SMS:Film Loop General Options

File:SMS Film Loop general.jpg

Film Loop Setup – General Options dialog in the Film Loop Wizard

The Film Loop Setup wizard is used to create the following types of video animation files:

• AVI, or audio video interleave (*.avi)
• Google Earth© KMZ (*.kmz) – See Google Earth© KMZ file export requirements section below.

The wizard is invoked by choosing the Film Loop option from the Data menu. When the wizard is successfully completed, the animation is generated according to the specified options. The animations are then opened and displayed. AVI files are displayed in the Play AVI Application (PAVIA). Google Earth© KMZ files are displayed in Gooogle Earth©. the Play AVI Application is included with SMS. Google Earth© must be downloaded and installed separately. See http://earth.google.com/ for information on obtaining Google Earth©.

The General Options page allows specifying the following:

• File name for each video animation file type being exported
• Film loop type

• Transient Data Animation – To use this option, there must be opened a dynamic solution file. This will show how contours and/or vectors change with time by displaying a sequence of images, one for each time step.
• Flow Trace – To use this option, there must be an available vector dataset, such as velocity. This animation randomly distributes particles throughout the domain and shows their path through time.
• Drogue Plot – To use this option, there must be an available vector dataset, such as velocity, and there must have been created points and/or arcs in a Particle/Drogue coverage with the Map module. This option is similar to the Flow Trace, except that particles are initially placed at feature points and at each vertex of feature arcs in the selected coverage.
• Multiple Views – This option creates an animation of a single time step from one rotated view to another. A viewing path is created with any number of bearing/dip pairs. Multiple View film loops can not be exported to a Google Earth© KMZ file.
• Plot Window – This option allows animation of a plot window, such as how a functional value across an observation arc changes through time. Plot Window film loops can not be exported to a Google Earth© KMZ file.

Google Earth© KMZ file export requirements

The following requirements must be met to export Google Earth© KMZ file

• Must be in plan view
• Must use a Global Coordinate Projection (not local)
• Film loop types which can be exported to KMZ

• Transient data animation
• Flow trace
• Drogue plot

• Film loop types which cannot be exported to KMZ

• Multiple Views
• Plot window

Play AVI Application (Pavia)

Controls exist within the application to play, stop, and step the animation. When an animation is stopped on a frame, the frame’s image can be copied to the clipboard using the Copy button. The pavia.exe file is a separate application and can be copied to other computers to display existing animations on computers that do not have SMS installed. This is useful for displaying animations during a presentation or sending the animation to another individual or entity. It's not necessary to close the pavia application before creating another animation in SMS, but will not be able to create an animation with the same file name as an opened animation.

Related Topics

• Animations