Michael Hancock
Forum Replies Created
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Also, from I’ve found, AE does best with AIFF files. Never use mp3. After Effects is not a fan of mp3 at all. And if the above suggestions don’t work, then make sure your audio is turned on in the comp. Where the little eye is that makes your layer visible/not visible, there will be a speaker box next to it. Make sure it’s enabled or you won’t hear a thing. Let us know if you get it working and welcome to After Effects. May it continue to delight and frustrate for years to come. I love it.
Michael.
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If you want to hear just the audio, hit the . on the keypad on the right side of your keyboard. While it’s playing, hit * on the keypad to lay a marker. That way you can mark beats, hits, crescendos–whatever you’re wanting to use in the audio for timing. If you want to preview your comp with audio, hit Ctrl+3 or go to Window–>Time Controls to open up your Time Control box. Under the Time Control option of the Time Control box click the little speaker. Then, when you hit 0 on the keypad for a RAM preview, it will include your audio. All of this is covered in the manual, or hit F1 in AE and search the help file for RAM Preview with Audio. It will give you about 7 responses detailing exactly how to do it. Hope this helps.
Mike.
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I agree that Moving Picture is a godsend. The easiest plug-in to learn with the greatest value. Pixel Monkey–that’s exactly how I get dissolves to work to, and while it’s a bit of a pain in the neck it’s worth it to get a clean dissolve. Plus, your method allows the dissolve to finish while the picture is still moving, and since you’re staggering it over the incoming clip, that one is already moving when it comes on. Looks much better than dissolving onto the clip and then having it start to move. Loses fluidity and jars the viewer.
The only thing I do differently is that I’ll lay out all of my clips, staggered, before I load a picture or set even one keyframe. That way I don’t have to worry about adjusting keyframes after they’ve already been set and then screwed up by the dissolves. Saves me time.Mike.
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Check out https://belief.com Going through some of their work has always inspired me. You may also want to check out https://reelfx.com, http://www.gmunk.com, and of course the demo reel forum here on the cow. You can find all kinds of great stuff to inspire you and challenge you. Or go to a music store and pick out an album from a person/group you don’t recognize, basing your interest only on the cover and listen to the entire thing. On random. See what pops into your head. Or, free associate for a while–write the first that pops into your head, then keep writing no matter how ridiculous or disconnected the thoughts are. After a few minutes, clothes your eyes and circle the paper–use whatever word is entirely in the circle as your theme. Chances are you won’t actually use that, but it can be helpful to see what you can do with a word that’s not at all related to a college bowl. Gets you thinking in different ways.
Michael.
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AEP is an After Effects Project. If you have After Effects, open it, then File–Open–navigate to where the AEP file is and select it. I hope, for your sake, whoever put the file together was good at organizing and naming clips and layers. If you don’t have After Effects, go to the After Effects forum here on the Cow and post that you need some help. Someone there should be able to help you.
Michael.
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I agree with Mark. While television can be a powerful medium to reach potential clients, it’s only effective if the demographic you’re trying to reach is large enough to justify the expense and provide a profitable return. Unfortunately, while all business owners likely watch TV, there a many more people who don’t own businesses watching as well. So while you may be reaching a high number of people, most of them aren’t your target. Going to the Chamber of Commerce, however, will grant you a much better ratio of business owners (potential clients)to non-business owners (not potential clients). You can reach more of the people you need to reach for the same amount of money, or much much less. Besides, television is already incredibly cluttered. Leave it to your clients! 🙂
Michael.
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From what I can tell, Xpress is right between XpressDV and Xpress Pro. I haven’t looked at the price difference between the two, but if you can, I’d go with Xpress Pro. From what I understand it now comes with a free (I think) or very cheap upgrade to Xpress Pro HD, which if even if you aren’t using right now would be a great option to have. The Adrenaline was an awesome machine. Unfortunately, I wasn’t at the company long enough to learn the full potential of it, but it’s ability for real-time effects, the Boris Continuum Complete plug-ins, and marquee titling were great. Of course, now Xpress Pro comes with Marquee. Things are getting faster, more powerful, and all while dropping in price. The move from XpressDV and/or Xpress Pro to a Media Composer Adrenaline should be smooth. If you go with the Xpress Pro, though, definitely spring for the Mojo. It will make life much easier–more real time effects, the ability to mix uncompressed with compressed video (I think), faster renders and an all around beefier and better system. Marquee takes some getting used to, but makes 3D titling a snap once you get the hang of it. One more thing–the Adrenaline doesn’t limit your video or audio tracks. With the Xpress I work on now I’m limited to eight, so I find myself collapsing video tracks a lot and having to do audio mixdowns, which is painful if you have change anything. On the Adrenaline there were times we would be looking at 25 to 40 tracks of video and it roared through them like hot knife through butter. I’ve never used FCP (I’d like to, though, to see what the hype is about), but I love my Avid. I learned on it, and it suits my needs perfectly. Definitely call Avid, and ask about setting up a demonstration. Hope this helps.
Michael.
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I’m not an expert on Avid, and I’ve never used Avid DV, but I’ve worked on an Avid Media Composer Adrenaline, Avid FreeDV, and currently use Avid Xpress (not Xpress DV or Xpress Pro, just plain old Xpress, which as far as I can tell isn’t even sold anymore. Some one let me know, please, what the upgrade path is from Xpress to Xpress Pro is, if there is one). Back to the topic. The GUI was the same on all of them, you just don’t have all the features unlocked. Avid FreeDV will get you used to Modes (does FCP use modes? I’ve never played with it). Effects Mode, Edit Mode, Segment Mode, Trim Mode, etc… Go up to Avid Xpress and you get more effects, more video and audio tracks, and the grayed out items in the drop down list on FreeDV are available (if I remember right you can’t consolidate in FreeDV…can you even do a video or audio mixdown?). Anyhow, I’m assuming all Avid Xpress family interfaces are the same–one just gives you more power than the other. I’m sure I’ll be corrected if I’m wrong. Otherwise, call Avid and start asking questions. If you’re a potentional customer I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to answer any and all questions you may have.
Michael.
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When you import you’ll see a window to select the file. Below that is “File name:”. Below that is “Files of type:” Below that is “Import As:”. You want to click the “Import As:” and import your photoshop layer as a composition. This will bring in all of your layers, put them all in a composition together with only the layers visible that were visible in photoshop (although all layers will be there), and it will put all your layers in a folder as footage. Voila! All your layers imported at once, not merged, and ready for action.
Michael.