Darby Edelen
Forum Replies Created
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[QueJet] “glow isn’t doing what we want, not because of threshold. the point of this is that for one glow effect, all the settings, no mater what they are set to, don’t give me the result im looking for, which is a much larger bloom.”
Then perhaps it’s time to look at 32bpc and linear compositing for more realistic blooming effects.
Also, keep in mind that you have more control when you keep it simple: duplicating your source layer, parenting it, switching it to Add mode and using a box blur will not only give you a glow effect, but it will render faster. Add a levels effect to get more out of the self-made glow.
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA -
I’m not sure what it is that you’re trying to accomplish, so this method might not work for you (it will only work if the property is currently changing/animating), but you could check the “.speed” of the property if its spatial. Otherwise you could compare the current value to the previous frame’s value to find out if the property is changing.
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA -
[paulhawkridge] “I have trapcodes particular to work with too.”
I would recommend looking into Particular’s “Visibility” properties, specifically the start vanish near property. You can’t make a text layer appear out from behind particles naturally, but you can make them disappear as they approach the camera, then animate the camera to approach the text. The result should be something like the text layer emerging from the fog.
As far as the fog itself, you can use particular’s built in cloudlet or smokelet, or for more control make your own custom particle out of fractal noise.
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA -
The masks are on the solid layer that the ‘Create Outlines’ commands creates.
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA -
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Type out your text, then select the text, right click in the comp window on the text (make sure you’re still using the text tool, cmd-t/ctrl-t) and the second option in the contextual menu should be ‘Create Outlines.’ This will make a new solid layer with masks that match the text.
Also, for future reference the sixth option in the contextual menu allows you to convert to paragraph text, so you can define bounds of the text field. Well… I was happy to find that one day anyway (;
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA -
I’m guessing you are using layer styles in Photoshop on a white text layer. AE7 doesn’t recognize layer styles from PSDs. AE CS3 does, and allows you to tweak the settings once imported.
For the time being if you’re using AE7 I recommend grouping the layer into a new smart object, this will allow AE7 to import the layer styles as any other pixel data.
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA -
The Layer Mask should be on the layer you want to mask =)
So if you put a layer mask on the Adjustment Layer, the mask will only affect the adjustment layer. The white portions of the mask will cause the Levels adjustment to affect layers below it, while the black portions will prohibit the Levels adjustment from affecting those below it. This won’t have any effect on the lower layers’ transparency though.
To adjust a layer mask you have to select it first, click on the layer mask thumbnail in the layers pallette (should be to the right of the layer’s thumbnail). Now any adjustments or filters you use will affect the layer mask and not the layer. You can also opt-click (alt-click on PC) the layer mask thumbnail to view the layer mask as you do this if you want to make sure its having an effect, but I recommend checking the layer often to make sure you’re getting the result you want (opt/alt-click the layer mask again to revert to layer view).
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA -
[Rob Webster] “The combination of the three numbers should total 100, unless you want an overall brightening or darkening. The default is that red is at 100%, but that’s usually not too flattering for skin tones and tends to wash them out. I like having the reds at 20% or less, and use lots of the green.”
Interesting… It’s my understanding that the Tint effect does what you’ve suggested here in maintaining green as the dominant channel (perceptually correct for human vision) where as desaturating by using the Hue/Saturation effect doesn’t give any particular channel precedence.
I like your technique because it gives the artist more control… and that’s good, but do you happen to know the ‘perceptually correct’ values for the R, G & B sliders as a starting point?
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA -
Oh, alternatively:
You could use the Leave Color effect in After Effects, or any number of the keying effects. These would be more automated, but give you less flexibility in terms of tweaking.
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA