Setting to quickly switch between different backgrounds & character during performance
I would like to incorporate multiple backgrounds and characters during a live presentation, to create the look of a two-way conversation as seen on TV and film. I want to be able to switch backgrounds every time a new character speaks, and have both the new character and background appear onscreen.
I can currently achieve background switching by stacking multiple backgrounds in the timeline and then manually fading the opacity of the background(s) on top, but it is slow, manual, and very clear to the audience what is going on.
On a similar note, switching out the characters is currently possible by moving them out of frame, but again, this is not keyframe-able or instantaneous.
Ideally, I would like to be able to create keyframes for the background and character Transform values (in this case, opacity and Position X, respectively) and assign them to a keyboard shortcut or MIDI keyboard so I can instantly toggle between them during a stream.
Would this be possible to program?

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Kyle Reinfeld commented
I realize this post is 1.5 years old, but I need the ability to swap between active puppets in performance mode as well.
Ideally I'd like to be able to take multiple video and audio sources so I wouldn't have to swap between them at all (with multiple live actors via a skype call or similar), but in the absence of that I need to be able to quickly switch between active puppets with keyboard triggers.
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Anonymous commented
Why can't character animator just have the concept of a "stage" where you can have various objects / puppets? And then a scene that incorporates the stage. Right now it's very "puppet-centric" with the whole "puppet" essentially being the whole frame, which is silly. No one stages things like that.
Character Animator would be 1000% more powerful if it allowed you to stage scenes and place puppets in various places. You could do a full-length animated show that way.
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Could you assign the different backgrounds to triggers in a swap set, each trigger associated with a different key, so that switching is immediate?
For opacity, could you use the Fader behavior (with trigger key assigned) to fade in the background? Position X for Transform associated with a MIDI slider could be used as well?