Patent ID: 7589732

Claim:
A method, comprising determining by a processor, that a viewpoint or virtual camera for viewing a model or scene has been interactively translated off of or to a pre-defined point or edge of a first camera 3D surface or viewpoint surface; in response to the determining, transitioning the viewpoint or virtual camera to a second camera 3D surface or viewpoint surface that is not adjacent to the first camera 3D surface or viewpoint surface; and temporally controlling by the processor, display of a transitional effect having a timeline allowing rewind and forward time control using a same interaction method used for spatial navigation control; displaying a transitional effect during the transitioning; and temporally controlling the displaying of the transitional effect, and wherein the transitional effect is at least one of a pre-determined video clip, an interpolation of the viewpoint or virtual camera moving from the first camera surface to the second camera surface, a two-dimensional slate, a pre-arranged camera movement, and a combination or concatenation of two or more of the preceding transitional effects.