[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

While I have no idea what would cause this, a couple of suggestions for quick debug:

0) Purge all memory and disc cache and try again

1) Add the files to Media Encoder queue instead of Render queue and try it that way.

or

2A) Memory allowing, RAM preview entire animation, then render it.

or, similarly

2B) Save RAM preview directly:

https://www.lynda.com/After-Effects-tutorials/Saving-RAM-previews/161477/167686-4.html

While none of those address the problem (as I have no idea what it is), they may enable you to render out the animations today.

And then there are those other two things that handle a remarkable number of mysterious problems:

A) Close and open program again

B) Restart computer

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

Here they are. You need to copy the noise reduction and color correction effects as well. Note that two layers are used, the top one has been keyed and set as track matte for the bottom color corrected footage.

9190_matted.aep.zip

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

I can take a stab at this.

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

Right — I forgot to mention you need to have the null at 0,0,0 as the beginning position, as its position is added to the layer position. You can just move it there.

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

1) Error is likely due to not having a layer called “Null 1” with a slider Effect named “Slider” on it.

2) To have some of the layers move together, don’t add an expression to them, but parent them to the layer with an expression that you want them to move with. You should still have the layers that have the expression on them right at the top of the layer stack, and the parented ones below, otherwise you’ll get an extra delay from each in-between layer.

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

Hi, okay, in that case, this will get you started:

1) Add a slider control to your null layer.

2) Add this expression to the position of each layer that you want to have move:

transform.position+ thisComp.layer("Null 1").transform.position.valueAtTime(time-index/(1+thisComp.layer("Null 1").effect("Slider Control")("Slider")))

Note that this expression expects that you null is named “Null 1”. If not, change either the name or the expression.

Use the slider to control how fast the consecutive layers follow the null. (1 = 1 second delay for each layer, 10 = 1/10th second delay, etc.)

Put the layers you want to move at the very top of the layer stack so that the indices start from 1. (If for some reason that is not possible, deduct the number of layers above the first layer you want to have move from the index number in the expression.)

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

Show Grid.

Snap to Grid.

Draw masks.

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

Checking that I understand correctly: you have the null object already linked to Soundkeys output, and you have 27 different AE 3D layers would like to move with the null, but each with an increasing delay as the z-distance increases so that the motion will “ripple” through the layers? And the motion is also along the z-axis, so that the layers move back and forth to the sound of the beat (at the frontmost layer) and as a ripple through the rest?

1) If there was no delay, it would be extremely easy: you would type “value + ” and pick-whip the null position, and do this for each layer’s position expression

2) Since you (I assume) want a delay for each layer so it looks like a ripple, you will have to offset the action in time. There is a method called valueAtTime that helps you to do that. And since every layer has it’s own index number, counting from the top layer down, you can use that to tell how much to offset the time for each layer.

It that seems like what you’re after, I’ll write and test the code and add it here.

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

Hi,

Ok good, you have it in the right place now.

Element doesn’t actually interact with other layers in 3D. To put the shadow behing the Element text you need to put the Element layer above the (text and) shadow layers in the layer stack. That way it renders on top of it, not below.

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

There’s no real 3D motion, just a slight zoom, so the 3D camera tracker cannot resolve the camera accurately.

For this type of footage, use the regular tracker with two points, tracking position and scale of (for instance) the diagonal corners of the TV screen, and apply the results to a null object. Then you can parent other things to the null and they will follow the scale and position of the footage.