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FBX Export from Flair to Unreal — Z-Up Issue, 90° Parent Actor, Reduce Keys

Summary

When exporting a Flair move to FBX for use in Unreal Engine (for previz, editorial review, or VFX reference), two adjustments are commonly needed: (1) the coordinate system mismatch between Flair (Y-up) and Unreal Engine (Z-up) causes the camera to appear tilted 90° in UE — fix by parenting the imported FBX camera to a root actor rotated -90° on the X axis; (2) the FBX export option "Reduce Keys" should be unchecked — with it enabled, Unreal drops keyframes during import and the motion becomes jerky or approximated; with it disabled, every keyframe is preserved and the move is accurate.

Symptoms

  • Imported FBX camera in Unreal appears tilted 90° (facing up or sideways instead of at the subject).
  • Camera motion is jerky or simplified after FBX import into Unreal, even though the Flair move was smooth.
  • FBX imports correctly in Maya but is wrong in Unreal.
  • Camera tracks the right path but orientation is completely off.
  • Move appears compressed in time or keyframes are visibly reduced.

Community Guidance

[RESOLVED] Y-Up to Z-Up Conversion — Parent to a -90° X-Rotated Actor

Community consensus

Flair (like Maya) uses a Y-up coordinate system. Unreal Engine uses Z-up. When FBX data from Flair is imported into UE, the camera appears rotated 90° on the X axis.

Fix: 1. Import the FBX file into Unreal Engine. 2. In the scene, create an empty Actor and set its Rotation to X = -90°, Y = 0°, Z = 0°. 3. Parent (attach) the imported FBX camera to this empty Actor. 4. The camera should now appear level and correctly oriented. 5. If working in Sequencer, adjust the Sequencer take bindings accordingly.

Alternatively, convert the FBX through Maya first: import into Maya with Y-up, then export with Z-up for Unreal. This is cleaner if further scene preparation is being done in Maya anyway.

confidence_score: 0.90

[RESOLVED] Uncheck "Reduce Keys" on FBX Export from Flair

Community consensus

In Flair's FBX export dialog, the "Reduce Keys" option simplifies the animation curves by removing keyframes that can be interpolated. While this reduces file size, Unreal Engine's keyframe reduction algorithm is more aggressive than expected — the resulting imported animation visibly drops frames and the move becomes jerky.

Always export with Reduce Keys = OFF to preserve all keyframes and maintain motion accuracy.

confidence_score: 0.92

[INFORMATIONAL] FBX Node Types for Unreal

Community — see CGI-fbx-node-types-guide.md

For previz in Unreal, the 1-node FBX export is typically sufficient (camera position and orientation as a single object). 2-node and 3-node exports are for CGI workflows (Maya, 3DS Max) that require separate pan/tilt and arm/base node hierarchies for IK solving.

confidence_score: 0.88

YouTube 16. Exporting Moves Flair Classic

▶ 02:18 — File -> CGI Export dialog: format selection, coordinates, units, Transfer Speed

YouTube Flair 7 Quick Tips: Exporting a Move Flair 7

▶ 00:26 — Move Export window in Flair 7: format, coordinate system, units