iClone splits the program into two exciting and revolutionary ways to unleash your creativity , Director Mode and Editor Mode. With this new design, Machinima Filmmaking and Animation Creation are integrated into one single program. Not only that but iClone actors and iProps are now preset with interactive controls for immediate use. In Director Mode, users can simply use the WASD hotkeys and the right-click menus to control movement across any user defined terrain.
The recommended steps to begin creating movies with iClone is as follows:
Use the Editor Mode to build your 3D world, including placing the actors, the props, the terrain and so on.
Switch to the Director Mode to move your actors or iProps automatically as you would playing any 3D game. The animations and movement of them are recorded as you "play".
Switch back to the Editor Mode to edit all the animations and motion clips recorded in the last step.
Export your project as a media file.
In Director Mode, only the actors and iProps can be picked and act.
You may use the right-click menu system of the actors or the props to direct them to move, perform actions or operate iProps such as cars or bikes. It is so-called Play to Create technology since all the motions in this mode will be recorded as soon as you direct the actors to act. You use the keyboard to control the selected actor or iProp, just like you do in a game.
You are free to switch to different cameras to film in Director Mode. If the desired object you select is an actor or an iProp, you may have two more cameras named Follow Cam - Actor and Follow Cam - Bird to record the movie with game-like perspectives. Using F7 toggles between these two cameras. The recorded result of each camera may be sent back to Editor Mode for further editing.
Press the Space Bar to start/pause recording. You may pause recording anytime if you are not satisfied with the result and the drag the play head back to re-record.
You may fine tune the motion/animation clips recorded from the Director Mode to customize your own movie even further.
There are many items in the right-click menu for you to use, saving you a lot of time searching the interface for certain commands. More objects can be picked and manipulated in this mode in addition to the actor and iProps.
Pressing the Space Bar in Editor Mode allows you to play/pause the current project to preview the result.