CompuServe Thread

#Action

4 messages in this thread
#2660From: Michael S. FlynnDec 28, 1994 10:02 PM
Steve, I'm having a small problem with ACTION. Did you ever see a car advertisement a year or so ago that showed a giant Rubic's-type cube with a video playing on all sides, where each side had nine different pieces of scrambled video, and then the cube unscrambled itself and the car drove out? I finally figured out a way to create a similar scene with AM. I designed the Big Cube using figure substitution, each figure being one of 26 separate cubes. I want the anim to begin with all 26 cubes flying into place spinning on each of their 3 respective axis, while the entire model is spinning on its own 3 axis. (All 26 cubes are children of a central ghost.) To begin with, I created a skeletal motion for all 26 cubes in ACTION that has them spread out in a sphere around the central ghost. The action ends with all the cubes inplace to form the Big Cube. When I saved the motion, instead of creating a single skeletal motion file for the Big Cube figure, it made a skeletal motion file for each of the 26 figure substituted cubes. But none of those skeletal files will open in DIRECTION; I get a "File Inelligible" message for each one. Am I missing a step somewhere? Michael S. Flynn
#2703From: Jim JonahDec 30, 1994 10:24 AM
Michael, My limited experience with figure substitution worked for me when I did the following: 1. Have a figure that has the ghosts (a) 2. Have a figure that has the ghosts renamed to the new figures (b) 3. Have each of the new figures (c). 4. Animate the new figures in Action (figures (c)). 5. Animate the parent figure with the ghosts in action (figure (a)). 6. Place the parent figure (b) in direction and load the actions for it and the substituted figures. I was never able to load the parent figure (b) in action and reload any actions that were created with it. Your situation sounded similar to mine so I hope this helps. Once I got figure substitution to work, I was blown away with the possibilities of compound actions that are possible. This feature needs to be given more weight in the advertising. Also, Hash should start a "brag" thread and brag about commercials, movies/shorts, etc.. that use their product is/has been used in. Anyway, I hope this helps, Jim
#2738From: KEVIN SANDERSONDec 31, 1994 12:27 AM
I agree on the brag thread, Jim. The boys were getting trashed on the Net, until a few of us in the know got the word out.
#2719From: Steve/HASH, Inc.Dec 30, 1994 2:04 PM
Wow!!! that's one complex anim! Try Jim's suggestions and if they don't help, we'll need to see the data on this one to help you out… Steve, Hash Inc.