Advanced controls

Get the basic motion right first. Then fine-tune its timing and output.

Turning them on

Enable Advanced Controls in Preferences, with its Timing and Output groups. An ADVANCED section then appears for templates that support it. Not every template has these controls.

Gain and offset

Output gain makes the motion bigger or smaller. Output offset moves the whole motion up or down. For motion that should rest at a set value, change the template’s own controls first. If a light goes negative or a scale collapses to nothing, check the template’s range first. Raising the gain won’t fix it.

Frames and seconds

Check the unit next to each field. Some timings are in frames and some are in seconds or Hz, and changing the scene’s frame rate changes how long a frame-based effect lasts. Set your final frame rate before fine-tuning the timing.

Ball Bounce and its helper object

Ball Bounce works from a hidden helper object that holds the bounce. When you copy the ball to another scene or file, bring the helper with it. Copying only the visible ball can leave it flat or motionless.

The bounce is prepared for a set frame range. If you make the shot longer, update the effect in Live and play the new frames to check them. Ball Bounce isn’t a physics simulation, so it won’t react to other objects in the scene.

When to bake

Baking turns an effect into ordinary keyframes. You only need it when the next step of your pipeline expects keyframes, such as exporting to a game engine. Drivers play fine in Blender without baking.

1. Save a copy of your file first. After baking, the effect can’t be adjusted in Live.
2. Right-click the property and choose Bake Drivers to Keyframes…, or use Bake Last Driver… in Apply & Manage.
3. Set the frame range and confirm.
4. Play the result, and check the export if that’s what you baked for.