• Adobe After Effects

  Lock Scale within an expression

  Posted by Anthony Sipsas on February 26, 2013 at 7:24 pm

  I am relatively new to scripting and am looking for a means to lock both parameters of a scale expression to equal each other, so that even though there is a random value assigned, x dimension= y dimension for every value given.

  I current have the following in the scale parameter:

  ease(time,wiggle(.5,2.7),wiggle(.5,2.7))

  Which results in separately generated values for the x,y. Is it possible to get whatever values generated by this to provide a single value which is applied to both the x and y?

  Based on my math experience from 10 years ago (need refresher courses), I am assuming that this may get it:

  x=ease(time,wiggle(.5,2.7),wiggle(.5,2.7));

  [x,x]

  Would that be correct, can’t get that to work. I am assuming its syntax.

  Darby Edelen replied 13 years, 2 months ago 4 Members · 4 Replies
• 4 Replies

• 

  John Cuevas

  February 26, 2013 at 7:53 pm

  By wiggle generates values for both X and Y, that’s why you are getting the “array piece can’t expand to more than one value” error…IE, in your expression when you say wiggle, it’s comes up [2,7] which you are defining as X. You are then trying to make a scale paramter of that is this [2,7, 2,7].

  So you need to tell AE, to just use one of the parameters, in your case, the first one. Here’s how it should look:

  x = ease(time,wiggle(.5,2.7),wiggle(.5,2.7))[0];
[x,x]


  The [0] tells AE to use the first value produced by the wiggle(AE starts with 0 as the first index number). You could use [1] to get the second or if you had a Z space [2].

  Johnny Cuevas, Editor
  Thinkck.com

  “I have not failed 700 times. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”
  —THOMAS EDISON on inventing the light bulb.
• 

  Kevin Camp

  February 26, 2013 at 7:57 pm

  since wiggle works on multidimensional properties, you’d just need to specify the index of the dimension that you want to use.

  also, i don’t think you need the ease() function with wiggle (it already has smooth interpolation).

  try this:

  s = wiggle(.5,2.7)[0]
  [s,s]

  — john beat me to it
  — and i forgot a semicolon after the first line

  Kevin Camp
  Senior Designer
  KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW
• 

  Anthony Sipsas

  February 26, 2013 at 8:08 pm

  Thanks, Guys, i kept messing with it, but didn’t get it to work until i did the following:

  x=(ease(time,wiggle(.5,2),wiggle(.5,2)));

  [x[0],x[0]]

  I guess i was missing the “[0]”

  is there a “dictionary” so to speak for expressions in AE so I can at least make sure my syntax is written in a means that AE can understand?
• 

  Darby Edelen

  February 26, 2013 at 8:40 pm

  [Anthony Sipsas] “is there a “dictionary” so to speak for expressions in AE so I can at least make sure my syntax is written in a means that AE can understand?”

  It’s JavaScript with included AE specific functions as defined here:

  https://help.adobe.com/en_US/aftereffects/cs/using/WS3878526689cb91655866c1103906c6dea-7a0ca.html

  Darby Edelen

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