9

Import ing Clips to t he Mixer 609
Importing Clips to the Mixer
You can bring motion clips (BIP and XAF files)
into the mixer with any of these me thods:
Chooseafiledirectlyfromthefolderinwhich
it resides.
Choose a file from those you have placed in the
Reservoir (page 2–626),astorageareaforBIP
and XAF files.
Importmotionfromanotherbipedinthe
scene. See Working with Clips in the Mixer (page
2–611).
Import a motion flow script.
All clips imported for a single object are assig ned
a random, unique color. For example, all clips for
one biped might be red, whi le those for another
biped are blue. The color distinction mak es it
easier to work with multiple bipeds and non-biped
objects in the Motion Mixer.
Biped rollout > Mixer Mode must be
turned on in order to see the motion on the biped
in viewports. This option is turned on by default
when you open the Mixer from the Biped rollout
(page 2–936).
The Motion Mixer mig ht not display the
entire active segment when it is first opened. To set
the Mixer display to the extent of clips in the Mixer,
click Set Range on the Motion Mixer toolbar.
Preparing BIP and XAF Files
To use a motion file with the Motion Mixer, it must
first be saved as either a BIP or XAF file. Many
BIP files come with 3ds Max; you can use these, or
you can make your own. To find out how to create
your own BIP fi les, see Loading and Sa ving BIP
Animation (page 2–920).Formoreinformation
of XAF files, see Saving and Loading Animation
(page 3–472).
Impor ting XAF Fi les
Non-bipedobjectassetsareloadedintotheMixer
using the Load XML Animation File dialog (page
3–474), from which you pick the desired XAF
motion file to import. If the motion file needs
an XMM mapping file, you can either choose an
existing one or open the Map Animation dialog
(page 3–478) to create a new file.
Tip: Ifyouloadmultiplemotionclipsatthesame
time, you can pick a mapping file only once if all
clips use the same.
Note: The Relative/Absolute and Replace/Insert
options are unavailable when you import XAF
files.
Note: Loading XAF clips from the Reservoir (page
2–649) follows the same workflow.
Inter pr etin g Cli p Names
When you load a clip into the Mixer, the clip
appears on the tr ack as a solid bar, with its name
displayed on the clip.
Other information can appear on the clip,
such as the start and end frames, and the clip scale
(page 2–615). You can change the information
that displays on the clip by clicking Preferences
on the Motion Mixer toolbar, and changing the
Clips options on the Mixer Preferences dialog (page
2–651).
You c an use the same clip numerous t i mes in the
Mixer. Each version of the clip displays the name