Add a Stationary Picture Frame to the Circumference of a Rotating Animation

Question

CONTEXT: I'm building an animation where the camera is rotating along a circular path around an animated looping object.

I would like to add a picture frame, like you would find in a museum, around the animation. Basically the frame would stand still, like it's attached to the wall, and the animation would move inside.

I'm relatively new to Blender and I can't figure this one out. Not sure if I can attach a picture frame mesh to the camera itself, add it after rendering, or maybe this something I should add a frame in photoshop later.

Happy to provide more details and thanks in advance ✌🏻

Answer 1

Start a new project, delete everything, and add a Bezier Circle:

Scale the circle up to your liking (I did 10x) and apply scale with Ctrl + A > Scale (this may not be necessary for a curve circle, but it is a good practice when scaling in Object Mode):

Add a Camera to the scene, access the transform menu with N, and change the rotation to (X,Y,Z) 90, 0, -90.

Add a Constraint to the Camera, select the Bezier Circle as your target object, make sure to select "Follow Curve", and also remember to animate the path. This will make your camera follow the circle while pointing at the center.

Add your frame, and parent it to the camera with Ctrl + P - select parent, keep transform. The frame will now rotate with your camera.

You place your animation in the center of the frame, and parent it to the camera in the same way.