Joseph W. bourke
Forum Replies Created
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I would save off a copy of the project first, so you can get back to where you were. Depending on how the drop shadows were generated, you can usually turn on a switch that says “drop shadow only” – this will turn off the layer, but leave the shadow. You don’t say whether there is already an alpha with the main layer you want, so I’ll assume there is. You may also need to work in your precomp, if that’s where the shadow layers are – the Solo button in the comp might come in handy as well.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
I’m with you Jason. I’m the IT person in my office, plus the animator, editor, dishwasher, and dog walker. It’s not rocket science – you just need to write everything down as you do it, so that if you ever need to secure a network again you’ll have a roadmap. You may also find that you’re internet service provider has a very specific tutorial on your wireless hub, if that’s what you use. I have TDS, and their website gives very specific info on how to secure the network.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
Well it looks like 3D text to me. It would be quite easy to do in a program like 3DS Max. You create the straight text, put a rock texture on it, and use the rock texture as a displacement map. Then light it from below with a light which is changing its intensity to make it look like fire.
In AE you might approximate it, or use Element 3D or maybe Zaxwerks Invigorator Pro, but real 3D would be easier and quicker. It would seem obvious that whoever created the text had a 3D package at hand, since everything under the text is 3D.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
I don’t know the solution to this, but you most certainly want to make sure that you or your IT person, secure things. Here’s a good walkthrough of how to do it:
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
Hi Grant –
I use Camtasia, screen capture software which allows you to capture motion from the computer screen, and do all sorts of other things, such as follow the mouse point with a virtual camera, putting animated icons where the mouse clicks, etc.
Some clients send me footage, but my preferred way of working is to get the software from the client, install it on my machine, and, working from a scratch track or the final voice over, time the movements with the VO.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
Highly compressed footage is never particularly good for pulling keys. There’s not enough color information. Ideally you need footage in a 4:2:2 sampling rate. Here’s a good, concise rundown on why:
https://www.studio1productions.com/Articles/411samp.htm
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
Dave is right – a dedicated 3D app is going to get you there a lot faster and better. While I’ve seen some of the Newton demos in which there appears to be some 3D going on, it’s basically a parlor trick. You never see the camera moving around, because the 3D you’re seeing is really 2D/3D.
Newton is amazing for what it does, putting a physics engine in After Effects, and there’s a major update due in a month or so; I can’t wait to see what’s getting added. But for dice, go with 3D.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
OK Roberto – I’m close. You’re going to have to pick up the ball here and run with it. Here’s what I’ve done. I took a layer that I wanted to be the distortion layer (to go over the others). I created a new Adjustment Layer, made it the same size as the layer to be used for distortion, and parented the layer to be used in front to the Adjustment Layer. I then added a Displacement Map to the adjustment layer, and set it to use the front layer for the distortion map. When I move the front layer around, it “distort” everthing behind it. You may have to make one of these for ever layer that’s going to pass in front of another, but it seems to work.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
David –
Rather than shoot the screen, why not use something like Camtasia to actually capture the “writing on” process. It’s way cleaner looking than anything you could ever do with video, and it’s very quick to accomplish.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
Think about that statement, David – it’s not a simple thing at all. Depending on the typeface you use, you have ascenders, descenders, serifs, bowls, and all other sorts of bits and pieces which are entirely different for every single one of the multiple thousands of fonts which are out there.
Now while I suppose someone could write a script which starts at the left hand side of the letter, and proceeds through the curve of the letter (oh…wait, this is the letter T, there’s no curve!), then progresses letter by letter through each word, then line, it just isn’t that simple. Look at the letter “T”. When you write it, do you do the crossbar at the top first, or the upright? Even better, look at the letter “G” – do you write it from right to left – well I do – then the whole system falls on its face…because in handwriting there is no system. It’s as unique as the person who writes, the country you’re writing in, the script style you choose, and so on and so on. You can’t write a plugin to mirror a system in which there is no system.
My suggestion is to charge the client what it’s really going to take you in time, and prepare to see them run the other way. That said, if there are large amounts of text being written that aren’t too close to the camera, you could use the Text Typewriter effect, and most people would be none the wiser.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com