9.5.2

462 • CHAPTER 7
OBJECTS MENU • MANAGING YOUR ENVIRONMENT • 463
Stage Object
The Stage object behaves like a movie director. It determines when a camera, an environment, a
background and so on are used within an animation. For example, you can create many different
cameras in your scene and use the Stage object to decide when to cut to a particular camera. You
can also use the Stage object to switch between Sky, Foreground, Background, and Environment
objects.
You can animate the Stage object to change which objects are used over time. This is especially useful
for switching cameras during an animation. For example, you can switch from one camera to another
as follows.
 Move the time slider to the start of the animation. Drag and the rst camera’s
name from the Object manager into the Stage object’s Camera box (Attribute
manager).
 In the Attribute manager, Ctrl-click the circle next to the name ‘Camera’ to
create a key that assigns the rst camera to the Stage object at the start of
the animation.
 Move the time slider to the frame at which you want to switch to the second
camera. Drag and drop the second camera’s name from the Object manager
into the Stage object’s Camera box (Attribute manager).
 In the Attribute manager, Ctrl-click the circle next to the name ‘Camera’ to
create a key that assigns the second camera to the Stage object at the current
frame.
 If you now play the animation, the animation starts with the rst camera
and switches to the second camera at the second key.
Attribute manager settings
Object Properties