Get camera path-lofter
3 messages in this thread
I have been trying out different techniques from Inside 3D Studio and I have
been stumped by importing a camera path from the lofter. I made a spiral
tunnel…4 turns with banking set to off…the tunnel looks great, and the path
looks great, but in the Keyframer, it screws up.
As per your (?) instructions in In.3DS, I created a dummy object, then
did Get Path – Lofter. When I click on the dummy object to import the path
nothing happens. But, if I click on the spiral tunnel, the path is imported
with the first key in the exact center of the structure. I can't move it and if
I try to move the structure to align it with the path both move.
Then I tried clicking on the camera. That imports the path too, but it
is not centered on the tunnel structure, and I can't get them to go together.
The tunnel –get path with your project file from the from the CD works, but I
can't get mine to work. Any ideas?
Thanks, Sanford Ps; I am trying to get the camera and a pair of
headlights on a car to drive down the tunnel alla a parking structure.
Hi, that was my Chapter and PRJ file <g>.
The path that lofted your "tunnel" keeps its relationship to the lofted mesh.
For it to be a path "down the tunnel", it must have lofted a shape that was
somewhat centered on it. Once in the 3D Editor, you can NOT move the tunnel
mesh – doing so would break the original path/mesh allignment. On importing
the path to the Keyframer, you need to use the "Absolute" option when
assigning the path so the desired object will move to the correct starting
location.
If these steps are followed and you're still having problems I'll need to see
your PRJ file to understand what's going on. Check out the above and make
sure you did not move the mesh once it was lofted. If a no go, ZIP up the
PRJ file and EMAIL it to me for a look.
– Phil
Hi Sanford,
Phillip Miller wrote that exercise and hopefully he will jump in with some
comments. It's hard to tell what may be going wrong but here are a few
suggestions:
1) When you select the dummy object for the Paths/Get/Lofter command you say
nothing happens. Do you see the Get Path dialog at all?
If yes, then the path is probably being assigned but you just don't have
show path for the dummy object turned on.
If you don't see the Get Path dialog then maybe you have accidentally
frozen the dummy object. Use Display/Freeze to check.
2) You don't want to assign the path to the tunnel because that makes the
tunnel move. The path appears offset to you because it is placed at the
pivot point of the tunnel (the center of the spiral).
3) There also could be a number of reasons why the camera didn't match up
with the tunnel when you assigned the path to the camera. If you've moved
the tunnel after lofting, it no longer matches up with the path. Try
positioning the camera at the mouth if the tunnel and turn off the
"Relocate object to path start?" button. This relocates the path to the
object rather than relocating the object to the path.
Finally, with all of the experimentation, you probably have a GOK condition
in the Keyframer (GOK = God Only Knows) <BG>. Try using the New command with
the Keep Mesh button turned on. This cleans out all of the keys and linkages
but leaves behind the objects for a fresh start.
Steven