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Shatter effect intersect in 3d with 3d layer?
Hello,
I am creating an animation in which a hand-animated bird flies through a glass pane, shattering it into thousands of sharp pieces.
I wanted to use the shatter effect because it works in 3d space, and the shot calls for the camera to rotate from facing the glass head on, to the front/side so we can see the bird in semi-profile fly through, and then finish the rotation/track around to behind the now broken glass as the bird flies into the distance.
The problem is that while the shatter effect works in 3d, it doesn’t allow intersection with 3d layers, i.e. I’m unable to have the pieces behind the bird from my point of view, not show, while the ones in front of the bird be on top of the bird.
Does anyone have any possible suggestions to achieve this look, either with some workaround for the shatter effect, or some other method of shattering glass?
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6 Replies
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Try this trick:
>Create your solid and apply Shatter
>Draw a mask in the left half of the layer
>Duplicate your Shattered layer
>Invert the mask in the duplicated layer so know reveals the right half of the layer
>Place the Bird layer in between the two Shattered layers
Now you can move your camera. You’ll find out it works only for one side rotation, but I guess it will be OK for the shot you have.
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Great idea, but I don’t think it works… the shatter effect is a 3d effect applied to a 2d layer, and the effect doesn’t work (or rather, nothing really happens) when I apply a mask to it.
Unless I’m doing this wrong… had you tested this approach successfully?
It’s a good way of thinking though, and I’m gonna see what I can do with it.
EDIT: Wait, I’m an idiot, it totally works. Incredible, thanks!
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Sure it works!
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Fernando’s method is interesting and, if I understand his methods, it should work.
I would have approached this differently, though, and perhpas my method would require a redesign of the effect you are seeking. But AE often requires new conceptual approaches to accommodate its limitations—which aren’t limitations at all, they’re just how it works.
I use Shatter often, it is one of my favorite effects.
I’d create the Shatter layer you want and render it as a movie. Bring the movie back into your comp. Since Shatter cannot interact with your 3D objects anyway, replacing it with a movie accomplishes the same thing as far as the comp’s camera is concerned. You can program you comp’s camera moves and apply those to the Shatter precomp’s internal camera.
You Shatter camera will see the edges of the Shattered 3D pieces but, of course, the movie is completely flat and requires that it be auto-oriented toward the camera in your main comp. it will likely require some had-drawn masking.
I hope you get additional advice and I invite you to tell us how you solved this interesting challenge.
bogiesan
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Well, the other idea totally worked exactly as I needed it to, without any prerendering or rotoing. Is there an added benefit to your approach that I’m not realizing?
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None whatsoever. I just would not have thought of using Fernando’s method.
bogiesan
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