Add a "stationary" keyframe.

[unkledunkle]

Hey, might get this one a lot and maybe I just need to add a script or something but I wondered if there was a way to add a keyframe in the timeline that would capture the current frame as is. So for instance......I have a stationary ball at frame one and lets say I go all the way to frame 100 and I move it to the left side of the screen, the result will be the ball moving across the screen from frame 1 to frame 100. But lets say that I want the ball to start moving in frame 50. I know from using after effects that this would be accomplished by going to frame 50 and just adding a keyframe. But of course AS is more advanced in some ways than AE so it may be different.

I guess this question reveals just how new I am to this program. Thinking about it now I'm not even sure I know what I'm asking. The truth is I'm not trying to animate a ball. I have a "character" with points and curves and such and I have rigged a skeleton to the character. Now when I go to frame 10 and change the position of the skeleton it automatically makes new keyframes. But my problem is that when I would then go to frame 20 and change the position of the layer, instead of seeing the layer begin moving at frame 10 and move to the new position by frame 20 , I see the layer move from frame 1 to frame 20. Am I in turn stuck with having to manually add keyframes for each channel that I want to remain constant during certain sections? Or is there a way to ask for all channels to record the current position for everything.

Thanks for your help.

[mkelley]

No, it's the same as with AE (or any other program) -- you just add keys to "hold" whatever action you want prior to that frame.

For me I wrote a script which keys the appropriate action depending on layer. If I'm on a bone layer and press the "K" key it keys everything -- rotation, size, and translation. On a vector layer it keys the vector point movements, and on a switch layer the current switch. So if I want something to stay where it is on frame 50 I just go to that frame and press K (actually, I have it assigned to a hot key on my Shuttle but that's another story).

[mkelley]

Let me elaborate just a little before I head for bed -- you will get used to keying appropriate for your bones. Let's say you have a character which is moving his arm up over his head (to catch a ball, for example). If you key this process and then decide to add a head movement you need to be careful how you've "stopped" certain things, and how you've allowed things to continue. You don't want everything to move at the same time (which is why in those cases I press the "K" key to "freeze" the current pose and add movements from there).

You have a lot of latitude because you can key the current bone, or all bones (my script keys all bones) and this allows you to have some movements continue throughout while others "stop". Also, the use of actions is really really tremendous in this regard -- you can create an action that only nods the head, for example, and then add this to whatever movement you already have (assuming it doesn't use the same bones) and this layering is very controllable. For this reason alone actions are worth using in your animations (I wouldn't live without them).

If you're going to try this, make sure that after you create the action for the individual bone movement that you go and select all the other bones not in the action and delete the "selected bone movement" from that action. This keeps the action from including all the bones (otherwise it will "pose" the character however it is in the action).

Ah -- I'm too tired and may not be making good sense. Time to go for bed.

[slowtiger]

You just need to train yourself to set a keyframe at the start of any movement before you actually animate the movement. It's just a habit to be built.