(Jerry Flynn, Daril Bentley) Animating With Micros PDF

Animating with
Microstation
Jerry Flynn
e
Bentley Institute Press
Exton, PA
2007
ANIMATINGWITH M~cRoSTAT~ON
First Edition
Copyright 0 2007 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.
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ISBN Number: 978-0-9714141-9-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007923518
Published by:
Bentley Systems, Incorporated
685 Stockton Drive
Exton, PA 19341
www.bentley.com
e
www.bentley.com/books
Printed in the U.S.A.

Introduction
This book assumes you know nothing about animation however it is

assumed that you have a working knowledge of 3D. It starts out slowly
with simple animation techniques using keyframing and progresses to
more advanced animation methods where you will learn to animate
actors using parameters and also to animate materials and lighting.
This book covers animating with Microstation V8 and also
Microstation V8 XM Edition. While many of the tools may look the
same in both versions the underlying code has been completely
rewritten for XM. Most notably the Animation Producer where the
animation scripts are created has a completely new look and is much
more user friendly.
In every exercise you will get a chance to see how the V8 XM Edition
compares to previous Animation Producer. If you are new to Animation
and are starting out using Microstation V8 XM Edition, I would
recommend you skip over the exercises geared toward the older version
and concentrate on those exercises specifically for XM. If you are
familiar with the old Animation Producer and moving to XM, I would
recommend you do both sets of exercises so you can apply what you
already know more quickly by seeing exactly how the versions differ.
xi
xii I Introduction I
EXTRACTINGTHE DATASETS
Before doing any exercises, you will need to extract the data sets from
the accompanying CD. The CD contains the Workspace that you will be
using for all the exercises, including design files, palettes, materials, and
image library.
Extract all the files from the AWM.zip file into the folder where Micro-
Station in installed on your computer. By default, Microstation V8 is
installed in \Program Files\Bentley folder, and for V8 XM Edition
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Bentley but this
could be different on your computer if you do not use the default install.
Id
Extract to
Bentley folder
Check Use
folder names
Extract the files using folder names and elect to overwrite the existing
files since the Workspace folder already exists.
NOTE: It may be necessary to set the Windowsfolder options in order
to see the default folder location where the V8 X M Workspace is
installed.
From Windows File Explorer choose Tools > Folder Options to open the
Folder Options dialog turn on the option to Show hidden files and
folders.
I About the Author I xiii
Files and Foldeir

Autornaticalb rearch for network folders and printers
Display file size infomalionin folder lips
Display m p l e folder view m Explorer‘s Folders list
Display the conlent3 01 syslern folders
Display the full path ~nthe address bar
Display the full path m the tille bar
Do not cache thumbnails
ABOUTTHE AUTHOR
Jerry Flynn is a visualization specialist at Bentley Systems. He has more
than 18 years of visualization experience, and over 25 years of
experience working with 3D computer models.
As a design engineer with Planning Research Corporation (PRC), at the
Kennedy Space Center, Jerry designed launch support equipment and
access platforms for the Space Shuttle. Using a highly accurate 3D
computer model of the Space Shuttle’s outer mold lines, Jerry was able to
design critical access equipment and verify the designs on the computer
prior to fabrication. In his own words “I was hooked on 3D” from that
point, in 1981, on.
When the design and construction phase for the Shuttle facilities ended
in 1987, Jerry left PRC and went to work for McDonnell Douglas Space
Systems. At that time McDonnell Douglas provided all support and
processing of flight hardware in preparation for launch of the Space
Shuttle. As a senior design engineer at McDonnell Douglas, Jerry
brought his experience in 3D computer graphics to an even higher level.
Using Microstation, version 2.01.3, and an 8 MHz 286 PC, he created
the first accurate 3D models of a processing facility and the Magellan
spacecraft. These models then were used to perform access studies and
xiv I Introduction I
fit checks, far in advance of the spacecraft’s actual arrival at the Kennedy
Space Center. This effort proved to NASA that computer modeling
would be a tremendous time saver over existing methods.
From Jerry’s pioneering efforts, a new Visualization Group was born.
This group performed complex tasks and expanded their
responsibilities to include conceptual design and advanced studies for
future missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond. This group now has
more than 11 full-time employees dedicated to various visualization
tasks.
During his time at McDonnell Douglas, Jerry won 14 Golden Mouse
awards in InterGraph‘s computer art competition and a Best in
Application, from Kodak, during the 1991 SIGGRAPH convention. The
Design Visualization Group that Jerry was instrumental in forming won
the Silver Eagle award in 1993, the highest award achievable at the Space
Systems division.
Jerry Flynn departed McDonnell Douglas in November of 1994 to join
Bentley Systems. He was responsible for much of the animation and
graphics used on the Discovery CD-ROMs to launch Microstation 95,
GeoGraphics, Modeler, and TriForma. He continues to work closely
with development on improving and adding new visualization features
to Microstation. He also played a major role in the development of
“Model City Philadelphia” a virtual reality model of Philadelphia, which
was shown at AEC Systems and SIGGRAPH in 1997.
Jerry is the author of the Bentley Institute’s “Animating with
Microstation” and “Rendering for Building Design” courses and
provides 3D and visualization training for users in the U.S. and sites
around the world. Jerry Flynn also supports Bentley’s Professional
Services Group. In this capacity, he provides professional consulting and
services, including onsite training, 3D modeling, animation, rendering,
multimedia, and video editing services.
Jerry Flynn’s graphics have been on the covers of 16 Microstation books.
He has been the creator of seven Microstation Manager covers, and his
photorealistic images have made the covers of Road eb Bridges,
Computer Aided Engineering and Computer Graphics World magazines.
He is responsible for the “Orbiter, Oldhotel, Livroom and Lobby”
example DGN files that were shipped with Microstation. He was
instrumental in the development of the texture library that is delivered
with Microstation.
Contents
Chapter 1: Animation Overview ......................... 1

Chapter Objectives ....................................... 1
Introduction ............................................. 1
Animation Overview ...................................... 1
Video or Movie Output.................................... 2
Video Standards.......................................... 3
NTSC ................................................. 3
PAL ................................................... 4
HDTV ................................................. 4
The Animation Tools., .................................... 4
Uses of the Animation Tools............................ 7
Actor Tools............................................ 7
Camera Tools ......................................... 8
General Settings....................................... 8
Animation Preview .................................... 9
Review Questions ........................................ 10
Chapter 2: Simple Keyframe Animation ................. 11

Introduction ............................................. 12
Simple Keyframe Animation............................... 12
Creating Additional Keyframes ......................... 14
Freezing Geometry into Original Positions .................16
Creating Additional Keyframes in V8 XM Edition............ 20
Freezing Geometry into Original Positions in V8 XM Edition . 22
Creating the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition............. 23
V
vi I Contents I
Animating with Actors .................................... 30
Creating the Keyframes ................................... 33
Creating the Animation Script ............................. 34
Animation Preview ....................................... 36
Animating with Actors in V8 XM Edition ................... 39
Creating the Keyframes in V8 XM Edition ............... 43
Creating the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition ......... 45
Animation Preview V8 XM Edition ...................... 47
3D Content in PDF Files for V8 and V8 XM Edition........... 49
Adding 3D Content from Design Models ................ 50
Interacting with 3D Content in Adobe Reader ........... 53
Keyframing Deformation ................................. 57
Manipulating Actors and Creating Keyframes .............. 59
Creating the Deformation Animation Script ............. 61
Recordingthe Animation .............................. 63
Keyframing Deformation in V8 XM Edition .................65
Manipulating Actors and Creating Keyframes
in V8 XM Edition ..................................... 68
Creating the Deformation Animation Script .............69
Recording the Animation V8 XM Edition ................... 72
MicroStation'sMovie Player ............................ 75
Chapter 3: Actor Hierarchy .............................. 79

Introduction ............................................. 79
Attaching Actors ......................................... 80
Creating the Penknife Animation Script.................87
Attaching Actors in V8 XM Edition ...................... 89
Creating the Penknife Animation Script in V8 XM Edition 96
Creating Actors........................................... 101
Assembling the Desk Lamp ............................... 106
Creating Desk Lamp Keyframes ........................... 108
Creating the Desk Lamp Animation Script.................. 115
Creating Actors in V8 XM Edition .......................... 119
Assembling the Desk Lamp in V8 XM Edition ...............126
Attaching Actors using Animation Producer
in V8 XM Edition ..................................... 127
Creating Desk Lamp Keyframes in V8 XM Edition ...........130
Creating the Desk Lamp Animation Script in V8 XM Edition . 137
Targeting Actors in V8 XM Edition Only .................... 145
IContents I vii
Chapter 4: Parametric Animation ....................... 149

Introduction ............................................. 149
Scripting an Actor With a Parametric Equation ............. 151
Creating a Custom Parameter to Describe a Revolution .. 154
Creating an Animation Script Using Custom Parameters .... 157
Changing the Winch Motion by Editing a Parameter ..... 159
Creating a Custom Parameter for Revolution in
V8 XM Edition .................................... 160
Creating an Animation Script Using Custom Parameters . 163
Changing the Winch Motion by Editing a Parameter
in V8 XM Edition .................................. 164
Animating a Clock with Parameters........................ 166
Creating the Clock Script ............................... 168
Editing the Script and Parameters ...................... 169
Animating a Clock with Parameters in V8 XM Edition ....... 171
Creating the Clock Script ............................... 173
Editing the Script and ParametersV8 XM Edition ........ 175
Advanced Parametric Motion Control ...................... 177
Chapter 5: Cameras. Paths. and Targets .................185

Introduction ............................................. 186
Defining the Camera Path................................. 186
Previewingthe Animation Script .......................... 191
Frame the Shot ........................................ 192
The Storyboard........................................ 192
Keyframing a Target ...................................... 196
Checking Camera Path Timing............................. 200
Creating the Storyboard Script ............................ 202
Previewingthe Animation Script .......................... 205
Recording Scripts ......................................... 206
Defining the Camera Path in V8 XM Edition ................212
Previewing the Animation Script .......................... 217
The Storyboard........................................ 219
Activating and Deactivating Targets in V8 XM Edition.... 222
Keyframing a Target in V8 XM Edition...................... 223
Checking Camera Path Timing in V8 XM Edition ............229
Creating the Storyboard Script in V8 XM Edition ............231
Previewingthe Animation Script in V8 XM Edition .......... 235
Recording Scripts in V8 XM Edition ........................ 237
Playing Back the Results in V8 XM Edition ..................243
viii I Contents I
Actors on Paths .......................................... 245
Modifying the path ....................................... 248
Velocity Graph ........................................... 249
Animation Velocity Graph Tools ....................... 251
Placing the Animation Camera in Carl .................. 252
Attaching a Camera to an Actor ........................ 255
Scripting a Target ..................................... 255
Adding a Few Bumps in the Road....................... 261
Actors on Paths in V8 XM Edition .......................... 263
Modifying the path in V8 XM Edition....................... 267
Velocity Graph in V8 XM Edition ........................... 268
Place Animation Camera in Carl in V8 XM Edition ....... 272
Attaching Camera to Actor V8 XM Edition............... 276
Scripting a Target in V8 XM Edition ..................... 277
Script the Previously Created Keyframes
in V8 XM Edition .................................. 281
Adding a Few Bumps in the Road in V8 XM Edition ...... 285
Actors Following Targets in V8 XM ......................... 287
Attach the Actors ...................................... 290
Creating the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition ......... 291
Chapter 6: Animating Materials and Lights ...............297

Introduction ............................................. 298
Animating Running Water ................................ 298
Animating Source Lights.................................. 302
Animating a Camera Using Saved Views ................... 306
Animating Running Water in V8 XM Edition ................ 307
Animating Source Lights in V8 XM ......................... 309
Recording a Preview in V8 XM Edition ..................... 316
Animating a Camera Using Saved Views in V8 XM Edition ... 318
Playing Back The Previously Recorded Script ............... 319
Animating Textures ...................................... 320
Creating the Curtain Keyframes ........................... 322
Creating the Movie House Script ....................... 324
Using the Timeline Editor ................................. 326
Animating Textures in V8 XM Edition ...................... 332
Creating the Curtain Keyframes in V8 XM .................. 334
Creating the Movie House Script in V8 XM Edition ....... 335
Animating the Lights and Movie Screen in V8 XM ....... 337
Animation of Solar Time .................................. 343
Solar Time Stamp......................................... 343
I Contents I ix
Solar Study Utility ........................................ 350

Solar Study in V8 XM Edition .............................. 351
Chapter 7: Included Scripts and Network Rendering ......353

Introduction ............................................. 354
Included Scripts .......................................... 355
Using the Packager Utility ................................. 363
Network Rendering....................................... 366
Distributed Rendering Overview for V8 XM Edition ...... 366
Setting Up a Shared Network Resource .................373
Disable Simple File Sharing on Windows XP Pro ......... 374
Adding Processors ..................................... 378
Important Considerations................................. 379
Hardware Graphics Acceleration........................ 379
Postage Stamp Animations for Preview .................380
Multi-levelTexture Interpolation ....................... 380
Antialiasing ........................................... 381
Memory .............................................. 381
Multi-core CPUs ....................................... 382
Memory .............................................. 382
Non-linear Editing Software............................ 385
Visualization Glossary ................................. 387

I An imat ion Overview
CHAPTEROBJECTIVES
The topics covered in this chapter include:
Animation overview
Video standards
Animation tools
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter you will be provided a brief overview of what
animation is, as well as a brief explanation of the various types of
video formats and output.
ANIMATIONOVERVIEW
When you think of animation one of the first things that comes to
mind is the Saturday morning cartoons that most of us enjoyed as
kids. By drawing pictures with successive movement of objects,
these animations or cartoons appear to come to life. Cartoons
today are typically created on computers and some of the in-
between pictures (frames) can be computed rather than drawn by
hand.
1
2 I Chapter 1: Animation Overview I
What all forms of cartoon animation have in common is that they
create some type of perceived motion by showing successive
frames at a relatively high speed. Computer cartoon animation
usually shows 10 to 20 frames per second. By comparison,
traditional hand-drawn animation uses anywhere from 8 frames
per second (for poor-quality animation), to 12 frames per second
(for standard animation), to 24 frames per second (for short bursts
of smooth, realistic motion).
Human visual accuracy is limited to about 12 images per second.
If you show more than 12 images per second the brain thinks it is
seeing continuous motion (some people are better than others at
this). If you show fewer than 12 images per second, the brain
knows it is looking at single images presented rapidly. The
magician relies on this fact. If they can move an object in less
than 1/12 of a second while distracting you, you will probably
never see what really happened. The hand is faster than the eye.
When animating with Microstation you will find that
Microstation does most of the work for you. You only need to
think about key events or points in time and then script these
events to occur. Microstation determines the in-between frames
and interpolates positions based on the parameters you describe.
VIDEO OR MOVIE
OUTPUT
Just a few years ago a typical Microstation animation consisting
of a series of sequential images (frames) saved at 320 x 240
resolution could play back smoothly at only 15 frames per second
on a 350 Mhz X86 system. Today’s modern system can handle a
smooth 30 frames per second and at a DVD quality 720 x 480
resolution. Because most of your animation work will be played
back on a PC, the final output can be converted to MPEG-1 or
MPEG-2 format suitable for playback on a desktop or laptop
system. MPEG (pronounced M-peg) , which stands for Moving
Picture Experts Group, is the name of the family of standards
used for coding audio-visual information (e.g., movies, video,
music) in a digital compressed format.
IVideo Standards I 3
We will be recording at 30 frames (images) per second. When we

playback our animations using Windows Media Player they will
play at 30 frames per second.
The major advantage of MPEG compared to other formats is that
MPEG files are much smaller for the same quality. This is due to
the very sophisticated compression techniques the MPEG format
uses.
You can choose from several digital formats when creating
animation to be played back on a computer. There is the
Microsoft AVI format which can be configured to use a variety of
compression/decompression routines (CODECs) . You also can
choose Apple’s QuickTime movie format (MOV) format.
If you intend to create video for playback on a television,
Microstation’s Animator can output to NTSC or PAL standard-
size-frames. Animator also supports interlaced field-rendered
frames.
VIDEOSTANDARDS
NTSC
NTSC stands for National Television System Committee, which
devised the NTSC television broadcast system in 1953. NTSC is
also commonly used to refer to one type of television signal that
can be recorded on various tape formats such as VHS, 3/4 inch U-
matic, and Betacam.
The NTSC standard has a fixed vertical resolution of 525
horizontal lines stacked on top of each other, with varying
amounts of “lines” making up the horizontal resolution,
depending on the electronics and formats involved. There are
59.94 fields displayed per second. A field is a set of even lines or
odd lines. The odd and even fields display sequentially,
interlacing the full frame. One full frame consist of two interlaced
fields and displays about every 1/30 of a second.NTSC format is
used in North and South America with the exception of Brazil
(which uses a modified version of PAL).
PAL
PAL stands for Phase Alternation by Line, and was adopted in
1967. The term “PAL” is often used informally to refer to a 625-
line/50 Hz (576i, principally European) television system, and to
differentiate from a 525-line/60 Hz (480i, principally North
AmericadCentral AmericadJapanese) “NTSC” system. An
advantage of this system is a more stable and consistent hue (tint).
PAL-M is used only in Brazil. It has 525 lines, at 30 frames per
second.
The PAL format is used in most of Europe, Africa, and Asia
(including Australia).
HDTV
High-definition television (HDTV) is a television broadcasting
system with a significantly higher resolution than traditional
formats (NTSC, SECAM, PAL) allow. HDTV is broadcast
digitally.
Although a number of HDTV standards have been proposed or
implemented on a limited basis, the current HDTV standards are
defined in ITU-R BT.709 as 1,080 active interlaced or
progressive lines, or 720 progressive lines, using a 16:9 aspect
ratio. The term “high-definition” can refer to the resolution
specifications themselves or more loosely to the media capable of
similar sharpness, such as photographic film.
THEANIMATIONTOOLS
In this first exercise you will be given a brief overview of the
Animation tools. Because this book covers both V8 and V8 XM
Edition, you will be looking at the differences in versions in both
the tools and new functionality provided in the XM Edition. A
more detailed look at the difference between versions is provided
by exercises later in the book.
IThe Animation Tools I 5
All exercises will be noted by the following graphic headers to

indicate to you if they are for V8 and prior versions, V8 XM
Edition or all versions.
=VB
@ This indicates V8.5 and earlier version exercises.
=xM Edition
@ This indicates V8 XM Edition specific exercises.
=*****
@ This indicates exercises applicable for all versions.
The next exercise is for V8.5 and earlier versions as indicated.
=*****
@ Reviewing the Microstation Animation Tools
1 Open the design file simple keyfrumes.dgn.
The design file opens and displays one view.
2 From the Microstation Main menu, select Tools > Visualization >
Animation.
The Animation tool frame opens with four tools for V8 2004
Edition and prior versions and the tool frame for V8 XM Edition
appears with three tools.
Animation Cameras
Animation Actors
Animation Settings ,Animation Preview
V 8 2004 Edition
Animation tools for XM Edition from left to right

Actors, Cameras, and Settings.
3
The XM tools are missing the preview and record tools. These tools
have been redesigned and moved under the Animation Settings tool
frame.
3 Click and drag on each icon in the Animation tool frame to tear off
the individual toolboxes. In V8 XM, click and hold the tool frame
icon to see a drop down list, then select the option to Open as
Toolbox.
V 8 animation tool frames V 8 XM Edition animation toolboxes
Record tool
-I
Preview tool
Uses of the Animation Tools

The tables that follow list the animation tools and their uses. Both
V8 and V8 XM Edition icons are present in the table with the XM
Edition icons to the right of the V8 icons. As you can plainly see,
there are subtle differences between the two types of icons and
you should have no problems in recognizing these tools from
version to version.
A big change in V8 XM Edition is in the way animation actors are
handled. In V8 2004 and prior versions animation, actors when
created are cells. In V8 XM Edition animation actors are Named
Groups when created.
Actor Tools
Tool Animation Actor Tools Used to
p~ a CreateActor Create actors.
Attach Actor Create hierarchies (parent child

fQ
*
relationships)by attaching one
actor to another.
y ManipulateActor Manipulate the created actor
into different positions.
a
-
ModifyActor Modify the actor's name or axis
of motion for movement,
rotation or scale.
Modify Origin Change the origin of the actor.
4
A Define Actor Path Attach an actor, camera or target
to a path.
Script an actor to parametrically
move, rotate or scale.
J-4 4A- Drop Actor Convert (drop) the actor back to

components.
A %il Detach Actor Detach an actor from the

hierarchy. This is the reverse of
the Attach Actor tool.
The Modify Origin tool is not needed or available as a separate
tool in V8 XM Edition. In V8 XM Edition, the actor's coordinate
system can be selected and manipulated independently of the
actor (provided Graphic Group Lock is not enabled).
Camera Tools
I Tool
Animation Camera
Tools
Create Animation Camera
Used to
Place an animation camera. Note

the Animation Camera i s
I ,! Modifycamera
considered an Actor.
Modify a camera's target, lens
angle and display clipping.
a CreateTarget Place a target. Note the Target i s
a ScriptTarget
considered an Actor.
Turn on a target.
In Microstation XM Edition, general settings are as outlined in

the following table.
General Settings
I 1#11
Tool
Animation Settings
Tools
onit;;;; Producer
Used to
Open the Animation Producer

dialog box, where the animation
scripts are created, edited, and
recorded.
Animation Preview Open the Animation Preview
(XM Edition o d y ) tool, a dockable tool bar that
allows you to interactively scrub
through animation frames.
1 Record
(XMEditiononly)
Open the Record Script dialog
box.
1@1 General Settings Open the Animate General

Settings and create script for
animating camera angle,
background, fog, and brightness
adaptation, and so on.
s9 KeyFramesDialog Open the Animation KeyFrames
dialog box, used for creating
keyframes.
Global Lighting Open the Animate Global
Lighting Settings dialog box and
create animation script of solar
lighting, including time of day,
color, and intensity or to script
animation of ambient, and flash
settings.
A H7 SourceLighting Open the Animate Source
Lighting Settings dialog box to
script animation of source lights,
including intensity, color, and
cone angle.
A Materials Open the Animate Material
Settings dialog box and create
animation script of any material's
properties.
The following preview tools are V8 only and are no longer used
in V8 XM Edition. The Record Script and Record Selected
Frames tools for XM Edition are accessed through the Record
Script tool.
Animation Preview
Tool Animation Preview Used to
Tools
Start Moves preview to starting frame
zero.
14 I Preview Previous Moves back one frame in time.
41 Rewind Plays preview in reverse.

Plays animation preview in a

view.
Preview Next Moves ahead one frame in time.
, Preview Last Moves to last frame of animation.
+,II Preview Advance Moves to frame entered.
Record Open the Record Script dialog

(Moved to General Settings box.
toolbox for XM Edition)
Record Selected Frames Open the Record Selected
QOI (Functionality moved to

Record Script dialog box for
XM Edition)
Frames dialog.
REVIEWQUESTIONS
For NTSC, what is the standard frame rate for recording and
playback?
For PAL, what is the standard frame rate for recording and
playback?
For NTSC, how many frames are there in one minute of animation?
True or false: You should always record to a movie format, such as
AVI or MOV.
Simple Keyframe
Animation
CHAPTEROBJECTIVES
The topics covered in this chapter include:
Animation with keyframes
Creating simple keyframes
Simple animation scripts
Creating animation actors
Keyframing actors
Previewing scripts
3D content in Adobe PDF
Graphics acceleration
Recording animation script
Using the movie player
11
12 I Chapter 2: Simple Keyframe Animation I
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter you will be creating a simple animation based on a
technique called keyframing. The basic principle of keyframe
animation is simple: you specify the location of geometry at
certain key positions (keyframes) and the animation software
automatically calculates the in-between frames. You can think of
a keyframe as a key moment in time that includes where an
object’s position, scale or rotation is at that moment.
The Animation Producer automatically computes in-between
frames that involve translation, rotation, and scale. It can also
interpolate the changes between two versions of an element that
has been modified to create simple morphing, such as a flag
waving.
SIMPLEKEYFRAME
ANIMATION
In this next exercise you will be putting some simple objects in
motion by creating keyframes of the simple objects at their initial
positions. Then by moving, rotating, scaling, and modifying the
geometry you will create some additional keyframes. After
creating the keyframes, all that is required to animate the objects
is to create the animation script, preview it and record the script to
sequential frames on disk.
If you are new to animation and are using Microstation V8 XM
Edition you can skip this exercise and move to the exercises
specifically for Microstation V8 XM Edition. The section on 3D
content in Adobe PDF is applicable to both V8 and V8 XM
Edition. All exercises are noted by the following graphic headers
to indicate to you if they are for V8 and prior versions, V8 XM
Edition or all versions.
I Simple Keyframe Animation I 13
=VB
@ This indicates V8.5 and earlier versions.
x x m Edition
@ This is indicatesV8 XM Edition.
=*****
@ This indicatesexercises applicable to all versions.
The next exercise is for V8.5 and earlier versions, as indicated.
=VB
@ Creating Initial Keyframes
Open the design file simple keyfrumes.dgn.
The design file opens and consists of a few 2D shapes.
Fit view 1.
From Tools > Visualization > Animation, open the Animation
Settings toolbox.
Click the Create KeyFrame tool.

The Animation KeyFrames dialog box opens.
Using the Selector tool, select the geometry forming the star object.
In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click Create.
7 Enter star1 in the Name field and in the Description field enter
initial star. Click OK to create a keyframe of the star object in this
position.
8 Using the Selector tool, select the geometry forming the rocket
object.
Create I 9 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click Create.
10 Enter rocket1 in the Name field and in the Description field enter
initial rocket. Click OK to create a keyframe of the rocket object in
this position.
11 Using the Selector tool, select the geometry forming the car object.
Create 1 12 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click Create.
13 Enter car1 in the Name field and in the Description field enter
initial car. Click OK to create a keyframe of the car object in this
position.
Creating Additional Keyframes

Now that you have the initial keyframes created you can simply
modify, scale, rotate or move the geometry and create more
keyframes. These keyframes once created can easily be added to
an animation script to animate the objects between the keyframes.
=V8
fl Creating Additional Keyframes
1 Continue with simple keyfrumes.dgn.
2 Modify the star object geometry by using the Modify Element tool
(Tools > Main > Modify). Snap to the vertex of the right point and
use AccuDraw to move the point up 2 units.
I Simple Keyframe Animation I 15
3 Snap to the vertex of the left point and using AccuDraw move the
point down 2 units.
Star object initial position left, modified center, and rotated right.
4 Using the Selector tool, select all geometry forming the star object.
5 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click Create.
6 Enter star2 in the Name field and in the Description field enter new
star position. Click OK to create a keyframe of the star object in this
position.
7 From the Microstation Main tools, open the Manipulate toolbox.
e NOTE: You will be using MicroStation’s element manipulate tools to

position the geometry into several different poses. Later you will learn
to create actors and manipulate them using the Animation Producer’s
manipulate actor tool.
0..... 8 Using the Selector tool, select the star object and rotate it (using the
.,
......
..
Microstation Rotate tool) 45 degrees about the weighted point in
the center.
9 While the star is still selected, in the Animation KeyFrames dialog
box click Create.
10 Enter star3 in the Name field and in the Description field enter star
rotated. Click OK to create a keyframe of the star object in this
position.
:...? 11 Using the Selector tool, select the rocket object, and using
..
.....
AccuDraw move the rocket geometry up 6 units from the base.
:% 12 While still selected, scale the rocket in X,Y and Z to 0.25 its original
..
..... scale.
13 While still selected, click Create in the Animation KeyFrames dialog
box.
The Create KeyFrame dialog opens.
rocket scaled and moved.
:...$ 15 Using the Selector tool, select the car geometry, and using
. .
.....
AccuDraw move the car geometry to the right 6 units.
16 While the car geometry is still selected, click Create in the
Animation KeyFrames dialog box.
17 In the Create KeyFrame dialog box, enter car2 in the Name field and
enter car moved in the Description field.
FREEZINGGEOMETRY
INTO ORIGINAL POSITIONS
Now that you have created several keyframes to set these objects
in motion, you need to create the animation script. But first you
will freeze the geometry into the original positions. Even though
you may not need the initial position as part of an animation, it is
a good idea to create some initial keyframes when you intend to
put objects into motion. If you ever want to return geometry to its
original location, scale or rotation you can easily freeze it back
using the initial position keyframes.
I Freezing Geometry into Original Positions I 17
=VB
# Freezing Keyframes
1 Continuing with simple keyfrumes.dgn, select car1 in the
Animation KeyFrames dialog box and then click Freeze to return
the geometry to the original position.
2 Select rocket1 in the list and then click Freeze to return the
geometry to the original position.
3 Select starl in the list and then click Freeze to return the geometry
to the original position.
=VB
# Creating the Animation Script
1 Open the Animation Producer dialog box by clicking the tool in the
#I Animation Settings toolbox.
2 Double-click starl in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box.
The Script KeyFrame dialog opens.
3 Set Frame Number to 0 and Interpolation to Linear. Click OK to add

this keyframe to the script.
4 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, double-click star2. In the
Script KeyFrame dialog box, set Frame Number to 29 and Velocity to
Constant. Click OK to add this entry to the animation script.
script
5 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, double-click star3. In the

Script KeyFrame dialog box, set Frame Number to 59 and Velocityto
Constant. Click OK to add this entry to the animation script.
6 Double-click starl. In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, set Frame
Number to 89 and Velocity to Constant. Click OK to add this entry
to the animation script.
7 Preview the script by clicking Play in the Animation Producer
dialogbox.
You will notice the geometry flash as the screen redraws between
frames.To provide for smoother previews, you can turn on graphics
acceleration.
8 From the view border, click the Change
D View Display Mode tool. The Set View
Display Mode box opens. Turn on
Graphics Acceleration.
d
9 Preview the script again with Graphics
Acceleration. This produces a much smoother preview because the
graphics card buffers the information off screen for the next frame
and the display updates without delay.
10 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, double-click rocketl. In
the Script KeyFrame dialog box, set Frame Number to 59 and
Velocity to Constant. Click OK.
11 Double-click rocket2. In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, set Frame
Number to 119 and Velocityto Accelerate. Click OK to add this
entry to the animation script.
12 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, double-click Carl. In the
Script KeyFrame dialog box, set Frame Number to 29 and Velocityto
Constant. Click OK.
I Freezing Geometry into Original Positions I 19
13 Double-click car2 in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box. In the

Script KeyFrame dialog box, set Frame Number to 129 and Velocity
to Accelerate - Decelerate. Click OK to add this entry to animation
script.
14 Preview the finished script by clicking Play in the Animation

?
! Preview toolbox.
= L ~ MEdition
@ Creating Initial Keyframes V8 XM Edition
1 Open the design file simple keyfrumes.dgn.
The design file opens and consist of 2D shapes.
2 Fitview 1.
3 From Tools > Visualization > Animation, open the Animation
Settings toolbox.
2 4 Click the Create KeyFrame tool. The Animation KeyFrames dialog

box opens.
‘Kl 5 Using the Selector tool, select the geometry forming the star object.
7 Enter star1 in the Name field and in the Description field enter
initial star. Click OK to create a keyframe of the star object in this
position.
NOTE In previous versions the only opportunity you hadfor adding
a description for a keyframe was at the time of its creation. With V8
X M Edition, you can add or edit a description at any time.
8 Using the Selector tool, select the geometry forming the rocket
object.
initial rocket. Click OK to create a keyframe of the rocket object in
this position.
11 Using the Selector tool, select the geometry forming the car object.
13 Enter car1 in the Name field and in the Description field enter
initial car. Click OK to create a keyframe of the car object in this
position.
CREATINGADDITIONALKEYFRAMES
IN V8 XM
EDITION
Now that you have the initial keyframes created you can simply
modify, scale, rotate or move the geometry and create more
keyframes. These keyframes once created can easily be added to
an animation script to animate the objects between the keyframes.
I Creating Additional Keyframes in V8 XM Edition I 21
x x m Edition
@ Creating Additional Keyframes in V8 XM Edition
1 Continue with simple keyfrumes.dgn.
2 Modify the star object geometry using the Modify tool (Tools >
Main > Modify). Snap to the vertex of the right point and use
AccuDraw to move the point up 2 units.
3 Snap to the vertex of the left point and using AccuDraw move the
point down 2 units.
Star object initial position left, modified center, and rotated right.
4 Using the Selector tool, select all geometry forming the star object.
pq 5 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click Create.

6 Enter star2 in the Name field and in the Description field enter new
star position. Click OK to create a keyframe of the star object in this
position.
7 From the Microstation Main tools, open the Manipulate toolbox.
NOTE: You will be using MicroStation’s element manipulate tools to
F position the geometry into several different poses. Later you will learn
to create actors and manipulate them using the Animation Producer’s
Manipulate Actor tool.
Crh,
8 Using the Selector tool, select the star object and rotate it (using the
....
Microstation Rotate tool) 45 degrees about the weighted point in
the center.
pq 9 While the star is still selected, in the Animation KeyFrames dialog

box click Create.
10 Enter star3 in the Name field and in the Description field enter star
rotated. Click OK to create a keyframe of the star object in this
position.
.. .:o
.j
11 Using the Selector tool, select the rocket object. Using AccuDraw,
....
move the rocket geometry up 6 units from the base.
o 12 While still selected, scale the rocket in X,Y and Z to 0.25 its original
:..:)
.... scale.
13 While still selected, click Create in the Animation KeyFrames dialog
box.
rocket scaled and moved.
o
.. .: .j
15 Using the Selector tool, select the car geometry. Using AccuDraw,
....
move the car geometry to the right 6 units.
16 While the car geometry is still selected, click Create in the
1~ Animation KeyFrames dialog box.
17 In the Create KeyFrame dialog box, enter car2 in the Name field and
enter car moved in the Description field.
FREEZINGGEOMETRY
INTO ORIGINAL POSITIONS IN V8
XM EDITION
Now that you have created several keyframes, to set these objects
in motion you need to create the animation script. But first you
will freeze the geometry into the original positions. Even though
you may not need the initial position as part of an animation, it is
a good idea to create some initial keyframes when you intend to
put objects into motion. If you ever want to return geometry to its
original location, scale or rotation you can easily freeze it back
using the initial position keyframes.
I Creating the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition I 23
x x m Edition
@ Freezing KeyFrames in V8 XM Edition
1 Continuing with simple keyfrumes.dgn, select car1 in the
Animation KeyFrames dialog box and then click Freeze to return
the geometry to the original position.
2 Select rocket1 in the list and then click Freeze to return the
geometry to the original position.
3 Select star1 in the list and then click Freeze to return the geometry
to the original position.
CREATING THE ANIMATIONSCRIPT IN V8 XM EDITION
x x m Edition
@ Creating the Animation Script in V8 XM Edition
1 Open the Animation Producer dialog box by clicking the tool in the
H Animation Settings toolbox.
If you h a v e created animation in previous v e r s i o n s of
Microstation this is where you will begin to appreciate the
changes made in V8 XM Edition. The Animation Producer has a
completely new look and you will find it much easier to create
animation scripts here.
NOTE: You will need to set the number of frames you will be using
because the default is 120. Anything over that requires you set the
number of frames you intend to script in advance. Keeping with the
same number as in the previous V8 exercise, you can set this to 129.
2 In the Animation Producer dialog box, select Settings > General.
The Animation Settings dialog box opens.
3 In the Animation Settings dialog box, set the End Frame number to
129.
4 In the Animation Producer dialog, on the left side you will see a tree
view list box. Click the plus sign next to KeyFrames to expand the
list of keyframes.
simple keyframes
Expanded Keyframes
in tree view.
5 Right-click star1 in the list and select Script.

-
OK Cancel
6 The Frame number will be zero because the timeline marker is at

zero. Click OK to script this keyframe.
A marker appears in the timeline to indicate a keyframe at this
location.
7 Click the blue vertical bar in the timeline and drag it to the right
until the time marker indicates that you are at frame 29.
As an alternative to dragging the time marker you can enter 29 in
the frame number field, which in turn moves the time bar.
rocket1
rocket2
car1
car2
starl
8 In the Animation Producer dialog box, right-click star2 in the

KeyFrames list and select Script.
The Script KeyFrame dialog box opens.
9 Click OK to add this keyframe entry to the animation script
occurring at frame 29.
10 In the Animation Producer dialog, key in 59 in the frame number
field and then press the Enter key.
The time marker moves to align with frame 59 in the graph view.
11 Right-click star3 keyframe in the tree view and then select Script.
12 In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, click OK to add this keyframe
occurring at frame 59 to your script.
13 In the Animation Producer dialog, key in 89 in the frame number
field and then press the Enter key.
The time bar moves to frame 89.
14 Right-click the starl keyframe in the Animation Producer’s tree
view and then select Script to add this keyframe occurring at
frame 89.
The Script KeyFrame dialog opens. Click OK to add the keyframe to

your script.
15 Click the Animation Preview tool.
The Animator Preview dialog opens.
Preview view number
Current frame number
Create keyframe of selected objects on the
fly at current frame marker (scrub bar)
position
Interactivescrub bar Begin Frame

(click and drag to Play
dynamically move
through time). Pause
End Frame
General Settings
Here is where you can see yet another huge improvement over
previous versions. The V8 XM Edition Animation Preview tool
when clicked opens a dockable Preview tool with a scrub bar from
which you can interactively preview your animation. This tool has
all of the same features as the old interface and much more. The new
Animator Preview lets you have complete control over your
animation previews. You can select views in which to preview your
animation and you can open the Animation Settings dialog. You can
even choose to automatically create keyframes of selected graphics.
16 Try using the Animator Preview tool on your current script. Click
the Play button, click the Pause button, and then try clicking and
dragging the scrub bar.
.NOTE: Notice the geometry does notflash from frame to frame
because in the V8 XM Edition all of Microstation’s views are
accelerated at all times, providing smooth previews. You no longer
need to turn on and offgraphics acceleration, as you did in the
previous V8 exercise
17 In the Animator Preview tool, move the scrub bar to frame 59 (or
8 just key in 59 in the current time field to move the scrub bar).
The Movement of the Animator Preview’s scrub bar also moves the
Animation Producer’s time bar.
18 In the Animation Producer dialog box right-click rocket1 from the
expanded list of keyframes in the tree view list to open the Script
KeyFrame dialog box.
19 Click the OK button to add this keyframe at Start Time 59
Interpolation Linear and Velocity Constant.
20 Move the Animator Preview scrub bar to frame 119, right-click

rocket2 from the tree view list of keyframes in the Animation
Producer dialog box and select Script from list of options.
Scrub bar

22 Move the Animation Producer time bar to frame 29 and right-click
car1 from the expanded list of keyframes in the tree view list to
open the Script KeyFrame dialog box.
24 Move the Animator Preview scrub bar to frame 129, right-click car2
from the tree view list of keyframes in the Animation Producer
dialog box and select Script from list of options.
25 In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, check that Frame Number is 129
and set Velocity to Accelerate - Decelerate. Click OK to add this
entry to your animation script.
J
Animation Producer with completed script.
:I.:-. I 26 Preview the finished script by clicking Play in the Animation

Preview dialog.
As you can see from having done this exercise in the V8 XM
Edition, the graphical user interface (GUI) is much more intuitive
and user friendly than in previous versions of Microstation. This
is just the beginning and as you move through this book you will
be introduced to many more new tools and techniques for
accomplishing your animation task.
ANIMATINGWITH ACTORS
For this exercise you are going to animate the opening and
closing of a door. To do this you will create an actor out of the
door geometry that needs to move. You could create the
animation without using actors by manually rotating the door into
the opened and closed positions using Microstation tools and
creating the necessary keyframes. By creating an actor you will
be able to more easily rotate the door about its hinge line.
=V8
# Creating An Actor
1 Open the design file KEYl.dgn.
You will start by creating an actor for the door. The geometry for the
door has been isolated to the Door level for easy selection.
2 Click the Power Selector tool with Mode set to Add, click the Level
tab and then click the Door level to select all the geometry on this
level.
Level tab .
Level Door
The door geometry is highlighted, indicating that it is selected.

I Animating with Actors I 31
3 From Tools > Visualization, open the Animation Actors toolbox.
4 Select the Create Actor tool.

al Because the geometry is already selected, the Create Actor tool
settings window opens.
.................
Baame:,
-
Orientation:
Move Along RotateAbout Scale Along
x x x
41 41 41
z z z
Bounding Box
Create Bounding Box
Class:
Level:
5 In the Name field key in Door. Set Orientation to Design and only
enable Rotate About Z.
6 Snap to the weighted point in the Top view on the left side of the
door. The pointer changes to a graphic representing the X,Y,Z axis.
\ Snap point
This will be the hinge point for the door actor to rotate about.
7 Enter a data point to create the Door actor.
NOTE: Did you notice the triad? This gives you a visual reference
point and is the origin point about which any movement or rotation
takes place. When you accept with a data point, all geometry in the
selection set becomes an actor (with the name and translations as set
in the Create Actor dialog box).
In the next exercise you will check to make sure the origin you
intended to rotate about is correct. It is a good idea to test each
actor’s motion after it is created. This can be done with the
Manipulate Actor tool. Do not accept with a data point, as this
moves the geometry to the position shown on the screen. If you
inadvertently enter a data point, you can simply undo the step to
return the actor to its previous position.
WARNING: Remember to reset. Do not enter a data point when
testing an actor.
=V8
@ Testing an Actor’s Origin
1 To test the actor’s motion, select the Manipulate Actor tool.
2 Identify the actor to manipulate by entering a data point on the door
or by double-clicking in the actor list box.
3 Move the pointer and the door should swing from the hinge line.
Reset now.
As you moved the pointer you should have seen the door swinging
open and then closing rotating around the hinge line or weighted
point you snapped to.
If the door is not rotating around this point you can use the Modify
Origin tool to reposition the origin to the correct hinge line.
I Creating the Keyframes I 33
CREATING THE KEYFRAMES

To animate this door opening and closing, you need to create two
keyframes: one with the door open and one with the door closed.
=VB
@ Creating Keyframes
1 Continue with KEYl.dgn.
2 From Tools > Visualization, open the Animation Settings toolbox.
3 Click the Create Keyframe tool. Select the door actor by entering a
4 data point over the door actor geometry in any view.
-
OK Cancel
4 In the Name field enter closed and in the Description field enter
door closed.
The description is optional but could be very helpful, especially in
complex animations or when other users are working on the same
animation project.
5 Now you need to open the door using the Manipulate Actor tool.
Enter a data point over any of the door geometry to select the Door
actor.
The Manipulate Actor dialog box opens.
NOTE: You can as an option select the actor you wish to manipulate
by double-clicking on the named actor from the list of actors in the
Manipulate Actor dialog box. You can also enter a precise angle in
degreesfor rotational movements, distance in master units for
translational movements or afloatingpoint number if the actor is
being scaled.
Note that as you move your cursor the door actor swings about its
origin (in this case, the hinge line). Swing the door wide open
(about minus 130 degrees) and this time accept the new position
with a data point. Click OK.
Create 1 6 Click the Create button in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box
then select the door actor by entering a data point on any of the
door actor geometry.
The the Create KeyFrame dialog box opens.
7 In the Name field of the Create KeyFrame dialog box, key in open.
In the Description field, key in door open. Click OK.
You now have all keyframes necessary to animate the door. All
you need to do now is to script the movie. By double-clicking on
the keyframes in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, you can
script the keyframes to happen at any point in time of your
choosing.
CREATING THE ANIMATIONSCRIPT

Next you will be creating the animation script to open and close
the door.
I Creating the Animation Script I 35
=VB
# Creating the Animation Script
2 Double-click the closed keyframe in the Animation KeyFrames

dialog box. The Script KeyFrame dialog box opens. Set the Frame
Number to 0 and Velocity to Constant.
3 Double-click the open keyframe in the Animation KeyFrames

dialog box. In the Script KeyFrame dialog, set Frame Number to 59.
Click OK.
Because the animation begins at zero, the door opens over 60
frames.
4 Double-click the closed keyframe in the Animation KeyFrames
dialog box. In the Script KeyFrame dialog, set Frame Number to 119
and Velocity to Accelerate. Click OK.
NOTE: By setting Velocity to Accelerate, you are slamming the door
shut. The motion with start out slow and increase over time. Reducing
the number of frames to close the door would have a similar eflect.
The Animation Producer dialog shows the current script.
ANIMATIONPREVIEW
Tools in the Animation Preview toolbox let you preview an
animation prior to recording it. The animation can also be
previewed using the Animation Producer dialog box.
To Select
~
Display the first frame of the

animation.
A
Preview First Frame
Display the previous frame of the
sequence.
I
14 I
Preview Previous Frame
Play animation from the current frame
to the beginning.
I
Rewind Animation
Play animation from the current frame
to the end.
I
Play Animation
Display the next frame of the
sequence.
Preview Next Frame
IAnimation Preview I 37
ro Select
Display the last frame of the
animation.
I
Preview Last Frame
Advance the animation to a specified
frame.
I
+u I
Advance to Frame
Record the script.
I
Record Script
Record selected frames from the
script.
I
Record Selected Frames
Freeze animated elements a t a
specified frame.
Freeze Elements A t This Frame
Key in DIALOG TOOLBOX ANIMATION PREVIEW to open

the Animation Preview toolbox.
All tools from the Animation Preview tool (except Advance to
Frame) automatically perform the action in the current view.
Additional data points continue the function in the selected view.
Advance to Frame updates when you press the Tab key or enter a
data point.
-V8
d Previewing the Animation Script
2 In the Animation Producer dialog box, set View to 2.
3 Verify the Preview Settings by selecting Settings > Preview in the
Animation Producer dialog box.
4 In the preview settings dialog box, turn on Clear View Between

Frames, Limit Curve Stroking, Animated Elements, and Static
Elements.
5 From the view border click, the Change View Display Mode tool.
B The Set View Display Mode dialog box opens. Turn on Graphics
Acceleration for View 2 with Display Mode set to Smooth.
6 In the Animation Preview toolbox, click Play and preview the

animation in wireframe.
Later on you will learn how to render out (record) your animation
scripts to individual frames and how to compile them into a movie
format. To get a quick rendered preview of your scripted animations
you can quickly and easily print your design file to an Adobe PDF
file containing 3D content and the animation. The only limitation
with this method is that animated materials are not yet supported in
a PDF file.
7 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select File > Save Script.
Your Script is saved as Keylmsa.
I Animating with Actors in V8 XM Edition I 39
ANIMATINGWITH ACTORSIN V8 XM EDITION

For this exercise you are going to animate the opening and
closing of a door. To do this you will create an actor out of the
door geometry that needs to move. You could create the
animation without using actors by manually rotating the door into
the opened and closed positions using Microstation tools and
creating the necessary key frames. By creating an actor you will
be able to more easily rotate the door about its hinge line.
If you are familiar with creating actors using previous versions of
Microstation you will have no problem switching to V8 XM
Edition as the tools look same (although the underlying code is
completely new). In previous versions, actors when created were
cells; in V8 XM Edition, actors when created are named groups.
x x m Edition
# Creating an Actor in V8 XM Edition
1 Open the design file KEY1 d g n .
You will start by creating an actor for the door. The geometry for the
door has been isolated to the Door level for easy selection.
2
‘Kl Click the Element Selector tool. With Mode set to Add, click the
Level tab and then click the Door level to select all geometry on this
level.
Mode set
Level tab
Level Door
Default
Door Jamb
The Door geometry is highlighted, indicating that it is selected.

3 From Tools > Visualization, open the Animation Actor toolbox.
a 4 Select the Create Actor tool.

Because the geometry is already selected, the Create Actor tool

settings window opens. You will need to expand the list of options in
order to restrict motion for your actor.
Click here to expand

or show additional
options.
5 In the Name field change the default name from Actor 1 to Door
and make sure Orientation is set to Design and only enable Rotate
About Z.
6 Snap to the weighted point in the Top view on the left side of the
door. The pointer changes to a graphic to represent the X,Y,Z axis.
Snap point
This will be the hinge point for the Door actor to rotate about.
7 Enter a data point to create the Door actor.
NOTE: Did you notice the triad? This gives you a visual reference
point and is the origin point about which any movement or rotation
takes place. When you accept with a data point, all geometry in the
selection set becomes an actor (with the name and translations as set
in the Create Actor dialog box).
When you create an actor in V8 XM Edition you will see a color-
coded triad placed at the origin of each actor you create provided
construction is enabled in views in which you wish to see the
actor’s origin. The actor origin graphic is color coded, with red
indicating the X axis, green indicating the Y axis, and blue
indicating the Z axis. You can select and move or rotate this triad,
which moves or rotates the actor’s origin and its coordinate
system. The Modify Actor Origin tool that was used in previous
versions is no longer used because you can simply move or rotate
each actors coordinate system by manipulating this triad.
In the next exercise, you will check to make sure the origin you
intended to rotate about is correct. It is a good idea to test each
actor’s motion after it is created. This can be done with the
Manipulate Actor tool. Do not accept with a data point, because
this moves the geometry to the position shown on the screen. If
you inadvertently enter a data point, you can simply undo the step
to return the actor to its previous position.
WARNING: Remember to reset (do not enter a data point) when
testing an actor.
x x m Edition
@ Testing an Actor’s Origin in V8 XM Edition
* 1 Select the Manipulate Actor tool. In the Manipulate Actor dialog
box, set Method to By Points and click Door in Actor List.
Motion limited to
rotate about Z
for this actor
NOTE: Because you limited your actor’s motion to only rotate about
Z, this will be the only motion available in the Manipulate Actor
dialog box.
The AccuDraw compass is relocated to the origin of the Door actor

and you are prompted to “Enter point to define start of rotation.”
..
2 Enter an additional data point to indicate rotation from origin and

then move your cursor and the door should swing from the hinge
line. Reset now.
As you moved the pointer you should have seen the door swinging
open and closed rotating about the hinge line or weighted point you
snapped to. If the door is not rotating about this point, you can
select the graphic triad and reposition the origin to the correct
hinge line. To reposition the actor’s origin, turn off the graphic
group lock so that you can move the origin without moving the
entire actor.
Creating the Keyframes in V8 XM Edition

To animate this door opening and closing, you need to create two
keyframes: one with the door open and one with the door closed.
x x m Edition
@ Creating Keyframes in V8 XM Edition
2 From Tools > Visualization, open the Animation Settings toolbox.
2 3 Click the Create KeyFrame tool.

Next Page

The Animation KeyFrames dialog box opens.
pq 4 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click the Create button

and then select the Door actor by entering a data point over the
Door actor geometry in any view.
5 In the Name field enter closed and in the Description field enter
door closed.
The description is optional but could be very helpful, especially in
complex animations or when other users are working on the same
animation project.
6 Now you need to open the door using the Manipulate Actor tool.
Enter a data point over any of the Door geometry to select the Door
actor.
7 In the Manipulate Actor dialog, select Door from Actor List, set the
method to Active Angle and key in minus 130 in the angle field.
Enter a data point to accept the rotation.
8 Click the Create button in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box and
then select the Door actor by entering a data point on any of the
Door actor geometry.
The Create KeyFrame dialog box opens.
9 In the Name field of the Create Keyframe’s dialog box, key in open.
In the Description field key in door open. Click OK.
3 Actor Hierarchy
CHAPTEROBJECTIVES
In this chapter you will learn how to edit scripts and create a hierarchy
of actor assemblies from animation actors where they are attached to
each other in a logical order. You will also learn how to create more
advanced keyframed animation.Topics covered in this chapter include:
Attaching actors to create assemblies
Creating keyframes with hierarchy
Creating actors
Scripting animation using keyframes
Previewing animation
Targeting actors (V8 XM Edition only)
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter you will learn how to create more complex animation
scripts and to assemble your actors into hierarchical relationships or
actor assemblies. The ability to attach one actor to another is also
commonly referred to in computer graphics animation as the “parent/
child relationship.”
79
80 I Chapter 3: Actor Hierarchy I
You will also, as in the previous chapter, have duplicate exercises to
choose from, depending on the version of Microstation you will be
using. We recommend that if you are starting out using Microstation V8
XM Edition and have no prior animation experience you skip the
exercises for older versions and concentrate on those exercises
designated for V8 XM Edition. If you are using an older version,
perform the exercises designated for V8. If you are moving from
previous versions and have experience using Animator tools from MSJ
or V8.5, we recommend that you perform all exercises to learn what has
changed and how the tools are different.
All exercises are noted using the following graphic headers to indicate if
they are for V8 and prior versions, for V8 XM Edition, or for all
versions.
=V8
d This indicates V8.5 and earlier version exercises.
xxm Edition
d This indicates V8 XM Edition specific exercises.
=I *****
d This indicates exercises applicable for all versions.
ATTACHINGACTORS
You will create what is commonly referred to as the “parent/child
relationship.” By creating the hierarchical relationship you can attach
one actor to another to form an assembly.
In the next exercise you will set up a hierarchy by attaching the penknife
(Swiss Army knife) actors together in a logical manner. Then you will
manipulate the actors into several different keyframe positions in order
to script the animation, which will display each of the penknife’s tools.
The actors in the following exercise have already been created. You will
be animating the penknife to show the various blades by creating the
animation script, but first you will be assembling the actors into a
hierarchy using the Attach Actor tool. As mentioned in the previous
chapter, one rather large underlying difference between V8 XM Edition
I Attaching Actors I 81
and all previous versions of the Animator is in the way actors are
created. With V8 XM Edition, when actors are created they are Named
Groups and in all previous versions actors are cells when created.
=VB
@ Creating the Penknife Hierarchy
1 Open the file penknifedgn.
2 From the Saved Views dialog box (Utilities > Saved Views), attach
SCISSOR to View 1.
You will see the scissors in View 1. For the scissors to work
properly, you need to create the hierarchy by making the actor
attachments.
3 From the Animation Actors toolbox, select the Manipulate Actor
tool.
s2
s1
FILE
BLADE1
KNIFE
BLADE2
4 Read the prompt and double-click S1 from the list of actors. Move
the pointer into View 1, but do not enter a data point.
Note that only one blade moves. In reality, a screw at the base forms
an assembly that connects the blades. You can achieve this same
effect by connecting the pieces.
Rotating unattached actor S1.
5 Enter a reset, the S1 actor returns to the original position.

NOTE: Ifrou accidently entered a data point instead ofresetting,
undo the last step to return the manipulated actor to the original
position.
a 6 From the Animation Actors toolbox, select the Attach Actor tool.
The Attach Actor dialog box opens.
By clicking once on any actor in the list, you will see the actor’s
geometry or elements highlight. Double-clicking accepts the
highlighted actor for attachment.
7 From the Attach Actor dialog, double-click S2 and then double-

click S1 to attach S2 to S1. The Attach Actor dialog updates to show
this relationship.
8 Select the Manipulate Actor tool and double-click S1. As you move
the pointer the S2 actor remains attached and moves with the S1
actor.
Continue making the attachments to complete the knife assembly.
9 Double-click S1, and then double-click Knife.
10 Double-click File, and then double-click Knife.
11 Double-click Bladel, and then double-click Knife.
12 Double-click Blade2, and then double-click Knife.
=VB
@ Manipulating Knife Actors into Keyframes
In the following exercise you will create several keyframes by
manipulating the blades and scissors into different positions. You will
create the first keyframe with the knife in its current (or closed)
position.
1 Continuing with penknifedgn, in the Animation Settings toolbox
select the Create Keyframe tool.
2 The Animation KeyFrames dialog box opens. Click Create.
Note the prompt in the bottom left of the Microstation window
reads “Identify Element.”
3 Click the knife body and enter a data point, The Create KeyFrame
dialog appears.
TIP: lfyou accidently enter a data point while testingyour actors, do
not panic. A simple undo puts your actors back into the position they
were before the manipulation.
4 In the Name field key in closed, and in the Description field key in
knife closed. Click OK to create the keyframe.
The beginning of the animation starts with the knife closed. You
will need to create additional keyframes by manipulating each actor
into several key positions and creating keyframes. These keyframes
can then be used to create an animation script and animate the
penknife model to display each of it’s different blades or tools.
5 Turn on all levels in View 1.
6 From the Animation Actors toolbox, select the Manipulate Actor
tool.
The Manipulate Actor dialog box appears.
7 Read the prompt and double-click S1 (the large scissor blade) from
the list of actors in the Manipulate Actor dialog box.
8 In the tool settings window, turn on Angle and set the value to
minus 70. Enter a data point in any view.
The scissor is now partly rotated out. It is at this point the small
scissor blade begins to open.
fi
Knife with S1 scissor rotated out minus 70 degrees.
4 9 From the Animation Settings toolbox, select the Create KeyFrame

tool. The Animation KeyFrames dialog box appears.
10 Click Create and enter a data point over the Knife actor in any view.
11 Enter scissor1 in Name field and partially open in the Description
field. Click OK to create this keyframe.
12 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, rotate the S1 actor minus 90
&! degrees and rotate the S2 actor minus 30 degrees.
S1 Actor rotated
minus 90 degrees
from previous
position.
52 Actor rotated
minus 30 degrees.
7
13 From the Animation Settings toolbox, select the Create KeyFrame
tool.
The Animation KeyFrames dialog box appears.
14 Click Create and enter a data point over the Knife actor in any view.
15 Enter scissor2 in the Name field and scissor open in the Description
field.
16 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, rotate the File actor minus 60
degrees.
17 Create a KeyFrame of File actor with Name file and Description file
open.
18 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, rotate the BLADE1 actor minus
.&! 177 degrees.
The blade is fully opened.
19 Create a keyframe of the knife in this position, with Name bladel

and Description bladel open.
20 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, rotate the BLADE2 actor 176
degrees.
21 Create a keyframe of the knife in this position, with Name blade2
and Description blade2 open.
Creating the Penknife Animation Script

Now that you have the penknife keyframes, you can create an animation
script that animates the penknife tools opening and closing.
=V8
# Creating the Penknife Animation Script
1 From the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click the closed
keyframe and then click Freeze to move all actors to their original
positions.
This is where the action begins, which will be the first keyframe in
the script.
2 Double-click the closed keyframe from the list of keyframes in the

Animation Keyframes dialog box.
Take a look at the Script KeyFrame dialog box. The Frame Number
is 0.00. This is where the animation begins, with the knife in the
closed position. Interpolation is set to Linear, and Velocity is set to
Constant.
3 Click OK to add this item to the animation script.
#I 4 From the Animation Settings toolbox, select the Animation

Producer tool.
The Animation Producer dialog box opens, which has the entry for
the first keyframe closed.
5 Read the prompt and double-click scissorl. In the Script KeyFrame

dialog, set Frame Number to 30 and click OK to add this item to the
animation script.
6 Double-click scissor2. In the Script KeyFrame dialog, set Frame
Number to 60 and click OK.
7 Double-click file. In the Script KeyFrame dialog, set Frame Number
to 90 and click OK.
8 Double-click bladel. In the Script KeyFrame dialog, set Frame
9 Double-click blade2. In the Script KeyFrame dialog, set Frame
In the next step you are going to animate all of the penknife tools
back to closed position in one smooth motion.
10 Double-click closed. In the Script KeyFrarne dialog, set Frame
Number to 210 and click OK to add this item to the animation
script.
KeyFrarne closed penknife.dgn 0

KeyFrarne scissor1 penknife.dgn 30
KeyFrarne scissor2 penknife.dgn 60
KeyFrarne file penknife.dgn 90
KeyFrarne blade1 penknife.dgn 120
KeyFrarne blade2 penknife.dgn 150
11 Open the Saved Views dialog box (Utilities > Saved Views) and
attach the saved view ANIMAT to View 2.
12 Preview the animation script by setting View to 2 and clicking Play.
13 From the Animation Producer, select File > Save Script to save the
script as penknife.msa.
Attaching Actors in V8 XM Edition
xxm Edition
@ Creating the Penknife Hierarchy in V8 XM Edition
1 Open the design file penknife-XM.dgn.
2 From the Saved Views dialog box (Utilities > Saved Views), attach
SCISSOR to View 1.
You will see the scissors in View 1. For the scissors to work
properly, you need to create the hierarchy by making the actor
attachments.
* 3 From the Animation Actors toolbox, select the Manipulate Actor

tool.
4 Select S1 from the list of actors and set Method to By Points. Read
the prompt from Microstation and it says “Enter point to define
start of articulation.” Enter a data point and move the cursor in View
1 but do not enter a second data point.
Note that only one blade moves, in reality, a screw forming an
assembly connects the blades. You can achieve this same effect by
connecting the pieces.
h
Rotating unattached actor S1

5 Enter a reset. The S1 actor returns to the original position.
NOTE: In the V8 X M Edition the AccuDraw compass is automatically
relocated to the origin of your actor to aid in manipulation. The
display shows the currentposition grayed out and the new
manipulated position in the element color.
TIP: lfyou accidently enter a data point while testing your actors, do
notpanic. A simple undo puts your actors back into theposition they
were in before the manipulation.
6 From the Animation Actors toolbox, select the Attach Actor tool.
fQ
The Attach Actor dialog box opens.
KNIFE
s1
s2
FILE
BLADE2
Click to expand actor BLADEl
list as shown.
7 From the Attach Actor dialog Actor list, click S2 and then click S1 to
attach S2 to S1. The Attach Actor dialog updates to show this
relationship.
[None]
KNIFE
s1
L(9
FILE
BLADE2
BLADEl
8 Select the Manipulate Actor tool and set Method to By Points and
click S1 from the Actor list.
The AccuDraw compass is relocated to the origin of the S1 actor.
9 Enter a data point to start rotation from the origin point. As you
move the pointer the S2 actor remains attached and moves with the
S1 actor reset. Do not accept the manipulation at this time.
0 WARNING: Remember to reset. Do not enter a data point when

testing an actor.
10 Continue making the attachments to complete the knife assembly.
11 Click S1, and then click Knife.
12 Click File, and then click Knife.
13 Click Bladel, and then click Knife.
14 Click Blade2, and then click Knife.
The Attach Actor dialog after making attachments.
TIP: In V8 X M Edition you can easily attach or detach actors in the

Animation Producer dialog box tree view Actor list by simply dragging
and dropping the actors onto each other in the list. This method is
used in a later exercise.
xxm Edition
d Manipulating Knife Actors into Keyframes in V8 XM Edition
In the following exercise you will create several keyframes by
manipulating the blades and scissors into different poses. You will
create the first keyframe with the knife in its current (or closed)
position.
2 1 Continuing with penknife_XM.dgn, in the Animation Settings
toolbox click the Create KeyFrame tool.
2 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box that opens, click Create.
Note that the prompt in the bottom left of the Microstation window
reads “Identify element.”
3 Click the knife body and enter a data point. The knife is highlighted,
enter a second data point to accept. The Create KeyFrame dialog
appears.
knife closed. Click OK to create the keyframe.
The beginning of the animation starts with the knife closed. You
need to create additional keyframes by manipulating each actor into
several key positions and creating keyframes. These keyframes can
then be used to create an animation script and animate the penknife
model to display each of its blades or tools.
5 In View 1, turn on all levels.
6 From the Animation Actors toolbox, click the Manipulate Actor
9 tool.
The Manipulate Actor dialog box appears.
7 Set the Method to Active Angle and set the angle to minus 70. Click
S1 (the large scissor blade) from the list of actors in the Manipulate
Actor dialog box.
The S1 actor rotates to the minus 70-degree position.
8 Enter a data point to accept the manipulation.
The scissor is now partly rotated out. It is at this point the small
scissor blade would begin to open.
Actor origins (typical) -
Knife with S1 scissor rotated out minus 70 degrees.
2 9 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Create KeyFrame

10 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click Create and enter a
data point over the Knife actor in any view.
The Knife actor highlights.
11 Enter a second data point (while the knife actor is highlighted) to
accept.
12 Enter scissor1 in the Name field and partially open in the
Description field. Click OK to create this keyframe.
13 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, rotate the S1 actor minus 90
5% degrees and rotate the S2 actor minus 30 degrees.
' S1 actor rotated minus

90 degrees from
previous position.
52 actor rotated minus 30 degrees.
14 From the Animation Settings toolbox, select the Create KeyFrame

15 Click Create and enter a data point over the knife actor in any view.
When the actor highlights, enter a second data point to accept.
16 Enter scissor2 in the Name field and scissor open in the Description
field.
* 17 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, rotate the File actor minus 60
degrees.
Constructions turned off.
NOTE: In V8 X M Edition the origins of all created actors have a color-

coded triad marker using construction class lines to indicate the actor
origin. The previous image shows ViewAttribute for Constructions
turned offso that the triads are not visible.
18 Create a Keyframe of File actor with Name file and Description file
open.
* 19 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, rotate the BLADE1 actor minus
177 degrees.
The blade is fully opened.
20 Create a keyframe of the knife in this position, with Name bladel

and Description bladel open.
* 21 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, rotate the BLADE2 actor 176
degrees.
22 Create a keyframe of the knife in this position, with Name blade2
and Description blade2 open.
Creating the Penknife Animation Script in V8 XM

Edition
Now that you have the penknife keyframes you can easily create an
animation script that animates the penknife tools opening and closing.
If you are familiar with the Animator in previous versions of
Microstation MSJ or V8, you will see in this next exercise that the
Animation Producer in which your script is created is completely new.
The Animation Producer has a much improved and easier-to-learn user
interface than found in pre V8 XM Edition versions of Microstation.
xxm Edition
d Creating the Penknife Animation Script in V8 XM Edition
1 Continue with Penknife-XMdgn.
keyframe in the list and then click Freeze to move all of the knife’s
tools to the closed position.
scissor1 partially open

scissor2 scissor open
file file open
bladel bladel open
blade2 blade2 open
3 Open the Animation Producer dialog box by selecting the

H Animation Producer dialog tool from the Animation Settings
to olbar.
4 Expand the KeyFrames list by clicking the + sign in the Animation
Producer tree view.
Right-clicking the closed keyframe

provides the options to Rename, Delete, or
Script a keyframe.
I
5 Right-click the closed keyframe from the list and select the option
Script.
6 Set Interpolation to Linear and Velocity to Constant. Click OK to
add the closed keyframe occurring at frame zero.
NOTE: In V8 X M Edition the Animation Producer defaults to 120
frames. You need to set the number of frames ifyour movie is more or
less than 120.
7 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select Setting > General
to open the Animation Settings dialog box.
8 In the Animation Settings dialog box, set End to 210.

9 In the Animation Producer, click the blue time bar and drag it until
the time (or frame) display indicates that you are at frame 30 (or
key in 30 in the time field.)
10 Right-click the Keyframe scissorl in the Animation Producer’s tree
view and select Script.
11 Click OK to script the scissorl keyframe at the current Start Time of
30.
12 In the Animation Producer, click the blue time bar and drag it until
the time (or frame) display indicates that you are at frame 60 (or
key in 60 in the time field.)
13 Right-click the keyframe scissor2 in the Animation Producer’s tree
Current time
Right-click menu
14 Click OK to script the scissor2 keyframe at the current Start Time

of 60.
15 Right-click the KeyFrame file in the Animation Producer’s tree view
and select Script.
16 The Script KeyFrame dialog opens with the Start Time of 60
because you did not move the time bar marker or enter a different
time. Change Start Time to 90 and click OK.
NOTE: A s you can seefrom the last exercise step, you can enter a Start
Time diflerent from the Animation Producer’s current time bar
marker in the Script KeyFrame dialog and this will be used instead of
the current time. The keyframe is added to the script but the current
time bar marker remains in the previous position.
17 In the Animation Producer, key in 120 into the Current Time field.
18 Right-click the keyframe bladel in the Animation Producer’s tree
19 Click OK to script the bladel keyframe at the current Start Time
of 120.
21 Right-click the keyframe blade2 in the Animation Producer’s tree
22 Click OK to script the blade2 keyframe at the current Start Time of
150.
In the next step you are going to animate all penknife tools back to
closed position in one smooth motion. In the real world we would
not recommend doing this because you could easily injure yourself
but because this is just computer graphics it is no problem.
24 Right-click the keyframe closed in the Animation Producer’s tree
25 Click OK to script the closed keyframe at the current Start Time of
210.
Keyframe markersas
green bars (typical).
Finished animation script.
26 Open the Saved Views dialog box (Utilities > Saved Views) and
attach the saved view animation to View 2 .
'
I Creating Actors I 101
27 Click the Animation Preview tool.

The Animator Preview scrub bar dialog opens.
Set preview view number
Play movie preview
Open General Settings
28 In the Animator Preview dialog box, set View to 2.

29 Click the Play button in the Animator Preview to play the script.
TIP: In V8 X M Edition, you can dynamically rotate the view while the
animation preview is playing.
CREATINGACTORS
In the next exercise you will create actors for a desk lamp that you will
assemble into a logical hierarchy by connecting the parts to form the
assembly or parent/child relationship. You will see that the attachments
of actors makes it easier to create keyframes to animate the lamp.
The goal of the exercise is to impart life to an inanimate object, in this
case, a desk lamp. Making the desk lamp come to life and inspect the
object on the floor with its light shining the whole time. The finished
script will be recorded to disk as sequential frames so that the animation
can be edited to add sound and transitions.
=V8
d Creating the Desk Lamp Actors
1 Open the design file DLAMRdgn.
2 Open View 5. You will create your actors in this view.
You will use the Power Selector tool to select and create the desk
lamp actors. AccuSnap and the Center Snap tools make it easier to
snap to the lamp geometry when creating the actors and placing the
actor origins.
3 From the Microstation main menu, select Settings > Snaps >
Button Bar to open the Snap Mode toolbox.
AccuSnap 1
Center Snap
4 Turn on AccuSnap by clicking the leftmost icon. Double-click the

Center Snap tool so that the snap mode remains in center snap.
5 Using the Power Selector tool, set Mode to Add or New, click the Lv
4 tab, and click Default and Lampshade to select all geometry on
these two levels.
Level tab
Levels
Floor
Lower arm
The thing
Upper arm
Walls
The highlighted geometry will be the Shade actor. Note that it

includes the source light cell, which is located on the default level.
6 From the Animation Actors toolbox, click the Create Actor tool.
al
The Create Actor dialog box opens and the pointer appears as a
triad, indicating the axis of rotation.
7 In the Create Actor dialog box, turn on Rotate About X and Y and
in the Name field enter shade.
Snap to the
center of this
cylinder.
Shade actor selected and origin located.

8 Move the pointer over the right circular cylinder at the top of the
shade. With AccuSnap enabled, center snap to the center of this
cylinder.
Because the shade actor needs to rotate about both the X and the Y
axis, it is important to make sure you snap to the center of the
cylinder. This origin point becomes the joint where the shade actor
rotation occur.
9 Enter a data point to create the shade actor.
The message at bottom of the screen reads, “Actor shade created.”
10 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, test the shade actor’s motion.
Remember to enter a reset after the test, because you do not want to
move the geometry at this time.
Modify Actor Modify Actor Origin
You test your actors to make sure they are behaving as expected. If they
are not, you can use the Modify Actor Origin or the Modify Actor tool
to fix any problems.
=V8
d Creating the Upper Arm Actor
tab and click Upper arm to select all the geometry on this level.
The highlighted geometry will be the Upper arm actor.
2 Click the Create Actor tool.
The Create Actor dialog box opens.
3 Enter upper arm in the Name field and enable only Rotate
About X.
Snap to center of cylinder
here as the actor origin.
4 Move the pointer over the larger cylinder. When the snap is on the
center of this cylinder, enter a data point to create the upper arm
actor.
5 Using the Manipulate Actor tool test the upper arm actor’s motion.
&! Remember to enter a reset after the test as you do not want to move
the geometry at this time.
=V8
@ Creating the Lower Arm Actor
d tab and click Lower arm to select all geometry on this level.
The highlighted geometry will be the lower arm actor.
2 Click the Create Actor Tool.
3 Enter lower arm in the Name field and enable only Rotate About X.
/ Snap t o center of
cylinder here as the
actor origin.
4 Move the pointer over the larger cylinder. When the snap is on the
center of this cylinder, enter a data point to create the lower arm
actor.
NOTE: Ifrou are having difficultZy snapping to this point you can
forcesnaps with the tentative button or you can turn offall other levels
except for the lower arm level to isolate the geometry.
5 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, test the lower arm actor’s motion.
&! Remember to enter a reset after the test, because you do not want to
=V8
d Creating the Lamp Base Actor
d tab, and click Base to select all the geometry on this level.
The highlighted geometry will be the lamp base actor.
2 Click the Create Actor tool.
3 Enter lamp base in the Name field and enable only Rotate About Z.
Snap to center of
cylinder here as the
actor origin.
4 Move the pointer over the larger cylinder, when the snap is on the
center of this cylinder enter a data point to create the lamp base
actor.
5 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, test the lamp base actor’s motion.
&! Remember to enter a reset after the test, because you do not want to
ASSEMBLINGTHE DESKLAMP
Now that you have created the individual components of the desk lamp
as actors, you need to connect the actors in a logical manner to assemble
the lamp and create the hierarchy.
=V8
d Creating the Lamp Assembly
1 From the Level Display dialog, turn on levels for Lampshade,
Upper arm, Lower arm, and Base in View 5 if they are not already
on.
2 FitView5.
I Assembling the Desk Lamp I 107
3 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, enter a data point in View 5 over
the upper arm actor. Move the pointer and notice that the
lampshade is disconnected and the lamp appears broken. Reset to
return the actor without moving.
the lower arm actor. Move the pointer and notice that the lower
arm is disconnected and the lamp appears broken. Reset to return
the actor without moving.
Z
Y
Result of manipulating actors prior to making attachments.
5 From the Animation Actors toolbox, click the Attach Actor tool.
The Attach Actor dialog opens.
shade
upper arm
lower arm
base
6 In the Attach Actor list, double-click shade and then double-click

upper arm to attach the shade to the upper arm.
NOTE: You can also attach the actors by entering a data point on the
57 actor to attach and then a data point on the actoryou are attaching to,
with one additional data point to accept. This method does not work
when AccuSnap is enabled.
7 In the Attach Actor list, double-click upper arm and then double-
click lower arm to attach the upper arm to the lower arm.
8 In the Attach Actor list, double-click lower arm and then double-
click lamp base to attach the lower arm to the lamp base.
base
lower arm
upper arm
shade
.&! the upper arm actor. Move the pointer and notice that the lamp
shade is now connected and the lamp no longer appears broken.
Reset to return the actor without moving.
10 Using the Manipulate Actor tool enter a data point in View 5 over
the lower arm actor. Move the pointer and notice that the lower
arm is connected and the lamp no longer appears broken. Reset to
return the actor without moving.
After attaching actors, the lamp moves as an assembly.
CREATINGDESKLAMPKEYFRAMES
Now that you have created the actors and attached them to form an
assembly, you need to position the lamp into several keyframe
I Creating Desk Lamp Keyframes I 109
positions. Then it is just a simple matter of creating a script. Our goal is

to have the lamp appear lifelike while inspecting the object on the floor.
=V8
@ Creating the Starting Point Keyframe
1 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Create KeyFrame
tool.
The Animation KeyFrames dialog opens.
2 Click Create and move the pointer over the desk lamp in any view.
Once it highlights, accept with a data point.
3 Enter Start in the Name field and initial position in the Description
field. Click OK to create the keyframe.
=V8
@ Manipulating and Creating a Second Keyframe
You will notice that several intermediate keyframes will be created.
These prevent the lampshade from hitting the floor or the object on the
floor. If you only position the lamp at the point where it is looking at the
object, there would be a good chance that the interpolation from too few
frames would result in a collision. The next move will be to swing the
lamp over to the left side of the screen, as seen from the Top view.
1 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, select the lamp at the lamp base in
the Top view and rotate to a position similar to that shown in the
following figure.
Lamp rotated to key position.
2 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Create KeyFrame

tool.
The Animation KeyFrames dialog appears.
3 Create a keyframe of the lamp in this position, with Name pl. Do
not worry about a description. You can enter a data point in the
empty field and then click OK. Alternatively,you can tab to the field
and click OK.
The next position requires multiple moves to position the lamp to
be looking at the right end of the thing on the floor, as seen from the
lamp.
4 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, double-click lower arm in the
Manipulate Actor dialog. Set Method to Rotate About X and Angle
to 30 degrees. Enter a data point to move the actor.
5 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, double-click shade in the
NOTE: As an option, you can click the actor’sgeometry to manipulate
it rather than double-clicking on the list in the Manipulate Actor
dialog box.

Manipulate Actor dialog. Set Method to Rotate About Y and Angle
to minus 40 degrees. Enter a data point to move the actor.
w
Lamp ray traced in p2 keyframe position.
7 Create a keyframe of the lamp in this position, with Name p2. Do

empty field and then click OK. Alternatively, you can tab to the field
and click OK.
8 From the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click the start
keyframe and then click Freeze to move the lamp back to the initial
position.
This makes it easier to manipulate the lamp into the next key
position.
NOTE: Ifthegeometry does not freeze, try clicking on another item in
the keyframe list. Then go back to the previous item and try thefreeze
again. In other words, click p 2 in the list and then Start, and then click
the Freeze button.
=V8
d Creating the p3 and p4 Keyframes
1 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, double-click lower arm in the
Intermediate position as seen in Right view.

2 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, double-click upper arm in the
to minus 60 degrees. Enter a data point to move the actor.
shade
Keyframe position p3 as seen in Right view.

empty field then click OK. Alternatively,you can tab to the field and
click OK to create the keyframe.
4 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, double-click upper arm in the

Lamp ray traced in p4 keyframe position.

empty field then click OK. Alternatively,you can tab to the field and
click OK.
7 From the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click pl. Then click the
start keyframe and Freeze to move the lamp back to its initial
position.
Next Page
=V8
d Creating the p5 and p6 Keyframes
1 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, double-click lamp base in the
Manipulate Actor dialog. Set Method to Rotate About Z and Angle
Keyframe position p5 as seen in Top view.

2 Create a keyframe of the lamp in this position, with Name p5. You
can enter a data point in the empty description field and click OK
or tab to the field and click OK.
3 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, double-click lower arm. Set
Method to Rotate About X and Angle to 30 degrees. Enter a data
point to move the actor.
4 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, double-click upper arm. Set
Method to Rotate About X and to minus 10 degrees. Enter a data
point to move the actor.
5 Using the Manipulate Actor tool, double-click shade. Set Method to
Rotate About X and Angle to 34 degrees. Enter a data point to
move the actor.
4 Parametric Animation
CHAPTEROBJECTIVES
In this chapter you will learn how to animate actors using parameters
that you define, and how to use built-in mathematical functions to
create more complex animations. Topics covered in this chapter include:
Variables and functions for defining parametric motion
equations
Scripting actors with parametric equations
Creating custom parameters
Editing parameters
Advanced parametric motion
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter you will learn how to apply an equation to describe
motion relative to time or position. Microstation comes with a number
of built-in variables and functions for defining actor motion equations
or custom parameters. When defining an equation, you can include
custom parameters that you have previously defined, or you can key in
the entire equation. The built-in variables and functions are case
sensitive and have to be keyed in exactly as shown. Case sensitivity
would be true of any custom parameters you create.
149
150 I Chapter 4: Parametric Animation I
Often the same parametric motion equations are needed in a number of
designs. You can save time by creating custom parameters that define
these equations of motion. These can then be used when scripting the
actors.
Where parameters are used often, they should be saved in a separate file
(such as a script file) that contains only the required custom parameters.
In the future, this script file can be included in the current script, thus
making the custom parameters available for any design.
The following built-in variables are available for developing actor
motion equations or custom parameters with the Script Actor tool.
I Variable Description
frame Frame number
Pi The mathematical value, Pi, which
is the ratio of the circumference to
i t s diameter
tSeconds Elapsed time from beginning of
sequence in seconds
beginFrame Beginning frame of current
sequence
I endFrame End frame of current sequence
I maxFrame maximum frame number
The following built-in functions are available for developing actor

motion equations or custom parameters with the Script Actor tool.
These functions are identical to those in the standard C math library,
except that all angular values are expected and returned in degrees
rather than radians.
Function Description
radiansFromDegrees(d) Radians from degrees
I degreesFromRadians(r) Degrees from radians
I secondsFromFrame(f) seconds from frame number
cos(angle) Trigonometric cosine of angle
acos(value) Arc cosine of value
sin(angle) Sine of angle
I asin(va1ue) Arc sine of value
I atan(vaIue1 Arc tangent of value
I Scripting an Actor With a Parametric Equation I 151
Function Description
a ta n2(valueY, va IueX) Arc tangent of valueY/valueX
ta n(a ngIe) Tangent of angle
cosh(value) Hyperbolic cosine of value
sinh(vaIue) Hyperbolic sine of value
tan h(value) Hyperbolic tangent of value
exp(value) Exponential of x
log(vaIue) Natural logarithm of value
loglO(value) Base 10 logarithm of value
POW(X,Y) x to y power
sqrt (value) Square root of value
fabs (value) Absolute value of
ceiI(vaIue) Smallest integer not less than
value
floor(value) Largest integer not greater than
value
fmod (value) Modulus of value
rand 0 Pseudo random number
srand(x) Set random seed
SCRIPTING AN ACTORWITH A PARAMETRIC EQUATION

In the next exercise you will use two of the built-in variables (maxFrame
and frame), which define the maximum frame number and the current
frame number respectively. You will write an equation that instructs the
actor to rotate one revolution during the course of the animation
sequence.
You will continue with the model of the desk lamp, which already has
keyframes defined and scripted. We will add parametric motion to the
model. This shows another feature of the animation process. That is, the
axis system of an actor moves with it.
=w
d Rotating the Desk Lamp Using Built-in Parameters
1 Open DLAMRdgn.
# I 2 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Animation

Producer dialog tool.
The Animation Producer dialog box opens.
J@ 3 From the Animation Actors toolbox, click the Script Actor tool.
The Script Actor list box opens.
4 Read the prompt and double-click the Base actor in the Script Actor
dialog box.
5 Set Begin Frame to 600 and End Frame to 720.
6 In the Z Rotation field key in 3*frame and click OK to add this item
to the script.
Animation Producer with completed script.
7 From the Animation Producer, click Play to preview the animation
After going through the motions you previously scripted, the lamp
spins around one revolution.
xxM Edition
@ Rotating the Desk Lamp Using Built-in Parameters in V8 XM Edition
Open DLAMP-XM.dgn.
From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Animation
Producer dialog tool.
WARNING: When you open the Animation Producer V8 X M Edition
and have multiple saved scripts, the script will be whatever script you
were previously using. MicroStation does not default to any particular
script, and in this case the current script would be Cool lamp from the
previous exercise.
From the Animation Actors toolbox, click the Script Actor tool.
The Script Actor list box opens. Expand the dialog and select base
from the list of actors.
The Script Actor dialog box opens.

4 In the Script Actor dialog box, set Begin Frame to 600 and End
Frame to 720.
5 In the Z Rotation field key in 3*frameand click OK to add this item
to the script.
Script name where you have multiple scripts.
Make sure you open the script you want to edit.
6 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Animation Preview

tool to open the Animator Preview dialog box.
--->
/’
I 7 Click the Preview Play button to preview the modified script.
After going through the motions you previously scripted, the lamp
spins around one revolution.
Creating a Custom Parameter to Describe a

Revolution
When you have several components that rotate together (such as gears
in a transmission), you can create custom parameters to make the script
more efficient. The next exercise shows you how to create some
parameters and then apply them to operate a winch. You will see that
you can easily edit a single parameter and change the direction or speed
of the entire assembly.
i
Animation winch rendered.

The design file consists of a winch model that has a crank with 8 teeth, a
gear with 12 teeth, and a winch gear with 24 teeth.
NOTE: Cranking the winch handle one revolution produces a 2/3
revolution in the middle gear and a 1/3 revolution in the winchj
drum. You need to crank the handle three revolutions to make one
complete revolution of the winch drum.
=VB
@ Creating Custom Parameters
1 Open the design file anirnation-winch.dgn.
The design file opens with four views. The animation actors have
already been created.
2 Open the Animation Producer dialog box and select Settings >
Parameters.
The Animation Parameters dialog box opens.
3 In the Animation Parameters dialog, click Create.
156 IChapter 4:Parametric Animation I
The Create Parameter dialog box opens.
.
4 Enter drum in the Name field, enter 360/maxFrame*framein the
Value field, and enter revolution of drum in the Description field.
Click OK to create the parameter.
5 Click Create to create another parameter.

6 Enter gear in the Name field, enter -drum*24/12in the Value field,
and enter reverse of drum at 24/12 speed in the Description field.
This means that if the drum goes around once this gear makes two
revolutions in the same time.
TIP: To edit aparameter you have created, double-click the item in the
Animation Parameters dialog box.
7 Click Create to create another parameter.
8 Enter crank in the Name field, enter drum*24/8 in the Value field,
and enter 24/8 drum speed in the Description field. Click OK to
create the parameter.
I Creating an Animation Script Using Custom Parameters I 157
Take a look at the custom parameters you have created. All motion is
now tied to the winch drum motion. The middle gear rotates in the
opposite direction of the crank and at a speed of 24/12 (or 2x) the drum
speed. In other words, if you rotate the drum one revolution the middle
gear makes two revolutions in the opposite direction of the drum. The
crank has eight teeth and is tied to the drum motion. If you turn the
drum one revolution, the crank turns in the same direction as the drum
and at 24/8 drum speed (or three revolutions).
You can simplify the parameters. Instead of using 24/12 and 24/8, you
can use 2 and 3 respectively. The numbers were chosen so that you could
see the relationship of the gears based on their tooth count.
CREATING AN ANIMATIONSCRIPT USING CUSTOM

PARAMETERS
Now that you have defined the custom parameters, you can easily create
the animation script to set the winch into motion.
=V8
@ Creating the Winch Animation Script
1 Continue with animation-winch.dgn.
2 From the Animation Actors toolbox, select the Script Actor tool.
The Script Actor list dialog box opens.
3 In the Script Actor dialog box, double-click the Drum actor.

158 I Chapter 4:Parametric Animation I
.
4 In the End Frame field enter 179 and in the X Rotation field key in
drum. Click OK to add this item to the script.
Because your parameter says take the maxFrame (which is now
179) and divide by 360, then rotate the actor this amount per frame,
the drum will be turning at 2 degrees per frame.
NOTE: The custom parameters you created are case sensitive, so f y o u
used all capitals to create the parameter you need to use all capitals to
apply it.
5 Continue scripting actors by double-clicking the Gear actor in the
Script Actor list. Enter gear in the X Rotation field and click OK.
6 Continue scripting actors by double-clicking the Crank actor in the
Script Actor list. Enter crank in the X Rotation field and click OK.
7 From the Animation Producer, set View to 2.
D 8 From the Animation Preview toolbox, click Play.

The animation plays in View 2. You can interrupt the preview by
entering a reset and then entering a data point in any other view to
preview the animation in that view.

Now that you have tied the motion of the winch’s crank and the middle
gear to the drum, to change the speed or direction you simply edit the
drum parameter.
=VB
@ Editing the Winch Parameter and Previewing the Change
Continue with animation-winch.dgn.
From the Animation Producer dialog box select Settings >
Parameters.
Double-click the drum parameter to edit the parameter, or click
drum in the list and then click Edit.
The Edit Parameter dialog box opens.
Change Value to -3*360/maxFrame*frame.
This increases the drum revolutions from 1 to 3 and reverses the
motion. Editing this single value causes the entire winch gear
mechanism to reverse and speed up so that the winch drum now
makes three complete revolutions but in the opposite direction from
the previous animation.
5 From Animation Preview, click Play and the animation plays in the
view you select. For best results, you should use View 2 or 4.
As you can see, the animation plays in reverse from previous
parameters and at three times the previous speed.
6 From the Animation Producer dialog, select File > Save Script to
save the animation script as animation-winch.msa.
As a separate exercise, try clearing the current script and recreate it
except this time create your parameters to tie everything back to the
motion of the crank rather than to the drum.
HINT: In this scenario one turn ofthe crank produces 1/3 of a
revolution of the Drum actor.
Creating a Custom Parameter for Revolution in V8

XM Edition
When you have several components that rotate together (such as gears
in a transmission), you can create custom parameters to make the script
more efficient. The next exercise shows you how to create some
parameters and then apply them to operate a winch. You will see that
you can easily edit a single parameter and change the direction or speed
of the entire assembly.
Animation winch rendered.

The design file consists of a winch model that has a crank with 8 teeth, a
gear with 12 teeth, and a winch gear with 24 teeth.
NOTE: Cranking the winch handle one revolution produces a 2/3
revolution in the middle gear and a 1/3 revolution in the winchj
drum. You need to crank the handle three revolutions to make one
complete revolution of the winch drum.
xxm Edition
@ Creating Custom Parameters in V8 XM Edition
1 Open the design file animation-winch-XM.dgn.
The design file opens with four views. The animation actors have
already been created.
2 Open the Animation Producer dialog box and select Tools >
H Parameters.
3 From the Animation Producer dialog, select Settings > General.
4 Set Range End to 179 and Preview Alternate Views to 2.
ml 5 From the Animation Parameters dialog, click Create.

6 Enter drum in the Name field, enter 360/maxFrame*framein the
Value field, and enter revolution of drum in the Description field.
lm 7 Click Create to create another parameter.

8 Enter gear in the Name field, enter -drum*24/12in the Value field
and enter reverse of drum at 24/12 speed in the Description field.
This means that if the drum goes around once this gear makes two
revolutions in the same time.
TIP: To edit aparameteryou have created, double-click on the item in
the Animation Parameters dialog box.
lm 9 Click Create to create another parameter.

10 Enter crank in the Name field, enter drum*24/8 in the Value field
and enter 24/8 drum speed in the Description field. Click OK to
create the parameter.
Take a look at the custom parameters you have created. All motion is
now tied to the winch drum motion. The middle gear rotates in the
opposite direction of the crank and at a speed of 24/12 (or 2x) the drum
speed. In other words, if you rotate the drum one revolution the middle
gear makes two revolutions in the opposite direction of the drum. The
crank has eight teeth and is also tied to the drum motion. If you turn the
drum one revolution, the crank turns in same direction as the drum and
at 24/8 drum speed (or three revolutions).
You can simplify the parameters. Instead of using 24/12 and 24/8 you
could use 2 and 3 (respectively). The numbers were chosen so that you
could see the relationship of the gears based on their tooth count.
Creating an Animation Script Using Custom

Parameters
Now that you have defined the custom parameters, you can easily create
the animation script to set the winch into motion.
xxm Edition
# Creating the Winch Animation Script in V8 XM Edition
2 From the Animation Actors toolbox, click on the Script Actor tool.
8 The Script Actor list box opens.
Crank
Gear
Drum
3 Click the Drum actor in the Script Actor list box.

In the X Rotation field key in drum, and in the End Frame field enter
179. Click OK to add this item to the script.
Because your parameter says take the maxFrame (which is now
179) and divide by 360, then rotate the actor this amount per frame,
the drum will be turning at 2 degrees per frame.
NOTE: The custom parameters you created are case sensitive. Ifrou
used all capitals to create theparameter, you need to use all capitals to
apply it.
Continue scripting actors by clicking the Gear actor in the Script
Actor list. In the Script Actor dialog, enter gear in the X Rotation
field and click OK.
Continue scripting actors by clicking the Crank actor in the Script
Actor list. In the Script Actor dialog, enter crank in the X Rotation
field and click OK.
From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Animation Preview
Click the Preview Play button to preview the current script.
entering a reset.

in V8 XM Edition
Now that you have tied the motion of the winch's crank and the middle
gear to the drum, to change the speed or direction you can simply edit
the drum parameter.
xxm Edition
d Editing the Winch Parameter and Previewing the Change in V8 XM
Edition
2 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select Settings >
Parameters.
3 Double-click the drum parameter to edit the parameter, or click

drum in the list and then click Edit.
4 Change Value to -3*360/maxFrame*frame.
This increases the drum revolutions from 1 to 3 and by adding the
negative sign, reverses the motion. Editing this single value causes
the entire winch gear mechanism to reverse and speed up so that the
winch drum now makes three complete revolutions but in the
opposite direction from the previous animation.
--->
/’
I 5 Click the Preview Play button in the Animator Preview dialog to
preview the current script.
As you can see, the animation plays in reverse from previous
parameters and at three times the previous speed.
As a separate exercise try creating a new script from the current script.
This retains all of your actors but clears your parameters. Create new
parameters to tie everything back to the motion of the crank rather than
to the drum.
HINT In this scenario one turn of the crank produces 1/3 of a
revolution of the Drum actor.
WARNING: Clearing the script in the V8 X M Edition works
diflerently than in previous versions. Clearing the script gives you a
clean slate (no actors or keyframes)!
lfyou want to keep your actors and keyframes and create a new script
based on these, you should choose to copy script from the Animation
Producer. lfyou only want actors and no keyframes or parameters,
you can choose to create new script. This retainsyour actors but not
your keyframes or parameters.
ANIMATINGA CLOCK WITH PARAMETERS

In the next example you will animate a simple clock and tie the motion
together using a common parameter. To save time, the animation actors
have already been created for this exercise.
Rendered view of clock.dgn.
=VB
@ Animating a Clock
1 Open the design file CLOCKdgn.
H I 2 Animation
Click the Animation Producer dialog open tool to open the
Producer.
3 From the Animation Producer, select Settings > Parameters.
Create I 4 Click Create.
5 In the Nume field, key in hour.
6 In the Value field, key in 360/maxFrame*frame.
I Animating a Clock with Parameters I 167
7 In the Description field, key in 12 hours. Click OK to create the

parameter.
I
Create 8 In the Animation Parameters dialog, click Create.
9 In the Name field, key in minute.
10 In the Value field, key in hour*12.
1 1 In the Description field, key in 12 revolutions. Click OK to create
the parameter.
& 12 In the Animation Parameters dialog, click Create.

13 In the Name field, key in rocking.
14 In the Value field, key in 15*sin(frame*30).
15 In the Description field, key in pendulum rocking motion. Click
OK to create the parameter.
To put the clock into motion, all you need to do is create the
animation script.

Creating the Clock Script

You can set the clock into motion by applying the parameters you just
created to the clock's actors using the Script Actor tool.
=w
d Creating the Clock Animation Script
1 Continue with CLOCKdgn.
2 From the Animation Actors toolbox, click the Script Actor tool.
The Script Actor list box opens.
3 Double-click the hourhand actor in the Script Actor list box.

4 In the Script Actor dialog box, enter 359 in the End Frame field, and
key in hour in the Y Rotation field. Click OK to add this item to the
script.
5 Continuing with the Script Actor tool, double-click the
minutehand actor in the Script Actor list box.
6 In the Script Actor dialog box, key in minute in the Y Rotation field.
Click OK to add this item to the script.
No need to set the End Frame because it defaults to the value 359,
set by the Hourhand actor you already added to script.
7 Continuing with the Script Actor tool, double-click the pendulum
actor in the Script Actor list box.
8 In the Script Actor dialog box, key in rocking in the Y Rotation
field. Click OK.
I Animating a Clock with Parameters I 169
This applies the rocking motion parameter to the pendulum.
a
Animation Producer with finished script.
>> I 9 Set Animation Producer to View 2 and click the Play button to
preview the animation.
script as CLOCK.rnsa.
Editing the Script and Parameters

The animation preview is extremely fast. To slow it down, you can scale
the script up by a factor. You can also make some edits to the rocking
parameter, creating a speed variable that easily controls the speed of the
pendulum.
=VB
@ Editing the Clock Animation Script
1 Continue with CL0CK.dgn.
2 From the Animation Producer, select File > Scale Script.
The Scale Script dialog box opens.
3 In the Scale field, key in 10. Click OK to scale the script by a factor
of 10.
The script is now 3,590 frames long.
D 4 From the Animation Preview toolbox, click Play.

The clock's motion is slowed, but the pendulum's motion is still a
little too fast. You can make some edits to the parameters you
created earlier to slow this down.
5 From the Animation Producer, select Settings > Parameters to
open the Animation Parameters dialog box.
You will create a new parameter that allows you to easily adjust the
speed of the rocking pendulum.
Create I 6 From the Animation Parameters dialog box, click Create.
7 In the Name field, key in ps.
8 In the Value field, key in 3.
9 In the Description field, key in pendulum speed. Click OK to create
the parameter.
Next you need to edit the rocking motion equation to use the new
parameter ps.
10 From the Animation Parameters dialog box, select rocking and click
Edit.
11 Change the value to 15*sin(frame*ps)replacing 30 with the new
parameter.
The portion of the parameter that affects the speed the pendulum
swings now uses the variable ps, which you can edit to change the
speed.
D 12 From the Animation Preview, toolbox, click Play.

The clock's motion is slowed and the pendulum's swing is much
slower.
Parameters.
I Animating a Clock with Parameters in V8 XM Edition I 171
You can make changes to the pendulum’s rocking speed by editing

the value of ps, the pendulum speed variable parameter that you just
created.
script as CLOCK.msa.
ANIMATING A CLOCK WITH PARAMETERS IN V8 XM

EDITION
In the next example you will animate a simple clock and tie the motion
together using a common parameter. To save time, the animation actors
have already been created for this exercise.
Rendered view of clock.dgn.
axm Edition
@ Animating the Clock in V8 XM Edition
1 Open the design file CLOCK_xM.dgn.
1#11 2 Click the Animation Producer tool to open the Animation

Producer.
3 From the Animation Producer, select Tools > Parameters.
172 IChapter 4: Parametric Animation I

5 In the Name field, key in hour.
6 In the Value field, key in 360/maxFrame*frame.
7 In the Description field, key in 12 hours. Click OK to create the
parameter.
8 In the Animation Parameters dialog, click Create.
9 In the Name field, key in minute.
10 In the Value field, key in hour*12.
11 In the Description field, key in 12 revolutions. Click OK to create
the parameter.
1-1 12 In the Animation Parameters dialog, click Create.
13 In the Name field, key in rocking.
14 In the Value field, key in 15*sin(frame*30).
15 In the Description field, key in pendulum rocking motion. Click
OK to create the parameter.
To put the clock into motion, all you need to do is create the
animation script.
Creating the Clock Script

You can set the clock into motion by applying the parameters you just
created to the clock’s actors using the Script Actor tool.
xxM Edition
# Creating the Clock Animation Script in V8 XM Edition
1 Continue with CLOCK_xM.dgn.
2 From the Animation Actors toolbox, click the Script Actor tool.
8 The Script Actor list box opens.
3 Click the hourhand actor in the Script Actor list box.

4 In the Script Actor dialog box, enter 359 in the End Frame field and
key in hour in the Y Rotation field. Click OK to add this item to the
script.
5 Continuing with the Script Actor tool, click the minutehand actor
in the Script Actor list box.
6 In the Script Actor dialog box, key in minute in the Y Rotation field.
Click OK.
There is no need to set the End Frame because it defaults to the
value 359, set by the Hourhand actor you already added to script.
7 Continuing with the Script Actor tool, click the pendulum actor in
the Script Actor list box.
8 In the Script Actor dialog box, key in rocking in the Y Rotation
field. Click OK.
This applies the rocking motion parameter to the pendulum.
Animation Producer with finished script.
& 9 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Animation Preview
10 In the Animator Preview dialog, set the View to 2.
--->
/’
I 11 Click the Preview Play button to preview the current script.
entering a reset.
Editing the Script and Parameters V8 XM Edition

The animation preview is extremely fast. To slow it down, you can scale
the script up by a factor. You can also make some edits to the rocking
parameter creating a speed variable that easily controls the speed of the
pendulum.
xxm Edition
@ Editing the Clock Animation Script in V8 XM Edition
1 Continue with CLOCK_xM.dgn.
2 From the Animation Producer, select File > Scale Script.
The Scale Script dialog box opens.
3 In the Scale factor field, key in 10. Click OK to scale the script by a
factor of 10.
The script is now 3,590 frames long.
NOTE: The Scale Script dialog in V8 X M Edition allows y o u to not
only scale by a factor but to change the duration in time or frames.
4 Click the Preview Play button in the Animator Preview dialog to
I ''preview the current script.
_.,
i;
The clock's motion is slowed, but the pendulum's motion is still a
little too fast. You can edit the parameters you created earlier to slow
this down a bit.
5 From the Animation Producer, select Settings > Parameters to
open the Animation Parameters dialog box.
You will create a new parameter that allows you to easily adjust the
speed of the rocking pendulum.
6 From the Animation Parameters dialog box, click Create.
7 In the Nume field, key in ps.
8 In the V u h e field, key in 3.
9 In the Description field, key in pendulum speed. Click OK to create
the parameter.
Next you need to edit the rocking motion equation to use the new
parameter ps.
10 From the Animation Parameters dialog box, select rocking and click
Edit, (or double-click parameter).
11 Change the value to 15*sin(frame*ps),replacing 30 with the new
parameter.
The portion of the parameter that affects the speed the pendulum
swings now uses the variable ps, which you can edit to change the
speed.
;:. I 12 Click the Preview Play button in the Animator Preview dialog to
preview the current script.
The clock’s motion is slowed and the pendulum’s swing is much
slower.
Parameters.
Now you can make changes to the pendulum’s rocking speed by simply
editing the value of ps, the pendulum speed variable parameter you just
created.
I Advanced Parametric Motion Control I 177
ADVANCEDPARAMETRIC
MOTION
CONTROL
As a final example of what you can achieve using parametric motion

control, you will look at a design that incorporates the laws of motion to
simulate the flight of a ball. This animation includes both keyframe and
parametric motion. A figure, “Ergoman,” kicks a ball using the
keyframe method.
Ergoman is controlled by three keyframes: Ready, Kicking, and
Followthru. Ball movements are described by the laws of motion
(neglecting air friction), with the Xvelocity constant and the Z velocity
changing due to the force of gravity.
After looking at the next example you will likely be asking yourself how
long has the ability to do this type of complex animation with
Microstation existed. It might surprise you to know that the next script
example was created by Ray Bentley in 1995!
=VB
@ Opening the Design and Viewing the Parameters
1 Open the design file SOCCERdgn.
2 Open the Animation Producer dialog box and select Settings >
Parameters.
You should see the parameters outlined in the following table.
I Name Value Description

tlmpact
I vo
secondsFromFrame(
5)
45
Time that foot impacts ball
Initial velocity (feet/second)

II
I tFlight tSeconds - tlmpact Time in flight

I angle 45 Initial trajectory angle I
I vx v0 * cos (angle) Velocity in X direction I
vz v0 *sin (angle) Velocity in Z direction
9 32 Acceleration due to gravity
These parameters are used in scripting the motion of the ball when
it is kicked.
=V8
d Checking the Script for the Ball
1 From the Animation Preview toolbox, click Play.
2 In the Animation Producer dialog box, double-click the script entry
for Actor BALL.
The Edit Actor Script dialog box opens.
Looking at the entries for this actor, you see formulas for:
X Position-Vx * tFlight
Z Position-Vz * tFlight - g * tFlight * tFlight/2
Y Rotation-45 * Frame
During the animation, calculations are made to determine how far
the ball has moved (X position), how high it is (Z position), and
how much it has spun (Y rotation). These calculations start from
frame 5, which is the point at which the ball is actually kicked.
3 From the Animation Producer, select Setting > Parameters.

4 Double-click the g parameter. This is the parameter for gravity.

Change the g Value to 5.32, which would be lunar gravity.

NOTE: On the moon, gravity is comparatively weak. Lunar surface
gravity at the equator is 5.32 ft/sec2 (1.622 m/sec2), compared to
32.174 ft/sec2 (9.806 m/sec2) on Earth. That is almost exactly 1/6
Earth's gravity.
From the Animation Preview toolbox, click Play.
With all other parameters remaining the same, reducing the gravity
allows Ergoman to practically put the ball in lunar orbit.
Try experimenting with the parameters for angle and v0 to see what
effects they have.
The possibilities for parametric motion control are endless. If the
rotation and position of the actors can be described parametrically as a
function of time, they can be animated.
xxw Edition
d Opening the Design and Viewing the Parameters in V8 XM Edition
1 Open the design file SOCCER-XM.dgn.
2 Open the Animation Producer dialog box and select Tools >
& Parameters.
The Animation Parameters dialog opens with the parameters shown
in the following figure.
These parameters are used in scripting the motion of the ball when
it is kicked.
xxw Edition
d Checking the Script for the Ball in V8 XM Edition
Click the Animation Preview tool.
The Animator Preview dialog box opens.
Click the Preview Play button to preview the current script.
entering a reset.
3 In the Animation Producer dialog box, double-click the script entry

for actor BALL.
Double-click here to edit or
right-click for options.
The Edit Actor Script dialog box opens.
Looking at the entries for this actor, you see formulas for:
X Position-Vx * tFlight
Z Position-Vz * tFlight - g * tFlight * tFlight/2
Y Rotation-45 * Frame
During the animation, calculations are made to determine how far
the ball has moved (X position), how high it is (Z position), and
how much it has spun (Y rotation). These calculations start from
frame 5, which is the point at which the ball is actually kicked.
4 From the Animation Producer, select Setting > Parameters.
5 Double-click the g parameter. This is the parameter for gravity.

6 Change the g Value to 5.32, which would be lunar gravity.

NOTE: On the moon, gravity is comparatively weak. Lunar surface
gravity at the equator is 5.32 ft/sec2 (1.622 m/sec2), compared to
32.174 ftlsec2 (9.806 mlsec2) on Earth. That is almost exactly 1/6
Earth's gravity.
From the Animator Preview toolbox, click Play.
With all other parameters remaining the same, reducing the gravity
allows Ergoman to practically put the ball in lunar orbit.
8 Try experimenting with the parameters for angle and v0 to see what
effects they have.
The possibilities for parametric motion control are endless. If the
rotation and position of the actors can be described parametrically as a
function of time, they can be animated.
I Review Questions I 183
REVIEWQUESTIONS
1 Which variable designates the total number of frames in the
animation sequence?
2 To compensate for a “strobing” effect, what must you do to the
animation sequence?
3 True or false: Parametric animation is best for objects that are not
connected.
4 Can parametric equations be applied to any object or are they
locked to one object?
Cameras, Paths, and
Targets
CHAPTEROBJECTIVES
In this chapter you will learn how to place animation cameras and to
attach a camera to a path.
Topics covered in this chapter include:
Placing an animation camera
Attaching cameras to paths
Scripting cameras and targets
Scripting animation targets using keyframes
Previewing animation
Velocity graphs
Activating and de-activating targets in V8 XM Edition
Actors other than cameras tracking targets in V8 XM Edition
185
186 I Chapter 5: Cameras, Paths, and Targets I
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter you will learn how to place animation cameras and
attach the cameras to paths using the Define Actor Path tool. You will
learn how to place an animation target and use keyframing to move the
target as the camera is in motion. All exercises are noted by the
following graphic headers to indicate to you if they are for V8 and prior
versions, for V8 XM Edition, or for all versions.
=VB
xxm Edition
3 *****
DEFINING
THE CAMERA PATH
If you are new to animation and are using Microstation V8 XM Edition,
you can skip this exercise and move to the exercises specifically for
Microstation V8 XM Edition. In this exercise you will place an
animation camera and then use the Define Actor Path tool to attach the
camera to a B-spline path.
NOTE: Microstation has built-in Target and Camera actors that can
beplaced and named. You can have multiple targets and cameras in a
designfile, but there can only be one camera and target on at any
given time. As an option, you can have Microstation interpolate
between two cameras to gradually transitionfrom what one camera
sees to what the other one sees even if both are in motion.
I Defining the Camera Path I 187
=V8
@ Placing a Camera and Creating a Script
1 Open the design file Longbeach.dgn.
1 2 From the Animation Cameras toolbox, select the Create Animation

Camera tool.
The Create Animation Camera tool settings window opens.
3 Set Cell Scale to 100 and Standard Lens to Wide to make it easier to
see the camera cell graphic.
4 Turn on AccuDraw if it is not already on.
a 5 Working in View 1, snap to the B-spline curve at the end of the B-

spline path to the right side in View 1. Move the pointer to a point
along the B-spline at the second pole and enter a data point.
- Place second point

here. This is the
target location for
the camera.
Place the Animation

Camera here by snapping
to the B-spline path at this
point.
Camera placement locations.

The Create Camera dialog box opens.
6 In the Name field enter Main Camera, and enter Flying Camera in
the Description field. Click OK to create the camera.
The Description is optional but can be very helpful when you have
multiple cameras in a design file or when more than one individual
is working on the project.
7 Window in (zoom in) on the opposite end of the B-spline path in
View 1.
8 From the Animation tool frame, open the Animation Actors
toolbox and click the Define Actor Path tool.
NOTE: Cameras and targets are, by definition, actors when placed in

the designfile.
9 In the Define Actor dialog box’s list box, double-click MAIN
CAMERA.
I Defining the Camera Path I 189
You are prompted to “Define Actor Path > Identify Path - Define
Path End.”
1
Window area close up. Snap to end of 6-spline path here.
10 Snap to the B-spline path at the opposite end of where you placed
the camera and enter a data point to accept the snap point. Place
another data point to accept the path.
The Define Actor Path dialog box opens.
End Frame field.
Velocity set to
Constant.
11 Enter 599 in the End Frame field, set Velocity to Constant, and click
OK.
The camera now follows the B-spline path you defined earlier for a
total of 600 frames. To see the script as it has developed so far, open
the Animation Producer.
12 From the Animation tool frame, select the Animation Settings
#I toolbox and click the Animation Producer dialog tool.
190 IChapter 5: Cameras, Paths, and Targets I
NOTE: At this point the camerafollows the path, but becauseyou can
only have one camera on at u time and the Animator supports
multiple cameras in a script you need to turn on this camera. This is
done by scripting the camera,
13 From the Animation Cameras toolbox, select the Script Camera
tool.
The Script Camera tool settings window opens.
14 From the Camera list box, double-click MAIN CAMERA.

The Script Camera dialog box opens.
15 With Begin Frame at 0, click OK to add it to the script.

I Previewing the Animation Script I 191
The MAIN CAMERA turns on at frame zero. The animation script

is complete for this simple fly-through animation. The camera will
fly down the path, while looking along the path.
PREVIEWING THE ANIMATIONSCRIPT

Now that you have the script ready to preview, depending on the
performance of your system and graphic card you may need to make a
few adjustments to further improve the preview performance.
=VB
@ Previewing the Animation
1 Continuing with Longbeach.dgn,from the Animation Producer
dialog box, select Settings > Preview to open the Preview Settings
dialog box.
2 Set Skip Frames to 1 to play every other frame.

This speeds up the playback performance because only every other
frame displays. If you have a slow system, you can increase the
number. If you have a fast system, leave Skip Frames set to zero.
3 OpenView8.
View 8 has been saved with graphics acceleration on (enabled).

TIP: To make the preview play smoother,you can reduce the size of the
view used for previewing the animation.
From the Rendering Tools toolbox (Tools > Visualization >
Rendering), select the View Size tool.
4 Enter a data point in View 8 to activate the tool. Turn off the
Proportional Resize option and set X to 320 and Y to 240. Enter a
data point in the view to resize.
5 From the Animation Producer dialog box, set View to 8 to preview
the animation script in that view.
NOTE: Graphics acceleration is enabled in View 8. Depending on your
57 graphic card’sperformanceyou can reduce or increase the number of
Skip Frames in the Animation Preview settings dialog fi the preview is
too fast or too slow.
>> I Click the Play button to preview the animation.

You can stop the animation at any time by entering a reset in any
view.
Frame the Shot

You can see that the animation needs some improvement. Because the
camera only looks along the path for the first part of the animation you
are not focused on the more important things in the model. To create a
much more visually compelling story, you need to make a few changes.
Early in any animation project you should consider what it is you are
trying to show by developing a storyboard. A storyboard is a visual
script or outline form of the animation. It can be a series of visual
images that simply illustrates the animation’s key scenes and events.
You can even plan out the animation by describing the key sequences or
events as they would occur.
The Storyboard
To sell this major urban renewal project to the city of Long Beach you
will want to show some of the major landmarks such as the following.
A high-rise building
A fountain in a central city park

A lighthouse
A waterfront walk from the lighthouse to the fountain
In the next exercise you will make one minor change and preview the
animation again. You will add a target to draw the focus of the
animation camera to the center of the city. Next, you will learn how to
put this target in motion for a smooth animation that highlights the
landmarks and showcases the design.
=VB
@ Adding and Scripting an Animation Target
1 Continuing with Longbeach.dgn,open the Saved Views dialog box
(Utilities > Saved Views).
The Saved Views dialog box opens.
2 To make it easier to place the target, attach the saved view Fountain
Top to View 1 and Fountain Front to View 3.
NOTE: In this step, saved views were used. When working with your
own data sets you would be using the Window Area, Zoom, and
Display Depth tools to achieve a similar result.
3 From the Animation tool frame, tear off the Animation Cameras
toolbox.
Turn off AccuSnap if it is on.
d4 TIP: You can toggle AccuSnap on and offby pressing the 1key while
AccuDraw is on and has focus.
a5 From the Animation Cameras toolbox, select the Create Target

tool.
The status bar prompts: “Create Target > Define Target Origin.”
At this point you need to place the target in the fountain. You will
use a 3D data point to accomplish this.
6 Set Cell Scale to 100 to make it easier to see the target graphic.
7 Hold down the Alt key and enter a data point in the Top view with
the pointer centered over the fountain.
This data point defines the X and Y coordinates and a boreline
appears in the Front view.
8 Enter a second data point along this line at the top of the fountain to
define the Z coordinate of the target.
The Create Target dialog box opens.
Enter 3D data point here.
Data point here.
Fountain views with boreline.

9 In the Name field enter Targetl, and in the Description field enter
Main target.
Now all you need to do is make a minor addition to the existing

script to make the camera look at the target you just placed.
10 From the Animation Cameras toolbox, select the Script Target tool.
The Script Target tool settings window opens. The list box contains
the MAIN CAMERA and TARGET1 actors.
Any actor can be a target, and because the camera is an actor it

shows up in the script target list.
11 Double-click the TARGET1 actor in the list box to add this item to
your script.
The Script Target dialog box opens.
12 Click OK to accept a Begin Frame of 0 and an End Frame of 599.

The item is added to the existing script. The camera remains
focused on the target from the beginning of the movie to the end.
.
13 From the Animation Producer dialog, click Play to preview the
>> I modified script in View 8.
As you can see, the animation is completely different from the first
try. The camera remains focused on one of the major landmarks
(the fountain) throughout the entire animation.
KEYFRAMING
A TARGET
In the next exercise you will learn how to animate a target so that it
moves during the course of the animation. By setting a target in motion,
you can change the visual focus to several landmarks along the way and
accomplish the goal of conveying the overall project scope. Using Key
Framing you will find the target is much easier to control than having
the target follow a defined path, as was done with the camera. A
keyframe is a moment in time that precisely defines the locations and
orientations of particular elements (in this case, the target). The
following items are to be shown in the animation.
The high-rise building
The fountain in the central city park
The lighthouse
The waterfront from the lighthouse to the fountain
Having the camera's target in motion during the animation can be
accomplished by moving the target on which you have the camera
focused. In this case, it is the Target1 actor to each landmark location
you want to see along the way. Then, by creating keyframes of the target
I Keyframing a Target I 197
at these focal points you can easily set the camera target into motion
with a simple script.
Keyframing is the most basic method of animation, in which keyframes
are defined. The system automatically computes the frames between (a
process known as tweening).
=V8
@ Creating Keyframes of Target Locations
1 Continuing with Longbeach.dgn,use the Element Selection tool to
select the target in View 3.
NOTE: The Target actor should remain selected until thefinal step of
this exercise.
2 From the Animation tool frame, tear off the Animation Settings
toolbox.
3 From the Animation Settings toolbox, select the Keyframes tool to

open the Animation KeyFrames dialog box.
Create I 4 Click the Create button.

5 Enter Fountain for the Name and focus on fountain in the
Description field. Click OK to create the keyframe.
The keyframe Fountain is created and displays in the Animation
KeyFrames dialog box.
6 With the target still selected, use the Microstation Move tool and
..... snap to the target geometry in View 3 near the center. Enter a data
point to start the move.
The target actor graphic is selected and ready to be moved from the
point you snapped to.
7 Attach the saved view Highrise Front to View 3 and Highrise Top
to View 1.
8 Move the pointer to the Top view over the center of the high-rise
building roof octagonal shape and enter a 3D data point by holding
down the Alt key while entering a data point to determine the X and
Y coordinates.
A boreline appears in View 3 - Front.
9 Enter a data point along the boreline to define the Z coordinate, and
move the target to this location.
Enter second data point here.
Top and Front views indicating location to move the target.

I Keyframing a Target I 199
Create I 10 From the Animation KeyFrames dialog, click Create.

11 Enter Highrise in the Name field and focus on highrise in the
Description field. Click OK to create this keyframe.
Now you have two of the landmarks you need to focus on during
the course of the animation. Next you will create a keyframe of the
target at the final landmark along your camera path (the
lighthouse).
12 With the target still selected, select the Move tool, snap to the center
..... of the target in the Front view, and enter a data point.
The target is on the end of the pointer, awaiting a second point to
move to.
13 From the Microstation main menu, select Utilities > Saved Views.
Attach the saved view Lighthouse top to View 1 and attach the
saved view Lighthousefront to View 3.
This makes it easier to move the target to the lighthouse.
14 Move the pointer in the top view over the center of the lighthouse
(you should see the target graphic along with the pointer). Enter a
3D data point by holding down the Alt key while entering a data
point. This sets the X and Y coordinates in 3D space.
A boreline appears in View 3 - Lighthouse front.
Enter second data point here to move target. '
Top and Front views of lighthouse.

15 Enter a data point along the boreline in View 3 near the top of the
lighthouse, where the light would be, to set the Z coordinate and
move the target actor.
Create
- 1 16 From the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click Create.
17 In the Name field, enter Lighthouse. Enter focus on lighthouse in
the Description field. Press Enter or click OK to finishing creating
the keyframe.
J
Animation KeyFrames with newly created keyframes.
CHECKINGCAMERAPATHTIMING
Before creating the script, it is sensible to have some idea of where the
camera is at different time intervals as it travels along the B-spline path
you created earlier. To do this requires a few adjustment to the
Animation Producer preview settings.
=VB
d Determining Camera Timing Along the B-spline Path
1 Continuing with the Longbeach.dgn model, open View 7.
2 Attach the saved view check path to View 7.
The saved view is a Top view, with the levels for camera path,
fountain, high-rise and lighthouse geometry on.
I Checking Camera Path Timing I 201
3 Disable the camera in the Animation Producer script by right-

clicking on the Type Camera item and selecting Disable from the list
of options.
NOTE: Disabled script entries appear in red.

4 From the Animation Producer, select Settings > Preview.
The Preview Settings dialog box opens.
5 Turn off all options except Animated Elements and Static Elements
and set Skip Frames to 49.
>> I 6 In the Animation Producer dialog, change View to 7 and click Play.
The script is previewed and the camera graphic appears along the
path every 50 frames because the view is not being cleared between
frames.
High-rise
Fountain
NOTE: The camera positions are evenly spaced because you are using
constant velocity. Ifyou use a velocity other than constant, the spacing
would be completely diflerent and this method of determining camera
locations would be of even greater importance.
CREATING THE STORYBOARD SCRIPT

Looking at the preview from the previous exercise, you can see that the
camera passes around the high-rise roughly between frames 130 and
170. The camera passes around the lighthouse between frames 440 and
460.
The plan is for the camera to move along the path you created earlier.
Looking initially at the high-rise building at frame 0, the focus or target
can be scripted or set into motion to move to the fountain as the camera
moves toward the high-rise at about frame 100. As the camera comes
around the high-rise, the target can be moved out to the lighthouse and
remain there until the camera approaches at about frame 450. The
target can then be moved back to the fountain so that at the end of the
animation the focus will be back on the fountain.
I Creating the Storyboard Script I 203
=V8
@ Scripting the Keyframe Motion of a Target
Right-click the Type Camera item in the Animation Producer dialog
box and select Enable from the options.
Double-click the Highrise keyframe in the Animation KeyFrames
dialog box.
In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, enter 0 for the Frame Number
and click OK.
The KeyFrame item displays in the Animation Producer script. The
camera now focuses on the high-rise at frame zero.
4 Double-click the Highrise keyframe in the Animation KeyFrames

dialog box.
5 In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, enter 100 in the Frame Number
field, verify that Interpolation is Linear, and Velocity is Constant.
Click OK to add this item to the script.
The camera remains focused on the high-rise from frame 0 to frame
100 (or for the first 101 frames) because the animation starts at
frame zero.
6 Double-click the Fountain keyframe in the Animation KeyFrames
dialog box. In the Script KeyFrame dialog box, enter 150 in the
Frame Number field and click OK.
The camera changes focus as the target moves from the high-rise at
frame 100 and ends at the fountain at frame 150. This makes the
camera pan from the building to the fountain as it travels along the
path.
dialog box.
field and click OK.
This causes the target to remain at the fountain from frame 150 to
frame 250, so that the camera remains fixed on the fountain during
this time as it continues along the path.
9 Double-click the Lighthouse keyframe in the Animation
field and click OK.
This causes the target to move from the fountain to the lighthouse
from frame 250 to frame 400. The camera pans from the fountain to
the lighthouse as it continues along the B-spline path.
11 Double-click the Lighthouse keyframe in the Animation
12 Enter 440 in the Frame Number field and click OK to add this item
to the script.
The target remains fixed at the lighthouse from frame 400 to frame
440 and the camera remains focused on the lighthouse during this
period of 40 frames as it continues to move along the B-spline path.
dialog box.
field and click OK.
The target goes into motion again, leaving the lighthouse at frame
440 and arriving at the fountain at frame 500. The camera then
continues on its path, panning from the lighthouse to the fountain
and then remaining focused on the fountain to the end of the path
at frame 599.
NOTE: The target is moved rapidly from the lighthouse back to the
fountain to prevent the camera from turning around and appearing
to back away from the lighthouse target, which is what would happen
if the focus remained on the lighthouse past frame 450.
15 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select File > Save Script
to save the animation script as Longbeach.msa.
Target TARGET1 Longbeach dg 0-599

KeyFrarne Highrise Longbeach dg 0
Camera MAIN CAMERA Longbeach dg 0
KeyFrarne Highrise Longbeach dg 100
KeyFrarne Fountain Longbeach dg 150
KeyFrarne Lighthouse Longbeach dg 400
KeyFrarne Lighthouse Longbeach dg 440
Animation Producer with current script.

Now that you have modified the original script, you can preview the
animation to see the effects of having the target and camera both in
motion.
=V8
@ Previewing the Script
dialog box, select Settings > Preview to open the Preview Settings
dialog box.
2 Turn on Clear View Between Frames, Animated Elements, and

Static Elements. Set Skip Frames to 1 so that it plays every frame.
NOTE: On a reallyfast system with very fast OpenGL graphics
hardware, you may not need to set Skip Frames to 1. A setting of zero
would preview every frame and might work best ifyour system falls
into this category
>> I 3 From the Animation Producer dialog box, set View to 8 and click
Play to preview the movie in View 8.
The animation looks much better, but the timing seems a little off at
the lighthouse. The focus stayed on the lighthouse and the camera
turned around and looked back as the lighthouse was being passed
by the camera. A simple edit of the script can correct this problem.
From the Animation Producer double-click the Type keyframe
LIGHTHOUSE at frame 440.
The Edit KeyFrame dialog appears.
Change the Frame Number from 440 to 445.
This holds the focus on the lighthouse a little longer and prevents
the camera from turning around as it passes.
In the Preview Settings dialog box, only turn on Animated Elements
and set Skip Frames to 0.
Fit view 8.
This caches the entire design and all elements onto the graphics
hardware. When using graphics acceleration there is no need to
clear the view between frames.
8 Click Play to preview the script again.
These preview settings should provide the best performance when
animating a camera and target through a scene using
Microstation’s “qvision” graphics acceleration and OpenGL
graphics hardware.
RECORDINGSCRIPTS
Now that you have successfully completed a script, you will be given an
overview of how to record the animation frames to disk using the
Record Script dialog box. The Record Script dialog box contains many
options for recording animation scripts. Here you set the frame size or
resolution and the type of output you need, among other settings.
I Recording Scripts I 207
=V8
@ Recording of Scripts
dialog box, select File > Record Script.
The Record Script dialog box opens.
View number to use for
rendering of frames.
Resolution or (Frame size) in pixels.
Field rendering used for NTSC

or PAL video only.
Motion blur creates additional

images for each frame to smooth
rapid motion of camera or objects.
Samples sets the number of addition
images created per frame.
Click here to browse for folder to

save rendered frames.
Set Begin frame here.
Set End frame here.
Lock or unlock aspect

ratio to view.
Antialias removes the jagged
edges and should always be
used for final output.
Stereo anaglyph red/
blue output.
2 Enable Antialias by checking the box.

NOTE: Antialias should always be used for thefinal output. The
amount of antialiasing can be adjusted in the Ray Tracer settings
dialog box.
3 Click the Record Image File tool in the upper right-hand corner of
91 the Record Script dialog box.
4 In the lower leftmost corner, click the List Files of Type button to
display the list of available image formats.
Click here to display

a list of files types
that you can use for
saving animation
frames.
5 Set the file type to JPEG and click OK to return to the Record Script
dialog box.
NOTE: By default, the name will be the same as that of the design file
and will begin with the frame number set by the Begin Frame option.
In this case, the name is Longbeach000.jpg. Ifthis werefinal output
for an actual project, it is recommend that you use either TIFF of
Targa as thefileformat. Theseformats take up considerably more
disk space but they are non-compressed and will look better when
compiled into a movie using MPEGl, MPEG2, AVI, M OV or any
other movie format.
6 Set the View number to 8.
I Recording Scripts I 209
This is the view used for rendering. It is important that you have the
required levels on in the main file and any reference files for the
view you will be rendering. In addition, make sure to set rendering
and view attributes properly.
7 Check the Begin Frame and End Frame options. They should be set
to begin at frame 0 and end at 599.
The default is to start at 0 and end at the last frame depending on
the script. You can record a portion of the script by entering
different values here.
8 Set Resolution X to 320.
If the lock is on, the Y resolution will be set from the view size
(which should be 240). If the Y size is something different, click the
lock icon to unlock aspect ratio and then enter 240 in the Y field.
9 Check that Gamma is set to 1.0.
NOTE: Gamma can be added to lighten or darken the output image.
You can gamma correct here but most non-linear editingpackages let
you adjust gamma as well. A gamma of 1.0 is the default and is the
neutral position, meaning no correction. Values greater than 1.0
lighten, and those less than 1.0 darken the resulting imagefiles.
TIP: Ifthe view gamma in your user preferences is set to something
other than 1.0 and you are using ray tracing with Real World
Lighting mode, it is recommended that you use the same gamma
setting as set in the preferences.
10 Check that Field Rendering is turned off.
Field rendering is used to render interlaced video frames that will
be used for NTSC video (30 frames per second) or PAL video (25
frames per second) and played back on a television set. When on,
this option produces images that have two interlaced images
contained in one file separated by 1/60 second for NTSC and 1/50
second for PAL format. The odd lines contain the information for
one of the images, and the even lines contain the information for
the other image.
This works well when viewed using a television because you can
only see 1/2 the interlaced image (or one field) at a time. This also
makes for smoother play back but, if you intend to playback the
movie on a computer having this on would be bad. The computer
screen is not interlaced and you would see both fields in the frame.
The frame consists of two images separated by 1/60 of a second; the
two fields together making up 1/30 of a second of time. Newer
digital televisions can playback using progressive scan making them
like the computer in that the entire image displays at once.
11 Check that Motion Blur is off.
When on, Motion Blur creates blurred frames by blending multiple
images. The number of images that are blended depends on the
Samples setting. If set to 4,four images are created in the same
instant of time you would normally create a single frame. These are
then blended to create blurred image frames. Based on typical 30
framedsecond video, the blur frames would be 1/120 of a second
apart and the four images combined would be a time slice of 1/30 of
a second.
F NOTE: Motion Blur can be useful for removing artifacts such as pixel
crawl from small geometry, like mullions in windows. It is useful for
smoothing fast motion of both camera and objects. It is expensive in
computing time; adding 4 to the sample motion blur quadruples your
render time. However, you can renderportions of the animation that
would benefit from motion blur. In the Longbeach animation, when
you come around the lighthouse you could set the begin frame to 435
and end frame to 460 and greatly smooth out the motion in this
segment by creating blur frames forjust this portion of the animation.
12 Set Shading to RayTrace from the list of shading options.
Shading options
range from
Wireframe to
Particle Trace.
13 Set Compression to Minimum Loss.

I Recording Scripts I 21 1
The amount of image compression can be adjusted for some of the

output formats (notably JPEG and TIFF). Many image formats
(such as Targa, BMP and PCT) only have one default compression
option.
14 Set Color Mode to 24 Bit Color.
True color is the number of colors (16,777,216) discernible by the
human eye.
The options vary depending on the output file format chosen.
15 Turn off Clear Pattern/Bump Maps Between Frames.

Only turn on this option if you have a number of different pattern
images used between frames, if you are using a large number of very
big animated patterns, or if you use many different images of RPCs.
RPC files are a special third-party image format from
ArchVisionQ. These are supported by Microstation. RPC libraries
can be purchased directly from Archvision at www.archvision.com.
16 Set option to Create single solution from frame 0.
Options are Create new solution for eachframe, Load solution from
file, Use Existing solution and Create single solution from frame.
When animating objects, textures, or lights, use Create new solution
for eachframe. In the case of the Long Beach animation, where only
cameras and targets are in motion, use Create single solutionfrom
frame, Use Existing solution or Load solution fromfile to prevent
needless preprocessing for every frame. Depending on the design
model, the preprocessing could take longer than the actual
rendering time.
When using a single solution, as in the Long Beach animation, turn
on Render All Objects in the Ray Tracing Settings dialog box.
Otherwise, the camera could eventually move into a space in which
no objects were rendered or included in the solution.
DEFINING
THE CAMERA PATH IN V8 XM EDITION
In this exercise you will place an animation camera and then use the
Define Actor Path tool to attach the camera to a B-spline path.
NOTE: Microstation has built-in Target and Camera actors that can
be placed and named. You can have multiple targets and cameras in
a design file, but there can only be one camera on at time and you can
only have a single target on at any given point in the animation. As an
option, you can have Microstation interpolate between two cameras
to gradually transition from what one camera sees to what the other
one sees, even if both are in motion.
xxm Edition
d Placing a Camera and Creating a Script in V8 XM Edition
1 Open the design file Longbeach.dgn.
2 From the Animation Cameras toolbox, select the Create Animation
$$ Camera tool.
.
The Create Animation Camera tool settings window opens.
I Defining the Camera Path in V8 XM Edition I 213
3 Set Cell Scale to 1000 and Standard Lens to Wide to make it easier
to see the camera cell graphic.
4 Turn on AccuDraw if it is not already on.
5 Working in View 1, snap to the B-spline curve at the end of the B-
spline path to the right side in View 1. Move the pointer to a point
along the B-spline at the second pole and enter a data point.
Place second point

here. This is target
location for the
camera.
,Place The Animation

Camera here by
snapping to B-spline
path at this point.
Camera placement locations.

The Create Camera dialog box opens.
6 In the Name field enter Main Camera, and in the Description field
enter Flying Camera. Click OK to create the camera.
The Description is optional, but can be very helpful when you have
multiple cameras in a design file.
7 From the Animation tool frame, open the Animation Actors
i3 toolbox and click the Define Actor Path tool.
NOTE: Camerus and targets are, by definition, actors when pluced in
the designfile.
8 In the Define Actor dialog box’s list box, click Main Camera.
You are prompted to “Define Actor Path.”
Enter data point on B-spline to select

as actor path.
9 Enter a data point anywhere on the B-spline path. In the status bar,
the prompt reads “Define Actor Path > Identify Direction.” Enter
another data point somewhere in front of the animation camera you
placed to define the direction.
The Define Actor Path dialog box opens.
End Frame field.
Velocity set to
Constant.
10 Enter 599 in the End Time field, set Velocity to Constant, and click
OK.
The camera now follows the B-spline path you defined earlier for a
total of 600 frames.
I Defining the Camera Path in V8 XM Edition I 215
NOTE: The camerafollows the path, but because you can only have
8 one camera on at a time and the Animator supports multiple cameras

in a script you need to turn on this camera. This is done by scripting
the camera.
11 From the Animation Cameras toolbox, select the Script Camera
@ tool.
The Script Camera tool settings window opens.
Main Camera
12 From the camera list box, click Main Camera.

The Script Camera dialog box opens.
-
OK Cancel
13 With Begin Frame at 0, click OK to add it to the script.

The main camera turns on at frame zero. The animation script is
complete for this simple fly-through animation. The camera flies
down the path, looking along the path.To see the script as it has
developed so far, open the Animation Producer.
14 From the Animation Setting toolbox, select the Animation
H Producer dialog tool.
Looking at the Animation Producer dialog you can see the two
items added so far to the script (a path and a camera). Note that the
active Main Camera timeline may only extend out to frame 120.
This is the default movie duration in early versions of V8 XM
Edition. If you are using any 0 8 . 0 9 . 0 2 . ~
version,
~ you need to change
this because your movie is 599 frames long.
NOTE: In V8 X M version 08.09.03.48 and later the timeline will be
extended automatically when you enter a path end time of more than
the default (120frames).
15 From the Animation Producer, select Settings > General.
16 Set Range End to 599.

The Animation Producer Timeline window updates to display the
599 frames.
NOTE: lfMaintain Frame Rate is enabled in the Animation Settings
dialog, MicroStation tries to maintain the 30 framesper second in the
preview. To do this, some geometry may be dropped from frame to
frame in the preview. lfyou prefer to see all geometry, disable this
option.

Now that you have the script ready to preview, depending on the
performance of your system and graphic card you may need to make a
few adjustments to further improve the preview performance.
218 IChapter 5: Cameras, Paths, and Targets I
xxm Edition
d Previewing the Animation
1 Continue with Longbeach.dgn.
2 OpenView8.
.
View 8 has been saved with the level containing the trees turned off.
This provides a smoother preview with less geometry to update.
TIP: To make thepreviewplaysmoother,you can reduce the size of the
view used for previewing the animation.
3 From the Rendering Tools toolbox (Tools > Visualization >
Rendering),select the View Size tool.
View Size tool
4 Enter a data point in View 8 to activate the tool. Turn off the
Proportional Resize option and set X to 320 and Y to 240. Enter a
data point in the view to resize.
& 5 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Animation Preview
6 Set the Animator Preview window to View 8.

--->
/’
1 7 Click the Preview Play button to preview the current script.
entering a reset.
NOTE: Graphics acceleration is enabled in all views. With V8 X M

Edition, you no longer need to turn on graphics acceleration to
preview your animations. Depending on your graphic card’s
performance, you can reduce or increase the number of Skip Frames in
the Animation Preview settings dialog fi the preview is too fast or too
slow.
You can see that the animation needs some improvement. Because the
camera only looks along the path for the first part of the animation, you
are not focused on the more important things in the model. To create a
much more visually compelling story, you need to make a few changes.
Early in any animation project you should consider what it is you are
trying to show by developing a storyboard. A storyboard is a visual
script or outline form of the animation. It can be a series of visual
images that simply illustrates the animation’s key scenes and events. You
can even plan out the animation by describing the key sequences or
events as they would occur.
The Storyboard
To sell this major urban renewal project to the city of Long Beach, you
will want to show major landmarks such as the following.
A high-rise building
A fountain in a central city park
A lighthouse
A waterfront walk from the lighthouse to the fountain
In the next exercise you will make one minor change and preview the
animation again. You will add a target to draw the focus of the
animation camera to the center of the city. Later, you will learn how to
put this target in motion for a smooth animation that highlights the
landmarks and showcases the design. You will use Named Groups and
Display Sets to make it easier to place and move your target, rather than
turning levels on and off.
xxm Edition
d Adding and Scripting an Animation Target in V8 XM Edition
1 Continuing with Longbeach.dgn,select Utilities > Named Groups
to open the Named Groups dialog box.
The Named Groups dialog box opens.
Select Elements in the
Named Group tool
Put Elements into

the Displaysettool
highrise 52 0
lighthouse 19 0
Main Camera 2 0
.
c t " 2 With fountain sc,xted in t,,e Namec, Group d i m g box, click the
Select Elements in the Named Group tool.
These elements are selected.
E l 3 Click the Put Elements into the Displayset tool.
The open views are updated and contain only geometry that was in
the named group (the fountain elements).
4 To make it easier to place the target, fit View 1 and View 3.
5 With the Element Selection tool active, enter a reset followed by a
data point to deselect the elements.
Now you have the fountain elements isolated so that you can more
easily place a target in the fountain.
6 From the Animation tool frame, select the Animation Cameras
toolbox.
Turn on AccuSnap if it is off.
d7 TIP: You can toggle AccuSnap on and off by pressing the H and S keys
while AccuDraw is on and has focus.
d 8 From the Animation Cameras toolbox, click the Create Target tool.
A target graphic appears on the end of the cursor.

9 In the Create Target dialog, set Cell Scale to 1000.
The status area prompts: “Create Target > Define Target Origin.”
10 Snap to the center of the fountain in the Top view and enter a data
point to place the target.
Top view
Front view
The Create Target dialog box opens.

11 In the Name field enter Targetl, and in the Description field enter
Main target.
All you need to do is make a minor addition to the existing script to

make the camera look at the target you just placed.
12 From the Animation Cameras toolbox, select the Script Target tool.
Next Page

The Script Target tool settings window opens.
13 Select Main Camera for Object and Targetl for Target.

14 Enter a data point in any view to add this item to your script.
Because the Time setting is 0, the Main Camera actor will be
focused on the Targetl actor from the beginning.
>. : : I 15 From the Animator Preview dialog, click Play to preview the
modified script in View 8.
As you can see, the animation is completely different from the first
try. The camera remains focused on one of the major landmarks
throughout the entire animation.
Activating and Deactivating Targets in V8 XM Edition

In Microstation V8 XM Edition, you can use the Target Activated toggle
to activate and deactivate a target. By default, this toggle is on, which
means the camera looks at the target. When off, the camera looks in its
original direction. During the time interval, it interpolates between the
two. The following is an example of this shift.
Time Target Active

000 TI FALSE
060 TI FALSE
120 TI TRUE
180 TI TRUE
240 TI FALSE
In this sequence, from frame 0 to frame 60 the camera looks along the
path. At frames 61-120 the camera interpolates to look at the target. At
frames 121 to 180 the camera looks at the target. At frames 181 to 240
Animating Materials and
Lights
CHAPTEROBJECTIVES
In this chapter you will learn how to animate materials and lights
including solar time. You will learn how to use the Animator’s Tree view
and Timeline editor to easily edit animation scripts.
If you are using Microstation V8 XM Edition, you will notice that the
Tree view and Timeline are incorporated into the Animation Producer
and are no longer separate dialogs. Topics covered in this chapter
include:
Animating materials
Animating source lights
Animating sequential images
Animation using Saved Views
The Animator Tree View function
The Animator Timeline function
The Animation of solar time
The Solar Study function
297
298 I Chapter 6: Animating Materials and Lights I
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter you will learn how to animate materials over time to
create effects such as running water. You will learn how to animate
source lights by changing the color and intensity of lights over time.
Use the Animator’s Tree view and Timeline editor to graphically see the
animation scripts and more easily edit them. In addition to using the
animation camera actor, you will learn how to use saved views to create
camera animations. Finally, you will learn how to use the Animator to
animate solar time and how to use a special utility called Solar Study to
animate solar time over extended periods of time.
As in previous chapters, all exercises are noted by the following graphic
headers to indicate to you if they are for V8 and prior versions, for V8
XM Edition, or for all versions.
=V8
d This indicates V8.5 and earlier version exercises.
xxm Edition
d This indicates V8 XM Edition specific exercises.
=I *****
d This indicates exercises applicable for all versions.
ANIMATING RUNNINGWATER
In this exercise you will see how easy it is to animate the properties of a
material over time to achieve the effect of water running down the wall
of a fountain. If you are new to animation and are using Microstation
V8 XM Edition, you can skip this exercise and move to the exercises
specifically for Microstation V8 XM Edition.
I Animating Running Water I 299
=w
@ Animating Running Water
1 Open the design file 2obbyfountuin.dgn.
2 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click Animation Producer
r#ll dialog open tool.
The Animation Producer dialog opens.
3 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Materials tool.
The Animate Material Settings dialog box opens.
Select falling water

from list of materials.
floor
fountain blocks
fountain water
tile caps
4 From the Material list box, select falling water.

5 From the Settings menu, select Pattern Map Y Offset.
Make sure Frame Number is 0, Interpolation is Linear, Velocity is
Constant, and Pattern Map Y Offset is 0.
7 Set Frame Number to 200 and change Pattern Map Y Offset to 5 .
Enter a data point in any view to add the item to the Animation
Producer script.
The Material settings falling water Pattern Map Y Offset settings
appears in the script. The Animate Material Settings dialog box
remains open.
NOTE: The only way to preview an animated material or animated
lighting is to render a few testframes to make sure the settings are
animating as you intended. However, in V8 X M Edition you can
preview animated materials in a view that has the smooth render
mode applied.
=V8
d Rendering Test Frames
1 Continue with 2obbyfountuin.dgn.
2 Open View 5 and attached the saved view test view to View 5.
The view opens, with only the fountain levels turned on. This makes
the test’s rendering computation faster.
3 From the Animation Producer, select File > Record Script.

4 Change End Frame to 30.
I Animating Running Water I 301
You only need a second of rendered animation to see if the fountain

water appears to be running and that it is moving in the right
direction.
Set resolution.
Shading mode.
Create new
solution for each
frame.
1
5 Click OK in the Record Script dialog to start the rendering process.

The rendered frames begin to appear one by one as they are
finished. You should be able to detect the water moving if you look
carefully at the frames as they appear on screen.
6 From the Microstation main menu, select Utilities > Image >
Movies to open the Movies dialog box.
7 From the Movies dialog, select File > Load.

The Load Movie dialog box opens.
8 Double-click lobby fountain000.jpg to load the movie.
9 Click the Play button in the Movies dialog box to play back the test
frames as a movie.
The water should appear to run down the wall of the fountain. The
rate of flow should appear normal, not too slow or fast.
ANIMATINGSOURCELIGHTS
To add a little mood effect to the lobby fountain, you will add a few
more items to your script to change the color of the spot lights over
time. As you will see, this will be much more interesting and dramatic
than just animating the falling water.
=VB
@ Animating Source Lights
2 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Source Lighting
tool.
The Animate Source Lighting Settings dialog box opens.
Data point here

to select the left
light.
3 In the Top view, enter a data point over the left spot light and accept.
I Animating Source Lights I 303
Note that the Light Name setting changes to Fountain Light Left.
Light Name
changes when
light is selected.
4 Set Frame Number to 0, Interpolation to Linear, Velocity to

Constant, and Setting to Color. Make sure the color is white.
5 Read the prompt and enter a data point in any view to add the item
to the script.
6 Enter a data point over the middle spot light and enter a second data
point to accept.
This adds the Fountain Light Middle spot light (with the same
initial color) as the left light, beginning at frame number 0.
7 Enter a data point over the right spot light and enter a second data
point to accept.
This adds the Fountain Light Right spot light (with the same initial
color as the other two lights), beginning at frame number 0.
Now that you have the initial light color entry, you can animate the
spot lights to change to a color or multiple colors over time and then
back to the initial white color at the end of the movie. In addition to
animating the color, you could add entries to animate the cone
angle, delta angle, and intensity of these spot lights over time.
a
Animation Producer script at this point.
8 Enter a data point over the Fountain Light Left spot light. From the
Animate Source Lighting Settings dialog, change Frame Number to
50 and click Color button.
9 In the Modify Color dialog box, make the color red by moving the
pointer in the multicolored area to the upper right corner or by
moving the Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) sliders so that the Red is set
to 255 and Green and Blue are set to 0.
NOTE: You can also select a colorfrom the Named Colors list in the
Modifr Color dialog box. Even though the dialog shows 100% red, you
can select any red color you like. This is also true for the blue or green
colors in the next few steps.
10 Enter a data point in any view to add this item to the script.
11 Enter a data point over the Fountain Light Middle spot light. In the
Animate Source Lighting Settings dialog, set Frame Number to 50
and click the Color button.
12 Make the color green by moving the pointer in the multicolored
area to the green area or by moving the RGB sliders so that Green is
set to 255 and Red and Blue are set to 0. Enter a data point in any
view to add this item to the script.
13 Enter a data point over the Fountain Light Right spot light. In the
Animate Source Lighting Settings dialog, set Frame Number to 50,
14 Make the color blue by moving the pointer in the multicolored area
to the blue area or by moving the RGB sliders so that Blue is set to
I Animating Source Lights I 305
255 and Red and Green are set to 0. Enter a data point in any view to
add this item to the script.
By now you should see how this works well enough to finish the
script with a little less detailed instruction.
15 At frame 100, add entries to make Fountain Light Left = green,
Fountain Light Middle = blue, and Fountain Light Right = red.
16 At frame 150, add entries to make Fountain Light Left = blue,
Fountain Light Middle = red, and Fountain Light Right = green.
17 At frame 200, add entries to make the three spot lights change back
to white. Set all RGB settings to 255.
script as lobby fountain.msa.
Material falling water PatternY Offse lobby founta 0

Light Fountain Light Left Color lobby founta 0
Light Fountain Light Middle Color lobby founta 0
Light Fountain Light Right Color lobby founta 0
lLlght Fountain Light Right Color lobby founta Tq
Material falling water PatternY Offse lobby founta 200

20 Change End Frame to 200 and set Skip Frame to 1.
Because you are still testing the animation, by setting Skip Frames to
a value of 1 or 2 you can reduce the number of frames rendered and
still be able to see if the script is working as you intended.
21 From the Microstation main menu, select Utilities > Image >
Movies to open the Movies dialog box.
The Movies dialog box appears.
22 From the Movies dialog, select File > Load.
The Load Movie dialog box appears.
23 Double-click lobbyfiuntuin000.jpg to load the movie. Click Play in
the Movies dialog box to play back the test frames as a movie.
The lights will change color from left to right (initially white; then
Red Green Blue at 50, Green Blue Red at 100, Blue Red Green at
150; and then back to White at 200). Because you skipped every
other frame, the Movie Player playback will be such that effects
occur at frames 2550 and 75 instead of 50,100 and 150.
ANIMATINGA CAMERA USING SAVED VIEWS

In the next exercise you will learn how to animate between saved views.
With saved views you can animate between any two views, whether they
are orthogonal (non-camera) or have perspective. The path between the
saved views is linear between two views, but this can be interpolated as
B-spline where three or more views are used and B-spline interpolation
is selected. You can even animate from a non-camera orthogonal view to
a perspective camera view over time.
Animating with saved views can be quick and easy. The only drawback
to this method is trying to figure out the actual path the camera would
take, in that you cannot graphically see the path. However, once you get
a feel for how this technique works you will find this method useful for
animating in tight quarters such as interior spaces. On the other hand,
using an animation camera attached to a path you can see (such as a
complex string or B-spline curve) makes it much easier to see where the
camera is going to go.
=V8
d Animating Using Saved Views
2 Click the Animation Producer dialog tool to open the Animation
1#11 Producer dialog box.
I Animating Running Water in V8 XM Edition I 307
3 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select Settings > Saved
Views.
The Script Saved View dialog box opens.
4 From Saved Views, click v l left, set Frame Number to 0, and Velocity
to Constant. Click OK to add the item to the script.
5 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select Settings > Saved
Views.
6 From Saved Views click v3 right, set Frame Number to 200. Click
OK to add the item to the script.
>> I From Animation Producer, preview the script by setting View to 5

and clicking Play.
You can see the interpolated frames between the two saved views.
Later you will load a previously recorded MPEG movie of this exercise
and play back using Microsoft’s Media Player.
ANIMATING RUNNINGWATERIN V8 XM EDITION

In this exercise you will see how easy it is to animate the properties of a
material over time to achieve the effect of water running down the wall
of a fountain.
xxw Edition
d Creating Running Water in V8 XM Edition
1 Open the design file 2obbyfountuin.dgn.
2 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Animation
H Producer tool.
The Animation Producer dialog opens.
t 3 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Materials tool.
The Animate Material Settings dialog box opens.
Select falling water

from list of materials
4 From the Material list box, select falling water.

5 From Setting, select Pattern Map Y Offset.
6 Make sure Start Time is 0, Interpolation is Linear, Velocity is
Constant, and Pattern Map Y Offset is 0.
8 In the Animate Material Settings dialog, set Start Time to 200 and
change Pattern Map Y Offset to 5. Enter a data point in any view to
add the item to the Animation Producer script.
The Material options selection forfalling water Pattern Map Y
Offset setting appears in the script. The Animate Material Settings
dialog box remains open.
I Animating Source Lights in V8 XM I 309
NOTE: In V8 X M Edition you can preview an animated material or

animated lighting using smooth-rendering mode and let your graphic
card do all the work.
xxm Edition
@ Previewing Test Frames in V8 XM Edition
2 Open View 2 and attach the
saved view v2 to View 2. Turn
on Window Size, Camera
Position View Attributes and
Levels.
3 Click Apply.
4 From the View toolbox in
gf View 2, click and hold the
Display tool. A drop-down list
of options appears. Select
Display Mode Smooth.
Close bPlY
View 2 is updated to smooth-

rendered mode and you can see the materials and textures used.
5 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Animator Preview
E tool.
The Animator Preview dialog box opens.
>. : ; I 6 Click the Play button to preview the current script.

As you can see in the preview, the water appears to run down the
wall of the fountain. The rate of flow should appear about right (not
too slow or fast).
ANIMATINGSOURCELIGHTSIN V8 XM
To add a little mood effect to the lobby fountain, you will add a few
more items to your script to change the color of the spot lights over
time. As you will see, this will be much more interesting and dramatic
than just animating the falling water.
xxw Edition
d Animating Source Lights in V8 XM Edition
2 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Source Lighting
Hri tool.
The Animate Source Lighting Settings dialog box opens.
Data point here

to select the left
light.
3 In the Top view, enter a data point over the left spot light and accept.
The Light Name changes to Fountain Light Left.
Light Name
changes when
light is selected.
4 Set Start Time to 0, Interpolation to Linear, Velocity to Constant,

and Setting to Color. Make sure the color is white.
5 Read the prompt and enter a data point in any view to add the item
to the script.
6 Enter a data point over the middle spot light. Enter a second data
point to accept.
This adds the Fountain Light Middle spot light, with the same initial
color as the left light, beginning at Start Time 0.
7 Enter a data point over the right spot light. Enter a second data
point to accept.
This adds the Fountain Light Right spot light, with the same initial
color as the other two lights, beginning at Start Time 0.
Now that you have the initial light color entry, you can animate the
spot lights to change to a color or multiple colors over time and then
back to the initial white color at the end of the movie. In addition to
animating the color, you could add entries to animate the cone
angle, delta angle, and intensity of these spot lights over time.
A
Animation Producer script at this point.
8 While still using the Animate Source Lighting Settings tool, enter a
data point over the Fountain Light Left spot light. From the
Animate Source Lighting Settings dialog, change Start Time to 50
9 In the Modify Color dialog box, make the color red by moving the
pointer in the multicolored area to the upper right corner or by
moving the Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) sliders so that Red is set to
255 and Green, Blue are set to 0.
NOTE: You can also select a color f r o m the Named Colors list in the
Modifr Color dialog box. These colors have been moved to a tab f r o m
which y o u can choose standard colors, Pantone, or RAL. Even though
this shows 100% red, y o u can select any red color you like. This is also
true for the green or blue colors in the next f e w steps.
10 Enter a data point in any view to add this item to the script.
11 Enter a data point over the Fountain Light Middle spot light. In the
Animate Source Lighting Settings dialog, set Start Time to 50 and
click the Color button.
12 Make the color green by moving the pointer in the multicolored
area to the green area or by moving the RGB sliders so that Green is
set to 255 and Red and Blue are set to 0. Enter a data point in any
view to add this item to the script.
13 Enter a data point over the Fountain Light Right spot light. In the
Animate Source Lighting Settings dialog, set Start Time to 50 and
click the Color button.
14 Make the color blue by moving the pointer in the multicolored area
to the blue area or by moving the RGB sliders so that Blue is set to
255 and Red and Green are set to 0. Enter a data point in any view to
add this item to the script.
15 From the Animation Producer dialog box Tree view list, click the +
sign for Lights and Source to expand the list and reveal the fountain
lights.
16 Using the Timeline view, hold down the Ctrl key, click the Fountain
Light Left marker at frame 50, and drag it to frame 100 and release.
This makes a copy at frame 100.
Light Fountain Light Right:Color 0 Copied entry shows

Light Fountain Light Mi...\Color 0
Light Fountain Light Left:Color 0 up here in the
Light Fountain Light Right:Color 50 storyboard
Light Fountain Light Mi...\Color 50
Light Fountain Light Left:Color 50
Light Fountain Light Left:Color 100
17 Using the timeline view hold down the Ctrl key, click the Fountain
Light Left marker at frame 100, and drag it to frame 150 and release
to make a copy at frame 150.
Light Left marker at frame 0, and drag it to frame 200 and release to
make a copy at frame 200.
19 From the Animation Producer’s Tree View click Source Lights.
In the Storyboard Panel, the view is filtered to only display source
light script entries.
20 From the Animation Producer’s Tree view, click Fountain Light Left.
The Storyboard Panel is filtered to only display Fountain Light Left
script entries. The value for the Color setting at frames 50, 100, and
150 is the same shade of red for each.
2 1 From the Animation Producer Storyboard Panel, click the Value
setting at frame 100.
The Microstation Color Picker appears.
22 Change the color from red to blue.
23 Using the same method change the color value at frame 150 from
red to green.
You now have the script for animating the left fountain light color
from white at 0 to red at 50, green at 100, blue at 150, and back to
white at 200.
24 From the Animation Producer’s Tree view, click Fountain Light
Middle to filter this item in the Storyboard Panel.
25 Using the Timeline view, hold down the Ctrl key, click on the
Fountain Light Middle marker at frame 50 and drag it to frame 100
and release to make a copy at frame 100.
Light Middle marker at frame 100, and drag it to frame 150 and
release to make a copy at frame 150.
Light Middle marker at frame 0, and drag it to frame 200 and
release to make a copy at frame 200.
Because you want to end with the same color as you started with,
copying the script entry from zero provides you with the same color
at frame 200 and no further edits will be needed for this entry.
28 From the Animation Producer Storyboard Panel, click on the Value
setting at frame 100.
The Microstation Color Picker appears.
29 Change the color from green to red.
30 Using the same method change the color value at frame 150 from
green to blue.
You have the script for two of the three spot lights completed. You
can try a little different approach to add the final script entries for
Fountain Light Right.
xxm Edition
@ Using a Different Approach to Add the Final Script Entries
1 Change the timeline time to 100 by entering 100 in the Current
8 Time field.
The blue timeline marker moves to 100 in the timeline view.
2 From the Animation Producer’s Tree view, click the + sign next to
the Fountain Light Right entry to further expand the tree.
3 In the expanded tree view for the Fountain Light Right source light,
right-click Color.
The Animate Color dialog box opens.
4 Click the Color button and change the color from blue to green
using the Modify Color dialog box. Click OK to add this script
entry, occurring at the current time of 100.
@ Time field.
6 In the expanded tree view for the Fountain Light Right source light,
right-click Color.
The Animate Color dialog box opens.
7 Click the Color button and change the color to red using the Modify
Color dialog box. Click OK to add this script entry, occurring at the
current time of 150.
@ Time field.
9 In the Animation Producer Timeline view, right-click the Color
script entry at frame 0 and from the list of options, select Copy.
Right click in the Timeline View window and select paste to paste
the copy at the current time of 200.
Because you want the color to change back to white at frame 200,
there is no need to edit this copied entry (the entry was white at
frame zero).
This completes the script for animating the fountain water and the
color of the spot lights.
Light Fountain Light Right:Color 00 o m

Light Fountain Light Midd1e:Color 00 o m
Light Fountain Light Left:Color 00 o m
Ma... falling water:PatternY Offset 00 0.0
Light Fountain Light Right:Color 50 w Blue
Light Fountain Light Midd1e:Color 50 w Green
Light Fountain Light Left:Color 50 w mRed
Light Fountain Light Right:Color 100 w Green
Light Fountain Light Midd1e:Color 100 w mRed
Light Fountain Light Left:Color 100 w Blue
Light Fountain Light Right:Color 150 w mRed
Light Fountain Light Midd1e:Color 150 w Blue
Light Fountain Light Left:Color 150 Green
Light Fountain Light Right:Color 200 o m
Light Fountain Light Midd1e:Color 200 o m
Light Fountain Light Left:Color 200 o m
Ma... falling water:PatternY Offset 200 5.00
Finished Animation Producer script.

NOTE: In the previous$gure color name descriptions were added to
make itpossible f o r y o u to see the color values in a grayscale image.
RECORDINGA PREVIEW IN V8 XM EDITION

You will need to record the script and render frames to disk using either
Ray Trace or Phong rendering modes in order to see the lights
animating and changing color over time.
I Recording a Preview in V8 XM Edition I 317
xxm Edition
@ Recording and Playing Back a Preview in V8 XM Edition
1 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select Settings >
General.
The Animation Settings dialog box opens. You can speed up the
motion a little because this is just a preview to make sure your lights
are animating and changing colors as expected.
NOTE: In the Time Display section of the Animation Settings dialog
box, you can see twofields. The topfield changes the time format and
the secondfield controls the speed. The default for the speed factor is I,
meaning that everyframegetsplayed or rendered and the default time
is set to 30th [NTSC] where 1 second equals 30 frames. I f r o u change
the Speedfield factor f r o m I to 2, the timing changes so that each
frame equals 1/15 second instead of 1/30 second. This cuts in halfthe
number of frames rendered.
Speed factor
2 In the Animation Settings dialog box, change the speed factor from
1 to 2.
The Animation Producer Timeline window updates so that the
movie is 100 frames rather than 200.
In the Record Script
dialog box, set
Resolution X to 320,
Resolution Y to 240,
Format to JPEG and
Render Mode to Ray
Trace.
Click OK to render a test
movie.
Open and play back the
rendered frames with
the Microstation Movie
Player.
OK
- Cancel
ANIMATINGA CAMERA USING SAVED VIEWS IN V8 XM

EDITION
In the next exercise you will learn how to animate between saved views.
With saved views you can animate between any two views whether they
are orthogonal (non camera) or have perspective. The path between the
saved views is linear, but it can be interpolated as B-spline where three
or more views are used and B-spline interpolation is selected. You can
even animate from a non-camera (orthogonal view) to a perspective
(camera view) over time.
Animating with saved views can be quick and easy. The only drawback
to this method is trying to figure out the actual path the camera would
take, in that you cannot graphically see the path. However, once you get
a feel for how this technique works you will find this method useful for
animating in tight quarters (such as interior spaces). On the other hand,
using an animation camera attached to a path that you can see, such as a
complex string or B-spline curve, makes it much easier to see exactly
where the camera is going to go.
I Playing Back The Previously Recorded Script I 319
xxM Edition
@ Animating Using Saved Views in V8 XM Edition
2 Click the Animation Producer dialog tool to open the Animation
1#11 Producer dialog box.
3 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select Tools > Saved
Views.
-
OK Cancel
4 From Saved Views click vl left, set Start ‘Timeto 0 and Velocityto
Constant, and click OK to add the item to the script.
5 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select Tools > Saved
Views.
6 in the Script Saved View dialog, click v3 right, set Start ‘Timeto 200
and click OK to add the item to the script.
>. : ; I 7 From the Animator Preview, preview the script by setting View to 2
and clicking Play.
You can see the interpolated frames between the two saved views.
RECORDEDSCRIPT
PLAYINGBACKTHEPREVIOUSLY
In the next exercise you will play a finished movie based on the script
you just completed. The movie was previously rendered to frames, then
compiled into a MPEG-1 movie format ready to be played back using
Microsoft’s Media Player.
3 *****
d Playing Back an MPEG Movie
1 Using the Microsoft Media Player, double-click the file name to
open the file 1obbyfountain.mpg and play the movie.
The file is located in the
Workspace\ Projects\BentleyInstitute\Animation WorkShop\Movies
folder.
Media Player 1 1.O Skin mode.
NOTE: Adobe Premiere was used to compile the sequential frames, to

8 add sound, and to export the movie to MPEG-I.
ANIMATINGTEXTURES
The Animation Producer allows you to animate any defined and
assigned or attached material's property over time. In addition, you can
animate a pattern map over time to play a movie on an element. To do
this, you need a sequentially numbered set of images captured from
video or frames from a previously rendered script. The script entry
would be to increment the pattern by a factor.
In the next exercise you will be creating actors and keyframes to animate
the opening and closing of a movie screen curtain. You will be scripting
the house lights to turn down. As the curtains open, a movie made of
sequentially numbered images plays on the screen.
I Animating Textures I 321
=w
@ Animating by Pattern Map Increment
1 Open the design file c u r t u i d g n .
2 Open View 5 .
The view appears as an isometric view, with only the curtain
geometry. This makes it easier to create the Left Curtain and Right
Curtain actors.
3 From the Animation Actors toolbox, click the Create Actor tool.
al The Create Actor dialog box opens.
4 In the Name field enter left curtain, turn on Scale Along X,and
make sure all other options are off.
5 Move the pointer into View 5. Enter a data point over the left
curtain to identify the actor geometry. Snap to the left bottom
corner of the B-spline surface and enter a data point to create the
Left Curtain actor.
Left Curtain actor.

6 In the Create Actor dialog box, change Name to right curtain and
enter a data point over the right curtain to identify the geometry.
Snap to the lower right corner of right curtain B-spline surface and
enter a data point to create the Right Curtain actor.
CREATING THE CURTAIN KEYFRAMES

Now that you have created the actors, it is a simple task to create a
couple of keyframes that can be used to animate the curtains opening
and closing. You will need one with the curtains closed and one with the
curtains open. The opening can be accomplished by manipulating each
curtain actor to scale about X from the middle toward its respective
origin.
Next Page
I Creating the Curtain Keyframes I 323
=V8
@ Creating the Curtain Keyframes
A 1 Continuing with cuutuin.dgn,use the Element Selection tool to

select both curtains in View 5.
2 Click the Keyframes dialog tool in the Animation Settings toolbox.
A The Animation KeyFrames dialog opens.
Lreate 1 3 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog, click Create. The Create

KeyFrame dialog box opens.
curtains closed.
5 From the Animation Actors toolbox, click the Manipulate Actor
&.I tool. Select the Left Curtain actor by entering a data point over the
actor in View 5. Manipulate the actor until the curtain is open
enough to reveal the movie screen.
6 Manipulate the Right Curtain actor to open a similar amount.
I
Curtain actors manipulated to open position as seen in Front view.
't,17 Use the Element Selection tool to select both Left Curtain and Right
Curtain actors in View 5.
8 Click the KeyFrames dialog tool in the Animation Settings toolbox.
The Animation KeyFrames dialog appears.
Lreate 1 9 Click Create in the Animation KeyFrames dialog.

The Create KeyFrame dialog box appears.
10 In the Name field key in open, and in the Description field key in
curtains open.
keyframe, and then click Freeze.
Included Scripts and
Network Rendering
CHAPTEROBJECTIVES
In this chapter you will learn how to become the director of more
complex animations by using one of the Animation Producer’s most
powerful features: the ability to include scripts within scripts. Learning
how scripts are included in scripts enables you to work on portions of
complex animations in smaller pieces. Rather than creating an overly
complex all-encompassing script you can create several less complicated
scripts to accomplish the same task. You can even distribute the work of
creating animation scripts among fellow workers or team members.
Topics covered in this chapter include:
Included scripts
Animation of reference files using included scripts
Repetitive motion using included scripts
Using the Packager utility to gather up files required for
rendering
Network rendering
Setup procedures for rendering frames on multiple systems
Important considerations
353
354 I Chapter 7: Included Scripts and Network Rendering I
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter you will learn how to create a master script whereby you
become the director of a more complex animation. By bringing together
design files from previous exercises you can quickly create a script to
animate the penknife, desk lamp, clock, and car race into a single
animation by simply including the scripts you wrote earlier for each of
these designs. This technique allows you to make the included scripts
begin at a point of your choosing, and if necessary to repeat the motion
as many times as you specify. Being able to include multiple scripts into
a master script is a very powerful technique.
You can truly be the animation producer using included scripts. You do
not have to think about the entire movie at once, or even sequentially.
You can concentrate on the pieces of action or scenes. The timing can be
worked out later in a project. Included scripts also allow easy
collaboration on complex animations so that you can work in teams or
groups, each team being responsible for working on a script that can
later be included to occur at a point in time of your choosing. When
producers in Hollywood make feature-length films they often shoot all
the scenes in no particular order and put the pieces together in the end
in the cutting room. The ability to use included scripts provides the
Microstation user with this same power. All exercises are noted by the
following graphic headers to indicate if they are for V8 and prior
versions, for V8 XM Edition, or for all versions.
I Included Scripts I 355
=V8
xxm Edition
3 *****
INCLUDED
SCRIPTS
Recall the exercise in which you keyframed the motion of a door
opening and closing. This script could be included and be timed to
begin at a moment in time for the passage of, say, a camera through the
opening. In the beginning you know this motion needs to occur at some
point but, you may not yet know the exact point in time or frame
number where this should occur. You can write a script that opens the
door, save the script as (some name such as opendoor), and then include
it later in your master script to begin precisely at the moment the
camera needs to pass through.
In the next exercise you will be using a master file with several reference
files attached. All reference files are from previously worked exercises.
You should have the scripts you created (provided you remembered to
save them). You will be able to simply include these scripts within the
partly created script to make the motion for each reference file occur.
=V8
@ Including Scripts Within Another Script
1 Open the design file includedgn.
Producer tool.
The Animation Producer dialog opens, with a partly completed
script. The current script animates the camera using saved views to
focus on different reference file objects on the stage that you will
animate by including their respective scripts.
View close1 include.dgn 30

View clock include.dgn 60
View penknife include.dgn 90
View penknife include.dgn 100
View lamp include.dgn 120
View race include.dgn 21 0
View race include.dgn 230
View back include.dgn 330
.
3 From the Animation Producer, set View to 2 and click Play to
preview the animation in wireframe.
The camera moves and the focus changes from object to object, but
none of the objects are moving. By including their scripts, you can
set each of them into motion at the time and duration of your
choice.
4 From the Animation Producer dialog box, select File > Include
Script.
The Include Script dialog opens.
.
5 From the list of files, select curtain.msa. Click OK to open the

Include Script dialog.
-
OK Cancel
6 In the Include Script dialog box, verify that Begin Frame is 0, Repeat
Count is 1, and Scale is 1.00. Click OK to add this item to the script.
The script now begins animating the curtain based on the script you
created earlier. The curtain opens and the movie plays on the screen
but in this case the camera view will be animated based on the view
items that are saved in the current script.
7 From the Include Script list of files, select CLOCK.msa.Click OK to
open the Include Script dialog.
8 In the Include Script dialog box, set Begin Frame to 30, Repeat
Count to 2, and Scale to 1.00. Click OK.
9 From the Include Script list of files, select car-race.msa and click
OK to open the Include Script dialog.
10 In the Include Script dialog box set Begin Frame to 30, Repeat
Count to 2, Scale to 0.25. and click OK.
The car race motion begins at frame 30, and the motion repeats two
times. The number of frames from the original script will be scaled
down from the original 600 frames to 150 frames. Because the
movie plays two times, the total car race animation will be 300
frames in length.
NOTE: When you repeat an included script, the animation plays
through once. Then thefirstframe is dropped and the motion repeats.
This prevents the repetitive motion from appearing to stutter by
having two duplicate frames.
11 From the Include Script list of files, select penknife.msa. Click OK
to open the Include Script dialog.
12 In the Include Script dialog, set Begin Frame to 30, Repeat Count to
1, and Scale to 1. Click OK.
13 From the Include Script list of files, select dlamp.msa. Click OK to
open the Include Script dialog.
14 In the Include Script dialog, set Begin Frame to 30, Repeat Count to
1, and Scale to 0.5. Click OK to add this item to the script.
NOTE: Because y o u scaled the dlamp script up by a factor of 4 when
you saved it, by scaling the included script by 0.5 the dlamp animation
will be scaled back f r o m 600frames to 300, (that is, provided the
dlamp script is 600frames). Ifthe lamp animation is longer, scale the
script accordingly to end up with about 300frames.
15 From the Animation Producer, set View to 2 and click Play to

As you can see, the views are animated and all objects for which you
created scripts in earlier exercises are set into motion by including
their respective scripts.
edited version of the script.
xxm Edition
@ Including Scripts Within Another Script
1 Open the design file inc2ude-XM.dgn.
H Producer tool.
The Animation Producer dialog opens, with a partly completed
script. The current script animates the camera using saved views to
focus on different reference file objects on the stage that you will set
into motion by including their respective scripts.
View back 0
View close1 30
View clock 60
View penknife 90
View penknife 100
View lamp 120
View lamp 180
View lace 210
View lace 230
View lamp 280
View back 330
3 From the Animation Settings toolbox, click the Animation Preview

R tool.
:I.:-. I 4 From the Animator Preview dialog, set View to 2 and click Play to
The camera moves and the focus changes from object to object, but
none of the objects are moving. By including their scripts you can
set each of them into motion at the time and duration of your
choice.
360 IChapter 7: Included Scripts and Network Rendering I
Script.
The Include Script dialog opens.
Movie House, curtain.dgn

desklamp, DLAMP.DGN
car race, car-race-XM.dgn Click here to produce
clock, CLOCK.DGN
penknife, penknife.dgn list of available scripts
to include.
6 From the list of files, select Movie House, curtain.dgn.

7 In the Include Script dialog box, set Start Erne to 0, Repeat Count to
1, and Scale to 1.00. Click OK to add this item to the script.
OK
- Cancel
>. : ; I 8 From the Animator Preview dialog, click Play to preview the
The script now begins animating the curtain based on the script you
created earlier. The curtain opens and the movie plays on the screen,
but in this case the camera view will be animated based on the saved
views in the current script.
Script.
10 From the Include Script list of files, select clock,
CLOCK-XM.DGN, Default. Set Start Time to 30, Repeat Count to
1, and Scale to 1.00. Click OK.
11 From the Include Script dialog’s list of files, select car race,
car-race-XM.dgn, Default. Set Start Time to 30, Repeat Count to 2,
and Scale to 0.25. Click OK.
OK
- Cancel
The car race motion begins at frame 30, and the motion repeats two
times. The number of frames from the original script will be scaled
down from the original 600 frames to 150 frames. Because the
movie plays two times, the total car race animation will be 300
frames in length.
NOTE: When you repeat an included script, the animation plays
through once. Then thefirstframe is dropped and the motion repeats.
This prevents the repetitive motion from appearing to stutter by
having two duplicate frames.
Script.
13 From the Include Script dialog’s list of files, select penknife,
penknife-XM.DGN, Default. Set Start Time to 30, Repeat Count to
1, and Scale to 1. Click OK.
Script.
15 From the Include Script list of files, select desklamp,
DLAMP.DGN, Default. Set Start Time to 30, Repeat Count to 1, and
Scale to 0.5. Click OK to add this item to the script.
NOTE: Because you scaled the dlamp script up by a factor of 4 when
you saved it, by scaling the included script by 0.5 the dlamp animation
will be scaled back from 600frames to 300, (that is provided the
dlamp script is 600frames). lfthe lamp animation is longer, scale the
script accordingly to end up with about 300frames.
Include curtain Movie House, curtain dgn. Default 0

View back 0
Include penknife penknife. penknife-XM dgn. Default 30
Include DLAMP desklamp. DLAMP DGN. Default 30
View close1 30
Include CLOCK-XM clock, CLOCK-XM DGN. Default 30
Include car-race \car race. car-race-XM dgn. Default 30
View clock 60
View penknife 90
View penknife 100
View lamp 120
View lamp 180
View race 21 0
View race 230
View lamp 280
>. : ; I 16 From the Animator Preview dialog, click Play to preview the
As you can see, the views are animated and all objects for which you
created scripts in earlier exercises are set into motion by including
their respective scripts.
I Using the Packager Utility I 363
USING THE PACKAGER UTILITY

The Packager utility lets you easily gather all files and reference files for
a project. Packager also gathers all the materials, textures, animation
scripts, and palettes so that you can be sure the design file renders
correctly on a remote system. When performing network rendering, you
can create a single folder on your server and extract all Packager files
into this folder and be able to render from any system on the network.
This is possible because by default Microstation looks for material files,
palette files, and texture files in the folder from which the design file is
opened.
NOTE: Asidefrom the obvious advantages of making rendering easier
over the network, the Packager utility is a terrific toolfor archiving
your data for storage onto CD-ROM or other media. The Packager
utility replaces the older archive utility used in V7 and older versions
of Microstation. You can extract data from the olderformatted
archivefiles with the .mar extensions using the Archive utility in V8
and later versions, but you will not be able to create new .marfiles.
The following steps might not be required if the files already reside on a
server and all systems that would participate in the network rendering
are configured to search in the same place for pattern maps, bump maps,
and palettes.
3 *****
@ Using the Packager Utility to Create a Packager File
1 Continuing with the includedgn file, select Utilities > Packager.
The Welcome dialog opens with a wizard interface.
2 From the Welcome dialog, click Next to start the process.
The Package Name dialog opens.
3 Enter included scripts in the Enter Package Name field and click
Next to continue the process.
The Design Options dialog opens.
4 Enable (check) Reference Files and Rendering Data and disable
(uncheck) all other options. Click Next to continue.
The Gather Design Data dialog opens.
364 IChapter 7: Included Scripts and Network Rendering I
5 Click the Current Design button.

The dialog box is updated with a list of design files and rendering
data to be included in the package file.
CAMERA2 MSA Animation Script 824 WorkspaceIProiects... C:/Documents and. .

CLOCK msa Animation Script 529 WorkspacelProiects ClDocuments and
CLOCK-XM DGN Design 44544 WorkspacelProiects.. C./Documents and.
CLOCK-XM mat MaterialTable 218 WorkspacelProlects.. ClDocuments and
DLAMPDGN Design 81920 WorkspacelProlects... CIDocuments and. .
DLAMPmal MaterialTable 307 WorkspaceIProiects... C:/Documents and. .
DPFmsa Animation Script 709 WorkspacelProiects ClDocuments and
FAN MSA Animation Script 176 WorkspacelProiects.. C./Documents and.
Geometric07 Ipg Pattern 151843 WorkspacelProlects.. ClDocuments and
Granite10 Ipg Pattern 358739 WorkspaceIProlects CIDocuments and
PINE ipg Pattern 14096 WorkspaceIProiects... C:/Documents and. .
SOCCER MSA Animation Script 1395 WorkspaceIProiects CIDocuments and
SOLAR MSA Animation Script 13877 WorkspacelProiects.. C./Documents and.
Wdfloor04 Ipg Pattern 28505 WorkspacelProlects.. ClDocuments and
Wdfloorll Ipg Pattern 17731 WorkspaceIProlects CIDocuments and
bOO1 ipg Pattern 8473 WorkspaceIProiects... C:/Documents and. .
6 Click Next in the Gather Design Data dialog box to continue

creating the package file with the files listed.
The Select Workspace Options dialog opens.
Option
0 All workspace rendering data
0 Basic Macros
0 Cell Libraries
Color tables
0 DGN libraries
0 FontISymbology resources
0 Function keu menu
0 Level definitions
0 Plotting data
0 Seed files
0 Settings Manager resources
0 Spell checker data
0 Translation settings [CGM & IGES]
0 User interfaces
0 User preference resource
I Using the Packager Utility I 365
7 Enable (check) Color tables from the list of options and disable
(uncheck) all other options from the Option list.
8 Click Next in the Select Workspace Options dialog to continue the
process.
The Review Selections dialog box opens. Check to make sure the
files you want are in the list.
NOTE: lfrou have animation scripts in theform of .msafiles, all the
F files of this type are included in the package because the .msa can be
any name. There is no intelligence here; we just take them all. You can
remove the check marks for any you do not want to include in the
package file. In addition, if you are animating pattern or bump maps
incrementally, the sequential images will not be included in the
package. Therefore, to make sure each machine on the network can
find thesefiles. Either add them to MicroStationj search path or copy
them to the network render folder where you extract the Packager
files.
9 Click Next to continue.
10 The Create Package dialog opens. Click Browse.
The Save as PZIP file as dialog box opens.
11 From the Save PZIP file as dialog box, select the location and name
for the file and then click Save.
You are returned to the Create Package dialog box.
12 From the Create Package dialog box, click Next.
The Finish dialog box opens.
13 From the Finish dialog box, click Finish to create the PZIP file.
TIP: The PZIPfile is identical to a ZIPfile. You can change the name
before or after you create thefile to a ZIPfile extension and be able to
open thefile with any software that supports ZIP format. By making
thefile a PZIR you can open and extract thefiles with a MicroStation
u ti1ity.
NETWORK
RENDERING
Creating animator actors and animation scripts can be pretty quick and
easy. Processing thousands of animation frames can be very time
consuming, even with a fast system. To speed up the process, you can
use the network rendering capabilities built into Microstation. As an
example, consider a 1-minute video for which on average each frame
takes 3 minutes to render. You need to multiply that by 1,800 because
that is how many frames you need for 30 frames/sec video. If you do the
math you end up with 90 hours (3.75 days) on a single system. Dividing
the same job over 10 systems, you can have the same animation
completed in 9 hours! There is no limit to the number of systems you
can use other than that you need a Microstation license for each render
node. To attach more than 10 systems, you will need a server version of
the 0s with the applicable number of concurrent licenses.
The ability to use a network of computers to render frames with the
Animation Producer has been included with Microstation since
Microstation SE, and the process has changed very little over the years.
With the first Select visualization enhancements to be released for
Microstation V8 XM Edition, the network rendering process will be
changing drastically. If you choose to install and set up the Distributed
Rendering software for the network rendering, the process will be
automated and you will no longer have to manually start the process on
additional CPUs. The old manual method can still be used as an option,
and the procedure for starting the render job on multiple CPUs would
remain as in the past.
Distributed Rendering Overview for V8 XM Edition

This is intended to be an overview of distributed rendering and is not
intended as installation instructions. Refer to the current Microstation
help files and documentation for the correct installation and setup of
Projectwise Distributed Rendering.
Distributed rendering lets you set up a network so that you can use
multiple instances of Microstation across multiple computers or
processors to create rendered images or to process an animation script.
A distributed rendering setup, referred to as an instance, consists of a
collection of Microstation processors (MSProcessors) and the
Distributed Rendering Dispatcher (Dispatcher) with which they
I Network Rendering I 367
communicate. Central to the distributed rendering setup is the

Projectwise Orchestration Framework Database, a standalone
application that contains information about your distributed rendering
instances. The Bentley Projectwise Distributed Rendering system is
designed to handle single-node failures (with a few exceptions). The
Orchestration Framework Database must remain online. In addition, if
a dispatcher goes offline, jobs for any instance that uses that dispatcher
will not be processed until the dispatcher comes back online (it will
continue jobs already in its queue).
Distributed Rendering Nodes

Distributed rendering setups consist of the following nodes.
Database is the Projectwise Orchestration Framework
Database, which contains information about your rendering
networks (or instances).
Dispatcher controls the communication between the client
nodes (that initiate the jobs) and the MSProcessors. There is a
single dispatcher for each instance.
MSProcessor is a Microstation instance that performs the
rendering tasks.
Client is a Microstation user that submits a distributed
rendering job. A client node requires only an installation of
Microstation V8 XM Edition Select Update 1 and Microsoft
Message Queuing.
Typically, a rendering configuration would consist of the following.
Single database
Single dispatcher
Multiple MSProcessors running on dedicated workstations
Multiple MSProcessors running on user workstations
Multiple Nodes on a Single Computer

A single computer can act as any or all of the node types. That is, a single
computer can host the Orchestration Framework Database, run a
dispatcher for an instance, and have registered Microstation processors
that contribute to rendering jobs.
Distributed Rendering Instance

The following figure displays, within the ellipse, a layout of a distributed
rendering instance. In this illustration, the lines indicate connectivity
and proper access privileges. All processors must be able to
communicate with the dispatcher and the database. In addition, client
computers that are not part of the rendering instance still may instigate
distributed rendering jobs provided they have access to the dispatcher
and the database.
MSProcessor Client/MSProcessor MSProcessor
Database (CPUI)
Distributed rendering layout.
Installation Requirements
In a distributed rendering installation, the following packages are
required.
Projectwise Orchestration Framework with MSDE - for the
node to be a database.
m Microstation V8 XM 08.09.03.28 or later update - for the
node to be an MSProcessor.
Distributed Rendering and Log On As Service rights - for the
node to be a Dispatcher or MSProcessor.
m Microsoft Message Queuing - for all Client, MSProcessor and
Dispatcher nodes.
Each of the nodes for a distributed rendering instance requires that the
respective packages be installed in a particular order.
Database
1 Projectwise Orchestration Framework Service with the MSDE
option.
Dispatcher
1 Projectwise orchestration Framework Service without the MSDE
option.
2 Distributed Rendering.
MSProcessor
1 Microstation V8 XM 08.09.03.28 or later update.
2 Projectwise Orchestration Framework Service without the MSDE
option.
Combined node (all three)
1 Microstation V8 XM WIP update.
2 Projectwise Orchestration Framework Service with the MSDE
option.
Projectwise Orchestration Framework Service

Projectwise Orchestration Framework Service V8 XM Edition is
required for Bentley Distributed Rendering.
Requirement s
Projectwise Orchestration Framework Service requires its own
dedicated database instance. If Projectwise is installed, the
instance should be separate from the database instance you are
using for your Projectwise data source.
Orchestration Framework Service can use either Microsoft SQL
Server or Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE) to
contain the Orchestration Framework Service database
instance. Typically, this database instance is created during
Projectwise Orchestration Framework Service installation.
The Projectwise Orchestration Framework Service installer
checks your computer for the existence of certain prerequisite
software. If the installer detects that a prerequisite is missing, it
prompts you to either set up or install the prerequisite. Once all
prerequisite software is installed, installation of Projectwise
Orchestration Framework Service begins.
To install Projectwise Orchestration Framework Service, you
must have administrative privileges and “Log on as a service”
rights.
Microsoft Message Queuing must be set up on any computer
on which Projectwise Orchestration Framework Service is
installed.
Once you have properly installed and set up the Projectwise Distributed
rendering with Projectwise Orchestration Framework Service and the
MSDE option (using the step-by-step instructions supplied by the
Microstation documentation), the option to use Distributed Rendering
will be available in the Save Image dialog and the Record Script dialog.
-
OK Cancel
NOTE: To render across the network, you need to have a shared folder
in which the design files can be opened and a shared folder to render
the frames to. Ifnot using V8 X M Edition, you should save settings
and the script prior to starting a network rendering job. I f using V8
X M Edition, the scripts are always saved with the designfile so you do
not need to worry about saving your animation scripts.
TIP: Dual-processor systems can eflectively renderframes twice asfast
by running two instances of MicroStation and requiring only one
license. The same can be said for dual-core processors because they
have two CPUs on a single die.
As mentioned earlier, by creating a single folder and extracting the
content of the packager data set to a single folder you can be assured that
Microstation will be able to find the files necessary to render.
Microstation by default always looks for materials, palettes, bumps and
textures in the folder from which the design file loads.
In the next exercise you will be extracting the content of the Packager-
created PZIP file to a single folder.
3 *****
@ Extracting the Packager Data Set
Using Windows File Explorer, double-click the included scripts.pzip
file created in the previous exercise.
The Bentley Package Extractor opens with two tab views: Entries
and Properties. As you can see, the extraction would result in a
recreation of the workspace because the folder names would be
used.
Click Done to exit the Bentley Package Extractor without extracting
the data set.
Using Windows File Explorer, rename the included scripts.pzip as
included scripts.zip.
Renaming the file lets you open it using a zip utility.
You will receive a system warning because you have changed a file’s
extension. Click OK to accept the change.
Yes No
Using Windows File Explorer, create a new folder on your machine

and name the folder Network Render.
Within the Network Render folder, create an additional folder
named Frames.
The Frames folder will be where each participating instance of
Microstation renders the animation frames.
Open the included scripts.zip file with a zip utility. Winzip is used
here. However, you could use a freeware utility such as Quickzip4.
J
WinZip is a registered trademark of WinZip International LLC.
7 From the Winzip utility, click Extract.

The Extract dialog box opens.
8 Deactivate (uncheck) the option to Usefolder names.
9 Navigate to the Network Render folder you created and click the
Extract button to extract all files created with the Packager utility to
the Network Render folder.
Setting Up a Shared Network Resource

In the next exercise you will set up a shared folder whereby you can
access the data set created with the Packager utility and extracted with
the zip utility to the Network Render folder.
If your machine is not on a network, the following exercise is not
required. If you plan to use multiple CPUs (or multiple cores on a single
machine), you do not need to share the folder for network access. Do the
following steps if you intend to use more than one computer across a
network.
3 *****
@ Setting Up a Shared Folder for Network Rendering
NOTE: The next f e w steps assume that you have administrator
privileges on your machine. Ifrou do not, you may need to get help
from your network administrator or simply use a known shared
network folder or drive on your current network.
Disable Simple File Sharing on Windows XP Pro

If you have Windows XP Pro, follow these instructions to enable
password-protected file sharing. If Simple File Sharing is not disabled,
shared folders will not be password-protected; this allows any users and
network viruses easy access into your computer. If you have already
disabled this feature on your computer, skip to the next section.
1 Click the Start button, then select the Control Panel.
2 In the Control Panel window, double-click Folder Options. If you do
not see the Folder Options icon, click on Switch to Classic View
located on the left side of the window to see all Control Panel
options.
The Folder Options dialog box opens.
OK Cancel
4
3 Click the View tab.

4 Uncheck Hide file extensions for known file types.
5 Uncheck Use simple file sharing.
6 Click Apply and then click OK.
7 Close the Control Panel window
I Network Rendering I 37s
8 Using Windows File Explorer, right-click the Network Render folder

you just created and select Sharing and Security.
The Network Render Properties dialog box opens.
OK Cancel Apply
9 Activate (check) the option Share this folder and click the
Permissions button.
The Permissions for Network Render dialog box opens. Make sure
you enable Full Control.
NOTE: “Everyone”means everyone who can log into your network (so
not exactly everyone). If this worries you, then you can click the Add
button and specifically add the users who you want to have access to
this shared folder.
OK Cancel Apply
10 Click OK to make the changes and exit the dialog box.
=VB
d Rendering Animation Using Multiple Systems
1 Open the incZude.dgn design file from the shared Network Relzder
folder.
Producer tool.
3 From the Animation Producer dialog, select File > Record Script.
4 Set the following:
View 2
Resolution X 720
Resolution Y 480
Gamma 1.5 (or match your current view gamma)
Shading Ray Trace
Antialias checked
Create new solution for each frame
View used.
Browse to the shared

folder where the frames
will be generated.
Set Shading mode

to Ray Trace.
Enable Antialias.
Make sure Createnew

solution for each
frame is selected.
Only one instance of Microstation can start the script. The rest will
join in if you select Continue Recorded Sequence rather than
Record Script.
5 From the Record Script dialog box, click the Browse tool in the
upper right corner of the dialog box to open the Record Script file
browser.
-
Help
6 Navigate to the shared folder where the frames are to be generated,

and then click OK to return to the Record Script dialog box.
7 From the Record Script dialog box, click OK to start the rendering
process.
NOTE: When the rendering of animation frames is started, a control
file is created with an .asf extension and with a prefix using the name
of the script or MSAfile. This animation settingsfile controls the
settingspertaining to rendering and the frames to be rendered. It is
thisfile that allows you to continue the recording using multiple
systems on the network.
Adding Processors
Now that you have started the rendering process, you can add CPUs by
starting more instances of Microstation. If you have multiple CPUs or
more than one core, you can utilize these without having to use a
network.
=V8
@ Adding Processors to the Render Process
1 Open another instance of Microstation by opening the incZude.dgn
from the same location (shared folder) where you extracted the data
set made with the Packager utility.
9 NOTE: The designfile you open will be read-only and you will need to
accept by clicking OK when opening thefile.
OK
- Cancel

Producer tool.
3 From the Animation Producer, select File > Continue Recorded
Sequence.
I Important Considerations I 379
The Select File dialog box opens.
4 Browse to the Network Render\Frames shared folder where the

frames are being generated and double-click the include.asf file to
start your system rendering frames.
NOTE: In the lower left corner of the Animation Producer,you can see
theframe number your system is working on. This should move a few
frames at a time, depending on the number of systems participating.
5 When the final frame is finished, you can load the frames using
Microstation’s Movies player (Utilities > Image > Movies) to play
back the recorded frames.
6 Repeat steps 1 through 5 to add processors.
IMPORTANT
CONSIDERATIONS
You should be aware of some import aspects and considerations for
rendering animation frames and what to do with the completed frames
to finish the movie.
Hardware Graphics Acceleration

If using V8 and not V8 XM, consider at least one system with high-end
OpenGL graphics acceleration card for previewing the animations prior
to recording the script. If you are using V8 XM Edition, or plan to in the
near future you will need a good DirectX graphics card rather than
OpenGL. It is good idea to preview the camera path so that you do not
accidentally run into or through other geometry in the file before
committing several systems to the task of rendering the final images.
Postage Stamp Animations for Preview

When animating textures, lights, or fog, you need to actually render the
script in order to preview these effects. Render very small postage-
stamp size images, (120 x 80 pixels or less) with no antialiasing to
quickly render a test movie. You can also turn on Skip Frames (in V8
and prior versions) and enter a value of 1 or more to render fewer
frames and more quickly verify that the script is working as intended. If
using V8 XM Edition, you can change the Animation Settings > Time
Display to a value other than 1 to 1. For instance, you could set a value of
2 for 30th [NTSC] = 1 Frame and you will, for preview purposes, cut the
time in half.
Multi-level Texture Interpolation

If you are using textures, you should either enable Multi-Level Texture
Interpolation (mip-mapping) or make a separate folder and resize all
your textures to be less than 720 x 480 maximum resolution or smaller
before rendering the frames. Multi-level texture interpolation is enabled
in the Rendering Settings dialog box, via Settings > Rendering >
General. The Multi-Level Texture Interpolation setting greatly reduces
texture crawl but at the expense of clarity. The textures can become quite
blurry, especially where high resolution textures are used.
Resizing or using multi-level texture interpolation can prevent textures
appearing to crawl or glisten from frame to frame. If you choose to
resize (which could represent considerably greater effort), you may see
even better results. Preview your movie and think about the fact that the
resolution would be 720 x 480 for DVD quality. If some of the textured
objects never take up more than a quarter of the screen, you could make
them (for example) 256 x 256 or smaller. Create a separate folder for
your textures, copy the original to a folder (small), resize and sharpen
these as required, and then change the Microstation configuration to
look in this folder first.
If you used Packager to create your network rendering data set, you
should be able to edit these textures to resize and sharpen them. When
you start Microstation, use a workspace (such as untitled) that does not
have the search path set to your texture folder. This forces Microstation
to use those gathered by Packager.
.
Antialiasing
Antialiasing reduces the jagged edges formed by the pixels used to
display digital images. You should always turn on this option when
rendering the final frames. This is an option in the Record Script dialog
box. The quality of antialiasing can be set in the Ray Trace settings
dialog box.
Memory
Running out of physical memory can bring even the fastest system to a
crawl. To check the amount of memory being used during the rendering
process, open the Windows Task Manager and click the Performance
tab. You can physically put up to 4 GB in some systems but with 32-bit
versions of Windows no single application can use more than 3
gigabytes (3 GB). Note that the default for (32-bit) Windows XP and
Windows 2000 is only 2 GB and that a \3GB switch needs to be added to
your boot.ini file to use 3 GB. There are plenty of references to be found
online for setting the /3GB switch. In fact just searching on “/3GB”
should provide you with the details for setting up your system to take
advantage of an extra gigabyte of memory.
With 64-bit Windows XP, the limit for a 32-bit application increases
from 3 GB to 4 GB because the 0s kernel is held in a memory address
space above the 4 GB used for any running 32-bit applications.
Depending on the size of your data sets, you may need considerably less.
Multi-core CPUs
For many years now, performance gains in computing performance
have been achieved by increasing the clock speed or (cycles per second)
at which the processor operates. Most modern processors today
measure their clock speed in gigahertz (Gh,). All processors have
multiple pipes in which to execute instructions during a clock cycle,
allowing them to process more instructions. With the ever-increasing
clock speed has come additional thermal and power requirements.
Processor manufactures have begun to implement multiple processors
onto a single piece of silicon. This is a huge win for the Microstation
user, especially when it comes to animation (as you can nearly double
performance with dual core processors by running two instances of
Microstation to render your animation frames). Dual-processor dual-
core machines provide the user with four CPUs and by the time this
book is published, Quad-Core machines will be available. Although this
sounds wonderful, there is a point of diminishing returns in the short
term in that these machines will still be limited by their addressable
memory. You can only have so much memory and if you have four
CPUs sharing it, each CPU ends up with about 1/4 for each instance of
Microstation.
TIP: Use Windows Task Manager to monitor memory usage. Ifrou
have a dual-core dual-processor machine do not add a third or fourth
instance of Microstation $you are pushing the limits of available
memory.
Memory
Maybe you have heard the phrase “you can never have to much
memory.” However, truth be known there is a limit to how much
memory can be addressed. Any more than that and it is pretty much
worthless. The total addressable memory when running under 32-bit
Windows XP or Windows 2000 is 4 GB (4 gigabytes). This includes the
memory required by the 0s. By default, no single application can use
more than 2 GB. This means that regardless of the amount of physical
memory and page file or swap space you have allocated, Microstation
cannot access more than 2 GB. However, you can allocate up to 3 GB by
editing the startup or boot.ini file and adding a \3GB switch. A quick
internet search on “\3GB” should provide you with more than enough
information to enable this option and gain additional memory for
Microstation (or any application requiring more than the 2GB Windows
default). Be aware that you will likely need to add a switch to give a little
of this memory back to the 0s kernel. This is particularly the case if you
have a graphic card with more than 128 megabytes of memory. The
additional switch is \USERVA=xxxx which stands for “user virtual
application” (where xxxx is the number of megabytes an application can
use). This likely needs to be set between 2800 and 2900. The first time
the author tried to add the \3GB option he had a blank screen when he
restarted. He then had to restart in safe mode (by holding down the F8
key). Upon entering Safe Mode, he was able to further modify the
startup file by adding the \USERVA=2900 switch.
WARNING: Thefollowing instructions are by way of example only!
Editingyour system’s startup file could result in a boot failure leaving
your system inoperable. Research ‘73GB switch” and be aware that
editing your startup file could cause serious problems.
=V8
d Editing the boot.ini File - Example Only
1 In Windows XP, right-click the My Computer icon and select
System Properties to open the Systems Properties dialog.
OK Cancel
2 Click the Advanced tab and under Startup and Recover, select
Settings to open the Startup and Recovery dialog box.
OK Cancel
1
3 From the Startup and Recovery dialog box, click the Edit button.
The boot.ini file opens in Notepad and you can add the /3GB and
USERVA switches.
As you can see the /3GB and /USERVA=2900 switches have been
added.
l[boot l o a d e r ]
timeout=30
d e f a u l t = m u l t i (O)disk(O)rdisk(O)partition(l)"~~~.WINWwS
[o e r a t i n g systems]
muyti (O)disk(O)rdisk(O)partition(l)
WINWWS~"M1CPOSOft windows XP p r o f e s s i o n a l (3GE
Enabled) noexecute=opti n f a s t d e t e c t 3GE
USERVA=2900
m u l t i (O)disk(O)rdisk(O)partition(l)
"~~~,WINWWS="MiCPOSOft windows XP p r o f e s s i o n a l "
/noexecute=opti n f a s t d e t e c t
Non-linear Editing Software

Creating animation frames in Microstation is only the first step in
creating actual video output. Whether the final product will be a
videotape for TV, DVD, HDTV, or multimedia video (such as MPEG-1,
MPEG-2, AVI or MOV files), you should consider obtaining a software
package such as Adobe@ Premiere@ that allows you to easily edit the
video and to add transitions, effects, and audio. You can then output the
video to several different video formats depending, on your needs.
REVIEWQUESTIONS
True or false: Microstation allows for the re-use of scripts in other
files.
Generally, given the choice should you create: one long, complex
scripts or multiple short, simple scripts?
True or false: Network Rendering requires Projectwise
Orchestration Framework.
True or false: The best way to deliver all of your animation project
information is to use the Packager utility.
Visua Iization Glossary
This glossary defines visualization and animation terms used with
Microstation.
actor In an animation sequence, an element(s) that are scripted to move, rotate

or scale in a controlled manner. Created as a cell in versions prior to V8
XM Edtion and as a Named Group in V8 XM Edition.
aliasing Source of several common computer graphics artifacts such as jagged

lines, missing objects, and jerky motion in animation. In signal
processing terms, aliasing is caused by the undersampling of a signal,
resulting in some high-frequency components of the signal assuming the
alias (or false identity) of the low frequency components, and mixing
together in such a way that they can no longer be distinguished properly.
ambient light Imaginary light that is presumed to strike every point on a surface with
equal intensity. Used to approximate the large-scale effects of diffuse
inter-reflections, a phenomenon not usually accounted for by most
lighting methods. Ambient light should be turned off when using particle
tracing or radiosity solving, both of which take into account the diffuse
reflection of light between surfaces.
387
388 I Visualization Glossary I
animation camera Actor that is scripted to designate a viewing position, orientation, and
perspective for animation.
animation settings file File (*.asf) that contains design and rendering settings while recording
an animation sequence. Particularly useful for collaborative recording of
animation scripts on networked systems or continuing disrupted
recordings.
antialiasing Special rendering processing to remove or limit the appearance of

aliasing artifacts in an image or an animation sequence. See also sample.
area light source Light source created from a Microstation shape element. This type of
light source casts softer, more natural shadows than a Point light source.
camera Imaginary entity that specifies a scene’sviewing position, orientation,

and perspective. See also animation camera.
caustics Lighting effects caused by light reflected off surfaces, or refracted

through transparent objects.
color bleeding Shading effect observable in particle traced and radiosity solutions
caused by diffuse inter-reflections between surfaces. For example, a
colored wall often reflects a small amount of its color onto an adjoining
white wall.
diffuse inter-reflection Global process of light transport among all the surfaces in an
environment, based on a series of diffuse reflections between surfaces.
This is the process that is simulated in radiosity solving.
diffuse reflection Type of reflection that sends light in all directions with equal energy.
Diffuse reflection is said to be “view-independent.”See also specular
reflection.
dolly (camera) To move the view cone while keeping the camera and target points in the
same positions relative to each other - that is, without changing their
orientation.
dolly (light source) To move a directional light source and its target point such that they
remain in the same positions relative to each other - that is, without
changing their orientation.
IVisualization Glossary I 389
element For radosity solving, a triangular subdivision of a patch. Light energy is

“shot” from a single patch to each of the elements of the other surfaces.
element mesh For radiosity solving, the set of elements composing a surface.
elevate To move the view cone linearly in a vertical direction.
environment cube Imaginary cube surrounding the entire design, on which images are
applied as environment maps.
environment map Image file representing the projection of a 3D environment onto a 2D

surface from a specific point of view. A set of these files can be applied to
the six faces of the environment cube that surrounds a design (or
environment). An environment map is not directly visible in the view,
but is seen only when reflected or transmitted by surfaces in the model to
which material characteristics are applied.
field rendering Animation script recording technique that results in frames that consist
of two fields each (one for the even-numbered scan lines and one for the
odd-numbered scan lines) Used to improve playback on NTSC and PAL
video display systems that employ interlaced display.
frame Single rendered image that is part of a series of rendered images that
make up an animation sequence.
frame number Identifies a frame‘s relative position in an animation sequence.

Since the speed of an animation sequence (expressed in frames per
second) is constant throughout the animation, frame numbers can also
be thought of as points in time. Therefore, fractional frame numbers can
be specified in script entries.
Fresnel effects Effects of the angle of view on the reflectivity and transparency of a
surface. For example, a window appears more reflective than transparent
when viewed at a sharp angle.
frustum Geometric shape used to describe the viewing volume in computer

graphics, where the viewing plane sits at the top of a truncated pyramid
that extends into the 3D environment.
global lighting Shading of a surface that takes into account both direct lighting and
some indirect lighting, such as reflections and refractions. Ray tracing,
radiosity solving, and particle tracing account for global lighting, but in
different ways. Also refers to the Ambient, Flashbulb, and Solar light
settings that are grouped in the Global Lighting settings box.
HDTV High-Definition Television (HDTV) is a television broadcasting system

with a significantly higher resolution than traditional formats (NTSC,
SECAM, PAL) allow. The current HDTV standards are defined in as
1080 active interlace or progressive scan lines, or 720 progressive scan
lines, using a 16:9 aspect ratio.
highlight Brightly lit area on a surface caused by a specular reflection.
illumination Specification of lighting on a surface.
image point In photomatching, a known point on the photograph or rendered image

that correlates to a monument point in the computer model.
image script Text file ( x r ) containing entries that define the names of design files,
views, output filenames and formats, and rendering options for batch
rendering.
interlace Is a technique of improving the picture quality of a video transmission

without consuming any extra bandwidth. While interlace can improve
the resolution of still images, it can cause flicker and various kinds of
distortion. Interlace is still used for most standard definition TVs, and
the 1080i HDTV broadcast standard, but not for LCD, micromirror
(DLP), or plasma displays, which are inherently progressive scan.
intermediate image Rendered image showing an intermediate result of a radiosity solving

process. Constant shading is typically used to render the image to
decrease processing time.
interpolation Method by which an animation parameter smoothly varies from one

state to another. Also refers to the blending of adjacent pixels of a texture
map for smoother rendered images.
jittering Antialiasing technique in which samples are taken in a non-uniform

manner which efficiently approximates a Poisson distribution. This
distribution is particularly effective in eliminating regular-pattern
artifacts, such as jagged edges, from a rendered image.
keyframe Frame in which the locations and orientations of particular elements are
explicitly specified.
keyframing Most basic method of animation. in which keyframes are defined, and
the system automatically computes the frames in between (a process
known as “tweening”).
local lighting Shading of the surface that accounts for direct lighting only - that is,
lighting directly attributed to light sources. Phong shading is an example
of a rendering method that is based on local lighting.
lumens Units in which the brightness of light sources is expressed. Lumens are
the photometric equivalent of watts, but only account for energy in the
visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. If a light source’s Intensity
setting is 1.0, then its Lumens setting closely approximates lumens. In
other words, if you set the Intensity to 0.5 and Lumens is 800, the
brightness would be reduced to about 400 lumens.
mip mapping See multilevel texture interpolation.
monument point In photomatching, a known point in the model whose corresponding

image point is visible.
multilevel texture Texture mapping option for phong and ray traced rendering that
interpolation provides less noisy images and smoother animations by pre-filtering the
texture into a series of progressive lower resolution images, and then
smoothly interpolating between them. In an image rendered with this
option, repetitive patterns fade to constant as the distance from the
camera increases.
named groups Named groups are the most flexible method for grouping elements in
Microstation. Named groups can include elements from the active file
and those from directly attached references. In V8 XM Edition actors
when created are named groups.
NTSC National Television System Committee the video standard for television
in the United States, Central America, Canada and Japan. Fixed vertical
resolution of 525 lines, 480 interlaced lines, 30 frames / sec and 60 fields /
sec.
PAL Phase Alternation by Line short for phase alternation by line or phase
alternation line, is a color encoding system used in broadcast television
systems in Europe and Australia. Fixed vertical resolution 625 lines, 576
interlaced lines, 25 frames / sec and 50 fields / sec.
parametric motion Animation method in which the position and orientation of elements are
mathematically specified as a function of time.
P a To manipulate the view cone by revolving either the camera about the
target (horizontally or vertically), or vice-versa.
particle tracing Global lighting method that computes a view-independent solution that
includes all lighting effects such as color bleeding, and specular light
effects including reflections, refractions, and caustics.
patch For radiosity solving, a subdivision of a surface that “shoots” light energy
to each of the triangular elements of other surfaces. Each patch is
subdivided into one or more elements.
photomatching Process of matching a model’s viewing perspective to that of a

photograph or rendered background image, which is attached to the
model as a reference raster file. The expected result is a composite image
in which the model is superimposed on the background image with
correct positioning and orientation.
Poisson distribution Random set of points with the property that no two points are closer
together than a given fixed distance. This distribution is expensive to
compute, but is generally regarded as the optimal sampling pattern for
computer graphics. Jittering is commonly used to generate a point set
that approximates a Poisson distribution, but with significantly less
computation.
procedural bump map Special type of bump map that dynamically calls a procedural texture
function to compute a perturbed surface normal rather than performing
a lookup into a stored image.
procedural pattern Special type of pattern map that dynamically calls a procedural texture
map function to compute pixel color rather than performing a lookup into a
stored image.
Visualization Glossary I 393
procedural texture Function that takes either a 2D texture coordinate or a 3D world

coordinate as input and returns a texture value (either a color for a
pattern map or a normal for a bump map). The function can perform
anything from a simple lookup into a standard texture map to a very
complex calculation. When a solid to which a 3D procedural texture is
applied is rendered, the solid appears to be sculpted from the specified
pattern rather than wrapped with the pattern.
progressive scan Progressive or non-interlaced scanning is any method for displaying,

storing or transmitting moving images in which the lines of each frame
are drawn in sequence. This is in contrast to the interlacing used in
traditional television systems.
radiosity Total power (light energy per unit time) per unit area leaving a point on a
surface. See also radiosity solving.
radiosity database See rendering database.
radiosity solution 3D view-independent lighting solution calculated using radiosity

solving.
radiosity solving Global lighting method that accurately calculates the distribution of light
energy in an environment by accounting for both direct lighting and
diffuse inter-reflections. Radiosity solving is particularly useful for
handling effects such as color bleeding and indirect lighting.
ray tracing Photorealistic rendering method in which the global lighting of an

environment is computed by simulating the reflection and refraction of
light rays (recursively), using the principles of geometric optics. The
output of ray tracing is a 2D view-dependent image. Ray tracing
accurately depicts reflections, refractions, and semi-transparent
materials.
rendering database Data structure containing the geometry and settings that are constructed
in memory during preprocessing for ray tracing, radiosity solving, or
particle tracing. The rendering database is kept in memory,
automatically, when repeatedly rendering the same design.
roll Rotate the camera about the view z-axis.

sample In radiosity solving, the process of examining a point on the current light
source or shooting patch. The computation time increases roughly one-
for-one with the number of samples. In antialiasing, the process of
examining part of a pixel. Samples are combined into a final pixel value.
The number of samples and the threshold at which sampling stops are
adjustable settings.
shot In radiosity solving, the process of transporting light energy from a

single patch to each of the elements of the other surfaces.
specular reflection Type of reflection that sends light primarily in a single outgoing
direction related to a single incoming direction by the principles of
geometric optics, resulting in either a mirror-like reflection or a glossy
highlight. Specular reflection is said to be view-dependent.
terminator Line separating light and dark on curved surfaces, most noticeable when
an object is illuminated by a single light source.
texture map Stored image used for texture mapping.
texture mapping Process of applying detail to a surface without explicitly modeling it as

part of the geometry of the surface. This process can be either a standard
lookup into an image texture map or a function call to compute a value
algorithmically. The resulting value can be used either as a pixel color
value (as in a pattern map) or as a perturbed surface normal (as in a
bump map).
tweening In keyframing the process in which the system automatically computes

the in between frames.
uniform sampling Regular distribution of samples, equally spaced in all dimensions.
view cone Dynamically displayed indication of view extents that is used to set up
the camera.
view-dependent Global lighting of a 3D environment that varies from image to image as

lighting the position of the view is changed, primarily because of specular
reflections or refractions of visible surfaces.
view-independent Global lighting of a 3D environment that remains constant from image

lighting to image as the position of the view is changed, thereby allowing for
reuse, which significantly shortens the rendering time of subsequent
images.
viewing pyramid See view cone.

INDEX
NOTE: page numbers followed by “m” refer to information on V8 XM edition; “v” refers to
information on V8 edition.
Index Terms Links
Numerics
3D content
in Adobe PDF 49–56
adding from design models 50–53
viewing 54–57
interacting with, in Adobe Reader 53–56
3D data point
entering 198v
for placing target 194v
3D Industry Forum 50
3D Plotting Options dialog box 50 52
/3GB switch 383 385
Accelerate velocity, for slamming door 35v

acceleration
curve for 272m
Velocity Graph to create custom 249–251v
AccuDraw 187v 194v 213m
225m 227m
This page has been reformatted by Knovel to provide easier navigation.

Index Terms Links
AccuDraw compass 43m

rotation 225–226m
AccuSnap tool 102v 120v 194v
220m
acos() function 150
acropolis.dgn file 344 345 346
350
actor origin graphic 41–42m
actor paths level 292m
actors 387
accepting for attachment 82v
animation 39–49m
attaching 80–101
cameras and targets as 188v 214m
creating
for desk lamp 101–104v
for door 30–32v
for shock absorber 58–59v
keyframes for manipulating penknife 83–87v 92–96m
limiting motion 121v
origin point, testing 32v 42–43m
actors on paths 245–248v 263–267m
actors following targets 287–296m
animation script for tractor 291–296m
attaching actors 290–291m
creating actors 288–290m
attaching camera to car 255v 276m
attaching car to path 247–248v 263–267m

Index Terms Links
actors on paths (Cont.)

bumps in road 261–262v 285–287m
comparing velocities and scripting
target 256–258v
modifying path 248–249v 267–268m
modifying velocity graph 249–251v
for custom accelerations 269–272m
placing camera in car 252–255v 272–276m
scripting car to roll up on two wheels 258–260v 282–285m
scripting previously created keyframes 281–287m
scripting target 255–260v 277–281m
addressable memory 382
Adobe Acrobat 7.0 53
viewing PDFs with 3D content 54–57
Adobe PDF
3D content 49–56
adding from design models 50–53
printing design file to 38v 49m
Adobe Premiere 319–320 386
Adobe Reader interacting with 3D content in 53–56
Alert box, for updated actors 264m
aliasing 387
ambient light 387
Animate Color dialog box 315m
Animate Global Lighting Settings dialog box 345v
Animate Global Lighting tool 345v
Animate Material Settings dialog box 299v 308m 326v
342m
Animate Setting dialog box, for lights 338m
Animate Source Lighting Settings dialog box 302–303v 310m 325v
Index Terms Links
animation
overview 1–2
in PDF 3D content 50
recording 72–74m
Animation Actors tools 6 31v 40m
animation camera 388
See also camera
Animation Cameras tools 6
Animation KeyFrames dialog box 13v 15v 17–18v
35v 61v
for camera target 197v 203v 224m
226m 228m
copying keyframe 232–233m
for desk lamp 109v 110v 116–117v
130m
Freeze 23m
for movie curtain 323v 324v 334m
335m
for penknife 83–85v 87v 92–94m
96m
for shock absorber 60v 68m
Animation Parameters dialog box
for ball movement 179v 180m 182m
for clock 166v 170v 172m
17m
for winch 155–156v 161–162m 164m
Animation Preview scrub bar 71–72m 282m
Animation Preview tools 6 8m 36–38v
47–49m

Index Terms Links
Animation Producer 12 17–19v 23–24m

46–47m 355–356v
for camera 190v 215–216m
completed script 235m
default frame count 97m
default frame increment 116v
for deformation script 62v
KeyFrames list 69m
for desk lamp 116v 137m 139–142m
disabling camera and target 230m
double-clicking to edit 181m
makeover in V8 XM Edition 335–336m
vs. Microstation V8 XM Edition xi
for penknife 88–89v 97m
saving script from 63v
Storyboard Panel 314m
changing time 237m
Storyboard Panel - Filtered 277–278m
time bar, and Animator Preview scrub bar 28m
Tree view 25m 128–129m 313–314m
338–342m
Animation Producer Dialog tool 8
animation scripts. See also included scripts
adding entry to 29m
clearing 144m
copying 144m
creating 17–19v 23–29m
from current script 165m
for door 34–36v 45–47m
for penknife 87–89v 96–101m
Index Terms Links
animation scripts…(Cont.)
for shock absorber 61–62v 69–72m
for winch 157–158v
with custom parameters 157–165 163–164m
disabled entries 201v
with parametric equation 151–157
playback of previously recorded 319–320
previewing script 36–38v
for camera and target 205–206v 235–237m
recording 206–212v 237–243m
saving 38v 159v 205v
260v
scaling 358v 362m
slowing down action 169v
for target actor 255–260v
Animation Settings dialog box 24–25m 48m 70–71m
161m 217m 265m
for camera and target 230m 236m
for desk lamp 138m
for penknife 98m
Speed field factor 317m
Time Display 270m 317m 347–348m
animation settings file 388
Animation Settings toolbox 13v 19m 43m
197v
Animation Settings tools 6
animation tool frames 6v
animation toolboxes 6m

Index Terms Links
Animation tools 4–10

See also specific tool names
Actor tools 7–8
Animation Preview 9–10v
Camera tools 8
General Settings 8–9
Animation Velocity Graph 245v 249–251v 263m
tools 251–252v
animation_winch.dgn file 155 157 159
164
animation_winch_XM.d gn file 161 163
Animator Preview dialog box 27–28m
for ball movement 180–182m
for camera 218m
for clock 174m
for desk lamp 143–144m
docking 267v
scrub bar 48m 101m
and Animation Producer time bar 28m
Animator Timeline 328–330v
Animator Tree View dialog box 327–328v
animator.cel cell library 343
antialiasing 64v 73m 346v
381 388
for recording script 207v 239m
Archive utility 363
archiving, Packager for 363
ArchVision 211v 243m
area light source 388
artifacts, motion blur for removing 210v 242m
Index Terms Links
asf file extension 378

asin() function 150
aspect ratio
locking or unlocking 73m 239m
for recording script 207v 238m
for view size 63v
atan() function 150
atan2() function 151
Attach Actor dialog box
for desk lamp 107–108v 126m
for penknife 82v 91–92m
Attach Actor tool 7 80 255v
Attach Actor tool settings window 276m
AVI format 3 72
saving movie as 76–77 243m
AWM.zip file xii
B-spline path
for camera 187v
entering data point 214m
Define Actor Path tool to attach camera to 186v
defining as actor path 265m
determining camera timing along 200–202v 229–231m
between saved views 306v 318m
snap point 246v
ball movements
with keyframes and parameters 177
script for 178–179v

Index Terms Links
Begin Time, for script recording 239m 241m

beginFrame variable 150
Bentley logo, to open Saved Views dialog box 118v
Bentley Package Extractor 371
Bentley ProjectWise Distributed Rendering system 367
BMP file format 77
boot.ini file 383 385
editing 384v
boreline 198v 199v
built-in variables 150
bump maps, and packaging 365
bumps in road 261–262v 285–287m
camera 388
attaching to car 255v 276m
B-spline path for 187v
entering data point 214m
change in focus 203v
checking path timing 200–202v 229–231m
constant velocity and positions of 202v
Define Actor Path tool to attach to B-spline path 186v
defining path 186–191v 212–217m
preview 379–380
disabling 201v 230m
dynamic cone of vision for 253v
placing 187–191v
placing in car 252–255v 272–276m
previewing script 191–196v 217–223m

Index Terms Links
camera (Cont.)
rolling with car 261–262v
saved view for animating 306–307v 318–319m 355–356v
359m
turning on 190v 215m 275m
Camera actors 186v 212m
camera tools 8
car_race.dgn file 245 248 249
252 258 261
268 285
car_race.msa file 357
car_race_XM.dgn file 263 269 273
282 361
cars. See actors on paths
case sensitivity of parameters 149 158v 164m
caustics 388
ceil() function 151
Center Snap tool 102v 120v
Change View Display Mode tool 18v 62v
clearing script, in Animation Producer 144m 165m
client, for distributed rendering 367
clock
animation with parameters 166–171v 171–176m
creating script 168–169v 173–174m
editing script 169–171v
rocking motion parameter for pendulum 168–169v 174m
scaling script to slow down 169v 175–176m
clock speed of processors 382
CLOCK.dgn file 166 168 169
361
Index Terms Links
CLOCK.msa file 357

CLOCK_XM.dgn file 171 173 175
collision, intermediate keyframes to prevent 109–111v
color
changing solar 346v 350m
codes for velocity 329v
for movie playback memory and 75
of spot lights 303–305v 311–313m
color bleeding 388
color options for recording script 211v
compression
by MPEG format 3
options when recording script 238m 242m
computer cartoon animation 2
constant velocity 269m
and camera positions 202v
graph for 249–250v
control file, for rendering animation 378
Copy Script dialog box 147m
copying script, in Animation Producer 144m 165m
cos() function 150
cosh() function 151
Create Actor dialog box
for curtain 332–333m
for desk lamp 103v
for base 106v 125m
for lower arm actor 105v 124–125m
for upper arm actor 104v 123m
expanding 121v 288m
for left movie curtain 321v
Index Terms Links
Create Actor dialog box (Cont.)

for target actor 145–146m
for trailer 289m
Create Actor tool 7
for door 31v 40–41m
for shock absorber 58v 66–67m
Create Animation Camera tool 8 187v 212m
Create Animation Camera tool settings window 187v 212m 252v
273m
Create Camera dialog box 188v 213m 254v
Create KeyFrame dialog box 34v 60–61v 224m
228m
for desk lamp 130m 131m
for movie curtain 323v 334m
for penknife 84v 85v 92m
for target actor 199v
Create KeyFrame tool 19m 33v 43–44m
Create Package dialog box 365
Create Parameter dialog box 161 166–167v
for clock 170v 172m 176m
Create single solution from frame setting 64v 74m 211v
243m
Create Target dialog box 194–195v 221m 294m
Create Target tool 8 194v 220m
curtain keyframes creatin 322–323v 334–335m
curtain.dgn file 321 323 324
332 334 336
338 360
curtain.msa file 357
Curve to Line tool (Velocity Graph) 251v
Index Terms Links
custom parameters creating 155–156v
data point, and attaching actors 107

data sets, extracting xii
database, for distributed rendering 367 369
date format, for solar time 343–344
day of year, animating sunlight for particular 345v
default movie duration 216m
default settings for lighting 325v
Define Actor dialog box 188v
Define Actor Path dialog box 189v 214m 246v
265m 266v
Define Actor Path tool 7 188v 212m
213m 245–246v 264m
292–293m 295m
to attach camera to B-spline path 186v
deformation effect for shock absorber
keyframes for 57–59v 65–68m
degreesFromRadians() function 150
Delete all points tool (Velocity Graph) 251v
Delete Entry tool (Velocity Graph) 251v
Delete Point on Curve tool (Velocity Graph) 251v
design files (.dgn)
acropolis.dgn 344 345 346
350
animation_winch.dgn 155 157 159
164

Index Terms Links
design files (.dgn) (Cont.)

animation_winch_XM.dgn 161 163
car_race.dgn 245 248 249
252 258 261
268 285
car_race_XM.dgn 263 269 273
282 361
CLOCK.dgn 166 168 169
361
CLOCK_XM.dgn 171 173 175
curtain.dgn 321 323 324
332 334 336
338 360
DLAMP.dgn 101 115 120
137 143 145
152 362
DLAMP_XM.dgn 153
include.dgn 355 363 376
378
include_XM.dgn 359
KEY1.dgn 30 33 35
37 39 43
46 48 51
KEY2.dgn 58 63 66
71 72
lobby fountain.dgn 299 300 302
306 308 309
310 319

Index Terms Links
design files (.dgn) (Cont.)

Longbeach.dgn 187 191 193
197 200 205
207 212 218
220 224 229
236 238
opening 180m
penknife.dgn 81 83
penknife_XM.dgn 89 92 96
361
printing, to Adobe PDF 38v 49m
saving script to 72m 137–144m 371
simple keyframes.dgn 5 13 14
17 19 21
23
SOCCER.dgn 177
SOCCER_XM.dgn 180
TT_Rig.dgn 288 290 292
design models, adding 3D content from 50–53
Design Options dialog box 363
desk lamp
Animation Producer for attaching actors 127–129m
assembling 106–108v 126–127m
creating actors 101–104v 120–122m
base actor 106v 125–126m
lower arm actor 105v 124–125m
upper arm actor 104v 123m
creating animation script 115–119v 137–144m
previewing script 143–144m

Index Terms Links
desk lamp (Cont.)

creating keyframes 108–115v 130–137m
other keyframes 112–115v 134–137m
second keyframe 109–111v 130–133m
starting point keyframe 109v 130m
rotating with built-in parameters 152v 153–154m
targeting actors 145–147m
Detach Actor tool 7
diffuse inter-reflection 388
diffuse reflection 388
dimming lights 325v
DirectX graphics card 379
disabling
camera and target 230m
Simple File Sharing, on Windows XP Pro 374–376
target object 230m 277m 280–281m
Dispatcher 366
for distributed rendering 369
Display List of Curves tool (Velocity Graph) 250v
distributed rendering
disabling Simple File Sharing on Windows XP
Pro 374–376
extracting Packager data set 371–373
installation requirements 368–369
instance layout 368
nodes 367
overview 366–371
ProjectWise Orchestration Framework
Service 369–371
shared folder setup 373
Index Terms Links
Distributed Rendering Dispatcher 366

DLAMP.dgn file 101 115 120
137 143 145
152 362
dlamp.msa file 358
DLAMP_XM.dgn file 153
docking, Animator Preview dialog box 267v
dolly (camera) 388
dolly (light source) 388
door
animation
for slamming door 35v
creating actor from 30–32v
dragging time marker 26–27m
Drop Actor tool 7
dual-processor systems for rendering frames 371
Dummy actor 247v 258v 266m
DVD quality resolution 2
dynamic cone of vision for camera 253v
Edit Actor Script dialog box 178v 181m

Edit Camera Script dialog box 262v
Edit KeyFrame dialog box 329v
Edit Parameter dialog box
for ball movement 179v
for clock 170v

Index Terms Links
Edit Parameter dialog box (Cont.)

for winch 159v 165m
element mesh 389
Element Selection tool 40m 66m
for desk lamp 120v 121v 125m
targeting actors 145–147m
for movie curtain 323v
for Target actor 197v 224m 228m
for tractor 288m
elements 389
elevate 389
End Time, for script recording 239m 241m
endFrame variable 150
environment cube 389
environment map 389
"Ergoman" 177
exp() function 151
expanding, actor list 91
Extract dialog box xii
Extract dialog box (Winzip) 372–373
extracting data sets xii 371–373
fabs() function 151

Field Rendering 209v 241m 389
file format
for recording script 238m
for rendered frames 77

Index Terms Links
File menu (Animation Producer)

> Continue Recorded Sequence 378
> Copy Script 146m
> Include Script 356v 360m 361m
> Record Script 207v 238m 300
305v 317m
> Save Script 38v 159v 205v
260v 305v 331v
for master script 358v
> Scale Script 169v
File menu > Print 51
file names, for script recording 240m
file types, for saving animation frames 208v
files and folders displaying hidden xii
Finish dialog box (Packager) 365
Fit View tool 329v
floor() function 151
fmod() function 151
focus of actor, target object for 145–147m
focus of camera. See Target actors
fog, postage stamp animations for preview 380
Folder Options dialog box (Explorer) xii–xiii 374
frame number 389
frame variable 150 151
frames 389
See also keyframing
automatic calculation of in-between 12
rendered, file format for 77
skipping in preview 205v
framing the shot 192v
Index Terms Links
freezing
geometry 111v
geometry into original positions 16–20 22–23m 61v
69m
Fresnel effects 389
frustum 389
Gamma 209v 241m

for recording script 238m
Gather Design Data dialog box 363–364
General Settings tool 9
geometry
freezing into original positions 16–20 22–23m 69m
selecting by level 66m
global lighting 390
Global Lighting dialog box 345v
Global Lighting tool 9
Graphic Group Lock 225m 275m
graphical user interface 29m
Graphics Acceleration 62v
hand-drawn animation 2
hardware graphics acceleration 379–380
HDTV (high-definition television) 4 390
hidden files and folders displaying xii

Index Terms Links
hierarchical relationship of actors 80

for desk lamp 106–108v
for penknife, creating 81–83v 89–92m
high-definition television (HDTV) 4
highlight 390
house lights for movie house, intensity changes 339–340m
human visual accuracy 2
illumination 390
image library animation folder 326
image point 390
image script 390
in-between frames automatic calculation 12
Include Script dialog box 356–358v 360m
included scripts 354 355–362
within another script 355–358v 359–362m
repeating 357 361m
include.dgn file 355 363 376
378
include_XM.dgn file 359
instance 366
layout 368
Intensity entry in Animation Producer, copying 339m
interlace 390
interlaced video frames rendering 241m
intermediate image 390
interpolation 61v 70m 390

Index Terms Links
jittering 390
JPEG file format 77
Key-in Point on Curve tool (Velocity Graph) 251v

Key-in window 263m
KEY1.dgn file 30 33 35
37 39 43
46 48 51
KEY2.dgn file 58 63 66
71 72
keyframe marker, making copy 140m
keyframes 12 391
creating
for desk lamp 130–137m
for door 33–34v 43–45m
for shock absorber 60–61v 68–69m
creating additional 14–16v 20–22m
creating initial 13–14v 19–20m
for deformation effect 57–59v 65–68m
Dummy actor and 247v
freezing 17v
and parameters 177
scripting motion of target 203–205v 232–234m
simple animation 12–16
target 196–200v 223–229m
KeyFrames Dialog tool 9

Index Terms Links
KeyFrames tool 60v 197v 334m

335m
Level Display dialog box 60v 68–69m 292m

license, for rendering nodes 366
lighthouse, moving target to 199v
lighting
ambient 387
area light source 388
default settings for 325v
dimming 325v
Global Lighting tool 9
local 391
for movie house intensity changes 339–340m
postage stamp animations for preview 380
Source Lighting tool 9
source lights
adding final script entries 315–316m
recording preview 316–318m
Line to Curve tool
(Velocity Graph) 251v
Load Movie dialog box 301–302v 306v
lobby fountain.dgn file 299 300 302
306 308 309
310 319
local lighting 391
log() function 151
log10() function 151

Index Terms Links
Longbeach.dgn file 187 191 193

197 200 205
207 212 218
220 224 229
236 238
lumens 391
lunar gravity 179v 182m
Maintain Frame setting for animation 49m 217m

Manipulate Actor dialog box 33v 334m
for desk lamp 126m
for penknife 84v 86v 90m
93m
for shock absorber 69m
Manipulate Actor tool 7 33v 42m
44–45m 60v
for desk lamp 107v 110–111v 112v
114–115v 131m
for penknife 81v
for shock absorber 67m
to test actor motion 32v
shade actor 122v 124m
Manipulate Actor tool settings window
for desk lamp 132m 134–135m 136–137m
Manipulate toolbox 15v 21m
.mar file extension 363
master script 354
Match Curve tool (Velocity Graph) 251v

Index Terms Links
material files, Packager inclusion of 363

Materials tool 9 299v 308m
326v
maxFrame variable 150 151
memory
and color for movie playback 75
default for Windows 381
Windows Task Manager for monitoring 382
Microsoft Media Player 244
Microsoft Message Queuing 368 370
Microsoft SQL Server 369
Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine 369
Microstation Color Picker 314m
Microstation Movie Player 65 72
loading and playing back frames 75–77 243–244m
Microstation V8 XM Edition, vs. Animation
Producer xi
Microstation window prompts at bottom 246v 264m
mip mapping 391
Modify Actor Origin tool 42m
Modify Actor tool 7 289m
Modify Camera tool 8
Modify Color dialog box 304v
for spot light 312m
Modify Element tool 14–15 268m
Modify Origin tool 7 8 32v
122v
Modify tool 21m
months, animating solar time over 350–351m
monument point 391
Index Terms Links
motion blur 207v 210v 239m

242m 244
MOV file format 3
Move Element tool 273m
Move Point on curve maintaining Tangent tool
(Velocity Graph) 251v
Move Point on Curve tool 250–251v 251v
Move Point on Graph tool 257v 279m
Move Points tool 271m
Move tool 198v 225m 227m
movement, origin point for 31v
movie house
animating lights and movie screen 337–342m
Timeline editor for 326–332v
curtain
animating pattern map increment 321–322v 332–333m
keyframes 322–323v 334–335m
opening and closing 320–322v 336–337m
Timeline editor for 326–332v
movies
Media Player for 244
vs. video 2–3
Movies dialog box 75 301v 305–306v
Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) 2–3
MPEG format 2–3 319–320
MSA file 49m
.msa file extension 50
MS_PATTERN configuration variable 326

Index Terms Links
MSProcessors 366
for distributed rendering 367 369
multi-core CPUs 382
multilevel texture interpolation 64v 380–381 391
named groups 391

Named Groups dialog box 220m 224m–225m 227m
National Television System Committee (NTSC) 3 241m 391
field rendering 209v
standard-size-frames 3
Network Render Properties dialog box, Sharing tab 375
network rendering 366–379
adding processors 378–379v
antialiasing 381
distributed rendering
disabling Simple File Sharing on
Windows XP Pro 374–376
extracting Packager data set 371–373
installation requirements 368–369
instance layout 368
nodes 367
overview 366–371
ProjectWise Orchestration Framework
Service 369–371
shared folder setup 373
hardware graphics acceleration 379–380
memory and 381–383
multi-core CPUs 382

Index Terms Links
network rendering (Cont.)

Multilevel Texture Interpolation 380–381
rendering using multiple systems 376–378m
non-linear editor 116v 141m 385–386
Notepad 385
NTSC (National Television System Committee) 3 241m 391
OpenGL graphics 206 379–380

origin point
of actor 41m 95m
testing 32v 42–43m
for movement or rotation 31v
output
gamma to lighten or darken 209v 241m
video vs. movie 2–3
output file
zeros in name 240m
Packager utility 363–365

extracting data set 371–373
PAL (Phase Alternation by Line) 4 241m 392
palette files, Packager inclusion of 363

Index Terms Links
pan 392
panning camera 203v 233m
parameters
for ball movement 177–178 180m
case sensitivity of 149
for clock animation 166–171v
creating script 168–169v
editing script 169–171v
creating custom 155–156v 163–164m
editing 156v
to change motion 159–160v 162m 164–165m
saving in separate file 150
prametric animation 392
advanced control 177–182
basics 149–151
for bumps in road 261–262v
equations 150 151–157
for operating winch 154–157 160–163m
rotating desk lamp 152v 153–154m
parent/child relationship 79 80
particle tracing 392
patch 392
path. See actors on paths
pattern map, and packaging 365
pattern map increment 321–322v 332–333m
pause, in animation action 116v 140m 141m
PDF files. See Adobe PDF
pdf.plt printer driver 51
pendulum, rocking motion parameter for 168–169v 174m

Index Terms Links
penknife
animation to closed position 89v 100m
creating animation script 87–89v 96–101m
hierarchical relationship of actors 80
creating 81–83v 89–92m
manipulating actors into keyframes 83–87v 92–96m
penknife.dgn file 81 83
penknife.msa 357
penknife_XM.dgn file 89 92 96
361
Permissions for Network Render dialog box 375
Phase Alternation by Line (PAL) 4 392
Phong Render Mode 242m
photomatching 392
pi variable 150
Place Points on Curve tool 250v 251v
playback
of previously recorded script 319–320
speed of 191v
playing animation shaded mode for 56
Poisson distribution 392
pow() function 151
Power Selector tool 30v 58v
for desk lamp 102v
Preferences (Adobe) 53–54
Preview Settings dialog box 62v 191–192v 201v
205v
Preview tool 6m

Index Terms Links
previewing
animated material or lighting 300v 309m
script 18v 230m
for camera 191–196v 217–223m
for camera and target 205–206v
dynamic rotation of view while 101m
Print dialog box 51
printing design file, to Adobe PDF 38v 49m
procedural bump map 392
procedural pattern map 392
procedural texture 393
processors
adding for rendering 378–379
multi-core CPUs 382
progressive scan 393
project files, collecting 363
ProjectWise Distributed Rendering 366
ProjectWise Orchestration Framework Database 367
ProjectWise Orchestration Framework Service 369
ProjectWise Orchestration Framework with MSDE 368
Put Elements into the Displayset tool 220m
PZIP file, creating 365
Quad-Core computers 382

QuickTime movie format (MOV) 3
"qvision" graphics acceleration 206v

Index Terms Links
radiansFromDegrees() function 150

radiosity 393
radiosity database 393
radiosity solution 393
radiosity solving 393
rand() function 151
ray tracing 393
with Real World Lighting mode 209v
Real World Lighting mode 241m
ray tracing with 209v
Record Filename dialog box 240m
Record Script dialog box 64v 73m 207–209v
237m 238m 240m
376–378
List Files of Type 208v
for rendering test movie 317–318m
for solar study 349m
for test frames 300–301v 305v
Record tool 6m 8m
recording
animation 63–65v 72–74m
scripts 206–212v 237–243m
color options for 211v
Redo tool (Velocity Graph) 251v
Refresh tool (Velocity Graph) 250v
Render modes, for recording script 238m
rendered frames, file format for 77

Index Terms Links
rendering. See also network rendering

adding processors for 378–379
database for 393
test frames 300–302v
resolution, for recording script 207v 238m
Review Selections dialog box 365
rocking motion parameter, for pendulum 168–169v 174m
roll 393
rotation
origin point for 31v
of view, while playing preview 101m
RPC files 211v 243m
running water 298 299–300v 307–309m
previewing test frames 309m
rendering test frames 300–302v
sample 394
Save as PZIP file as dialog box 365
Save Movie As dialog box 76
Save Script As dialog box 63v 118–119v
saved views
in Adobe Reader 53
for animating camera 306–307v 318–319m 359m
selecting, in Adobe PDF 55–56
Saved Views dialog box 81v 100m 118v
142–143m 193v

Index Terms Links
saving
animation script 38v 159v 205v
260v
movie in AVI format 76–77
parameters in separate file 150
script to design file 72m
Scale Script dialog box 118v 144m 169v
scaling script 358v 362m
Script Actor dialog box 158v 163m
for bumps in road 261v 285m
for clock 168v 173m
Script Actor list dialog box 157v 173m
for clock 168v
Script Actor tool 7
expanding list 153m
with parameters 152v 163–164m
Script Camera dialog box 190v 215m 275m
Script Camera tool 8
Script Camera tool settings window 190v 215m 254v
275m
Script KeyFrame dialog box 17v 18v 25m
35v
for car 259–260v 283m
for desk lamp 116v 138–140m
for movie curtain 324v 336–337m
for penknife 88v 97m 98–100m
for shock absorber 61–62v 70m
for target actor 203–204v 232m 233m
Script Saved View dialog box 307v 319m
Script Target dialog box 195v 257v 280–281m
Index Terms Links
Script Target tool 8

Script Target tool settings window 147m 195v 257v
scripts. See animation scripts
scrub bar in Animator Preview 28m 71–72m 282m
secondsFromFrame() function 150
Select Curve tool 278m
Select Elements in the Named Group tool 220m
Select End Time dialog box 348–349m
Select File dialog box 379
Select Start Time dialog box 347m 348m
Select Workspace Options dialog box 364–365
selecting
geometry by level 30v
saved view, in Adobe PDF 55–56
Send to Timeline tool 328
Send to Velocity Graph option 249v 256v
Set Dialog Colors tool (Velocity Graph) 250v
Set View Display Mode dialog box 18v 62v
Settings menu (Animation Producer)
> General 216m 230m 236
269–270m 317m 347m
> Level, > Display 60v
> Locks, > Graphic Group 225m
> Parameters 155v 159v 164m
175m 177 182m
> Preview 38v 201v 205v
> Rendering
> General 64v 380
> Global Lighting 345v
> Saved Views 307v
Index Terms Links
Settings menu (Animation Producer) (Cont.)

> Snaps > Button Bar 102v
> Tree View 327v
shade actor, with source light cell 121v
shaded illustrated mode 56–57
shaded mode, for playing animation 56
shading method, to render frames 73m
Shading options 210v
shared folder
for rendering across network 371
setting up 373
users with acces to 375
shock absorber
animation 57–59v
creating actor 58–59v 66–68m
creating deformation animation script 61–62v
recording animation 63–65v
shot 394
Simple File Sharing disabling, on Windows XP Pro 374–376
simple keyframes.dgn file 5 13 14
17 19 21
23
sin() function 150
Skip Frames option for preview playback 191v
SLRTIM cell 343
Snap Mode toolbox 120v
snap point 31v 41m 105v
SOCCER.dgn file 177
SOCCER_XM.dgn file 180
Index Terms Links
solar color, changing 346v 350m

Solar Study utility 343 350–351m 351–352m
solar time 343
animating 344–346v 346–350m
solar time stamp 343–350
source light cell, shade actor with 121v
Source Lighting tool 9 302v 310m
324v
source lights 302–306v 309m–316m
adding final script entries 315–316m
specular reflection 394
Spot Light Center 340–341m
spot lights, changing color 303–305v 311–313m
sqrt() function 151
srand() function 151
Startup and Recovery dialog box 384–385v
storyboard 192–193 219–222
storyboard script 202–205v
creating 231–235m
System Properties dialog box, Advanced tab 384v
tan() function 151

tanh() function 151
Targ files 77
Targa file format 208v 240m
target locations keyframes of 197–200v

Index Terms Links
target object 186v 212m

activating and deactivating 222–223m
for actor focus 145–147m
actors following 287–296m
creating animation script 291–296m
adding and scripting 193–196v 220–222m
animation script for 255–260v
for camera 221–222m
disabling 230m 277m 280–281m
enabling 277m
keyframing 196–200 223–229m
creating keyframe 227–229m
motion of 196
moving 198v 223m
scripting keyframe motion 203–205v 232–234m
terminator 394
test frames
previewing, for running water 309m
rendering 300–302v
testing shade actor motion 122v
texture crawl, preventing 64v 380
texture map 394
texture mapping 394
textures
animating 320 321–322v 332–333m
Packager inclusion of 363
TIFF file format 77 208v 240m
Index Terms Links
time display
vs. frames 269–270m
for solar study 347m
time format 343–344
time marker 25–26m
Timeline view
clicking and dragging keyframe to move 284m
copying marker 313m
switching from Velocity Graph view to 283m
timing, checking for camera path 200–202v 229–231m
toolbar for 3D object, in Adobe PDF 53
Tools menu
> Main > Modify 21m
> Parameters 161m 171m
> Saved Views 319m
> Visualization 31v 43m
> Animation 5 13v 19m
224m
> Rendering 192v 218m
tractor trailer animation 287–296m
animation script for tractor 291–296m
Tree Expand Options dialog box 328
True Color 75 211v 242m
tSeconds variable 150
TT_Rig.dgn file 288 290 292
tweening 197 223m 394

Index Terms Links
U3D (Universal 3D) format 50

Undo tool (Velocity Graph) 250v
uniform sampling 394
Universal 3D (U3D) format 50
Use Camera Roll option 286m
Use Distributed Rendering option 238m
\USERVA= switch 383 385
Utilities menu
> Image > Movies 75 301v 305–306v
346v 349m 351m
> Key-in 263m
> Named Groups 220m 224m 227m
> Packager 363
> Render
> Animation 50
> Solar Study 350m
> Saved Views 81v 100m 193v
199v 229m
variables, built-in 150

See also parameters
velocity
as Accelerate, for slamming door 35v
color codes for 329v
comparing and scripting target 256–258v
constant 269m
and camera positions 202v
Index Terms Links
velocity (Cont.)
curve for custom accelerations 245v
options for 247v
Velocity Graph function 268–287m
Velocity Key 329v
Velocity tool 251v
video
editing 386
vs. movie 2–3
standards 3–4
view cone 394
view-dependent lighting 394
view-independent lighting 395
View menu (Animation Producer), > Velocity Graph 269m
View Rotation: Rotate View tool 47m
View Size tool 63v 72–73m 192v
views, dynamic rotation while playing preview 101m
visual accuracy of humans 2
Walk tool (Adobe) 53

winch
animation script for 157–158v 163–164m
changing motion by editing parameter 159–160v 164–165m
custom parameter for revolution 154–157 160–163m
Windows 2000, default memory for 381
Windows File Explorer
for creating folder 372
for renaming scripts 371

Index Terms Links
Windows Media Player 3

for viewing movie in AVI format 77
Windows Task Manager
for memory monitoring 382
Performance tab 381
Windows XP, default memory for 381
Windows XP Pro, Simple File Sharing disabling 374–376
Winzip 372
wireframe 356v 359m 360m
Z axis, spring deforming on 59v

ZIP file, PZIP file as 365
zip utility 371

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Animating with

Copyright 0 2007 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.

ISBN Number: 978-0-9714141-9-8

Printed in the U.S.A.

This book assumes you know nothing about animation however it is

Files and Foldeir

Chapter 1: Animation Overview ......................... 1

Chapter 2: Simple Keyframe Animation ................. 11

Chapter 3: Actor Hierarchy .............................. 79

Chapter 4: Parametric Animation ....................... 149

Chapter 5: Cameras. Paths. and Targets .................185

Chapter 6: Animating Materials and Lights ...............297

Solar Study Utility ........................................ 350

Chapter 7: Included Scripts and Network Rendering ......353

Visualization Glossary ................................. 387

We will be recording at 30 frames (images) per second. When we

All exercises will be noted by the following graphic headers to

The next exercise is for V8.5 and earlier versions as indicated.

Animation Settings ,Animation Preview

Animation tools for XM Edition from left to right

Uses of the Animation Tools

Attach Actor Create hierarchies (parent child

J-4 4A- Drop Actor Convert (drop) the actor back to

A %il Detach Actor Detach an actor from the

Place an animation camera. Note

a CreateTarget Place a target. Note the Target i s

In Microstation XM Edition, general settings are as outlined in

Open the Animation Producer

1@1 General Settings Open the Animate General

14 I Preview Previous Moves back one frame in time.

41 Rewind Plays preview in reverse.

Plays animation preview in a

Preview Next Moves ahead one frame in time.

, Preview Last Moves to last frame of animation.

+,II Preview Advance Moves to frame entered.

Record Open the Record Script dialog

QOI (Functionality moved to

The next exercise is for V8.5 and earlier versions, as indicated.

Click the Create KeyFrame tool.

Creating Additional Keyframes

e NOTE: You will be using MicroStation’s element manipulate tools to

3 Set Frame Number to 0 and Interpolation to Linear. Click OK to add

5 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, double-click star3. In the

13 Double-click car2 in the Animation KeyFrames dialog box. In the

14 Preview the finished script by clicking Play in the Animation

2 4 Click the Create KeyFrame tool. The Animation KeyFrames dialog

pq 5 In the Animation KeyFrames dialog box, click Create.

NOTE: You will be using MicroStation’s element manipulate tools to

pq 9 While the star is still selected, in the Animation KeyFrames dialog

CREATING THE ANIMATIONSCRIPT IN V8 XM EDITION

5 Right-click star1 in the list and select Script.

6 The Frame number will be zero because the timeline marker is at

8 In the Animation Producer dialog box, right-click star2 in the

The Script KeyFrame dialog opens. Click OK to add the keyframe to

Interactivescrub bar Begin Frame

20 Move the Animator Preview scrub bar to frame 119, right-click

21 Click the OK button to add this keyframe at Start Time 119

:I.:-. I 26 Preview the finished script by clicking Play in the Animation

The door geometry is highlighted, indicating that it is selected.

3 From Tools > Visualization, open the Animation Actors toolbox.

4 Select the Create Actor tool.

Move Along RotateAbout Scale Along

CREATING THE KEYFRAMES