[Andrei Firtich]

I think I might have a solution. Basicly make the crossword puzzle in photoshop. Use your pen tool or the rectangular version of it to make a shape layer with a shape as a square. Use white color for the shape color. Now apply effect, stroke, just make 1 pixel black. Now use your alt key to duplicate it, build your crossword with it. Make sure all the stuff you have in your file are shapes. Now save the file as Adobe PDF file, with Acrobat 5 compatability. Open the file in AE, check continually rasterize for the layer and you should be good to go. The only drawback to this method is that you unlike an illustrator file you can’t manipulate individual layers in AE.
Hope this helps 🙂

[Andrei Firtich]

Works like Charm
Thanks

[Andrei Firtich]

Okay first of all, try to be a little clearer when you are describing your problem. It took me a little to realize that you are talking about Particle Playground. What happens when you turn on layer map in PP is that AE takes each particle and replaces it with the layer that you are refering too. Now it is doing just that in the jpeg you provided, the only problem is that the layer is too big. The Gotcha that you are experiencing comes from the way AE thinks. When you refer to a layer in effect, it looks at that layer as it is, when brought to the Composition, before all the transform properties and effects are applied to it. The simple workaround that would be to precomp the layer and apply any effect or transform properties in the precomp.
Hope this Helps

[Andrei Firtich]

I guess my question would be if there is way to set up one up with an expression or something

[Andrei Firtich]

I guess my question would be if there is way to set up one up with an expression or something

[Andrei Firtich]

Try “The Stash” https://www.stashmedia.tv/ It costs 200$ for student yearly subscription, 215$ for regular subscription. (I don’t think there is a difference) You get a magazine and a DVD a month. I haven’t read the magazine, but the DVD is kickass, it shows top commercials or short films which cameout that month and also little nuggets on how they were made, very cool. I am about to sign up when I get my next check.

[Andrei Firtich]

Just duplicate your layer with the effect on it and press alt+control+R, this will time reverse the animation. Basically the same thing as putting -100% in the strech column, but it respects the IN point of the layer. It is a little bit more tricky if you wanted the animation to match to music.
Here is an idea that might work, time out the music that you want the animation to be too, that is know exactly at what time do you want the action to take place. Time reverse it, do the sound keys, now do the main animation from those sound keys, time reverse the main animation. It is really convulted logic, but it just might work. Hope this helps

[Andrei Firtich]

Here is a way using photoshop layers
1. Go to photoshop, make a document size 780 width and say 3000 height(# is variable).
2. Fill the layer with black.
3. Apply noise(Filter Noise, Add noise, choose monochromatic, do say 75%, once again number is variable.
4. Duplicate layer couple of times.
5. Bring to AE export as composition.
6. Scale one of the layers say to 800 %
7. apply fast blur,blur to your liking
8. change blending mode to add,
9. make another one 500 % and make another one 250.
10. Keyframe the position of the layers to offset the y coordinate. 11. Apply levels to the layers to take off the mass of the noise. That is move the left side of histagram to choke off some white
12. Apply turbulent Displace. On the front layer you want to leave the settings on factory default and keyframe Offset on the y coordinate, on the other layers take of the size and amount, Experiment, experiment, experiment. This filter is render intensive so changing your resolution to half(control+shift+J) will help.

You can try adding some glow for extra touch. Keep in mind, when you keyframe the position to keep the perspective in mind, move the foreground faster than background to sell the shot.
Hope this gives you some ideas to get started.
Another way to go about it would be making a mask shape and using particle generator to spew it
Hope this has helped 🙂
Andrei

[Andrei Firtich]

AWESOME video. After watching it the second time, I like it more & more, incredible composite job, I started diging the song too. Couple questions, was it all done by manual tracking or did you use Synth Eyes 3d or its equvelents? What 3d app was used in rendering and was any of 3d lines done with 3d stroke. Thanks for posting the video

[Andrei Firtich]

Sweet tutorial, I have a question on the same theme. Is there a way to convert illustrator file that is exported into after effects into a mask shape w/o first opening it in illustrator getting your preferences right and copy, pasting it.
Thanks in advance, great job with tutorials, the z scale one was pretty sweet too 🙂