Split Scene into Multiple Parts

Report · Feb 21, 2022

Hey everyone,

I'm working on an episode of a cartoon with lots of characters and one complex (animated) background -- all vector. I inserted all the audio and did all the lipsync so it's currently around six and a half minutes long. I started recording dragger movements for the different characters and CH keeps freezing and crashing. I guess that this is probably because my scene is too long so I'd like to split it into smaller parts, but I don't want to have to redo the audio and lipsync.

Is there a way to split one scene into multiple usable parts?

And what other things can be causing the crashes and how can I fix that? (I'm pretty sure it's not my computer.)

Thanks!

Report · Feb 21, 2022

Are there logical cut points for the scene? I tend to do short scenes where the camera angle or simlar changes, then render them all separately (for performance reasons). Otherwise you may notice the cut points (things like hair dangles with physics are very hard to line up, so you need to hide them).

Sorry, no advice on "best" length of a scene - I think it depends on your scene and character complexity etc. I used very short clips (like 5 to 10 seconds) because I did lots of camera moves from different angles (with background completely changing), so almost no experience with longer scenes sorry.

To split it up, I would experiment on another project first (!!), but if you select the scene in the timeline, then select "Edit / Duplicate" from menus, I think you can then trim the duplicate scene and just chop it up that way (tedious, but best I can think of).

Report · Feb 21, 2022

Thanks. That's what I was thinking too - duplicating and trimming - but I was hoping there was a faster way to get it done. I'm also worried that as I duplicate it, CH won't be able to handle it before the scenes are trimmed. I guess I'll find out. Fun.

Report · Feb 22, 2022

I don't know if this is relevant, but this video shows how @oksamurai built a cartoon using CH and AE. It might be worth a look. Complete Cartoon Workflow (Adobe Character Animator Tutorial) - YouTube

Report · Feb 22, 2022

Thanks! I've seen that. It was very helpful. I've just been wondering if he did some of the things he did (mostly the camera movement) in AE that way because the camera didn't exist in CH at the time, since the video is a year old.

Report · Feb 22, 2022

That's a good question. It's possible. He stops by from time to time, we'll have to remember to ask him.

Report · Feb 22, 2022

AE just has better compositing tools than CH does, like null objects, z depth, blurring, etc - so my preferred workflow is to do my characters in CH and everything else in AE. You can certainly do a lot of that stuff in CH, but for me AE just gives me more options to play around with!

Report · Feb 22, 2022

Thanks! That's good to know.

I'm curious, does it ever get confusing when you have a lot of characters interacting with each other but they're all exported as separate pieces from CH? I'm worried about having some characters look "dead" as other characters are starring in the performance or forgetting how they should be interacting with their environment. (I'm working on an episode with approx. 35-40 puppets for my first ever CH project - I know, I dropped into the deep end, but I gotta say, at least now I've got a pretty good handle on rigging.)

(And thank you so much @oksamurai for single-handedly teaching me Character Animator!)

Report · Feb 22, 2022

I think it is quite common for non-central characters to stand around and not move (at least in Anime! Lol!). It reduces development costs for example, but also movement catches the eye so can be distracting. I think it depends on your scene. E.g. if on a busy street and all the other characters are standing looking at the main character feels a bit creepy! But you often see "cheats" where all the background characters are standing still. So.... "it depends". But I think characters not moving when not the primary focus is generally fine - even normal.

Report · Feb 22, 2022

Thanks!

Report · Feb 22, 2022

It really depends on how much interaction you want. For two characters fighting, for example, I'd probably stick them together in one CH scene and then export that 2 character scene into AE. For standing dialog where minimal interactions are required (like timing of glances, gestures, etc), the individual route works, it just means you have to go back to CH a few times to refine the timing.