Skip to main content
lukasm60914210
lukasm60914210
Participant
October 31, 2018
Question

Parented null as camera position

  • October 31, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 570 views

Hey,

I want to create a smooth camera motion. To do so, I created the following setup.

-The object I want to "fly" around (a long cylinder)

-One null which I keyframed to go from one end to the other of the cylinder--- i then parented the Point of interest to this null (works!)

-Then I created another null which i parented to the first one to follow its position, just with a slight offset to get a circular motion. Then i tried to attach the camera position to this null, which sort of works.

The problem: The position of the second null (camera position) never actually changes, with that i mean the coordinates. In the viewport it does spin around the first null as it´s supposed to do, but the coordinates don´t change. And because I can only parent the camera position to the position of the null the camera doesnt move either.

Are there other ways to do this? Or can I somehow access the coordinates of the null, eventhough they dont change?

I hope i explained my problem in a way you guys can understand it. I would really appreciate any help!

Regards,

Lugge

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

R
Community Expert
Rick GerardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
October 31, 2018

When you say parented the null to the point of interest do you actually mean attached the point of interest to the null's position with a simple expression? I'm asking because you cannot use parenting to attach the point of interest to a camera.

If you want to do an orbit move the easiest thing to do is simply use the menu. Select the camera layer in the timeline and choose Layer>Camera>Create Orbit Null. The null will be at the comp center. If your cylinder is not at comp center it's a pretty easy thing to do to move the null to the center of the cylinder. All you have to do to get the camera to fly around the camera is animate the Y rotation value of the null.

To get the camera to move from one end of the cylinder to the other you just have to animate the position of the rotate null. If you also want to change the angle of the camera you can either set a couple of keyframes for Point of Interest or tie the point of interest to the rotate null position.

If you want the camera's orbit to be oval instead of a circle, all you have to do is add a couple of position keyframes for the Camera.

That should easily do what I think you are describing. I strongly suggest you spend some time here:

There: Basic AE.

In the tutorials section, you can find some good tutorials on AE's 3D space and creating good camera moves.

Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices