8

Block Controller 307
Normalize Time—
Averages the position of the keys
in time and is applicable to any consecutive blocks
of selec ted keys. Useful if you want to smooth out
the m otion a nd have an object that speeds up,
slowsdown,speedsup,andslowsdown.
Constant V elocity—Interpolates values between
akeyandthenextoneinawaythatmakesthe
object move at a constant velocity across that curve
segment.
Fr ee Han d le —Used for automatically updating the
length of the tangent handle. When this is turned
off, the length of the tangent is at a fixed percentage
from its neighboring key . As you move a key , the
handles adjust to stay the same percentage away
fromtheneighboringkeys.Whenthisisturned
on, the handle lengths are based on t ime lengths.
Create Position Lock K ey / Create Rotation Lock
Key—
Makes the incoming handle of the current
key linear , and the out going handle of the previous
key linear. This is to prevent overshoot from the
spline interpolation.
To use these two features, you must first create
a keyboard shortcut in Customize > Customize
User Interface. Look for Create Position Lock Key
and Create Rotation Lock Key in the keyboard
shortcut list and assig n a key. Or you can also add
these commands to the quad menu.
B lock Controller
Main toolbar > Curve Editor (Open) > Expand Global
Tracks in the Track View hierarchy. > Block Control
Graph Editors > Track View – Curve Editor > Expand
Global Tracks in the Track View hierarchy. > Block Control
ABlockcontrollerisaglobal List controller (page
2–326)
that allows you to combine several tr acks
from multiple objects over a range of time, and
groupthemas"Blocks."TheseBlocksarethen
used to re-create the animation anywhere in time.
Blocks can be added, removed, scaled, moved
graphically in Track View, and saved. Blocks can
represent either absolute or relative animation.
For example to animate a hand forming a guitar
chord , all the rotations of the fingers and hand can
be saved as a block. This block can then be used
to recreate the hand and finger position, rotation,
and animation whenever the chord is played in an
animation.
Essentially, block controllers allow you to build up
librariesofanimationsandapplythemtoobjects
as you choose.
Tip: EulerRotationswillgiveyoubetterresultsthan
TCB Ro ta tion contro llers when you are working
with blocks. Block controllers blend clips in a
relative repeat manner. If your motions do not
loop exactly, your rotations star t to drif t. Also note
that block controllers only work with Keyframe
controllers (non-procedural).