Carl Larsen
Forum Replies Created
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So after more playing around with some of my own bracketed shots, it appears that the best solution I can generate at this time is also the simplest.
Drag your bracketed images into a new comp in AE, set it to 32 bit, and stack your images from darkest to lightest. (that’s darkest as layer 1, lightest as layer 3) Next, change the composite mode to add.
Although it does not give me quite as much dynamic range compared to when I combine the same images using the merge to HDR function, this method does yield superbirght values and realistic light characteristics which I found to be generally acceptable. You’ll have to play with it yourself to determine if this method will work for your specific situation.
You can play with the exposure slider at the bottom of your comp window to see how the superbright values sit in the comp.
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The basic principle behind HDR is that you shoot a variety of images with different exposures (typically 0ev, -2ev, +2ev) and combine them into one image for an increased dynamic range.
In their simplest form, these apps look at the luminance of the 0ev image and add information from the under exposed image to the clipped areas of the original (using a threshold matte), and add detail from the overexposed image into the darkest portions of the original (using a threshold matte).
As for creating an HDR sequence in AE, I’d still encourage you to try an automated approach using another application and then dealing with the image sequence in AE. My results weren’t pretty.
But, that’s just my .02.
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Photoshop and photomatix really are the best tools for creating high dynamic range images – either for a 32 bit finish, or for tome mapping back to 8 an 8bit color space. Is there a specific reason you don’t want to do it in one of these two apps? Photomatix pro has some great automation features.
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I haven’t seen the newer updates with Ko, but Steve and Brian’s instruction in the older series really “taught” me the ins and outs of AE – and got me my first real animation job.
If you can find the older training on ebay, I’d say go for it. I’ve still hung onto mine for reference.
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Status is definitely the mode you should use for dialing in your matte. In this mode, black is transparent, white is opaque, and gray is partially transparent just like you would expect. However, what’s great about status is that ANY partially transparent pixel shows up as fully gray, and they’re much more easily spotted as you make your refinements regardless.
The fastest way to clean up a noisy matte is to play with the clip white and clip black values in the screen matte portion of the plugin. Depending on how much you want to finesse it, you could add a simple choker with a value of a pixel or two to kill any stray pixels too.
Truly professional mattes are often done in multiple keys with several passes: one for the innner portion of the subject, another for the outer portion, and a third (or several) for refining the edge – all of which are combined into a final matte for the alpha channel.
If the noise you are referring to is showing up in the darkly colored areas of the image that you want to keep, try changing your replace method to hard color instead of soft color.
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Another great media management function that is under utilized in AE is the reduce project command.
Say you have a brainstorming session and start slapping stuff together paying no attention to file structure, naming of comps, etc… Before you know it you have a monster project with a bunch of ugly test comps and 1 or 2 ideas that you’d like to keep. Instead of keeping everything in the project to be sure you don’t delete anything required in the few good comps, you can use the reduce project command to trash everything but what is needed for the comps that you like.
Simply select the comps that you would like to keep, go to file>reduce project and AE will remove everything in the project except that which is required for the selected comps.
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One way to simplify the animation of your helicopter blades is to use an expression instead of keyframes. This way you’ll never have to think about RPM’s or start and end values. Just define a velocity and let it run.
Option-click on the Z rotation of your blades layer and add the following expression:
time*5000
Change the numerical value to fit your needs, and make sure motion blur is enabled for both the layer and composition. 5000 was a value I thought looked good when I tried it out.
If you’re still not getting the results you’re looking for, double check your composition settings (command-k, composition settings>advanced>motion blur) and increase your samples per frame and shudder angle until you get the look you’re after.
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It sounds like what you’re looking for is screen recording software.
On a mac there are two main applications that I know of: Ambrosia Software’s Snapz Pro X, and Shiny White Box’s iShowU. Personally, I use iShowU, but in fairness I haven’t played much with Snapz Pro X.
On a PC, the most popular app I’m aware of is Techsmith’s Camtasia Studio.
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Conversely, you could render out your sequence from AE as an image sequence, batch process your frames using the photoshop action, then re-import the processed image sequence back into AE to finish out the shot.
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Personally, I think too many artists overlook their editing software as a good place to begin a motion graphics project. As a mac user, I can tell you I did the majority of my “effects work” in Final cut until I was hired in a dedicated graphics studio. On top of that, motion is a very powerful (free) application that ships with Final Cut Studio…. not as robust as AE, in my opinion, but very good nonetheless.