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Record Controls Area

The buttons in the Record Controls area let you test and record your animation. The first three buttons let you control the recording directly, while the Start/Stop button lets you use a MIDI device to control the recording.

Start (button): Starts a recording, using the values set in the Record Range area below the track list window. In our example, you click Start, and the time slider begins to move. While this is happening, you move the mouse to flap the wings. At the specified Out frame, the recording stops. Note that the state of the Animate button is ignored.

Stop (button): Click this button to stop the recording before the Out frame is reached. You can also stop a recording by pressing ESC, or by pressing the right mouse button.

Test (button): Click on this to test your motion. No recording takes place, but you can, in the given example, move your mouse and watch the wings flap. Exit this mode either by clicking Test again, or pressing ESC or the right mouse button.

Play During Test (checkbox): When this is checked, and you click Test, the animation in the scene plays in a loop while you test your motion. Note that tracks in the Motion Capture list that are selected (marked red) will not play back because they’re awaiting input from the assigned peripheral device.

Start/Stop... (button): Click to display the Start/Stop Trigger Setup dialog. Here, you can choose the type of MIDI device that will control the recording. The dialog contains the following controls:

Presets (pop-up list): Choose the type of MIDI device. If the Media Control Station 2 is chosen, you can use its buttons to Stop, Play, and Record. (The Media Control Station is a MIDI device containing standard VCR-style playback buttons along with a jog wheel.) By choosing Custom, you enable the remaining spinners in the dialog, where you can set specific channels and note numbers. You can also use Custom to customize the controls used by the Media Control Station.

Channel (spinner): Use this to specify the channel to which your MIDI device is assigned.

Note Number (text): The spinners in this area let you specify which note event triggers which function.

Stop (spinner): This note event stops the playback or the recording. On the Media Control Station, this would be the square button. This is the equivalent of clicking the Stop button under Recording Controls.

Play (spinner): Plays the animation. This is the arrow button in the Medial Control Station.

Record (spinner): When this note is sent by itself, it’s the equivalent of clicking the Test button under Record Controls. To actually record the motion capture, you must press both Play and Record at the same time (the equivalent of clicking the Start button under Record Controls). Note that you can press the Play button before or after the Record button and release the Play button before or after the Record button. All that matters is that when releasing one of these two buttons, the other button is pressed. The recording starts when the button is released.

Enable (checkbox): Check to use the assigned MIDI device for recording, instead of the Start, Stop and Test buttons.

Tip: In the Time Configuration dialog, you can reduce the viewport playback speed, test or record at the lower speed, and then reset the speed to normal to view the results.