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Note track problems - so, how to add a new benign controller to an obj?
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02-15-2012
07:29 AM
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Sorry, this may ramble a bit. I'm a bit stuck.
I'm animating a lot of objects (1000+) automatically with a script.
I need to store really basic event information with objects as my script animates them (eg 'start move' and 'end move' - perhaps 4 or 5 different states), so I can later grab that info and produce a matching audio track.
Note tracks would be ideal, but the note keys don't show up in most of the UI, and can therefore get easily separated from the animation keys. I can't seem to make them show up in the track bar, and although they appear in Track View, they don't get caught by the 'Modify Child Keys' button. You have to move them individually. (OK, you could use a script to move the keys, but once my main animation routine's run I want to be able to select a load of my animated objects and move their keys forward or backward in the trackbar to tune the timing. The note track keys don't show up nor move with them, though, so it all breaks)
So I reckon note tracks won't do what I need. Any suggestions for a simple alternative?
I suppose any old controller would do. I don't need to store strings; just want to be able to put markers in at certain times for each object. Could be eg. a bezier float controller - but I can't see any way to assign a controller to... well, nothing.
So what's the most lightweight and efficient way to attach a new controller to an object such that it doesn't affect any of the object's properties?
If I were only animating simple planes, I could use the widthsegments property - add a controller to it, throw my data in as keys at the right points, and it would have no visible effect, but I'd have nice visible easily manipulatable keys that'd show up everywhere in the UI. Might slow the render down slightly though.
Instead, I could add, say, a Bend modifier to each object and then add my data as keys in the Bend Direction controller. If I don't touch the Angle control, the object won't change shape, but I've now got an animatable track whose keys will show up in the trackbar, and that I can read out later easily enough.
Adding a bend mod to every object is icky though and will bloat the scene. All I need is a controller that doesn't do anything...
...or maybe a tiny modifier I can apply to each object that does nothing but present an animatable spinner control...
Thoughts?
I'm animating a lot of objects (1000+) automatically with a script.
I need to store really basic event information with objects as my script animates them (eg 'start move' and 'end move' - perhaps 4 or 5 different states), so I can later grab that info and produce a matching audio track.
Note tracks would be ideal, but the note keys don't show up in most of the UI, and can therefore get easily separated from the animation keys. I can't seem to make them show up in the track bar, and although they appear in Track View, they don't get caught by the 'Modify Child Keys' button. You have to move them individually. (OK, you could use a script to move the keys, but once my main animation routine's run I want to be able to select a load of my animated objects and move their keys forward or backward in the trackbar to tune the timing. The note track keys don't show up nor move with them, though, so it all breaks)
So I reckon note tracks won't do what I need. Any suggestions for a simple alternative?
I suppose any old controller would do. I don't need to store strings; just want to be able to put markers in at certain times for each object. Could be eg. a bezier float controller - but I can't see any way to assign a controller to... well, nothing.
So what's the most lightweight and efficient way to attach a new controller to an object such that it doesn't affect any of the object's properties?
If I were only animating simple planes, I could use the widthsegments property - add a controller to it, throw my data in as keys at the right points, and it would have no visible effect, but I'd have nice visible easily manipulatable keys that'd show up everywhere in the UI. Might slow the render down slightly though.
Instead, I could add, say, a Bend modifier to each object and then add my data as keys in the Bend Direction controller. If I don't touch the Angle control, the object won't change shape, but I've now got an animatable track whose keys will show up in the trackbar, and that I can read out later easily enough.
Adding a bend mod to every object is icky though and will bloat the scene. All I need is a controller that doesn't do anything...
...or maybe a tiny modifier I can apply to each object that does nothing but present an animatable spinner control...
Thoughts?