821 Animator XII

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Acknowledgements
Advisory, Editorial & Creative Inputs:
• Smt. Nidhi Chhibber (IAS), Chairperson, Central Board of Secondary
Education, Delhi
Guidance and Support:

• Dr. Biswajit Saha, Director (Skill Education), Central Board of
Secondary Education, Delhi
• Dr. Joseph Emmanuel, Director (Academics), Central Board of Secondary
Education, Delhi
• Shri. R. P. Singh, Joint Secretary (Skill Education), Central Board of Secondary
Education, Delhi
Coordinator:
• Smt. Niti Shanker Sharma, Deputy Secretary (Skill Education), Central Board of
Book Redesign Team:

• Mr. Gaurav Birla, Head - Standards & QA, Media & Entertainment Skills
Council, (MESC) Delhi.
• Mr. Ritik Kumar, Chief Designer, Ridosk Studios, India
Original Content Source: The PSS Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE)
PSSCIVE Acknowledgement:
• Special thanks to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD),
Government of India for funding the project on the development of curricula and
courseware for Classes 9 to 12 (NSQF Levels 1-4).
• National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Media and Entertainment
Skills Council (MESC) for making available the Qualification Packs (QP) and
National Occupational Standards (NOS), which were utilized for developing the
course content.
• PSSCIVE thankfully acknowledges the valuable suggestions of the members of
the Standing Committee of the project and the guidance provided by Prof. R.B.
Shivagunde, Joint Director, PSSCIVE in the execution of the project.
• Special thanks are due to Prof. (Dr.) Vinay Swarup Mehrotra, Project
Coordinator and Head, Curriculum Development and Evaluation Centre (CDEC)
and National Skills Qualifications Framework Cell (NSQFC), PSSCIVE for
guidance and review of the course material.
• The contributions of Shri Sourabh Kulparia and Shri Meet Vishwakarma in type
setting and composing the material in its present form are thankfully
acknowledged and appreciated.
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About Your Workbook

This workbook is to assist you with completing the Unit of Competency “3D Production
Pipeline”. You should work through the workbook in the classroom, at the workplace or in your own
time under the guidance and supervision of your teacher or trainer. This workbook contains sessions
which will help you to acquire relevant knowledge and skills (soft and hard) on various aspects of the
unit of competency. Each session is small enough to be easily tackled and digested by you before you
move on to the next session. Animated pictures and photographs have been included to bring about
visual appeal and to make the text lively and interactive for you. You can also try to create your own
illustrations using your imagination or taking the help of your teacher. Let us now see what the sec-
tions in the sessions have for you.
Section 1: Introduction
This section introduces you to the topic of the Unit. It also tells you what you will learn
through the various sessions covered in the Unit.
Section 2: Relevant Knowledge
This section provides you with the relevant information on the topic(s) covered in the session.
The knowledge developed through this section will enable you to perform certain activities. You
should read through the information to develop an understanding on the various aspects of the topic
before you complete the exercise(s).
Section 3: Exercise
Each session has exercises, which you should complete on time. You will perform the activi-
ties in the classroom, at home or at the workplace. The activities included in this section will help you
to develop necessary knowledge, skills, and attitude that you need for becoming competent in per-
forming the tasks at workplace. The activities should be done under the supervision of your teacher
or trainer who will guide you in completing the tasks and also provide feedback to you for improving
your performance. To achieve this, prepare a timetable in consultation with your teacher or trainer
and strictly adhere to the stipulated norms or standards. Do not hesitate to ask your teacher or trainer
to explain anything that you do not understand.
Section 4: Assessment
The review questions included in this section will help you to check your progress. You must
be able to answer all the questions before you proceed to the next session.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgement
Preface
About your workbook
Introduction 9
Session 1: Pre-Production 10
Session 2: Production-1 17
Session 3: Production-2 23
Session 4: Post-Production 28
Glossary 33
Suggested reading 34
List of constributors 35
Course: Media and Entertainment

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Introduction
Like any other skill, editing has some basic rules that help us to understand what the filmmaker
and editor wants to say. Take some time to study films and TV so you can learn these. What you
add to the image and sound after it is filmed can hugely influence a film. You must have noticed
in movies that tension is indicated by music and close up shots on actors. Different camera angles
break the scene down and make it interesting by leading the viewer ‘s eye to what is important.
The way you cut between these, i.e., fast or slow, is also telling the audience more information
about the story. The editors can alter everything about the film with their skills.
Understanding modern techniques of editing is the key to the success of the film, if your audi-
ence is to follow what you mean with your edits. Watch lots of movies and examine how cuts
are made. How do scenes end, what does a cut to black signify or a slow dissolve mean? Edit-
ing styles can alter the feel of your film. Short snappy cuts give the film a tense, fast pace. Long
gaps between cuts allow time for the audience to relax into the scenes. Clever editing can create
illusions; just the sound of a helicopter creates the illusion that there really is a helicopter just out
of shot. Editing can also help smooth over problems; you can edit around a difficult interview
by cutting out bits. If you need to show more than one aspect of a scene, you can film the scene
several times from different angles and in the edit cut between those angles.
Montage is the principle underlying all editing. The audience is trying to interpret your film as
they watch, create meanings from the images and sounds you play them. If for example, you put
together a politician ‘s speech without sound, followed by images of war, then the politician is
assumed to be talking about war. Montage creates a new meaning from two independent images.
Similarly, you can lead the audience this way, show separate images of two people walking down
a street and the audience will assume the two will eventually meet.
In this Unit, you will learn about the working procedure of a video editing software known as
Adobe Premiere Pro and a sound editing software known as Adobe Sound Booth.
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Session 1
Pre-Production
In this session you will learn how to perform pre-production activities.
Relevant Knowledge
Pre-production is the phase of developing ideas and planning prior to the process of produc-
tion. It begins with the main concepts or ideas which are initially turned into a full story, and
then, once the story has been finalized, other things such as the script, shot sequence and
camera angles are worked out. It is the period before any real animation work takes place.
In this session, you will learn about the different steps involved in the pre-production process
and how each step helps to develop a foundation on which further production stages are
built. The work done during the pre-production serves as a visual reminder of the original
plan; something that can be referred back to throughout the production.
The major components of a pre-production process are as follows:
1. Story Boarding
2. Layouts
3. Model Sheets
4. Animatics
Storyboard
The storyboard helps to finalize the development of the storyline, and is an essential stage
of the animation process. It is made up of drawings in the form of a comic strip, and is used
to both help visualise the animation and to communicate ideas clearly. Storyboards often
include notes to describe the frame in more detail, such as mood and lighting, as well as cam-
era moves. It details key events and scene changes in the animation, often accompanied by
text notes describing what is occurring in the scene such as camera movements. It is a visual
Course | Media and Entertainment

11
reminder of the plan and can be referred back to throughout the production stage.
Storyboards can be especially useful when working in group environments, something quite
common in the animation industry.
Character Design
Character design involves developing the appearance and features of characters in an anima-
tion. Model Sheets and Expression Sheets are produced to help animators be consistent with
the appearance of characters. Character Line-up Sheets are also produced to compare the
scale of the characters against one another.
Layouts
Once the storyboards have been approved, they are sent to the layout department which then
works closely with the director to design the locations and costumes. With this, they begin
to stage the scenes, showing the various characters’ positions throughout the course of each
shot.
Model Sheets
Model sheets are precisely drawn groups of pictures that show all of the possible expressions
that a character can make, and all of the many different poses that they could adopt. These
sheets are created in order to both accurately maintain character detail and to keep the de-
signs of the characters uniform whilst different animators are working on them across several
shots. During this stage the character designs are finalized so that when production starts,
their blueprints can be sent to the modelling department who are responsible for creating the
Session 1 | Pre-Production
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final character models.
Expression Sheets may also be developed as a guide to character facial expressions, such as,
smiling, laughing, sad, shocked, startled, sleepy, alert, thoughtful, concerned, etc.
Animatic
An animatic is a timed moving version of the storyboard made up of individual frames taken
from the storyboard and is often accompanied by audio such as dialogue, sound effects and
music. Each frame of the animatic depicts a certain key point of the scene or movie. The
running time should match the intended running time of the final animation. Animatic can
assist with decisions regarding scenes to include or exclude. On a commercial project this is
very important as it avoids wastage of time and money during production. These help the Di-
rector plan how they will go about staging the above sequences, as well as how visual effects
will be integrated into the final shot.
Exercise
1. Fill in the blanks in the flow chart shown for 3D Animation Production Cycle
2. Develop your own storyboard
• Take a short piece of text, illustrating a scenario. For example, a nursery rhyme is a good

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starting point if storyboarding is an unfamiliar task.

• Break down the story, line by line into a series of images that represent the actions taking
place in the story.
• Draw these images on to storyboard frames
• Writethedialogueundertheimagesandaddanydetailsofsoundeffectsthatmightcontribute to
the dramatic scene.
• Use variety of different angles to illustrate the story, such as close ups and wide-angle.
• Discusshowusingavarietyofshotscreatesdramaandvisualinteresttothestory You can use the
template given below for developing you storyboard.
Create a short storyboard in the format given below:
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Assessment
Answer the following questions
1. What is the purpose of Model Sheet?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. What is Animatics?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Checklist for Assessment Activity

Use the following checklist to see if you have met all the requirements
for assessment activity:
Part A
Differentiated between the following:
1. Story boarding and layouts

2. Model sheets and animatics
Part B
Discussed in class the following:
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1. How to create a storyboard?

2. What are the model sheets and animatics?
3. What is the use of model sheets?
Part C
Performance standards
The performance standards may include, but not limited to:
Performance Standards Yes No

Develop a Storyboard
Demonstrate the knowledge of character design
Draw a model sheet of a character

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Session 2
Production -I
In this session you will learn about creating model for stop motion 3D animation and Texture a
character.
Relevant Knowledge
Production
Now that the storyboard has been approved, the project enters the production phase. It is here
that the actual work can start, based on the guidelines established during pre-production.
Some major activities that are undertaken during the production phase are the layout, model-
ling, texturing, lighting, rigging, and animation. Animation production is a very coordinated
process where different teams of artists work together while utilizing optimum resources
and achieving the initial goal in the time available. The production phase is often the longest
and busiest phase of the animation project. During this stage the Director approves camera
moves, depth of field and the composition of the models making up the set and set dressing.
It is then the responsibility of the Modelling department to deliver these approved set, prop
and character models in the final layout stages. A 2D production pipeline starts with work-
book and goes all the way through final checking, composting and film output, whilst the 3D
production process emphasizes the design, modelling and rigging and animation stages.
Layout
A layout is a visual map. It instructs the various artists on a scene where the characters are
to be positioned and how they are to move. The timing of the scene and individual character
movements will be indicated on the “dopesheet”. A dopesheet looks a little like a spreadsheet
with rows and columns but its purpose is to provide instructions concerning the time duration
of individual character movements, scenes, camera moves and audio details. It ensures that
each and every person working on a production is working to the same basic instructions.
Session 2 | Production -1
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A Layout Artist set the stage for each scene of animation. The Layout Artist produces the
3D version of what storyboard artists had previously drawn on paper. Each layout is a vital
piece of reference for all those involved in the production process. The layout determines
lighting and camera angles as well as where characters and props are placed in the scene ac-
cording to their start positions. The Layout Artist will often work closely with the Director
and other specialists such as a Scene Planner and Special Effects Supervisor to work out the
scene layout.
While the Layout Artist is responsible for composing the shot and delivering rough anima-
tion to the animators as a guide, the Background Artist creates scene settings. A background
is essentially a static setting upon which the animation takes place in the foreground. Back-
ground images can be very simple and drawn in a similar flat style to the characters. The Key
Frame Animators draw the images that determine the beginning of a movement and the
end of movement. The Inbetween animators draw the images or frames inbetween the key
frames to complete the movements prescribed by the Key Frame Animator. The process of
colouring of animation frames is carried out by Digital Ink and Paint Artist using specialist
ink and paint software. Clean-up Artists are responsible for re-drawing the Key Frame and
Inbetween Animators drawings which are normally of a rough line quality.
The Scanner Operator is responsible for scanning drawings prepared by the Clean-up Artist.
Ink and Paint, which is the process of colouring the drawn frames is used to transfer drawings
over to cels which are then hand painted. However, in the digital age the term is often referred
to as Digital Ink and Paint as the process now involves scanning the finished drawings into
a computer where they can be coloured using a software package. The scanned cels can be
coloured in or ‘inked’ using simple tools such as the ‘Paint Bucket’, a tool which is common
to many software packages. It is also possible to touch up the scanned line drawings using
tools such as the Paint brush.
Line Test
A Line Test is a process used to check hand drawn frames prior to them being used for final
artwork. Frames are captured either via a video camera, frame by frame or by scanning them
into a computer. The resulting sequence allows the animator to assess how well the sequence
is flowing. If the result is unsatisfactory then the animator can simply re-draw, add or delete
frames and then create another line test.
Onion Skinning
Onion Skinning is a method used to view several frames of an animation simultaneously,
it allows the animator to check the changes occurring within each frame and how they flow
together. Traditionally this process involved comparing drawn frames on a light box but many
animation software packages include the ability to preview frames with several previous and

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upcoming translucent frames visible.
Walk Cycle / Loops

The ‘Walk Cycle’ form of loop is where the sequence of frames used to show one foot mov-
ing in front of another can be repeated continually and gives the effect of continuous walking.
Walk Cycles are a common form of ‘loop’ animation, they consist of a sequence of frames
which together make a continuous flowing loop. They help to make repetitive movements
simpler to animate.
Modelling
Working closely with the Art Directors, Visual Effects Supervisors and Animation Supervi-
sors, Modellers turn the 2D concept art and traditionally sculpted maquettes into high detail,
topologically sound 3D models. They then assist the Technical Animator and Enveloper as
the model has a skeleton put in place and the skin is developed. Following this, the model
may be handed back to the Modeller, who will proceed to sculpt facial expressions and any
specific muscle tension/jiggle shapes that may be required.
Modellers are usually split into two or more departments. Whilst Organic Modellers tend
to have a sculpture background and specialise in building the characters and other freeform
surfaces, Hard-surface Modellers often have a more industrial design or architectural back-
ground, and as such they model the vehicles, weapons, props, and buildings.
Once the model is approved, it will be made available to the rigging and texture paint depart-
ments, who complete the final stages in preparing the model for animation and rendering.
The model will move through the production pipeline without coming back for modelling
fixes, although some amount of fixes are inevitable - problems with models sometimes don’t
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appear until the rendering stage, in which case the lighter will send the model back to be fixed.
Whether creating a texture from scratch or through editing an existing image, the Texturing
Artists are responsible for writing shades and painting textures as per the scene requirements.
Working hand-in-hand with the surfacing and shading departments, textures are painted to
match the approved concept art and designs which were delivered by the art department.
These textures are created in the form of maps which are then assigned to the model.
Texturing
Lighting Technical Directors make sure there is consistency in lighting, colour balance and
mood between the various elements of a shot or scene. When appropriate, they ensure the
computer- generated imagery looks photorealistic to match the live action plates. They com-
bine the latest version of the animation, the effects, the camera moves, the shaders and tex-
tures, and render out an updated version every day.

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Exercise
1. Preform layout animation by applying tweening to each view that is part of the layout be-
ing animated. Here are four types of twinning animation that you can perform:
• Scale animation: to make a view smaller or larger either on x axis or on the y-axis.
• Rotate animation: to rotate a view around a pivot point by a certain number of degrees.
• Translate animation: to move a view along the x or y-axis.
• Alpha animation: to change the transparency of a view.
Assessment
1. What is 3D modeling?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. What is texturing?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. Write the roles and functions of the following:
1. Layout Artist
2. Background Artist
3. Key-frame Animator
4. In between Animator
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5. Clean-upArtist
6. Scanner Operator
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Part A
1. Modelling and texturing
Part B
1. How to model a character inanimation?

2. What is UV stage in modelling?
3. How to paint textures inanimation?
4. What is rendering?
Part C
The performance Standard may include, but not limited to:

Demonstrate the knowledge of layout
Demonstrate the knowledge of onion skinning
Demonstrate the knowledge of modelling and texturing

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Session 3
Production -2
In this session you will learn about the concept of Lighting and Rigging & the use of concept of
lighting to create a bright image.
Relevant Knowledge
Lighting
Not only does a Lighting Artist have to think lighting the individual scenes, they also have
to consider how to bring together all of the elements that have been created by the other de-
partments. In most companies, lighting TDs combine the latest version of the animation, the
effects, the camera moves, the shades and textures into the final scenes, and render out an
updated version every day.
Lighters have a broad range of responsibilities, including placing lights, defining light proper-
ties, defining how light interacts with different types of materials, the qualities and complexi-
ties of the realistic textures involved, how the position and intensity of lights affect mood and
believability, as well as colour theory and harmony. They are required to establish direct and
reflected lighting and shadows for each assigned shot, ensuring that each shot fits within the
continuity of a sequence, all the while aiming to fulfil the vision of the Directors, Production
Designers, Art Directors and VFX Supervisors.
Rigging
Rigging is the process of adding bones to a character or defining the movement of a mechani-
cal object, and it’s central to the animation process. A character TD will make test animations
showing how a creature or character appears when deformed into different poses, and based
on the results corrective adjustments are often made. The rigging department is also involved
in developing cloth simulation – so as well as making a character able to clench their fist or
rotate their arm, the rigging and cloth department is responsible for making their costume
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move in a believable manner. Planning a character’s performance frame by frame uses the
same basic principles first developed for 2D animation.
In modern production companies, the practice of meticulously planning a character’s perfor-

mance frame by frame is applied in 3D graphics using the same basic principles and aesthetic
judgments that were first developed for 2D and stop-motion animation. If motion capture
is used at the studio to digitize the motion of real actors, then a great deal of an animator’s
time will also be spent cleaning up the motion captured performance and completing the
portions of the motion (such as the eyes and hands) that may not have been digitized during
the process.
The effects team also produce elements such as smoke, dust, water, and explosions, although
development on these aspects does not start until the final animation/lighting has been ap-
proved as they are integral to the final shot and often computationally heavy.

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Exercise
1. Observe 20 different images of 3D lighting, rigged character and animation scenes,
given by the instructor. List your observations, with rationale, for each image.
2. Fill in the blanks in the flow chart shown for 3DAnimation
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Assessment
1. What is 3Dlighting?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the use of rigging in production pipeline?

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. What is 3Danimation?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

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Part A
1. Lighting, rigging and animation

2. 3D Lighting and 3Danimation
Part B
1. How lighting is done in an animated movie?

2. How rigging is done to animate a character?
Part C

Explain the relation between the various departments of production
pipeline
Demonstrate the knowledge of lighting, rigging and animation
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Session 4
Post-Production
In this session, you will learn how to perform post-production activities and prepare a flow chart
of post-production activities and required materials/ equipment’s.
Relevant Knowledge
Post-production is the third and final step in film creation and it refers to the tasks that must
be completed or executed after the filming or shooting ends. It involves exporting or render-
ing out the animation frames and then editing the pieces of animation together using video
editing software. It includes the editing of raw footage to cut scenes together, inserting tran-
sitional effects, working with voice and sound actors and dubbing to name just a few of the
many post-production tasks.
The three main phases of post-production are rendering, compositing, sound editing, and
video editing.
Rendering
The rendering stage is usually associated with computer- generated animation, although ren-
dering can also refer to the process of creating final animation frames in traditional hand-
drawn animation. Rendering is used in both 2D and 3D computer animation. It is the process
of getting the final assembled animation scenes or pieces out of the computer in the format
of a sequence of individual frames. The aim of rendering is to generate a series of individual
pixel-based frames or a videoclip.
Compositing
The Compositing Department brings together all of the 3D elements produced by the previ-
ous departments in the pipeline, to create the final rendered image ready for film. After the
animation has been rendered it may be necessary to add some special effects or to combine

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separate rendered elements together into one final animated sequence. This process is known
as Compositing. Compositors are responsible for constructing the final image by combining
layers of previously-created material. They receive material from various sources including
rendered computer animation, special effects, graphics, 2D animation, live action and static
background plates. The compositor’s job is to assemble the different characters and back-
grounds into single frames and sequences and so is often the first to begin to see the anima-
tion as intended for the final audience. The compositing stage also allows for the addition
of other elements such as special effects which have been created using other equipment and
processes.
General compositing tasks include rendering the different passes delivered by a lighting de-
partment to form the final shot, paint fixes and rotoscoping (although compositors sometimes
rely on mattes created by a dedicated rotoscoping department), as well as the compositing of
final elements and general colour grading.
Editing
The editing stage of post-production involves putting the rendered pieces of our animation
together in the correct order of events. In this modern digital age this means the use of digital
non-linear video editing software which allows a great deal of flexibility in the editing pro-
cess. In the past the editing process would have involved the use of video-tape or film-based
methods which were considerably more time-intensive and less flexible.
Digital editing offers the benefit of being able to work in a completely digital environment re-
gardless of the final output format. One benefit of digital editing is that it is achievable using
any latest desktop computer.
Editing is a crucial step in making sure the video flows in a way which achieves the initial
goal. Video editing is the process of manipulating and rearranging shots to create a seamless
final product, and it is at this stage that any unwanted footage and scenes are removed. Other
tasks include titling and adding any effects to the final video and text.
Post-production sound editing primarily involves preparing the sound track for import into
the video editing software, this may involve adjustments to the sequence or occurrence of
particular sounds due to changes made in the editing stage. Editing the Sound track can be
a separate process to editing the video track, although these are combined together within
the video editing software. The sound track at this stage is already assembled in a fairly com-
plete form having been created in the Production stage. Many sound changes may take place
simply within the Video Editing software itself and may not require much, if any, changes to
made within the Sound Editing software. Editing Assistants support the Editor and editing
department in editing process. They make viewing copies on different formats for various
departments, clients and composers. They handle the housekeeping tasks for the editing de-
partment, keeping it stocked with relevant materials, ensuring that all equipment is in good
Session 4 | Post-Production
30
working order and placing orders with outside suppliers.
Sound and Music Score
The sound and music score or soundtrack, is an important part of the animation production
process. The use of audio, such as music, sound effects and vocal dialogue all play a big part
in telling the story. Altering the type of sound used, particularly the choice of music or back-
ground ambience will have an effect on the mood of an animation. The editing department
is responsible for selecting and assembling the sound recordings in preparation for the final
sound mix, ensuring lip sync and adding all of the sound effects required for the final film.
Titles and Credits

Titles and Credits are an important part of a finished animation. It helps in people know who
made it, when it was made, who funded the project and so on. This may involve adding text
or subtitles at various points if appropriate.
Exercise
1. Observe 20 different images of before and after composited and edited scenes, given by the
instructor. List your observations, with rationale, for each image.

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Assessment
1. What is Post-production?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. What is compositing?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. What is editing?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
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Part A
1. Sound editing and video editing
Part B
1. What is the purpose of compositing?

2. Why video and sound editing is required to make a movie?
Part C

Demonstrate the knowledge of post-production procedure
Demonstrate knowledge of compositing, sound and video editing

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Glossary
1. Angle of View -The viewable field covered by a lens, measured indegrees.
2. Animatics - A preliminary version of a television commercial in which animated cut-out

figures are used instead of live participants and real objects.
3. Animation -The process of creating a progressively altering image that gives the appear-
ance of continuous motion.
4. Compositing -The process of combining multiple elements shot separately (still images,
movie clips) into a final image or sequence to give the impression they were all shot at the
sometime.
5. Effects animation -The animation of non-character elements such as explosions, smoke

and rain.
6. High definition (HD) -A general term for a video signal with a significantly higher reso-
lution than standard definition.
7. Layout- The art or process of arranging printed or graphic matter on a page.
8. Model sheets - Model sheets are also used for references in 3D modelling. It usually is
used as reference material so as to allow proper proportions in 3Dmodelling.
9. Story Boarding - A panel or series of panels of rough sketches outlining the scene se-
quence and major changes of action or plot in a production to be shot on film or video.
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Suggested Reading
Books
1. Inspired 3D Short Film Production by Jeremy Cantor, Pepe Valencia

2. Production Pipeline Fundamentals for Film and Games by Renee Dunlop
3. Guide to Postproduction for TV and Film: Managing the Process by Barbara Clark, Su-
sanSpohr
4. The Art and Science of Digital Compositing, Second Edition: Techniques for Visual
Effects, Animation and Motion Graphics (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer
Graphics) by Ron Brinkmann
5. Digital Compositing for Film and Video by Steve Wright
6. The Technique of Film and Video Editing: History, Theory, and Practice by KenDancy-
ger
Websites
1. http://www.wideopenspace.co.uk/animation-tutorial/s6-how-to-guide.html
2. http://cgi.tutsplus.com/articles/step-by-step-how-to-make-an-animated-movie--cg-3257
3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~fabio/teaching/projects10/lectures/01_pipeline.pdf
4. http://creativeskillset.org/
5. http://www.animationmagazine.net/
6. http://www.awn.com/
7. http://www.animationnation.com/
8. http://www.creativebloq.com/3d-world-magazine
9. http://blog.digitaltutors.com/understanding-a-3d-production-pipeline-learning-the-ba-
sics/
10. https://bigcostas.wordpress.com/3d-production-pipeline/
11. http://3d.about.com/od/3d-101-The-Basics/tp/Introducing-The-Computer-Graph-
ics-Pipeline.htm
12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-production
13. http://www.raindance.org/the-13-steps-of-post-production/
14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_editing

35
List of Contributors
Subject Experts
1. Mr. Suman Mondal, BJ 10, Sector 2, Near Tank No 7, Salt Lake City, Kolkata-700091
2. Mr. Atanu Moitra, BJ 10, Sector 2, Near Tank No 7, Salt Lake City, Kolkata -700091
3. Dr. Sreeparna Roychoudhury, BJ 10, Sector 2, Near Tank No 7, Salt Lake City,
Kolkata-700091
4. Ms. Shampa Chatterjee, BJ 10, Sector 2, Near Tank No 7, Salt Lake City,
Kolkata -700091
5. Ms. Paramita Pal, 4/1, Bibeknagar, Garfa, Jadavpur,Kolkata-700075
6. Ms. Sukanya Mitra, C/O Padma Saha, 2/59 Azadgarh,Kolkata-700040
7. Ms. Nisha Nair, 105/B, Ground Floor, Kankulia Road, Golpark, Gariahat,
Kolkata-700029
8. Ms Soumya Chakroborty, 126 B, Diamond Harbour Road,Kolkata-700060
Reviewers
1. Prof. (Dr.) Vinay Swarup Mehrotra, Head, Curriculum Development and Evaluation
Centre and National Skills Qualifications Framework Cell, PSSCIVE, NCERT,
Shyamla Hills, Bhopal – 462013
2. Prof. (Dr.) Asfa M Yasin, Head, International Relations Division, PSSCIVE, NCERT,
Shyamla Hills, Bhopal – 462013
3. Dr. Asmita Khajanchee, Associate Professor,Dept. of Electronic Media, National
Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training & Research, Shamla Hills,
Bhopal - 462 002(M.P.)
4. Shri Akhilesh Rajput, Director, Maya Academy of Advance Cinematic (MAAC)
Center,Bhopal
Resource Persons
1. Mr. Santanu Bhattacharjee, Director, M/s Technable Solutions Pvt. Ltd.,Kolkata

2. Ms. Juthika Sarkar, 108, PurbaSinthee Bye Lane, Natun Bazar, Maidanpally, Dum
Dum, Kolkata- 700030, WestBengal
UNIT 2 :
BASICS OF VIDEO
AND
SOUND EDITING
38
Table of Contents
Preface 43
Acknowledgement 44
About your workbook 45
Unit 2: Basics of video and sound editing 46
Glossary 83

39
Acknowledgements
Education, Delhi

• Dr. Biswajit Saha, Director (Skill Education), Central Board of Secondar
Education, Delhi
Education, Delhi
Education, Delhi
Coordinator:
Book Redesign Team:

course content.
41
About Your Workbook

The student workbook contains sessions which will help you to acquire relevant knowledge and skills
(generic and domain-specific skills) related to the job role. Each session is small enough to be easily
tackled and digested by you before you move on to the next session. Animated pictures and photo-
graphs have been included to bring about visual appeal and to make the text lively and interactive for
you. You can also try to create your own illustrations using your imagination or taking the help of
your teacher.
Let us now see what the sections in the sessions have for you.
Section1: Introduction
This section introduces you to the topic of the Unit. It also tells you what you will learn through the
various sessions covered in the Unit.
This section provides you with the relevant information on the topic(s) covered in the session. The
knowledge developed through this section will enable you to perform certain activities. You should
read through the information to develop an understanding on the various aspects of the topic before
you complete the exercise(s).
Section 3: Exercise
Each session has exercises, which you should complete on time. You will perform the activities in
the classroom, at home or at the workplace. The activities included in this section will help you to
develop necessary knowledge, skills and attitude that you need for becoming competent in performing
the tasks at workplace. The activities should be done under the supervision of your teacher or trainer
who will guide you in completing the tasks and also provide feedback to you for improving your per-
formance.
The review questions included in this section will help you to check your progress. You must be able
to answer all the questions before you proceed to the next session.
42
Table of Contents
Introduction 49
Session 1: Introduction to adobe premiere pro 50
Session 2: Editing video 56
Session 3: Introduction to adobe sound booth 63
Session 4: Editing sound 72

43
Introduction
Like any other skill, editing has some basic rules that help us to understand what the filmmaker
and editor wants to say. Take some time to study films and TV so you can learn these. What you
add to the image and sound after it is filmed can hugely influence a film. You must have noticed
in movies that tension is indicated by music and close up shots on actors. Different camera angles
break the scene down and make it interesting by leading the viewer ‘s eye to what is important.
The way you cut between these, i.e., fast or slow, is also telling the audience more information
about the story. The editors can alter everything about the film with their skills.
Understanding modern techniques of editing is the key to the success of the film, if your audi-
ence is to follow what you mean with your edits. Watch lots of movies and examine how cuts
are made. How do scenes end, what does a cut to black signify or a slow dissolve mean? Edit-
ing styles can alter the feel of your film. Short snappy cuts give the film a tense, fast pace. Long
gaps between cuts allow time for the audience to relax into the scenes. Clever editing can create
illusions; just the sound of a helicopter creates the illusion that there really is a helicopter just out
of shot. Editing can also help smooth over problems; you can edit around a difficult interview
by cutting out bits. If you need to show more than one aspect of a scene, you can film the scene
several times from different angles and in the edit cut between those angles.
Montage is the principle underlying all editing. The audience is trying to interpret your film as
they watch, create meanings from the images and sounds you play them. If for example, you put
together a politician ‘s speech without sound, followed by images of war, then the politician is
assumed to be talking about war. Montage creates a new meaning from two independent images.
Similarly, you can lead the audience this way, show separate images of two people walking down
a street and the audience will assume the two will eventually meet.
In this Unit, you will learn about the working procedure of a video editing software known as
Adobe Premiere Pro and a sound editing software known as Adobe Sound Booth.
44
Session 1
Introduction to
Adobe PremierePro
In this session you will learn about the use of tool box of Adobe Premiere Pro.
Relevant Knowledge
Adobe Premiere Pro is a video editing software that can capture, edit, perform special effects,
add graphics and titles, all the way to final production. Using the Adobe Premier Pro you will
learn a series of steps for creating, editing and fine-tuning various video pieces.
About Workspaces
When you work with Adobe Premier Pro, it presents a virtual workspace on the screen. You
can move windows around, close some items and open others.
To begin, start by launching Adobe Premier Pro, Click Start All Programs Adobe Premier
Pro, then click on the New Project.
Adobe video and audio applications provide a consistent, customizable workspace. Although
each application has its own set of panels (such as Tools, Properties, Timeline, and so on),
you move and group panels in the same way across products.
The main window of a program is the application window. Panels are organized in this win-
dow in an arrangement called a workspace. The default workspace contains groups of panels
as well as panels that standalone.
You customize a workspace by arranging panels in the layout that best suits your working
style. You can create and save several custom workspaces for different tasks—for example,

45
one for editing and one for previewing.
You can drag panels to new locations, move panels into or out of a group, place panels along-
side each other, and undock a panel so that it floats in a new window above the application
window. As you rearrange panels, the other panels resize automatically to fit the window.
You can use floating windows to create a workspace more like those in previous versions of
Adobe applications, or to place panels on multiple monitors.
Example of Workspace
A. Application window
B. Grouped panels
C. Individual panel
Tools
The Tools panel contains a number of tools for editing sequences in the Timeline panel.
When you select a tool, the pointer changes shape according to the selection. For example,
when you select the Razor tool and position the pointer over a clip in the Timeline panel,
the icon changes to a razor. However, the Selection tool icon may change to reflect the task
currently being performed. In some cases, pressing a modifier key (such as Shift) as you
use a tool changes its function, and its icon changes accordingly. Select tools from the Tools
panel, or use a keyboard shortcut. You can resize the Tools panel and orient it vertically or
horizontally.
Note: The Selection tool is the default tool. It is used for everything other than specialized
Session 1 | Introduction to Adobe PremierePro

46
functions. If the programme is not responding as you expect, make sure that the Selection
tool is selected.
Toolbox
A. Selection tool
B. Track Selection tool
C. Ripple Edit tool
D. Rolling Edit tool
E. Rate Stretch tool
F. Razor tool
G. Slip tool
H. Slide tool
I. Pen tool
J. Hand tool
K. Zoom tool
About Projects
Every project includes a Project panel. This acts as a storage area for all files used in the proj-
ect. You can organize a project’s media and sequences using bins in the Project panel.
Within a single project file, you can edit individual segments as separate sequences, and then
combine the segments into a finished programme by nesting them in a longer sequence. Sim-
ilarly, you can store multiple variations of a sequence in the same project.
Note: There’s no need to save copies of a project when creating different segments or versions
of the same video programme. Simply create new or duplicate sequences within a single
project file.
Adobe Premiere Pro does not store video, audio, or still image files in the project file—it
stores only a reference to each of these files based on its filename and location at the time you
imported it. If you later move, rename, or delete a source file, Adobe Premiere Pro cannot
find it automatically the next time you open the project. In this case, Adobe Premiere Pro
displays the Where Is The File dialog box.
Create a Project
In most cases, you can start a project simply by using one of the presets provided in the New
Project dialog box. The presets included with Adobe Premiere Pro include common project
types. Preserve editing quality by using a preset that conforms to the specifications of your
original assets. For example, if your project uses footage mostly in DV format, use a DV pre-
set. If you need to specify lower quality settings for output (such as streaming web video), do

47
not change your project settings—instead, change your export settings later.
If your computer has a capture card compatible with Adobe

Premiere Pro, its own optimized presets may appear in the available Presets list.
The project settings must be correct when you create the project file. Once a project is creat-
ed, some project settings, such as the time base settings, are locked. This prevents unwanted
inconsistencies that could result from changing project settings later.
Either choose New Project on the Welcome screen that appears when Adobe Premiere Pro
starts up or, after the application is open, choose File > New > Project.
Do one of the following:
To apply a preset, select it from the Available Presets list.
To customize settings, choose the preset that most closely matches your source footage, click
Custom Settings, and then select your specific project settings. For Location, specify where
you want to store the project ondisk.
Type the name of the project, and then click OK.
Note: Whenever possible, specify a location and name that you will not have to change later.
By default, Adobe Premiere Pro stores rendered previews, conformed audio files, and cap-
tured audio and video in the folder where you store the project. Moving a project file later
may require moving its associated files as well.
Exercise
1. Open the interface of Adobe Premiere and try to understand the workspace. Practice use
of tools on saved projects. Write a report on your understanding of the features.

48
Assessment
I. Short answer questions
1. What is Workspace?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. Name the editing Tools of Adobe PremierPro

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. Describe the procedure for creating a project in Adobe PremierPro

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
II. Fill in the blanks

1. Montage is the principle underlying all ___________________, as it creates a new meaning
from two independent images.
2. Adobe video and audio applications provide a consistent, customizable ___________.
3. The default workspace in Adobe Premier Pro contains groups of panels as well as panels
that __________ alone.
4. You customize a workspace by arranging ____________ in the layout that best suits your
working style.
5. You can ________ panels to new locations, move panels into or out of a group, place
panels alongside each other, and undock a panel so that it floats in a new window above the
application window.
6. The ________ panel contains a number of tools for ______ sequences.

49
7. Every project in Adobe Premier Pro includes a _________ panel. This acts as a storage
area for all files used in the project.
8. Adobe Premiere Pro does not _________ video, audio, or still image files in the project
file—it stores only a reference to each of these files based on its filename and location at the
time you import edit.

Part A
1. Grouped panels and Individual panel

2. Different tools of Adobe PremierPro
Part B
1. Workspace
2. Creating a project on Adobe PremierPro
Part C
Performance Standards

Demonstrated the knowledge of using workspace on Adobe Premier Pro
Demonstrated the knowledge of the various tools in the Tool Box of Adobe
Premier Pro
Created a project in Adobe Premier Pro

50
Session 2
EditingVideo
In this session, you will learn about how to edit the video.
Relevant Knowledge
Editing Workflow
You create your project in Adobe Premiere Pro by assembling clips into a sequence. The
workflow you choose depends on your preferences and the needs of your project. Here is a
common editing workflow:
1. View and trim source clips in the Source Monitor

Use the Source Monitor to view clips that you have captured and added to your project. As
you view the clips, you can set In and Out points for the portion of each clip that you want
to use in the sequence.
2. Assemble clips into a sequence

Drag each clip individually to the Timeline panel, or automatically assemble clips selected in
the Project panel. As you add individual clips, you can decide whether to add video, audio,
or both to your sequence.
3. Retrim clips in a sequence

If you did not set precise In and Out points for a clip, or you decide to change them, you can
retrim the clips in a Sequence tab of the TimeLine panel.
4. Adjust clip attributes if necessary

As you assemble your sequence, you may want to change the duration or the speed at which
the clip plays.

51
5. Rearrange clips
After clips are placed in the Timeline panel, you can rearrange how they appear in the se-
quence. You might need to split a clip to use different effects, or extract or move a clip and
close any resulting gaps in the sequence.
Source Clips, Clip Instances, and Sub clips
You can use clips as source clips, clip instances, sub-clips, or duplicate clips. You can edit all
types of clips in sequences in the same way. The clip types differ in the following ways:
Source (master) clip: The clip is originally imported into the Project panel. It is listed in the
Project panel only once by default. If you delete a source clip from the Project panel, all of
its instances are also deleted.
Clip Instance: It is a dependent reference to a source clip, used in a sequence. Each time
you add a clip to a sequence, you create another instance of the clip. A clip instance uses the
name and source file reference used by its source clip. While clip instances are not listed in
the Project panel, they are differentiated in the Source Monitor menu if you open instances
there. The Source Monitor menu lists instances by name, sequence name, and In point.
Sub clip: A section of a master clip that references the master clip‘s media file. Use sub clips
to organize and manage your projects, especially when you need to use only sections of long
master clips.
Duplicate clip: An independent copy of a source clip, which you create manually using
the Edit > Duplicate command. You can also create a duplicate clip by importing the same
file more than once. Unlike a clip instance, a duplicate clip maintains its own reference to
the original clip‘s source file on disk and exists as an additional clip in the Project panel. A
duplicate clip is not deleted when you delete its original from the Project panel. Master and
duplicate clips can be renamed independently.
Timeline Panel Overview

You assemble and rearrange sequences in the Timeline panel, which represents a sequence
graphically, showing clips, transitions, and effects. A sequence can consist of multiple video
and audio tracks running parallel in the Timeline panel.
Session 2 | EditingVideo
52
Timeline panel
A. Sequence tabs
B. Time ruler
C. Video tracks
D. Audio tracks
Each sequence in a project can appear as a tab in a single Timeline panel, or in a separate
Timeline panel. A sequence must contain at least one video track and one audio track. Mul-
tiple
video tracks are used to superimpose clips.
Sequences with audio tracks must also contain a master audio track, where the output of
regular audio tracks is directed for mixing.
Multiple audio tracks are used to mix audio. You can specify the type of audio channels sup-
ported by each audio track and decide how they are sent to a Master audio track. To achieve
even greater control over the mixing process, you can create submix tracks.
Navigate in the Timeline Panel
The Timeline panel contains several controls for moving through the frames of a sequence.
Time navigation controls in the Timeline panel

53
A. Current‑time display
B. Current‑time indicator
C. Viewing area bar
D. Work area bar
E. Time ruler
F. Zoom out
G. Zoom slider
H. Zoom in
Time ruler measures sequence time horizontally, using the counting method specified in the
project settings (although you may toggle to a counting method based on audio samples). Tick
marks and numbers indicating the sequence time are displayed along the ruler and change
according to the level of detail at which you view the sequence. The time ruler also displays
icons for markers and the sequence In and Outpoints.
Current‑time indicator (CTI) Indicates the current frame displayed in the Program Monitor.
The current frame displays in the Program Monitor. The current‑time indicator is a light blue
triangle in the ruler. A vertical line extends from the current‑time indicator to the bottom of
the time ruler. You can change the current time by dragging the current‑time indicator.
Current time display Shows the time code for the current frame in the Timeline panel. To
move to a different time, click in the time display and enter a new time, or place the pointer
over the display and drag left or right. You can change the display between time code and the
simple frame count by Ctrl‑clicking (Windows) or Command-clicking (Mac OS) the current
time in either a monitor or the TimeLine panel.
Viewing area bar Corresponds to the visible part of the sequence in the Timeline panel. You
can change the size and position of the viewing area bar to quickly view different parts of the
54
sequence. The viewing area bar is located just above the time ruler.
Work area bar Specifies the area of the sequence that you want to preview or export. The
work area bar is located in the lower portion of the time ruler.
Zoom controls Change the scale of the time ruler to increase or decrease the number of
frames visible within the current viewing area. The zoom controls are located at the bottom
left of the Timeline panel.
Work with Tracks

The video and audio tracks in the Timeline panel are where you arrange clips, edit them, and
add special effects. You can add or remove tracks as needed, rename them, and determine
which can be affected by a procedure.
Add Tracks
New video tracks appear above existing video tracks, and new audio tracks appear below
existing audio tracks. Deleting a track removes all clips in the track but does not affect source
clips listed in the Project panel.
Note: You can add any number of tracks, limited only by your system‘s resources.
With the Timeline panel active, choose Sequence > Add Tracks.
In the Add Tracks dialog box, do any of the following:
To add tracks, type the number of tracks you want to add in the Add field for video, audio,
and audio submix tracks.
To specify the placement of added tracks, choose an option from

the Placement menu for each type of track added.
To specify the type of audio track you want to add, choose an option from the Track Type
menu for audio and audio submix tracks.
Click OK.
Note: An audio track can accept only audio clips that use the matching channel type—mono,
stereo, or 5.1. If you are not sure what kind of audio your clips use, select the clip in the Proj-
ect panel and read its information in the preview area.

55
Exercise
1. Import a video in Adobe Premiere Pro and edit it using tools, effects and transitions. Write
down the steps followed.
Assessment
Fill in the blanks
1. You use the Source _________ to view clips that you have captured and added to your
project.
2. After clips are placed in the ___________ panel, you can rearrange how they appear in the
sequence.
3. Clip ________ is a dependent reference to a source clip, used in a sequence. Each time you
add a clip to a sequence, you create another instance of the clip.
4. Sub-clip is a section of a ________ clip that references the master clip‘s media file.
5. clip is an independent copy of a source clip, which you create manually using the Edit >
Duplicate command.
6. A duplicate clip is not deleted when you delete its original from the __________ panel.
7. Master and duplicate clip scan be _____________ independently.
8. Each sequence in a project can appears __________________ in a single Timeline panel,

or in a separate TimeLine panel.
9. A sequence must contain at least one _________________ track and one audio track.
56
10. Multiple ________________ tracks are used to superimpose clips.
11. Time ruler measures sequence ______________ horizontally, using the counting method
specified in the project settings.
12. _____________ time indicator (CTI) Indicates the current frame displayed in the Program
Monitor.
13. The video and audio tracks in the ______________ panel are where you arrange clips,
edit them, and add special effects.

Part A
Differentiated between the following
Source Clips, Clip Instances, and Sub clips
Part B
Discussed in the class the following:
1. Editing Workflow
2. TimeLine panel
3. How to work with tracks?
Part C

Edited a video using common Editing Workflow in Adobe Premiere Pro
Listed the functions of Timeline panel in Adobe Premiere Pro
Demonstrated the application of Timeline panel in Adobe Premiere Pro

57
Session 3
Introduction to
Adobe SoundBooth
In this session you will learn about the various features and applications of Adobe Sound Booth
for editing sound.
Relevant Knowledge
Adobe SoundBooth
Before opening Adobe Sound Booth, make sure that all of your files are organized. First,
create a folder in which to save your sound (.wav) files as well as your Adobe Sound Booth
project file. This is your -project folder.|| Always keep a Sound Booth project file and its
associated .wav files in the same project folder. The project folder IS your project. If parts of
your project should happen to get lost (.wav files, for example) your Adobe Sound Booth file
may notwork.
Using the Workspace

Start Adobe Sound Booth. Unless you modified the workspace, the application should au-
tomatically open in the Default workspace. The upper-left corner of the default workspace
contains the Tools panel. The Tools panel contains the most frequently used tools in Sound
booth: the Time Selection tool, the Frequency Selection tool, the Marquee tool, the Lasso
tool, the Hand tool and the Zoom tool (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Tools Panel
Session 3 | Introduction to Adobe SoundBooth

58
In the upper-right corner of the interface is a Workspace pop-up menu. This menu contains
the Default workspace, along with two other preset workspaces, Edit Audio To Video and
Edit Score To Video. Choosing one of these different workspaces changes the panel arrange-
ment to suit that particular task. Choose Edit Audio To Video to see how the panels are
arranged in this workspace.
Figure 2: Workspace Menu
The Workspace menu contains options for creating new workspaces as well as deleting work-
spaces. To customize your workspace, you usually start by moving panels. To move a panel,
click the panel‘s tab and drag the panel to a different location. As you move the panel, purple
areas called drop zones appear where you can drop the panel and snap it into the interface.

59
Figure 3: Move the History panel into the Tasks

panel and drop zones appear where the panel will
be placed after you release your mouse.
When you are satisfied with the workspace, choose New Workspace from the Workspace
pop-up menu. Type a name for your workspace in the New Workspace dialog box and click
OK. Your custom workspace then appears in the Workspace pop-up menu.
Figure 4: The New Workspace Dialog Box.
Switch back to the default workspace by choosing Default from the Workspace menu.
Choose File > Open and open 1_1_0_Part2_I_2.wav. Open files appear in the Files panel.
The Files panel is located in the upper- left corner of the default workspace. The waveform of
the file also appears in the Editor panel in the middle of the workspace.

60
Choose File > Open and open 2_2_0_End_e_4.wav. When you have two files open, you
can switch between them by double-clicking the file name in the Files panel or choosing the
file name from the pop-up menu at the top of the Editor panel. Display the new file by dou-
ble-clicking the name in the Files panel.
Figure 5: Files Panel
Below the Files panel is a group of three panels: Task, Effects, and Markers. The Tasks panel
contains frequently used tasks, such as Auto Compose Score and Change Pitch, and Timing.
Choose Remove A Sound to see the task’s menu. Notice that the Editor panel switches from
the default waveform view to a spectral display of the audio track, which makes it easier to
remove specific frequencies from the sound. You can reopen the waveform view by clicking
and dragging the split bar downward.
Figure 6: The Remove A Sound task opens the spectral

display in the Editor panel.

61
The Effects panel is the next panel in the group. When you add effects, you are essentially
creating a set of effects that are listed in this panel.
The Markers panel allows you to add markers (known in Adobe Flash as cue points) at any
point in your sound file. This is particularly useful when you are exporting to Flash Video,
because this panel lets you embed event and navigation markers that can be read in Flash.
Figure 7: The Markers panel
Below the Tasks, Effects, and Markers panel group is the History panel. The History panel is
similar to the History panels found in other Adobe applications. It contains a list of all of the
actions performed since the file was opened. Click on an action to return the file to that state.
Press Delete to delete a selected action.
Figure 8: The History panel

62
The main panel in the workspace is called the Editor panel. You can switch between any of
the sound files you have opened by choosing the file from the pop-up menu in the upper-left
corner of the panel. The zoom navigator, is located directly below the pop- up menu and
provides a view of the entire waveform. You can use the main Editor window to zoom in on
just a range of the waveform in greater detail. To zoom in or out, press the + (plus) or – (mi-
nus) keys. To return to 100% view, click the Zoom Out Full button to the right of the zoom
navigator.
Figure 9: Zoom in on a portion of the audio track using the + and – keys
Click and drag over a portion of the waveform. Notice that a menu pops up allowing you to
increase or decrease the volume of the range. Click and drag the underlined number to the
right or left to increase or decrease this setting. Click anywhere in the Editor panel to deselect
the range.
Figure 10: Increase or decrease the amplitude of a

range by using the volume pop-up menu.

63
The Set Fade In <<icon> and Set Fade Out buttons in the upper left and right corners of the
Editor window allow you to set up fades at the beginning and end of the audio clip. Click and
drag the Fade In Point to the right to set up a fade in the beginning of the audio track.
Trim handles are located on either side of the Editor window. Click and drag the right trim
handle to the left to create a new end point for the audio track.
Figure 11: Drag the trim handles to edit the be-

ginning or end of an audio track.
At the bottom of the Editor panel is a numeric Time slider, Previous and Next Marker but-
tons, Stop and Play buttons, Loop Playback, Record Open Dialog, Fade In and Fade Out but-
tons, a volume adjustment feature for the entire track, and a Louder button to make certain
parts of the audio louder.
Try experimenting with some of these controls. When you are finished, you may have a bet-
ter idea about how to customize the Soundbooth workspace to best accommodate your own
particular workflow.
Figure 12: The Editor panel controls

64
Exercise
1. Visit an animation or sound studio and study the procedures adopted for sound recording
and editing. Also study the various equipment and accessories and the software available
with the studio.
Assessment
Fill in the blanks
1. In Adobe Sound Booth, the upper-left corner of the default workspace contains the
__________ panel.
2. The Tools panel contains the most frequently used tools in _________ booth, the Time
Selection tool, the Frequency Selection tool, the Marquee tool, the Lasso tool, the Hand tool
and the Zoom tool.
3. In the upper-right corner of the interface is a ____________ pop-up menu.
4. The _____________ panel allows you to add markers (known in Adobe Flash as cue points)
at any point in your sound file.

65

Part A
Different panels of Adobe Sound Booth.
Part B
Features and advantages of Adobe Sound Booth.
Part C
The performance standard may include, but not limited to:

Edited a sound track using Adobe Sound Booth
Tabulated a chart depicting functions of different panels of Adobe Sound
Booth

66
Session 4
EditingSound
In this session you will learn about how to increase or decrease the length of the range by clicking
and dragging the start and end points of the audio track. You will also learn how to edit the sound
track.
Relevant Knowledge
EditingAudio
Choose File > Open and open Interview.wav. This sound file is an excerpt from an interview.
You can see the waveform of the file in the Editorpanel.
Figure 1: The waveform of the audio clip is visible in the Editor panel.

67
Click the Play button <<icon>> at the bottom of the Editor panel to play the file.
This audio clip has some problems, namely the cell phone ringing near the beginning. These
issues are covered in the tutorial on screening and restoring audio. For now, you‘ll focus on
some of Soundbooth’s more basic editing capabilities.
The first important skill to learn is how to select a specific portion or range of the waveform.
To select a range, choose the Time Selection tool <<icon>> in the toolbar and then click and
drag across the waveform in the Editor panel with your mouse. Any changes you make are
applied only to the selected range.
Figure 2: Select a range of the waveform using the Time Selection tool.
Select a range and click the Play button <<icon>>. Notice that the clip starts to play from the
beginning of the range.
You can modify the selected range by dragging the start and end points in the time ruler of
the Editor panel. Move them closer together to shorten the range or farther apart to lengthen
the range.
Session 4 | EditingSound
68
Figure 3: Increase or decrease the length of the range by clicking and dragging the start and
end points in the time ruler.
Click the Loop Playback button <<icon>> at the bottom of the Editor panel to hear the se-
lected range repeat when you click the Play button.
Figure 4: Click the Loop Playback button to loop a

selected range when you press Play
If you have trouble making a very precise range selection, you can zoom in on the waveform.
To zoom in or out, press the + (plus) or – (minus) keys on your keyboard or use the Zoom
tool <<icon>> in the Tools panel. The Zoom tool works similarly to the Zoom tool in Adobe
Photoshop CS3. You click and drag on the area you want to zoom in on or click the mouse to
zoom in on an area. Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and click to zoom back
out. If you have a mouse with a scroll wheel, scroll forward to zoom in and scroll backwards
to zoom out
The zoom navigator is located at the top of the Editor panel. You can see your entire wave-
form, navigate through the time line, and zoom in and out on different parts of the waveform.
To navigate to a different area of the waveform, hover your mouse over the highlighted area

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in the zoom navigator until it switches to the Hand tool and then drag to the left or right. The
new highlighted area appears in the main window.
Figure 5: Hover over the highlighted area in the zoom navi-

gator until the cursor switches to the Hand tool and drag to
the right or the left to move to a different point in time.
Click and drag the edges of the range in the zoom navigator in or out to zoom in or out on
the waveform displayed in the main window.
Figure 6: Move the end points in the zoom navigator to zoom

in or out on the clip displayed in the main window.
To view the entire waveform in the main window, click the Zoom Full button <<icon>> to
the right of the zoom navigator.
After you select a range, the workflow is similar to having text selected in a word processing
program, that is, you can edit, cut, copy, paste it, and so on. To access these options, press
Control and right-click on the selected range, use the standard keyboard commands (for in-
stance, Control+X to cut), or use the Edit menu.
To delete a selected range, press the Delete key on your keyboard. Select 00:00:01.20 through
1.50 (this is the word drink when the interviewee says -energy drink company) and press De-
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lete. Press Play to review your edit.

Press Control+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Mac OS) to undo the deletion.
Select 00:00:07.25 to 8.75, where the waveform looks a little shorter. Press Play to hear the
interviewee say -When I first saw her arrive, I was…... This section of the waveform is short
because it is quieter than the rest of the clip.
Figure 7: Select the range from 00:00:07.250 to 08.750

To make the selection louder, go to the Volume pop-up bubble and change the underlined
number to increase the value and the volume or amplitude of the selected range (to about
+2.6 dB). Notice that while you are dragging your mouse, a ghost image of the modified
waveform appears in the window, showing you how the range will compare to the surround-
ing audio.
Note: Volume changes are measured and made comparatively, so the decibel value returns to
0.0 when you release your mouse, so that you can make further adjustments.
Figure 8: Drag the underlined numbers in the Volume pop-up bubble to change
the volume of the selected range

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Click the Play button to hear the difference the change made to the selected range.
You may have noticed that the same volume icon is located at the lower-right corner of the
Editor panel.
You can use it to adjust the volume of range, as you just did, or to adjust the overall volume
of the sound file.
If you are attempting to make the entire clip louder, consider using the Louder button
<<icon>> just to the right of the volume. The first time you click it, Soundbooth normalizes
the entire file, meaning that the entire clip is equally amplified. With each subsequent click,
the Louder button adds 3 dB to the clip, but also uses a hard limiter, which amplifies the qui-
eter parts of the clip more than the louder parts. This helps to ensure that you do not end up
distorting your audio clip.
Click the Louder button once to make the entire Interview.wav clip louder and then click it
again to amplify the quiet sections of the file. Notice that the Applying Hard Limit dialog
box flashes on the screen. If you are familiar with other audio editing programs, where you
have to change multiple filters and settings to achieve the same results, the Louder button will
seem like a real time saver.
Figure 9: Clicking the Louder button adds 3dB to the overall volume of the clip while
applying a hard limit to keep the sound normalized.
Press Control+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Mac OS) twice to return the clip to its normal
volume.
Another editing feature in Soundbooth is the ability to add fades to the beginning and end
of audio clips using visual markers. To do so, make sure the beginning of the waveform is in
focus in the main window of the Editor panel. Notice the black box located in the upper left
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corner of the window. This box is in the Fade In handle. Click and drag the handle to the right
to add a fade. Continue dragging to lengthen the fade. Notice that as you drag, the portion
of the waveform affected in the fade immediately shortens to reflect the decrease in volume
Figure 10: Drag the Fade In handle to the right to create a fade at the beginning of the clip.
Drag the Fade In handle down to change the curve of the fade line. This allows you to keep
the overall length of the fade, but the sound builds more drastically. Drag the Fade In handles
up to make the fade more gradual.
The Fade Out handle at the opposite end of the waveform works in exactly the same manner
Figure 11: Drag the Fade In point up to produce a more dramatic fade

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To remove a fade, drag the Fade In Or Out handle back to the beginning or end of the wave-
form.
In addition to fading the beginning and end of your sound files, you can also trim them using
the trim handles found in the centre of either side of the main window. Drag the trim handle
at the end of the audio clip to the left to remove the last few seconds or even minutes from the
clip. Drag the trim handle at the beginning of a clip to the right to trim the beginning of a clip
Figure 12: Drag the trim handles inward to trim the begin-
ning and end of clips
Save Your Work

Saving your work in Sound Booth All project-oriented editing programs such as Sound Booth
are taxing to a computer. This means Sound Booth can crash without warning and you can
lose all of your work. Go to–File|| and Choose-Save As. ||In the–Save As field, give your
project are levant name. Then, in the –Devices|| area, choose your thumb drive. Navigate to
and select your project folder. Your Soundbooth project file will be saved as an .asnd(–Adobe
Sound Document||) to this folder. Click
–Save.||
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Exercise
1. Start Adobe Sound Booth. Open a file and edit using various commands. Note your obser-
vations and the problems that you faced while editing the file.
Assessment
Fill in the blanks
1. While editing audio in Sound Booth, you can see the waveform of the file in the
_______________ panel.
2. To view the entire waveform in the main window, click the _____________ Full button
<<icon>> to the right of the zoom navigator.
3. After you select a range, the workflow is similar to having text selected in a word process-
ing program, that is, you can edit, cut, copy, paste it, and soon. To access the seoptions, press
_______________ and right-click on the selected range, use the standard keyboard commands
or use the _______________ menu.

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Part A
1. Fade in and fade out

2. Zoom in and zoom out
Part B

1. How to add fades to the beginning and end of audio clips using visual markers?
2. How to zoom in and out on different parts of the waveform?
3. How to select a specific portion or range of the waveform?
Part C

Edited a video using different editing commands in Adobe Sound Booth
Demonstrated the knowledge of fade in and fade out in Adobe Sound
Booth
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Part A
1. Title safe zone and action safe zone

2. Crosshair tool and the Zoom tool
Part B
1. Current time Indicator

2. Safe zone, Grids, Guides and Rulers
Part C

Demonstrated the knowledge of Current time Indicator
Demonstrated the knowledge of Grids, Guides and Rulers
Demonstrated the knowledge of time selection tool, the frequency selec-

tion tool, the marquee tool, the lasso tool, the hand final output

77
Glossary
Active window
The window in front of all other open windows, on a graphical user interface. For example,
the Internet browser window you are using to read this web page is considered the active
window.
Animation
A medium that creates the illusion of movement through the projection of a series of still
images or _frames’. The term is also used to refer to the techniques used in the production
of an animated film - in 3D animation, primarily those controlling the motion of the ob-
jects and cameras within a scene.
Animatic
A rough animation that is used by animators to give some idea about the timing of a se-
quence, used as a kind of animated storyboard.
Analog
Analog video and audio emit a steady wave of magnetic patterns that are interpreted as
video and audio to be transferred to magnetic tape for viewing.
Action
The scene description, character movement, and sounds as described in a screenplay.
Angle of View
This is calculated by the focal length of the lens and the size of the image sensor. The
35mm equivalents differ according to the sensor size.
Antagonist
A character in a story or poem who deceives, frustrates, or works against the main charac-
ter, or protagonist, in some way. The antagonist doesn‘t necessarily have to be a person. It
could be death, the devil, an illness, or any challenge that prevents the main character from
living – happily ever after.
Aspect Ratio
The ration of horizontal to vertical dimensions of an image. For example, 35mm slide film
= 3:2, TV = 4:3, HDTV = 16:9, 4x5 Film =5:4
78
Automatic Exposure
The camera sets the shutter speed and aperture for the correct exposure according to the
light.
Automatic Focus
The lens on the camera focuses automatically when the shutter is half pressed. The view-
finder normally has focussing points shown to assist the user in knowing what will be in
focus
Bitmap
The method of storing information that actually maps an image pixel bit by bit. Formats
include; .bmp, .pcx, .pict, .tif, .tiff, .gif. Most picture files are bitmapped
Bit Depth
The number of bits used to define the shade or colour of each pixel in an image, a_ bit‘
being the smallest unit of memory or storage on a computer. (One _byte‘ is eight _bits‘.) A
1-bit image is black and white. An 8-bit image provides a 256-colour palette. A 24-bit image
provides 16.7 million possible colours, a palette sometimes known as _True Colour‘. A 32-
bit image provides the same palette, plus an 8-bit grayscale alpha channel.
CD-ROM
It stands for Compact Disk Read Only Memory
Consumables
Items that need to be replaced such as toners, ink cartridges, paper,
blank disk set c.
CPU (Central Processing Unit)

A chip or chips on the main board containing the control unit and the
arithmetic/logic unit that interprets and carries out the basic
instructions that operate a computer.
Compression
A technique for reducing the quantity of data required to make up a
digital image. Compression techniques can be non-destructive
(_lossless‘) or destructive (_lossy‘), in which part of the data set is
discarded permanently. Converting still images into JPEG format is one
example of lossy compression.
CloseUps
For people this usually means the shot frames just the head.

79
Domain
The name of a particular Internet site.
Diskdrive
The device that operates (reads and writes) to the floppy disk, HDD, DVD and CD-ROM.
Driver
Operating systems and applications use a general system call to operate hardware devices.
The driver is a software routine that translates it into the specific instructions needed to
control the hardware device.
DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)

120mm optical disc with a capacity of 4.7 gigabytes.
DigitalVideo(DV)
A format for storing digital audio and video used by DV standard digital video cameras.
Dialog
Very simply, this is what people are supposed to say according to the script.
DigitalFilm
Quite simply a Solid state flash memory cards in place of emulsion film
Dolly
A small platform on wheels used for holding heavy objects, typically film or television cam-
eras. A mechanism on which a camera can be moved around a scene or location
ExtremeClose
They are much tighter close up shots in which you get detail greater than the human eye
might be able to normally perceive. An example of this shot might be of the mouth and
eyes together
ExtremeWideShots
They are act to establish the area.
Health and safety

legislation Service providers have obligations to ensure that reasonable steps have been
taken to ensure the health and safety of customers. Health and Safety legislation provides
for different responsibilities according to the products or services that the organisation is
offering.
80
Hardware
The physical components of the computer system e.g., Keyboard, mouse, speaker set c.
MediumShots
This is the most common shot and allows for hand gestures and motion.
Medium Close Up shots

It shows the subject in more detail and are often framed from just below the shoulders to the
top of the head.
Operatingsystem
An operating system or OS is a software programme that enables the computer hardware to
communicate and operate with the computer software.
Rhythm
It is the sequence that is repeated in a period oftime.
RGB
Colour represented as red, green and blue components. Most computer monitors use RGB
pixels to display an image.
Scene
An event that takes place entirely in one location or time.
Secondary storage
Hardware device used to record and retrieve data and instructions e.g. floppy disk, tape, CD-
ROM
Storyboard
A storyboard is a view of the workspace, showing thumbnails of the clips in a video editing
program. Storyboards also refer to sketches or descriptions of scenes to be shot in a movie
before production gets underway.
Timeline
A view of the workspace that focuses on the timing of your clips.
Tracks
Timelines are divided into horizontal sections known as tracks. Clips are arranged in various
tracks to adjust their timing relative to one another.

81
Wide Shots
It shows the entire person or area. They‘re great for establishing the scene and allow for good
action of the characters. Sometimes this is known as the longshot.
Zoom
The lens on a camcorder ranges from wide angle through to telephoto. Currently camcorders
come with anything from a 10x to a 22x optical zoom. All camcorders also have a digital
zoom which magnifies pixels.
Suggested Reading
Books
1. Autodesk Maya UserGuide.

2. DreamWorks Animation- Production Process
3. Adobe Sound BoothHelp
4. Adobe Premiere ProHelp
5. Adobe Soundbooth CS3: Classroom in a Book
6. Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 Classroom in a Book
UNIT 3 :
Basics Tools
and Techniques
of Animation in
Autodesk MAYA
84
85
Table of Contents
Preface 96
Acknowledgement 97
About your workbook 98
MODULE 1: Animation Windows and Editor 99
MODULE 2: Basics Tools and Techniques

of Animation in Maya 133
MODULE 3: Camera and Motion Path Animation 163
Glossary 188

87
Acknowledgements
Education, Delhi

• Dr. Biswajit Saha, Director (Skill Education), Central Board of Secondar
Education, Delhi
Education, Delhi
Education, Delhi
Coordinator:
Book Redesign Team:

course content.
88
About Your Workbook

The student workbook contains sessions which will help you to acquire relevant knowledge and skills
(generic and domain-specifics kills) related to the job role. Each session is small enough to be easily
tackled and digested by you before you move on to the next session. Animated pictures and photo-
graphs have been included to bring about visual appeal and to make the text lively and interactive for
you. You can also try to create your own illustrations using your imagination or taking the help of
your teacher.
Let us now see what the sections in the sessions have for you.
Section1: Introduction
This section introduces you to the topic of the Unit. It also tells you what you will learn through the
various sessions covered in the Unit.
This section provides you with the relevant information on the topic(s) covered in the session. The
knowledge developed through this section will enable you to perform certain activities. You should
read through the information to develop an understanding on the various aspects of the topic before
you complete the exercise(s).
Section 3: Exercise
Each session has exercises, which you should complete on time. You will perform the activities in
the classroom, at home or at the workplace. The activities included in this section will help you to
develop necessary knowledge, skills and attitude that you need for becoming competent in performing
the tasks at workplace. The activities should be done under the supervision of your teacher or trainer
who will guide you in completing the tasks and also provide feedback to you for improving your per-
formance.
The review questions included in this section will help you to check your progress. You must be able
to answer all the questions before you proceed to the next session
Module 1:
Animation Windows and Editor
90
91
Table of Contents
Introduction 102
Session 1: Dope sheet 103
Session 2: Animation control and interface 113
Session 3: Nonlinear animation 118
Session 4: Animation layer editor 124

92
Introduction
Maya animation provides you with the powerful tools you need to bring the characters and
objects in your scenes to life. These tools give you the freedom to animate any attribute of an
object and the control you need to successfully transform joints and bones, IK handles, and
models over time.
Graph editor, trax editor and dope sheet, these are the main animation editors in Maya. The
Dope Sheet is another animation editor in Maya that is similar to the Graph Editor. Instead
of displaying curves, the Dope Sheet displays key times as coloured rectangles and lets you
edit event timing in blocks of key frames and synchronize motion to a sound file.
Trax editor mainly helps the animator to do nonlinear animation. You can import and export
animation clips using trax editor.
In this unit, you will learn about the animation windows and editor.
93
Session 1
DopeSheet
In this session, you will learn about the pre- and post-infinity animation curves options change
rotation intern and dope sheet.
Relevant Knowledge
The Dope Sheet

The Dope Sheet is another animation editor in Maya that is similar to the Graph Editor. In-
stead of displaying curves, the Dope Sheet displays key times as coloured rectangles and lets
you edit event timing in blocks of keyframes and synchronize motion to a sound file.
In the main menu bar: Window>Animation Editors>Dope Sheet In scene view: Panels >
Panel > Dope Sheet (in Graph Editor window)
Session 1 | DopeSheet
94
Dope Sheet menu bar
Edit menu
Many of these menu items appear and behave in a similar fashion to the main Edit menu
in the scene view. However, as the Dope Sheet works directly with animation curves and
attributes, there are no hierarchy options available within the settings windows for the edit
functions.
Note: The Dope Sheet, the Edit > Keys menu selection, and Time Slider all share a common
keys clipboard. Keys copied or cut to the clipboard using one tool are available to the other
tools.
Undo/Redo
Undo cancels the last operation. Redo does the last undone operation again.
Cut: Cut removes existing keys from a selected attribute and places a copy of that informa-
tion on the keys clipboard. If a curve segment is selected in the graph view, this area will be
removed when you choose Edit>Cut. If no curve segment is selected, Cut will operate on the
item selected in the Outliner portion of the DopeSheet.
Copy: Copy copies existing keys from a selected attribute and places that information on
the keys clipboard. If you select a curve segment in the graph view, this area will be removed
when you choose Edit > Copy. If no curve segment is selected, Copy will operate on the item
selected in the Outliner portion of the Dope Sheet.
Paste: Paste adds keys from the keys clipboard to an attribute. Pasted keys can be merged
with existing keys, inserted at a time (displacing existing keys), or used to replace keys at a
time.
Delete: Delete removes existing keys from a selected attribute. It works the same as Cut ex-
cept it does not place a copy of the removed keys on the keys clipboard.
Scale: Scale operates on a selected range of keys, expanding or compressing the animation to
correspond to a new time range. Note that Scale will operate on the entire range of keys if an
attribute is selected in the Dope Sheet outliner and a curve segment is not selected.
Snap: Use Snap to force selected keys to snap in time to the nearest wholetime units. Use
Select Unsnapped to check for keys not at whole time units.

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Select Unsnapped: Selects all keys from the selected channel. If noob jects or attributes are
selected, it selects any keys in the View Area.
View menu: This menu controls the layout of the Dope Sheet view area.
Note: When framing the desired range, the Dope Sheet may scale the area with in the graph
view horizontally and vertically to display the desired range.
Frame All: Frame All adjusts the graph view to fit all animation in the window.
Frame Selection: Adjusts the graph view to fit selected animation in the window.
Frame Playback Range: Frame Playback Range adjusts the graph view to fit the playback
range in the window.
Centre Current Time: If you want to shift the view so the current time is in the middle of the
editor, select Centre Current Time from the View menu.
Auto Frame: This adjusts the graph view to fit the display when new curves associated with
a selected object are loaded into the Dope Sheet.
Note: Auto Frame works differently in the Dope Sheet than in the Graph Editor.
Dope Sheet Summary: This option loads the Dope Sheet Summary into the Dope Sheet
outliner.
Scene Summary: This option loads the Scene Summary into the Dope Sheet outliner.
Curves menu: The Curves menu items are functions for processing animation curves.
Pre and Post Infinity animation curves options

In Maya, animation curves are extrapolated outside the first and last keys of the curve. Curves
before the first key and after the last key will be flat (no change in value over time) unless
you set the pre and post tangent controls to anything other than constant. You can use these
options to automatically generate specific types of repeating animation.
Note: If you want to create editable animation of a repetitious or cyclical nature, you can
bake a channel with Infinity turned on.
Bake Channel: This operation calculates a new animation curve for an attribute using the
input nodes that contribute to its properties.
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Bake Channel is useful to:

• Edit a single animation curve instead of all the contributing attributes that affect the be-
haviour of a single attribute, for example, an object affected by a driven key or an Expression.
• Add keys to an existing curve
Change Rotation In terp

Let’s change the rotation interpolation type of existing curves. You can change the rotation
interpolation type only on rotation channels that have key frames on all three channels (ro-
tateX, rotate Y, rotate Z). In addition, because the rotate X, rotate Y and rotate Z channels
always share the same interpolation type, changing interpolation for a single channel such as
rotate X, will automatically change rotate Y and rotate Z as well.
Simplify Curve
Use this operation to remove keys that are not necessary to describe the shape of an anima-
tion curve. Excess keys may accumulate on an animation curve as a result of adding keys
manually or performing operations such as a Bake Channel. You may need to remove keys
from an animation curve to reduce the complexity of the graph view. You might also need to
provide larger spans for adjusting curve tangents.
Resampling curves
You can resample dense data curves with the Curve > Resample Curves option in the Graph
Editor or Dope Sheet. Resampling creates a periodic frame rate by placing keys at uniform
intervals.
To resample a curve, you select a sampling filter, which is an algorithm defining how the
keys in the curve are resampled. Tangent and curve values are ignored. The filter converts
animation curves with keys at either uniform or non-uniform intervals to curves with keys at
a uniform interval that you specify.
Tip: The resampling filters are designed to reduce the number of keys in dense data curves. It
may not produce the desired results when used on curves with few keys.
Spreadsheet: This menu selection lets you edit the attributes of the selected animation curves
in the Attribute Editor spreadsheet.

97
Non-Weighted and Weighted Tangents

Specify the tangent weighting for selected keys. The default setting is non-weighted tangents,
which provide simple handles for manipulating the tangent’s angle.
Weighted tangents represent the amount of in fluence a tangent has on an animation curve
segment. By turning on Free Tangent Weight, it is possible to simultaneously edit the influ-
ence and angle of the tangent quickly and intuitively. Users of desktop illustration packages
will recognize the familiar Bezier-style behaviour when in this mode.
Keys menu
• Convert to Key Converts selected breakdowns to keys.
• Convert to Breakdown Converts selected keys to breakdowns.
• Add in between Inserts an in between at the current time.
• Remove in between Removes an in between at the current time.
Mute Key
Mutes the selected keys. Keys that are muted do not contribute to the animation on their
channels.
When keys are muted, the following occurs:
A green symbol appears next to the names of the muted keys channels in the Dope Sheet
Outliner. Mute channels with keys appear under the muted keys channels in the Dope Sheet.
Mute channels have the same number of keys as the muted keys animation channels, and
their keys are positioned the same as those on the muted keys animation channels.
Unmute Key
Unmutes the selected keys. Keys that are not muted contribute to the animation on their
channels. Unmuting keys disables their Mute channels (indicated by the red x symbol next to
the names of the muted keys channels in the Dope Sheet Outliner) but does not remove them.
Tangents menu
Tangents describe the entry and exit of curve segments from a key. This menu operate son
the shape of curve segments around selected keys. Note that these settings affect only existing
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animation curves segments’ tangents.

Spline
Specifying a spline tangent creates an animation curve that is smooth between the key before
and the key after the selected key. The tangents of the curve are co-linear (both at the same
angle). This ensures that the animation curve smoothly enter sand exits the key. When ani-
mating fluid movement, a spline tangent is an excellent place to start. You use a minimum
number of keys to achieve your look.
Linear
Specifying a linear tangent creates an animation curve as a straight line joining two keys. If
the in tangent type is linear, the curve segment before the key is a straight line. If the out-tan-
gent type is linear, the curve segment after the key is a straight line. When animating the
colour of a heating element on a stove, you would
use linear to achieve that gradual change in colour from charcoal gray to burning hot red.
Clamped
Specifying a clamped tangent creates an animation curve that has the characteristics of linear
and spline curves.
The keys’ tangents will be splines unless the value of two adjacent keys is very close. In this
case, the out tangent of the first key and the in tangent of the second key will be interpolated
as linear.
When animating a skeleton in a walk-cycle, you may notice a slipping of the pelvic and foot
joint position. This occurs because the value of the keys on the curve are either the same or
close to (with in tolerance of) the value of the other. May a assigns default spline tangent to
describe what occurs between these keys. This is why you get the joint positions slipping.
By setting the tangent type to clamped for these keys, the slipping is corrected and the tan-
gents becomes a combination of linear and spline.
In the Maya environment preferences, clamped is the default tangent type.
Stepped
Specify in gastepped tangent creates an animation curve whose out tangent is a flat curve.
The curve segment is flat (horizontal), so the value changes at the key without gradation.

99
The light from a strobe light turns on and off. To create a strobe- like effect, you would use a
step tangent.
Stepped Next
FBIK animation keys use the stepped next tangent type by default. This tangent type differs
from regular Stepped tangents in that its interpolation values jump immediately to that of the
next key, rather than holding the value of the current key until the next key is reached.
Flat
Sets the in and out tangents of the key to be horizontal (with a slope of 0 degrees). When a
ball reaches its ascent, it hangs in the air for a brief time before starting its descent. You can
create this effect by using a flat tangent.
Fixed
Specifying a fixed tangent allows a key’s tangents to remain unchanged as the key is edited.
When animating a ball, you may find the ball isn’t falling from a desired height, yet its impact
with the floor and everything else is perfect. Using a fixed tangent lets you change the height
of the ball while retaining the tangent’s angle.
This process is useful when you want to:
• Edit a single animation curve instead of all the contributing attributes that affect the
behaviour of a single attribute, for example, an object affected by a driven key oran
Expression.
• Add keys to an existing curve
Plateau
Plateau tangents ease animation curves in and out of their key frames likes pline tangents,
but also flatten curve segments that occur between equal-valued key frames like clamped
tangents. The plateau tangent normally behaves like as pline tangent, but ensures that the
minimum and maximum values along a curve are all at keyframes.
Plateau tangents are useful when you want the positions of your keyframes to be exact, be-
cause they ensure the maximum and minimum values (‘hill sand valleys’) of the curve do not
100
extend past their key frames. For example, picture an animation of a ball rolling off a table,
falling to the floor, and then rolling on the floor. With spline tangents, the ball falls through
the floor, and then comes back up to the floor. With plateau tangents, the ball will not fall
through the floor. The tangents guarantee that your animation will not wander beyond the
values you key framed.
To do this, if a spline tangent would produce a minimum or maximum between wo key

frames, the plateau tangent flattens the keyframes in question. Keyframes at local minimum
and maximum points along the curve are also flattened. Finally, the first and last keyframe
along a curve are always flattened if they have plateau tangents.
In Tangent menu
It lets you specify a type of tangent for the In Tangent only. The In Tangent defines the type
of curve segment that comes before a key.
Note: You can also set the Default In Tangent for new keys in the Preferences window.
Out Tangent menu

Let’s specify a type of tangent for the Out Tangent only. The Out Tangent defines the type of
curve segment that comes after a key.

101
Exercise
1. Create a chain using basic polygons primitives.
2. Animate the chain showing follow through using dopesheet
3. Write a note on this exercise
Assessment
I. Answer the following questions
1. What is dopesheet?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. Write a short description on dope sheet menu bar.

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
102

Part A
1. Simplify curves and resampling curves

2. Pre and post infinity animation curves
3. Mute key and unmute key
Part B
1. The dope sheet and its uses

2. Dope sheet menu bar
Part C

Demonstrated their ability to composite scenes using dope sheets.
Demonstrated the knowledge of using dope sheet menu bar
Demonstrated simple exercises on spread sheet

103
Session 2
Animation Control
and Interface
In this session, you will learn about the animation control, time slider, different terms used in
animation and how to animate an object along a surface. An animation control is a window
that displays an Audio-Video
Relevant Knowledge
The Dope Sheet

The Dope Sheet is another animation editor in Maya that is similar to the Graph Editor. In-
stead of displaying curves, the Dope Sheet displays key times as coloured rectangles and lets
you edit event timing in blocks of keyframes and synchronize motion to a sound file.
Bake Channel: This operation calculates a new animation curve for an attribute using the
input nodes that contribute to its properties.
Interleaved (AVI) clip. An AVI clip is a series of bitmap frames like a movie. Animation con-
trols can only display AVI clips that do not contain audio.
Tool Bar
Session 2 | Animation Control andInterface

104
Animation Control
Between the Range slider and the Animation Preferences button are the current character
control features and the Auto Key button.
Time Slider
Click in the Time Slider area and drag left and right to “scrub” the animation back and for-
ward in time.
Range Slider
You can toggle whether the Range Slider is Displayed or hidden by selecting Display>UI
elements>Range Slider.
Animation Start Time sets the start time of the animation.

Animation End Time sets the end time of the animation.
Playback Start Time This shows the current start time for the playback range. You can change
it by entering a new start time.
Playback End Time: This shows the current end time for the playback range. You can change
it by entering a new end frame.
Range Slider Bar

This lets you control the playback range of your animation up to the limits of the Animation
start/end settings.
You use the Preferences dialog box to change values for the animation timeline and playback.
You can also set the total time for your animation, the size of the timeline, and other related
features.

105
Terms in Animation
Frame Rate
Frame rate is the first aspect of animation. By default, Maya sets your animation to Film,
which plays at 24fps.You use 30fps in the United States and 25fps in other countries.
Range
The range of an animation determines the total length in frames.
Then, multiply the animation’s length in seconds by the frame rate .For e.g. in this case you
are using 24fps and animation length is of 2seconds.
24 fps X 2 secs = 48 Frames
Setting Keys
You can set a Key by selecting Animate >Set Key. The attributes set by this menu item de-
pend on the set Key option settings.
Animation Types
There are following types to animate your scene.
Path Animation
In this method, you create a NURBS-based curve and then attach an object to it in your
scene. The object then follows the curved path to simulate motion. You can choose at which
time the object is positioned at any point along the path, so the object can reverse itself,
pause, or oscillate, if you want. The object automatically rotates from side to side as the curve
changes directions. If the object is geometry, it can also be automatically deformed to follow
the contours of the curve.

106
Exercise
1. Make a chart containing various 2D animation processes with some examples.
Assessment
1. What is Time Slider?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. What is Range Slider?

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. Describe the terms Frame Rate

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

107

Part A
Differentiated between time sider and range sider
Part B
1. The timeline and keys

2. What is time slider?
3. Animation control and interface
4. Non-linear animation
5. Toolbar
Part C

Demonstrate the knowledge and application of the time sider and range
sider

108
Session 3
Non-linear
Animation
In this session, you will learn about the most advanced non-linear method of animation,
graph editor component and trax editor.
Relevant Knowledge
Nonlinear Animation is a more advanced method of animation. Unlike keyframing, non-
linear animation is completely independent of time. You blend and layer animation sequenc-
es—called clips—to set up the motion for objects. You can also use this method to explore
variations in parts of the animation without losing your previous work or affecting other
parts of the animation. For example-you can make the walking part of the animation a clip
and then adjust the leg motion without affecting the way the rest of the character moves.

109
Graph Editor
The Graph Editor is a helpful tool for tweaking values for keys you have set. It gives you a
visual representation—a curved line—of the attributes that are animated. The animation
time goes from left to right, and any keyed variable appears as a line that ramps up or down
to indicate its value over time. It can help you visualize how things are changing and how fast.
You can pan and zoom this panel like any other.
To use it as a free-floating window, simply open it from the Hotbox (Window >Animation
Editors> Graph Editor).
Graph Editor’s Components

Menu Bar
The Graph Editor menu bar contains tools and operations for manipulating animation curves
and keys with in the graph view of the Graph editor. The Edit menu is similar to the one in
text editors or word processors, except that you’re working with keys instead of text.
The Edit Menu

The menu’s items appear under Edit menu behave in a similar fashion to the main Edit menu
in the modelling view.
The View Menu

This menu controls which components are visible, and therefore editable, in the graph view
of the Graph Editor.
Session 3 | Non-linear Animation

110
The Select Menu

These options control which component of an anima-
tion curve is available for selection and editing.
The Curves Menu

The Curves menu gives you control over how the
curves are set up with the keys in your scene.
The Keys Menu

This menu includes Tangents which causes the manip-
ulation of an in or out tangent handle.
The Tangents Menu

This describes the entry and exit of curve segments
from a key.
The List Menu

This menu Loads the objects.
Graphic Editor
The Trax Editor
The Trax Editor is a high-level animation tool that lets you select and control characters and
their animation clips, layer and blend animation sequences, synchronize your animation and
audio clips, and drag-and-drop animation clips between mapped characters. The trax editor
is an inbuilt component in Maya similar to a video editing software like Adobe Premier or
FinalCut There are many ways to get to the trax editor - In the Panels tab – Panels – Saved
Layouts – Persp/Trax - Windows – Animation Editor – Trax Editor

111
The Trax Editor window has four work areas:
(i) Trax menu bar: Contains character and clip or object and geometry cache clip related
options that let you perform all required actions for creating and editing your
animation or deformations nonlinearly.
(ii) Trax toolbar: Contains a selection of buttons that let you quickly access some of the
functionality contained in the Trax menu bar.
(iii) Track control area: Contains buttons that let you control the playback of each track’s
animation or deformations.
(iv) Track view area: Contains all the tracks, animation clips, geometry cache clips, and
audio clips for your loaded characters or objects.
Suppose you keyframed a character’s walk and you now want to turn it into a walk cycle.
You can create a clip for the keyframe animation sequence, scale and trim the clip to get it to
be the right length and to have similar start and end poses, and then cycle the clip to create
a proper walk cycle .If you wanted to change the walk cycle’s pace or rhythm, you can then
create a time warp curve for the clip, or if you wanted to turn the walk into a march, you
can manipulate the character and key in to the clip directly. You can do all this to the char-
acter’s walk sequence without destroying the original key frame animation because you are
working with clips.

112
Exercise
1. Open trax editor and import some animation clips
2. Edit the clips and manipulate them to get a required animation.
Assessment
1. What is trax editor?

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. Write a short description on visor and cliplibrary.

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

113

Part A
Differentiated between the various types of menus in Graph Editor.
Part B
Discussed in class the various windows of Trax Editor.
Part C

Demonstrated the knowledge and application of nonlinear animation
tools

114
Session 4
Animation Layer
Editor
In this session, you will learn about the Animation Layer Editor and Graphic Editor.
Relevant Knowledge
The Animation Layer Editor lets you manipulate animation layers and change the way they
blend together to create your result animation. It includes three main menus:
(i) Layers menu

(ii) Options menu
(iii) Show menu
The following table provides a brief overview of tasks using the Animation Layer Editor.

115
To... Do this
Create an animation layer for selected ob-
jects. Click .
Create an empty animation layer.
Click .
Change the animation layer mode. Right -click a layer and select Layer
Mode, then select Additive, Override, or
Pass-through mode.
Extract animation from selected objects in Right -click the Base Animation bar and
the scene onto a layer. select Extract Non-Layered Animation for
Selected Objects.
Re-order layers in the stack. Select the layer and -drag it to a new posi-
tion in the stack, or use the Move Up
and move down buttons.
Parent layers. Select the layer and -drag it on to the layer
you want as its parent.
Open the Relationship Editor to add and re- Select Layers > Membership from the menu
move attributes to and from layers. bar.
Delete layers. Select the layers you want to delete and se-
lect Layers > Delete from the menu bar.
Set a Zero key.
Click .
Set and key the layer weight at 0.
Click .
Set and key the layer weight at 1.
Click .
Animation Layer toolbar
Session 4 | Animation Layer Editor

116
The following table describes the buttons found in the Animation Layer Editor toolbar.
Zero Key Layer Sets a key on the animation layer with

zero offset from the original animation.
This can help you demarcate a specific
time range you want to edit on a layer.
Set Weight to 0/Set Key Sets and key frames the animation layer
Weight at zero.
Set Weight to 1/Set Key Sets and keyframes the layer Weight
at1.
Move Layer Up Moves the selected layer(s) up in the
Animation layer pane.
Animation Layer Editor menu bar
Layers menu
The Layers menu contains the following items.
Create Empty Layer

Creates an empty animation layer.
Create Layer from Selected

Creates an animation layer that (by default) contains all of the selected object’s attributes.
Create Override Layer

Creates an empty animation layer set to Override mode.
Create Override Layer from Selected

Creates a new animation layer that (by default) contains all of the selected object’s attri-
butes, and sets the layer to Override mode.
Create Layer Options

The Create Layer Options let you set which modes new layers will use. Select from the fol-
lowing options:
Passthrough (Override Only)

Sets new Override layers to Passthrough mode.
Rotation Accumulation By Component

Sets new layers to use By Component Rotation
Accumulation mode.

117
Rotation Accumulation By Layer

Sets new layers to use By Layer Rotation Accumulation mode.
Scale Accumulation Multiply Sets new layers to use Scale Multiply Accumulation mode.
Scale Accumulation Additive

Sets new layers to Additive Scale Accumulation mode.
Add Selected Objects

Ads attribute of the selected object(s) to the selected animation layer(s).
Add Selected Objects

Opens the Add Objects To Animation Layers Options, letting you add groups of attributes
to the layer. Select from the following options:
All keyable
Adds all of the selected object’s keyable attributes to the selected layer.
From Channel Box

It lets you add attributes selected in the Channel Box to the selected layer. When this option
is selected, you can select attributes in the Channel Box and use Layers > Add Selected
Objects to add them to the selected layer.
All Keyable Except

Lets you add all keyable attributes except attributes of a certain type. Use the list to select
which attribute types to exclude:
• Translate
• Rotate
• Scale
• Dynamic
• Boolean
• Enum
Remove Selected Objects

Removes all attributes of the selected object(s) from the selected layer(s).
Extract Selected Objects

Extracts the selected object from the selected layer and places it on a new layer. The new
layer is named after the selected layer, plus the suffix _extract.

118
Select Objects
Selects all objects in the scene that have attributes assigned to the selected layer(s).
Copy Layer
Creates a duplicate of the selected layer(s), containing all of the same attributes and anima-
tion.
Copy Layer (No Animation)

Creates a duplicate of the selected layer(s) containing all of the same attributes (and none
of the animation).
Merge Layers
Merges the selected animation layers.
Merge Layers
Opens the Merge Layer Options. Select from the following options.
Note
Several of the Merge Layer Options are the same as those in the Bake Simulation Options
window.
Merge To
Set which direction you want the merge to occur in the stack. Select from the following
options:
Top Selected Layer

Merges the selected layers to the selected layer that is highest in the stack. (The highest layer
in the stack is the ‘target’ layer, all other layers are ‘source’ layers.)
Bottom Selected Layer

Merges the selected layers to the selected layer that is lowest in the stack. (The lowest layer is
the ‘target’ layer; all other selected layers are ‘source’ layers.)
Layers Hierarchy
Sets whether child layers have to be selected to be included in the merge. Select from the fol-
lowing options:

119
Selected
Child layers must be selected to be merged.
Include Children
Child layers of any parent layer being merged are included, even if they are not selected in-
dividually.
Graphic Editor
• Supports many formats, including .ico, .gif, .avi, .cur,.ani.

• Preview your animations in real time while editing sprites - No need to stop working
to watch your animation!
• Use multiple layers to make drawing and editing your art easier!
• Onion skinning allows you to see both previous sand next frames while your draw!
• Output your animation frames on to a single sprite sheet, output each frame to it
sown image file, or export the entire animation as a single .gif file. Graphics Gale’s
export options are flexible enough to be compatible with any workflow.
• Create work from scratch, or use Graphics Gale’s TWAIN imaging support to
import images from your scanner, camera, or other TWAIN-supported devices.
• Graphics Gale also has many pixel-art specific features to help you create your
work quickly and easily, including palette control, selectively erasing colours,
and tools for quickly replacing and trying new colours.

120
Exercise
1. Practise to understand the working procedure of animation layer editor.
Assessment
1. What is layer editor?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. Explain the procedure of working with layer editor?

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

121

Part A
Differentiated between the various menus of the Animation Layer Editor.
Part B
1. Layer toolbar
2. Layer menu bar
3. Applications of animation layer editor
Part C

Demonstrated the knowledge and application of animation layer editor
Demonstrated the knowledge and application of animation clip editing

Module 2:
Basic Tools and Techniques
of Animation In Maya
124
Table of Contents
Introduction 135
Session 1: Timeline and key 136
Session 2: Key frames 141
Session 3: Graphic editor 148
Session 4: Creating a bouncing ball 155

125
Introduction
In this unit, we will discuss about the basic tools and techniques of animation in Maya. This
unit will teach you the fundamentals of the way Maya animates.
Time line and keys are the basic need for Maya key frame animation. Keys store a value at a
given time in animation. This time is measured in frames.
Most animations have 24 frames in a second, so, if at frame 1 there’s a key frame that says the
value is 0, then on frame 24 there’s a key frame with the value of5.
In the time-span of one second, that value changes from 1 to 5. The way this value changes
is defined by tangents.
The bouncing ball includes many aspects of animation, such as the path of action, arcs, mo-
mentum, timing, key drawings, in-between drawings, weight, speed, and the substance of an
object are included in this simple exercise. We will discuss about graph editor and bouncing
ball animation as the first animation in Maya.
126
Session 1
Timeline and Key
In this session, you will learn in details about Maya Time line. You will also learn about the
disadvantage of Auto keys and how to change settings in Maya Timeline.
Relevant Knowledge
The time line is where the bulk of the animation process’s takes place. This is where you
control the speed at which a movie element moves, when it enters and exits the scene, and its
depth, or stacking order, in relation too the relements in the scene. Here you are able to set
animation keys, scrub through the animation, and change the range of time in your anima-
tion. Notice the four boxes that comprise the Range Info. The two outer boxes (with values
1.00 and 48.00) are the start and end of your timeline. Think of these two numbers as repre-
senting the length of the whole timeline. The two inner boxes represent the start and end of
the current section of the timeline. Many times, you will only want to edit keyframes on part
of the timeline.
Keys
Keys store a value at a given time in animation. This time is measured in frames. Most ani-
mations have 24 frames in a second, so, if at frame 1 there’s a key frame that says the value is
0, then on frame 24 there’s a key frame with the value of 5. In the time- span of one second,
that value changes from 1 to 5. The way this value changes is defined by tangents.
Maya uses “key frames” for animation (weal so refer to the min short as “keys”). A key frame
is basically a marker used to specify an object’s position and attributes at a given point in time.
To set a keyframe on the ball at the current frame, select the ball and go to Animate→SetKey
(or just hits). A red tick mark should appear on the time line near the slider, indicating that
you have “keyed” the ball on the current frame. You may also notice that the attributes in the

127
Channel Box have turned pink, an indication that the object has been keyed.
Auto Key
Autokey automatically saves the changes you make to an object’s keyframes. If the current
frame already has a key, autokey will immediately update the key with your changes. If the
current frame does not have a key, autokey will automatically create a keyframe based on
your adjustments (this only works on objects with existing keys).However, be aware that with
auto key it is easy to accidently create stray keys on the timeline or make changes you did not
intend. Though it is recommended you do not use auto key before fully familiarizing your-
self with the animation workflow, you can enable it by clicking the icon below the playback
settings. It will appear as once turned on. You should make sure not to have “Auto Key” on
because any time you move or change something; it will automatically key it for you, which
can be very annoying if you are not trying to make an actual key.
Figure1 learn.ucbugg.com
Session 1 | Timeline and Key

128
Figure2 learn.ucbugg.com
An important thing to before even starting to create your animations is to make sure your
settings are correct in the options menu. It is very important to decide these settings before
you work
In groups to avoid problems when trying to merge projects together later on. We like to use
24fps for this course.
It is also good to generally keep the playback speed at “Real Time” so you can see what your
motion will look like in the end.

129
Exercise
1. Animate the translate value of a sphere using timeline and keys.
Assessment
1. What is key frame?

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Session 1 | Timeline and Key

130

Part A
Differentiated between key frame and auto key.
Part B
1. How to copy a keyframe?

2. Explain the importance of key line along with an example
Part C

Demonstrated the knowledge of keyframes and autokey in Autodesk
Maya.

131
Session 2
Key Frames
In this session, you will learn about the concepts of setting Key Frames and importance of
S keys.
Relevant Knowledge
When you set a key frame(or key),you assign a value to an object’s attribute (for example,
translate, rotate, scale, colour, and so on) at a specific time.
Most animation systems use the frame as the basic unit of measurement because each frame
is played back in rapid succession to provide the illusion of motion.
When you set several keys at different times with different values, Maya generates the attri-
bute values between those times as the scene plays back each frame. The result is the move-
ment or change over time of those objects and attributes.
In the following steps, you use key-frames to set the starting and ending positions of the ball’s
movement.
To set beginning and ending key frames

Click the rewind button to go to the start of the playback range. This change the current
frame to 1.
Select the ball, then select Animate > Set Key. (Keyboard shortcut: s ).
This sets a key at frame 1 for all transform attributes of the ball. Transform attributes are the
X, Y, Z move attributes. Although you animate only the translate X and Y attributes of the
ball in this lesson, keying all transform attributes saves you time having to choose specific
Session 2 | Key Frames

132
attributes to be keyed. In the Time Slider, notice theredmarkeratframe1,known as a tick. This

tick appeared when you set the key for frame 1. With the ball selected, ticks in the Time Slider
indicate where you’ve set keys.
Go to frame 72. A convenient way to do this is to click the desired position in the Time Slider.
With the Move Tool, drag the ball’s X-axis handle to position the ball at the right edge of the
ground as shown in the image below.
http://download.autodesk.com/
Set a key at frame 72. (Press s.)
1. Go to the start time and play the animation.

2. From the two keys you’ve set, Maya creates motion between the positions. By
default, the animation plays in a loop from frame1to72.The ball travels through
the fence at this stage.
3. Press the Stop button on the playback control to stop the animation after you view
a few repetitions.
4. You can drag the mouse back and forth (scrub) in the Time Slider to see the
animation play back and for that the speed you drag the mouse.
5. If you were to display the scene with Panels > Layouts > Four Panes, only the
active panel would show the ball moving.
6. To make the ball fly over the fence rather than pass through it, you need to position
the ball above the fence and set a key there.
To set inter mediate key frames

1. Go to frame 33 or so—at the moment where the ball sits in the middle of the fence.
2. With the Move tool, drag the Y-axis handle of the ball until it sits slightly above
the fence.
Tip: Throughout this lesson, tumble the perspective view or examine a front view to
make sure the positioning is correct.

133
1. Set a key. (Press’s.)
2. Play the animation.
The ball now flies off the ground, over the fence, and back to the ground in a smooth arc
between the keyed start, middle, and end positions.
Press the stop button to end the playback.

In subsequent steps, play the animation after each key you set. It’s generally useful to check
your work in progress after each key, especially when you are learning.
In the next steps, you’ll set keys to bounce the ball in the middle of the right half of the
ground.
To set key frames to make the ball bounce

1. Go to frame 50. At this moment, the ball sits in a position above the middle section
of the right half of the ground.
2. Move the ball so it sits on the ground.
1. Set a key.
2. Go to frame60.
3. Move the ball up again, but not as high as its peak height above the fence.

134
4. Set a key. When you play the animation, the ball travels over the fence and bounces
on the other side.
If you have a fast computer, you might notice that the animation plays too fast. By default,
Maya plays the animation as fast as it can be processed. Because this scene is simple, the an-
imation might play faster than the default film rate (24 frames per second).
Do not be concerned that the animation plays with a halting or jerky motion. When your
ender all the frames of your animation for final production, the animation will be smooth. If
you want to preview the animation at the smooth production speed (or nearly so), use Win-
dow >Play blast.

135
Key frames define “start” and “end” positions for an object and the computer fills in the rest.
A quick way to key an object is to select it and press S.

Pressing S will set all the attributes of a particular object. If you would like to set an individ-
ual key, right click the property in the channel box and select “Key Selected”.
When an object is selected, every frame that contains Key information for that object will
have a red bar in it.
For some quick and dirty editing of key frames, you can select them in the timeline by hold-
ing shift and click-dragging the mouse across your desired area. It will be highlighted in red.
At this point, you can move and scale the keys with the arrows. There are also options such as
“Delete Key” when you right click on the red area. Beware of scaling keys this way. If a key is
scaled and lands between frames, your animation will not be very precise since it rounds your
keys to integer values. A much better way to edit keys is through the graph editor.

136
Exercise
1. Animate the translate value of a sphere and add in between keys to make the sphere
up in the middle.
Assessment
Fill in the blanks

1. Maya creates motion between the positions. By default, animation plays in a loop
from frame 1 to ______.
2. Key frames define”___________“ and “end” positions for an object and the
computer fills in the rest.
3. If you want to preview the animation at the smooth production speed (or nearly
so), use Window> ____________________.
4. Pressing S will set all the attributes of a particular object. If you would like to set
an individual key, right click the property in the channel box and select “Key
______________“.

137

Part A
1. Translate and rotate
2. Scale and colour
Part B
1. Describe the word tangents?
2. How to set key frames to make the ball bounce
Part C

Set key frames to make the ball bounce

138
Session 3
Graphic Editor
In this session, you will learn about Graphic Editor and editing animation curves using
graphic editor.
Relevant Knowledge
learn.ucbugg.com
This is your graph editor. It displays all information about the selected object in graph format.
You define the “end points” of the movement, but how does the computer fill in the blanks?
Answer: curves. Because there are curves, you can edit their curving behaviour.

139
Here you can move keys, scale them; edit the curve tangents, etc. You can break tangents to
make sharp changes in direction (i.e., a ball hitting the ground).
To move around in the graph editor, you use the same controls as in the perspective view,
which are listed below just in case you have forgotten * Zoom: Scroll the middle-mouse
button * Pan: Command+Middle-mouse button * F: Focus in on the currently selected key
frames
To edit animation curves using the Graph Editor

With the ball selected, select Window > Animation Editors > Graph Editor.
learn.ucbugg.com
The Graph Editor displays several animation curves, one for each keyed attribute of the ball.
The animatable attributes for the ball are listed in the left column. Specifically, it displays the
attributes of the selected transform node of the ball.
Each curve graphs how an attribute changes value during the animation. The column of
numbers at the left represents attribute values that can be animated, while the row of num-
bers at the bottom represents time (frame) values. At each point on the curve, you can see
the value of an attribute at a particular time. The small black squares on the curves represent
points where you’ve set keys.
Shift-Select only the Translate X and Translate Y attributes in the left column of the Graph
Editor.
Now only the animation curves for Translate X and Translate Y appear in the Graph Editor.
This simplifies the display. With too many curves present, it’s hard to see specific curves.
When you use the Graph Editor, you usually focus on one or a few curves.
To centre the display of the animation curves, select View>Frame
Session 3 | Graphic Editor

140
Selection (in the Graph Editor window). If you want to see more detail in the graph, use your
mouse to dolly and track the graph view.
The green curve represents Translate Y, while the red represents Translate X. The colour of
each curve matches its attribute name. This colour scheme is consistent throughout Maya for
X, Y, and Z (red, green, blue).
learn.ucbugg.com
If you have never used a graph editor before, the relationship between a curve’s shape and
the animation it represents might be hard to understand. With experience, you will quickly
recognize how curve shape affects animation.
In the above graph, the straight curve of Translate X indicates that the ball moves horizontal-
ly across the ground at a constant rate overtime.
The wavy curve of Translate Y indicates that the ball increases its height steadily until frame
33, dips more quickly until frame 50, then rises and dips again until frame 72.
When the ball first bounces off the ground at frame 50, it seems to float and slip rather than
rebound. The shape of the Translate Y curve illustrates why. Near frame 60, the curve is
soft and rounded. The Translate Y values gradually decrease to the low point then gradually
increase. The transition from decreasing to increasing values is smooth.
The Graph Editor’s usefulness lies in the fact that you can edit the shape of the animation
curves to edit the animation of any keyed attribute. To create as harp bounce, you can edit
the curve so that the transition from decreasing to increasing values is abrupt at frame 50.
Specifically, you’ll create a corner at that key point rather than a rounded curve.
Select the point on the Translate Y (green) curve at frame 50. This causes a pair of tangent

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handles to appear at the point. Each end point of the newly displayed straight line is a tangent
handle. The handles let you control the curvature near the key point.
Animation curves have a few control structures for curve editing. You can do any of these
operations:
a. Use the Move tool and middle mouse button to move a key point. You can
alternatively use your keyboard to enter precise values for a selected key’s frame
and value in the boxes above the graph area.
b. Use the Move tool and middle mouse button to drag the tangent handles and
change the adjacent curvature.
(You can shift-drag with the Move tool to constrain a move operation to a single
direction.)
c. Use the Scale tool and middle mouse button to scale selected key points closer
together or further apart.
d. Use the Graph Editor’s Tangents menu items to change the adjacent curvature.
This is the operation you’ll use in the next step.
In the Graph Editor, select Tangents > Linear.
1. These changes the curvature around the key point from rounded to cornered. Specif-
ically, the setting you select specifies how the key point tangent handles lie at this key point.
This affects the type of interpolation between key points.
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2. Play the animation and you will see the ball bounce more sharply. To sharpen the
bounce more, you need to edit the positioning of the tangent handles to steepen the curvature
approaching the key point.
3. Select one of the tangent handles.

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4. Use the Move Tool and the middle mouse button to drag it upwards a little so you can
see the how the curvature at the key point changes. By default, when a pair of tangent han-
dles shares a key point, they work as a unit. Move one and you move the other in an opposing
direction. This is often desirable in an animation curve, because it ensures the curvature at
that point stays symmetrical. Symmetrical curvature often helps prevent unusual animation
shifts. In this case, however, you want to steepen the curvature’s approach toward the curve
point in the same direction on both sides. You therefore need to break the symmetrical inter-
dependency between the two tangents.
5. Undo your previous move of the tangent handle.
6. Select the key point at frame 50 (not a tangent handle).
7. In the Graph Editor, select Keys > Break Tangents.

This lets you move each tangent handle independently.
8. Select the right tangent handle and use the Move Tool to move it up a little. Do the
same for the left tangent handle? Be careful not to select the key point.
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This sharpens the bounce to simulate the effect of gravity and elasticity.

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Exercise
1. Use graph editor to adjust the timing and weight of the previously done animation.
Assessment
Fill in the blanks

1. The Graph Edit or displays several __________ curves, one for each keyed attribute
of the ball.
2. The Graph Editor’s usefulness lies in the fact that you can ____________ curves to
edit the animation of any keyed attribute. the shape of the animation
3. To create a sharp bounce, you can edit the curve so that the ________________from
decreasing to increasing values is abrupt at frame50.

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Part A

1. Tangent line and secant line
2. Tangent and slope to a tangent
Part B

1. What is graph editor
2. Describe the word tangents and linear.
Part C

Demonstrated the knowledge of editing animation curves using the
Graph Editor

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Session 4
Creating a
Bouncing Ball
In this session, you will learn about the representation of different bouncing ball. You will
also learn to use the middle mouse button.
Relevant Knowledge
We could easily go through each button and short cut, but it is probably best to explain how
to do things using an example.
You begin this lesson by placing in the basic key frames of the ball bouncing up and down.
Then, you progress to having the ball move from one side of the screen to the other. Next,
you layer in the rotations of the ball and end with the squash and stretch.
The bouncing ball exercise is a good place to start, because there arenottoomanycontroller-
stouseina3Dapplicationandbecause it deals primarily with basic movement. You should have
a good idea of what a bouncing ball looks like. Before beginning this exercise in Maya, it is
best to look at a 2D drawing of what a ball actually looks like when it bounces.
Take for example a bouncing ball. A rubber ball bounces higher and squash’s more upon im-
pact than a hard league ball. The ease with which an object squash’s and stretches defines the
rigidity of the material making up an object. We will be imitating a rubber ball.
First create a ball by creating a simply polygonal sphere. If you do not remember how to do
this, please refer back to the Introduction to Maya tutorial.
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You can change the view of the top panel to “side” view for the purposes of the exercise by
going to Panel > Orthographic > Side.
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To set the ball bounce, you can set three keys: high, low, and high.
You position the ball where you want (either by moving with the move tool or by changing
values in the channel editor) at the frame you would like (by selecting that frame on the time-
line) and then hitting “S” to set key. For this exercise, it is best to place the keys over as pan
of about 100 frames to have the ball move more slowly for viewing purposes.
Looking at the graph editor, we can see the curves made by the compute rare in correct! Balls
do not slow as it approaches the place it hits.

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This is better! Let’s see how we get our graph to look like this. As we see, the up and down
movement of the ball is determined by they-axis of the graph. We can view just this by select-
ing” Translate Y” in the graph editor.
We now must change the tangent angle of the low position. You do this by left-clicking the
bottom point and selecting the “Break Tangent” button. This will separate the tangent line
in two so the two sides are independently controlled. Select the end point of one side of the
tangents, hit the W key (for the move tool) and use the middle-mouse-button to change the
steepness of that angle. Do this for the opposite whisker. You can leave the two high points as
they are, or adjust the angle without breaking the tangent of those as well.
You can now try hitting the “Play” button on the timeline to see what your ball looks like.
We can take this one step further by adding a deformer to the ball to create the “squash and
stretch” attribute a rubber ball has. To do this, select “Animation” from the menu drop down,
go to Create Deformer > Nonlinear > Squash. Right now, the deformer is not attached to the
ball so if you try to change its values it will not do exactly what we would like. In order to
attach the deformer to the ball, we must first select the deformer in the out liner, command-
click the ball, then go to Edit > Parent in the menu bar.

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Now that we parented the deformer, we can see in the channel editor that the “squash” input
is now available by clicking “Squash”. If you select “Factor”, you can play with the deformer
in perspective view by moving the mouse while holding the middle-mouse-button.
In the first high position, we know that the ball will be (for the most part) a perfect sphere. At
the initial frame position, we should right-click “Factor” and click “Key Selected”.
Now go a few frames before the ball hits the low point and have the ball be taller.
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Once the ball hits the bottom, it will be squashed.
You can repeat the steps for the following side, just in the opposite order.
You may notice that because of the squash, our ball no longer touches the ground! We easily
fix this by going in to our graph editor, left clicking the point, hitting W, and then using mid-
dle mouse button to move the point down.
Your ball bounce should now look something like this. We can now do even cooler things
with the ball bounce.

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Exercise
1. Create a bouncing ball animation.
2. Create three spheres and animate them separately, showing different weight.
Assessment
Fill in the blanks

1. Tangent angle of the low position can be changed by ________-clicking the bottom
point and selecting the” _____________Tangent” button.
2. To create the “squash and stretch” attribute, adding a deformer to the ball is to be
done. To do this, select “Animation” from the menu drop down, go to Create
Deformer> ______________ > Squash.
3. Now that we parented the deformer, we can see in the channel editor that the
”_____________“ input is now available by clicking “Squash”. If you select
”_____________“,you can play with the deformer in perspective view by moving
the mouse while holding the middle-mouse-button.
4. In the first position, we know that the ball will be (for the most part) a perfect sphere.
At the initial frame position, we should right-click”____________“ and click “Key
Selected”.

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Part A
Differentiated between squash and stretch.
Part B

Describe the stapes of creating a bouncing ball.
Part C

Demonstrated the knowledge of creating bouncing balls through
animation

Module 3:
Camera and Motion Path Animation
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Table of Contents
Introduction 165
Session 1: Creating cameras 166
Session 2: Animating the camera 171
Session 3: Normal 178
Session 4: Creating a path animation 184

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Introduction
Camera and Motion Path Animation
In this unit, we will discuss about the creating and animating camera, normal and motion
path animation.
Camera animation is very important thing for an animation movie, because there is no sense
of making an animated movie with a static camera, as cinematography said.
There are exciting camera angles, cut and transition in a movie is of the same importance as
the animated character when animation is nothing but an art of good storytelling.
From this unit, you will learn how to use a camera according to a path, which will help you
to communicate the audience better.
There is also a session about path animation, which will help you to animate any object
according to a specific path decided by the animator. You can always modify the path later,
when required.
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Session 1
Creating Cameras
In this session, you will learn about the cameras and its functions. You will also learn about
the path animation.
Relevant Knowledge
Create > Cameras > Camera

There are three types of perspective cameras in Maya. As with Maya ‘slights, you can change
a camera to any other camera type in the Attribute Editor.
Camera
With this camera type, you see only the camera icon. In general, because this camera freely
rotates and loses track of its “up” vector, you should use it only when you’re linking the
camera to another object for movement and animation, or when you are placing a camera
in one fixed spot.
Camera and Aim

This camera includes a camera target and an aim handle for adjusting the camera target. In
addition, this camera automatically stays level in relation to the horizon, so it is the one you
will use most often. You can make this camera roll if you want, but by default, it stays level
except at extreme straight-up or straight- down orientations.
Camera, Aim and Up

This camera type includes two handles: the aim handle, described for Camera and Aim, and
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157
an up handle for banking (levelling) the camera. This camera type is useful when you want
to bank the camera during your animation.
http://www.expertrating.com/
Camera Settings
These are the key settings for cameras under the Camera Attributes section:
Camera Attributes
A camera’s attributes describe various properties of the camera, including angle of view, fo-
cal length, and depth of field.
Controls In this drop-down list, you can quickly select the camera type you want.
Angle of View and Focal Length: It controls the amount of perspective exaggeration. Rais-
ing the angle of view attribute lowers the focal length attribute.
Camera Scale: You can change the camera size in relation to your scene, which affects scene
objects when you render. Camera Scale is like a multiplier for the Angle of View setting. For
example, decreasing Camera Scale to 0.5 halves the camera’s view area, but makes objects in
the scene look twice as large.
Clip Planes: Only objects located within the values specified for the camera’s clip planes ap-
pear in the scene. If distant objects are not showing up in your scene, raise the Far Clip Plane
value. If nearby objects seem to be appearing in cross-section or not appearing at all, lower
the Near Clip Plane value.
Depth of Field Enable: The distance blurs with this attribute. It can be a render-intensive
Session 1 | Creating Cameras

158
effect, but yields a nice cinematic result because objects close to and far away from the focus
point are progressively blurred. You can view the calculated distance of the camera from the
object and apply that value to the Focus Distance for the camera to achieve Depth of Field.
Background Colour: The background fill colour for images rendered from this camera; you
can also use this section of the Attribute Editor to add an image or shader as the background.
Orthographic Views
Orthographic views are two-dimensional views of three-dimensional objects. Orthographic
Projection is a way of drawing an 3D object from different directions. Usually a front, side
and plan view are drawn so that a person looking at the drawing can see all the import-
ant sides. Orthographic drawings are useful especially when a design has been developed
to a stage whereby it is almost ready to manufacture. There are two ways of drawing in or-
thographic -First Angle and Third Angle. They differ only in the position of the plan, front
and side views. Below is an example of First Angle projection. You can create perspective
cameras, rotate them in to position, and then set them to orthographic to get a “flat” view for
projecting textures onto an object.
Path animation allows you to animate an object along a path specified by a curve. In this way,
the curve controls the motion of the object. With path animation, the motion for the object
is defined by its location along the path curve.
Path animation is useful for animating objects such as trains, boats, airplanes, and moving
cameras whose motion follows a set path. To animate an object to do this type of motion
smoothly with key frame animation would require you to laboriously create and edit many
keys for the motion. By having the object move along a curve, you can easily adjust the ob-
ject’s path by editing

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Exercise
1. Open one of your previously created scenes. Create a) camera, b) camera and aim,
c) camera, aim and up.
2. Make a chart differentiating the properties of these three camera options.
Assessment
Fill in the blanks

1. Attributes of camera include angle of _______, focal __________, and depth of field.
2. There are two ways of drawing in orthographic-___________Angle and Third Angle.
Session 1 | Creating Cameras

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Part A
Angle of view and focal length.
Part B
What are the camera’s attributes?
Part C

Demonstrate the use of camera settings and attributes in Maya

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Session 2
Animating
the Camera
In this session, you will learn about the process of animating the camera, parametric length.
You will also learn in detail about path animation.
Relevant Knowledge
When you first begin animating the camera, it helps to follow the rules of videography, such
as avoiding jarring camera motions— rapid pans, zooms, or rotations of the camera. In addi-
tion, you should usually give the camera the impression of having mass.
The virtual camera, by default, starts and stops moving instantly, which looks unrealistic and
abrupt to viewers. To avoid this problem, adjust the tangents for the camera position’s start
and stop keys in the Graph Editor so that motion begins and ends gradually. Do the same for
the camera’s aim point keys and any other animated camera attributes
Animate > Motion Paths > Attach to Motion Path
Places and links the selected object to the current curve. The current curve becomes the mo-
tion path.
Animate > Motion Paths > Attach to Motion Path >

Opens the Attach to Motion Path Options.
Start Time
Specifies the start time of the motion path animation. Only available when Start or Start/End
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in Time Range is on.
End Time
Specifies the end time of the motion path animation. Only available when Start/End in Time
Range is on.
Parametric Length
Specifies the method Maya uses to position an object as it moves along a curve. There are two
methods: the parametric space method and the parametric length method.
In the parametric space method, the markers represent positions in the U-parameter space of
the curve. In the parametric length method, the markers represent positions as a percentage
of the total curve length. The parametric length method is also known as the “fraction mode”
method because the evaluation of the path is based on a fraction of the length of the path
curve.
To understand the difference between the two methods, consider a curve that has uniform
parameterization and unevenly spaced CVs.
http://help.autodesk.com/
The curve above was created with five CVs and uniform knot spacing. The beginning of the
curve is at U=0.0 and the end of the curve is at U=2.0. The cone was animated with path
animation from time 1 to30.
If the path animation for the cone is created with the parametric length method, the cone will
move evenly along the curve from times 1 to 30.
If the path animation for the cone is created with the parametric space method, the cone
moves quickly from the first to the second CV, then slowly through the second to fourth CV,
then quickly again from the fourth to fifth CV. This is because the second and fourth CVs are
positioned at approximately U=0.5 and U=1.5 parameterization points of the curve. These

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points take up half the total parameterization of the curve.
In parameter space, the object moves smoothly from U=0.0 to U=2.0. In world space, there
is little movement of the object from (roughly) times 8 to 23, which coincide with the large
parameter distance that must be covered in the correspondingly small curve length.
The advantage of using the parametric space method is that if you have spent time adjusting
the timing of the object’s movement along the curve, CVs can be added to the beginning or
end of the curve without affecting the timing of the motion on the existing part of the curve.
The advantage of using the parametric length method is that it is easy to obtain smooth tim-
ing of the object’s motion without having to insert timing marker store fine the timing of the
object along the path curve.
Turning off Parametric Length selects the parametric space method. Turning on Parametric
Length selects the parametric length method
Follow
If on, Maya computes the object’s orientation as it moves along the curve. It is on by default.
Maya uses a front vector and an up vector to compute the orientation of the object. Maya
aligns the object’s local axes with the front vector and the up vector so that it knows how the
object should be pointing upwards and frontwards as it moves along the curve.
At any point along the curve, the front vector aligns with the tangent to the curve, pointing in
the direction of movement. The up vector is perpendicular to the tangent, but you must still
tell Maya which perpendicular direction from the tangent is the up direction that you want.
To do so, you specify a world up vector with which the up vector aligns. Use the World Up
Type, World Up Vector, and World Up Object options to specify the world up vector.
You need to tell Maya which of the object’s local axes should be aligned with the front vector,
and which should be aligned with the up vector. To view the object’s local axes, select the ob-
ject and select Display > Component Display > Local Rotation Axes. Next, specify which
local axis aligns with the front vector with Front Axis. Also specify which local axis aligns
with the up vector with Up Axis. Finally, you specify the type of world up vector (World Up
Type) with which the up vector itself aligns.
The world up vector gives you the ability to control what the up vector considers to be the
up direction. One benefit of this is that you can correct any sudden flipping problems as the
object moves along the curve. For example, you can have the world up vector be the local axis
of some other object such as a locator. You can then directly control the orientation of the
world up vector by manipulating the locator.

164
Tip: When attaching an aimed camera to a curve as a motion path, turn off the Follow op-
tion.
Front Axis
Specifies which of the object’s local axes aligns with the front vector. This specifies the front
wards orientation of the object as it travels along the curve.
X aligns the local X axis with the front vector, specifying the X axis as the forward-facing axis
of the object.
Y aligns the local Y axis with the front vector, specifying the Y axis as the forward-facing axis
of the object.
Z aligns the local Z axis with the front vector, specifying the Z axis as the forward-facing axis
of the object.
Up Axis
Specifies which of the object’s local axes aligns with the up vector. This specifies the upwards
orientation of the object as it travels along the curve. The up vector aligns with the world up
vector specified by the World Up Type.
X aligns the local X axis with the up vector, specifying the X axis as the upward facing axis
of the object.
Y aligns the local Y axis with the front vector, specifying the Y axis as the upward facing axis
of the object.
Z aligns the local Z axis with the front vector, specifying the Z axis as the upward facing axis
of the object.
World Up Type
Specifies the type of world up vector that the up vector aligns with. Selections include Scene
Up, Object Up, Object Rotation Up, Vector, and Normal.
Scene Up
Specifies that the up vector try to align with the scene’s up axis instead of the world up vector.
The world up vector is ignored. You can specify the scene’s up axis in the Preferences win-

165
dow. The default scene up axis is the world space positive Y-axis.
Object Up
Specifies that the up vector try to aim at the origin of a specified object instead of aligning
with the world up vector. The world up vector is ignored. The object whose origin the up
vector tries to aim at is called the world up object. You can specify the world up object with
the World Up Object option. If no world up object is specified, the up vector tries to aim at
the origin of the scene’s world space.
Object Rotation Up
Specifies that the world up vector is defined relative to some object’s local space instead of the
scene’s world space. The up vector tries to align with the world up vector after transforming
it relative to the scene’s world space. The object whose origin the up vector tries to aim at is
called the world up object. You can specify the world up object with the World Up Object
option.
Vector
Specifies that the up vector tries to align with world up vector as closely as possible. The
world up vector is defined relative to the scene’s world space. (This is the default.) Use World
Up Vector to specify the direction of the world up vector relative to the scene’s world space.

166
Exercise
1. Create a path and a basic primitive. Attach the object to the motion path
2. Animate the object through the motion path.
3. Create a new path and a low poly train. Follow the train with the path.
4. Make a chart and write down your experience of animating object through a motion
path. Note down the U values with respect to the time.
Assessment

1. What is parametric length
_____________________________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________________________________
2. Describe the terms: Object Rotation Up, Object Up, Scene Up

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
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167
_____________________________________________________________________________
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Part A

Object up and object rotation up
Part B
1. Object Rotation Up
2. Object Up
3. Scene Up
Part C

Demonstrate the knowledge of application of concepts and processes in
camera

168
Session 3
Normal
In this session, you will learn about the normal, world up vector, world up object and bank
scale.
Relevant Knowledge
Normal
A normal is a theoretical line, perpendicular to the surface of a polygon. In Maya, normals
are used to determine the orientation of a polygon face (face normal), or how the edges of
faces will visually appear in relation to each other when shaded (vertex normal).
Face Normal
The front of a polygon’s face is graphically represented using a vector called the polygons
normal. The order of vertices around the face determine the direction of the face (whether a
side of the polygon is the front or the back).For example, if you place vertices in a clockwise
direction, the face normal points downward. If you place vertices in a counter-clockwise
direction, the face normal points upward. When you shade or render polygons, the normals
determine how light reflects from the surface and the shading that results.
Vertex Normals
Vertex normals determine the visual smoothing between polygon faces. Unlike face normals,
they are not intrinsic to the polygon, but rather reflect how Maya renders the polygons in
smooth shaded mode. Vertex normals appear as lines projecting from the vertex, one for each
face that shares the vertex.

169
Normal in Maya are invisible unless you explicitly change your display settings to reveal
them. The easiest way to see which way a model’s normals are facing is to go to the Lighting
menu at the top of the workspace and uncheck Two-Sided Lighting.
With Two-Sided Lighting turned off, reversed normals will appear black.
Specifies that the axis specified by Up Axis will try to match the normal to the path curve.
The interpretation of the curve normal is different depending on whether the path curve is a
curve in world space, or a curve on surface curve.
If the path curve is a curve in world space, then the normal of the curve is the direction that
points to the centre of curvature of the curve at any point on the curve. This is best illustrated
by the arrows in the diagram below, which indicate the normal to the curve at various points:
Notethatthenormaltoacurvewillflip180degreeswhenthecurve changes from a convex to con-
cave (or viceversa) shape. This makes the Normal option for the Up Direction not very desir-
able when using a world-space curve in your path animation.
If the path curve is a curve-on-surface, then the normal to the curve is the normal to the sur-
face at that point on the curve. The Normal option will give the most intuitive results when
the path curve is a curve-on-surface.
Session 3 | Normal
170
World Up Vector
It specifies the direction of the world up vector relative to the scene’s world space. Because
Maya’s world space is “Y-up” by default, the default world up vector points in the direction
of the world space’s positive Y-axis (0.0000, 1.0000, and 0.0000).
World Up Object
It specifies the object the world up vector tries to align with if World Up Type is set to Object
Up or Object Rotation Up. For
example, you could specify the world up object as a locator that you can rotate as needed to
prevent any sudden flipping problems as the object moves along the curve.
Inverse Up
If this option is on, Up Axis tries to align itself with the inverse of up vector.
Inverse Front
Reverses the frontwards direction an object is pointing along the curve. This is especially
useful when you are trying to orient a camera so that it points front wards along a curve. For
example, you have got the camera pointing backwards along the curve, but are having diffi-
culty getting the camera to point front wards. By clicking Inverse Fronton, you can have the
camera point for wards along the curve as desired.
Bank
Banking means the object will lean in towards the centre of the curvature of the curve that it
travels along (like a motor cycle going around a corner). The bank option is only available if
the Follow option is on, as banking also affects the rotations of the object.
The path animation automatically computes how much banking should occur depending on
how curved the path curve is. You can adjust the banking using Bank Scale and Bank Limit.
Bank Scale
If you increase the Bank Scale, then the banking effects will be more pronounced. For exam-
ple, if the Bank Scale is set to 2, then the object will bank twice as much as the default that is
computed.

171
Bank Limit
The Bank Limit lets you restrict the amount of leaning. For example, the Bank Scale may be
increased to obtain pronounced effects, but then this may cause the object to lean too much
where the curve is much curved. This option will limit the leaning to the given amount.
Note
You can enter a negative number for Bank Scale. This will cause the object to lean out, away
from the centre of the curvature of the curve, rather than in towards the curvature. For ex-
ample, you could use this in animating characters thrown from side to side in a roller coaster.
Session 3 | Normal
172
Exercise
1. Animate the bank value of the previous exercise.
2. Note down the U and Bank values with respect to the time.
Assessment

1. A normal is a the oretical line, ____________to the surface of a polygon.
2. In Maya, normals are used to determine the ________________ of a polygon face

(face normals), or how the of faces will visually appear in relation to each other when
shaded (vertex normals).

173

Part A
Differentiated between face normal and vertex normal.
Part B

What is normal? What is the difference between face normal and vertex normal.
Part C

Demonstrated the knowledge of face and vertex normals
Session 3 | Normal
174
Session 4
Creating a Path
Animation
In this session, you will learn how to create a path animation.
Relevant Knowledge
A path animation controls the position and rotation of an object along a curve. A NURBS
curve cannot be designated as a motion path. An object must first be attached to the curve
for it to become a path curve. You can also generate motion paths by animating objects using
motion path keys.
The following procedure uses Animate>Motion Paths>Set Motion Path Key to create a
motion path animation. Alternately, you can also use Animate>Motion Paths>Attach to
Motion Path to create motion path animation.
To create a path animation
1. Select the object you want to animate with the

motion path and move it to its starting position.
2. Set the current time to the start time of your path
animation.
3. Select Animate > Motion Paths > Set Motion
Path Key.
A single-CV curve is created with a position marker at

help.autodesk.com/ time specified start time.

175
help.autodesk.com/
Increase current time and move the object to a new position.
Select Animate > Motion Paths > Set Motion Path Key again.
A single-span curve is drawn from the marker at the start time to the current position of the
object, where a new marker is placed.
help.autodesk.com/
Continue changing the time and position by selecting Animate >Motion Paths > Set Mo-
tion Path Key for as long as you wish to animate the object’s position.
The time at which the last motion path key is set is end time of your motion path animation.
Note that once you have created a path animation using the Animate > Motion Paths
> Set Motion Path Key, you can use all of the other path animation tools as described in the
previous sections to refine the basic path animation.
Similarly, you can select the object that was animated along a pre-existing path curve, and
Session 4 | Creating a Path Animation

176
extend the length of its animation (and thus the path curve) by using
Animate>Motion Paths>Set Motion Path Key.
Tip
If you decide you don’t like the position of the object at a particular marker time, then change
the current time to that marker’s time, and move the object to its new position. Select
Animate>Motion Paths>Set Motion Path Key, and the shape of the curve will change so
that the marker is now at the object’s new position.
You can change the shape of an existing path curve by changing the current time, moving the
object to a new position, and selecting Animate > Motion Paths > Set Motion Path Key.
An example of animation before and after this menu item follows:
Exercise
1. Create a low poly car, and attach it to a motion path.
2. Adjust the speed and bank value according to the path.
3. Note down the U and Bank values.
Assessment
A path animation controls the _________________ and rotation of an object along a curve.

177

Part A

Creating a motion path by attaching an object to a curve and creating a motion path by using
motion path keys.
Part B
1. How to position the object on a path curve?

2. How to animate an object along a surface?
Part C

Demonstrate the knowledge of application of concepts and processes in
camera

178
Glossary
2D Animation
The rapid display of a series of drawings in a two-dimensional environment, such as through
traditional cel animation or via animation software. The illusion of motion is achieved by
slight progressive changes in each drawing or “frame.”
3D Animation
The animation of objects in a three-dimensional, digital environment.
Active listening
It is a process of analyzing and evaluating what another person is saying in an effort to un-
derstand the true meaning of the message.
Animation
The process of creating a progressively altering image that gives the appearance of continu-
ous motion.
Anticipation
Anything a character does to prepare for an action; a device to prepare the viewer for the ac-
tion. For example: pulling your character’s arm back before he punches someone in the face.
Aspect Ratio
The ratio of the width to height for any frame or film format, used when discussing screen
size standards such as a 4:3 aspect ratio for web or television, or 16:9 for widescreen. (A 4:3
ratio would be a 640 x 480 pixel- sized Flash document.)
Autodesk Maya
It is commonly shortened to Maya, it is 3D computer graphics software that runs on Win-
dows, Mac OS and Linux.
Cel (“Celluloid”)
A cel is a transparent sheet of plastic upon which traditional animation artwork was trans-
ferred, laid over a background and filmed. Early cel animation was done on nitrate cels, which
were highly flammable. Safer and more durable acetate cels became the industry standard.
Driven keys
Driven Keys are used to drive the attributes of one object to another object.

179
Effects animation
The animation of non-character elements such as explosions, smoke and rain.
Ergonomics
An applied science that studies the interaction between people and the work environment. It
focuses on matching the job to the worker.
Extremes
Poses at the extreme end of any motion.
Frame
A single image out of the sequence comprising an animation.
Frame Rate
The measurement of the number of consecutive images (frames) in an animated movie.
Frame rate is most commonly expressed in frames per second (FPS).
Health
The World Health Organization has defined health as more than just the absence of disease.
Rather, it is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing.
In-Between(or “Tween”)
Successive frames of animation added between key poses to create fluid transitions. Flash
software features “shape tweening” and “motion tweening” processes, whereby the user de-
fines two key frames, and in-between frames are automatically generated
Joints
Points of articulation between the bones in a character rig.
Key Frame
A single still image representing a key pose in an animated sequence.
Layout
The art or process of arranging printed or graphic matter on a page.
Lip Sync
The process of synchronizing a character’s mouth to sounds in the dialogue soundtrack to
give the illusion that the character is speaking or generating sounds.
Melting Point
The temperature at which a solid changes to a liquid. For mixtures, a range of temperatures
may be given.

180
Model sheets
Model sheets are also used for references in 3D modelling. It usually is used as reference ma-
terial so as to allow proper proportions in 3D modelling.
Ones, Twos and Threes

Techniques for drawing fewer frames: drawing a new picture for every frame (“animating on
the ones”) is much more time-consuming than animating on the twosorthrees.Most2Dcar-
toonsaresuccessfullyanimatedonthetwos,with only occasional ones.
Persistence of Vision
Phenomenon where the eye’s retina retains an image for a split-second after the image was
actually seen, creating the illusion of motion when viewing images in closely-timed sequence
to one another.
Pivot
To cause to rotate, revolve, or turn.
Pixel
Short for Picture Element, a pixel is the smallest element of an image displayed on a monitor
or TV screen. It is a single point in a raster image.
Rendering
The last step when animating by computer, rendering creates computer- generated images
from a series of mathematical calculations defined by a user’s specifications. To “render” a
digital scene, the software program would composite the various settings as viewed by virtual
“cameras” into a final image or video.
Rhythm
It is the sequence that is repeated in a period of time.
Rigging
The process of preparing a character model for animation, including setting up an underlying
skeleton, complete with constraints, controllers and kinematic systems, and linking it to the
mesh of the character model.
Stop-Motion Animation
Animation produced by arranging real objects, taking a picture of them, repositioning the
objects minutely, then taking another picture of them to create a sequence of consecutive
images that create the illusion of motion. One of the most common forms of stop-motion
animation is Claymation. “Go- Motion” is stop-motion animation in which motion blur is
added to each frame to reduce the staccato effect of traditional stop motion animation.

181
Story Boarding
A panel or series of panels of rough sketches outlining the scene sequence and major changes
of action or plot in a production to be shot on film or video.
Timeline
The frame-by-frame layout of all animation occurring in linear order from beginning to end.
Timelines may be numbered by frame, by second (or other interval of time), or both.
Vector Animation
Animation whose art or motion is controlled by vectors rather than pixels. Vector animation
is often cleaner and smoother because images are displayed and/or resized using mathemat-
ical values instead of stored pixel values. One of the most commonly used vector animation
programs is Flash.
Vector Image
A vector-based image is made up of points and bezier curves. Vector images have no fixed
size or resolution and thus scale easily.
Walk Cycle
The animation of a character’s side-angle walk, which can be looped for longer walking
scenes.
Suggested Reading
Books
1. Autodesk Maya User Guide.

2. Animating with Flash 8 by AlexMichael
3. Macromedia Flash 8 Bible by RobertReinhardt
4. Adobe Photoshop CS6 Bible by Brad Dayley

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04

Guidance and Support:

Book Redesign Team:

About Your Workbook

Section 2: Relevant Knowledge

About your workbook

Course: Media and Entertainment

The major components of a pre-production process are as follows:

Course | Media and Entertainment

final character models.

2. Develop your own storyboard

Course | Media and Entertainment

starting point if storyboarding is an unfamiliar task.

Course | Media and Entertainment

Checklist for Assessment Activity

Differentiated between the following:

1. Story boarding and layouts

Discussed in class the following:

1. How to create a storyboard?

The performance standards may include, but not limited to:

Performance Standards Yes No

Course | Media and Entertainment

Course | Media and Entertainment

upcoming translucent frames visible.

Walk Cycle / Loops

Course | Media and Entertainment

3. Write the roles and functions of the following:

Checklist for Assessment Activity

1. How to model a character inanimation?

The performance Standard may include, but not limited to:

Course | Media and Entertainment

In modern production companies, the practice of meticulously planning a character’s perfor-

Course | Media and Entertainment

2. Fill in the blanks in the flow chart shown for 3DAnimation

2. What is the use of rigging in production pipeline?

Course | Media and Entertainment

Checklist for Assessment Activity

1. Lighting, rigging and animation

Discussed in class the following:

1. How lighting is done in an animated movie?

The performance Standard may include, but not limited to:

Performance Standards Yes No

Course | Media and Entertainment

working order and placing orders with outside suppliers.

Sound and Music Score

Titles and Credits

Course | Media and Entertainment

Checklist for Assessment Activity

Differentiated between the following:

1. Sound editing and video editing

Discussed in class the following:

1. What is the purpose of compositing?

Performance Standards Yes No

Course | Media and Entertainment

2. Animatics - A preliminary version of a television commercial in which animated cut-out

5. Effects animation -The animation of non-character elements such as explosions, smoke

7. Layout- The art or process of arranging printed or graphic matter on a page.

1. Inspired 3D Short Film Production by Jeremy Cantor, Pepe Valencia

Course | Media and Entertainment

1. Mr. Santanu Bhattacharjee, Director, M/s Technable Solutions Pvt. Ltd.,Kolkata

6. The __ panel contains a number of tools for sequences.