Define and Change Views with ShowMotion

Using ShowMotion, you can add movement and transitions to a saved view. These saved
views are called shots. The types of shots that you can create are:

 Still. Utilizes a single fixed camera position.

 Cinematic. Utilizes a single camera with cinematic camera movements.

 Recorded Walk. Records an animation by navigating around and through a model.

DEMO VIDEO

Shot Sequences
Shot sequences are used to organize related shots together. These sequences are also
called view categories. By using shot sequences, you can do the following:

 Quickly locate a shot

 Play back more than one shot at a time

 Control the order in which shots are played back

ShowMotion is made up of three main parts: shot thumbnails, shot sequence thumbnails,
and the ShowMotion control. With the ShowMotion control, which is along the bottom, you
can play the animations assigned to a shot, pin and unpin ShowMotion, and close
ShowMotion. Use the shot and shot sequence thumbnails to navigate the shots in the
current model.

The ShowMotion control has the following options:

 Pin/Unpin ShowMotion. Pins ShowMotion so the ShowMotion control and all

thumbnails remain displayed even if focus is shifted away from ShowMotion. When
 ShowMotion is not pinned, the ShowMotion control and all thumbnails disappear if the
focus is switched away from ShowMotion.

 Play All. Starts the playback of shots in all shot sequences. Shots are played left to
right, starting with the leftmost shot sequence.

 Stop. Stops the playback of the current shot.

 Turn On/Off Looping. Enables or disables playback looping for the animation
assigned to the shot or shot sequence when played back.

 New Shot. Displays the New View/Shot Properties dialog box where you can create
a new shot.

 Close ShowMotion. Closes the ShowMotion control and all thumbnails.

To launch ShowMotion
Use one of the following methods to launch ShowMotion

 Click View ShowMotion.

 On the status bar, click ShowMotion.

COMMAND

NAVSMOTION
Displays the ShowMotion interface.
 Overview of Cameras

You can place a camera in a drawing to define a 3D view.

You can turn a camera on or off in a drawing and use grips to edit a camera’s location,
target, or lens length. A camera is defined by a location XYZ coordinate, a
target XYZ coordinate, and a field of view/lens length, which determines the magnification,
or zoom factor. You can also define clipping planes, which establish front and back
boundaries for the associated view.

 Location. Defines the point from which you are viewing a 3D model.

 Target. Defines the point you are viewing by specifying the coordinate at the center
of the view.

 Lens length. Defines the magnification properties of a camera’s lens. The greater
the lens length, the narrower the field of view.

 Front and back clipping planes. Specifies the location of clipping planes. Clipping
planes are boundaries that define, or clip, a view. In the camera's view, everything
between the camera and the front clipping plane is hidden. Likewise, everything between
the back clipping plane and the target is hidden.

By default, saved cameras are given names such as Camera1, Camera2, and so on. You can
rename a camera to better describe its view. The View Manager lists existing cameras in a
drawing as well as other named views.

Use the Camera Glyph Appearance dialog box to control the camera glyph's colors and size.

Commands
CAMERA
Sets a camera and target location to create and save a 3D perspective view of objects.

OPTIONS
Customizes the program settings.

Create a Camera
Set a camera and target location to create and save 3D perspective views of objects.

You can create a new camera by defining its location and a target, and by further defining
its name, height, lens length, and clipping planes. You can also use one of several pre-
defined camera types that are available on the tool palette.
 To create a camera

1. Click Render tab Camera panel Create Camera.

2. Click in the drawing to specify the camera’s location.

3. Click again in the drawing to specify a target location.

4. Do one of the following:

 If you are finished setting up the camera, press Enter.

 To further define camera properties, right-click and select from the list of
options. Then press Enter to finish setting up the camera.

To create a camera from the Tool palette

1. Click View tab Palettes panel Tool Palettes.

2. In the Tool Palettes window, click the Camera tool palette tab to make it active.

3. Select a camera type. Drag the camera icon from the tool palette, and click in the
drawing where you want to set its location.

4. Click again in the drawing when you want to place the target.

To display a camera

 Click Render tab Camera panel Show Cameras.

CAMERADISPLAY
Turns the display of camera objects on or off.

CAMERAHEIGHT
Specifies the default height for new camera objects.

Change Camera Properties

You can modify a camera’s lens length, change its front and back clipping planes, name a
camera, and turn the display of all cameras on or off in a drawing.

When you select a camera, the Camera Preview dialog box opens to display the camera's
view.
 There are several ways to change camera settings:

 Click and drag grips to resize or relocate a lens length or field of view.
 Use the Dynamic Input tooltip to enter X,Y, Z coordinate values.

 Modify camera properties in the Camera Properties palette.

To change a camera’s lens length

1. If cameras are not already displayed in the drawing, click Render tab Camera

panel Show Cameras.

2. Click the camera glyph.

3. Click a Lens Length/FOV grip tool.

4. Move the cursor and click where you want to position the lens.

5. Press Enter.

NoteTo change a lens length to a precise value, double-click a camera glyph to open the
Properties palette. In the Cameras section, Lens Length option (mm), enter a numeric
value.

To set a camera’s clipping planes

1. If cameras are not already displayed in the drawing, click Render tab Camera

panel Show Cameras.

2. Double-click the camera whose clipping planes you want to set.

3. In the Properties palette, Clipping section, Clipping option, select Front On, Back On,
or Front and Back On.

4. In the Front Plane or Back Plane option, enter numeric values.

5. Press Enter.

To rename a camera

1. If cameras are not already displayed in the drawing, click Render tab Camera

panel Show Cameras.

2. Double-click a camera glyph.

3. In the Properties palette, General section, Name option, enter a new name.

4. Press Enter.

To change a camera’s location

1. If cameras are not already displayed in the drawing, click Render tab Camera

panel Show Cameras.

2. Click the camera glyph, drag it to the new location, and click to place the camera.

3. Press Enter.
To change a camera’s target

1. If cameras are not already displayed in the drawing, click Render tab Camera

panel Show Cameras.

2. Click the camera glyph whose target you want to change.

3. Click the Target Distance grip tool (the blue grip in the center), drag it to the new
location, and click to place the target.

4. Press Enter.

To specify whether the camera glyph plots

1. If cameras are not already displayed in the drawing, click Render tab Camera

panel Show Cameras.

2. Double-click a camera.

3. In the Properties palette, Camera section, Plot option, click Yes or No.

Commands
CAMERA
Sets a camera and target location to create and save a 3D perspective view of objects.
Create Motion Path Animations

Motion path animations, such as 3D animated walk-throughs of a model, allow you to visually
demonstrate a model to both a technical and non-technical audience. You can record and play back a
navigation to communicate your design intent dynamically.

Control a Camera Motion Path

You control the camera motion, and therefore the animation, by linking the camera and its
target to a point or a path.

To create an animation using motion paths, you link the camera and its target to either a
point or a path. If you want the camera to remain still, link it to a point. If you want the
camera to move along a path, link it to a path.

If you want the target to remain still, link it to a point. If you want the target to move, link
it to a path. You cannot link both the camera and the target to a point.

Use the same path when you want the animation view to follow in line with the camera's
path. You do this by setting the target's path to None in the Motion Path Animation dialog
box. This is the default setting.

NoteTo link a camera or target to a path, you must create the path object before you create
the motion path animation. A path can be a line, arc, elliptical arc, circle, polyline, 3D
polyline, or spline.

To create a motion path animation

1. In the drawing, create a path object for either the camera or the target. A path can
be a line, arc, elliptical arc, circle, polyline, 3D polyline, or spline.

NoteThe path you create is not visible in the animation.

2. If the Animations panel is not displayed on the Render tab, right-click the Render tab
and click Panels Animations.

3. Click Render tab Animations panel Animation Motion Path.

4. In the Motion Path Animation dialog box, Camera section, click either Point or Path.

5. Do one of the following:

 To specify a new camera point, click the Pick Point button, and specify a point
in the drawing. Enter a name for the point. Click OK.
  To specify a new camera path, click the Select Path button, and specify a path
in the drawing. Enter a name for the path. Click OK.

 To specify an existing camera point or path, select it from the drop-down list.

6. In the Motion Path Animation dialog box, Target section, click either Point or Path.

7. Do one of the following:

 To specify a new target point, click the Pick Point button, and specify a point
in the drawing. Enter a name for the point. Click OK.

 To specify a new target path, click the Select Path button, and specify a path
in the drawing. Enter a name for the path. Click OK.

 To specify an existing target point or path, select it from the drop-down list.

8. In the Animation Settings section, adjust the animation settings to create the
animation to suit your needs.

9. When you have finished adjusting the points, paths, and settings, click Preview to
view the animation, or OK to save it.

Commands
ANIPATH
Saves an animation file of a camera moving or panning in a 3D model.

Specify Motion Path Settings

You determine the format of the animation file of a motion path animation by specifying
settings in the Motion Path Animation dialog box.

Several settings control the animation's frame rate, duration, resolution, visual style, and
file format.

To view a reverse motion path animation

1. If the Animations panel is not displayed on the Render tab, right-click the Render tab
and click Panels Animations.

2. Click Render tab Animations panel Animation Motion Path.

3. In the Motion Path Animation dialog box, Animation Settings section, click the
Reverse check box.

4. Click OK.
To control the speed and duration of the animation

1. If the Animations panel is not displayed on the Render tab, right-click the Render tab
and click Panels Animations.

2. Click Render tab Animations panel Animation Motion Path.

3. In the Motion Path Animation dialog box, Animation Settings section, specify a Frame
rate (FPS).

4. Do one of the following:

 Specify a number of frames.

 Specify a duration, in seconds.

5. Click Preview or OK.

To set animation resolution

1. If the Animations panel is not displayed on the Render tab, right-click the Render tab
and click Panels Animations.

2. Click Render tab Animations panel Animation Motion Path.

3. In the Motion Path Animation dialog box, Animation Settings section, select a
resolution from the Resolution drop-down list.

To set the video format

1. If the Animations panel is not displayed on the Render tab, right-click the Render tab
and click Panels Animations.

2. Click Render tab Animations panel Animation Motion Path.

3. In the Motion Path Animation dialog box, Animation Settings section, click a video
format (AVI, MPG, MOV, or WMV) from the Format drop-down list.

Record a Motion Path Animation

You can preview the animation before you record it and then save it in the desired format.

To preview and save a motion path animation

1. If the Animations panel is not displayed on the Render tab, right-click the Render tab
and click Panels Animations.
2. Click Render tab Animations panel Animation Motion Path.

3. In the Motion Path Animations dialog box, do the following:

 Specify a point or path for the camera.

 Specify a point or path for the target.

 Adjust any animation settings.

4. To preview the animation, click the Preview button.

5. In the Animation Preview window, view the animation. When the preview animation
is complete, close the Animation Preview window.

6. In the Motion Path Animations dialog box, click OK.

7. In the Save As dialog box, specify a file name and location to save the animation file.

8. Click Save.