9

Working with Controllers 289
display mo de, and s o on. The worst case is a
camera move in sh aded mode, in wh ich the
viewport is fil led with detailed geometr y. In such
cases, it’s best to simplify the viewport display,
using either wireframe display or, in extreme cas es,
box display mode.
Na turally, it takes more computing po wer to
display your animation in four viewports, and
playback smoothness is reduced. When Active
Viewport Only is on, you can switch active
viewports during playback either by clicking the
label of an inactive viewport, or by right-clicking
in an inactive viewport.
Wor ki ng wit h Contr oll er s
Everything you animate in 3ds Max is handled by a
controller. A controller is a plug-in that handles the
storage and interpolation of all animated values.
The default controllers are:
• Position: Position XYZ
• Rotation: Euler XYZ
• Scale: Bezier Scale
Note: Newin3dsMax9Extension1isthe
ability to double-click a controller track name on
the Motion panel or Track View hierarchy window
forfastaccesstokeyinfoorcontrollerparameters.
This productiv it y enhancement can help speed
your work w hen fine-tuning animation.
Although3dsMaxhasmanydifferenttypesof
controllers, much of the animation is handled
by the Bezier controller (page 2–310).Bezier
controllers interpolate between keyf rames in a
smooth curve. You c an adjust the key interpolation
of these interpolations through the keys on the
track bar or in Track View. This is how you can
control acceleration, hesitation and other types
of motion.
The default controller for Rotation is Euler
XYZ, which breaks the rotation down into
three individual Bezier Flo at tracks. The default
controller for Position is Position X,Y,Z. The Scale
controller default is Bezier.
Note: If you load in files made in earlier versions
of the software, their existing controllers will be
maintained.
Wa rn in g : Be aware that Euler rotations behave
differently than TCB rotations. If you are used to using
TCB controllers, you can reassign TCB Rotation as the
controller and you will get the same behavior you are
used to.
3ds Max has a specialized typ e of controller,
called a constraint,thatiscommonlyusedtohelp
automate the animation process. A constraint can
be used to control an object’s position, rotation, or
scale through a binding relationship with another
object.
You apply constraints and controllers using
commands on the Animation menu. When you
assign a controller from this menu, a weighted
list controller is automatically applied, with the
con troller you’ve selected appearing first in the list.
The weighted list controller gives you the ability to
blend controllers, similar to a nonlinear animation
system. If you assign a controller through the
Motion panel or Track View, it replaces the existing
controller, rather than creating a list controller.
Youcandothatmanuallyifyouareworkinginthe
Motion panel or Track View .
This section explains techniques for working
with controllers. For details about the parameters
and use of each controller type, see Animation
Controllers (page 2–307).
Under standi ng Control ler s
Controllers are plug-ins that handle all of the
animation tasks in 3ds Max, including: