[Ben Mcallister]

Thanks I’ve done exactly that.

[Ben Mcallister]

Thanks but I was kind of hoping to avoid that…

I just saved my rig as a .aep file then import it into any new comp, making sure to change the original precomp size to match my targets comp size then copy all the nulls with my camera and copy the solids into my new comp. Ready to go…

But still writing a script sounds like something I’d like to have a go at. Thanks for the link.

[Ben Mcallister]

As for proxies, check these links out:

https://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/AfterEffects/8.0/help.html?content=WSB356ACD2-AF59-4604-B378-31D687DB5ACC.html

https://library.creativecow.net/articles/kramer_andrew/proxies.php

[Ben Mcallister]

If it is running off a computer to be projected, then stick to square pixels.
As for size, PAL is 720×576 at 25 frames per second. If you want a custom size then go right ahead and just make the whole thing square 1080 x 1080 if you like. I understand that this is a one-off presentation so whats stopping you from filling the screen (the canvas drop down screen not TV).

Or you could do the whole thing in 1920 x 1920 using a letterbox to mask it down to 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) if it looks wierd.

Just putting thoughts out there…

[Ben Mcallister]

I didn’t think so…
Thanks, that’s put my mind to rest.

[Ben Mcallister]

Hello Leon,

This is called banding and believe me, I feel your pain.

There are three ways you could address this problem.

1. Try changing the bit depth in your project to 16bit color (but you have tried that already)

2. If you are using a ramp effect, try increasing the ramp scatter which in effect adds a bit of noise to the gradient.

3. You could also add another gradient under the first and offset a bit, i.e. move it so After Effects has more color to interpret. This brings me back to the first point. 8 bit color has 256 color increments to choose from so adding more data to process could thin out the banding effect.

4. If all else fails, try adding some grain to your gradient and blurring it a little.

These have all helped me in the pase.

Hope this helps.

[Ben Mcallister]

Hello Rachel

First off, you need to know your output. You say your client will be using a projector run off a laptop so I would do the project in square pixels as its running from a computer and not being displayed on a TV.

I have done similar projects and found that my animation done on the PAL DV1 720×576 preset, then output to DVD (Which uses mpeg2 anyway) came out looking terrible. I use the HDTV 1080 25 (square pixels) present and it comes out looking sweet. Its a beast to work with and I rely heavily on proxies but it is worth it at the end of the day, for me anyway.

I know this may be difficult but I always test on location if possible, if you have access to the hotel then great.

I hope this helps or at the very least boosts this discussion further.

Ben