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1226 Chapter 15: Lights and Cameras
MovingaCameraAlongaPath
Havingacamerafollowapathisacommonway
to create architectural walkthroughs, roller coaster
rides, and so on.
• If the camera mu st bank or tilt close to the
vertical (as on a roller coaster), use a free
camera. Assign the
Path constraint (page
2–380)
directly to the camera object. The
camera follows the path, and you can adjust
its point of view by adding pans or rotate
transforms.Thisiscomparabletofilmingwith
ahand-heldcamera.
• For a t arget camera, link both the camera and
its target to a
dummy object (page 2–15) ,then
assign the path constraint to the dummy object.
This is comparable to mounting the camera
onatripodonadolly.Itiseasiertomanage
than having, for example, separate paths for the
camera and its target.
Following a Moving Object
Yo u c a n u s e a LookAt const raint (page 2–388) to
have the camera automatically follow a moving
object.
• The Lo okAt constraint makes the object replace
the camera’s target.
If the ca mera is a target camera, its previous
target is ignored.
If the camera is a f ree camera, it effect ively
becomes a target camera. While the LookAt
constraint assignment is in effect, the free
camera cannot rotate around its local X and Y
axes, and can’t be aimed vertically because of
the up-vector constraint.
•Analternativeisto
link (p age 2–404) atarget
camera’s target to the object.
Pann ing
You can animate the pan of any camera very easily
by following these steps:
1. Select the camera.
2. Activate the Camer a viewport.
3. Tur n on the Auto Key button and advance the
time slider to any frame.
4. UsethePanbutton(intheviewport
navigation tools) and pan.
Or bit ing
You can animate the orbiting of any camera ver y
easily by following these steps:
1. Select the camera.
2. Activate the Camer a viewport.
3. Tur n on the Auto Key button and advance the
time slider to any frame.
4. UsetheOrbitbutton(intheviewport
navigation tools) and orbit.
The target camera revolves around its target; the
Free camera revolves around its target distance.
Zooming
Zooming moves toward or away from the camera’s
subject matter by changing the focal length of the
lens. It differs from dollying, which physically
move s the camer a but leaves the focal length
unchanged. You can zoom by animating the va lue
of the camera’s
FOV p arameter (page 2–1218) .
Crea t i ng Ani ma ted Cuta way Vi ews
You can animate the creation of a cutaway v iew by
animating the location of the near or far
clipping
planes (page 2–1224)
,orboth.