Video Camera Tool Link

[Haydenovative]

Howdy Gang,

 

We've noticed an interesting issue and perhaps its a misunderstanding, or something we should pop on the wish list. With the newish Video camera tool, and linking it to a viewport. The tool currently works similarly to the renderworks camera tool in that you can choose to link it to a viewport and it disappears from the design layer, or you leave it in place and create the viewport separately. We are working in a TV studio and we would like the camera to remain in the design layer, as well as creating a viewport. Once the copy has been made, they are no longer linked, this means if you tilt the viewport camera slightly, it is now inside of the geometry of the camera and the viewport turns out blue. What we would like is that every time we move the physical camera in the design layer, it is updated in the viewport, leaving them linked, rather than it being a copy. Perhaps something for the wish list. 

[Andy Broomell]

 

[klinzey]

This was considered in the original design but there some technical restrictions that preventing us from setting up the link this way. It may be possible in the future and it is on our wish list too.

[zoomer]

So maybe it would be at least possible to read out the, now hidden,

Camera data,

so that Cinema Exchange is aware that there are some Cameras

and could be provide that Camera Info for Export.

(+ for FBX, SKP, ...)

 

As it is I would need to duplicate all Cameras with all its flaws and

once I would do changes, nothing would be in sync anymore though.

[Andy Broomell]

2 hours ago, klinzey said:

This was considered in the original design but there some technical restrictions that preventing us from setting up the link this way. It may be possible in the future and it is on our wish list too.

 

Out of curiosity, when was the RW Camera tool originally designed? It seems like it hasn't really been touched since I started using Vectorworks a decade ago (outside of adding camera effects for renderings). So hopefully some of the original restrictions might now be addressable? Trying to be optimistic, haha

 

[Edit: I just realized you might be referring the Video Camera tool since that's what the original poster was asking about, though I assume this tool simply builds on RW Camera functionality. So to be clear I'm only referring to the RW Camera tool in my posts.]

 

By the way, I have a list of other camera-related improvements that I'm hoping to file at some point when I have time. They're mainly related to making the camera tool itself more usable, and less about the interconnected workflow with viewports. The camera tool is super important to users in the TV & film industry, but it's currently lacking in a few areas and should be updated to keep Vectorworks competitive with SketchUp. So if by chance cameras are to be discussed internally in the near future let me know so I can light a fire under my butt to get these things typed out. 🙂 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2020 by Andy Broomell

[zoomer]

12 minutes ago, Andy Broomell said:

when was the RW Camera tool originally designed? It seems like it hasn't really been touched since I started using Vectorworks a decade ago (outside of adding camera effects for renderings).

 

There must have been changes to the Tool at VW 2015 to VW 2016.

 

As I had only little inconsistencies in VW 2015's RW Cameras getting corrupt,

versus VW 2016, when I lost all my Cameras Location Information and other

Camera Data, one after each, other by just activating them or changing settings.

More and more of the Cameras went to File Origin from their initial locations,

some went to 9999e9999 nirvana and when editing, my number input went

to ugly or other numbers while editing.

@Jim W confirmed at that time there is a Support/Bug Request (long)running.

So I re-checked VW RW Cameras in any new VW Versions but lost their positions

each time again when testing. Until I gave up at about VW 2018/2019.

 

So if other users state it will work for them,

I would give RW Cameras another try in VW 2021 ...

Edited November 9, 2020 by zoomer