3D layer order problem

[Steve Morris]

I have been getting this same problem. Someone asked the same question a few weeks back, and never really got an answer for it. This problem drives me crazy. The only way I have found to fix the problem is to do as you did; alter the order of the layers. It does seem to make sense, but it works. I have also got results by moving one of the layers back in Z space a few more pixels. But, this can cause some parallax in certain cases.

[Brian Charles]

I’ve never experienced this and have 3 D comps that often have more than 100 layers.

The issue only occurs for me when I have a 2D layer (of any sort including nulls or adjustment layers) between my 3D layers. Could this be the issue? Some 3D effects must be applied to 2D layers in order to function correctly (shatter, CC particle world etc). Despite using the Comp camera these must not be between other 3D layers.

Placing a 2D layer between 3D layers creates 2 separate 3D spaces.

[Peter Burr]

Hi Brian,
There are no 2D layers in this problematic comp. Additionally, there have been no effects added. It is simply 75 layers of .ai and .swf files with a single camera on the top layer. all files have the ‘3D layers’ box and the ‘continuously rasterize’ box checked.

Do you have any other ideas? It seems to me that Adobe simply hasn’t figured out their 3D render engine completely, but I don’t want to give up hope yet.

[Brian Charles]

Hi Peter;

I’ve haven’t a clue. I’ve never experienced this problem. You may be right, Adobe needs to update their 3D engine.

[Steve Roberts]

Just checking: your comp is set to “advanced render”, right?

[Peter Burr]

Hello Steve,
Under the advanced settings tab (within composition settings) I only have one render plug-in to choose from: Advanced 3D. Is this what you mean by “advanced render’?

Coincidentally, Since I updated to CS3 last week and started troubleshooting these 3D layer order issues I have run across an entirely new problem where After Effects goes into a frozen death pose citing ‘Advanced 3D’ as the culprit. Here’s what happened in one example:

I had a stack of 20 .ai files (set to continuously rasterize AND to act as a 3D layer) seperated by 10 pixels each along the z axis. Each file is identical and has an identical mask that cuts a hole in the layer. As the camera passed through this hole an error message appeared that read:

After Effects error: crash occured while invoking plug-in “advanced 3D”.

Perhaps this is an entirely different issue, but it does touch upon your thought that my render settings are off. I just don’t know how to change them. From all the research I have done I can’t find an alternative to this ‘advanced 3D’ render with CS3. Any suggestions?

[Steve Roberts]

Yep, that’s what I was talking about, “advanced 3D”. Though, sadly, I was going to ask you to switch it on, not off. Bugger.

Have you upgraded to AE 8.0.2?

[Peter Burr]

Steve,

Yes, I did update to AE VERSION 8.0.2.27 since I started having these problems. Nothing has seemed to help.
As I am working more with vector files (.ai and .swf files) I am noticing that there are many other bugs in After Effects CS3….. On top of all these 3D woes it seems that AE CS3 hasn’t quite figured out how to work with vector movie files yet. My program is crashing many times a day simply from importing swf files. I don’t know if this is related to the 3D popping/shifting, but it seems like there might be some correlation. One problem unearths another and another…..

[Steve Roberts]

Hm. I think that losing the shadow casting or rasterizing the vectors is the only workaround right now. Regarding the lost time due to the rasterization, we might have to admit that time is being lost looking for another solution …? 🙂

Anyway, there’s another workaround if you need to have the shadows. I’m not sure how you’re set up, but you could figure out a way to make shadows on a plain subject by filling the subject with white, then rendering the shadows on the white subject. Then you import that render, and lay it over the normal object in multiply mode, with no shadow-casting on (to avoid the bad lines). The downside is, you have to do it over again if camera/subject/lighting changes. It’s a thought.

[Enrico Baumann]

Hello everyone,

has anybody found a solution or good workaround for this, yet? I have the same problems. The depth sorting is just not working. I have made a kind of small forest and the depth of field is (of course) blurring out the back so it is not noticeable there. But in the foreground all the layers do seem to mix from time to time popping in the front and so on.
You can have a look here:
https://www.vimeo.com/973386
It is especially noticeable between 30-40 seconds.
I’ve spent so much time on creating, it’s for my final/mayor work for my degree and it’s very frustrating.
Most of the graphics are small single png files. No effects applied and they are static. Just differ in position and rotation.
Any ideas welcome.

non si male nunc, net olim sic erit

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