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Automated workflow
I’m looking for a method to fully automate a workflow that pulls in text files and video which gets put into sub comps in the necessary places with the end result being a bloomberg style composite being rendered out, all automatically. A computer would detect new text files and videos in a certain place, import them into the correct layers or sub comps etc and then render out. Given the right know how is such a process possible either in AE or other software? Ideally as a server side application.
I’m looking for someone who could provide this service. Thanks for any help. -
2 Replies
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Given the right know how, yes it should be possible, but not solely within ae.
there is nothing in ae that could do this kind of automation, so there would need to be a marcro-like script that would get triggered when either the files (text & video) are updated or the directories for those files get updated.
the script would then opperate ae, importing the new media, getting them into comps and setting up the render.
that’s way beyond me (not a programming guy)… you might take a look at dan ebbert’s motionscript.com, in his brief ‘about me’ he mentions automation workflow and provides contact information.
one thing you haven’t mentioned, but will probably need, is a conversion of the ae rendred file to the destination file… i doubt you’ll want a quicktime file, and i think you’ll have problems getting ae to output an mxf, gxf or other common broadcast hardware friendly file type. so you’ll probably have another compression utility in the mix, and you may want that running on another machine depending on how much rendering ae is doing — essentially you probably don’t want compressing going on if ae is rendering, so if ae is constantly rendering, you may want your compressing to run on another machine.
Kevin Camp
Senior Designer
KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW -
It’s possible to have a script run periodically and check for new assets, but it’s more straight-forward if you can have your front end process send a dos command (if you’re on Windows) with the -r option to launch the script and which will then process an XML file (which you have deposited in a known location) which describes whatever media and text substitution you want to perform.
Dan
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