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ewdean
08-25-2003, 07:05 PM
I don't know if anyone has any experience with this but I'm using the BVH importer to bring in motion that I've created using Animation Master and a couple of things are happening that maybe y'all could clear up.

The model I used is the IKJOE model that is spreading around here and in AM I used FK for the entire rig. Now when I import the BVH file, C4D adds extra nulls called, "Site" to the hierarchy. In fact it adds them before and after a chain of bones, why does it do this?

My hierarchy in AM is as follows:

Patriarch
-Pelvis
-Stomach
-Torso
-Neck
-Head
-ShoulderL (then Bicep, Forearm, ends at HandL)
-ShoulderR (then Bicep, Forearm, ends at HandL)
-ThighR (then Calf, then Foot, then Heel, ends at Toes)
-ThighL (then Calf, then Foot, then Heel, ends at Toes)


My hierarchy in C4D is as follows:

Skeleton
-Shortcut_to_IKJOE_FK_RIG
-Site(NULL)
-Patriarch
-Site(NULL)
-Pelvis
-Stomach
-Torso
-Neck
-Head
-Site(NULL)
-ShoulderL (then Bicep, Forearm, ends at HandL)
-ShoulderR (then Bicep, Forearm, ends at HandL)
-ThighR (then Calf, then Foot, then Heel, ends at Toes)
-ThighL (then Calf, then Foot, then Heel, ends at Toes)

*The shoulder and thigh chains are terminated with the same Site null.

Weird, huh?
fxgogo
08-26-2003, 12:29 AM
It could be a way that C4D is able to move the top and tail of each bone. I have not looked at the BVH file format, but maybe it is the simplist way for the data to come across without problems of interpreting constraints from AM to C4D. I am shooting in the dark here, although this does interest me as I also have AM and would like to intergrate it into my C4D pipeline.
ewdean
08-26-2003, 01:11 AM
Actually the word "Site" occurs in the file format. It terminates a data structure, so maybe Cinema is just interpreting that as a Null itself.

I'm having deeper problems anyway. I think there's a limit on Cinema's bvh importer because I can load a 11k file in just fine, but a 44k file gives me an error.
fxgogo
08-26-2003, 01:18 AM
maybe an email to Maxon, asking about the limits of the importer might help. Sorry I could not be of more use.
anobrin
08-26-2003, 05:24 AM
HI i am a character animator who uses Lifeforms as well as other programs to exchange CA data between programs.

I have seen this "site" item in the object manager and may i ask why you consider it a problem??

also there is no limit to the file size of a BVH that cinema can import
I just imported a 1.4 meg 1400 frame BVH file into Cinema4DXl 7.3.3
on MAC OSX
if you are getting an error your BVH file is Not valid.
ewdean
08-26-2003, 07:21 AM
Originally posted by anobrin
[B]I have seen this "site" item in the object manager and may i ask why you consider it a problem??

Hi anobrin: It's not a problem. It's just that I've never seen it before when I used bVH exporters previously.

also there is no limit to the file size of a BVH that cinema can import

Good. Then that narrows the mystery down a little bit.

if you are getting an error your BVH file is Not valid.

I'll buy that. Since you sound like you know what's going on more than I do, how about checking out some data files and comparing them with each other? Below is a link to a zip file that contains 2 BVH files. They're called Action01 and Action02. Action01 won't import into C4D, but Action02 will. I can't figure it out right now, perhaps you can....

http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=84118
anobrin
08-26-2003, 02:16 PM
HI, as you stated the file "Action1" gives me an
"invalid operation" error upon import.
I am also unable to preview it in lifeforms 3.9 :banghead:

A BVH file is actually a little piece of software text code
that describes a character rigs joint hierarchy, rotation
and bone positions over a range of frames

I wont pretend to know exactly why this particular file
is not opening :shrug:
but I would guess that there is some scene or character
element in HASH AM in the file that is being exported into the BVH file
and causing and "invalid operation" in the BVH Line code
I dont own HASH AM so i cant speculate on what that might be
but its certainly is not related to the size of the BVH file

Hope this helps somewhat
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