animation-quality-and-frame-range

name	animation-quality-and-frame-range
description	Author, render, and review Blender animation over a declared frame range, including keyframes, shape keys, drivers, texture states, and camera motion. Use for OVRTX sequences, contact sheets, flicker/framing checks, or export decisions through the installed add-on/runtime.
license	Apache-2.0
metadata	{"author":"Max Bickley","version":"0.1","team":"omniverse","domain":"physical-ai","tags":["blender","omniverse","ovrtx","animation"]}

Animation quality and frame range

An animation is accepted only after its timing, visual continuity, and delivery format are checked. Keep authored Blender animation and authoritative OVPhysX pose replay distinct.

When to Use

Use for OVRTX sequences, contact sheets, flicker/framing checks, or export decisions through the installed add-on/runtime.

Instructions

1. Save a copy and record scene/add-on/runtime identity, FPS, frame start/end, subframes, active camera, resolution, color presentation, and output format.
2. Set keyframes on named objects/properties. Use Bezier for organic motion, Linear for constant-speed mechanisms, and shape keys/drivers/NLA only when the target export/runtime supports them. Set explicit interpolation and avoid hidden Python frame handlers for portable delivery.
3. For texture states, register all images to one canvas and use per-layer holds, masks, opacity, emission, or UV changes. Do not crossfade unrelated full-frame crops or animate background/HUD pixels as part of an asset.
4. For the supported native drop/contact control, use ovphysx-drop-contact-acceptance and replay complete authoritative pose samples. Other physics sequences need a probed official client or an add-on extension; never replace simulation with hand-authored ballistic keyframes while claiming physics output.

Use blender-community-skill-bootstrap to install upstream blender-animation when detailed transform, constraint, shape-key, driver, or NLA recipes are needed. Use blender-python-execution for bounded authoring calls; render first, middle, and last smoke frames before starting a full sequence.

Read references/blender-5-animation-api.md before authoring keyframes. It gives context-free Blender 5.x transactions for object properties, interpolation, shape keys, drivers, and NLA-safe inspection. Keep creation and inspection in separate MCP calls so a failed audit cannot partially rewrite the animation.

After authoring, run the read-only scripts/audit_animation.py against explicit object names and RNA property paths. For MCP, prepend a request and append the complete script in the same Python execution:

ANIMATION_AUDIT_REQUEST = {
    "objects": ["GEO-subject"],
    "properties": ["location", "rotation_euler"],
    "frames": [1, 24, 48],
    "require_keyframes": True,
    "require_motion": True,
}
# Append scripts/audit_animation.py here.

For a saved caller-owned scene, use:

blender --background scene.blend --python scripts/audit_animation.py -- \
  --objects GEO-subject --properties location rotation_euler \
  --frames 1 24 48 --require-keyframes --require-motion

Require status: pass, no missing objects or properties, finite sampled values, and the requested keyframe/motion checks. With require_keyframes, every named property must have a direct key in the sampled interval; NLA, drivers, parents, and constraints can still establish sampled motion when that gate is off. The audit restores the original frame and never saves. A changing evaluated value proves sampled motion, not that a particular exporter or runtime can reproduce its source mechanism.

When the camera must contain an animated subject, run blender-camera-framing at every declared framing sample (at minimum first, middle, last, and motion extrema) and retain each safe-UV report. A fit at one frame does not establish sequence-wide containment; choose whether the camera is fixed to the union of sampled bounds or deliberately animated between fits.

Render and review

1. Render one smoke frame plus first, middle, and last frames. Confirm the intended camera and subject change before a long capture.
2. For contiguous OVRTX capture, use ovrtx-render-sequence to probe and validate the developer contract. If the capability is absent, it routes to extend-ovrtx-render-sequences; do not emulate native output with a Blender frame loop.
3. Validate frame dimensions, alpha/orientation, nonblank structure, completed samples, and timing. Keep native OVRTX frames separate from Blender/Cycles/EEVEE references.
4. Inspect representative frames for subject dominance, silhouette stability, texture registration, flicker, lighting continuity, framing, settling, and final-frame readability. Reject and repair a failed dimension before export.

Delivery gates

• A movie is encoded only after the image sequence passes review.
• State whether effects are export-compatible, image-sequence-only, or Blender-Python runtime behavior; do not claim GLB playback for unsupported handlers.
• Return the requested frames or movie with camera/FPS/range metadata and known limitations. Generate contact sheets, checksums, or a frame manifest only when the caller requests review or reproducibility.
• If the runtime or sequence capability is unavailable, report the blocker instead of silently substituting another renderer.