Help with Morphing Video !!

[Shin Kurokawa]

This is on which host app?
(Shake? AE? C*? flame?)
Because you set up shapes differently
in each app.

Basically, in the Flex suite when
you draw the masks you always do it in pairs:
* A: “From” shape. followed by…
* B: “To” shape.
Perhaps the easiest way to do this is
to copy-paste the 1st mask you draw
(which is a “From” shape). The pasted
shape is a “To” shape. You could then
animate the “To” shape.

Note that it maybe easier and more
flexible (harhar) to split up
a large shape into smaller shapes.
It may get very labor-intensive to
define all the corresponding features
(esp. in motion morph). A simple motion
morph might need at least 10-20 pairs,
more or less depending on the features
involved.

There is an exception to this, where
you draw a shape which you might need
to use as a ‘boundary’ which tells
FLex “don’t warp anything beyond this”.

So, you might end up with a collection
of shapes like this:
Shape1from
Shape1to
Shape2from
Shape2to
Shape3from
Shape3to
ShapeB==== boundary (assuming defined)
Shape4from
Shape4to
Shape5from

Also note in this example that the last
shape “Shape5from” is unpaired with its
corresponding “to” shape. In this case
the shape has no effect whatsoever.

-Shin

[Freddy Vences]

Sorry ?

This is for After Effects 6.0 !!

Thanks !!

[Freddy Vences]

Thanks, shin kurokawa !!

But my confusion is in the seeting Dialog box from Motion Morph.!!
where it says “SET LAYER TO” , Under Display menu that has:
UNWarped from and UNWarped to , etc,etc.

I don’t know how to use this setting at the time I’m building the Masks and Keyframes ???

This is what I don’t know how to use ??????

Thanks !!

[Peter Litwinowicz]

Hey there,

Have you read the manual that comes with RE:Flex? Not the tutorials ReadME, but the HTML manual that is put on your disk with the plugins upon installation? This may help explain to you how to set up the masks (AE’s splines).

If you don’t know how to add an AE spline, then that’s covered in the AE manual. (not trying to be sarcastic… I just don’t know how much you know AE ).

In order to create a moving morph you’ll need to create pairs of splines… each pair consists of two splines: one that matched the source movie (the one that RE:Flex Motion Morph is applied to) and one that matches the destination movie (the one that you point to with RE:Flex Motion Morph’s ‘”Warp To” Layer’ setting).

All the masks (both the “From” and “To” masks) should be created on the layer where RE:FLex Motion Morph is applied (that is, all the masks for both the source and destination correspondences should be drawn on the “from” movie layer). RE:Flex can only access masks that are on the same layer where the plugin is applied.

This is why we let you view “Unwarped From” and “Unwarped To”.

First, apply RE:Flex Motion Morph to a layer. Set the “Warp To” Layer as appropriate.

THen you can set the Display setting to “Unwarped From” and create a mask on a particular feature in the source footage. Then set the Display setting to “Unwarped To’ and create another mask for the corresponding feature in the destination footage. That creates one pair of spline correspondence.

Then set Display to “Unwarped From” and create another spline for another feature in the source footage. Then set Display to “Unwarped To” and create another spline for the corresponding feature in the destination footage. Now you have another pair of matching splines.

You continue this process until you get all the necessary feature matching done that you think you will need (you can always add more pairs of splines later)

All the time you should be creating splines on the layer where RE:Flex Motion Morph is applied.

Hope this helps,
Pete

[Freddy Vences]

Yes, that makes a little more sence !!

and yes I’m a little confuse creating masks.
at first I tought you guys create them using the Paint Options in AF
then I used couple tests using “Strokes” and that kind of work.
And now you just called them “Splines”?? that I think
Splines are the same than Strokes ??

well?? You are right, I’ll figure that out.!

But these things are not included in your manuals !!
I couldn’t figured out what tools you used. !!

It would be nice if they explain a little more detail from
scratch how you guys got to the sample pictures.But you guys just
explained the sample pictures where is all set up, ready to go.

Maybe this plug-in was ment to be for AF experts.!

Plus, terminology is very important. You may call them Splines
when probably AF call them Strokes ??
and that will confuse people like me that trying to put things together.
I just haven’t done much Masks or strokes or Splines !!
or whatever you call them.

and I did not know at what time in the timeline where created,under
what settings, etc,etc. Just like you just explained it.

I think the tutorials the are posted in the web and that comes with
the product are very good ones you how to get all the setup to match
the pictures, and even do they will have some questions.
for people that is climbing in AF, like me. we get all tangle up.!!

Anyways, thank you