You animate a camera by using transforms or changing its creation parameters in different keyframes while the Animate button is on. The program interpolates camera transforms and parameter values between keyframes, as it does for object geometry.
See Animate and Track View for a full description of animation. This topic summarizes some possibilities and suggests some techniques.
In general, itÆs best to use a free camera when the camera is to move within the scene; use a target camera when camera position is fixed.
Having a camera follow a path is a common way to create architectural walkthroughs, roller coaster rides, and so on.
If the camera must bank or tilt close to the vertical (as on a roller coaster), use a free camera. Assign the Path constraint directly to the camera object. The camera follows the path, and you can adjust its point of view by adding pans or rotate transforms. This is comparable to filming with a hand-held camera.
For a target camera, link both the camera and its target to a dummy object, then assign the path constraint to the dummy object. This is comparable to mounting the camera on a tripod on a dolly. It is easier to manage than having, for example, separate paths for the camera and its target.
You can use a Look-At Constraint to have the camera automatically follow a moving object.
The Look-At constraint makes the object replace the cameraÆs target.
If the camera is a target camera, its previous target is ignored.
If the camera is a free camera, it effectively becomes a target camera. While the Look-At constraint assignment is in effect, the free camera cannot rotate around its local X and Y axes, and canÆt be aimed vertically because of the up-vector constraint.
An alternative is to link a target cameraÆs target to the object.
You can animate the pan of any camera very easily by following these steps:
Select the camera.
Activate the Camera viewport.
Turn on the Animate button and advance the time slider to any frame.
Use the Pan button (in the viewport navigation tools) and pan.
You can animate the orbiting of any camera very easily by following these steps:
Select the camera.
Activate the Camera viewport.
Turn on the Animate button and advance the time slider to any frame.
Use the Orbit button (in the viewport navigation tools) and orbit.
The target camera revolves around its target; the Free camera revolves around its target distance.
Zooming moves toward or away from the cameraÆs subject matter by changing the focal length of the lens. It differs from dollying, which physically moves the camera but leaves the focal length unchanged. You can zoom by animating the value of the cameraÆs FOV parameter.
You can animate the creation of a cutaway view by animating the location of the near or far clipping planes, or both.