5.18. Working in 3D

3D compositing adds depth to your scenes. In addition to the X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) coordinates, you also have a Z coordinate, representing distance from the virtual camera.

Switching to 3D

To change a composite shot into 3D you need to add a camera.

1. Open the New Layer menu at the top of the timeline.
2. Select Camera from the menu. A default camera will be added and the scene will automatically switch into 3D. For more information on cameras see Virtual Cameras.
   1. If you add a 3D layer to a timeline a camera will be automatically added.

Once you have a 3D camera, you will need some 3D content otherwise the camera will not have anything with which to interact. See Working with Layers for information on creating 3D layers.

Customizing the 3D Viewer

To aid navigation and placement in the 3D space you can change the Viewer to display multiple views from different angles. You can display up to 4 views simultaneously from different angles. The View Menu in the Viewer is used to add additional 3D views.

The name of the current view, displayed at the top left of each viewport, serves as a menu of all the available modes. Select any other view from the menu to change the view displayed in that viewport:

• Active Camera View: The active camera view shows what will be rendered when you export. This is what will appear in your rendered videos. If you have multiple camera layers on your timeline, the active camera is defined as being the top-most enabled camera layer on the current frame.
  • Changing the position and orientation when in active camera view will change your camera’s transform properties. For more information on cameras see Virtual Cameras.
• Perspective View: The perspective view is a free-roaming way to explore your scene without affecting the position of your camera.
• Orthographic Views (Front, Back, Left, Right, Top, Bottom): The orthographic views provide flat, 2D views of your 3D scene. They do not show perspective or depth. They are presented in a 2D ‘blueprint’ form, and so are very useful for precise positioning of layers in the 3D space.
  • Zoom and pan controls in the corner of the Viewer can be clicked and dragged for quick movements.
• Reset Current View: Use this option to reset the current view to its default position and orientation.

Navigating 3D Space

Navigating in a 3D composite shot is different than in a 2D composite shot because you also have to take the Z-axis (depth) into consideration.

Orbit Tool

The orbit tool moves the camera around a central point in a circular fashion, maintaining a constant distance between the camera and the selected center point. This tool has two modes: Orbit Around Selected Layers and Orbit Around Clicked Point. You can switch between these two modes by clicking and holding on the Orbit tool button.

• Orbit Around Selected Layers: Orbits the camera around the anchor point of your current selection, maintaining a consistent distance between the camera and the selection. The selection can be a single layer or multiple layers. This way you can be certain of what you are going to orbit around, even in complex scenes.
• Orbit Around Clicked Point: Orbits the camera around the point where you click in the Viewer.
  • If you click on a layer the view will orbit around that specific point on the layer.
  • If you click on an empty space it will orbit around that point on the 3D grid.

3D Move Controls

The 3D Viewer move controls are found at the top right of the Viewer. These will vary depending on your current view, and are operated by click-dragging directly on the tool icon with the mouse.

• Dolly/Track Z: Moves the camera or view forwards and backwards along its own Z axis.
• Pan/Track XY: Moves the camera or view horizontally and vertically along its own X and Y axes.
• Zoom: Adjusts the camera’s field of view, zooming in and out.
• Rotate/Tumble: Rotates the camera or view without moving its position.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Using keyboard shortcuts makes navigating in HitFilm’s 3D space much faster. The shortcuts are as follows:

• Orbit: ALT+Left mouse button
• Dolly: ALT+Right mouse button
• Zoom: CTRL/CMD+Right mouse button
• Rotate: Middle mouse button
• Pan: Right mouse (perspective & orthographic views only), *ALT*+Middle mouse or *CTRL*/*CMD*+Left mouse
• Canvas Pan: Right mouse button (active camera view only)
• Select Object: Left mouse button

Render Options

Working in 3D has the potential to put a heavy demand on your processing resources, and so HitFilm provides control over a range of rendering options, which can be turned on or off depending on your current needs. These options only affect the Viewer. They do not affect your final export, which is always rendered with all elements activated. They include:

• Lights: Turns rendering of lights on and off.
• Shadows: Turns rendering of shadows and ambient occlusion on and off.
• Reflections: Turns dynamic reflections on and off.
• Motion Blur: Turns motion blur on and off.
• Depth of Field: Turns depth of field on and off.

The Quality Menu at the bottom of the viewer provides access to quality profiles, each of which contains a specific combination of settings for these rendering options.You have full control over which options are enabled in each quality profile. See Introducing the Viewer for full details on working with quality profiles.