said is good enough for his purposes.
This cuts down the time significantly compared to using PhotoWorks to render the animation.Your first task is to set up the camera. You could do this without a camera, but cameras are a con-
venient way to store a particular view, along with settings such as lens angle, perspective, camera
position, and target. Plus, if you do decide to use PhotoWorks later, cameras are the only way to
get depth of field for additional realism. Another advantage of the camera is that you are able to
control the area in view more closely. If you don’t use a camera, the area of view is just whatever is
available in the view port. With the camera, you can specify a size and aspect ratio, and the avail-
able area is cropped appropriately.Because the stethoscope model is cut into pieces to enable different parts of it to be positioned, you
need to position the parts and the camera such that the break between the head and ear pieces is
not visible. Leave enough open area so that when the stethoscope comes out, it will not run out of
the area of view.Note
When adjusting the position of the camera, it is often easier to adjust the view itself than to manipulate the
camera. In the Camera PropertyManager, deselecting the Lock Camera Position Except When Editing option
enables you to manipulate the view directly. This setting is selected by default and will give you the camera
with a red X icon if you try to rotate the view when the camera view is on. Switch to camera view and deselect
Disable View Key Creation. n
Using the time bar with key points
I like to start animations with some stillness. If you start an animation with motion, your viewer
may not have the time to get settled. A second is usually enough time. Expand the Chapter 33 –
Top part, click the key point for the Move row at the zero time mark, and Ctrl+drag it to the
1-second mark. This means that the top will not move between zero and 1 second. Now move the
time bar to 2 seconds and open the top by just dragging it up slightly. It should only open about
half an inch.Now move the time bar to the 5-second mark. I want to create a mistake so you see one way to
correct mistakes. At the 5-second mark, move the stethoscope out of the holder three or four
inches. Try to make sure you do not go far enough that the rubber tube runs into the plastic parts.Notice that this creates a change bar that shows the position of the scope head part moving contin-
ually from time 00.00.00 to time 00.00.05. The motion is supposed to start at the 3-second mark.
I’ve shown you how to fix this in Figure 33.16.