[Michael Powers]

Scripting:
We do quite a bit of expressions driven comps, and layer based pseudo particle systems. Quicky Custom tools running jsx – a la Aenhancers.com. 3dsMax scene imports. Some C# AeRender.exe farm automation (unfortunately the datagridview control sucks on XP 64-bit).

Since most of what we do is more “motion graphics” with compositing rather than strict compositing, Combustion seemed like our only alternative. We just junked our Smoke for a DS nitrous(bad choice IHMO) so Flame is not an option. Nuke looks pretty cool, but seems like it is more of a strictly compositing tool.

Running AeRender.exe for large frames seems to crash a lot less often. Also if you have lots of RAM you can start multiple versions and peg all your cores.

Michael Powers
Art Director, Animation
Cramer
Crameronline.com

[Michael Powers]

Has anyone experienced crashes while working with HD footage?

I have with AE7 and the CS3 trial version, so much so that I stopped using AE7 and went back to AE6.5!

It occurs when I have QuickTime movs from avid with the DNxHD codec. Any ideas?

Thnx

Michael Powers
Art Director, Animation
Cramer
Crameronline.com

[Michael Powers]

Great Post.

Will AfterFX CS3 (or some future) have a 64-bit option, like 3dsMax9 does?

This is becoming a huge problem for us as we work with 5,000×1,800 pixel frames pretty often these days.

Can anyone recommend another compositing app which has a similar level of scriptablilty?

Michael Powers
Art Director, Animation
Cramer
Crameronline.com

[Michael Powers]

As AE is a 2.5D environment (all flats), you can only put a line on 2 axis at a time.

I would make your first line on a 3Dlayer.
Then make a second layer/line with the anchorpoint at the start of the line.
Parented to the first at the end of the 1st line. You can then rotate this second layer.
repeat until you built up your line sculpture. Unparent them, then parent them all to a master null.

To get the camera path, make a 3D null alinged with your starting line/layer. Parent this to the master null. This way all the rotations systems are the same for all the line/layers and the camera path null.

Animate this down the 1st line. copy the rotation or the orientation from your next line/layer to the camera path null. Animate it along this line’s path (do this with the “v” tool in the window as the camera path null is aligned with the line whose path your matching)

If you can’t see the line clearly you can reposition or rotate the entire rig with the master null.

Repeat until you have your animation pathpath (it is quite quick once you get going)

Set up a “path controller” on a “camera null” with the camera parented to it.
Parent the “camera null” to the master null.

The “path controller” is basically the camera dummy’s position linked to the animated path dummy’s position and an expression slider to control the “value_at_time” time of the position.

e.g.:

t = effect(“Slider Control”)(“Slider”);
t = t * thisComp.frameDuration;
thisComp.layer(“Camera Path Null”).position.value_at_time(t)

This way you can control the pace without changing the path dummy’s animation.
You can also make a similar setup for the camera’s “point of interest” – or just offset the “value_at_time” slightly and/or the position.

This is much clearer in an AE file 🙂

[Michael Powers]

As AE is a 2.5D environment (all flats), you can only put a line on 2 axis at a time.

I would make your first line on a 3Dlayer.
Then make a second layer/line with the anchorpoint at the start of the line.
Parented to the first at the end of the 1st line. You can then rotate this second layer.
repeat until you built up your line sculpture. Unparent them, then parent them all to a master null.

To get the camera path, make a 3D null alinged with your starting line/layer. Parent this to the master null. This way all the rotations systems are the same for all the line/layers and the camera path null.

Animate this down the 1st line. copy the rotation or the orientation from your next line/layer to the camera path null. Animate it along this line’s path (do this with the “v” tool in the window as the camera path null is aligned with the line whose path your matching)

If you can’t see the line clearly you can reposition or rotate the entire rig with the master null.

Repeat until you have your animation pathpath (it is quite quick once you get going)

Set up a “path controller” on a “camera null” with the camera parented to it.
Parent the “camera null” to the master null.

The “path controller” is basically the camera dummy’s position linked to the animated path dummy’s position and an expression slider to control the “value_at_time” time of the position.

e.g.:

t = effect(“Slider Control”)(“Slider”);
t = t * thisComp.frameDuration;
thisComp.layer(“Camera Path Null”).position.value_at_time(t)

This way you can control the pace without changing the path dummy’s animation.
You can also make a similar setup for the camera’s “point of interest” – or just offset the “value_at_time” slightly and/or the position.

This is much clearer in an AE file 🙂

[Michael Powers]

excellent point! I started working on this last year, but put it aside due to work load. Then at NAB I saw Cinema4D’s excellent impimentation of it. AE’s RPF import also leaves alot of valuable channels out as well as Camera FOV (wow that is a problem :)).

[Michael Powers]

excellent point! I started working on this last year, but put it aside due to work load. Then at NAB I saw Cinema4D’s excellent impimentation of it. AE’s RPF import also leaves alot of valuable channels out as well as Camera FOV (wow that is a problem :)).

[Michael Powers]

I guess noone thinks a plug-in like this would be useful???

[Michael Powers]

I guess noone thinks a plug-in like this would be useful???

[Michael Powers]

Thnx for the quick responses!

I wrote a scene exporter from 3dsMax to After Effects. Right now it just writes a jsx script and then imports the entire scene via the run command: Camera, Lights, Planes, helper objects and mimics several primitives with various layers and effects(cylinder and sphere).

I have two questions:

1. Do you think there is any interest for a plug-in like this.

2. Where do I find some SDK documentation on the .aec file format (I believe the Cinema4D exporter uses this format)?

Thnx