CINEVERSITY

Hi Greg, thank you very much for the reply and the lovely feedback.

Yes, XPresso can sometimes expose a lot of parameters. Perhaps that helps:

Drag the Object into the XPresso Editor.
With the Object active, drag the parameters from the Attribute Manager to the blue square of the Node, and let go of the "mouse". The wanted Parameter should be established as input. If you need an output, drag the Parameter from the Attribute Manager on the red square of the Node.

Example use: Output can be helpful to explore how a Pulldown menu was coded. Like in the Random Effector, you have more options. See image. This helps to know about "hidden" parameters.
Screen Shot 2024-02-26 at 9.16.14 AM.jpg

Each of the entries is coded with an Integer number. So you can change the entry via XPresso.

Thanks for the feedback file. Yes, that looks stable. If there was a question and I missed it, let me know.

As a side note, the Take System might be a great addition to the sequencing of image output.

Enjoy your project

Thanks for the feedback, fordmar.

Your scene was set to Centimeter, perhaps try inches in the Project Settings> Scale, Or check the Preferences> Units.

Don't worry; even last week, I couldn't directly pinpoint if an M2 or M2.5 screw/bolt or a #2-56-3/8" went missing on my Follow Focus. It was the latter. (I measured 2.2 mm, so I searched. But I have never heard about 2-56 UNC)
I find the Inch with decimal points (instead of fractions) confusing, even after being in California for 18 years. I think growing up in one system leaves a mark.

Cheers

Hi Adam,

Perhaps use an old Soup-bowl for some tests 😉

In editing, like in many other arts, you find a rhythm and a structure to tell a story.
In rotoscoping, one needs to find where one motion or the direction it changes to move around without too many manual adjustments.
In animation, both of the above are combined, and one or the other is used to find the "Key-Frames" that will define the main motion, which might be a bit counterintuitive, as the change of something is the key here.

Go back a few steps, and we will discuss the storyboard: which is the smallest number of images needed to illustrate the flow of the story so a team can reproduce it on set?

I assume that sounds very familiar to you.

Or, as a friend of mine coined it around 15 years ago before you start any action, try to say it out loud in one sentence what you like to do.

All of that separates each motion into sub-sequences. Each of these could have key points that stick out like a stop initially, but each individual motion could be based on a few Nulls that create a hierarchy of movements and compose the subsequence with just a few timeline entries. Those subsequences could be visible only briefly, then another rig or setup takes place and continues the motion. In other words, define each subsequence. Or Take it if that sounds more familiar.
(A rig could be a parent null that cares only about the position, the next one about the orientation, and a third one defines the rotation, etc.)

When these subsequences are done, you render a preview and take nodes.

If that flows in the way you like, put an object into sync with the positions and motions you have found.

Yes, the object you have is not a simple one to animate believably. Like any craft, it needs training and experience. Similar to that is the editing of a movie, experience and storytelling-IQ shows up heavily in the result; there is no shortcut. In other words, allow yourself some time.

My best wishes for your project

You're very welcome, AlexC.

My best wishes for the project.

Hi rastermind2,

Thanks for the feedback.

I hope the provided material allows for something you can work with.

I worked more on the XPresso-based file 😉

I put a request in to have that three points in space into a connecting Circle.
With the three single-axis rotation arms, we get a triangle in space, which could be expressed with a radius-changing circle. Below that circle is in its middle point perpendicular down the moving object (printing or operating head), as the three "legs" are fixed in length.

Enjoy your project

P.S.: here is a newer version (2024/11/09) Simpler
cv4_2024_drs_23_xpar_11.c4d

Hi miss-bear,

The point I made above is that you need to have the same settings. Taking overshoots out was not meant as a rule.

In the initial example, the Key settings were different for the second Joint than the first. That might work sometimes, but more often, it doesn't.

The first Joint does something that the second joint need to do while countering the movement of the first, as it is a child of the first. Any slight derivation from the settings will lead to different results.

When I select your first example, Keyframe 75 from Joint and Joint.1, the fields show Mixed or [ - ] in many areas. There should only be one Mixed, and that is the Key value. These two values should be like "positive two" and the other "negative one", in ratio to each other.

All the best

Screen Shot 2023-04-15 at 1.25.39 PM.jpg

You're very welcome, juice-list.

Enjoy the exploration.

Hi euro-family-flow,

Perhaps time to look elsewhere. I shared a lot of information to give you some background. I stop here.

If you don't trust, I believe you're best equipped to solve that; you have the background to figure that out.

Take care.

Yes, Greg, exactly.

Once you have done it, it is relatively simple, considering its effect.

Thanks for your feedback. I love the little 60-second clips. They are like drawing to me; one must "see" to guide the hand. When it hits the "canvas", you own it. 🙂

Enjoy

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the kind feedback.

The core idea is a Spline (Path) with another Spline (Profile). Then a Sweep is used.

The Profile Spline would extend the shape as it runs with its middle along the Path, so I used the Transform Element Capsule to get the axis to the "outer" point. Half of the width of the profile. In this way, the Path is also the final size. One of my targets here was to define the size without guessing.

With an Extrude, the Path creates the Fill of the door. I used a Bevel here, so it doesn't show up on the side (nearly no offset)

The XPresso handles the "half profile/axis" process and the User Data Mixer. Most of the parts (Formula) are done to allow the profile to shrink when the door is much smaller than the frame. This is more for comfort than needed.

My best wishes

Hi Michal Rodzinski,

The idea is to rotate the points around the axis but not the axis itself.

The position of each Point is based on the Object Axis. With this, the Normal is a Local idea. So you need to rotate the "surface" but not the axis. How to do that? Rotate Point from the X-Pool>System Presets> Matrix in XPresso.

Example:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3wf6skt6a3w2xe6/CV4_2023_drs_23_XPvr_01.c4d.zip?dl=0
I have marked what can be moved and what can be rotated. Any derivation from that and the system is broken.

The "surface" can now be rotated or moved" while the Vertex Map is focused on the light source.

Since I have no file here, and screen capture nor images tell me that, I can only suggest/guess that you had in the Point Node, not the "Use Deformed Points" checked on.

=======

With that knowledge, you might use the Cluster Object to rotate the points around, while the Object that rotates the Point is a child of the Object, so it stays at Position 0, 0, 0.

My best wishes