seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) (05/18/91)
JMan's DIRECTION module is where you set up "absolute" motion of
objects, and take care of scene composition, lighting, etc. As with
the CHARACTER module, you have only one window, but this time it
takes up about 7/8 of the screen, with only a panel of gadgets
running across the top of the screen. Like the other modules, this
window's view is controllable via the now familiar gadgets that are
standard from module to module.
In the upper right corner of the screen are gadgets controlling
frames in the DIRECTION module. FRAMES sets how many frames you want
in your animation, RANGE tells JMan which frames to display when
doing a PREVIEW animation (this works just like with the ACTION
module), and a CURRENT FRAME gadget.
Unlike animation within the ACTION module, animation within the
DIRECTION module is based on spline paths. Unlike the spline paths
available in Imagine, JMan lets you draw out your own paths using the
same tools you used to create SEGMENTs. After you have ADDed a
CONTROL POINT or a PATH, you can assign the CAMERA, TARGET, a LIGHT,
or a CHARACTER to that CONTROL POINT or PATH from the ASSIGN menu.
One of the really nice touches is the ease with which setting up
the CAMERA is. From any of the views, the CAMERA is shown with two
angled lines extending from its center. The area between these lines
represents the cameras field of view. This makes it fast and easy to
position the CAMERA, and then switch to the CAMERA's view to make
finer adjustments. Another useful feature is the ability to
manipulate the position of the TARGET while looking through the
CAMERA, as well as that of CHARACTERS.
If your CHARACTERS are going to be performing relative actions,
then you'll need to go to the SCRIPT menu and select either ACTION
LIST, so you can load a CHARACTER's SKELETON motion, or MORPH List,
so you can load a CHARACTER's SPINE and/or MUSCLE motion.
Now that your CAMERA is positioned, your LIGHTS are set, and
your CHARACTERs are loaded, back to CHANNELS. In the DIRECTION
module there are CHANNELs for each of these, including the TARGET,
but its only parameter is EASE.
EASE is the ability to control how gradually a CHARACTER, the
CAMERA, TARGET, or LIGHT performs its motion. As with every other
CHANNEL parameter, this motion is represented by a curve.
In addition to ROLL, TILT, SWIVEL, and EASE the CAMERA CHANNEL
gives you spline based control over Focal Length and Depth of Field.
Focal Length determines how much of the area around the CAMERA it's
able to see. The lower the value, the more it can see, causing a
fisheye effect. Depth of Field lets you control the CAMERA's Fstop.
This lets you determine an area surrounding the TARGET where
everything will be in focus. Anything outside this area will be
slightly blurry. This can add a great deal of realism to a scene,
but it makes a tremendous impact on performance, increasing the
render time about TEN TIMES!
The LIGHT CHANNEL doesn't let you edit the LIGHT's position or
orientation. What it does let you control is its EASE of motion, its
color (via R, G, and B parameters), INTENSITY, WIDTH, and TYPE (Sun
or Bulb). It also lets you control the distance before FALL OFF and
the FOCAL LENGTH of the light cone. SUNs similar to SPHERICAL lights
in IMAGINE, while BULBs are like CONICAL lights. BULBs always point
towards the TARGET.
The CHARACTER CHANNEL gives you control over its parameters for
EASE, X, Y, and Z scaling, ROLL, TILT, and SWIVEL. And again, all of
the drawing tools are the same as for MODELER and the other CHANNELs.
As with the ACTION module, once you have a series of frames set
up, you can PREVIEW the motion. Whichever view is currently selected
will be used to create the animation, and for some larger animations,
you won't always want to be looking through just the CAMERAs view.
And incidentally, the PREVIEW animations are saved as 704x480 ANIMs, so
they can be imported into Deluxe Paint III.
Also, like with the ACTION module, once a CHANNEL window is
opened, it does not close gracefully. This needs to be addressed
ASAP.
After you're satisfied with all of your settings, choose SAVE from
the PROJECT menu to save your newly created CHOREOGRAPHY file.
Next Up: RENDER & Conclusion
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