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Brainstorm function – Ideas for usage?
Okay, so I just got AE CS3, and the Brainstorm function is simply amazing, and a blast to play with. Following the Help functions example, I used Brainstorm on a shapes layer, and created a pretty incredible looking animation in no time. The Brainstormer is a great random value generator, especially for people with EAS (Expression Aversion Syndrome). After using Brainstorm to add some random, if not slightly wacky, 3D camera movement, I’m realizing this could be an amazing tool for experimentation.
So, first, one simple question: It seems I can brainstorm just about any keyframable value. But let’s say I want to take 10 text layers and move them to random positions in 3D space, but only change the Z value. Is this possible to brainstorm, since the keyframed position includes all three dimensions? Am I missing something simple and obvious? I suppose I could easily enough change the X and Y values to be uniform after the fact, but then of course I wouldn’t be seeing previews in the Brainstorm window.
Second question: How do you all see yourselves using the Brainstorm function? What about it makes you say, “Wow, this would be really helpful for doing this….” I’m curious to see what others are or will be doing. This new function and the Puppet tool are two of the most exciting things about CS3, IMHO.
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4 Replies
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Rob since you asked…. This is a beef of mine, so excuse the rant.
I’m sure the feature has its uses, but I think we all need to do more of our OWN brain-storming and ask the software to do less.
Too often we try to find some canned plug-in or effect and we get lazy. It happens to all of us at one point or another. We throw settings and keyframes into a big pot of soup–stir it up and hope it “looks cool.”
I like the idea of really thinking through a STORY, a human narrative. By a “story” I don’t necessarily mean anything more than a scene or two but something that compels or teaches or provokes.
So am I against BrainStorm? Of course not. I’m sure it can provide interesting stimulus sometimes–or even land you some useful eye candy. Do I think I’ll really use the feature everyday? No, not at all.
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By the way….I would be curious what app people use to do story-boarding.
I am using Curio right now by Zengobi but know it lacks specific features for that purpose.
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Agreed. To an extent. Your response is what mine initially was. Most of us have specific needs (or the client does), and a direction to go in. As I posted my question, it occured to me that most AE pros would rarely use this. However, most of us at some point in learning a tool as deep as AE certainly do play. And that to me is a benefit. It’s fun to play with, but I’m not sure about how it is to work with, if that makes sense. But it’s in the play that one discovers what a tool can do, that one can discover things perhaps not yet thought of.
I do see it being very useful, though, as a random values generator, which I know can be done in other ways in AE, but the Brainstorm effect lets you preview a number of random values and then select which one best suits your needs. It seems to me that brainstorming the random seed value of an effect and previewing a few options is simpler than going one seed value at a time, for instance. And my example of spreading layers in 3D space can of course be done easily manually or with an expression, but if the number of layers jumped to 100 and doing it manually becomes cumbersome, then the Brainstorm tool, though intended for brainstorming (duh), seems as though it could become a powerful tool simply for generating random values. I understand and agree with your soapbox. But if our vision we’re headed for is one that does involve random values, then the Brainstorm function for me goes beyond simply brainstorming or play (both of which it does well) and it becomes quite a useful tool.
It may be, since not too many have responded yet, that people on this forum won’t use it much, or don’t anticipate how they will. I’m still curious, though. I think it will prove more useful than either of us realizes.
One more thing – I’d like to know about Storyboarding tools as well – consider starting a new thread and I think you’ll generate a better response – one that I’m anxious to see, too.
Thanks for your excellent thoughts on this and many other posts.
-Rob
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value. But let’s say I want to take 10 text layers and move them to random positions in 3D space, but only change the Z value. Is this possible to brainstorm,
you can split the x/y/z position values in AE (xyz splitter or something , it’s in standard effects/plugin set come with AE
brainstorms sounds cool, don’t have CS3 yet. but yeah, i like doing more myself then just letting things happen.
Bart
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