Animating Cameras

You animate a camera by using transforms or changing its creation parameters in different keyframes while the Set Key or Auto Key button is on. 3ds Max interpolates camera transforms and parameter values between keyframes, as it does for object geometry.

See Auto Key Animation Mode and Track View for further descriptions of animation. This topic summarizes some possibilities and suggests some techniques.

In general, it’s best to use a free camera when the camera is to move within the scene; use a target camera when camera position is fixed.

Moving a Camera Along a Path

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.

Following a Moving Object

You can use a LookAt constraint to have the camera automatically follow a moving object.

The LookAt constraint makes the object replace the camera’s 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 LookAt constraint assignment is in effect, the free camera cannot rotate around its local X and Y axes, and can’t be aimed vertically because of the up-vector constraint.
An alternative is to link a target camera’s target to the object.

Panning

You can animate the pan of any camera very easily by following these steps:

Select the camera.
Activate the Camera viewport.
Turn on (Auto Key), and advance the time slider to any frame.
Turn on (Pan), in the viewport navigation tools, the drag the mouse to pan the camera.

Orbiting

You can animate the orbiting of any camera very easily by following these steps:

Select the camera.
Activate the Camera viewport.
Turn on (Auto Key), and advance the time slider to any frame.
Use (Orbit), in the viewport navigation tools, then drag the mouse to orbit the camera.
The target camera revolves around its target; the Free camera revolves around its target distance.

Zooming

Zooming moves toward or away from the camera’s 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 camera’s FOV parameter.

Creating Animated Cutaway Views

You can animate the creation of a cutaway view by animating the location of the near or far clipping planes, or both.