Generating Voxel Movies

Foxel enables you to capture keyframe animations from your Voxel Scenes or Mesh Assets and convert them into a frame-by-frame animation stored as a Voxel Movie. Follow the steps below to generate your own Voxel Movies.

Steps to Generate a Voxel Movie

1. Open the Voxel Scene or Mesh Asset that you want to convert. Ensure that the scene is set up with the desired elements and animations.
2. Navigate to Animation > Generate Voxel Movie. This will open the Generate Voxel Movie dialog.
3. Edit parameters in the Generate Voxel Movie Dialog
4. Click OK to start the generation process.

Parameters in the Generate Voxel Movie Dialog

• Target Voxel Movie: Choose from existing Voxel Movies to append the generated frames, or select New Voxel Movie to create a new Voxel Movie and add the generated frames to that new movie.
• Scan Box: Select a custom Scan Box object, or use the asset's Default Scan Box. The Scan Box defines the area of the scene that will be captured during the generation process.
• Frame Range: Specify the range of frames you want to capture. This allows you to focus on specific sections of your animation.
• Frame Step: Set the frame step value, which determines how many frames to skip between captures.

How the Generation Works

The generation process for Voxel Movies involves several key steps:

1. Frame Generation: The generator scans the area defined by the Scan Box within the specified frame range and frame step. It captures the scene at regular intervals based on the frame step value.
2. Voxelization: All objects found within the Scan Box are voxelized or transformed as needed. This process converts the 3D geometry of the objects into a voxel representation, ensuring that they are compatible with the Voxel Movie format.
3. Merging into a Voxel Grid: The voxelized objects are then merged into a single voxel grid. This voxel grid represents the state of the scene at that specific frame.
4. Frame Comparison: The generator compares the newly created voxel grid with the last generated frame. If the voxel grid differs from the previous frame, it is added to the movie as a new frame. If there are no changes, the duration of the previous frame is increased, allowing for a smoother playback without unnecessary duplication.