Chapter 17: How to Animate Objects and the Camera

When it comes to animating objects, you will do this on layers by creating motion paths. You can also animate the camera which is just like any other object you can animate.

Animating a Layer

You can create a motion path directly on layers (animated layers).

You can control and define a trajectory using several different parameters, including:

X, Y and Z positions (3D Path or Separate Positions)
Angle (rotation)
Skew
X and Y Scales
Euler Angle or Quaternion Angle (when 3D option is enabled)
Z Scale (when 3D option is enabled)

Each parameter has its own function curve where you can add keyframes and control the easing.

If you are not familiar with graphs and function curves, Harmony has a series of easy-to-use tools for visually controlling trajectories in the Camera and Timeline view.

Drawing Layer Parameters

Animating the Camera

The camera is treated the same way as any other element. The same tools and selection modes are used to offset or animate it, but the camera is a static object. To animate the camera, you need to connect it to a peg layer. A peg is a trajectory layer.

Camera Layer

While making camera moves, you can use the Top, Side, and Camera views.