The tutorial start movie contains a simple bitmap cast member and a simple Lingo script. Bitmap cast members are a good example of the simpler types of cast members that Director can use. They don't have a very large number of properties to set or keep track of—unlike 3D cast members, which have a multilayered hierarchy of properties.

A 3D cast member contains a representation of 3D space, called a 3D world. A 3D world can contain any number of 3D models. These are the things you see when you view the world. Models are similar to Director sprites, in that each model uses a model resource, just as each Director sprite uses a cast member. The model resource contains the mathematical geometry that defines the shape of the model or models that use it.

Most models in the 3D world have shaders assigned to them. Shaders contain information that defines the surface appearance of the model. Each shader may have textures assigned to it. Textures are 2D images that are drawn onto the surface of the model. All of these items exist as parts of the 3D world. Models that form parts of a larger model, such as the body and wheels of a car, can be linked to one another so they are easier to move as a single unit. These sets of linked models are called groups.

In addition, a 3D world can have multiple cameras, lights, and other objects within it. Each of these objects has many properties that you can control.

Director provides two ways of looking at the properties and contents of 3D cast members: the Shockwave 3D window, and the Lingo scripting language.

 
Import a 3D cast member
Once you've created a 3D model in 3ds max or another modeling application and exported it into the W3D (Web 3D) format, you are ready to import it into Director.

In the same directory as the tutorial starter movie, you should find a W3D file named Orb.W3D. Now you'll import that file into the start movie.

1	Open the 3D Tutor for Dir User Start.dir movie.
2	Choose File > Import from the Director menu bar.
	The Import Files into "Internal" dialog box opens.
3	Navigate to the directory containing this tutorial and select the file named Orb.W3D.
4	Click the Add button.
	The Orb.W3D file appears in the file list in the bottom half of the Import Files into "Internal" dialog box.
5	You can choose whether to import 3D cast members as linked files or to import them completely into your Director file.
	When you select Link to External File during import, it is very important that you not move the file you are importing after the import is complete. Doing so breaks the reference to the file, causing Director to ask you for the new file location.
	Select Link to External File from the pop-up menu at the bottom of the dialog box. This tells Director to create a reference to the Orb file rather than importing its contents entirely into Director.
	The Import dialog box
6	Click the Import button.
	Director completes the import and opens the Cast window.
7	Choose File > Save to save the changes to your Director movie.

	To view the Orb cast member in the Shockwave 3D window, double-click it in the Cast window.
	The Shockwave 3D window opens, displaying the Orb cast member. The cast member contains a model of a sphere with the word Macromedia written across it.

The Shockwave 3D window contains tools for modifying the camera position in the 3D world. You can move the camera in three different ways: panning, rotating, and dollying.

1	To pan the camera from side to side, click the Pan Camera button on the left side of the window. Drag in the window to pan the camera and observe the changes to the view of the models in the world.
2	To rotate the camera, click the Rotate Camera button and then drag in the window. Hold down the Shift key to constrain the rotation to only the Z axis.
3	Use the Camera Y Up and Camera Z Up buttons to control whether the Y or Z axis is the up axis when you use the Camera Rotate button.
4	To dolly the camera toward and away from the models, click the Dolly Camera button and drag in the window.
5	After you've moved the camera using these buttons, you may want to return it to its original location in the world. The position of an object in 3D space is called its transform. To reset the camera's transform, click the Reset Camera Transform button. You can think of the little house on the button as the "return to home position" symbol.
6	To set a new value for the camera's transform, click the Set Camera Transform button after you've moved the camera to the new position you want.
	The new transform will be set in memory.