<breaks out singing Daft Punk with some twerkin' going on>
Work it harder, make it better! Do it faster, makes us stronger!
Whew...forgot how tiring twerking can be... In this series, we crack open the toolbox and explore tools available and how they can be useful - whether you are a creator, dancer, choreographer, or supporter of dance in SL. HUDs and gadgets can help us organize, do things more efficiently, take some of the sting out of things we don't enjoy so much, or even inspire new ideas or abilities. Having multiple tools provides options and the ability to use whatever works for a particular situation.
The information I share is given freely, my own thoughts and experiences. As I often say, question everything! Use what works for you. Maybe it would be useful to you, maybe not. One of the amazing things in SL is the ability to do things your own way. This could never be an all inclusive list, new gadgets are always being released and updated. Feedback is always welcome!
No side deals, endorsements, or stock is owned for any of these products...though that would've supported my expensive animation habit...oh, well. Ready to jump down the rabbit hole?
Camera Position/View HUDs
Ever feel like you need eight sets of eyeballs - keeping your eye on back stage, camming in on the tip jar, oh no did my set rez? are all the dancers moving? is everyone on their pad? and my favorite - what is the sexy DJ wearing today? Sure, there are avatars with 16 eyes, but not quite the same is it?
Camera Position/View HUDs can make this happen (without making you wear extra eyeballs). They let you record one or more positions that you are looking at, then with a click of a button move your view back to that spot! No more blindly camming around, afraid you might crash, or just not able to find that darn tip jar. It's all at your finger tips and very simple to use. An added bonus - by changing your view, you can jump straight from your backstage pad to your mover - no walking required! Not only is this easier for you, it also reduces lag on the sim. Bonus!!
There are many different types of these HUDs on the marketplace, some have added features, some allow you to import camera positions so that you can share them with your dancers. For this blog, I'll be focusing on the one I personally use as an example but highly recommend you also check others out and determine which one would work best for you! Always consider price/usefulness/and script count. Just like applebottom jeans...scripts should be low, low, low, low, low, low!
This is the HUD I will be demonstrating today:
Camera View/Save Setup HUD
A basic HUD, simple to use, free, 1 script, can store up to 8 camera positions. It is Copy, so you can have one for every venue. In my inventory, I have a folder for each venue and a copy of the camera hud in that. Boom, I attach the camera hud for that venue and I have my view positions ready to go!
So, the first thing you need to determine, is what camera positions you want to save. Because this HUD uses numbers for the camera positions, I like to be consistent. A few ideas for positions to save:
- STAY PAD: Good place to jump to as soon as you arrive.
- ON STAGE BEHIND THE CURTAIN: I click this view when I cache my set and want to make sure it rezzed, and also to make sure my dancers are moving before I open the curtain.
- MOVERS/DANCE PADS: It's just a jump to the left...or a step to the right...no walking or camming!
- TIP JAR: I am notorious for forgetting to log in or out of the dancer tip jars. This helps!
- FRONT STAGE VIEW: Watching the performance when the curtain is open.
Setup & Using - the quick and dirty
I love teaching soup to nuts, A to Z, and my newest fave ~ ab ovo usque ad mala, exactly how and why something works plus all the pieces in between. This really is a simple HUD to use, so we can skip straight to the quick & dirty - sounds like fun doesn't it?
- Add your HUD (that's always very helpful!)
- Cam around until the view you want to save is in focus (like your mover pad)
- To save the position: press one of the green numbers on the bottom row of the hud
- You can save up to 8 positions, so rinse and repeat however many times you need (or umm..8)
- Press one of the top numbers to change your camera view to one of the saved positions.
- If you've cammed around, just press your Escape key to reset your camera.
- Press the yellow number on the top row if you want to 'release' your camera view from the active saved position.
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| Getting chill understage before the show! |
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| Caching time! Yep - it's there! |
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| Umm...backstage...ready to go on...where are my dancers???? |
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| It's showtime! |
That's it!
Have any great gadgets that have made your SL soooo much easier or that you couldn't live without? I'd love to hear about it!
~ Eva