Take Recording

The Channel->Take Recording command in the Motion module allows you write raw high-resolution motion files directly from the channel drivers during a channel capture and defer loading them into SOFTIMAGE 3D until a later time. A take is a collection of raw motion files for a collection of channel drivers participating in a channel run.

Note:

The time line does not run when take recording is active in SOFTIMAGE 3D. A flashing arrow in the status line indicates that your motion data is being saved. Also, if you do a take record in either SOFTIMAGE 3D or the SOFTIMAGE Live viewer, you can record in ASCII or binary mode.

Run

The Channel->Run command allows you to save animation generated by all active input devices to a data file.

1. Select the object(s) for you which you wish to record the channel connections.
2. Choose Channel->Run command and click to start a take recording. The status of the recording is indicated in the status bar. The time line pointer does not progress.
3. Click again to end the take recording.

Note:

The number of the take is always shown in the status bar. During the take, the frame rate and the time recorded are also displayed.

Setup

When you choose the Channel->Setup command, the Take Recording Setup dialogue box is displayed:

Select the directory path where you want recorded take files to be saved. You can also specify the following:

• Take name
• Take number
• Binary or ASCII format for recorded data

Note:

Binary uses about one-third of the disk space that ASCII requires, so it is faster to read and write to a binary file.

Take Directory and Data Format

A take is a collection of raw motion files for a collection of channel drivers participating in a channel run.

The Take Name is used to create one main take directory, then a separate subdirectory for each take with the same name. The .CHD extension is attached to names of these directories. Each channel driver has the .CHD extension and is listed in the take subdirectory. For each subsequent recording of take data, the take number next to the driver name is automatically incremented.

A sample data file is included in the Animating User's Guide.

Load Take Data

Choose Channel->Load Take Data command to load the take data back into SOFTIMAGE 3D. This is not done automatically at the end of a take recording run. When you choose this command, the Load Take Data dialogue box is displayed:

When you load these files back into SOFTIMAGE 3D, you can choose portions from the take: they are loaded at the time line pointer position onward.

Tip:

The Use Most Recent Take option selects the name and take number of the last recorded take.

Control

This toggle lets you enable or disable channel control.

Display Refresh Rate

Allows you to display the refresh rate in the status bar during frame and sequence input.

Supra Keys Enabled

This toggle lets you enable or disable Supra key functions during a channel capture or control.

For more information about the Supra keys functions, see Supra Keys Enabled.

Last updated 03-apr-1998