[Bob Root]

Hi Ray,

Could be that you’ve accidentally set your FAST PREVIEW (at the bottom of your comp window) to wireframe.

Hope this helps.

Bob

[Bob Root]

Oops.. my bad.

Didn’t see that this is an export. Can you render your files and take them into FCP?

[Bob Root]

Check your render settings to make sure that your effects aren’t set to “off”.

Bob

[Bob Root]

Hi Martin,

When you say “going to black in the background” my first guess is that you’re talking about the flickering of the image.

If that’s the case, you can apply a simple wiggle expression to the opacity on the layer you would like to apply the effect to.

So…………………

[option] click on the opacity stopwatch for that layer. This will open/enable your opacity expression for that layer.

Type wiggle(12,200) These are my random numbers just for this example. You can change the numbers to tweak your results, but this is a good starting point.

The first number in parentheses is the number of opacity changes per second. The second number is the range that your opacity will change.

My second guess is that you might be asking how to “feather” a layer into a black background.

If that’s the case, you’ll need to read up on masking layers within After Effects. I don’t have any specific links, but I know they’re out there. Unfortunately, it’s a bit much to explain in a reply.

Regards,

Bob

[Bob Root]

Hi Franzi,

Pre-compose the layer you want to shatter…. then turn on Collapse Transformations for the pre-composed layer in your original composition.

Collapse Transformations is the little sun icon that appears to the right of your layer name in the timeline.

Bob

[Bob Root]

Hi Dawid,

I can only give you the basics as to how you would achieve this effect in Particular. There are too many unknown steps that will be related directly to your image, the comp it’s being used in and what you’re ultimately looking for in the end..

You might want to download a trial version to see how the interface works for you. It’s extremely powerful, but you will need some time to learn it fully. The basics are pretty easy to learn and should get you off to a quick start.

Basically, you’ll be using the layer you want to “shatter” as the actual emitter in Particular. There’s a option for that in the “particle type” twirl down. Beyond that, you can use any of the preset particle types or you can create your own particle type. The options are endless.

Be sure to check out the tutorials and project examples at trapcode.com. This will give you a better idea of Particular’s capabilities.

Best of luck.

Bob

[Bob Root]

You can try the Shatter plugin included in AE. There are a few more pattern shape options as well as a custom shape option as well. You can extrude the shape of your “particles” within the plugin as well.

Keyframe your viscosity from 0 to 1 at whatever point you would like your particles to freeze in space. You’ll probably want to set your gravity to 0 as well.

The camera in Shatter will give you some nice 3d rotation around the shattered layer.

I don’t think AE’s Particle Playground or Particle World will get you great results with what you want to achieve.

Beyond that, Trapcode’s Particular is probably your best option. It’s not cheap, but it’s well worth the price if you plan on putting it to good (and semi-frequent) use.

If you’re not in a rush, I’d wait a day and see what other responses come your way. I’m sure I missed something.

Bob

[Bob Root]

Hi Dawid,

You can start by trying the CC Ball effect. It’s a pretty intuitive plugin, so you should see quick results.

Keep in mind that your subject matter will need an alpha channel (or a mask). This way you’ll only be applying the effect to the subject and not to any background images.

Once you get the effect animated to what suits you, you can duplicate the layer, throw a glow on the upper layer and play with some of AEs blending modes to get the desired effect.

Hope this helps.

Bob

[Bob Root]

Are you using an adjustment layer for any of your layers? This can mess up the z-depth priority between 3D layers. It generally puts the adjusted layers at the back of the stack.

If this is the case, you may have to play with moving your torso layer backwards in your layer stack.

[Bob Root]

You can also try the ‘Alpha Add’ blending mode.

This will take care of the gaps. However, if you have any lights in your scene, you will probably see some unwanted illumination along some of your connected edges.

There’s probably a way around this, but I haven’t come across it yet.