Brendan Coots
Forum Replies Created
-
If it were me, I’d convert your HDV footage to Animation Codec or 8/10 bit uncompressed before doing anything in AE. HDV is 4:2:0 which means it’s no better than DV. It’s true that a conversion won’t “add” any detail, but it will:
– make it easier to do things like color correction
– eliminate the need to use proxies. HDV will choke AE badly due to its interframe compression (similar to MPEG4) and that is something you will HAVE to deal with one way or the other
– eliminate the quality loss you will incur when you render out of AE, then render out of your edit. That is a LOT of extra rendering and you will suffer quality loss unless you step up to a lossless or uncompressed format.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
You could probably save yourself a lot of grief by just animating masks on various solid layers to get the effect.
3D stroke would likely take 5X longer and, unless you are very handy with it, might be much harder to get a precise result. It’s the old “when you’re a hammer, every problem looks like a nail” scenario. Sometimes simpler IS better!
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
Absolutely not. AE outputs purely non-interactive content.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
Can you export just the camera/particular elements to SWF, then drop the picture behind them once in Flash?
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
What are you using the files for? Formats like h.264 are great for web/CD distribution, but aren’t at all suitable as master files of any sort.
If you are looking for a distribution codec, Quicktime h.264 is a good choice – high quality, cross-platform and universal.
If you are looking for a mastering, archiving or working codec, use the Quicktime Animation codec.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
Using the Animation codec set to millions+ (for your alpha channel) will deliver excellent results, especially if you set your AE project up as 16-bit. You can also use PNG codec, as this is 4:4:4, lossless and supports alpha.
The repeated assertion in this thread that you need to use 32-bit is nonsense. Using 32-bit for something like titles will provide NO BENEFIT. The only real advantage of 32-bit over 16-bit is access to “over-bright” information stored in HDR images. In the case of black and white titles, 32-bit will deliver no appreciable quality increase, but your file size and workflow will definitely take a hit.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
For film, you should contact the facility that will be doing your film-out. They will likely prefer an image sequence, such as SGI frames, but you need to ask them.
For DVD, you need to compress to MPEG-2, the only file format DVDs allow. You should really use your DVD authoring program, by feeding it the uncompressed/Animation codec file and allowing it to create the MPEG-2.
For TV, you will probably want an uncompressed 8-bit file, although most TV facilities will accept (or require) other formats. This is another situation where you are better off contacting the station that will air your spot/show and ask them what they prefer. Some won’t accept digital files and will expect tape-based delivery, such as Beta-SP, etc.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
3D application rendered out and imported into AE, or use Trapcode Particular.
The qulity of your results will, of course, depend on your level of experience with either of these tools.
Good luck!
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
Without question, I would definitely render an uncompressed quicktime (or animation codec) out of After Effects, and use Quicktime Pro or some other compression application for the various formats you need.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
You’re going to have some nasty spill to contend with, but it will “work” technically.
Any bright colors are going to accept a lot of spill from your greenscreen, so you should take steps to ensure your actor is as far from the screen as possible.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com