Automatic Duck Alternative For FCP to AE?

[Walter Biscardi]

[Mr Mech] “So, I’m hoping an alternative is available.”

To send a full timeline into After Effects? Nope. At least nothing reliable.

You’ll have to export entire chunks of your timeline or bring in each individual shot.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

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[Chris Borjis]

You should avoid exporting with an RGB codec like Animation (YUV to RGB issues) and export with a 10-bit uncompressed YUV codec available free from blackmagic design or aja.

Advice from the CTO of “the Orphanage” vfx house. Quoted from his “DV Rebels guide” book. Highly recommended to everyone here.

[Rafael Amador]

Hi Mech,
i tried AutomatickDuck a couple of years ago (came free with Combustion) and what I’ve got was areal mess. I guess that after two years improving the product and with the high price of the plugin, should works fine. However you should ask in the Automaticduck forum here in the Cow.
talking about a different subject, I’m with Borjis about using the Animation codec. has been the standard for a long time but I consider it obsolete at the pressent. First because is RGB, and second because is only 8b. To send back and forth from FC to AE I us SHEER. You can export 8/10b Unc, YCbCr/RGB and 422[4] or 444[4], so allways with a magnifico Alpha channel available. if you edit in 10b YCbCr, why to put on top 8b RGB animations? And if you render 16/32b in AE, why to conform yourself with a poor 8b Alpha channel. Added to that the files you get are half size of the Apple 8/10b Unc codecs. For me has been a good investment.
cheers,
rafael

[Walter Biscardi]

[rafalaos] “i tried AutomatickDuck a couple of years ago (came free with Combustion) and what I’ve got was areal mess. I guess that after two years improving the product and with the high price of the plugin, should works fine.”

Honestly, you’re the first person I’ve heard say this in all the years I’ve used their products. Was the Duck version you received specific to Combustion or After Effects?

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi

[Rafael Amador]

I bought Combustion 3 in September 2004 while I was in the US. I’ve got for free a version of AutomaticDuck with the “FC OMF-export” and the “Combustion OMF-import”. I tried few times to export a simple time-line from FC without geting a good result.
Them I came to Asia and i didn’t try again because i stoped working with Combustion. As long as i’m not in the US, I can not even buy the Combustion 4 up-date. However I guess that AutomaticDuck works fine today because I know they have been working a lot to improve the plugin.
rafael

[Walter Biscardi]

[rafalaos] “I bought Combustion 3 in September 2004 while I was in the US. I’ve got for free a version of AutomaticDuck with the “FC OMF-export” and the “Combustion OMF-import”. I tried few times to export a simple time-line from FC without geting a good result.”

I would guess that was a Combustion issue. I’ve been using the Duck pretty much as long as they have been in existence with FCP and After Effects, it’s been pretty much flawless since the first day I got it.

If you’re using AE and FCP now, I would highly recommend it as it’s just a ridiculously easy workflow to share FCP timelines with AE.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi

[Rafael Amador]

Yes may be a Combustion’s problem. The truth is that I lost interest in Combustion because AutoDesk didn’t payd any attetion to the program for a long time. The release of Combustion 4 for Mac it tooks almost one year after Combustion 4 for PC was released. Is a pity because I think is a very good piece of software and when I bought it I think was more advanced than AE (ie. used to render in 32b three years before than AE). Now I feel confortable with AE and if I would need to send things from FC to AE more often for sure I would think about the Duck.
rafael

[Bradshaw1965]

Hi,

I’m the developer of the FCP to AE scripting app you reference. It’s definitely not designed to replace Automatic Duck, but the goal is to have a useful cuts only transfer to AE from FCP and possibly develop more features as possible for a part-time project . At this point, it should be closing in on meeting those goals, so if you’re continuing to have problems please give me a heads up at dale(at)creative-workflow-hacks(dot)com and hopefully I can help you out.

Best,

Dale

[Chris Dukes]

Thanks for the response, Dale. I hope my post didn’t come across as a criticism of your program; I’ve seen the positive feedback you’ve received on your site and I commend you for developing a free necessary tool that accomplishes what should have been integrated into FCP and AE a long time ago. I plan to send you my xml and jsx file along with the error warning I keep receiving, so keep an an eye out for it sometime today or tomorrow.

Mech

[Rafael Amador]

Thanks for your effort Dale. Would be nice to have a way to send a basic FC time-line to AE. I wouldn’t mind to pay the Duckif I would need to use it often, but is not the case.
Rafael