[Max Jackson]

Okay, I think I’m starting to get the picture better now.

I have to think of layers as being much more independent. Each layer must have code inside it to control it directly. I can’t cross-assign information, so in all, get used to redundancy.

I think also overall I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. I tried writing out my thoughts like I would in Actionscript in an AE environment and the smoke detector went off.

I’m guessing a good starting place would be to do some exercises using the slider with multiple layers and time.

Thanks for the assistance and direction Dan, it’s appreciated.

[Max Jackson]

I think I might be getting ahead of myself. I think the real issue I have is migrating from object-oriented programming.

Coding aside, is there a good philosophy to use when approaching expressions? I feel like I’m using a remote to a TV that’s not plugged in. I don’t really get the structure.

Sorry if this sounds really dense. For this what should I do overall? Based on what I’m allowed, what would be my plan of action? I get lost in the slider “publishing” things. I understand that the slider is a means to supply an access-to range of values, but so I’m giving my layer the ability to alpha by dragging a slider…Got that. Then creating a boolean-like condition to control the layer it’s coded in.

In terms of layer structure I’m lost though. Sorry if that’s vague. I just see myself putting code and sliders in each layer and since I can’t attach code to an object I don’t know how to wire it up?

What am I missing? Should I designate one layer to be like some parent master layer of some kind?

[Max Jackson]

Hehehe, yeah, it sounded like a whole other rendering schedule.

Probably a quicker fix would have a spare copy of the QT file. Duh, don’t know why I didn’t think of that. I guess when learning you put on blinders with what you read a lot of the time.

Thanks!

[Max Jackson]

Great, thanks Michael! In my off-time I’m soaking up as much as I can. Currently working through the use of expressions. Knowing ActionScript is going to come in handy. I’ve already jumped through 125 pages of Mr. Geduld’s book.

I’ll add this to my stack of material! 😀

[Max Jackson]

Oh okay, right. Yeah, it’s just that I’m used to using Flash which the terminology is export/publish. Render, render, render…

I just read in this book I bought by Mark Christiansen (haven’t gotten to it, read the intro to know I’m not ready for it just yet) and he talks about how in workflow it’s safer to import a sequence of images rather than an MOV format in case of corruption. Which in my experience can possibly happen to any SWF format if it’s compressed enough. The thing is with After Effects is that you’re sourcing a file not embedding it. So making comp versions won’t address a corrupt MOV, right? That was my motivation for image sequences, more importing than rendering at the moment.

I’ve been focusing mostly on the editing stage of workflow. Haven’t gotten to exp…rendering yet. That’s a good reminder about JPGs though. That’d be an ugly morning to wake up to a bunch of black space filling the motion.

Thanks Dave! 😀

[Max Jackson]

Cool, good to know. I’ll get use to seeing and working with JPGs as a standard.

Just for measure, I was referring mainly to, like, compositing and such. I imagine that upon export it could be any number of formats depending on the client.

Er…that’s my guess at least. Being a noob my definitions aren’t always clear.

Thanks Dave!

[Max Jackson]

Awesome, thanks Michael.

These tips are PRICELESS in helping you understand and decide what would be the right door to choose to get results before just guessing and then choking, suppressing, etc. It’s like a Rubix® cube. You could easily play with aliasing for hours if you can’t identify your tools.

The additional links are great, I’ve actually seen a few of them already. I just read The After Effects Illusionist, am onto After Effects Expressions, and then will probably go back to practicing Mocha over and over again until I can’t sleep with going over some endless track.

These tips will DEFINITELY help the workflow process.

Thanks a bunch!

[Max Jackson]

Hi Dave,

Sorry to everybody for such a delayed response. I do appreciate it. Just got really busy.

I did finally manage to realize that you have to click on the vertices to get the free transform tool to appear.

I earlier went to Adobe before CC. Adobe’s instructions are difficult to translate half the time. I also don’t read very well. I really try, but this didn’t work for me:

“To transform an entire mask or shape path, select it (it?) in the Timeline panel and choose Layer > Mask And Shape Path > Free Transform Points.”

Well, I tried the menu and layer and the Free Transform Tool was shaded out.

Some things are just easier to learn in AE by video I guess. I still can’t get the double-arrows to come up. I did once then lost it. Thank goodness somebody on Adobe TV did a demo. I’ll have to check it out.

Thanks so much Dave and and everybody else for chiming to help me out. It is appreciated.

Creative Cow Rocks!
-maX

[Max Jackson]

Ah! Yes!! Thanks Dan!

I’ve been reading your stuff online and got the orange book. 🙂

Peace,
-soupking

[Max Jackson]

AH!!! You found it! YOU FOUND IT!!!!! It was the Handles checkbox under View Options!

Joey, you’re a Saint!! I couldn’t have done it without you.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!