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FBX Export and Import — Flair to Maya Workflow

BOTH

The FBX pipeline lets you transfer camera and rig motion between Flair and Maya for previsualization, VFX integration, and CGI composite work. This guide covers the essential settings and common pitfalls.

In plain language, an FBX file is a package of animated 3D objects. Exporting from Flair gives Maya an animated camera and robot model. Importing from Maya asks Flair to calculate real robot motor positions from that animation. Import is therefore the safety-critical direction: always inspect the calculated path and limits before engaging or running the physical rig.

Critical: Set Roll Up Before Import

Flair can crash if you import an FBX file without first setting Roll Up correctly.

Before importing any FBX into Flair:

  1. In Flair, go to Setups → Camera Setup.
  2. Set the Roll Up direction to match the FBX rig orientation.
  3. Then proceed with File → Import FBX.

This is the single most common cause of import crashes. The Roll Up setting tells Flair how to orient the rig model from the FBX file — wrong orientation causes an internal calculation error.

Milo Rig Types: 2-Node vs 3-Node

When importing a Milo FBX, you must match the node count to the physical rig:

Rig Configuration Node Count Description
Milo with straight arm 2-node Standard column + arm assembly
Milo with articulated (double-jointed) arm 3-node Extra joint in the arm for extended reach

Select the correct rig type at the FBX Import dialog. Importing a 3-node move onto a 2-node rig (or vice versa) will produce incorrect axis values.

Flair → Maya (Export)

  1. In Flair, set up the move with all kinematics correct.
  2. File → Export → FBX
  3. In Maya, import the FBX. The camera and rig hierarchy comes in as Maya transform nodes.
  4. Bind any VFX elements to the camera node.

Export at Frames vs Boundaries — CGI matching detail

The export dialog also asks whether to export at frames or at boundaries. Export at Frames for computer-graphics/CGI matching work — it exports the position at the actual moment of exposure (the mid-point between two boundary positions for a one-frame move), giving one XYZ position per exposed frame, which is what a VFX artist needs to match a camera to. Export at Boundaries instead if you're transferring to a different motion-control system or rig that needs to know exactly where the axes were at every frame boundary — this gives one extra position (frame count + 1) compared to Frames. Using the wrong one for the destination can throw off frame-accurate CGI matching by half a frame.

Maya → Flair (Import)

  1. Export from Maya as FBX (standard Maya FBX export).
  2. In Flair: File → Import → FBX (not CGI Import — that's for Simul8).
  3. Set Roll Up and rig type before importing (see above).
  4. Flair converts the Maya transforms to real robot axis values.

Import Options — Reading Density, Master Axes, Scaling, and Repositioning

From tutorial video "33 – File Menu & CGI Import/Export," added 2026-08-30

The general File → Import dialog (used for FBX and MRMC's own text formats) has several options that affect how a Maya move actually lands in Flair. These are general Flair 7 import mechanics, not FBX-specific, but they apply directly to the Maya → Flair direction of this workflow:

  • Position reading density. You can read in every single position (an exact but very dense representation — hundreds of keyframes, hard to hand-edit), read in only every Nth position (fewer, editable keyframes, but the move won't exactly match the source because Flair has to guess what happens between them), or import as Mimic — every frame is read and stored internally so the move plays back exactly as imported, but only the start and end show up as editable waypoints. Mimic is the best choice if you don't need to hand-edit the imported move afterward and want a guaranteed exact match to the source animation.
  • Import range. You can choose to start the imported move at frame 0, or preserve the original frame numbers (e.g. importing only the last 100 frames of a longer file starting at frame 100).
  • Master axes handling. For rigs where the imported move doesn't cover every axis (e.g. no track motion in the source data), you choose what happens to axes like track/base: use the rig's current position, leave them blank to fill in afterward, or read them from the file if they were exported — mixing this up on a rig with a track can leave the track at an unintended position after import.
  • Scaling on import. You can scale an imported move (e.g. to 0.25× or 4× size) at import time. Scaling by itself moves the whole path toward the rig's zero position in space — it does not just shrink the move in place. To reposition a scaled (or otherwise repositioned) import sensibly, use the Translate To option instead of leaving it at "current/none": Translate To Camera keeps the current camera position as the anchor point, Translate To Target anchors on the current target/look-at position instead. Test which anchor gives a sensible result before committing — anchoring to Camera at the wrong point in the move can pull the target distance in far enough to exceed the lens's minimum focus, which Flair will warn about.

Check focus distance after any scaled/repositioned import

Scaling an import also scales the target distance. If Flair warns that focus will get too close after a scaled import, don't dismiss it — either choose a less extreme scale factor or pick a different Translate To anchor (Camera vs Target) and re-check.

Tutorial Video Series

MRMC's Flair Training series covers the full FBX/Maya pipeline:

# Tutorial Link
23 From Flair to Maya (Part 1) Watch
24 From Flair to Maya (Part 2) Watch
26 FBX Import to Bolt Pedestal Watch
27 FBX Import to Bolt on Track (Part 1) Watch
28 FBX Import to Bolt on Track (Part 2) Watch
29 Exporting FBX with Reference Points from Flair to Maya Watch
33 File Menu & CGI Import/Export — general Export/Import options: 09:38 export at frames vs boundaries, 16:43 import scaling/Translate To/master axes Watch

NY Summit: Simul8 + FBX in Feature Film Production

Case Studies: Feature Film Projects — Justin Dombrowski and Colin Quinn — MRMC NY Summit 2023 (28:23) Covers FBX and Simul8 workflows used on Spider-Man, Black Panther 2. Includes Q&A on bringing impossible-looking moves from Maya into Flair. Watch on MRMC VHX

VHX account required ($79 lifetime / $49 rental).

Source

  • Forum discussion, "FBX Interface Flair↔Maya" — talk.mrmoco.com/t/108