Feature: Right Click/Duplicate - Shift/Right Click/Duplicate

[Rodney]

This handy addition to A:M adds some new capability well above and beyond older methodologies of copy/paste and other means of duplication.

 

Basic Usage

Select an Object in the Chor, Right Click and select 'Duplicate'.

This results is a duplicated copy of the selected Object.

 

One way to see how useful this feature can be is to duplicate a Light.

Duplicating a Light in the Chor is useful in several ways.

For instance, we might want one light to be responsible for Shadows Only.

Another Light might be designed to capture a particular look and feel (and therefore only be activated when that look is needed).

One Light (or Object) might be almost perfect in every way but the user may want to explore other possibilities without losing what they have already.

Starting from a known location and with another Object's settings can be a good way to proceed.

In this way, Objects in a Chor become self-documenting and non-destructible.

There is no reason to lose progress already gained.

 

Objects that can be Duplicated

Models

Cameras

Lights

 

Duplicating a camera in it's exact location with the same settings can be advantageous when tweaking only a few minor changes.

Then switch between cameras to use the desired settings.

 

Objects not included in the feature

Forces

Nulls

Motion Capture

Material Effects

Flocking

Spring Systems

 

Other/Unknown/Feedback

Layers. *I note the Duplicate option appears for Layers but if invoked the Layer isn't duplicated.

Workaround: An alternative method to duplicating resources (to include those that do not have the 'Duplicate' feature is to drag and drop the resource back onto the Choreography container in the PWS. In most cases the Control key must be held down while dragging and dropping. This also results in a duplicated copy.

 

Note: Various means of duplicating these already exist to include saving the resource and then importing it back into A:M.

 

More complex usage

Steffen has gone beyond the basics of the initial feature to add a Shift/Duplicate option that doesn't copy keyframed settings.

This is very useful and although I haven't explored this aspect of the feature in depth I can readily see it to be especially useful in reverting back to the previous/original states of altered/animated properties.

 

Here's a quick way to explore the possibilities:

- Import Rabbit into a Chor and crack open his User Properties

- Slide the 'Dynamic Setting' to the far right and note how Rabbit's pose changes

- Now (with Rabbit selected) Right Click and Duplicate

- Note that a new instance of Rabbit is exactly duplicated in the Chor (unless/until altered it will remain exactly the same).

- Now Duplicate Rabbit again but this time with the Shift key held down

- Note that the new instance of Rabbit is created in his default "T" pose

 

This should demonstrate how the use of Right Click/Duplicate (and Shift/Duplicate) will be useful in animation workflow.

Need to get that cartoony look of arms flailing wildly? Right Click/Duplicate and adjust an instance of the Model as necessary.

What to use a 'stop motion' approach to your animation? No problem. Duplicate your model and move it into it's next position. Duplicate. Adjust. Duplicate. Adjust. Then animate the Active setting of the Model instances to turn each 'pose' on/off.

 

This animation using the Right Click/Duplicate methodology:

 

 

Thoughts going forward

This feature is even more useful than originally anticipated.

Thanks Steffen for plussing up the idea!