Animation Keyframe Timing Editing via Proportional Scaling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional animation authoring tools lack the ability to efficiently edit the timing of multiple keyframe pairs simultaneously, requiring individual editing of each pair to maintain proportional timing, which is cumbersome and time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that treat a span of animation across multiple non-roving keyframes as an editable unit, allowing authors to modify the timing of all or selected keyframes proportionally, enabling time editing across a plurality of non-roving keyframe pairs while maintaining their relative timing proportionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If individual keyframe pairs are edited separately to maintain proportional timing, then timing precision is maintained, but editing time and operational complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple keyframe pairs into a single selectable group that can be edited simultaneously. The system allows users to select multiple keyframe pairs and apply timing modifications to all selected pairs at once, while the system automatically maintains the proportional timing relationships between them. This combining approach resolves the contradiction by enabling batch editing that preserves precision without requiring individual manual adjustment of each keyframe pair.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a scaling parameter that automatically adjusts timing values across multiple keyframe pairs proportionally. When a user modifies the timing of one keyframe pair, the system calculates and applies corresponding parameter changes to other selected keyframe pairs to maintain their relative timing proportions. This parameter-based approach enables precise timing control across multiple pairs through a single operation.
2Productivity
If multiple keyframe pairs are edited simultaneously, then productivity increases, but maintaining proportional timing relationships becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the system continuously monitors and calculates the timing relationships between multiple selected keyframe pairs. When a user modifies one pair, the system provides feedback by automatically adjusting the other pairs to maintain proportional relationships. This feedback loop ensures that productivity gains from simultaneous editing do not compromise timing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary computational layer that mediates between user input and the actual keyframe modifications. This intermediary automatically calculates the proportional relationships and distributes timing adjustments across all selected keyframe pairs, eliminating the need for users to manually maintain proportions while editing multiple pairs simultaneously.
3Manufacturing precision
If traditional individual keyframe editing is used, then timing control is precise, but the editing process becomes cumbersome and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple keyframe pairs into a single selectable unit, allowing users to edit several pairs through a unified interface. This merging maintains the precision of individual timing control while simplifying the operation by enabling batch selection and modification, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal editing mechanism that can handle both individual and multiple keyframe pairs through the same interface and操作流程. The system provides multi-functionality by allowing users to select one or more keyframe pairs and apply the same editing operations, automatically adapting to maintain proportional relationships when multiple pairs are selected. This universal approach simplifies operation while preserving precision.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for editing of a computer-generated animation across a plurality of keyframe pairs are provided. Embodiments enable time editing across a plurality of non-roving keyframe pairs. Such non-roving keyframes have fixed references relative to an animation's reference timeline. An author may specify a point on an animation's reference timeline at which each non-roving keyframe is placed. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, an animation across a plurality of non-roving keyframes is treated as an editable unit. Thus, an author may modify the timing for all or a select portion of such editable unit (which may span a plurality of the non-roving keyframes). For instance, an author may expand or reduce the time span for a plurality of non-roving keyframes, and the timing of the plurality of non-roving keyframes automatically adjusts to maintain their timing proportionality relative to each other in the resulting modified time span.