Auto Orientate camera trouble

[EvilNeil]

Hi All
i have some experience with Ae but a noob in comparison to you guys!

i have some logos spread out in 3d z space, i want to orientate the camera to a position above them, and have the logos rotate upwards so the are always readable ,then fly down through them. have attaches some pics

however when i use auto orientate on the layers, the seem to rotate in both directions, i only need to rotate along one axis.


im sure there must be a simple way!
thanks for your help in advance

[Rick Gerard]

You have cropped your screenshots so much that I have no idea what I'm looking at. If the second screenshot is Custom View 1 then it looks like all of those layers are in the same plane. If you auto orient the layers to face the camera they will all do so so the orientation will be different for each layer in a different X/Y space relative to the camera. 

The last screenshot, with the camera looking almost straight down is also troubling. Move the camera just a little, if it is pointed straight down, and you'll get gimbal lock and the camera will flip. 

Please explain what you are trying to do. Set the Comp Panel to 4 views and send us a screenshot that is not cropped so we have some idea what is going on in the comp. Reveal any keyframes in the layers so we know if you have animated anything other than the camera. 

[EvilNeil]

Hi Thanks for reply
I have only animated the null P and R (which the camera is parented).

First screenshot shows Active camera view at start position. as it should, all ok
the next series is custom view1, demonstarting the camera move (a 90degrees tilt down with a crane style move to overtop of the logos)

The last screenshot is the final camera position, in active camera view with 'auto oriante towards camera' switched on for the logo layers

when the camera is above the logos, i want them to be readble (ie facing up towards the camera)
with 'auto oriante towards camera' switched on, this happens but they seem to be rotated on more than one axis

[Rick Gerard]

The looking straight down on the logos is going to give you problems because of gimbal lock and auto orient. I would probably just leave the camera alone and parent all of the logos to a null and animate the null.

It still looks like all of your logos share the same plane. 4 views showing the motion path of the camera would still be helpful. AE's camera works just like a camera in the real world, and cameras in the real world that are on something like a Tulip Crane or a Swiss Jib, or even in a Drone, can experience gimbal lock, that is, get to a place where the camera can't move the way you want it to because of the geometry.

Perspective is controlled by camera position, framing by focal length. AE's camera does not have any lens distortion so if you stack up all your logos in their final resting position with Orient towards camera turned off, they will all look correct, just like they would if you hung the logos up on a big stage.

If you turn Orient towards camera on then in effect, you have sent a stagehand around to every logo and pointed it at the logo directly at the center of the camera lens. This gives you some distortion because the perspective has now changed. 

You have to decide which look you want. Personally, I think that the first option, all logos sharing the same plane, is a more pleasing end or hero shot. If you choose the auto orient to the camera option then as the camera moves around the stage every one of the logos will be adjusted like you had a bunch of actors standing still but always turning toward the camera.  If you animated both the Point of Interest and the position you could move the camera to the side and keep the shot looking like the camera never moved because the Orient towards camera stagehands would be constantly changing the position of the actors.

If you want the perspective changes you get with Auto Orient towards camera turned on you will be better off attaching all of the layers to a null and then animating the position of the null. 

Whatever you decide to do, the place to start is with the logos in their hero position. Set that keyframe first, then back up and figure out the middle and then the starting position. That is a lot easier way to work. 

I might even be able to give you some suggestions if I knew what kind of action you want in your scene. The last time I did a bunch of logos forming a pattern I had them fly in and take their place. The camera just did a simple push in and all the actors came on to the stage and took their final position.