[David Bogie]

Assuming you want one layer to explode and then have the pieces coalesce back into another layer.
In the olden days, we’d simply use Shatter on both layers.
Set it up once. Copy Shatter.
Paste it to the second layer and time reverse the layer (or precompose it then time reverse).

The issues are creating an invisible transition between the two layers that satisfies your needs and setting up the second copy of Shatter to have some believable physics which can be more difficult than you might think.

Trapcode gets mentioned about a hundred times a day around here as the ultimate solution for everything but I don’t have it on my systems.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[David Bogie]

wish I could help but I cannot even imagine trying to build 3D objects in Motion. I’d stick with After Effects. That’s just my personal preference, of course, but I know my limits of object construction in AE.

Your implied need for a higher level of simulation suggests you really to investigate a 3D modeler, not a goofball hack using the severely limited modeling capabilities of Motion.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[David Bogie]

You’d have to tell us what codec you’re trying to use.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[David Bogie]

You’d want to use a mapping application to examine your drives before considering defragmentation. Your possible read/write access times improvements are determined by the amount of fragmentation and the size of your files (and what code is in use) compared against the inherent latency times of your drives and the amount of onboard caching plus the RAID system caching. That is, if your drives and caches outperform your media format, there’s no need to defrag.

Defragmentation is s difficult topic to discuss objectively because of the variables. Current advice on Macintosh defrag practices is extensively covered on advanced discussion groups. google it and preapre for a few hours of careful research before you decide to attempt the operation. As you say, it’s best to clone the drive and copy back.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[David Bogie]

No idea what you’re seeing in your head but I’d either do this a simple object passing behind each row or or, if you don’t want the edge of the matted object to be seen passing through the circles, keyframe each position using holds.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[David Bogie]

[Harry Pallenberg] “Thanks – thats what I wanted to hear!”

Umm, well, I hope it’s still an accurate statement.
I’d test it very carefully before committing to a client.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[David Bogie]

Shatter is perfect.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[David Bogie]

Hard drive-based and solid state video recordings are ephemeral. Formats change, connectors change, codecs change.

I have VHS tapes that are 30 years old, I can still play them. I have 8″ floppies that are only 12 years old and I can’t find a computer anywhere that will read them. I have hard drives in my ancient Mac SE30 that will not work in any other Macinctosh.

AVCHD is only one of many HD codecs and is not, imnsho, a good investment but that’s just me.

From wiki:
Cons of AVCHD:
Can fail at low atmospheric pressure; most HDD-based camcorders are not allowed to be used at altitudes higher than 10,000 feet (3,000 m)
Can be damaged from shock or fast movement
To transfer video to a computer one has to connect the camera with USB cable; other media types do not require presence of the camera to capture recorded video
Recorded video must be backed up on alternative media as the built-in HDD is not removable

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[David Bogie]

Using the Render setting in CC Sphere it is possible to place one sphere object inside another as long as the layers are different scales. They are flat layers, remember, not 3D. You’re just stacking them in order:
Top layer is the travel line set to render outside.
Next layer is the surface of the world to which you have applied CCSphere.
Bottom layer is another copy of your travel arrow set to render inside. You may not need this layer unless you want to show the arrow wrapping aournd behind the globe. You can feather a mask iat the edges of the globe layer to enhance the illusion that there is atmosphere.

an expression links all rotation together, modifying the expression for the arrow layers by multiplying by a number slightly greater than one will enhance the illusion of separation between the objects.

One more thing that everyone who animates globes screws up: The Earth rotates west to east. The sun rises on the eastern seaboard of the US before it rises in California. (PBD GlobeTrekker series has their entire logo, opens, closes and credits using a globe that is spinning backwards, idiots.)

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[David Bogie]

Define “large” in two terms: How big is the project file in Mb and how long is the project in terms of hours.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”