[Figure 6-18] Dolly camera view

Notice how the Dolly camera rotates about its own center, as shown in Figure 6-18.

5.   Select File, Save As and save the file as Dolly camera view.pz3.

[Figure 6-19] Point At dialog box

Resetting a Camera
1.       Open Poser with the default figure visible.

2.       From the Camera Controls, drag the parameter dials and the Camera Controls until nothing is visible in the Document Window.

3.       Open the Library and navigate to the Camera Sets folder, and then select a non-orthogonal view and click the Apply Library Preset button.

The camera returns to a view that you can use.

Aim And Attach Cameras
In addition to the many controls, parameters, and properties available for lights and cameras, there are also controls available for making cameras point at specific items and for attaching and parenting cameras to other scene items.

Pointing Cameras at Items
You can aim cameras to point at a specific scene item. This item can be any body part, prop, light, or even another camera. To point a camera at a specific item, first select the camera using the Actor List at the top of the Document Window or the Parameters/Properties palette. Then, choose Object, Point At. The Point At dialog box, shown in Figure 6-19, appears with a hierarchical list of the scene items. Within this dialog box, select the item that you want the camera to point at and click OK.

Even though the Object Parent dialog box is used to select the point at object, the Point At command doesn’t actually parent the object as the Hierarchy Editor shows.

[Figure 6-20] Eyeballs can be set to point at the camera.

Once the Point At command is used, a Point At parameter appears in the Parameters palette. If you change this value to 0, the camera no longer follows the selected item. Setting the Point At value to 1 makes the camera follow the object exactly. Values between 0 and 1 cause the camera to lag behind the object. This provides an easy way to animate how closely a camera follows an object. To remove the Point At feature, select the item and the Object, Point At menu command again and choose the None button in the Point At dialog box.

Pointing Items at the Camera
In addition to having a camera follow an item, you can also do the opposite and have an item point at the camera. For most body parts, this will cause the object to rotate at askew angles, but for the eyeballs it works quite well. Figure 6-20 shows the eyeballs of the default figure set to point at the main camera. The result is that the figure is looking directly at the camera even if the camera moves.

Attaching Cameras to Items
You can attach cameras to scene items using Object, Change Parent. This menu command also opens the Object Parent dialog box, where you can choose an item to be the camera’s parent. Once attached, the camera moves along with the attached item. Parenting a camera to a body part and moving the figure causes the figure (or body part) to stand still while the scene and background move independently.