Beginner needs help with command please! URGENT

When I preview my male character isn’t showing up :woman_facepalming:

That’s probably a glitch that’s going around where your character isn’t showing up :sweat_smile:

And to have characters move in the background you’d need to use & instead of @ to have them walking at the same time the main character’s in front of the screen are talking.

Try this:

INT. CAKE SHOP OL - DAY with TABLE RESTAURANT at layer 2

&IAN spot 1.280 244 0 in zone 1 at layer -1 AND IAN faces left AND IAN is idle_sit_neutral_loop

&SYDNEY spot 1.280 78 -50 in zone 1 at layer -2 AND SYDNEY faces right AND SYDNEY is idle_sit_serious_loop

@transition fade in black 3

@pause for 0

@BR1 spot 0.470 -39 361 in zone 1 at layer -3 AND BR2 spot 0.470 356 361 in zone 1 at layer -4 AND BR3 spot 0.470 -55 361 in zone 1 at layer -5

@pause for 0

&BR1 walks to spot 0.470 384 361 in 5 AND BR1 does it while walk_neutral_offset_loop
&BR2 walks to spot 0.470 -78 361 in 5 AND BR2 does it while walk_neutral_offset_loop
&BR3 walks to spot 0.470 350 361 in 5 AND BR3 does it while walk_neutral_offset_loop

SYDNEY
Bla bla bla…

**BR1, BR2, BR3 are background characters and you’d replace bla bla bla with actual dialogue : )

Thank you so much! How would I make the BR characters a little bigger? And how do I make a few of them stand In the back ground and talk with the others walking? I also want to have another main character stand in the background, what layer do I put him under?

But thank you so much for your time and effort!!

To make the BR bigger, you need to change the 0.470 to a bigger value

@CHARACTER spot S X Y
S = size of the CHAR (default size is 1.280)

So, in this case-
@BR1 spot 0.470 -39 361

The S is 0.470 and that is the height, you would need that number changed into a bigger value : )

You can click on Directing Helper, then spot helper, then choose the scale tool to scale their heights to the size that you want : )

I’d recommend checking out this lovely guide on spot directing: Spot Directing (Moving Characters Around)
You will need to spot the characters in the background and have them doing animations, as well as the main character and put them at lower layers than the two at the front and the table overlay : )

Also, check out this: Spot Walking (Walking w/Spot Direction)

Try this perhaps:

INT. CAKE SHOP OL - DAY with TABLE RESTAURANT at layer 2

&IAN spot 1.280 244 0 in zone 1 at layer -1 AND IAN faces left AND IAN is idle_sit_neutral_loop

&SYDNEY spot 1.280 78 -50 in zone 1 at layer -2 AND SYDNEY faces right AND SYDNEY is idle_sit_serious_loop

&LI1 spot 0.467 213 394 in zone 1 at layer -6 AND LI1 faces left AND LI1 is text_phone_neutral_loop

&LI2 spot 0.458 94 398 in zone 1 at layer -7 AND LI2 faces right AND LI2 is talk_phone_neutral_loop

&MC spot 0.458 145 398 in zone 1 at layer -8 AND MC faces right AND MC is text_phone_neutral_loop

@transition fade in black 3

@pause for 0

@BR1 spot 0.470 -39 361 in zone 1 at layer -3 AND BR2 spot 0.470 356 361 in zone 1 at layer -4 AND BR3 spot 0.470 -55 361 in zone 1 at layer -5 AND BR4 spot 0.467 390 361 in zone 1 at layer -9
&BR1 walks to spot 0.530 384 361 in 5 AND BR1 does it while walk_neutral_offset_loop
&BR2 walks to spot 0.530 -78 361 in 5 AND BR2 does it while walk_neutral_offset_loop
&BR3 walks to spot 0.530 350 361 in 5 AND BR3 does it while walk_neutral_offset_loop
&BR4 walks to spot 0.467 263 392 in 5 AND BR4 does it while walk_neutral THEN LI1 faces right THEN LI1 starts talk_neutral_loop THEN BR4 starts listen_nod_neutral_loop

@pause for 0

SYDNEY
Bla bla bla…

Let me know how it goes ^^

what is Ll2, LI1 and MC

They are just random names for background characters : )

If I type that in will I still get the option to randomize their appearance like I can for BR characters

You can randomize any character if they don’t exist ^^
So, if a character was named JENNY in your script and she didn’t exist, you could create her right on the spot and randomize her appearance : )