[David Johnson]

Glad to help when I can Justin…I wouldn’t have gotten where I am without similar help from others here at the COW and elsewhere so I very strongly believe in sharing resources/knowledge, which is the best way we can all give back to the COWmunity that helps us earn a living. Cheers and good luck.

[David Johnson]

I totally agree with Enzo & Todd…I started with AE3 (think it was called COSA then) & PS3 and learning them together made both a lot easier. As i think Enzo said, i started out thinking of AE as PS with a timeline/motion, which helped me get my head around it even though there is much more to AE than that. Bottom line…you don’t have to know PS to learn AE, but it will not only help you learn it faster, but also help you use more of its capabilities. The bright side is that the learning curve for both is not nearly as steep as it once was. If that weren’t true, the CALF probably wouldn’t exist since the the AE market would still be limited to those who relied on it to make a living and thus were willing to spend infinite sleepless nights to learn it.

[David Johnson]

Xilisoft Video Converter is also an option. https://www.xilisoft.com/video-converter.html

I was recently very impressed by the fact that it was the only software I had that would open or convert an MPEG4 a client sent me…I also have Canopus ProCoder, Sorenson Squeeze, Cleaner, & QuickTime Pro (6.5.2) none of which would open this particular MPEG4.

[David Johnson]

Thanks. Saving before closing the windows won’t work for me since I embed the projects in all of my renders, which forces me to save again as the render starts. I guess I must be the only one who uses my that workflow process so I’ll just have to keep using Caps Lock…it’s just a pain since the main things I do while rendering involve typing (e-mail, forums, etc.).

[David Johnson]

Thanks Todd. You’re right, I don’t like closing all windows because I’m often in and out of various large projects with lots of comps, precomps, effects, etc. I have several Window Layouts I use a lot for different kinds of projects that I need to view differntly, but that doesn’t help when closing and re-opening all windows for renders. The comps, precomps and effects in the Timeline, Comp and Effect Controls windows are re-ordered alphabetically each time…as opposed to the way I’ve ordered them by workflow and comp relationship (i.e., precomps next to the comps they’re used in regardless of name and with all effect control tabs available).

Someone told me once that putting the render window on top of the comp view is the same as caps lock, but I haven’t been able to verify that with a short test render and trying it both ways during a normal long render would mean not only doing that same long render twice, but also refraining from doing anything else so as not to skew the results.

[David Johnson]

I think GenArts Sapphire has the best 3rd party transitions (and other FX), but is also among the most expensive plugin sets. Boris Continuum Complete is also good, but also expensive. The Cycore ones bundled with AE Pro are good too. Pixelan SpiceMaster is an extensive and customizable set of various types of wipes, which I use a fair amount…like most plugins, it really only makes transitions that can be done with AE alone faster and easier.

The ones above are mostly of the more subtle type (wipes, blurs, etc.), which I prefer. If you like/need more flamboyant types of transitions (fly-ins, DVEs, etc.), you might look for an old copy of Pinnacle’s Hollywood FX…I have (and very rarely use) one from years ago that still works with AE6.5, but I’ve heard thier newer plugins aren’t AE compatible.

Hope that helps.

[David Johnson]

Here is my entire list that I’ve collected over the years…some include pages of links to additional 3D sites. Please return the favor by replying to this post with any additional good ones you might find.

https://www.3d02.com
https://www.3dcafe.com
https://www.3ddawn.com
https://www.3dkingdom.org/
https://www.3dlands.com
https://www.3dlinks.com/
https://www.3dmodelworks.com/
https://www.3d-resources.com
https://www.the3dstudio.com/
https://www.3dtotal.com/
https://www.3dvalley.com/
https://www.3dxtra.cygad.net/
https://www.accustudio.com/
https://www.alfaville.com/3d-models/index.php
https://www.amazing3d.com/
https://avalon.viewpoint.com/
https://www.baument.com/archives.html
https://www.exchange3d.com/
https://www.forwarddesign.com/3dobjects.htm
https://www.greatbuildings.com/types/models/models.html
https://www.help3d.com/index.php
https://www-rocq1.inria.fr/Eric.Saltel/
https://www.max-realms.com/
https://www.noctua-graphics.de/
https://www.planit3d.com/source/index.htm
https://www.designcommunity.com/qd3d.html
https://www.renderosity.com/
https://www.users.on.net/%7Esparky/index.htm
https://www.turbosquid.com/
https://www.ultax.com/

[David Johnson]

Not sure if this will help, but there is a link somewhere on Apple’s site to uninstall QT7 & iTunes and go back to 6.5.2. You have to really hunt for it though…I guess they want to force everyone to use QT7 & iTunes even though they seem to be ignoring all the QT7 bugs I’ve heard about since they’re mainly affecting video pros (not iPod customers). I haven’t installed QT7 on any of my machines yet (Mac or PC) since I’ve read about a lot of video conflicts (including FCP & Premiere Pro) and have been advised by all the other editors I trust to avoid it. Sounds like your “invalid registration information” might be a registry problem resulting from the re-install…I’d try a registry tool, then clean install, but as always be careful when messing with the registry.

I just got my first iPod video project dropped in my lap too so I’d appreciate any tips you might share from your experiments.

[David Johnson]

I’m rendering right now so i can’t look to be sure, but sounds like you might be looking for CC Smear or Scale Wipe. I also seem to recall using an effect with stretch in the name, but I think it is a third-party plugin. Haven’t seen the MK12 clips your refer to, but there are many other ways to stretch clips in AE…depends on specific look you want.

[David Johnson]

Not sure why, but turning off layers before saving PSDs decreases file size. It is often significant and seems like more than the difference thumbnail data would make, so I’ve gotten in the habit since it adds up over time with many files.

It is also important to know that, if your machine ever crashes with PS open or PS itself crashes, the PS temp file will be left behind and can be quite large if your PS is heavily “loaded” (mine has gotten close to 2Gb). On Windows, its at the root level of your scratch disk…haven’t been able to find it on Macs.