General Procedures

< Previous | Contents | Manuals Home | Boris FX | Next >

‌General Procedures

You should already have saved the scene as a SynthEyes file before exporting. Select the appropriate export from the list in the File/Exports area. SynthEyes keeps a list of the last 3 exporters used on the top level of the File menu as well.

Hint : SynthEyes has many exports. To simplify the list, click Script/System Script Folder , create a new folder “Unused ” in it, and move all the scripts for applications you do not use into that folder. You will have to repeat this process when you later install new builds, however.

There is also an export-again option, which repeats the last export performed by this particular scene file, with the most-recently-used export options, without bring up the export-options dialog again to save time for repeated exports.

When you export, SynthEyes uses the file name, with the appropriate file extension, as the initial file name. By default, the exported file will be placed in a default export folder (as set using the preferences dialog).

In most cases, you can either open the exported file directly, or if it is a script, run the script from your animation package. For your convenience, SynthEyes puts the exported file name onto the clipboard, where you can paste it (via control-V or command-V) into the open-file dialog of your application, if you want. (You can disable this from the preferences panel if you want.)

Note that the detailed capabilities of each exporter can vary somewhat. Some scripts offer popup export-control dialogs when they start, or small internal settings at the beginning of each Sizzle script. For example, 3ds max does not offer a way to set the units from a script before version 6 and the render settings are different, so there slightly different versions for 3dsmax 5 and 6+. Settings in the Maya script control the

re-mapping of the file name to make it more suitable for Maya on Linux machines. If you edit the scripts, using a text editor such as Windows’ Notepad, you may want to write down any changes as they must be re-applied to subsequent upgraded versions.

Be aware that not all packages support all frame rates. Sometimes a package may interpret a rate such as 23.98 as 24 fps, causing mismatches in timing later in the shot. Or one package may produce 29.96 vs 29.97 in another. Handle image sequences and use frame counts rather than AVIs, QTs, frame times, or drop-frame time codes wherever possible.

The Coordinate System control panel offers an Exportable checkbox that can be set for each tracker. By default, all trackers will be exported, but in some cases, especially for compositors, it may be more convenient to export only a few of the trackers. In this case, select the trackers you wish to export, hit control-I to invert the selection, then turn off the checkbox. Note that particular export scripts can choose to ignore this checkbox.

< Previous | Contents | Manuals Home | Boris FX | Next >