Transforms and keyframes

This page shows you how to move, rotate and scale a formation, and how to make it change over time. Drones sit on the slots of a formation, so when the formation moves they move with it.

A transform is where an element is, which way it faces and how big it is. A keyframe records one of those values at one moment of the show. Set two keyframes and the app works out everything in between. Formation Groups, shapes, text, splines, paths, point clouds and the Show itself can all be animated this way. A Launch Pad cannot: it is fixed to the ground.

Move, Rotate and Scale

Four tool buttons float in the top-left corner of the viewport.

Tool	Key	What it does
Hand	H	Camera only. Nothing in the scene can be moved.
Move	G	Shows arrows on the selection. Drag one to move along that axis.
Rotate	R	Shows rings on the selection. Drag one to turn around that axis.
Scale	S	Shows handles on the selection. Drag one to resize along that axis.

The handles you drag are called the gizmo.

Dragging the Move gizmo in the viewport

You can also type exact values in the Transform section of the Properties panel.

Field	Unit	Notes
Translate	metres	Position on X, Y and Z.
Rotate	degrees	Turn around X, Y and Z. Usually X tilts the element and Z turns it to face the crowd.
Scale	factor	1 is the original size, 2 is double.
Pivot	metres	The point it rotates around. See below.

Keyboard shortcuts

These work while the pointer is over the viewport and you are not typing in a field. With an element selected, G, R or S starts a drag at once: the selection follows the mouse with no button held down.

Key	What it does
G / R / S	Start moving, rotating or scaling. Press another of them during a drag to switch.
H	Switch to Hand.
X / Y / Z	During a drag, limit it to that axis. Press the same key again to release it.
Shift + X / Y / Z	During a drag, limit it to the plane at right angles to that axis.
Click or Enter	Confirm the drag.
Esc or right-click	Cancel the drag.
Tab or L	Switch between Local and Global.
.	Switch between Center and Pivot.

While a drag runs, a status line in the viewport shows the mode and the active axis. K and Shift + K jump the playhead to the next or previous keyframe, wherever the pointer is. The full list is in Keyboard shortcuts.

Local and Global

These two buttons in the top bar decide which way the gizmo axes point.

• Global is the default. The axes follow the face of the show, so X is always left to right as the audience sees it, whichever compass direction the show points.
• Local uses the element's own axes. Use it to move or scale a tilted formation along its own surface.

Center and Pivot

These two buttons decide the point that rotation and scaling happen around.

• Center is the default. It uses the visual middle of the selection. Several selected elements rotate and scale together as one solid block.
• Pivot uses each element's own pivot point. Several selected elements each turn in place around their own point.

An element's pivot point starts at its origin. In Pivot mode an amber dot marks it in the viewport, and you can drag the dot. The Pivot field in the Transform section appears in this mode, and stays visible once the pivot has been moved. Its values are in the element's own metres. Next to it, Centre puts the pivot in the middle of the selection and Reset returns it to the origin.

Animate with keyframes

Each of Translate, Rotate and Scale has its own keyframes. You can animate position without touching rotation. Keyframes sit at exact show times.

1. Select the element in the Hierarchy panel.
2. Drag the playhead to the moment the movement starts.
3. Put the element where it should begin.
4. In the Transform section, right-click Translate and choose Insert Translate keyframe.
5. Drag the playhead to the moment the movement ends.
6. Move the element with the gizmo, or type a new Translate value.
7. Drag the playhead back and forth to check the result.

Dragging the playhead to preview the show

Step 6 needs no extra click. Once a property has a keyframe, any change to it writes a keyframe at the playhead automatically, or updates the one already there.

The right-click menu

Right-click Translate, Rotate or Scale:

Menu item	What it does
Insert or Update Translate keyframe	Keys this one property at the playhead. The menu names the property you clicked.
Insert or Update Transform keyframe	Keys Translate, Rotate and Scale together.
Delete Translate keyframe	Removes this property's key at the playhead. Shown when there is one.
Delete Transform keyframe	Removes all three properties' keys at the playhead.

Field colours

Field colour	Meaning
No tint	The property has no keyframes. Editing changes the element's fixed value.
Green	The property is animated, but the playhead is between keyframes. Editing adds a keyframe here.
Yellow	The playhead is exactly on a keyframe. Editing updates it.

The fields always show the value at the playhead.

Diamonds on the timeline

Keyframes appear as diamonds on the Transform 1 lane. There is one diamond for each moment that has a key on any property.

• Click a diamond to select it. The playhead stays where it is.
• Drag a diamond to change its time. All properties keyed at that moment move together.
• Drag on an empty part of a lane to box-select several diamonds. Shift adds to the selection. Drag one selected diamond to move them all.
• Right-click a diamond for Move playhead here and Delete keyframe. Delete keyframe removes every property's key at that moment.

Keyframes always land on a frame of the timeline, which runs at 30 frames per second.

How keys interpolate

Interpolation is how the app fills the time between keyframes. It always uses a smooth curve.

• Two keys: the value eases in at the first and eases out at the second.
• Three or more keys: the curve passes through every key with no sudden change of speed.
• Before the first key and after the last: the value stays at that key.
• One key: the value stays at that key for the whole show.
• X, Y and Z of a property are calculated separately.

A keyed property ignores its fixed value completely. If you want the element to stay still and then move, add two keys with the same value before the movement. The curve is smooth, so it can swing slightly past a value right before a sudden change.

Rotation takes the short way

A Rotate key is stored as the closest angle to the current one, never more than 180° away. Type 270 for Z at a playhead reading 0, and the key is stored as -90, so the element turns the other way. For a large turn, add a key at least every 170°, or use the Spin preset in Motion effects.

Tips

• Key the Formation Group, not each shape inside it. Everything inside moves with the group.
• Fast movement carries the drones with it. Watch the safety checks after you add keyframes, because a move that is too quick shows up there.
• Keep Global on for most work, and switch to Local for tilted formations.

Next

Light the drones with Colours.