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Block Controller 313
B lock Contr oll er
Maintoolbar>CurveEditor(Open)>ExpandGlobal
Tracks in the Track View hierarchy. > Block Control
GraphEditors>TrackView–CurveEditor>Expand
Global Tracks in the Track V iew hierarchy. > Block Control
ABlockcontrollerisaglobalL ist controller (page
2–342) that allows you to combine several tracks
from mult iple objects over a range of t ime, and
groupthemas"Blocks."TheseBlocksarethen
used to re-create the animation anywhere in time.
Blocks can be added, removed, sca led, moved
graphically in Track View, and saved. Blocks c an
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 b e 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
libraries of animations and apply them to objects
as you choose.
Tip: EulerRotationswillgiveyoubetterresultsthan
TCB Rotation controllers when you are working
with blocks. Block controllers blend clips in a
relative repeat manner . If your motions do not
loop exactly, your rotat ions start to drift. Also note
that block con trollers only work with Keyframe
controllers (non-procedural).
Master B lock Parameters Dialog
After assig ning a Master Block, right-click the
MasterBlock track to display the Master Block
Parameters dialog (page 2–390). Thisisthefirst
step in creating a block.
With this dialog, you can save blocks and then
load them later. Blocks are saved as BLK files.
Tr ack V iew P ick Dia log
The Track View P ick dialog (page 2–392) is
displayed when track selection is necessary; for
example, when you click Add in the Master Block
Parameters dialog. Select tracks in the dialog
to include in a block. Valid tracks are shown as
darker.
Block Parameter s Dialog
After you create a block by clicking Add in the
Master Block Parameters dialog and then selecting
tracks in the Track View Pick dialog, clicking OK
in the Track View Pick dialog displays the Block
Parameters dialog (page 2–389).
Atta ch Contr ols Di al og (Loa ding B lock s)
The Attach Controls dialog (page 2–388) is
displayedwhenyouclickLoadintheMaster
Block Parameters dialog. Tr acks in blocks saved
previously can be mapped to tracks in the current
scene.
Slave Parameters Dialog (Slave
Controller)
Every time a block is created, all tracks within the
block are assigned a sla ve controller, which allows
the MasterBlock to transfer key data. The slave
controller tracks appear with the orig inal tracks
you used to create the block. See Slave Parameters
dialog (page 2–391).