Time Track problems

[Adam Trachtenberg]

It’s pretty easy:

1. Select your align-to-spline position track in the timeline;

2. Timeline>File>Add Special Track>Time Track;

3. Select your align-to-spline track and look in the attributes manager. You’ll see a “Time Track” link box. Drag the time track from the time line into that box.

No you can animate the time track and it will adjust the speed of your position track.

You can use the same time track for multiple other tracks as well.

[Adam Taylor]

thanks Adam, i can see what you’re suggesting and it makes sense but i must be doing something wrong because i cannot get the process to work.

Here’s what i’m doing….

open Timeline – its empty, so I dragged the align to spline tag into Timeline. This seems to automatically add a Time track. Although the attributes mgr shows the time track link box, its greyed out so i cannot drag the time track into it.

Adding a special track/time track just ads another time track, but again i cannot drag it into the attributes mgr.

Any idea what i might be doing wrong?

adam

Adam Taylor
Video Editor/Audio Mixer/ Compositor/Motion GFX/Barista
Character Options Ltd
Oldham, UK

http://www.sculptedbliss.co.uk

[Adam Trachtenberg]

Well, first you should animate the align-to-spline position parameter by creating keys at your desired start/end frames. That will create an animation track for it, which is not the same thing as a time track.

Then, with that align-to-spline track selected, create your time track. Then you should be able to drag the time track into the other track’s time track link box.

OTOH, if you’re *just* animating the align-to-spline tag’s position, it might be easier to skip the time track and work with original track’s f-curve instead.

[Adam Taylor]

Hi Adam,

weird – tried this with the same file but on my Tower instead of the laptop, and it seems to be working!

What i can’t figure out though, is this – I want to slowmo the entire scene for a section in the middle, not just the align to path.

I actually have several different align to paths (flying object / camera / camera target) – so rather than trying to adjust each one, i want to apply the time effect to everything…

in the meantime – thanks for the advice…i’m a lot closer than i was before it!

adam

Adam Taylor
Video Editor/Audio Mixer/ Compositor/Motion GFX/Barista
Character Options Ltd
Oldham, UK

http://www.sculptedbliss.co.uk

[Adam Trachtenberg]

That’s the nice thing about the time track; you can assign the same one to multiple objects/parameters so you can affect the whole animation with one curve.

[Adam Taylor]

i think this needs a lot more head scratching, because i cannot get anything other than the camera to respond to the time track, even though i have it assigned to each parameter.

I’m going to have to start over i think.

your advice has been very helpful – thanks

Adam Taylor
Video Editor/Audio Mixer/ Compositor/Motion GFX/Barista
Character Options Ltd
Oldham, UK

http://www.sculptedbliss.co.uk

[Ryan Hamilton]

Hey Folks,
I’m also working on figuring out some time track applications. Once I have one applied and as instructed above; select it and drag it into the ATmanager where it says Time Track I get blocked. At the bottom of the ATmanager where it says Time Track and has the link space, that is greyed out so I am not able to drag anything in.

Cheers.