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Newbie question / Melting logo
Hello all,
Just getting to grips with this great piece of software, with T & C Meyer’s book in hand (vol.1) …
Using a still background image, I need to get a logo to move around the screen (which I can do), then, like chocolate, melt down and blend into the background image. The idea is that it is so hot it just melts.
I am wondering if there are any existing plug-ins to do this? Or any third-party plugins to download? Is this straigtforward to achieve, or have I jumped in at the deep end with a client expecting a holding screen for next week?
Obviously i’m not expecting a ‘how-to’ response, just pointers really, or the right terminology I should be looking for in the book or read more about in this forum.
Thanks, in advance, for any help provided.
Ronan
London,UK -
12 Replies
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My first thought would be to try Mr. Mercury. Set a keyframe at the beginning of the animation that has the look you want to start with as far as getting your blobby kind of chocolatey-looking thing going and then go to the last frame of your animation where you want it to be gone leaving your image the way you would like to be.
Tweak to taste.
Add sugar, if needed.
Enjoy hot.
Ron Lindeboom
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Hello Ron,
Thanks for your prompt response.
I can’t seem to find anything called Mr Mercury… is it a standard effect?Ronan
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Look for Liquify if memory serves me well. I haven’t used Mr. Mercury in a while and if I remember correctly, they changed its name. I do not know what comes in the standard or Pro versions and so I do not know if you have it or not. Tim Kurkoski can probably tell you exactly what’s in each version. (I think he had the list of plug-ins tattooed on his chest or something.)
Best,
Ron Lindeboom
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Mmmmmm. don’t seem to have Mr. Mercury… and a preliminary search seems to indicate its part of quite an expensive (though i’m sure useful) bundle.
Any other ideas? Using Mesh Warp perhaps ?
Is it possible to buy individual plugins?
Ronan
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to be honest it’s a difficult thing for a first off project.. i’d experiment with a combination of distort effects and blurs and see what you can get away with.. then offer the client an alternative suggestion. i’ve been using AE in broadcast for six years, and if someone asked me to do this in AE; i’d direct them elsewhere. it’s not to say you can’t give it a go…
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In pro it is Animation Presets>Synthetics>Melted Gold>CC Mr. Mercury
I don’t have standard, so I can’t say about that package.
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Hi,
Thanks for the responses… Yes I know its a tall order for a starter project.. but its only for a one-off event…
I’ve checked my Animation Presets, and I don’t have it… weird.
So i’ll play with other options.Can anyone confirm whether or not individual plugins can be obtained? Or are they usually part of bundles? Mr Mercury is part of a bundle, as far as I can understand.
Ronan
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.[RonanR] “Or are they usually part of bundles? Mr Mercury is part of a bundle, as far as I can understand.”
Mr. Mercury is one of the Cycore FX effects. It would be located in a separate folder on the install disc. Once installed, reach it by going to Effect–>Simulation–>CC Mr. Mercury. Of course I have the production bundle of 6.5. Not sure what the path would be for 7.0 and I don’t think you get the cycore effects with the standard version or educational version.
Kathlyn Lindeboom
The Mistress of Mmmooooo! -
Hi Kathlyn,
FYI Educational versions are identical to the retail versions. So they will have the same set of add-ons, plug-ins, etc.
At least that’s been my experience with Apple, Adobe, and plug-in companies. Some 3D apps are the only ones that I know that do not have the same tool set/fuctionality.FWIW-Cheers,
Todd at UCSB
Television Production -
I have no idea if this would work, but it would be fun to try. Instead of doing everything in AE, shoot some custom footage to use as a luma matte.
Get a black piece of paper and hang it from a wire in front of some white posterboard (or white paper in front of black posterboard).Set up a camera and zoom in so only the paper fills the screen.
Set that paper on fire from the bottom. Continue shooting until the paper is completely burned away.
Take this footage into AE, desaturate it, add a levels effect and crush the blacks–blow out the whites–up the contrast.
Use this as a luma matte/inverse luma matte over your logo (which one you use will depend on whether you shot black paper over white or white paper over black). The burn will now melt away your logo (in theory). If you want it to melt from the top down, just flip your matte 180 degrees on the x axis. If it needs to burn faster or slower, time remap it.
Again, I have no idea if this would work, but in theory I think it should.
Michael.
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