Springy Camera
The delay effector in Cinema4D allows a lot of fun. You can set it to Spring mode and then bounce things around.
Well you can use it on regular objects too. This is all achieved by using the Sample Effector node. You wire it up like the image below, in this example I’ve wired it into a Camera.
So then you can bounce your camera around too. I’ve made a sample scene that you can download and try for yourself, but as you can see it is pretty simple to setup, even if you don’t like getting your feet wet in that Xpresso window.
You can use any of the Delay Effector modes, not just spring. So download the scene file and have a play around. I hope you find it useful.
Hey man, great blog!
John Dickenson @ motionworks linked to you, so I now have you on my rss feed:)
Very helpful to C4D newbees like myself.
I’m a Maya user for over 10 years, (yeah, i’m old:), but after years of being jealous of the C4D users beating us out for cash because they can turn out motion graphics spots FAR faster, I figured now is better than ever to get my feet wet.
Anyhoo, I still havn’t touched the Xpresso window, but the main reason for my comment is to ask if you might be adding possible audio to your videos?
By audio, I mean a voice-over, tutorial-like.
Or…. might you be working on a C4D tutorial video/dvd we can buy in the future maybe?
Anyway, keep the posts coming! Thanks again!
Wait, I just realized you’re on fxphd, so I’ll catch it next term.
Nevermind my last:)
..render on…
Hi
I am on fxphd, you’re correct. However in answer to your question, then I will probably be adding voice over to any new videos that I add to the blog.
Thanks for taking a look.
Tim, your tutorials are the best. Please keep updating your blog!
Hey, I was wondering where you guys had got to. I hadn’t seen much on CGTalk lately. It’s great to have your wisdom back in my life!
ah hah. So that’s what the Sample Effector Node is for. Awesome. I just wired up some Random effectors with turbulence in the same tag. This is a lot more elegant way than using a fracture object.
Cheers
c
I have been looking everywhere for a simple spring Xpresso flow like this. Thank you so much for sharing!
You wouldn’t happen to know how to tie the spring behavior to a parented object so you create slightly delayed secondary animation by simply moving the parent? The included C4D toon car model does this with the antennae and hood but there is so much Xpresso I can’t seem to decipher what tags are actually driving the delayed spring effect. Any ideas? I imagine it’s not too different than what you provided here but I am so new to Xpresso it’s hard not to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tags. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Hi Sprattmedia
You could use a constraint tag and set it to spring. That could achieve the result you are after. As you move the target object, the object with the tag will be constrained to the target, but with a spring effect. You can set the distance that you’d like to constrain.
Hope that helps
Tim
Thank you for your recommendation. I will play around with the constraint tag and see if I can produce the desired result. I definitely appreciate you taking the time to point me in the right direction.
This is great! Thank you! I would love to pick your brain about various C4D stuff. I’m kind of a noob but I really enjoy C4D. Keep those awesome tips comin!
Thanks for good tips
now for the stupid question.
camera is locked, how can I move it?
+ thx for this
Hi Tim,
this looks like a real handy piece of kit! Thanks for sharing. I’m a big fan of the camera set up you used in an fxphd tutorial a while back, and I am just working out how to configure the spring into it so it can turned on or off via keying the percentage value.
This was my feeble attempt…
http://www.simontibbs.co.uk/images/Tim_please_help.png
As you’ve probably guessed, my xpresso skills are rather toilet. Although, everything works ok, except the just the zDepth. Don’t suppose you could enlighten me on where I’ve gone wrong.
Many thanks
Easiest way to fix it, add a null as parent to camera and use that for the Z position.
You can’t use the camera Z position directly as the delay effector is controlling it.
Hey guys, I know this is bringing up a really old subject, but this is the only site I’ve seen that has mentioned this type of technique…
But my question is this: Can you hook the delay up (through the sample node) to affect other parameters, like, say, the strength parameter on a bend deformer? I basically want a bend that is ‘springy’…
@Chris Yes, you can use the Sample Effector node to sample data from the Delay Effector and pass it on to object parameters.
@Tim, @Chris Im trying to pass the effect to a strength parameter of a bend effect too. but i cant. strength and Global matrix dont connect. Any alternative?
@Oscar Output the Strength parameter from the Sample Effector Node instead of Global Matrix.
[...] to Tim Clapham from helloluxx.com who I’ve been taking classes from on FXPHD for the past couple years. YOU’RE A GENIUS [...]
Tim, thanks for this setup. I use it all the time! Question though, why is it so hard to adjust the keyframes after the object is hooked up to the xpresso? Am I doing something wrong? (love your FXPHD classes btw)
@Brad Try disabling the Delay Effector when you edit the keys. The delay effector relies on information from the frame previously so you don’t get an accurate playback unless you rewind and play back each time. Scrubbing will just give spurious results.
Thanks for posting! Got this working no problem on objects. Looking for a bit more guidance on using this technique with a Bend deformer. I can’t seem to get the right wires going to the right ports to make it work. Here’s what I’ve got.
A Bend deformer on a Plane. A Delay effector. Xpresso tag applied to the Bend deformer although I tried applying to the Plane as well with no luck.
Xpresso:
INs
Delay (Object) -> Sample (Effector)
Bend (Global Matrix) -> Sample (Global Matrix)
OUTs
Sample(Strength) -> Bend(Strength)
Thanks again! If I can get this working it will save me a ton of key-framing.
[...] Here’s a cool way to create inertial bounce using xpresso and the delay effector. Thanks to Tim Clapham at helloluxx.com [...]
Josh, you need to use something animated to give the delay effector something to process. You could simply animate a null and plug the global matrix of this into the sample effector node. Then output the value and convert it an appropriate value.
See this example file to understand what I’m talking about..
http://www.luxx.com.au/blog/downloads/delaybend.zip
Hope that helps
Ha! I never would have stumbled on this setup. I see it now though. Thanks Tim!