Time change in the timeline

[Gaston]

Hi,
I want to change the time between a sequenz in the timeline. So, I select the keyframes of the group object, klick "alt" and drag the keyframes. Ok, most objects have changed their time. But it seems some objects doesn't. How can I find the keyframes I don't selected? Or is there another reason for this?

[Gaston]

I have found almost all objects: Switch Layer for example.
But for one thing I find no keyframes: The legs which flips with the bodyturn.

See my entry: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=30833

There are no keyframes for the preferred IK direction of the legs. But how I can then changed the position of the preferred IK direction in the timeline?

[Greenlaw]

If I'm re-timing an entire scene, what I do first is freeze the keys at the first and last frames of the range I want to re-time. It's also useful to enable Consolidate Layer Channels. After that, I'll select the range and then use Alt-drag to compress or stretch the animation. This will insure that ALL the motion within that range gets re-timed properly. If the keyframes aren't there, all the channels won't stay in sync.

Typically, this would be done in the Bones layer but, yeah, depending on your scene you may need to find all the layers (i.e., switches, transformed layers, etc.,) that have animated keyframes and re-time the same range of frames.

For this reason, I sometimes prefer to control Switches and transforms with SBD controls so they can be adjusted with all the other bones in a single layer. However, depending on your rig or the way you animate, this isn't always to best or most convenient setup. You'll have to try it out and see if it actually helps.

One more tip: use Timeline Markers to mark the original range and target range, and set the markers to Document-wide. This way, you have a visual reference for each layer you need to re-time.

Hope this helps.

[Gaston]

Thank you for your answer.
Is there no keyframe for the change of the IK direction? The legs flips now at the wrong time.
Changing the IK direction you had explained to me here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=30833

But there are no keyframes for this on the timeline and I can not change the time of the IK direction.

Everything else is running.

[Greenlaw]

The preferred IK direction is determined by the targeting bone's angle, so the 'change direction' keyframe will be in the Rotation channel of that bone.

Normally, you would build a slight 'bend' into the bones joint at frame zero, which would be your 'default' direction. When you're using a Target and you need to change the direction of the IK at a later frame, you need to rotate the bone that's pointing to that target. But before you do that, it's a good idea to keyframe the rotation of that bone just before the frame where you want to change direction. This makes sure the direction change is happening exactly where you want it to, and not interpolated between a much earlier frame.

The quickest way to do this is to go to the frame where you need to change direction, click on the bone just below the tip (the rotation icon will appear,) to create a rotation keyframe, drag that keyframe to one frame earlier, and then click and drag-rotate the bone until the bend direction obviously changes. (The direction to drag-rotate is usually in the direction of the bend before you change it, but this may depend on how you set the rig up.) You'll probably need to adjust the two poses to make the transition look smoother.

That might sound like a lot of steps but it's really a quick process when you're doing it.

[Gaston]

Thank you, but I've no keyframe on any bone
On frame 225 the IK direction change but there is no keyframe at the lower leg bone, at the foot bone or at the target bone.
Also not at the bodyturn action. Have I overlooked something? The IK direction should change only in frame 238.

View My Video

[Greenlaw]

Oh, I just remembered something else that will be useful.

In the Layers panel, do you see that Stopwatch column? That's for Timeline Visibility.

If you don't know what that's for, well, you know how you can display multiple layers by selecting them? This option allows you to add a layer's channels in the timeline, and they stay in there even when the layer is no longer selected, which is really handy when you're hunting down the layers with keyframes and you want to re-time them with another layer's channels.

For example, select bones layer and enable the 'stopwatch'. that layer is now in the timeline. Now go to another layer, a nested switch layer perhaps. Notice how the bones layer is still in the timeline, even though it's no longer selected? Now, click on the Stopwatch for the switch and continue looking for layers with keyframes you wish to retime. When you have all the layers added, you can edit and time stretch selected keys across the layers at once.

The only catch is that this may be really slow for complex rigs that have many keyframes. If that becomes the case, try this with fewer layers added to the timeline. You might want to use Timeline Markers to help you keep each selection group 'in sync'.

[Greenlaw]

Oh, and one last thing:

I mentioned Consolidate Layer Channels earlier and explained its usefulness for re-timing. If you've been using the command under the Animation menu, then you know that it's a global command that collapses the channels in ALL of the layers.

But what if you're multi-selecting layers and you only want to use Consolidate for some layers but you want to select only certain channels in other layers at the time?

If select a layer and then right-click on any icon over on the far left side of the timeline, you'll notice another Consolidate Layer Channels command in the contextual menu. It may have the same name as the command in the Animation menu but this one works on a per-layer basis. So, with this version, you can use Consolidate with some layers, and unconsolidated with others.