[Erik Waluska]

Like Brian said, as long as the images have enough resolution you can scale up without quality loss. However, I would not recommend nesting an SD comp into an HD comp because SD and HD are different pixel aspect ratios and different picture aspect ratios, so you would end up with a horizontally squished image. I’ve had to upres a LOT of old SD projects and I used the Scale Composition script, which seemed to be the best and easiest solution for me. When you run it, set the “new comp width” to 1280 and hit “scale”. Then go into the comp settings and choose the “HDV/HDTV 720 29.97” preset. Since the picture aspects are different, you may find that your images that filled the 4:3 frame don’t quite fill the 16:9 frame. In that case, just create a new null, parent everything that isn’t already parented to something else to the null and just scale up as needed. If that happens a lot then maybe just skip the script and just use a null to scale.

[Erik Waluska]

I believe they need to be in a sub-folder inside the plug-ins directory. Just make a “sapphire” or whatever folder and drag them in there. Then you’ll have to restart AE.

[Erik Waluska]

Check out the CompsFromSpreadsheet script at AEscripts.com

[Erik Waluska]

I assume that you’ve checked that the Composition window view is set to Active Camera. Obviously, check that the visibility (eyeball switch) for all of the layers is on, the layers are above the solid in the layer stack in the timeline, and the opacity is not at zero. If you still haven’t figured it out then could you post a screen shot of your entire AE window?

[Erik Waluska]

To resize the comp(s) you can use the “scale composition” script that comes with AE to resize everything. The script scales all of the layers down for you and keeps everything including all of the animation intact. Go to File>Scripts>Scale Composition and enter a new Height value of 576 and hit the Scale button. Then go into the composition settings and choose one of the PAL DV presets, either standard or widescreen, to set the correct width and pixel aspect ratio. Since your original comp is widescreen the sides will be cut off if you go with the standard setting. If you use the widescreen option, you will end up with gaps on the sides, which can be fixed by adding a new null, parenting everything to it (except cameras and lights or layers that are already parented to something). Unlink the scale width/height parameters and set the width so your layers fill the frame correctly. Also turn on the “toggle pixel aspect ration correction” button at the bottom of the comp window to view in widescreen.

[Erik Waluska]

Is the illustrator file with the folder and comp you imported still present in the project window? Are the illustrator layers you were working with still present in the timeline but you just don’t see them in the composition window? If so, check that your view option is set to active camera and not top or side.

[Erik Waluska]

I’m not sure exactly what you’re trying to do but if you want the value you enter in the rotation property to carry into the expression then just put “value+” at the beginning of the expression. Another thing that might be throwing a wrench in the works is that your expression is for the comp, not the layer, which may be a problem but it’s hard to say since your goal is unclear.

[Erik Waluska]

If I understand what you are trying to do, you should be able to just create a “control” layer that holds the expression control slider and just link one of your layers wiggle speed to it and then, with the position value of the layer selected go to Edit>Copy Expression Only and select all of the other layers position values (select all of the layers and hit “P” to reveal position property and marquee select them all) and then paste. Then they will all be linked to that one controller.

[Erik Waluska]

Have you considered using an expression control slider to control the speed of the wiggle? That would give you manual control and you could ease into the stop position by keyframing, which may be smoother.

[Erik Waluska]

I agree with Dave that the alpha type is the most likely suspect. If not, could you post a screenshot of the shader setup you are using with the transparency settings?