You can choose the way to see your model on the Stage window. You can set the Stage window to show 1 or 4 views calling the menu item "Views:1 View" and "Views:4 Views" or quickly pressing the "/" key (slash). Also you can click on the 1 View and 4 Views buttons on the Stage toolbar.

  

• f: Front
• k: Back
• l: Left
• r: Right
• t: Top
• b: Bottom
• w: Work
• d: Default

In order to modify these projections you have to select a view (if the 4 Views mode is set) then:

• Rotate: hold down the "1" key and drag the mouse on the view to rotate the eye point arond the target point. Hold down the "1-Shift" keys together (firstly 1 then shift) and drag the mouse to rotate the target point around the eye point.
  You can rotate the Work projection and the Default projections only.
• Zoom Eye: hold down the "2" key and drag the mouse on the view to zoom the projection in and out. You can also rotate the mouse wheel when the mouse pointer is over the view you want to zoom. This task moves the eye point along the axis eye-target closer or farther from the target point, while the target remains at the same position. The distance between the eye point and the target point cannot be less than zero. Therefore in some cases you will go closer or farer from your model, moving both the eye and target points along the eye-target axis. See here below how to do.
  
• Zoom Eye and Target: hold down the "2-Shift" keys together (firstly 2 then shift) and drag the mouse to move both the eye and the target points along the axis eye-target. This way you translate both the eye and the target point along the eye-target axis, therefore the zoom effect is virtually infinite. Please note that way the position of the target changes so any next rotation of the view around the target point will change as well.
• Translate: hold down the "3" key and drag the mouse. The eye point and the target point will be both translated.
  
  
  

• Sprite Movable Cameras
A Sprite Movable Camera is a sprite that you can animate as well as any other object on the Sprites window. You can use several sprite movable cameras such a way to display the animation from different and dynamic points of view. When you create a new file it doesn't contain yet any Sprite Movable Camera, thus, even if the current view is "Sprite Movable Cameras" (look at the menu "Views" to see the current view"), Kinemac will display your model using the Default Static Camera (it's a kind of static "backup view" you can even modify when the animation is not playing - see how).


To add a movable Sprite Camera to your animation just call the menu item Objects:Camera or click on the Camera icon on the Stage Toolbar. You will see in the Sprite window a new Camera green sprite. Always put your camera sprite "above" the objects to shoot with that camera in the hierarchical Sprites table, like shown here below. Each sprite camera has an eye point and a target point.



In the example shown above, Kinemac will display the object "Cube" using the "Camera A" when the playback time is between 0 and 100. Then from the point 100 to the point 200, since there are no Sprite Cameras defined, it will display the object Cube using the Default Static Camera. Then from the point 200 to the point 300 it will display the Cube using the "Camera B". Last, from the point 300 to the point 400 it will display the Cube still using the "Camera B" and will display a scrolling text using the "Camera C" as in a overlaid view, over the cube. Let's say that the Camera C doesn't move. This way, even if you move the Camera B around your Cube, you will always see the scrolling text as statically positioned in the screen.



• Animate a Sprite Movable Camera
You can animate a sprite camera as well you animate any object on the Stage view assigning key frames to the camera parameters. Each camera has an eye point and a target point. The eye point, defined by its x, y and z coordinates, is the point from which you are looking at the scene. The target point, defined by its x, y and z coordinates, is the point of your scene wich will be represented at the center of the screen. Firstly select the camera in the Sprites window.
Now, on the Sprite window, move the time marker at the beginning of the Camera Sprite (frame 30) then go to the Inspector:Camera panel and click on the key frame button "Eye Position" to create a key frame for the eye point. Then click on the key frame button "Target Position" to create a key frame for the target point. You can quickly create these 6 key frames simply pressing Command-K. Once created the 6 key frames, you can modify the positions of the eye and the target points.

• Rotate: hold down the "1" key and drag the mouse on the view to rotate the eye point arond the target point. Hold down the "Shift-1" keys and drag the mouse to rotate the target point around the eye point.
  
• Zoom Eye: hold down the "2" key and drag the mouse up and down on the view to zoom the projection in and out. You can also rotate the mouse wheel when the mouse pointer is over the view you want to zoom. This task moves the eye point along the axis eye-target closer or farther from the target point, while the target remains at the same position. When zooming a sprite camera you will see in Inspector:Camera panel the eye coordinates and the distance value change. The distance cannot be less than zero. So you cannot zoom behind the target point.
  
• Zoom Eye and Target: hold down the "Shift-2" keys together and drag the mouse to move both the eye and the target points along the axis eye-target. This way you translate both the eye and the target point along the eye-target axis, therefore the zoom effect is virtually infinite. Please note that way the position of the target changes so any next rotation of the camera/view around the target point will change as well.
• Translate: hold down the "3" key and drag the mouse. The eye point and the target point will be both translated.
  
  

Furthermore, you can change the position of the eye and the target points directly dragging their icons on the static views (Front, Top, Left...). The Sprite Movable Camera view will instantaneously display the result of your change. When the current frame is a key frame Kinemac will display the key frame icon close to the eye or target icon indicating that you can safely change the eye and the target positions because they are already key-framed. In facts when the frame is not a key frame and you modify the eye or target position, the change will affect the whole duration of the camera sprite and not only that frame (open the Bezier window to see how).

You have just set the eye and the target positions on the key frame 30 (the beginning of the sprite camera). Now move the time marker to the time point 230 (the end of the sprite camera) and repeat the tasks above: create the 6 key frames pressing Command-K then rotate the camera holding down the "1" key and dragging the mouse. Now press the Command-Left arrow key to go to the frame zero and press the Space Bar to play the animation. You will see your camera moving around your model. Later you can double click on the camera sprite and edit the Bezier curves describing the movement of the eye and the target points.


You can translate the key frames along the Sprite ruler simply draggging them to the left or to the right side. To remove a key frame on the Inspector panel, click on the key frame button holding down the Option key. To remove a key frame on the Sprite window, drag the key frame icon out from the ruler holding down the Command key.



• Link Eye To a Sprite
More than animating the eye point defining key frames, you can link the camera eye to an object moving on the stage such a way the eye will always move together with that object (plus a custom delta dinamic space you can always define in the x, y and z fields). To link the eye point to an object, drag the object Sprite from the hierarchical table onto the "Link Eye to Sprite" field. For example you can draw a 3D Path and link the eye of the camera to that path. The eye will move along that 3D path. To unlink the eye from a linked Sprite, click on the unlink icon .



• Link Target To a Sprite
More than animating the target point defining key frames, you can even link the target to an object moving on the scene such a way that object always virtually stays in the center of the scene (plus a custom dinamic delta space you can always define in the x, y and z fields). To link the target point to an object, drag the object Sprite from the hierarchical table onto the "Link Target to Sprite" field. For example you can link a 3D Bezier Path to the eye of the camera to make the camera move smoothly along your custom path. See how.
To unlink the eye from that Sprite click on the unlink icon .