Decals!

[lafnjack]

I had a question. I'm looking to have a simple TV screen looking thing, and have the screen flash "Yes" and "No" about a second or so apart.

 

I know an animated .Gif can do this, but I want it to continue in the background and loop.

 

Is there a way to do that, or should I use a movie format and put that on there? Ideally, since its MOSTLY just those 2 screens, I'd like to keep the file small and easy for rendering purposes.

 

Thanks guys!

John

[nimblepix]

I like to use a QT movie file.

Animation compression

works best for me.

[Caroline]

Warning - This is not for the faint-hearted, but it does seem like an elegant solution.

I have been wanting to make Expressions work for me, and in this case they could. (I don't know how Expressions affect render times.)

 

This is a movie of two Decals acting as Layers with an Expression on the No Layer.

[attachmentid=22472]

 

I have a simple 4 spline model, and a "Yes" Decal Layer in front of that, and a "No" Decal Layer in front of that.

 

On the properties of the "No" Decal Layer, in the Choreography, I right clicked Active, and chose Edit Expression.

[attachmentid=22474]

 

Then, after a long trial and error and searching and head scratching, I came up with:

 

Mod(Round(ChorTime(),1),2)

[attachmentid=22475]

 

I set the Chor Time to 5:00, and it seems to work - it should work indefinitely as well, with no change needed, no matter how long the Chor Time is. (I hope!)

 

This will take the Choreography Time, Round it up, and Modulus it by 2, so that every second, the "No" Decal Layer Active Property will be Off, and will not render, showing up the "Yes" Decal Layer behind it.

 

I have no mathematical ability, and I have no doubt a mathematical mind would be able to change the 1 second to something else, but I couldn't.

DecalExp.mov

[Dhar]

Caroline, I applaud you on how fast you're getting the hang of this program. I am looking forward to the day when you showcase your movies

[johnl3d]

I agree Dhar she is speeding along with a lot of interesting demos using AM

[Caroline]

- thanks.

 

Both A:M, and the huge amount of knowledge in this forum are so amazing. I have so much fun!

 

Thank you to John for raising the question, and inciting me to dabble with Expressions. Please ask if you need more help.

[lafnjack]

Thanks Caroline and Nimblepix for the quick answers! I'll try both methods out... Very much appreciated!

 

And Caroline, thanks very much for actually making a quick demo of the method in action so I can see what it actually looks like.

 

You folks rock!

John