• Adobe After Effects

  Pixie Dust

  Posted by Elad Menashe on November 25, 2006 at 2:08 pm

  Hey,
  This is not an AE question

  I am looking for a software called pixie dust or pixel dust and can’t recall where I can find it.

  This software helps removing objects from the background, meaning leaving only the background (or only the object)

  I hope this ringsa bell for someone

  Thanks
  Elad

  Bob Bonniol replied 19 years, 6 months ago 5 Members · 6 Replies
• 6 Replies

• 

  Andrew Shanks

  November 25, 2006 at 9:52 pm

  Hi,
  I think you mean “Pixeldust”, it was a product in development by 2d3 (the guys who make Boujou), it has been shelved indefinitely. Here is a link to the status:

  https://na4.salesforce.com/sol/public/searchdetail.jsp?ps=1&retURL=%2Fsol%2Fpublic%2Fsolutionbrowser.jsp%3Fsearch%3Dpixeldust%26orgId%3D00D300000001N5U%26t%3D4%26cid%3D000000000000000&orgId=00D300000001N5U&id=501300000005vKh

  and here is what that statement says in case the link doesn’t work:

  “Unfortunately Pixeldust is not under active development at this time. Although the underlying technology is excellent, it has proved very difficult to see how this technology can be incorporated into common compositing packages such as After Effects, Shake, etc. This difficulty is due to the fact that Pixeldust needs to have random access to all frames in a sequence. All compositing packages that we have looked at do not support this functionality in any efficient way.

  We will continue to review the position and may restart the project if a solution becomes apparent.”

  May I suggest you look at Mokey, it does the same thing as a stand alone application:

  https://www.mokey.com/

  Goodluck,

  andrew

  🙂
• 

  Elad Menashe

  November 25, 2006 at 10:41 pm

  Thanks Andrew.
  I should have posted this thread sooner, would have saved me hours on Google 🙂
• 

  Majorasshole

  November 26, 2006 at 1:41 pm

  mokey and monet are incredible
  makes AEs trackers look so amateur
• 

  Chris Smith

  November 27, 2006 at 4:09 am

  [Arson XL] “mokey and monet are incredible
  makes AEs trackers look so amateur”

  Anything makes AE’s tracker look amateur. Even trackers of yore like Commotions.

  Chris Smith
  https://www.sugarfilmproduction.com
• 

  Majorasshole

  November 27, 2006 at 5:53 am

  https://www.mokey.com/products/monet/

  all the movie files here are great examples of easy to tough examples
• 

  Bob Bonniol

  November 27, 2006 at 4:28 pm

  Arson, have you ever used Mokey, Motor, or Monet ?

  It is not a simple app. It is NOT an app that I would ever recommend to someone who hasn’t roto’d before. It’s extraordinary cost aside, the complexities of actually using Mokey/Motor/Monet are not inconsiderable. It is very powerful software, and like alot of very powerful software it’s learning curve to use it correctly can be steep, and it can be a finicky beast. We have used Mokey extensively on high profile projects. I can personally recommend it, and I think those guys at Imagineer System are very attentive, helpful, and ready to assist, but it is not easy. It is not necessarily fast. Roto takes patience, and pass after pass to get perfect no matter what the application.

  So if you have an extra $8k to $15k by all means check it out. You may also want to look into the very flexible roto-splines and tracking available in Shake, as well as checking out the very powerful Silouette Roto (which is also quite cheap comparatively).

  Roto is one of those things that when you get involved with it, and begin to calculate your hours in, you find you might very well have saved money by hiring a company that does it all the time.

  My .02

  Best,
  Bob Bonniol

  MODE Studios
  http://www.modestudios.com
  Contributing Editor, Entertainment Design Magazine
  Art of the Edit Forum Leader
  Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
  HD Forum Leader

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