Storyboard, Transforms and Publishing Video

Overview#

The storyboard is the timeline of the Animation workspace. Each storyboard is an ordered set of actions (explodes, moves, rotations, visibility changes, camera moves, callouts) placed along time. You can keep several storyboards in one design, for example "Exploded view", "Assembly steps" and "Service access", and publish each separately.

Transform Components is the general-purpose movement tool. Where Auto and Manual Explode produce exploded views, Transform Components lets you move and rotate any selection to any position, which is how you animate a lid opening, a wheel turning or a part sliding into place. It uses the same manipulator as the Design workspace Move command.

Publish Video exports one or all storyboards to a local video file. Autodesk's help does not say whether published video is ray traced; for photoreal motion a workaround is to render stills at key poses (see Tips).

Where to find it#

• Storyboards: Storyboard > New Storyboard; storyboard tabs in the Animation Timeline (right-click a tab to Copy). Each action is a bar on the timeline.
• Transform > Transform Components, Show/Hide, Restore Home, Appearance: the Transform drop-down.
• Trails: right-click a component > Trail Visibility.
• Callouts: the Create Callout command.
• View camera: Animation > View > View toggle.
• Publish: Animation > Publish > Publish Video.

Step by step#

Build a simple animation#

1. Open the Animation workspace. Select Storyboard 1 (or add a new storyboard).
2. Arrange the model in its starting pose (all parts assembled).
3. Move the playhead to a positive time, choose Transform Components, select the component, then enter X, Y, Z Distance or Angle values or use the directional, rotational and plane manipulators. Click OK; a Move or Rotate action appears.
4. Add more transforms. Drag an action's edges to change duration, drag its middle to move it, or right-click > Edit Action to type start and end times.
5. For camera moves, turn the View toggle on (red dot = recording, yellow dot = not recording), move the playhead, and use the Navigation Bar or ViewCube; a View action is added. Right-click it > Edit Start/End to retime.
6. Click Play Current Storyboard to preview, or Fullscreen Mode.

Add visibility changes and callouts#

1. Place the time marker where the change should occur.
2. Select components and choose Transform > Show/Hide (or right-click > Show/Hide). A Visibility action (light bulb) is added; right-click it > Edit Action, change Instant to Duration, and set start and end for a fade.
3. Click Create Callout, click in the canvas or on geometry (it turns from red to green when attached to a component), enter text in the Annotation dialog and click OK. Drag the callout along the timeline to set when it appears.
4. Review in playback and adjust timing so text stays on screen long enough to read.

Publish a video#

1. In the Animation workspace choose Publish > Publish Video.
2. In Video Options, set Video Scope to Document (all storyboards) or Current Storyboard.
3. Set Video Resolution: Current Document Window Size, Custom (width and height in pixels, with Lock Aspect Ratio), or a preset list.
4. Click OK, then name the file in the Save As dialog. Optionally tick Save to a project in the cloud and pick a project.
5. Autodesk states Windows publishes AVI and Mac publishes MP4. Frame rate options are not documented.
6. Animations are also saved on the web: in the Data Panel use the version icon > View details on Web > View > Animations, and Share for a permalink.

Insert an explode into a drawing#

1. After creating an exploded view, begin a new drawing from the design.
2. Choose Create > Base View and, in the view dialog, set the Representation to the storyboard (the list is Assembly, Component, Folded Component, Flat Pattern, Storyboard).
3. Place the view and add annotations. Autodesk's tutorials describe placing an exploded view in a drawing this way.

Options reference#

Tips and pitfalls#

Tip: Plan the sequence on paper: assembled, exploded, camera push-in, parts hidden, labels. A storyboard with ten actions is easier to build when you know what you want.

Tip: Duplicate a storyboard before heavy edits so that you can fall back to a working version.

Warning: Transform actions are relative to where the components were at that moment in the timeline. If you reorder actions, later moves may behave unexpectedly. Test playback after each reorder.

Warning: The camera is recorded only while the View toggle is on (red dot). With it off (yellow dot) you can navigate without recording.

Note: not confirmed in Autodesk's documentation: whether published video is ray traced.

Tip: For photoreal motion, pose the model at key moments, render stills with the Render command, and assemble them in a video editor. For turntables, render at a rotation step (for example every few degrees) and combine. This is slow, but it gives the best quality.

Tip: General guidance: keep durations short and consistent and hold the final pose briefly.

Warning: Large assemblies slow playback and export. Hide fasteners or hidden-detail parts that are not part of the story.

More guidance:

• Rotations: use the rotate handle of Transform Components for hinges, but set the pivot first, since a rotation about the wrong origin looks like a swinging error. Use the manipulator's origin option to move the pivot to an edge or axis.
• Reversing: right-click a storyboard in the timeline and choose Reverse, or Copy it first to keep the original.
• Different storyboards can have different starting poses. Reset to the starting pose by deleting the storyboard actions or by clicking at time zero.
• Appearance override is an action-panel command (Transform > Appearance); Autodesk does not say it animates a transition, so use Show/Hide of duplicate bodies for a color change if needed.
• Choose the smallest resolution that satisfies your platform (general guidance).
• A published video is a file you distribute, so check content for confidential details visible in the model.

Timeline etiquette#

Worked example: a 20-second assembly video#

Plan a storyboard before building it. A 20 second video with a 1080p export might look like this.

Building that takes roughly 15 actions. A common mistake is to place actions end to end with no hold, which makes the video feel hurried. Another is to have a callout appear in the same second as the part moves, so the label cannot be read. Stagger them: move first, then label.

Pivots and rotation: a concrete case#

To open a hinged leaf 90 degrees, use Transform Components on the leaf and switch the manipulator to rotate. The rotation happens about the manipulator origin, which defaults to the component's origin or the selection center. If the pivot is wrong, the leaf will swing about the wrong point and appear to slide. Move the manipulator origin onto the pin axis (use the manipulator's origin option and snap to the edge or axis of the pin), then rotate by 90. Set the action duration to 2 seconds. To check, scrub the playhead through the action: the pin should not change position.

Failure modes and fixes#

Frame budget for photoreal motion#

If you decide to assemble a render-quality sequence from stills, compute the budget first. A 5 second turntable at 24 frames per second needs 120 frames. If a local render at your chosen size and quality takes 3 minutes, the sequence takes 6 hours; at 12 frames per second with a 6 second duration it takes 72 frames, 3.6 hours. Cloud rendering may be faster, but check the token amount first: 120 jobs times the per-job amount. For a quick social media loop, 12 fps stills plus frame blending in a video editor is a good compromise, while a client presentation may deserve 24 fps.

Workflow advice#

Build in the order viewers will experience it: start pose, camera, explosion, reveal, labels, end hold. Duplicate the storyboard at each milestone. Keep durations in the 1 to 3 second range; short moves feel mechanical and long moves feel sluggish. Do not rely on the preview window for final timing, since playback on a slow machine can be choppy even though the exported video will be smooth. Verify the exported file in a separate player, and check for confidential content: published frames show everything visible in the model.

Name storyboards by audience: "Service - remove cover", "Sales - exploded loop", "Drawing - exploded static". That way each team gets the correct output without anyone editing the wrong timeline.

Practice exercise#

1. Open the hinge assembly (two leaves, pin, screws). Create a storyboard called "Open".
2. Hold for 2 seconds, then use Transform Components to rotate one leaf 90 degrees about the pin axis over 2 seconds. Set the pivot on the pin and scrub to verify the pin does not move.
3. Add a camera action at 3 seconds to a closer view, taking 1.5 seconds.
4. Add a callout "Pivot" on the pin from 4 to 7 seconds.
5. Copy the storyboard, rename it "Open and close", and add a reverse rotation to return the leaf to closed over 2 seconds after a 1 second hold.
6. Publish "Open and close" as the Current Storyboard at a preset resolution, then play it back in an external player. Time how long the export takes.
7. Make a second export at a lower resolution and compare the file size and time.
8. Expected result: a roughly 12 second video with a hold, a clean 90 degree swing without a sliding pin, a readable label, and two exports whose time and size differ in proportion to the pixel count.

Related#

• Animation Workspace and Exploded Views
• Camera and Depth of Field
• Local vs Cloud Render and Render Quality