Animating Post-Processing Properties

To set up the animation, you drag post-processing properties onto the Screenplay editor. Afterwards specify the keyframe settings to control how those properties change.

In addition to post-processing properties, you can also add the following nodes onto a Screenplay animation:

  • Attributes > View
  • Attributes > Scene Animation
  • Tools > Transforms > Simple Transform

When you drag an entire node into Screenplay, you choose to animate all the affected properties of that node.

  1. Identify the property that you want to animate.
    Light blue highlighting on an object property indicates that it can be controlled by Screenplay.

  2. Drag the property onto the Screenplay editor. While you hold the left-mouse button, you can position the block anywhere on the timeline, and on any row.


    An action block is added to the timeline with a link to the keyframe sequence that controls the property you dragged onto the editor.
  3. If you require more than two property changes within the sequence, add extra keyframes as desired. To add extra keyframes:
    1. In the Screenplay editor, hover with the mouse near the bottom of the action block. As you do so, a new keyframe marker appears and moves with your mouse pointer.


    2. Move the pointer as closely as possible to the desired time along the time scale and click to create the keyframe.
      When you work with properties that reflect a range of values, such as Min and Max, it is best to add a separate keyframe for both the start and end of that range.
    3. To set the relative position of keyframes within the sequence use either of the following techniques:


      • Move the keyframe symbols (black circles) within their action block in the editor panel.
      • Expand the action node and the keyframe sequence node. Select the associated keyframe node and set Position to the exact value.

        Alternatively, navigate to the keyframe sequence node by clicking the link to the keyframe sequence within the action block. Make sure that the Simulation tree panel is active.

    NoteWhen recording a macro, access the keyframe nodes directly to set properties. If you attempt to use the time cursor as a guide for positioning the keyframe in the editor panel, the macro recording does not capture the keyframe property change.
  4. To define other property values for each keyframe in the sequence, select the associated keyframe node as described previously.
  5. Adjust the action properties, Time and Duration, using either of the following techniques:
    • Select the corresponding node of the action. To navigate:
      • Click the gray background of an action block (upper half) and Simcenter STAR-CCM+ highlights the action node.
      • Click the hyperlink within the action block, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ highlights the keyframe sequence node.
    • Move or resize the action block. As you do so, changes to the time and frame numbers appear on the block itself as you drag.
  6. To add another keyframe sequence in an existing action:
    1. In the simulation tree, identify the property or node that you want to include within the same action block.
    2. Drag the property onto the action block.
      The new keyframe sequence appears as a new link inside that action block. A pair of arrow buttons appears on the block to indicate that the block contains multiple sequences. Use the < and > arrows to cycle through sequences.
    3. Edit the keyframe sequence either through the object tree or the symbols in the action block.
  7. To hold the keyframe value for an extended period of time, enter a value for the Hold property of the keyframe.
As updating some graphics elements can be computationally intensive, you can temporarily deactivate the associated actions while you build the rest of the animation.
  1. To deactivate an action temporarily, select the node of that action and deactivate Enabled. Alternatively, right-click the action block in the Screenplay editor and deactivate Enabled in the context menu.
    The action block appears grayed out in the Screenplay editor.

Controlling In-scene Animations

If you have scene animations (such as streamlines) from previously saved simulations, you can bring them into Screenplay and edit them.

  1. To work with a pre-existing scene animation in Screenplay:
    1. Drag the Attributes > Scene animation node into the Screenplay editor panel.


      The resulting action includes keyframes that define the animation time of the traditional scene animation.
    2. Change the default Value settings of the keyframes to a reasonable setup, such as 0.0 and 10.0.
    3. You can continue to adjust both the action time frame (Time and Duration of the action node) and the animation times defined by the keyframes.
    4. To improve the scene animation beyond its linear playback you can add keyframes, as well as change Interpolation Mode and Repeat Mode (for details see Keyframe Sequence).