Patent ID: 7598956

Claim:
A processor-implemented method of keyframing an animation object in an animation implemented at least in part by a computer, the animation including one or more displayed layers, each layer including one or more displayed objects, each object being described by a plurality of properties / attributes (‘properties’), the method comprising: identifying, via the processor, at least one property and a time for the object; creating a first compound key frame at the time; receiving a second time for the object; creating a second compound key frame at the second time; receiving a change to the at least one property prior to creating the second compound key frame, the second compound key frame incorporating the change to the at least one property; and performing one of: creating an attribute key frame responsive to the received change to the at least one property if no attribute key frame exists for the at least one property at the time the received change is received, and changing an existing attribute key frame responsive to the received change to the at least one property if the existing attribute key frame exists at the time the received change is received, where each attribute key frame is instantiated from a first predetermined type of key frame implemented at a level corresponding to the properties of the object and specific to the at least one property of the object and each compound key frame is instantiated from a second predetermined type of key frame implemented at a level corresponding to the object and specific to all possible properties of the object, and where a compound key frame is initially set in a timeline to represent all of the properties of a corresponding object when the corresponding object first appears in the animation, and an attribute key frame is subsequently set in the timeline to represent a change to a particular property of the corresponding object when the corresponding object experiences the change in the animation.