Transform Space for a position means the relationship that the position has to some other coordinate or transform, and is usually just an offset from that other coordinate. So if for example we say that an object’s position is at (0, 0, 0), we need to ask; in relation to what? The two most common answers are:

• World Space. In relation to the game world center.
• Local Space. In relation to its parent position (as if its parent position was the world center).

However, Slate also makes use of two more transform spaces very frequently those being:

• Cutscene Space. In relation to the cutscene’s position (as if the cutscene’s position was the world center).
• Actor Space. In relation to an actor’s transform position (as if the actor’s position was the world center).

The default transform space that Slate is working with for all position-related properties or animatable parameters, is the Cutscene Space. That means that all such properties/parameters consider the world center to be the cutscene’s position. As such, this makes it possible to actually move and play the whole cutscene at any world position and orientation without actually requiring any real parenting to be made to the cutscene.

You may also encounter transform space as a selection dropdown option in many clips, like for example the Look At clip. Once again the default space would be Cutscene Space, however, in some situations opting to use the Actor Space can be very useful. Let’s take for example an actor that is moving around a lot and we want to animate the position he is looking at, but we want to do this in relation to his position (whatever that is), not in relation to the cutscene or the world space. The Actor Space is the answer to this.