[Jeff Kay]

An effect of this is that with a set seedRandom, random() will always generate the same [randomly generated] results, while random() absent of a seedRandom being set will generate different results every time you preview, render, or move your playhead.

This means that any previewing you do will necessarily be different than your export unless a seedRandom value is set. I might not always use the offset or timeless modifiers for seedRandom, but I honestly don’t know of a situation that I wouldn’t set seedRandom if I’m using random().

[Jeff Kay]

Wouldn’t surprise me. There are a lot of digital signs that are. . . just not set up correctly. Seen several that use a standard video resolution output that is stretched to the size of the board.

I’m 90% positive that the 1152×864 4:3 resolution is the desktop resolution of the device that is playing the content, which is relatively common for something running headless.

[Jeff Kay]

How are they not working? Are they returning expression errors? Are they doing nothing? Are they doing something?

Have you tried removing the superfluous information? It does not need type = or numKeyframes= as it will always read the first value as the first and the second value as the second, additionally 0 for numKeyframes is the default value. In general every line (read line of code, not line of text on screen) should have a semicolon ; at the end of it.

loopOut("cycle");

Check to make sure each value that has the expression added to it has keyframes on that value. loopOut functions directly via keyframes and will not work without them.

[Jeff Kay]

According to the sign controller it is 168×96 not 1152×864 (I can see the pixels it most certainly is not 1152×864). Looks like the sign controller is set to scale to fill, which is why you are getting cropping.

Export a copy at 168×96 and it should play correctly.

[Jeff Kay]

Your glow radius is very large. If intensity stays the same and glow radius increases, then the perceptibility of the glow effect will decrease.

What I believe Dave is getting at, is that if you are planning on using the glow comp with a blend mode that works with a solid black background (e.g. screen or add), then putting a solid black behind the glow will correct a lot of issues with the glow effect (this is why adding a background gives you the result you expect).

[Jeff Kay]

The 36 relates to the MB/s of the final product. I believe that the number is an outdated method of referring to particular Avid codec settings. I’d cross reference these two.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Avid_DNxHD_resolutions
https://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/White_Paper/DNxHR-Codec-Bandwidth-Specifications

Yes the second is DNxHR not DNxHD, those two are mostly the same standards but DNxHR can handle non standard resolutions. I believe the setting that you are going to be looking for is DNX LB (low bandwidth).

[Jeff Kay]

The one I’ve been using is
Math.floor(time*Y)%X

Where it increments Y times a second and counts from 0 to X-1.

[Jeff Kay]

Create a trimmed down AE project that is just the rigged character w/ subcomps and import that?

[Jeff Kay]

I could have sworn that at one point I linked a text layer to another text layer and it changed color/font/stroke and all that jazz in the linked layer, but as you said Source Text does indeed seem to be copy only.

Considering how much can be controlled globally with expressions, lacking the ability to do with with text is rather frustrating.

Thank you though, for your help.

[Jeff Kay]

Looks like when you copy and pasted the expression the < signs got replaced by < No idea if that happened inside of AE or when you posted.

I don’t know what you mean when you ask if it will work “on a composition”. The thing that it may or may not work on is a particular property which may be on a composition or any other layer. Though because this particular expression uses value I don’t see an issue of it returning the wrong type of value (e.g. returning an array of 1 when the property expects an array of 2, or a color value).

The property in question must actually be animated. The expression provides the bounceback specifically by calculating that change. If the property is not animated then the expression is correctly working when it does nothing.