Planet Filter's Animate... Tool

An animation is a sequence of frames.  For the UIC Planet Filter's Animation Tool, each frame is just a snapshot of a different point in time of the planet.   This tool will create different snapshots which can be saved out as a sequence of bitmap images or to an AVI file.   When the bitmaps are viewed in sequence, the planet will change depending on the settings you choose.   

How do I create a Planet Animation Sequence?

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How do I create a Planet Animation Sequence?

Step 1:  Define the Background Image

This image may need to be quite large depending on the settings for your animation.  The background will actually "wrap" around the background similar to a planetarium's "sky" with the planet in the middle.   If you are "approaching" the planet, your background will need to be large enough to envelope the distance that is covered in the approach.   However, if your planet will be stationary, the background will not need to be as large.   We recommend creating a simple background of stars that is twice as large as your animation size at first to try out.  If the stars appear blurry (blurrier than in the original image), then you'll need a larger background image. 
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Step 2:  Define the Planet

Next, define the planet in your animation using the tabs provided in the UIC's planet filter.   The planet in the filter's preview window will be the planet used in the animation sequence.   If you are choosing the "Approach" sequence, you may want to place your planet further back in the preview window.
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Step 3:  Define the Animation's Size, Rate, and Animation

Animation Size:  Specify the animation window size's width and height using the up or down arrows which range between 32 to 2,048 pixels each.  However, you can type in any number you wish.  Remember the larger the image, the more RAM and hard disk needed to create and store them.  We recommend starting out with a small animation window (200 x 200 or so) in the beginning to understand how it works.

Animation Rate:  Specify the number of frames that are created for a specific number of seconds.   If you specify 10 frames for a 10 second duration, then a total of ten (10) frames will be created, one frame for each second of movement of the planet.   The up and down arrows for each of these values range from 1 to 32,767.  However, you can type in any number you wish remembering the increased hard disk and RAM space for extremely long animation sequences.   The official algorithm is:   Frames / Duration yields the playback or frame rate of the animation.

Planet Animation:  Specify the number of degrees the planet will spin between each frame.   A complete revolution for a planet is 360 degrees.  To find out how much a planet will spin during the animation sequence, multiply the number of degrees the planet will spin between each frame and the number of frames in the sequence.   Next divide that number by 360.  The answer is the number of revolutions the planet will complete.   Valid values for this variable are 0 to 360.  If you do not wish the planet to spin at all, enter zero (0).

We recommend you start with small values at first to see how everything works.  Once you get the hang of it, you can start increasing and changing the different values to suit your needs.
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Step 4:  Define the Background Image Created in Step 1

Use the "Browse..." button to define the background image created in Step 1 above.   We recommend that you start out with a simple star background.  Note:  This image is texture mapped to a sphere which surrounds the planet.  This texture will be magnified so it should be at least twice the size of the animation to prevent a 'blocky' background.
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Step 5:  Define the View for the Animation

You have three choices: Approach, Orbit, and Stationary.   The simplest of the three is "Stationary" where the audience views the planet straight ahead and watches the planet spin (if this was defined).   In the "Orbit" view, the audience (view) is orbiting the planet.   Lastly, the "Approach" view is just that, the audience (view) is approaching the planet.  The  planet is spinning as it is being approached.

We've included sample AVI files of the different views below.  Each of these sequences were 100 x 100 pixel views with 20 frames in 20 seconds with a 20 degree planet spin per frame.   Press F5 to begin the sequence again.

Sample AVI file showing Approach Animation Sequence

 

Sample AVI file showing Orbit Animation Sequence
Sample AVI file showing Stationary Animation Sequence

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Step 6:  Specify the Output Format

The animation can be output as an image sequence (PNG format) or an AVI movie. 

AVI FORMAT - If you choose AVI, it will create a movie file consisting of the different frames.  AVI files can be compressed using any one of several compression formats available.  After you have chosen AVI as your output format, listed the file's name for output, and chosen "OK" to create the animation, you will be prompted to identify which video compression (if any) you would like to use.  The "Video Compression" dialog box will appear (see below).   You may have to try several compressors to find one that creates a movie of the size and quality you want.   You can also choose "Full Frames" which is an uncompressed format.


 

Image Sequence -  You can create an image sequence where every frame is saved as a different file that you can manipulate and edit later.   If you choose "Image Sequence", the images will be saved as .PNG files.   PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics and is an alternative format to Compuserve's Giff format.
    The file name in step 7 below needs to be the base file name.  All of the images will be created with this file name and its frame number.  For example, if you save an image sequence to the filename "sample", the separate files created will be:  sample1.png, sample2.png, sample3.png,...until the last frame number specified.  

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Step 7:  Specify Output File or Folder

AVI files are movie files that can be compressed during the animation's creation.  You will be prompted with the Video Compression dialog box after you have selected "OK" to create the animation (see dialog box above).  You can choose among several compression algorithms or choose "Full Frames" which is uncompressed.  Please note that the uncompressed file will be larger than the compressed versions.  Specify the location where the AVI file will be created. 

If you are creating an image sequence, enter the base name of the sequence.  For instance c:\temp\saturn will result in files saturn1.png, saturn2.png,.... in the c:\temp folder.  The image sequence is stored as Portable Network Graphics (PNG) files which is an alternative format to Compuserve's popular Giff compression.
 

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