Kalleheikki Kannisto
1
COW Coin
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Probably simplest if you ask someone with a later version of Illustrator to see if they can open it save it as an even earlier version than CS6.
Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer -
“Projection 3D” is a similar plugin
Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer -
This concurrent thread in the expression forum has a pretty ready-looking solution for the sampleImage() code you need
https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/227/40057Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer -
Possible, yes; easy, no.
Had I known at the start you wanted to include that effect as well, I would have steered you toward the more complicated route of having a row of lights at the top of the keyboard, because you could use it for this effect.
I can think of two ways to accomplish a resemblance of this in AE without any extra plugins or 3D:
0A) In either case, you need a layer with just the black keys on it. A white solid with masks for each of the key would work.
0B) In either case, you need a point at the top of each key (black and white) where you sample the black and white piano roll emitter layer with a sampleImage() expression to determine if it is black or white (round it to one or the other). You could attach this expression to a row of nulls, each null sampling the point directly behind it.1A) In option one you would also have a light source at the location of each of the keys, at the top, which would light up depending on the value of the sampleImage() at the previous step
1B) The white solid from 0A would have to be a 3D layer, and you would need another white solid layer behind it to catch the shadows from the keys. Making the solids white allows you to composite the over the keyboard in Multiply mode to get the shadows. (If that doesn’t work too well, you can try gray solids and Overlay mode or even dark gray solids with Screen or Add.)2) It might be possible to do this with a series of CC light rays effects, the centers of each placed in the same fashion at the top of each key and triggered by the sampleImage() results and using the black-keys solid to generate shadows. The layers would be 2D in this case. It would be a more complex matter to get an output that you can overlay on the keys. My guess is it would have to be in the Add transfer mode.
I’d personally go with the lights solution, knowing with greater certainty that it would work.
It is not going to be a simple operation either way.
Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer -
If I was asked to do that I would do it entirely as 3D animation.
Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer -
Although a bit of an unorthodox use for the plugin, you could consider Trapcode Form. If you use sprites (particles that always face the camera) for your triangles, you can have them floating around automatically using an animated fractal field and then use a spherical field to either push or pull the triangles toward or away from a certain point.
However, using a full particle system plugin is a bit of an overkill for a couple of triangles.
If you’re into expressions, you can do a 2D custom implementation of the same idea with a bunch of shape layers, a null object and a slider. You can use the null object to indicate which area needs to be cleared and a slider to tell how far the shapes should be pushed away from that point. Then when “idle” (slider at 0) you can have the shapes “floating” around with a slow wiggle expressions for position and rotation.
Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer -
The layer emitter will have to be selected separately for each instance of Particular. You won’t be able to precomp multiple instances of Particular and use a layer emitter that is outside that precomp.
Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer -
I assume your intended end result is not just adding markers, but attaching objects to spots that don’t have markers generated by the 3D camera tracker.
If that is the case, you can create a 3D null from any point on a plane defined by at least three tracking points. The null will be aligned to that plane, and you can move it along that plane to the desired position using those two transform arrows that lie on that plane. Once in the desired position, you can attach a 3D layer to that null.
Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer -
Precomping or prerendering, and using shy layers are pretty much the options you have to limit number of layers (or visible layers).
If you really want to keep everything in AE, you could have all your backgrounds in one (pre)comp at the bottom of the layer stack, and open that comp only when you need to adjust timing.Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer -
The basic answer is that editing is better accomplished in an editing software, where the footage can be laid out in a more linear fashion. Is there a reason you’re not doing this in, say, Premiere?
Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer