Apple Shake 4 - Manual (Page 494)

494 Chapter 18 Compositing With the MultiPlane Node
Using Camera and Tracking Data From .ma Files
The MultiPlane node supports .ma (Maya ASCII) files, allowing you to import 3D camera
paths from a variety of 3D animation packages, or use 3D tracking data clouds
generated by third-party tracking applications. Every new MultiPlane node is created
with one camera, named camera1. Importing a .ma file adds a camera to the
renderCamera pop-up menu in the Camera tab of the MultiPlane node’s parameters.
You can add as many cameras as you like to a single MultiPlane node.
Important: When exporting camera path data from Maya, you must bake the camera
data for it to be usable by Shake.
A single .ma file can also contain data for multiple cameras. Shake imports every
camera that’s found within a .ma file, adding each one to the renderCamera pop-up
menu. Choosing a camera from the renderCamera pop-up menu displays that camera’s
parameters within the Camera tab.
Note: There is currently no support for the culling of 3D tracking data from within
Shake. Any manipulation of point cloud data should be performed before that data is
imported into Shake.
Importing .ma File Data
Data from .ma files is managed using a group of buttons at the bottom of the Camera
tab within the MultiPlane Parameters tab.
To import a .ma file into a MultiPlane node:
1 Load a MultiPlane node into the Parameters tab, then click the Camera tab that
appears.
2 Click the Load button, choose a .ma file, and click OK.