cam follow path AND track object?

Support Animation and Rigging
1

Hi!
I want my camera to act like a camera running on a dolly. It should:

  1. follow a path (nurbs curve)
  2. face an object (empty)
  3. keeps its y-axis pointing upwards (instead of rocking around the z-axis like mad:spin:)

I did this a hundred times several years ago but the old method (camera parented to IKA, IKA parented to empty “effector as child”, IKA parented to path) does not work in the current blender versions.

Can someone help me out?

Hoping: Ulli

2

Are you talking about 2.5, it’s the same way I’ve done it in 2.49
camera.blend (64.5 KB)
Select camera, select path, Ctrl+P / Follow Path.
Clear origin of camera
Select camera, select empty, Ctrl+T / Track to Constraint
Check the constraint parameters for the camera are correct
http://www.screencast.com/users/blenderwho/folders/Jing/media/29797141-5c89-4487-9e79-5905cb7ffdcd

3

I rarely do the select one object then another object approach. I always seem to get the selection order wrong. So I just add the constraints manually to the camera. Path first then TrackTo. If you are still having problems try reversing the constraint stack order.

4

Thanks!
Atom, I tried with the stack order but everything seems correct.

Richard, that’s the way I’ve done it but the cam spins around its axis (the view-axis), when following the empty. The older method (with IKAs) was weird, too. But I remember handling it pretty well after a while.

I think the current way works fine as long as you don’t have the camera view in global Z-direction the way I did. In other words: everything in my scene is arranged on the “floor” so that the grid is my screen and cameras have to look straight down in negative Z-direction. Darn, should have thought of this ealier. Think I need to turn the entire scenery 90° just to get the cam movement right.