Understanding Animation Takes

Hey all, new to animation here, trying to wrap my mind around takes.

Do I understand correctly that takes are unrelated to each other?

Say I want a character to jump around on the screen. I can make multiple passes through the animation changing different joints on each pass etc. All that goes in to a single take. Got it so far.

I could use a 2nd take to create an entirely different animation which isn't related to the first, right? And then I could review the different takes, keep the one I like the best, and dump the losers.

Does the above generally describe the purpose of takes?

Is there a way to sequence the takes? You know, take one plays, then take two plays, then take three etc? Or would I instead render each take separately and then combine them all in a video editor?

Please feel free to teach me anything at all about takes. Pretty much anything you write will probably be educational here. Thanks!
 
* Objects including their visibility are global and apply to all takes.
* Animation / F-curves are local to a take.
* For experimenting and fine-tuning you can duplicate a take and then edit the relevant F-curves.
* Check the example on Alien walk. It has a take 0 (= the bind pose).
* If you have n>1 takes, the .jas will be opened on the take you have saved it under.
* AFAIK, you can´t sequence n takes into a single render. You can, however, merge takes for a combined .mov to view alternatives in a sequemce. It may be more constructive to watch versions in parallel windows of the QuickTimePlayer, though.

* I suspect you know that F-curves can be copied / pasted, either by selecting all keyframes or just a subset thereof.
 
The objects remain but any properties keyframed can be changed or
deleted including position, rotation, scale and visibility.
Which can be keyframed at the Mode Tag.
 
:mad: Re visibility: Yep, but toggling visibility transfers the tag´s property back to any other takes. Of course, you can control that with layers but they can´t be animated.
:unsure: Anyway, I believe that you are largely concerned with animating skeletal joints in rigging, so this may not be of primary importance.
 
I did test this, it does work.

Each take changes visibility based on the keyframes in that take.
The keyframes in one take don't effect the other takes.

This is an important tool when I'm animating.
 
:sick: Sorry ZooHead, my misunderstanding.
:oops: Keyframing the E/R visibility in subsequent takes takes does work. I was simply testing the checkboxes of the mode tag, where it is a global parameter. Good to know and thank you for the information.

Hi to Maine from Vienna
 
Guys, many thanks, but you're talking over my head so far. I'm sure what you've shared will be useful as my understandings develop further.

For now I'm just trying to get an overall understanding of the purpose and common usage of the take feature. How well did my first post summarize the purpose of the take feature?

Each take needs to be rendered separately? Is that correct? I could then assemble the rendered takes in to a longer film in a video editor if desired?

AFAIK, you can´t sequence n takes into a single render. You can, however, merge takes for a combined .mov to view alternatives in a sequemce.

Not quite getting this. Ok, can't combine multiple takes in a single render. How do you merge takes and create the combined mov? Isn't that the same thing??

I picture using takes to manage scenes in a larger video. Ideally, there would be an option that would allow any new take to automatically start with the last frame of the previous take. Then I could render all takes, dump them all in to a video editor, and create a seamless video from the takes. Thoughts?
 
Each take needs to be rendered separately? Is that correct? I could then assemble the rendered takes in to a longer film in a video editor if desired?
(y) Correct.

* In the Takes panel, just use the RMB / right mouse button to merge. This generates a single take which you can render in one swoop.
Screenshot 2020-08-24 at 23.24.57.png

* You can also split an existing take at the point of the cursor in the timeline.

* In any video editor, you can split a take (or whatever it may be called) at a selected timeframe and dump any redundant bits. Sample from iMovie.
Screenshot 2020-08-24 at 23.35.04.png
 
Thanks Helmut. Ok, duh, I see the merge command now, thank you for that.

Still don't quite understand what I get by merging the takes. Will all the takes then play one after another in the viewer panel? You said something about a mov file?

I'm comfortable in Hitfilm, so once I get that far I'll be in good shape.

Hmm... Haven't tried importing a Cheetah model in to Hitfilm yet, will have to give that a go.
 
* If you have generated, say, 3 takes (eg each 10 seconds) as alternatives for a specific animation, a merge will - upon rendering the animation - produce a single .mov (30 seconds) document.
* It will depend on your preferences if you rather have 3 subsequent clips (iMovie terminology) or a single clip in the video editor. I have no idea of Hitfilm, so their terminology may differ.

* It is midnight here (CET), so I will be off to snooze. More, if needed, tomorrow.
:whistle: Hi from Vienna, EU
 
If you have generated, say, 3 takes (eg each 10 seconds) as alternatives for a specific animation, a merge will - upon rendering the animation - produce a single .mov (30 seconds) document.

I get the merge takes feature, but am unclear where this single mov document resides. Is it exported? Shows up in the Viewer? Goes to renderer?

Thanks for your patience with what is undoubtably a nube question.
 
* After you render the animation you can save via the standard macOS window. You can specify a format / a name / a location which suits you.
Screenshot 2020-08-25 at 00.24.58.png

:mad: I have downloaded Hitfilm, but it does not seem to provide an option to import .mov documents. It does state that .mov is supported, but this may require the full package to be purchased.
 
After you render the animation you can save via the standard macOS window

Ok, so I merge multiple takes, they all go to the renderer as one, and then I save to file from there?

I have downloaded Hitfilm, but it does not seem to provide an option to import .mov documents. It does state that .mov is supported, but this may require the full package to be purchased.

Not sure what you're reading, but I'm using an old version of their free software Hitfilm Express, and it definitely imports and exports movs, I do that almost every day.

Should you decide to explore Hitfilm further I'd be happy to help where I can, and the Hitfilm forum is populated by helpful folks who know a LOT more than I do.

Briefly, Hitfilm is both a compositor and editor. You can line clips up on a timeline in the editor, AND you can layer clips on top of each other in the composite section. I work mostly in the composite section, which I love.

I haven't used iMovie since iMovie 6, so I can't really compare Hitfilm and iMovie at this point. I'm guessing the timeline editors are similar. If iMovie doesn't do compositing then Hitfilm Express is surely worth a look, imho.
 
Ok, so I merge multiple takes, they all go to the renderer as one, and then I save to file from there?
(y) Correct.
* Of course, if you prefer you can render 3 (or whatever) movies and save those individually. Shuffle them around via compositing as required.

* Re Hitfilm: As shown in the screenshot, the formats for .mov etc are greyed out and I can´t select those.
Screenshot 2020-08-25 at 01.27.12.png
 
Of course, if you prefer you can render 3 (or whatever) movies and save those individually. Shuffle them around via compositing as required.

Thank you sir, appreciate it, got it now.

As for Hitfilm, I am puzzled. I'm using old versions (Hitfilm Express 9 and Hitfilm Express 4) as my nine year old Mac won't handle the latest versions. So there could be changes in the new versions which I'm not aware of, though I can't imagine why they would disable mov support given they've had it for years.

I can tell you with certainty that Express 9 and 4 import and export movs.

As for later versions, I'd suggest you might ask on the Hitfilm forum. This seems like a question they should be able to answer immediately.
 
As shown in the screenshot, the formats for .mov etc are greyed out and I can´t select those.

Maybe that is a dialog for opening a Hitfilm project? That would explain why mov format choices would be grayed out.

In my versions of Hitfilm, you import a mov file just by dragging and dropping it in to the media panel.

Should you continue, they have an excellent YouTube channel. Though there is so much stuff there you have to dig a bit to find the getting started tutorials.
 
(y) Correct.
* Of course, if you prefer you can render 3 (or whatever) movies and save those individually. Shuffle them around via compositing as required.

* Re Hitfilm: As shown in the screenshot, the formats for .mov etc are greyed out and I can´t select those.
View attachment 36476



I always do it the same way. You simply drag and drop the mov file into the field under the "Media" tab. And from there into your composite shot.

Bildschirmfoto 2020-08-25 um 09.24.00.jpg
 
:rolleyes: Oops, you were right, I can import .movs with a simple drag and drop. I will engage in some experiments at a later stage when I find time. I have recently played around with Filmora, Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve but currently, iMovie is (mostly) quite sufficient for my needs. There are annoying quirks and one or two bits missing, but it works intuitively, reliably and is stable.
:oops: Danke, Lydia, ich war nur zu dämlich um das auszuprobieren.
Servus aus Wien
 
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