Thanks for the remedial overview of graphs – helpful for understanding the graphs as they apply to the animation. Seems that manipulating the graphs is function of a number of variables, each influencing the other. once i figured out the relationships of the parts – adjusting the distances between key frames, accelertion value of keyframes, spatial distances between objects, and maintianing smooth transitions through key frames – i could generally get the graphs to behave in a understandable way. thanks again for the breakdown.