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Use different layers of a precomp simultaneously in several comps
So I inherited a lineup project and I’m trying to streamline and idiotproof it every possible way. It’s three fullscreens, each with talent image, show title, and time. 1 slides to reveal 2, 2 slides to reveal 3. Each time there’s a possibility to see two talent images (one on each screen) during the transition as the screens move. All good?
All the talent images live in a single Talent precomp, sized and positioned identically with a single mask layer providing a soft bottom fade. I’ve set up expressions and sliders to pick the talent and matching title for the first screen. The expression sets the talent layer’s opacity to 100 if the slider value matches its index, so we can add/remove talent and things won’t break. That’s about the extent of my expression skills.
Now the problem: I’d like to drive all three screens from the single Talent precomp instead of the three identical ones I have now. Every possible solution I’ve tried has failed as having more than one image visible means you see the two talent stacked on top of each other. Is there something I’m overlooking?
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It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too. -
7 Replies
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I’ve understood everything up to the third paragraph. I really can’t understand the problem in the way you’re describing it.
[Jeff Hinkle] “I’d like to drive all three screens from the single Talent precomp instead of the three identical ones I have now.”
I don’t understand what you meant by that. I got that you had three similar but unique comps(each with an instance of the talent comp inside them) transitioning somehow in a master comp. So what exactly do you mean by the talent comp driving something?
Cassius Marques
http://www.zapfilmes.com -
Sorry for the confusion. It’s hard to describe.
So right now I have three Talent precomps, all identical, each with the same talent images in the same position: Talent 1, Talent 2, Talent 3. Talent 1 lives in Screen 1, Talent 2/Screen 2, Talent 3/Screen 3. And it works. But any time we need to add/remove/change talent, it has to be updated the same in all three Talent precomps, which opens up a lot of room for error.
My hope is that Talent 1 can somehow live in Screens 1, 2, and 3 and provide the talent images (driving them, in my gibberish) for each Screen so we only need to update the one Talent precomp.
Hopefully that’s clearer.
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It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too. -
[Jeff Hinkle] “So right now I have three Talent precomps, all identical, each with the same talent images in the same position: Talent 1, Talent 2, Talent 3.”
If they are identical, why do you have three?
Anyway, I think I got what you want, not yet sure…
The problem is that you can’t change the layers inside a composition from somewhere outside of it, but you could control the time it displays. So if you displace the talents in time inside a single talent precomp. You could play that same composition with different time spans.
Cassius Marques
http://www.zapfilmes.com -
The three identical precomps is what I’m trying to get away from. I was hoping to have the same Talent precomp in Screen 1, Screen 2, and Screen 3, each able to simultaneously show a different layer. And if you couldn’t potentially see the talent image from two screens as they transitioned, pretty sure I’d be able to do it. I’m thinking there’s really no way to do what I want that won’t add a different layer of complexity. One of the major goals for taking over this project was that I could hand it off to any of the minions and they could easily update it and turn out all the versions. I think my reach may have exceeded my grasp.
—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too. -
Master Properties were made for you!
https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/how-to/intro-master-properties.html
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
Thanks so much! I thought Master Properties were a 2019 feature and never looked into them, but that looks like it’ll do exactly what I need once I sort out my project structure. You just saved me piles of time.
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It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too. -
But Cassius had a good point above, too — if you don’t want to use master properties, you should arrange all the talent shots back to back in ONE talent comp, then use three identical layers of that precomp with different time-remapping to drive the talent selection.
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn]
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