CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

In this chapter you will learn how to become the director of more complex animations by using one of the Animation Producer s most powerful features: the ability to include scripts within scripts. Learning how scripts are included in scripts enables you to work on portions of complex animations in smaller pieces. Rather than creating an overly complex all-encompassing script you can create several less complicated scripts to accomplish the same task. You can even distribute the work of creating animation scripts among fellow workers or team members. Topics covered in this chapter include:

• Included scripts

• Animation of reference files using included scripts

• Repetitive motion using included scripts

• Using the Packager utility to gather up files required for rendering

• Network rendering

• Setup procedures for rendering frames on multiple systems

• Important considerations

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter you will learn how to create a master script whereby you become the director of a more complex animation. By bringing together design files from previous exercises you can quickly create a script to animate the penknife, desk lamp, clock, and car race into a single animation by simply including the scripts you wrote earlier for each of these designs. This technique allows you to make the included scripts begin at a point of your choosing, and if necessary to repeat the motion as many times as you specify. Being able to include multiple scripts into a master script is a very powerful technique.

You can truly be the animation producer using included scripts.