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Large Map Animation Set-Up (AE CS3 Pro)
I need some help setting up my project. I’m a print and web guy that has been asked by an Admiral to do a 5 minute video. The last time I was trained on AE it was 2004, and the Apple G5 was all the rage.
Here is what I have so far. I have stitched together a very large map of Europe out of Google Maps. This map is 5,000 pixels by 3,000 pixels, and it looks pretty good. My idea is to use an AE camera to zoom around the map (zoomed into roughly 1/4 of France showing), with a mission statement appearing on the outlines of the country boundaries. This video will only be seen on computer screens or progressive projectors, so it will be output at NTSC DV (Widescreen, 30p)
I’ve created a comp in AE that is the size of the map (5000×3000), and I created all my animations (text on a path, appearing one character at a time).
NOW THE PROBLEM. I figured that I could just create a camera in AE that would be sized at NTSC DV and pan it all over the place, following the text. The problem is that you can’t alter the size of the camera, it is 5000×3000. I altered the camera with the zoom settings so that I get “kinda” what I want, but who knows what the actual framing is.
Am I missing something simple? How should I set this up so that A) I get proper 16:9 framing from the AE camera and B) It doesn’t crash my computer with a huge, multi-GB render?
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2 Replies
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Set your comp to the size of your output – NTSC D1 Widescreen Square Pixel. You won’t want non-square pixels in your rendered movie for playback on a computer which adheres to square pixels.
The creative side seems to be working for you, so no dramas over there.
HTH
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Thanks. More questions arising from this though.
So what I have done is started over, this time with a 720p comp (sudden change by leadership). Also, I’ve increased the size of my map to around 9,000 x 6,000 pixels. I place the map on the stage, and it hangs over the comp size by about 8,000 x 6,200 pixels on each side. I’ve created a camera, and I just pan around the map in the viewer to place and animate the other elements (logos, text on path, etc).
The question: Is there a “view all” type function that will let me see the whole map while designing, regardless of the comp window size? It would be nice if I could design at 9,000 x 6,000 and then turn off the “view all” so I just have the 1,280 x 720 comp window later.
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