Take Your Best (Animated) Shot in Autodesk Showcase

“Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out”
Martin Scorsese

In my post last week, I talked about creating static camera shots inside of Autodesk Showcase.

But Showcase can also create animated shots too! 

In these shots, different camera animations can be created that make the camera zoom, orbit, or pan across the object in the scene.

By using these effects, a compelling 'eye catching' scene can be created.  One that will really grab the attention of the intended audience.

So how can a cinematic shot be created?

Just like in my previous post, go to Story>Create Shot.  Options to create an Orbit, or "Start to End" Shot are available. 

Now, the Properties dialog box shows up, and I can begin tweaking my animation to suit the needs for a shot. 

There's a lot of different things that can be tweaked, so I created the image below.

All of these settings can be adjusted to create different types of animations, all giving a different type of effect.

For example:

Motion Type switches the motion between Still, Cinematic, and Start to End. Depending on the type of motion selected, animations for Orbit, Pan, Zoom In/Out, etc. These have the added bonus of being able to capture a point along the camera path to set the view.

Motion Path controls the path for the camera, creating the desired camera effect for the animation using a point along the path.

Path Dimensions allow the camera path to be adjusted by typing in the angle, position, and duration of the camera path.

By adjusting these settings, the animation can be changed and just like before, mutliple animations can be created and animated together to create a longer presentation!

Give it a try and experiment!  And check out the video below!