I'm trying to figure out how to switch cameras in an animation.
I figure out how to animate a camera:

http://vimeo.com/37573896

At first, I thought maybe it could only be render one camera at a time.
Then use a movie editor. To put it all together.

But when I looked at the 4 port view, it seems to be working.
When I render, I only seen one camera view.

I thought the layers might be the answer. I don't know if I just did something wrong,
or that isn't the answer either.

Can anybody help?

PS. How do you turn off automatic keyframes?

I don't think you can actually switch cameras during a render session.  If you wish to abruptly change views you can reposition the camera in question at the proper keyframe and, using the animation palette, use the Constant keyframe type (grey bar).

Keyframes can be turned off for any object in the scene using it's properties tab.  Uncheck the Animating box.

I'd look for some tutorials on how to use the Animation Palette.  I bet the good Dr. Geep has some written up.  Using proper keyframes can add a lot to the Poser experience.  I use Constant when making pose sets.  Each frame can contain a pose and then those poses can be saved out to the library ...

Seriously, learn the difference between Spline, Linear and Constant keyframes, and learn how to use the Spline Break to place breaks in a sequence of actions.

Best Wishes,
Rªnce

for best results
i use an external video editing program
and render my poser movie out as an image sequence
that way i can render a time span ( range of frames ) as blocks

set up yout 2 or more cameras the way u want them for the animation....
render out a range of frames for active camera ( camera you hav on at time of render )

for example you have 100 frames

you want 60 on camera 1 ... render1 ~ 60

then switch to camera 2

render 61 ~ 100.....switch cameras then render next frame range

and so forth...
........
use external video editor ( blander 2.62 for example) to edit the frame clips ( put them together ) then render in a video format ( .avi, .mov, .mp4 ........)

oopsss I meant Blender 2.62 ... its free

Hi Rance01,
                   Thanks, sounds like good advice.
I  looked for tutorials on animation. There are a lot of beginner tutorials.
But I'm not really having problems with simple animating. It's the more advanced animation,
that I'm having the problem with. I found Dr. Geep.'s tutorial on animation here at Renderrosity.
The only problem is, you pretty much have to be online all the time to do it.
I was hoping I could find something to do on my own leisure, off-line. Plus, his tutorials are done on graphics.
I have bad eyesight, so I use a reader.  I have to have real text to highlight.
I can't highlight graphic text.
I also have bad hearing, so I have a problem with video tutorials.

Can you point me in the right direction to some good text tutorials on animating in Poser?

Hi thewebflea,

I did a image sequence. I was amazed at the results. Especially the color.
The quality is much better than a AVI. No sound can be tricky though.
I was just getting ready to try out the new Sony Vegas. Sounds like a good test for it.

I've used Blender for years. Still like 2.49b," what can I say, I'm old-school."
I thought that blender was lacking in sound tools, thats why I got Vegas.

Thanks for mentioning the image sequence. If you wouldn't have said something,
I probably wouldn't have tried it.
If everything works out okay with Vegas, this is probably the way I will do it.

Thank you!

Wow, I don't recall what I actually read to learn the Animation Palette.  There must have been some resources back in the day that got me started.  Since then I've just played with the thing ... Most important thing is knowing the difference between the types of keyframes: Spline, Linear and Constant.  Splines frames can be great for those frames in between the pose frames you set, but can also create havoc.  When you move a figures arm up and back down again, etc., sometimes it goes way to far.  That's when you place a spline break.

As I said, I like to make pose sets so I use Constant keyframes to create a whole series of poses.  I also rarely take a single image from a scene file.  Using Constant keyframes on Cameras and Figures allows me to move through the scene and locate shots I like.  I almost always take four to eight shots.  I do some animation but not much anymore.

It does pay to have a good editor.  If you are using Vegas more power.

I'll look about for some tutorials and if I find some links I'll pass them along.  Good luck with your project.

There is a trick i know. If you go into the key frame and make the camera linear. If you keyframe the scene you can actually move the camera around like it is multiple camera's. The way i do it is if i want the camera in 2 places lets say. I would shoot the scene to one frame before i want the second  position click keyframe then on the very next frame move the camera where i want second frame to be. With it being linear. It will go to the second position without moving between the two spaces. Just make sure that it is linear. Otherwise it will bounce all over. :)

Hi Rance01
                     I found a small reference to them in the Poser manual. It referred to them as, the four types of interpolation.

Interpellation determines how poses are created.
Then it goes on to say, (please refer to the Poser tutorial manual.)
I never heard of that manual. I wonder if I can get it in a Adobe PDF?

When you make your pose sets, do you save them as BVH or animated set in the pose library?

Thanks Shelley,
                             That is a pretty neat trick. It took me a little bit to understand what was going on.

I see now though.
Your not allowing for any tween frames. Therefore there is no interpolation going on.

That will work.

I'm wondering, have you been able to mix splines? I noticed that the linear keyframes are brown on the animation palette.

I just save the poses to the library.  You can select frame ranges, and you can also select which portions of the figures to save in the pose set.  Acadia has a tutorial on saving partial pose sets.  That would be the only way I know of mixing splines.  Save first one partial set - those elements you want from a first sequence - and then a second, and then apply both poses from the same keyframe.

Each type of keyframe displays in the Animation Palette as a different color.  Spline = green, Linear = orange (brown?), Constant = grey.  Spline breaks display with a "/" in the frame box.

I use Poser 7 and there IS a Poser Tutorial.pdf file located at Poser 7Tutorials, along with four subfolders: BasicFigureCreation, BasicPoserOperations, Clothroom and HairRoom.  The subs contain tutorial scene files.  Under 'Basic Poser Operations' (Part 2, Chapter 6) in the tutorial PDF file there ARE chapters covering Creation and Animation, including 'The Walk Designer' and 'Keyframe Editing'.  Might be that's where I picked up the little I know about keyframing. 

There are also tutorials on the Smith Micro Web site:
http://my.smithmicro.com/tutorials/index.html#anim

I've been playing with Poser for years and there are still things I learn about each aspect of the program.  The Animation Palette is a rich and powerful tool.

PS: Also found this while doing the search for the Smith Micro page.  I'm not big on Flash, but it looks like there are a number of tutorial videos available at:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Poser+Animation+Tutorials&qpvt=Poser+Animation+Tutorials&FORM=VDRE#

Best Wishes,
Rªnce

When you say mixing splilnes. Are you talking about mixing poses? if so. The way i do it. Is i figure out where i want the pose or animation. I then go to the end of the animation and insert the animation or the pose. I Highlight the part i want. I just drag that part over to where i want to insert it. Is that what your talking about?

I guess I do mean mixing the poses.  Yep, I've done that as well, but I've also made sequences and saved various partial poses sets - using 'Select Subset' - when saving the pose file, and adding those partial pose sets to other animated sequences.  Using subsets allows mixing animated elements to make variations, etc.

If you have a good walk sequence, or any pose sequence that controls hips and legs, it's nice to be able to add that to whatever arms and hand poses you have might also have.  Making sets that mix and match can be fun.

But yes, when I said mixing splines I guess I did mean animation elements and should have said poses.

I'm really starting to have fun with this animation. I'm getting so involved in it sometimes I forget the time.

Thanks Rance, for the tutorials. I like those short and to the point video tutorials.

Sounds like you have a really nice pose set library. Do you have any set up for sale?

My Poser Pro, doesn't have a tutorial manual. I had to look in my Poser 6 Install.
I did have the tutorail manual there. I'm just curious if there's any updates though.

Speaking of installs. Isn't Poser Pro 7 a 64-bit program? Or is that just the render engine?
The reason I ask, mine is in x 86 program folder. That's 32-bit isn't it?

Hi Shelley,
                     I'm not really sure now, I've been doing some experimenting. And it seems to me, that the sequence is very important.

For example, if you want the camera to switch. The frames need to be back to back.
If a camera movement is desired, then you need tween frames in between. And if you don't leave enough frames in between. It will take them from the other frames.
It don't add frames, it takes away from existing frames.

I just don't know yet. The first time I did it, it was like you said. It bounced all over the place.

I think, I'll have to play with it some more.

I still have a feeling that you can switch cameras. Under objects/create camera/revolving or Dolly.
That strikes me a little bit odd. Especially what it says about the Dolly camera in the reference manual.
From what I read, it is the best suited camera for film work.

In other applications, like Blender. You can switch cameras.

I think, maybe, the newer tutorial file might be available at Smith Micro.  Seems like something they would hang on the Web.  You might have to type in your serial number, etc.  I'm surprised there wasn't one in the installation.  Maybe they don't write them anymore ...

I don't sell pose files, or anything else, but there are a few sets available for some of the older figures.  Some Victoria 4 poses ... http://www.ranquist.net/goods/loot.htm

And my Poser is version 7, that came right after 6, not the 'Pro' version.  I never did the update the newer versions and in fact waited a long while before even installing Poser 7.  I bought the software when it first came out and went back to Poser 6 because of all of the early bugs.  Wasn't until way after service pack 3 came out that I got around to installing the package.  I bought a new machine and decided rather than keep using version 6 I would upgrade.  Smith Micro had, I think, only recently purchased Poser.

Glad you are working through the Animation Palette.  This is such a fun program.  Animation, the Materials room, and the Cloth room can be really fun too.  The software certainly had kept my interest for these many years.

Best Wishes,
Rªnce

Check out my old Godzilla animation on YouTube to see how I used camera angles (especially on the first helicopter scenes) at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJn-dmzuOpc

Thanks Rance01,
                              for the links to the pose sets. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I've been preoccupied by a tree that got blown down, and needed my attention.

Actually, I prefer Poser 6. It's only been recently that I started with Poser Pro.
Basically I started because of the Collada Import functionality. Then I was intrigued by the Talk designer. I'm amazed at how well it works.
Now that I'm working with it, it doesn't seem too bad. I just have a few python scripts, that are Poser 6 specific.
That's the reason why it took so long to change.

Yes, I'm really having fun with this animation palette. I see now, that I just might have to make some of my own pose sets.
Even the animated sets that came with Poser, are kind of funky. A lot of them are going to need cleaned up.

Wow Terry, very nice.
                                 I found those zoom and switch shots, interesting. Don't believe I've seen that before.
Or maybe I just haven't noticed that. You got a lot of camera switching going on, in that 7 minutes 16 seconds movie. I lost count at 63.

I remember a producer saying once. That there should be a lot of camera switching dooring a action movie.

Amazing, you did that in Poser 5.
I really liked, the Godzilla dance at the end. And the"Many digital lifeforms were harmed in the making of this production."
Was hilarious.
Great job, I only hope I can do so good.