Adding frames to an animation - possible or not?
marble
Posts: 7,500
I am aware that frames can be added to the end of an animation - I have done so myself. What I am asking is whether it is possible to insert frames at different parts of the timeline?
Let's say I have a short clip - a character making a gesture involving hand and facial expression, for example. When I send my image sequence to my video editor and watch the clip play, I decide I would like it to linger or slow down to emphasize the unfurling of a finger or the appearance of a smile. Would I have to re-create the whole clip to do that or is there a way to insert frames to achieve that?
I know that video editors can insert frames but I'm talikng about a very short clip - perhaps one second - and video editors are designed to work with a lot more frames, I think.
I am using DAZ STudio version 4.15 so there may be improvements in later versions that I am not aware of?
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Comments
yes later versions you can actualy select and move keyframes like other programs
and change interpolation type
So if I may be a little picky here, Wendy: is there a difference between a frame and a keyframe? I know that when I tinker with my animation efforts, I usually pose then click on the Create Keys + button and a little triangle appears on the timeline. So that makes the selected frame a keyframe. What I want to do is add (insert) a frame, not create a keyframe.
The inserted frames must be between keyframes, otherwise it wouldn't make sense to insert them. Moving the later keyframes on will have the same result as a command to insert frames (but of course it will have an effect on any non-linear interpolation between the moved frames and the ones that stayed put).
So, if I understand your suggestion, I shoould add frames to the end and then move earlier keyframes further along the timeline? I don't think that is possible with 4.15 because I've tried selecting a keyframe and I can't see any way to move it. I saw a post somewhere that suggested holding CTRL (or ALT) and dragging the keyframe but that does nothing at all on my timeline.
I would have imagined that "Insert Frame" would be such a basic requirement for any animation tool?
yes, add more on end, in Carrara I just box select the keyframes and hold ctrl and can stretch them, but D|S is not that fancy yet so you would need to stagger move them
you need a version of D|S with the advanced timeline, you can install the beta with DIM and keep your current version like I do
DS Version 4.15 does have the later timeline (the one with little triangles for keyframes) but all I can do with them is select (i.e. box select) and delete. I can't move them. So I guess there were improvements made after 4.15 so I will install the beta.
Since none of the replies so far have actually answered the first part of your question, a frame is a point in time, while a keyframe is an instruction. A default DS scene starts with 30 frames, but nothing happens on those frames unless you place key frames to tell DS what happens and when.
I think I understood that but what I was questioning was that it seems to me that "keyframe" is often used when I would think it should be "frame". Maybe I just misread the descriptions but that's why I made the distiction between adding frames and adding keyframes. I want to stretch out the duration of a section of the animation which, to my mind, means adding frames to that section. It seems that is not possible however so we have to add frames to the end (by increasing the frame count) and then shift the keyframes along the timeline.
yes you have to add frames to the end and drag or cut and paste the frames you want moved further along
at least DAZ now can do that much
yes aniblocks another way to do it, can change their speed
I wondered about this. I have the paid version of Animate but I have not used it much so I will take a look at the possibilities.
I understood you to be wanting to add a block of frames, but ti sounds as if you want tor etime a section - padding between keys, rather than moving the whole block later with the same duration. I think casual may have a script that will do that, DS doesn't currently haev a command for it as far as I am aware.
Yes "padding" would probably describe it better. I just wanted to slow down a section of the animation and I thought that would be a simple matter of inserting extra frames in that area of the timeline. Seems that it is far from being a simple matter and I was surprised to find there is no "Insert Frame" button. I don't know whether other animation software has this feature or not.
[EDIT] A quick search shows that it is probably not a simple matter for Blender either. It is annoying that whenever I search for "animation" and "frames" I get a screen full of pages talking about "keyframes" which goes back to what I was saying above about the confusion about frames and keyframes. I KNOW it is easy to add a KEYframe but that is not what I want to do.
Try searching for "retiming" - I think that is the official term, if I am now understanding you.
I can retime a clip in DaVinci Resolve but such a short clip is not what that was designed for. I only have a few frames to work with which is why I was looking to insert some more.
Maybe this script does what you want https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts2/mcjretimeanimation
I tried that a couple of days ago and could not get it to do anything. Sometimes I find the instructions a little confusing so it is possible I did something wrong.
You can do this and more other actions in the timeline in DAZ Studio 4.12. Any other following release has the timeline broken and you can't move the master keyframes (the triangles). And also you can't copy-paste frames, so you have to use the Puppeteer to make the "transfers".
Once you have you 4.12 installed, load your scene, add as much as new frames you need and simply select and drag the frames you want to move on the end of the timeline. You can also move them "before" other previuous keys and even merge them together if needed, for example when you make a mistake moving an hand in the wrong spot.
To retime the animation, just select one master keyframe and move it along the timeline to modify the timings. For example, if you have one second animation with four frames and you want it to be two seconds, just move the very last keyframe to the end of the timeline (or the point you want it, if the action is longer) them move forward a bit the third one, same for the second. Tune them until you meet your needs.
Remember to activate the H value in the drop-down menu and to refresh the keyframes to see all of them and manage everything.
Sadly, if you want to move the keyframes in the timeline, you have to stick with 4.12 unless the devs finally fix it. No need to go to other software or converto to AniBlocs, you just need version 4.12.
I did reply but my reply was removed. Suffice to say that I am looking at Blender and I have purchased a tutorial called "Alive" in order to try my hand at animating in Blender rather than reverting to 4.12 of DAZ Studio.
the best person for you to get tips from for animation in DAZ studio is probably Ivy Summers but I must warn you, she uses 4.12!
Everyone else uses other software
I think that's what he needs. You don't add frames, you add time. The program fills in the block of time with its own frames. If you want control over a specific frame, you turn it into a keyframe, otherwise the program uses interpolation.
Why not ask me too?
I'm an animator on DAZ Studio since version 2. 
I know a couple of tricks too, ahah!
I don't use AniBlocs but I'm pretty good at animating.