Overview
Gorilla Cam Lite is a simplified version of our original plugin, GorillaCam. It is a tag that adds handheld camera shake to any Cinema 4D camera. Add it to a camera and it shakes right away with no setup.
Unlike GorillaCam, Lite can scrub and loop. If you need detailed controls or dynamic overshoot, use the original GorillaCam.
Two dropdowns on the Shake tab control most of the tool. Camera sets the type of rig. Energy sets the intensity. Looping is on the Loop tab, and fine controls are on the Advanced tab.
Key features:
Instant scrubbing. There is no simulation. Every frame is calculated on its own, so you can jump to any frame without playing from the start.
Exact looping. With Loop on, the shake repeats with no seam.
Bake and Unbake. Bake converts the shake to keyframes so the camera works without the plugin. Unbake restores your original animation.
Requirements / Compatibility
Cinema 4D 2023 through 2026, Mac or Windows.
Any render engine. Tested on Redshift, Arnold and Octane.
A Greyscalegorilla or Everything Bundle subscription.
No other plugins or dependencies.
Installation
Plugins are installed via Cargo from the Tool page.
What you need:
A Greyscalegorilla or Everything Bundle subscription.
Cargo installed. Grab it at greyscalegorilla.com/cargo and sign in with your Greyscalegorilla account.
Cinema 4D 2023 through 2026.
Steps:
Open Cargo and close Cinema 4D if it is running.
Click the Connector icon in the lower-left of Cargo, choose Connect Software, pick Cinema 4D, then select your version.
Click Install Connector, then open Cinema 4D once to activate your license. If you already use the Connector to send assets, skip this step.
Back in Cargo, go to the Tool page and click Install on this tool.
Restart Cinema 4D.
Updating: when a new version is out, an Update button appears on the tool card in Cargo. Click it, then restart Cinema 4D.
Quick Start
Select your camera in the Object Manager.
In the main menu, choose Greyscalegorilla > GorillaCam Lite. The tag is added to the camera.
Play the timeline. The camera is shaking.
On the Shake tab, choose a Camera to change the type of shake.
Choose an Energy to change the intensity.
To try random combinations, click Lucky.
Feature Walkthroughs
Choosing a look
Camera sets the type of rig. Heavier rigs have less fast vibration and more slow drift. Lighter rigs are the opposite.
Phone: Mostly vibration and roll, very little movement.
Mirrorless: Balanced handheld shake. This is the default.
Shoulder Rig: Little vibration, more slow sway.
Cinema Rig: Heavy and slow, with a steady horizon.
Steadicam: Smooth floating motion, no vibration, steady horizon.
Drone: Slow hover with a layer of rotor vibration.
Energy sets the intensity: Languid, Calm, Natural, Lively, Urgent, Frenetic.
Camera and Energy work independently, so any combination works. Pick the Camera first, then set the Energy.
Lucky and Random Seed
Lucky picks a new Camera, Energy and seed at once. The dropdowns update to show the result. It never picks the combination you already have.
You can click Lucky while the timeline is playing. The new shake applies immediately, so you can compare looks quickly.
Random Seed keeps your Camera and Energy and only changes the movement pattern. Use it when you like the look but the movement doesn't work for the shot.
You can undo either one.
Making it loop
Open the Loop tab.
Click Match Preview Range. This sets the loop length to your preview range and turns Loop on. With no preview range set, it uses the document range.
You can also enter a Loop Frames value by hand.
Turning Loop on changes the movement pattern, the same as a new seed. If you don't like the result, click Random Seed until you do.
Match Preview Range sets the value once. It does not update if you change the preview range later.
Note: a loop length of 90 means frame 90 matches frame 0. When rendering a loop, render frames 0 to 89 to avoid a repeated frame.
Baking to keyframes
Baking converts the shake to keyframes, so the camera no longer needs the plugin.
Set your preview range to the frames you want. With no preview range set, Bake uses the document range.
On the Shake tab, click Bake to Keyframes.
This adds one key per frame on position and rotation and turns the tag off. Your tag settings are kept.
If the camera already had animation, the bake includes it.
Unbaking
Click Unbake to remove the baked keys and restore the camera's original animation, including tangents. If the camera had no animation, it returns to its original position. The tag turns back on.
Fine tuning
Use Amount and Speed on the Shake tab for quick changes. The Advanced tab has two groups for finer control: Noise Frequencies and Pos/Rot Deviation.
Sliders go from 0 to 200%. You can type values up to 400%. Pos Min and Rot Min max out at 100%.
Example: for a longer lens, lower Amount to about 60%.
Settings / Parameter Reference
Shake tab
Camera (default Mirrorless): the type of shake. Sets the three frequency bands and the position/rotation balance.
Energy (default Natural): the intensity. Sets Amount and Speed.
Amount (default 100%): overall intensity.
Speed (default 100%): how fast the shake moves. Affects all three bands.
Seed (default 12345): the movement pattern.
Random Seed: new movement pattern, same look.
Lucky: new Camera, Energy and seed.
Bake to Keyframes: converts the shake to keys and turns the tag off.
Unbake: removes the baked keys and restores the original animation.
If you edit a slider that a preset controls, the dropdown changes to Custom.
Loop tab
Loop (default Off): repeats the shake exactly.
Loop Frames (default 90): loop length in frames.
Match Preview Range: sets Loop Frames from your preview range and turns Loop on.
Advanced tab
Noise Frequencies: the shake is made of three layers. Defaults below are for Mirrorless. Each Camera preset sets its own values.
Low Freq (default 60%): slow drift.
Mid Freq (default 100%): main handheld motion.
High Freq (default 90%): vibration.
Pos/Rot Deviation
Pos Min (default 0%): keeps the camera from settling. Higher values keep it moving.
Pos Max (default 90%): maximum position movement.
Rot Min (default 0%): same as Pos Min, for rotation.
Rot Max (default 100%): maximum rotation.
Set Pos Max to 0 for rotation only, useful on long lenses. Set Rot Max to 0 for position only.
Tips
If the shake is too strong, lower Amount first.
Longer lenses make shake look stronger. Try Amount at 50 to 70% on tight shots.
If the shake looks like a glitch, lower Pos Max and keep Rot Max as is.
Bake before sending a scene to someone who doesn't have the plugin.
The tag works on any object, not just cameras: nulls, lights, and so on. Select the object, then use the same menu.
You can move, orbit and dolly the camera normally with the tag on.
Troubleshooting
GorillaCam Lite isn't in the Greyscalegorilla menu. Restart Cinema 4D. New tools only appear after a restart. Check that the tool shows as installed in Cargo.
Nothing is shaking. Check that Amount is not 0 and the tag is enabled. Bake turns the tag off, so if you baked, click Unbake.
The shake looks twice as strong. The tag was turned back on after a bake, so it is adding shake on top of the baked keys. Click Unbake. A warning also appears in the console.
Bake did nothing. Bake won't run twice in a row. Click Unbake first. Also check that your preview range (or document range) has frames in it.
The loop has a visible jump. Make sure Loop Frames matches the range you are looping. Click Match Preview Range to set it. Render one frame less than the loop length.
Still stuck. Open the Cinema 4D console (Extensions > Console), reproduce the problem, and send us the output. Each line starts with the tool name.