[Dave Johnson]

No, it isn’t.

But, search this forum for some workarounds such as installing both on the same machine, running them at the same time and copying and pasting the elements that can be from a CS3 project into a 7 project.

[Dave Johnson]

DV-Cam is in fact better than mini-DV, but I doubt you’ll see a noticeable difference … especially when the output is web video.

I used DSR-500s & DSR-300s a lot for about 4 years in the late 90s and early 00s … they were both great cams then, but its important to note that they’re both quite old models at this point. And, more importantly, both the DV-Cam and mini-DV formats are phasing out. In other words, I don’t know off-hand how much either cam would sell for today (although quick searches of Google & eBay can easily tell you going rates), but I doubt it’s significantly less than the current “prosumer” cams are selling for.

And, no, digitizing via Firewire doesn’t degrade the footage. DV-Cam and mini-DV are pretty similar so however you’re working with your mini-DV footage now will work with DV-Cam too.

[Dave Johnson]

Third-party plugin backwards compatibility (or lack thereof) has always been an issue with almost all third-party plugins (although BorisFX handles it very well). The solution I’ve always used is a very well-organized installation methodology and workflow …

[1] force all third-party plugins to install into a “Third-Party” folder I create inside of the AE plugins folder

[2] add a “(Disabled)” folder inside the above folder and put an “Obsolete” folder inside of it (the parenthesis stop AE from loading any plugins inside that folder or its subfolders

[3] stop using old version plugins in new projects as soon as I get a newer version and move them to the Obsolete folder

[4] when I need to go back to older projects (quite often for me), temporarily move the new plugin version into the Disabled folder and temporarily move the old version out of the Obsolete folder

It might sound cumbersome, but its really quite simple … after working this way for many years, I don’t even have to think about what I’m doing anymore … although I’m not recommending that part.

I own the DFX suite too and I absolutely love it so, while the transition from DFT is clunky, its worth it.

[Dave Johnson]

When you say “this is the look I want”, it’s unclear whether you’re referring to the Roughen Edges method or the other method suggested, but there are two mains ways to avoid the cutoff issue:

[1] precompose the solid and change the precomp size to be larger than the solid, thereby adding enough space around the perimeter for any effects that may extend beyond the size of the solid itself

[2] apply the Grow Bounds effect to the solid before applying the Roughen Edges effect (or whatever other effects you’re using)

If I recall correctly, I don’t think either should be needed with Roughen Edges since it does exactly what the name implies. So, rather than extend edges, it chokes the edges to create its effect and doesn’t extend beyond the original borders, although I guess that may not hold true if the controls are adjusted certain ways.

[Dave Johnson]

I don’t use Vista, but this should work on any Windows O/S … go to the root level of your system drive (probably C:) and search for a folder aptly named “fonts” … it might be hidden by default since it’s a system folder so you might have to go to system preferences and check “show hidden files and folders” in order to see it.

BTW, Dave made a very good point and I’ll just add my two cents …

Considering the very short version cycles all software manufacturers are going to in order to boost revenues (and, of course, to be more responsive to user demands), you might want to do a little research before upgrading core software suites … a quick Google search shows enough buzz about CS5 that we shouldn’t be totally surprised if we see it before too much longer. So, if the compatibility check Dave suggested garners less than ideal news about CS4 with Win7, you could delay your upgrade plans slightly … perhaps continue with CS4 on Vista until you upgrade to CS5 and put that on your new Win7 system instead of clogging up a system with a new O/S by installing two different large software suites within only a few months.

[Dave Johnson]

I am not an IT guy, but a long-time professional user of many Adobe applications, as well as many other media applications on both platforms so I’ll offer my two cents anyway.

As the post below states, it was recently announced that the “next” AE version will definitely be 64-bit and there’s plenty of speculation circulating that CS5 will be released within 6-9 months.

https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/2/966292

[Tim Morecroft … should i build my comp for AE CS4 with win7 in mind?]

So, my opinion is no … build for CS5 with Win7 “in mind”, but only in mind. In other words, my view of Win7 (or any other software not tried & true) is that, especially if one is dependent upon computer tools to make a living, stay on technology’s cutting edge, but leave the bleeding edge to those who can afford to waste time/money dealing with all the conflicts, bug reports, etc. Then, adopt it once it’s solid … maybe it’ll be perfect right out the gate, but then again, no O/S of either platform has ever been thus far so why expect different?

[Dave Johnson]

Based on how it looks and that the image in general appears to be from a film, it was probably done in After Effects using Fractal Noise (or one of the many other techniques in AE or PS that can be used to make that sort of grungy look). Even if it wasn’t, it could be reproduced that way pretty easily.

[Dave Johnson]

I’m glad you found my 2 cents helpful.

If you work for a large company, they probably have some sort of VPN (Virtual Private Network) available, which allows users to securely log into and use their work desktops from another computer.

From what I’ve seen of VPN, it seems fine for working on documents, etc., but not at all suitable for video and graphics work … could you imagine trying to run AE over the internet!? However, I’m not an IT guy so I can’t say that it’s not possible since what I’ve seen could be more a function of our network’s capabilities.

By the way, the ruggedness and carrying cases of the MAXX drives are definitely very important things that make them well-suited for constant portable use, but also note that they are quad-interface (eSATA, FW800, FW400 & USB2) … I really like the fact that I can plug into literally any computer at it’s fastest external drive speed and get right to work.

[Dave Johnson]

I’ve been doing exactly what you’re describing for most of my career including years as a freelancer working on many different machines.

As a means to fill 2 needs with one method (mobility & full backups), I developed the habit of keeping all AE source media on multiple carefully organized external hard drives. It sounds like you’ve got that covered with your Drobos, but just in case, this post has a link to the drives I use, which I highly recommend: https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/2/965959

Until a few years ago, I used a file synchronization program a friend wrote to automate the tedious organization work, but it became less functional as operating systems changed so I’m still looking for the best replacement. There are so many on the market now that I’m having trouble comparing pros and cons without installing a dozen trial versions on my systems. I’ll post here if I’m able to determine a winner soon since good synch software is key to avoiding the typical issues you wisely predicted – “So assets don’t get lost/forgotten, etc.”.

[Dave Johnson]

You’ll still need to be more specific about the issue you’re having since all you should need to do is render from AE with an alpha channel codec and put that file on a layer above your video in Premiere … if that’s what you’re doing and it’s not working, describe the results you’re getting so I or someone else can try to figure out what may have gone wrong.