9.5.2

982 • CHAPTER 19
TIMELINE • 983
Editing markers
Existing markers can be freely positioned on the Timeline ruler via drag-and-drop. To adjust the
position of an existing marker numerically, or to change its name or color, double-click the marker,
enter the new values into the dialog that opens and click OK.
The Time value determines the position of the marker on the Timeline ruler. In the Name box, you can
enter any name for the marker. This makes navigation much easier, especially for those projects with
many markers. The Color drop-down list menu enables you to select one of eight layer colors.
Magnetic markers
As mentioned previously, markers can be used to help you position keys and sequences. If you move
a sequence or a key in the Timeline near a marker, the element will snap accurately to the position of
this marker. This can be useful if, for example, you want to position many different keys to a certain
frame.
Navigation with markers
On the Timeline’s menus, you’ll nd various functions that enable you to navigate the Timeline with
the help of existing markers. This can ease your workow dramatically, especially when working with
complex animations.
For example, you could center the Timeline view on a certain marker by choosing View > Frame Marker
from the Timeline menu. Another useful command is Goto Marker, which sets the current Timeline
position to the exact position of a chosen marker. This command is available from the Timeline ruler’s
context menu, which you open by right-clicking (Windows) or Command-clicking (Mac OS) on the
Timeline ruler.
Recording animation
You may notice problems when animating small changes over a very long
period of time. For example, you may see a pulsating effect if an object
initially at rest starts to rotate with constant acceleration over a period of
2500 frames. Such problems are due to the insufcient processor accuracy of
current computer processors. However, this tends to affect extreme cases only.
If such cases, break down the animation into several smaller animations.
There are four main ways to record animation in CINEMA 4D:
 Keyframing with the Record button.
 Keyframing in the Attribute manager.
 Autokeying.
 Keyframing in the Timeline.