[David Bogie]

You will need more RAM or you will need to reduce the image quality of the preview.
Please post beginners questions in the AE BASICS forum.

bogeisan

[David Bogie]

Searching the forum will uncover several related threads.
We’d really need to know what “breakup” means for you, though, and where it’s visible. Actually in the pixels re just on your monitor during layback and in what video format?

You can easily use a vectorscope or the vector function in Color Finesse to stay in the red box or within the chromatic limitations of any chosen codec.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

Why are you not simply using the audio Spectrum and Audio Waveform effects?

Noise Industries has a few freebies for FxFactory that work in FCP/Motion and AE. One of them was a fabulous mutli-function VU display but, alas, it is no longer listed on the NI site. It’s really cool and is made by CoreMelt, seems they’ve gone to their own rendering engine and no longer support the NI FxFactory system. bummer.

https://www.coremelt.com/products/v2/veeyou.html

https://www.noiseindustries.com/fxfactory/

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

Nice, Chris, I had no idea there was such a need for this utility.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

You’re going to need to talk to users of that 3D app, I should think. A refraction map won’t do you much good in AE, AFAIK. You can use the output, which I assume is a grayscale movie, for various purposes with a number of different compound effects in AE but you won’t find a specific “refraction filter.” Reflections are a bit easier accoriding the cow’s AE wonks.
https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/2/926454

try some of these?
https://library.creativecow.net/articles/kramer_andrew/reflections.php_with_refractions/
https://library.creativecow.net/articles/kramer_andrew/reflections.php_with_refractions/
https://www.videocopilot.net/blog/2009/08/refraction-fx-in-ae/
https://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/?id=79

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

[Patrick de Teliga] “Everytime i open FCP i have to re-render clips and sequences that i have already rendered, it’s torture. Funnily enough, its not every clip, but the majority i will have to re-render. “

If you rendered before saving, when you launch the application you should see an alert telling you a bunch of files have gone offline. The rendered media files exist someplace and your system isn’t finding them. Where did they go? Are they in the trash? Can you relink to them?
Search your external for them by sorting the Render Scratch folder by date.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

Probably your render settings are not set to BEST.
Even though you moved the post, c’mon back here anyway and tell us what the basics wonks told you to do.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

It’s no that I don’t sympathize, I do. I see this topic often.

FCP’s failures in metadata handling have been known since v1 and they could have been researched easily and thoroughly before you committed to a platform that, as it turns out, coes not support your preconceived workflow.

You have two options:
1. Change your workflow to accommodate the limitations of your platform (FCP has many more benefits than drawbacks)
2. Obtain a third party application that helps handle your markers (CatDV and Cumulus are fully capable video catalogers with HUGE issues of their own)
3. Just keep complaining.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

[Alex Udell] “in edit* you hit a key (can’t remember what it is now) so that the gray box (equivalent) would temporarily be to the left of the playhead and the canvas would show the preceeding frame.
sorry of this is kind of newbie for this forum… “

Ah, “edit*” means nothing to me, you might as well say “Avid” or “Premiere.” FCP actually has some peculiar frame reference behaviors but they have never impacted my work so I do not pay attention to those discussions.

We were all new to this at one time or another.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

“Look?”

You can move it but I do not understand your use of the term look.

bogiesan