Why can't I bake a Cinemachine dolly to Animation?

Cinemachine vcam → right-click → Bake to Animation Clip. The destination GameObject needs an Animator. CinemachineBrain on the rendering camera must currently target the vcam being baked.

Bake produces empty clip?

Brain wasn't following the vcam during the bake window. Set Live Camera = your vcam before baking; the bake samples whatever the brain is currently producing.

Use Timeline instead?

For sequenced cinematics, Cinemachine Camera track in Timeline is preferable to baked clips. Bake when you need a self-contained Animator clip for cutscenes shipped without Cinemachine.

Fix: Cinemachine Dolly Track Won't Bake

Quick answer: Right-click vcam → Bake to Animation Clip. CinemachineBrain’s Live Camera = your vcam during bake.

Camera follows a dolly track. Want it as an Animation clip for shipping. Bake produces empty file because the Brain wasn’t pointing at this vcam.

The Fix

1. Select rendering Camera. CinemachineBrain.LiveCamera should equal your dolly vcam.
2. Right-click vcam in Hierarchy → Cinemachine → Bake to Animation Clip.
3. Save dialog → choose path → clip is generated.
4. Apply clip to a GameObject + Animator.

Bake samples Brain output at fixed-step intervals over the vcam’s active duration; Brain must be live on the vcam to produce non-zero samples.

Verifying

Open generated clip in Animation editor. Position/rotation curves match dolly path. Apply to a Camera + Animator: plays without Cinemachine.

“Brain on vcam. Bake. Clip captures dolly.”

Related Issues

For Confiner2D, see Confiner2D. For Blend List, see Blend List.

Brain live. Bake captures.