Bullet Time : Multi Angle Camera Render Script and Tutorial Set
Multi Angle Camera Render Script
Select angles of currently selected figure/asset will be rotated
Select format of render (PNG/JPG)
Select prefix of the filename and destination folder
Video Part 1 – How the Script was built : 1 hour and 54 minutes (.MP4)
00:06 Importance of checking for the existence of a skeleton when selecting a node in DAZ Script.
00:07 Handling null objects and ensuring the root skeleton is correctly identified.
00:08 Distinguishing between root and child nodes in the scene hierarchy.
00:10 Usage of 'while' loops to navigate up the hierarchy to find the root node.
00:12 Utilizing the 'isRootNode' method to check if a node is the top-level node.
00:13 Implementing a boolean variable to control while loop execution.
00:15 Assigning the parent node if the current selection is not a root node.
00:17 Caution against infinite loops in while statements.
00:18 Saving the script frequently to avoid data loss.
00:19 Building the user interface dialog and copying code from examples.
00:21 Declaring working variables at the start of the script for efficiency.
00:23 Executing the script to test the dialog with only buttons.
00:24 Using arrays to specify angles for rendering.
00:25 Creating widget containers for organizing UI elements.
00:27 Assembling widgets for the destination folder path in the UI.
00:29 Discussing alternative layout options for custom widget placement.
00:31 Labeling in the UI for clear communication with users.
00:33 Incorporating a line edit for the destination path and setting it to read-only.
00:37 Implementing a button to browse for folders in the UI.
00:39 Organizing code for file name input in the UI.
00:41 Using horizontal groups to arrange labels and line edits horizontally.
00:44 Introducing combo boxes for file extension selection.
00:46 Dynamically filling combo box options from an array.
00:51 Challenging viewers to think about dynamically generating checkbox widgets.
00:53 Using group boxes to organize checkboxes and control layout with columns.
00:55 Storing checkbox widgets in arrays for dynamic UI generation.
00:58 Using for loops to create and manage an array of checkboxes.
01:00 Handling DAZ Studio crashes and the importance of saving work.
01:02 Restoring the script environment after a crash.
01:04 Ensuring checkboxes reflect the array of angles correctly.
01:07 Adjusting the user interface size for better visibility of path inputs.
01:09 Planning to use configuration files to save and load user settings.
01:11 Introduction to using JSON for configuration data.
01:14 Creating an object to hold configuration settings.
01:17 Getting the script's current directory for default settings.
01:19 Debugging by printing out directory paths.
01:21 Planning to delete file objects to prevent memory leaks.
01:26 Saving configuration data to a file.
01:30 Explanation of JSON stringify and its arguments.
01:54 Recap of session progress and plans for the next session.
Video Part 2 – How the Script was built : 57 minutes (.MP4)
00:00 Starting the session by reviewing previous work on the configuration object and UI dialog creation.
00:02 Discussing the creation of a function to load the configuration file from disk.
00:04 Changing the file opening mode from writing to reading to load configurations.
00:06 Using JSON parsing to convert the read data into a usable object.
00:09 Adding a check to see if the configuration file exists before attempting to load.
00:11 Handling the scenario where the configuration file does not exist by notifying the user and returning false.
00:14 Outlining the process for creating a new configuration file if one doesn't exist.
00:17 Updating UI widgets with values from the configuration file.
00:20 Setting up the combo box to reflect the selected file extension from the configuration.
00:23 Connecting the browse button to a function for directory selection.
00:25 Implementing the directory dialog function to allow users to choose a folder.
00:29 Updating the configuration file and UI with the new path selected by the user.
00:33 Adding accept and cancel button text to the UI dialog.
00:35 Explaining the use of QSTR for setting keyboard shortcuts for UI buttons.
00:38 Preparing to save configuration settings when the user initiates a render.
00:41 Planning to copy original render settings before changing them for rendering.
00:44 Exploring the RenderManager object to manipulate render settings.
00:47 Accessing and copying current render settings to a new object for later restoration.
00:51 Changing specific render settings for the rendering process.
00:57 Finalizing the main skeleton of the script to handle rendering and restoring settings.
Video Part 3 – How the Script was built 1 hour : 4 minutes (.MP4)
00:01 Creating a new function to render all selected angles.
00:02 Assigning configuration properties to new variables for use within the script.
00:03 Adding an underscore to file prefix if it's not present for file naming consistency.
00:05 Retrieving the Y rotation property from the selected item for manipulation.
00:07 Saving the original value of the item's rotation to restore after rendering.
00:11 Iterating over angle checkboxes to render only the checked angles.
00:15 Developing logic to apply new rotations and file names for rendering.
00:17 Introducing a check to see if the render has been cancelled by the user.
00:21 Using string formatting to construct the file path with angle values and file extensions.
00:24 Creating a function to handle rendering for each angle individually.
00:27 Checking for the existence of render files before overwriting.
00:31 Implementing a user prompt to confirm file overwrite if render files exist.
00:35 Handling the user's decision on file overwrite and aborting if necessary.
00:37 Deleting existing render files if the user opts to overwrite.
00:41 Setting the new file name in the render options before starting the render process.
00:42 Using a signal to determine if the render has been finished or cancelled.
00:46 Establishing a function to handle the 'render finished' signal.
00:49 Setting up a loop to allow cancellation during the render process.
00:53 Determining if the entire rendering process has been aborted by the user.
00:55 Returning a boolean from the render function indicating if rendering was aborted.
00:57 Breaking out of the rendering loop if the last render was aborted.
Video Part 4 – How the Script was built : 7 minutes (.MP4)
00:01 Debugged 'redrawSelectedAngles' within the checkbox loop, resolving incorrect argument issues.
00:03 Fixed argument error, enabling successful script execution for initial selected angles.
00:05 Validated overwrite prompt of the script with prior rendered angles; continues render on 'Yes'.
00:06 Refined script by removing debug code, fixing an angle array, and adding an MIT license credit.
Documentation: MultiAnglesRenderSearchableVersion (.PDF)
Link to the searchable version of this tutorial set