Smooth Camera sampling
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Hello, how can I make a smooth camera sampling like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7qyW1G350g -
Hi let-fall,
I assume the fastest will be the Second suggestion, just in case you are looking for some quick here.
Cinematography is so much more than getting something quickly established; it is the work with lenses, which is often just a field of view and distance change during a camera move. Not your question, but just to give you an idea that I do not really support the idea that it is just clicked wildly around and then smoothed out. It is a language, and based on your target media, it might be more or less forgiving.
With that being said, let me answer that from a filmmaker's perspective.
In Cinema 4D, you can use many techniques to influence your camera style and the way you block your camera. The simplest way to set something like this up would be the Camera Morph . Here you create as many cameras as you like to have, which should represent the key shots.
All these cameras will create a sequence, top to bottom (Object Manager), and find their way into the Morph camera. Then you can move "through" all positions and compose the shot with a single slider. This is the closest reproduction of the Storyboard, or in a Comic, and Action-image sequence turned into one clip.
The advantage here, the slider can be animated, and the initial cameras can be adjusted later on while keeping the animation length intact.
https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/?_gl=1cz5xdr_gcl_au*MTExNDg4MTk1NC4xNjg3ODAzODQ5#html/TMORPHCAM.html?Highlight=Morph%20cameraSecond in line: you create any camera motion and add the Object Manager> Tags> Animation Tags> Track Modifier: Smooth
to the camera, and adjust what you need after the key-framing of your camera.
https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/?_gl=1cz5xdr_gcl_au*MTExNDg4MTk1NC4xNjg3ODAzODQ5#html/TCAANIMATIONMODIFIER.html?TocPath=Object%2520Manager%257CTags%2520Menu%257CAnimation%2520Tags%257CTrack%2520Modifier%257C_____0My way is typically to set the camera on key positions, set keyframes where I have the image that I like to have at that point and go then into the F-Curve Editor. This is unintuitive at first, but after a while, these curves allow us to see the motion at once, not only when the timelier is moving. The F-Curve has many options to reduce keyframes and to adjust even hundreds of keyframes at once with the reduced modification Curve.
This skill sets you free of any other helpers, but I know as well it is the least used option, so moving on.
https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/?_gl=1cz5xdr_gcl_au*MTExNDg4MTk1NC4xNjg3ODAzODQ5#html/10615.html?TocPath=Animate%257CTimeline%257CMenu%257CFunctions%257C_____0Splines are the classic camera animation supporters, while you can here have a spline for the camera and one for the target tag. Based on your question, I believe you don't have a Spline, but keyframes; note that keyframe positions (not rotations, so you need a target) can be turned into Splines. Those Splines can be copied and set to B-Spline (perhaps after reducing vertices points). Here we can also have two splines and interpolate among those. Endless options. There are other ways to smooth out Spline via MoSpline, while the interpolation and Spline kind (Bezier, B-Spline, etc.) are crucial.
Splines can be converted to F-Curves again.
https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/?_gl=1cz5xdr_gcl_au*MTExNDg4MTk1NC4xNjg3ODAzODQ5#html/TALIGNTOSPLINE.html?TocPath=Object%2520Manager%257CTags%2520Menu%257CAnimation%2520Tags%257CAlign%2520to%2520Spline%2520Expression%257C_____0There are more options, but nothing can beat the clear vision of what images you like to have. What you pack into that short motion of the camera will captivate your audience, bore, or worse, keep the audience out of the action. It is an art form in itself. I hope after you explore a few more options with the tips above, you will find it is an endless exploration.
During my Berlin film years, we had during the Berlinale Film Festival, the Kodak Cinematographer Breakfast event, with hundreds of camerapersons. No one, even the oldest, would ever say they know it all.
It is a fun exploration; enjoy the ride. And yes, please ask for whatever makes the ride enjoyable; I hope I can answer it.Cheers
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Hi let-fall,
It is always better to share a project file, reduced to the problem (nothing else in the scene), and with clear information about the problem, considering that I know only what you share in your project.
Your exact problem, from the start, not via 3rd party sources like YouTube things, because that is what you searched for when you are already inside of your problem. It always starts earlier. I like to solve things, not patch them, if possible.
With that, I can work and avoid guessing or writing a longer text to give an overview—so, please, just the file; also, images never really tell the whole story.
As a side note, to get the best solution for you, please specify your target, as cameras move differently in feature films, advertisements, visualizations, documentaries, or even Motion Graphics, etc. At the same time, all those areas overlap, of course. So we are faster with finding your solution
If the file is larger and can't be shared here, please use only Google, Apple, Adobe, Wetransfer, or better Dropbox as cloud services. I do not touch others. Thank you.
Take your time; it is late here (Pacific Time).
I hope we can find a way to get what you need.
All the best
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Thank you for your help. I'm trying to make something smooth comes to a full stop slowly. It has its trajectory but needs to slowly and calmly come to its final position. When it just stops or changes sharp, it's jarring. Maybe I need a spline to position track but I'm not sure.
https://we.tl/t-2FUb7sNzTf
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Hi let-fall,
Thanks for the file.
Before I dive further into it, would you mind sharing the timing (from frame to frame) where you see the most trouble?
Besides, could you check if the little A icon (see image) is set to All Frames? Is it better when you uncheck this? I think it is not the camera movement that is the problem; it is that setting. With "All Frames: on", your system will calculate each image completely before it moves on, which causes here on my machine specific stuttering. All is fine if set to "All Frames: off, " as the frame rate is the prime target.
For better control, render a small video.
Cheers
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Yes, a softer image has appeared now. I think the problem is that the all-frame option is on too. Thank you for your recommendation.
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Thanks for the feedback, let-fall.
To see how much parts of the scene slow down the scene redraw, go to Attribute Manager> Mode> Viewsettings> HUD> FPS.
This will provide a little entry in your editor-view while the play head is moving.Please let me know the frame range where it is not to your liking. That was not clear in your drawing, which I appreciated having, BTW. Thank you!
For blocking the camera, it is often better to have a "Stand In", like a cube or capsule, animated similarly.
Speeding up a camera with position and rotation in it means you might lose the target out of sight. You could have a Target (perhaps with an Up Vector) Null animated close to your character to prevent that. With that, your precise animation path (position only, switch off all rotation tracks of the camera) can so be easily adjusted with a Time Track.
https://help.maxon.net/c4d/2023/en-us/Default.htm#html/10834.htmlAnother point that needs to be considered is the change of field of view, which is often used by complex shoots; If the camera motion is sped up, that might go out of sync.
Which is a straight line from 0 to 100% to have nothing changed. But if you set it up like an S-Curve, the more vertical part speeds up the camera, and the Target keeps the Object. Again that will not work if Position and Rotation are sped up simultaneously.
(As a side note, that is also a theme in next month's ASC [American Society of Cinematographers] magazine, the article about John Dykstra. There, the motion/motor-based camera.)All the best
