Exporting Solar Animations

The same type of solar animation effects that can be seen in the drawing in interactive mode can be exported to a movie.

To export a solar animation:

1. Insert at least one heliodon object as described in Inserting a Heliodon Object.

2. Select the desired view and render mode.

3. Select the heliodon, and click Solar Animation from the Object Info palette. Alternatively, double-click a heliodon object.

The Solar Animation dialog box opens.

4. Click the Interactive tab, and set the date and time.

5. Click the Export Movie tab. Set the Animate view and the export options. The solar animation occurs based either on time or date settings.

Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Animate	Sets whether to animate the sun about the model, or rotate the model about the sun
Heliodon (Top/Plan view) or Sun (using current view)	Moves the sun over the model
View (sun to layer plane center)	Navigates around the model as viewed from the sun, showing the part of the model illuminated by the sun at that time; the model is assumed to be at the layer plane center and rotates about this center
View (sun to Heliodon center)	Navigates around the heliodon as viewed from the sun; parts of the model that are visible are the areas receiving sunlight. This mode is helpful when studying a portion of a larger model or when the model is offset from the layer plane center. Place the heliodon in the area of interest.
Interactive/Export Movie	Select whether to view the animation interactively, or export it to an animation file
Animate Time	Creates the solar animation over the course of a day; set the start/end time and time interval
Animate Date	Creates the solar animation over the course of a year; set the date start and end and date interval
Start Time/Date	Select the starting time or month
End Time/Date	Select the ending time or month
Time/Date Interval	Select the increment for the movie; a smaller increment creates a smoother movie, but creates a longer movie
Show time of day	Displays the time of day in the movie, at a location specified before export; set the font size
Show month and day	Displays the day and month in the movie, at a location specified before export; set the font size
Export summary	Displays the length of the movie at 15 frames per second (fps) and the number of frames to be created

6. Click OK, and if showing the time of day or month and day, click in the drawing when prompted, to set the text location.

The Video Settings dialog box opens.

Click to show/hide parameters.

Parameter	Description
Compression Settings
Frames per second	Sets the number of frames per second (fps) in the animation. 30 fps generally produces a smooth final animation.
Quality	Sets the quality of the movie output; the higher the quality, the larger the resulting file. The Very High setting is of appropriate quality for further video editing.
Frame Size	Sets the size of the animation (width by height in pixels). When the Video Settings dialog box is open, a clipping frame displays in the drawing window. Only the area within the clipping frame will be visible in the movie. If the selected frame size has the same aspect ratio as the drawing window’s resolution, the clipping frame will align with the drawing window; no cropping will occur. If the selected frame size has a different aspect ratio from the drawing window’s resolution, the movie’s frame will be cropped.
Standard	Select a standard frame size
Custom	Enter a custom frame size; the width and height can be set to any value between 240 and 4096 pixels
Screen	Sets the frame size to match the drawing window

7. Click OK.

The Select Movie Filename dialog box opens.

8. Specify the location to save the movie file. By default, the file is named with the location and the date.

A message displays the progress of the export, and the movie is created.

Click to end the export early. The solar animation movie is created up to that point.

9. View the movie in the application of your choice to watch the solar animation.

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Creating Interactive Solar Animations

Creating Solar Animations

Inserting a Heliodon Object

Solar Studies

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