Tutorial

Demo
ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo

ObjectDANCER:
A dream of Joëlle de La Casinière
Basic design and user interface by Philippe Cailloux
Software architecture by Leonardo Jervis and Antonio Tuzzi
Written by Antonio Tuzzi, Leonardo Jervis, Luigi Lira, and Tommaso Spazzali.
ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo designed and developed by Ellen Feaheny.
Copyright © 1996/97 PaceWorks, Inc. All rights reserved. PaceWorks, ObjectDANCER, PaceWorks logo and
ObjectDANCER logo are trademarks of PaceWorks, Inc. Macintosh and QuickTime are registered trademarks of
Apple Computer, Inc. and the MacOS logo, Power Macintosh, the QuickTime logo, ColorSync and the ColorSync
logo, and TrueType are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. used under license. Sea Gull image is a Copyright ©
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 Tutorial Demo

PREPARATION
This document guides you in creating you first animation with ObjectDANCER. Like animations,
experiencing ObjectDANCER first-hand is crucial to understanding ObjectDANCER and its richness. Just
as an animation is a live experience, so is ObjectDANCER. You will use the sample media folder,
including PICTs, audio files, text clip, QuickTime movie, and a GX object, included on your
ObjectDANCER CD-ROM to create follow along in this demo.

Note
All sample objects. movies, or media contained within this CD-ROM are included for
demonstration purposes only. They may not use be used for professional-use. To use these
objects in a manner other than that which is stated here, consult PaceWorks.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Refer to the ObjectDANCER Reference Manual for an even more comprehensive list of requirements and
steps for installing and running ObjectDANCER.
Following is a list of required and recommended equipment. Ensure that your system configuration
includes the listed minimum hardware equipment, and if not already installed, install the appropriate
software listed.
4 An Apple Macintosh© PowerPC, any model (or PowerPC clones), with a minimum of 5 megabytes
(MB) of application RAM (8MB or more recommended).
4 Apple System Software 7.5 (or later) installed, which includes the following necessary extensions:
ColorSync™ system extension and control panel, Sound Manager 3.2 (or later) system extension,
and Sound control panel.
2 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo

4 Apple QuickDraw GX software installed, which comes packaged with System Software 7.5 or later
(although QuickDraw GX is not automatically installed unless specified), or install the provided
GXGraphics INIT system extension (refer to “Read Me.txt” file in the “GXGraphics INIT” folder on
the CD-ROM).
4 QuickTime™ 2.0 (version 2.5 recommended), which includes: QuickTime™ system extension,
QuickTime™ PowerPlug system extension, QuickTime™ Musical Instruments system extension,
MoviePlayer 2.0 (or later) application.
In addition, PaceWorks recommends the following hardware, although not necessary:
4 CD-ROM drive
4 17” or larger monitor
4 external speakers

Building an ObjectDANCER Animation

During this demo, we will build a very basic project using the pre-collected objects in the
“SampleObjects” folder provided on your ObjectDANCER CD-ROM. The purpose of this basic project is
to get you acquainted with the ObjectDANCER project windows, and ObjectDANCER’s cursor and mouse
movements. We will then compile the project into a movie.
After that, we will enhance the basic project to illustrate some of the special features and effects of
ObjectDANCER animated objects. For example, we will show you how to place a rotational effect on an
object, or evolve the font size of a text object, over time. You will learn how to select the color of one
object, and then drop that same color onto a secondary object. And you will learn how to “decompose” a
text object into individual letter objects.
Even with these examples of how to animate objects, this demo only scratches the surface of
ObjectDANCER’s full potential. The only real limitation of ObjectDANCER’s potential is that of your
imagination; the true potential for creating striking and impressive presentations with ObjectDANCER is
boundless.

Basic Concepts
Upon launching ObjectDANCER, new “Untitled-1” project windows are displayed. These windows, the
Compo and Synchro Windows, are the main project windows for building ObjectDANCER projects. The
Compo Window is essentially your visual drawing pad for designing and manipulating imported objects
over the time of a ObjectDANCER animation. An object, in ObjectDANCER, is any imported graphic,
picture, glyph, video, or sound file that is brought together in the ObjectDANCER project.
The other main project window, the Synchro Window, is used for synchronizing project objects’
movements and attributes with the desired effects and styles. The changes in any object’s position, size,
scale, skew, shape, color, rotation or other attributes over time are known as dances. The current time
within ObjectDANCER projects is tracked by the red current time indicator, or RCT indicator.
The following figure illustrates the Compo and Synchro Windows. Notice how the objects in the Compo
Window have a corresponding object label entry in the Synchro Window. Also notice that both windows
have an RCT indicator along their gray timeline ruler, indicating the current position and effect imposed
 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo 3

on the objects within the project windows.

The Compo Window

objects The Synchro Window

RCT indicator
gray timeline ruler

Basic Animation Demo

With ObjectDANCER launched, and an empty Compo and Synchro Window displayed, perform the
following steps:
1. Drag and drop the MOON.PSP file (a Photoshop PICT file) from the “SampleObjects” folder on the
CD-ROM to the upper left corner of the Compo Window white area.

Drag graphic object

to Compo Window
white area.

Whenever you import an object into the Compo Window, the same object is also be reflected in the
Synchro Window, or vice versa. These windows are essentially mirrors of each other, each allowing you
to manipulate the objects in different ways.
4 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo

2. Drag the RCT indicator line (just below the red arrow) to the right along the gray timeline ruler at
the bottom of the Synchro (or Compo) Window to change the current time.

RCT indicator arrow

Note
When dragging the RCT indicator line just below the red arrow, the cursor should
look like this: .

3. Drag the moon object to the right. A line from the original location to the new location shows the
object’s path.

We can adjust the object’s path to move in a curved motion.

4. Drag a point on the path (not the anchor point) while holding down [option]. This will create a a
bezier curve, as shown. (The cursor changes from to .)
 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo 5

Now let’s add some text to the project. You can copy and paste text (or other) objects into the project
windows. 1
5. Highlight the word “MOON” in the MOON.PSP filename.
6. Select the Copy command (or press zC) from the Edit Menu.
7. Click the cursor in the Compo Window.
8. Select the Paste command (or press zV) from the Edit Menu. The MOON text object appears in the
Compo Window.

You can adjust the position of an imported object by dragging it in any direction within the Compo
Window. Let’s try this.
9. Drag the newly imported MOON text object to the lower right corner of the Compo Window.
Notice that the MOON text object is titled “Untitled” amongst the Synchro Window’s object labels.
10.To rename this text object (or any other object), double-click on the object’s label and a Rename...
dialogue box is launched.

11.Type in “MOON Text” to rename the “Untitled” text object.

Just as you created a path for the MOON.PSP graphic object, let’s create a path for the MOON Text
object.
12.Drag the RCT indicator arrow to the right along the gray timeline ruler (about an inch over).

1. Text objects can also be created through direct input using the Text tool accessed through the Show Tools command on the
Windows Menu (see page 11). Click on the Text tool, then click in the Compo Window and type in some text. A
corresponding text object appears in the Synchro Window.
6 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo

13.Drag the MOON Text object to the upper left corner. A line from the original location to the new
location shows the object’s path.

Let’s add some music to the project.

14.Drag the RCT indicator arrow to the beginning of the gray timeline ruler so the imported sound
plays from the beginning of the project (movie).
15.Drag the “WELLOFTH.MID” file, a MIDI musical file, into the Synchro Window. It appears in the
bottom half of the Synchro Window (as will all imported sound objects).

Sound objects are separated

from the rest of the project
objects, below the bolded line.
 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo 7

To preview the animated movements of the objects within your project so far, choose from one of two
options:
• Select the Show Preview option from the Output Menu (or click on the Show Preview
smart icon at the top of the Synchro Window). A wireframe preview of the project is
displayed. (To stop the preview, click the mouse anywhere.)

• Click on either of the current time snap buttons within the Compo (or Synchro)
Window to review your project frame by frame.

current time snap buttons

Let’s make a movie of the project you have created so far.

Before outputting a movie, however, we need to adjust the project output area. The project output area is
represented by the yellow project output bar with purple handles at the top of the Synchro Window (and
at the bottom of the Compo Window).
8 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo

16.Drag on the rightmost purple handle of the yellow project output bar to extend the project area
beyond the range of the object lifespans in the Synchro Window. (When you drag the right purple
handle, appears.)
yellow project output bar purple handle

object lifespans

17.From the Output Menu, select the Make QT Movie command (or click on the Make QT Movie
smart icon at the top of the Synchro Window). A “Making Movie” progress screen is
displayed, and then a small movie window is displayed.

scrub back/forward - to
manually scrub movie backward
or forward.

running indicator - tracks playing progress

play button - click to play movie

18.Click on the play button in the movie window, and your movie is played.
The running indicator on the bottom scroll bar will move to the right while the movie plays. (If no sound
is heard, ensure that your speakers are properly connected and configured on your computer.)

progressive screens...
 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo 9

Enhanced Animation Demo

Using the project you have created in the “Basic Animation Demo,” we can modify the attributes of the
project objects to create many more interesting effects. The following steps give you a sampling of some
of the effects that can be changed. Even with these examples, however, this demo will only scratch the
surface of ObjectDANCER’s full potential.
1. Click on the arrow to the right of the MOON.PSP object label in the Synchro Window. The
following attributes list is displayed.

dance bars

graphic object attributes keyframe mushrooms

With the expanded object, as shown in the above illustration, we introduce two new ObjectDANCER
concepts: dance bars and keyframe mushrooms. Dance bars hold the animation dances (keyframe
mushrooms) of an object’s attributes.2 By moving the RCT indicator to a new position, and then entering
a new value for a particular attribute, a new keyframe is created (and the attribute is changed in the
animation at that particular time). These animated dances, marked by keyframe mushrooms along the
dance bars, are imposed values during the animation when an object changes its position, color, size,
rotation, etc. Values in between any two keyframes along a single dance bar are automatically
interpolated.

Let’s change the rotation of the MOON.PSP object, so the moon completes a 360˚ rotation from its
starting to ending point.
2. Click on the last keyframe mushroom along the position dance bar ( ). The RCT indicator line
jumps in alignment with this mushroom.
3. Input 360˚ in the rotation input area ( ), then [return]. A new rotation keyframe mushroom
appears along the rotation dance bar.

Next, let’s change the background color, to the color of the sky, for example.
4. Click on the Background Color... smart icon at the top of the Compo Window. A color
picker dialog box is displayed.
5. Drag the handle along the color bar until a desired background color appears in the upper right
“New:” box. Then press “OK”.

2. Note the info labels at the top left of the Synchro Window. These labels identify the names of the object attributes as you
move the cursor over them.
10 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo

color bar handle

If the current time is in a position where the moon is visible, the moon object’s background now appears
white over the blue background. Let’s change the moon object’s background so it blends with the
background color. By doing this, we will activate the alpha channel.
6. Move the RCT indicator to the beginning of the timeline by either dragging it there or clicking on
the first keyframe mushroom on any attributes’ dance bar.
7. Select “Over” from the options in the transfer mode pull-down box. The moon’s object background
now blends with the background color.

Just as we have made changes to the moon’s rotation and transfer mode, you can similarly make changes
to any graphic object’s attribute, such as visibility, position, scale, skew, etc. by moving the RCT
indicator to a new current time, and then inputting a new value (or toggling a toggle, as the case may be).
8. Click on the arrow to the right of the “MOON.PSP” object label. The attributes list will close.

Let’s change directions for a moment, and make some changes to the text object’s attributes.
9. Click on the arrow to the right of the “MOON Text” object label in the Synchro Window. The
following attributes list is displayed. To increase the Synchro Window’s area, drag the icon in
the bottom right corner.
 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo 11

text object attributes

Let’s change the font size, so the text grows larger from its starting to ending point.
10.Click on the first keyframe mushroom along the font size dance bar ( ).
11.Change the font size in the input area to “8” point, then press [return].
12.Click on the last (second) keyframe mushroom along the position dance bar ( ). The RCT
indicator line jumps in alignment with this mushroom.
13.Input “24” point in the font size input area, then press [return].

How about changing the color of the text, from its starting to ending point. Let’s change the color of the
text object to match a color in the moon.
14.Select the Show Tools command from the Windows Menu. (This palette may already be displayed on
your screen.) The Tools palette is displayed.

Hand tool Arrow cursor

Text input/modify Zoom in/Zoom out

Rotate Scale tool

Skew Paint bucket

Eyedropper Color sample/picker

15.Click on the eyedropper tool ( ).

16.As you click on the different colors present in the moon object (in the Compo Window), the color
sample/picker box adjacent to the eyedropper tool in the Tools palette changes to different colors.
Click the moon graphic until orange is shown in the color sample/picker box.
17.Click on the paint bucket tool ( ).

18.Click on the last (second) keyframe along the position dance bar ( ). The RCT indicator line
jumps in alignment with this mushroom.
19.Click on the MOON Text object in the Compo Window. The text changes to the orange color in the
color sample/picker box, and a keyframe mushroom appears along the color dance bar, aligned with
the position’s second keyframe mushroom just above.
12 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo

With this change, the MOON Text will gradually change colors from black to orange over the time
between the two color keyframes in the animation.3
20.Click on the arrow cursor ( ) in the Tools palette.
Similarly, you can change any and all other text objects in this same fashion.
In this demo, we have always aligned attribute changes with the ending position keyframe mushroom;
although, you can insert a keyframe mushroom anywhere along an attribute’s dance bar simply by
moving the RCT indicator line to the current time location of your choice, and then inputting a new value
of an attribute.

Let’s experiment with one more ObjectDANCER feature before recreating your movie. This feature is
called “Text Decompose”. Text Decompose allows you to break down text objects into pieces whereby
you can then to manipulate those objects’ attributes in time to create interesting effects.
21.Click on the first keyframe mushroom along the position dance bar ( ). The RCT indicator line
jumps in alignment with this mushroom.
22.Click on the Text Decompose smart icon. The following dialogue box is displayed.

23.Select “Letter” from the “Decompose by:” pull-down options.

24.Click on “OK”. In the Synchro Window, there are now four text objects, one for each letter in
MOON.

Next, we need to time align the decomposed text objects, so they are displayed gradually over time,
instead of all four objects appearing at the same time.
25.While holding down [shift], click on each of the four text objects in the Synchro Window (they will
be highlighted in red as each text object is selected).

3. Another way to select a color instead of using the eyedropper tool, is to use the color sample/picker box tool. By double-
clicking on the color sample/picker box, the color picker dialog box is displayed (as illustrated when changing the
background, on page 10). Select a color, and then with the paint bucket tool, drop the color onto a selected object.
 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo 13

26.Click on the Time Alignment... smart icon, and the following window is displayed.

27.Input new values in the input boxes of the Time Alignment... window, and click on the “Lock end”
and “Keyframe scaling” toggles.
28.Click on “OK”, and you will notice that the objects have been stepped in time in the Synchro
Window.

Let’s now take a look at our project so far, as a movie. Once again, before outputting the movie, we need
to readjust the project output bar, as we did with the basic animation.
29.Drag on the rightmost purple handle of the yellow project output bar to extend the project output
area beyond the range of the object lifespans in the Synchro Window ( appears as you drag the
purple handle).
14 ObjectDANCER Tutorial Demo

30.Select the Make QT Movie command from the Output Menu (or click on the Make QT Movie
smart icon at the top of the Synchro Window). A “Making Movie” progress screen is
displayed, and then a small movie window is displayed.

scrub back/forward - to
manually scrub movie backward
or forward.

running indicator - tracks playing progress

play button - click to play movie

31.Click on the play button in the movie window, and your movie is played.
32.The running indicator on the bottom scroll bar will move to the right while the movie plays. (If no
sound is heard, ensure that your speakers are properly connected and configured on your computer.)

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION AND SUPPORT

The ObjectDANCER Reference Manual describes in great detail all mechanisms of Dancer, and should be
used as a tool for creating rich and thorough animations, while becoming an expert at using the
ObjectDANCER tool.
If you encounter questions beyond the scope of the ObjectDANCER Reference Manual, you are
encouraged to review the PaceWorks’ website (http://www.paceworks.com) periodically for late-breaking
news regarding ObjectDANCER or other PaceWorks’ products. Also, you may review the “ObjectDANCER
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Page” to see if the answer has already been provided. If you still do
not have an answer to your question(s), send an e-mail to [email protected].