[Joe Castiglioni]

Thank you SO MUCH for replying. I was able to make this work exactly how I wanted! I got an error and fiddled around and had to switch the order of the elements in the ease array in the if/else section for some reason, but it totally works!

Where would you recommend going to learn more about how to think about creating expressions?

Joe Castiglioni
Video Person

[Joe Castiglioni]

I ended up getting an audio-technica hardwire microphone set with a AT8531 belt pack and AT803 microphone.

I plugged that microphone into one of those $20 headphone amps, then plugged that into the 5D mk3.

This is what it sounds like:
https://youtu.be/SunxabM6ENw

Joe Castiglioni
Creative Services Producer
WSLS, Roanoke VA

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[Joe Castiglioni]

Thanks for your reply! That’s helpful to hear your sense of which is better since you owned both.

Joe Castiglioni
Creative Services Producer
WSLS, Roanoke VA

[Joe Castiglioni]

Howdy. I’ve actually thought about this topic because for a while it looked like I might be getting the same job and setting up a similar studio.

My initial thoughts:
Wireless transmission of video doesn’t sound like a good idea to me. It might add cost but it could also increase the chances of something going wrong. There are several ways to get a video signal via wires from a DSLR to a switcher. One of them being HDMI to SDI converter boxes. We’ve used this method at my church and it works fine, even with long (100’+) SDI cables.

A Mac with Final Cut Studio 7 has worked great for me for recording. The only software-based switcher I’ve used was 15 years ago in college. But the little research I’ve done since then hasn’t convinced me that a physical switcher wouldn’t be better because you’re going to need some sort of interface to input all the different sources anyway. I don’t know though.

You might also consider buying HD video cameras instead of DSLRs. There are advantages to both. A video camera might be easier to control in a live studio setting (and would allow for hand control zooming/focusing on the fly), but DSLRs would provide a different type of experience that might be useful later, depending on their career paths. There are some inexpensive video cameras out there with smaller chips that are made for that sort of application. Might be worth considering.

Anyways just my two cents. Have a nice day!

Joe Castiglioni
Creative Services Producer
WSLS, Roanoke VA

[Joe Castiglioni]

I don’t know nothin’ about nothin’ but I might try motion tracking the whole shabang in sections. I would use points on or close to the trail itself as your track points. Then you could apply that tracking data to an empty layer. THEN you could draw a mask on that empty layer onto the trail in sections. And since you’ve tracked it, the mask should stay on the trail as you go. I’m sure it will take a lot of tweaking, but letting the motion tracker keep the mask glued to the trail is better than animating it frame by frame (god forbid).

You might’ve already tried that, or maybe the footage is too shaky even if you adjusted the sensitivity of the tracker settings, but that’s how I’d approach it.

Taikwanjo

[Joe Castiglioni]

I read every tutorial I could find here on the cow that involved revolving text and couldn’t wrap my mind around some of the stuff (expressions especially) so I kind of hodge-podged a method together that worked for me.

I achieved this effect in 3D space with each letter as a separate layer. I created a null layer which I animated in a circle from the Top camera view. Then I parented the first letter to the null layer, and each subsequent letter was parented to the layer above it. In order to get the letters not to just travel around the globe in a bunch, I delayed each subsequent letter by an amount of time that was controlled by a couple sliders. Most letters I could delay by the same amount of time and the ‘kerning’ looked fine, so most letters were delayed by a single slider. The letter “i” .. being thinner than the other letters.. was controlled with another slider with a slightly shorter delay time.

And because the letters were travelling through 3D space, I just pushed my cylinder back a bit on the Z axis and viola’.. letters revolving around a globe. (or tire, as it was in my case). I added some looping expression somewhere in there, and got text that perpetually revolved around a spinning tire.

Now it did take around 8 hours to render, and bogged down my computer so much while I was building it that I started growing grey hairs, but it worked. 😉 Maybe I just need more RAM.

Don’t know if that would be helpful. That’s just how I did it.

Taikwanjo

[Joe Castiglioni]

Have you tried using Layer-Auto Trace to get a mask around the edges of each version of the logo, then use Reshape to morph from logo to logo? That would still use masks, but it’s a quick way to get a mask from the alpha. You might’ve already thought of that, but I figured I should suggest it since I found out about Auto Trace on this forum and used it for something similar. Just an idea. 🙂

Taikwanjo

[Joe Castiglioni]

Thanks very much for the helpful suggestions. I actually just e-mailed the web guy at my station to see if he might have a javascript book I could borrow.

I think the biggest hindrance to my understanding expressions is my pea-sized brain. For me expressions are like playing golf — mastery eludes me, but every now and the planets align and I do well with it. Maybe I just need to play golf more.

-Taikwanjo

[Joe Castiglioni]

I have Premiere Elements 1.5, and in that version you just go to File-Export-Movie, and make sure the File Type is Microsoft DV AVI, and Color Depth is Millions of Colors. Quicktime/MOV should also work.

A question for you… Could you just use the original captured footage file instead of exporting another copy of it? Depending on which version of AE you have, you should be able to just copy the clip from your timeline in Premiere and paste it into your composition in After Effects. Or you could go to File-Import in AE and import the file from your capture folder.

Just some ideas.

-Taikwanjo

[Joe Castiglioni]

If the shot is locked down and there isn’t too much movement in the frame other than your swinging subject, Time-Echo might give you an interesting effect.

You might also try compositing a copy of the layer over top of a still of the scene without the person swinging in it and use Difference Matte to basically ‘key out’ the swinging person. Then duplicate that layer (which now contains just the swinging person & no background) and add time echo to the bottom version.

I just did that playing around with some footage of a guy walking, and after adding a matte choker to smooth the edges a little bit it ended up looking pretty decent. Just an idea.