[Matt Larson]

What if instead of using an adjustment layer for Shine, put the Shine effect directly onto the layer you want the rays. Then apply the “grow bounds” (or something like that – sorry my AE machine is rendering right now) effect in the image control menu to that Shine layer to avoid the rays getting cut off. Depending how long your rays are it might take a while to render, but I think it’d be easier to manage than putting it in another comp.

[Matt Larson]

You can also do this in FCP 5 (and maybe 4.5 too, I don’t remember) by hitting option+J

[Matt Larson]

Keep the Quick reference keyboard guide included with the manual next to your keyboard until you have it memorized! You will not only edit faster, but you’ll learn how to do things you never knew how to do in the first place. If you have down time, just go through the list and try the ones that you’ve never used before…. who needs a manual?

[Matt Larson]

You already have the plugin…..it’s called “Set Matte”. I picked this trick up here a while ago:

Key your footage in a seperate comp (you may want to drop in a background place holder for reference – be sure to switch it off though before you add this keyed comp to your main comp).

Drop that comp into a new Main Comp. Add the background layer. Move it below your keyed precomp. Duplicate your background layer and move it ABOVE your keyed precomp. Add “Effect> Channel> Set Matte” to your top background layer. Set “Take Matte from Layer” to your keyed precomp. Check “invert matte”. Add a fast blur effect to this layer (about 4 pixels, vertical). Duplicate this layer and delete the blur effect.

I’ve used this dozens of times since I learned it, Go Cow!

[Matt Larson]

THink of Render Engine as a completely stripped down version of AE, and all it is there for is for the Watch Folder feature. If you have multiple computers networked together, you can install Render Engine on all of them and use it to set up a render farm.

I actually use it all the time because you can set up a Comp to Render in Render Engine while you continue working in the Full version of After Effects on the same computer (if you are on a Dual processor mac, which you are.)

Now as for why that’s coming up instead of the Full version of AE? How are you opening After Effects? Are you double clicking on a project file? Because that can be associated with the wrong application. Go into The Applications folder and into the AfterEffects folder and there should be one version of the Application that has an RE after it, that’s the render engine version. So you want to double Click the other application. If not, try doing a search for After Effets and see if you can find 2 applications.

Hope that helps

[Matt Larson]

The Color Finesse plug-in for AE won’t work with External Monitors in AE. (If you go to Synthetic Aperature’s forum on Creative Cow you can see this question gets asked atleast once a week….) I think version 2.0 (which has been “Shipping Soon” since last year’s NAB) should change this, but I’m not sure. Search through the posts there for more info.

Once you close the Color Finesse interface, it should update through AE on your monitor, but I agree, not the best.

[Matt Larson]

Hmmmmm…. I get that same error message if AE can’t access the aja box because another application is using it and won’t let go. So, I would assume that error message has more to do with the output card than with AE or Quicktime version.

What are you using for an output? Io? Kona? If it’s an aja product call them, their tech support is great.

[Matt Larson]

https://tig.colorist.org/wiki2/index.php/Technical_Articles

From what I gather, this is THE rescource for high end telecine. This should get you started, also do a google search or search the COW archives for “film look” (if that’s what you are interested in–and most people seem to be!) Also, if you’re using AE 6.5 Pro, you’ll want to use Color Finesse and there is a great video tutorial here at the COW.

That should get you started and then it’s just a matter of figuring out what you like. And always always always color correct with a calibrated NTSC monitor, a computer monitor is not an NTSC monitor!

[Matt Larson]

As far as I know (and I’ve been involved in this conversation a few tmes), there are only 2 ways to make 4 x 3 video fit a 16 x 9 monitor and you’ve tried them both: stretch the image horizontally or blow the image up and crop it to fit. Both methods degrade the footage.

Can you make it seem like a stylistic choice? If you have b-roll that was shot 4×3, make the entire project 4×3 and then insert the 16×9 footage of A-roll as letterboxed widescreen, for example. Just a thought.

[Matt Larson]

2 suggestions:

Use “MPEG-4 Broadband – High” in Quicktime Pro. Great quality, small file size but relitively small amount of people will be able to view it without having to download something.

Sorenson Video 3 in Quicktime Pro. Select “Export: Movie to Quicktime Movie” and click the Option tab. Good codec and if people are going to view ANY kind of Quicktime file, odds are they’ll be able to view that one.

For both, a file size of 320 x 240 will easily be under 10 MB, you might even try going up to 480 x 360