Understanding AnimatedParameterData() Function Template in Parameter Block OBU Syntax and Semantics

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Alright, let’s break down this fancy-sounding function template called AnimatedParameterData() that you might find in some parameter block OBU syntax and semantics. Basically, what this does is allow for animations to occur within a specific parameter block by defining certain values over time using keyframes.

So let’s say we have a parameter named “my_parameter” with an initial value of 0. We want to create an animation where it increases from 0 to 10 over the course of 5 seconds. Here’s how you would do that:


# This script creates an animation for a specific parameter by defining values over time using keyframes.

# First, we define the parameter name and its initial value of 0.
AnimatedParameterData(
    name="my_parameter",
    values=[
        [0, 0], # initial value and time (in seconds)
        [10, 5] # final value and time (in seconds)
    ]
)
# The values list contains two sub-lists, each representing a keyframe.
# The first sub-list contains the initial value and time (in seconds) at which it occurs.
# The second sub-list contains the final value and time (in seconds) at which it occurs.

In this example, we’re defining two keyframes: one at the beginning with a value of 0 and another at the end with a value of 10. The first set of values is [0, 0], which means that our parameter “my_parameter” will start at 0 when the animation begins (at time=0).

The second set of values is [10, 5]. This tells us that after 5 seconds have passed, the value of “my_parameter” should be 10. So essentially, we’re creating a linear interpolation between these two keyframes over the course of 5 seconds.

You can add as many keyframes as you want by simply adding more sets of values to the list inside AnimatedParameterData(). For example:


# This script creates an animation for a parameter called "my_parameter" that changes from 0 to 10 over the course of 5 seconds, with an additional keyframe at 10 seconds with a value of 20.

# AnimatedParameterData is a function that takes in a name and a list of values to create an animation.
AnimatedParameterData(
    name="my_parameter", # The name of the parameter being animated.
    values=[
        [0, 0], # The initial value and time (in seconds) for the animation.
        [10, 5], # The final value and time (in seconds) for the animation.
        [20, 10] # An additional keyframe at time=10 with a value of 20.
    ]
)

In this example, we’re adding an additional keyframe that occurs after 10 seconds have passed. This means that “my_parameter” will start at 0 when the animation begins (at time=0), increase to 10 over the course of 5 seconds, and then continue increasing until it reaches a value of 20 at time=10.

AnimatedParameterData() is basically just a fancy way of defining keyframes for animations within parameter blocks using OBU syntax and semantics. It’s not as complicated as it might sound, but it can be really useful when creating complex animations with multiple parameters that need to work together in sync.

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