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Home ? Tech Help ? Object movement

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04/04/2012 03:38:54

Steven547
Steven547
Posts: 66 		OKay...this might be a "can't believe he's asking that" type question! But, how do I animate objects? I want to have a ball "bounce" across the screen, but for some reason, I can't seem to animate it.

Any help or tutorials for this?

Thanks a lot!

Steven
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04/04/2012 09:16:31

DreekoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dreeko
Posts: 1257 		No this is not an odd question but the answer may be..

Object animation can be (is!) very tricky. To try and simulate a ball bouncing across screen with the program as it stands just now would try the patience of a saint. I wouldn't attempt it because I know my laptop would be the object bouncing across the room in anger instead of the ball.
Until some kind of waypoints/path system with an easing in and out feature is introduced to Muvizu, your ball bouncing wishes will probably have to wait.

A work around would be to show the ball beginning to move. and then cut to a characters face (who is obviously watching the ball bounce) and animate his/her head moving up and down with the bounces and then cut back to the ball coming to a halt.

Hope this helps

Cheers
D
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04/04/2012 09:59:36

JamieMuvizu staff
Jamie
(Account inactive)
Posts: 609 		Steven547 wrote:
OKay...this might be a "can't believe he's asking that" type question! But, how do I animate objects? I want to have a ball "bounce" across the screen, but for some reason, I can't seem to animate it.



Hi Steven547 -

I think there is more hope for achieving this result than Dreeko would have you believe

The tutorial on object movement is here > http://www.muvizu.com/Video/17232/Tutorial-22-Directing-Object-movement

What I'd do is create the ball and customise it as I wanted it then go to Direct > Object movement. Then I'd put the gravity to the maximum (100) and hit record. I'd then push the mouse wheel forward to set the ball moving without needing you to keep pressing a key or mouse button, leaving your hands free to use the Q key to raise the ball up to the hight you want it to fall from and then when you let go of the Q key the high gravity setting will bring the ball back down to the ground. As soon as the ball is down on the ground I'd press the Q key again to raise it and then let go again and so forth until you've travelled the distance you want. To stop the ball moving just scroll back on the mouse wheel and that's it!

It might take a few attempts to get this right. You'll probably have to adjust the movement speed and smoothness a few times to get it how you want it as well as the usual re-recording to get the bounces and movement exactly where you want it.

Another tip would be to set the ball to be "Float in the air" before you begin recording. Then positioning the ball at the start height you want when you begin recording and scroll forward on the mouse wheel the first thing that will happen is the first bounce of the ball.

Good luck!

--
Direct, don't animate!
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04/04/2012 10:52:53

DreekoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dreeko
Posts: 1257 		Jamie wrote:
Good luck!


Indeed!
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04/04/2012 11:44:59

DyllyMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dylly
Posts: 555 		This is a communication from the Ministry of Daft Questions!

Just a couple of daft ones...for the minute...

1) How would we go about handling 'stretch and squash' whilst animating the ball?

2) The gravity effect of dropping the ball is intriguing...so how would I go about getting the ball to hit a wall of bricks and then getting the bricks to fall? Is it still a case of animating each brick to start it moving?
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04/04/2012 12:32:00

DreekoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dreeko
Posts: 1257 		Haven't tried before with the squash thIngy but I imagine you would have to animate the vertical scale properties in sync with the bounce.
Bricks- yes one at a time I imagine
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04/04/2012 13:32:47

WozToonsExperimental user
WozToons
Posts: 494 		Just a thought but what about filming a real ball bouncing then putting it on a backdrop?
I'm sure with a little time and effort good results could be produced.
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04/04/2012 14:03:57

JamieMuvizu staff
Jamie
(Account inactive)
Posts: 609 		Dylly wrote:
This is a communication from the Ministry of Daft Questions!

Just a couple of daft ones...for the minute...

1) How would we go about handling 'stretch and squash' whilst animating the ball?

2) The gravity effect of dropping the ball is intriguing...so how would I go about getting the ball to hit a wall of bricks and then getting the bricks to fall? Is it still a case of animating each brick to start it moving?



1) I don't think you could. You can't animate the scale properties of an object so you couldn't do what Dreeko was thinking.

2) You'd have to animate the wall falling apart, brick by boring brick.

Unless this sequence was going to last for more than a few seconds and had some great significance within the movie being made I'd just go for a combination of the 3 methods mentioned. Camera cuts to show characters watching the ball bounce and / or hit something and cause something else to happen and use either stock footage of a bouncing ball green screened into a Muvizu scene or use the animated object method or green screen a animated object from Muvizu and use some movement / motion post-processing method to make it move a across a scene.

--
Direct, don't animate!
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