How to plan character blocking around obstacles

Establish the obstacles and destination, follow the detour, inspect the route from the aisle, and confirm arrival. The path is authored manually, making this a useful exercise in showing why a character takes a particular route.

Actors: 1Cameras: 412 sec16:9

Preparing the scene…

0.0 / 0 s
Preparing the scene…

Creates an editable copy in your studio.

Shape the Shot editorial teamUpdated

Camera blocking and composition

The character follows an authored polyline around the shelves for nine seconds, then waits. Intersections require manual inspection. A staged detour does not demonstrate navigation meshes, collision solving or automatic avoidance. The aisle camera follows a custom curve to explore changing occlusion.

Shot-by-shot breakdown

  1. Wide view
    0–2 s

    1. Wide view

    Show shelves, character and destination together.

  2. Following view
    2–6 s

    2. Following view

    Observe the detour and changing occlusion.

  3. Aisle view
    6–9 s

    3. Aisle view

    Inspect the turn and passage.

  4. Counter view
    9–12 s

    4. Counter view

    Confirm the arrival and stop.

Try it in your own scene

Move a shelf, inspect the old route, then edit path points and duration and compare the aisle view.

About this example

Will moving an obstacle recalculate the path? No. The author adjusts it.