[Chris Heuer]

Sounds good. I’ll look for them. I take it the building you are using won’t or can’t remove the glass for a real jump?

If they could, do a real jump from the first or second floor and fly a green screen outside. Comp in fake glass shattering and shoot your view (background plate) out the window from the 10th floor.

I’ll look for the boards. Then I can be of more help!

C

Chris Heuer
Freefall FX, LLC

[Chris Heuer]

Yeah, those Super flips are 3D, much easier than rigging a phone with 30 yards of fishing line that you have to remove!

If you are looking to make a basic turntable for small items, let me recommend a variable speed power drill. I made a small platform (painted Ultimatte Green) with a bit in the center that mounted into the drill. Rig the drill to anything solid and place in front of a green screen. Ta Da!

We did a shoe store ad that had rotating shoes over a techy looking grid animation. It looked awesome. People kept asking who made the 3D shoes because they “Look so real”.

Chris Heuer
Freefall FX, LLC

[Chris Heuer]

So this shot is from the inside and we see him jumping away from camera out the window?

If that is correct, do you need an exterior of the fall? I used to do stunts and still work with a bunch of stunt guys. This is the kind of stuff we love to figure out.

Chris Heuer
Freefall FX, LLC

[Chris Heuer]

OK, I need to take math all over again! Thanks for the tip. I’m gonna need to print out and study this one, but VERY cool! I’m just starting to feel comfotable working with expressions but know none of the language. This is a decent step up for me!

Chris Heuer
Freefall FX, LLC

[Chris Heuer]

Yes! Click on “Forums” above. Just under the After Effects Forum is the After Effects Expressions Forum. Lots of great people over there, some from here.

Also goto http://www.motionscript.com

That is Dan Ebberts’ site (He’s one of the expression gurus here). It takes some poking around an a LOT of concentration (for me). But that is the place to really learn.

Chris Heuer
Freefall FX, LLC

[Chris Heuer]

I recently made a Butterfly spot. Dan Ebberts helped me out with this expression:

w = wiggle(2,20);
j = wiggle(1.5,95);
z=wiggle(4,90);
[w[0],j[1],value[2]]

Copy/Paste it into your Butterfly Pre Comp’s “Position” property. Make sure the Pre Comp is a 3D layer.

You can play with the numbers in parentheses to get more or less extreme movements.

w = wiggle(2,20);
j = wiggle(1.5,95);
z=wiggle(4,90);

Remember its (How Often to Wiggle, How Much to Wiggle) so a value of (2, 20) would wiggle 2 times a second, by 20 pixels.

Also, in the bottom line “[w[0],j[1],value[2]]” You need to change the word “value” to the letter “z” if you want the butterfly to wiggle on the z-axis.

Good luck!

Chris Heuer
Freefall FX, LLC

[Chris Heuer]

Thanks a lot Shane. I’ll check the site now.

Chris

Chris Heuer
Freefall FX, LLC

[Chris Heuer]

Thanks for the info. I upgraded to QT Pro about a month ago (I should have mentioned that) but the file still says it’s missing software. And you’re right about hating HDV’s long-GOP.

Any “real frame” codecs you recommend? I’m still heavily isolated and using old school 720×486 NTSC at work. I need to get up to speed with all theses codec choices and conversion options.

Thanks, Chris

Chris Heuer
Freefall FX, LLC

[Chris Heuer]

Try Andrew Kramer’s Film Magic Pro (6th down). It’s a bunch of Color style presets for AE and only $50.00! Also Check out Riot Gear. It has Grungy textures you can use for cutting a hole with gritty edges. Both disks will cost you WAY less than Magic Bullet (and the Presets render much faster!)

Good luck, Chris

Chris Heuer
Freefall FX, LLC

[Chris Heuer]

What kind of glass are you trying to comp this onto? Is it moving (camera shake)? Is there practical lighting or reflections that appear in the glass?

Chris Heuer
Freefall FX, LLC