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FIGURE 37.18

The rotation of the Wind-up Key object

4. Click the teapot in the viewport to have the curves for its transforms selected and centered in the Track View.

When adding the Noise controller, you should assign a List controller first to retain the ability to transform the object independently of the Noise.

Note

Assigning controllers through the Animation menu automatically creates a List controller first. •

5. Select the teapot's Position track, and click the C key to access the Assign Controller dialog box. Choose Position List. Under the Position track are now the X, Y, and Z Position tracks and an Available track. Select the Available track, access the Assign Controller dialog box again, and choose Noise Position. The default controller should remain the Position XYZ controller, so close the List Controller dialog box. Click Play.

Note

Remember that the C keyboard shortcut works only if the Keyboard Shortcut Override Toggle button on the main toolbar is enabled. •

The teapot vibrates the entire animation. You add a multiplier curve to correct the situation.

6. Select the Noise Position track, and choose Curves⇒Apply-Multiplier Curve. Select the Multiplier curve track. Assign the first key a value of 0. Change its Out tangent to Stepped so it holds its value until the next key. Click the Insert Keys button, and add a key at frame 50 with a value of 1. Move the last key to frame 120, and set a value of 0. The Multiplier curve should now look like the curve in Figure 37.19. Select the Noise Position track.

The noise curve now conforms to the multiplier track.

FIGURE 37.19

The Multiplier curve keeps the Noise track in check.

7. With the Noise Position track still selected, right-click and choose Properties. In the Noise Position dialog box, set the X and Y Strength to 30, set the Z strength to 20, and check the >0 check box to keep the teapot from going through the floor. Close the dialog box, and click Play.

The animation is much better. Next, you add some noise to the Rotation track.

8. Select the Rotation track, right-click, and choose Assign controller or click the C key to bring up the Assign Controller dialog box. Select Rotation List, and click OK. Select the Available track, access the Assign Controller dialog box again, and choose Noise Rotation.

Click Play. Again, the noise is out of control.

9. This time, select the Noise Strength track and add a multiplier curve.

You already have a perfectly good multiplier curve, so you can instance it into the new track.

10. Select the position multiplier track, right-click, and choose Copy. Now select the rotation Noise Strength multiplier track, right-click, and choose Paste. Choose Instance, and close the dialog box.

11. Click the Play button, and watch the Teapot wind up and then vibrate itself along until it winds down.

Figure 37.20 shows the teapot as it dances about, compliments of a controlled noise controller.

FIGURE 37.20

The wind-up teapot moves about the scene.

Filtering Tracks and Creating Track Sets

With all the information included in the Track View, finding the exact tracks you need can be difficult. The Filters button on the Key Tangents toolbar (or in the Display menu) can help. Clicking this button (or pressing the Q keyboard shortcut) opens the Filters dialog box, shown in Figure 37.21.

FIGURE 37.21

The Filters dialog box lets you focus on the specific tracks.

Tip

Right-clicking the Filters button reveals a quick list of filter items. •

Using the Filters dialog box

Using this dialog box, you can limit the number of tracks that are displayed in the Track View. The Show section contains many display options. The Hide by Controller Type pane lists all the available controllers. Any controller types selected from this list do not show up in the Track View. You can also elect to not display objects by making selections from the check boxes in the Hide By Category section.

The Show Only group includes options for displaying only the