13.2. Making Movies with Animation Export

When it comes to having nerdy fun, I think exporting movie animations of your SketchUp models is right up there with iPods and store-bought fireworks. Like both of these things, what's so great about animation export is how easy it is to do. That's not to say that animation and digital video are simple topics — they're not. It would take a freight elevator to move the books that have been written about working with video on the computer, but I'm going to keep it simple. Because you and I are primarily interested in 3D modeling, what you find in the following sections are instructions for doing what you need to do.

13.2.1. Getting ready for prime time

The key to exporting animations of your SketchUp models is using scenes; if you haven't read it already, now's the time to check out Chapter 10. Scenes are saved views of your model that you can arrange in any order you want. When you export an animation, SketchUp strings together the scenes in your model to create a movie file that can be played on just about any computer made in the last several years.