Offset Complete Action sequence

lemmy · Post by **lemmy** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 7:19 pm

I have an action sequence on 10 layers in a group about 10 seconds long which I wish to copy and repeat at different location is the same frame but at different times.

For example, on left of frame there is a box and on the right of frame another box. Twenty seconds into the animation, I want a jack in the box to fly up out of the left hand box into the sky.
At Twenty five seconds, I want the same thing to happen with the right hand box.

I suppose I can duplicate the group and then offset each layer one by one. But in reality I have something like thirty of these that need to happen.

I can't find an 'offset time' function or method.

What's my quickest way of achieving this?

synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:13 pm

The fastest and easiest way to both duplicate and offset in time would be to drop the whole works in a particle layer. The 'randomize playback' option will randomize the time offset of each ones animation. The only real drawback to this is that you cannot control the amount of time offset.

If you need more control, you'd need to duplicate the group. This will also duplicate any actions. If you set them up properly (so you can access them all from the group layer), then all you need to do is place a copy, or reference, to each group's action were you want on the timeline.

Hopefully you have Pro, as both of these suggestions require it.

p.s. If you don't have Pro, you'd need to use Macton's cc_shift_layer_keyframes menu script as a button in the tool window.

lemmy · Post by **lemmy** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:52 pm

Thanks for that.

The complete sequence of actions and characters are in one group and self-contained. So what you are saying is, copy it rather than duplicate it and then put the time line where I want it inserted and paste it there?

Sorry to be so basic but this would be very useful to me and to many others I'd think.

synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:53 pm

So what you are saying is, copy it rather than duplicate it and then put the time line where I want it inserted and paste it there?

It sounds like something got lost in translation there. First, do you have ASPro? If so, do you need to accurately control when each action starts? And are these setup as actions (i.e. reusable animation in Pro, ctrl+K) or are these just keyed on their own layers in the main timeline?

F.M. · Post by **F.M.** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:10 am

You could render just the Jack-in-the-Box to a quicktime movie file with an alpha channel. This way you can import the file to start at the frame you desire. HTH

lemmy · Post by **lemmy** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:35 am

I think I may be out of my depth here! I do have the Pro version and I do need to time the events start accurately.
The animation I wish to use at different points consists of some ten layers, all keyframed on the timeline and working in their own right.
Together, in their group layer, they are a complete sequence of action in themselves. If I duplicate the group layer, I can have the events occur in different physical locations in the frame but all at the same time.
My problem is that I need to have the sequence occur at different points but also at different times.
Thus, say it is a jack in the box, I wish the box to appear at, say twenty points in my frame. A character presses a plunger and the jack springs from the twenty boxes. At the moment, by duplicating the layer, they all spring out at once. I need them to spring out at apparent (but not really) random.
It's hard to make this clear - I'm trying!
And can I say, I do appreciate your attention and help.

slowtiger · Post by **slowtiger** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:33 am

lemmy: your planning and thinking is totally on the right track.

As for the timing: if you still experiment with the timing, it might be a good idea to roughly "block" the events. Create a new layer, put a rectangle into it, set the interpolation to "step", put the rectangle to the position and moment where you later want to have the jack-in-the-box, put it outside the project area when there's no action. Run the file and judge the timing. Only when you're satisfied with this you should start to do the tedious copy-and-paste part.

synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:06 pm

Since you have Pro, you can create these animations as Actions. Go to the group layer, create a new action, and copy the main timeline to it. Now you can delete the animation from the main timeline, duplicate the group layer as many times as you need, and insert the action (from the duplicated group layers) where you need each to start.