Confused about camera animation.

BillG

BillG

0
I'm missing something. A simple camera position animation. I want to move the camera in at the beginning, stay in position during the middle, then move the camera back out at the end of the animation. Should be really easy.

If I just move the camera in with two recorded animation points on the time line, it works well. But when I go towards the end of the timeline, and record the next two, it behaves differently than I expected. At the animated points, the camera is at the position it should be. But between the two middle points, it continues to move. This is happening whether I just animate position, or position along a spline. I'm sure that it is something simple that I am missing, but I'm drawing a blank.

Thanks in advance for any help.
Bill in MN
 
* I suggest that you check the F-curves. Presumably, there is a smooth curve between the keys #2 and #3, ie the middle points. You need to select those points and switch the out-tangent (key #2) and the in-tangent (key #3) to linear, so that there is a straight line between those to points in time.
* You may also consider to animate not the position but the field of view. That results in a zoom instead of a dolly.

Screenshot 2022-04-01 at 06.51.32.png
 
Helmut's got it right. When you set the first two keyframes you get a linear tangent,
but when you add the third Cheetah creates a smooth curve tangent.

You really want to see the F-curves while animating.
 
* You are welcome!
* Post scriptum to my remark on animating the field of view:
* The difference between a dolly and a zoom is that the perspective does not change when you zoom (the camera remains stationary, only the "focal length" is modified, similar to a zoom or a wide angle lens on a real camera). Of course, human eyes can not zoom and fiddling the angle of the field of view can be irritating to physically nauseating.
 
@Helmut you're right about it being difficult to sync camera movement and Field of View changes.

I first tried to alter the F-Curve of the FOV with mixed results.
I had better results altering the F-Curve of the Position parameter.

I think it's easier to do this effect with a hand held video camera.
The answer may be a script, I'll have to check around for one.

Luckily the focal plane can be locked on to the object for DOF action,
although I think it still needs some manual adjustment.

 
I remember that video now.

I'm still working out how to synchronize dolly and FOV
changes to keep the subject at the same size on screen.

This technique was also used on the movie Jaws.
 
* See also Stanley Kubrick in Barry Lyndon.
* This is also a fascinating experiment in lighting techniques. I recall that ultra fast lenses where deployed by the cinematographer, John Alcott, in recording some of the fairly dimly lit takes.
 
frank beckmann said:
Yes - and pretty sure in "Severance" when the people in the elevator on the way to their workspace on close up portraits - kinda stunning effect. Never seen this in portrait mode before.
Click to expand...
Then there is Jaws' famous Dolly/Zoom shot:
I think they used the same trick for the Nazgul road shot early in The Lord of The Rings.
 
It turns out that the DOF grid is a great visual guide to keep the subject at the same size
or as in the effects I've seen, with a slight zoom in or out for extra emphasis.

It's still tedious but much better with a guide grid.

Also the DOF zone gets quite narrow at one extreme so it's
best to have the focal point right at the front of the object.
To do this I used a plane to focus on.

vertigowgrid.gif
 
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