How to Animate the Camera

To create camera movement in a scene, you must start by creating at least two camera keyframes, then set the position of the camera in each of those keyframes. Storyboard Pro will interpolate the position of the camera on each frame between two keyframes.

  1. Select the Camera tool by doing one of the following:
    • From the Tools toolbar, select the Camera tool.
    • From the top menu, select Tools > Camera.
  1. In the Timeline view, click and drag the timeline cursor to the frame at which you want your camera movement to begin.
  1. Create a camera keyframe by doing one of the following:
    • In the Timeline view, in the left column of the Camera track, click on the Add Keyframe button.
    • In the top menu, select Camera > Add Camera Keyframe at Current Frame.
    • In the Tool Properties view, click on the Add Keyframe button in the Camera Transform panel.

A keyframe is added in the Camera track of the Timeline view, where the timeline cursor is.

  1. In the Timeline view, click and drag the timeline cursor to the frame when you want your camera movement to end.
  1. Create a camera keyframe by doing one of the following:
    • In the Timeline view, in the left column of the Camera track, click on the Add Keyframe button.
    • In the top menu, select Camera > Add Camera Keyframe at Current Frame.
    • In the Tool Properties view, click on the Add Keyframe button in the Camera Transform panel.

Another keyframe is added in the Camera track of the Timeline view, where the timeline cursor is.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • In the Camera track of the Timeline view, select the camera keyframe you want to modify.
    • In the Stage or Camera view, zoom out to see all of the camera frames. Then, select the camera frame you want to modify by clicking on its edge or its centre point.
    TIP

    Even if your camera frames are in the same position, you can still select a specific one in the Stage or Camera view. Just below the bottom-left corner of the camera frames, you will find blue square-shaped dots. Each of these dots can be clicked on to select a specific camera frame. If two or more camera keyframes are in the same position, the order of these dots will represent their relative position on the timeline. The leftmost dot can be used to select the first camera keyframe, the second leftmost dot can be used to select the second camera keyframe, etc.

  1. Use one of the following methods to modify the camera frame:
    • Move: Move the mouse cursor over the edge or the centre point of the camera frame until the mouse cursor becomes , then click and drag the camera frame to move it.

    • Truck In or Truck Out: Move the mouse cursor over the point in the top-left corner of the camera frame until the mouse cursor becomes , then click and drag this corner to shrink or stretch the camera frame. Shrinking the camera frame will make it zoom in, and stretching it will make it zoom out.

    • Rotate: Move the mouse cursor just outside of one of the corners of the camera frame until the mouse cursor becomes , then click and drag the corner in either direction to rotate the camera frame clockwise or counterclockwise.

    TIP You can also nudge the camera frame by using the arrow keys on your keyboard, or enter its exact coordinates in the Tool Properties view.
  1. Repeat for the other camera keyframe(s), if needed.
  1. Move the timeline cursor back to the beginning of the scene.
  1. In the Playback toolbar, click on the Play button to preview the camera movement.