This is becoming a bit of an obsession. Anyway I have just found out that camera positions can be saved to figure Pz2 files (pose files) and made to work by cutting and pasting the information from a Pz3 file to a Pz2 file. (Poser does not normally allow you to save this info in a Pz2 file). What's more using maclean's fantastic discovery of incremental posing (transforming between two saved pose files) (see below http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?ForumID=12356&Form.ShowMessage=160912 ) the model not only changes pose incrementally (and morph targets if you include them in the saved poses) but also transforms between different camera angles. The above pic shows a model changing pose between the main camera position (last pose) and the main camera set at an angle (first pose). Here is how to do it: Pick the two poses you want the model to transform between. Pose the model and save each pose into a new pose library file calling them something like X1 and X2. Also save each posed model (X1 and X2) as a Pz3 file (this saves the scene information and all). Okay open up your Cr2 editing program and open the X1 Pz2 file in one window and the X1 Pz3 file in the other. Simply copy the main camera position information from the X1 Pz3 file into the X1 Pz2 file and repeat the process for the X2 Pz2 and Pz3 files, in each case pasting the data after all the other data in the Pz2 files. Save the Pz2 files overwriting the existing X1 and X2 files in the pose library. It is important that the camera information for each Pz3 file is copied even if one of the pz3 files has the main camera in the default position or else the incremental posing (maclean's discovery) is missing the second camera reference point and will lock or not work at all. Since Pz2 files normally don't contain any camera info at all if you want this to work you must do the above. Then simply follow the insructions in maclean's post below using home keys etc. and watch your model morph, change pose and camera position. It seems that the incremantal frame rate drops with this technigue from around 20 to about 6. I cannot explain why. I am just learning about Cr2 files and what means what so I am no guru, but it strikes me that all of these files, Pz2, Pz3, camera and light files etc are really different versions of the same animal and that the data in one is transferable to the others. I don't know if this is of any use to anybody, maybe it is. One little thing I have managed to do once and not recreate is circular incremental posing between 3 different poses and 2 camera angles. Nor have I been able to get lighting presets saved from Pz3 files to work in Pz2 files, although this may just be me pasting them in the wrong place or not pasting the right data. STORM

I forgot to add That even if you are not into playing with incremental posing saving different camera positions into simple Pz2 files for simple posing works fine if you use the above Cr2 editing method. STORM

well done, storm! you've really taken this way beyond my initial tinkering. just goes to show what amazing things are hidden in the basement of Poser. why doesn't metaC tell us about these things (I assume they do actually know about it) as I said in the other post, someone really needs to do a comprehensive mini-tutorial on this stuff. it's too good to be forgotten. am off to try out your latest addition! WOOOO! maclean

Hey Storm. Sounds like another great idea! When I first got into Poser I played around a lot with the animation features and know that some of the stuff you and Maclean are coming up with is definitely finding new and interesting and even unique ways of using the animation capabilities of Poser. I went back to the manual and refreshed my memory a bit on doing animations in Poser, and thought I'd remind you guys of a few things. By default the animation frame rate is 30 frames at 30fps. You can go into the animation setup window and change this. So instead of an loading a pose at say frame 1 and 30 (Home and End) you can add or delete frames and make the end frame 10 or 100. I would think that this would effect the increment changes in the pose, making them more abrupt or gradual depending of the number of frames you have to work with. Also, another trick that I use and posted in a thread here a good while back was to use the different frames as seperate stills for posing and rendering. By that I mean I would get the pic the way I like it, but then decide I want to try something else. So, say I am in frame 1, I would advance to frame 2 and try the changes. If I didn't like it I could go back to frame 1 or I could go to the next frame (3) and try something else. Keeping each kind of as a backup along the way. The only you have to remember is to turn IK off and/or make every frame a key frame - otherwise Ik will kick in and start doing strange things to your increment poses. Now the other thing I use to do, and still do, using this method is copy and paste or memories and restore (depending on which works best) between the frames. For example: I like the left arm position in frame 4 but like the overall pose in frame 2. No problem I memories the figure in frame 4 and then restore just the element portions of the arm to get the pose I want in frame 2. Hope this contributes something helpful to this ongoing venture. Rob

Oh one more thing. If you use the animation window you can change the keys for the figure from spline to linear to constant depending how you want IK to behave. If you make the the frames constant no IK is at work and the figure will not "evolve" between frames. To get varying increment changes play with the spline (default) and the Linear IK settings. Rob

Thanks shadownet. One of my problems is that I know nothing about animation or the Poser interface for it so I don't know if I am duplicating something that can already be done in Poser far more easily than the methods maclean and I have been posting. Perhaps it is time to go learn how to use the keyframe controls in Poser. Another thought just struck me, if one can get camera angles and light sets to save into Pz2 files it may be a way of creating a new library type for scene files. i.e. a pose file that brings in a preset pose, camera angle and light set replacing the need to open Pz3 files in every case (or go through different libraries) thus creating preset scenes for posing. I haver often wished there was a library category for Pz3 files. If this works it would be a half-way stage. Pz2.5 files? he he. STORM

I don't know if this helps or is even what you are refering to but you can save camera and light poses and settings - including multiple frame positions - in the camera and the light library. The trick I do here, atleast with the lights, is use the lock command with the light library. For example I have a series of light presets already save, but I want the light 1 and 3 in preset 1 and light 2 in preset 2. I load preset 1, lock lights 1 and 3 and load preset 2. New light setting with lights 1 3 2 combined. If you need to load a light to but the one you want is already in use, create a new light and use the copy command to move the light. For example. I have a light 1 the way I want it, but I also want to use the setting of light 1 in a different present. I create a new light (say) 4 copy light l settings to it (thus duplicating light 1) lock all lights but 1 and load new preset, changing only light 1 to the new light 1 preset I wanted. Sounds complicated but it is not. Do poses more or less the same way. Does not work well with cameras as you can not change camera types, and you can no lock just one setting (in a frame) and load the other frames around it - so no luck there. Hopefully more info for you guys to think about and come up with even better tricks. :o) Rob

The reason I was only getting 6 frame increments was that I forgot to turn of the IK when preparing the pic. Turning it off brings back the increment to 30 frames per transformation with the camera position change intact and working. Thanks for the info Rob off to try some of this. STORM

Storm - just turn off the "Skip Frames" dot in the Animation Drawer (bottom of screen)to see every frame of the animation sequence. (or did I misunderstand the problem?) And for circular incremental posing click on Animation/Loop Interpolation in the pulldown menus and the animation will loop from the last keyframe back to the first. Be sure to place the last Keyframe a few frames prior to the end of the animation sequence, not on the last frame. Or, you can just click Edit/Memorize/All on the first frame, and go to the last frame and click Edit/Restore/All.