[Mike Clasby]

Say you want a 5 pixel black border for the framework. Methinks, you can do it with a little precise sizing of the layers and just one mask, the one for the middle picture, and add a black stroke to that layer.

So make the flanking layers 10 pixels less in height than the comp to give you a 5 pixel black border (and slide it left or right to give you 5 pixels on the outer edge.

Then the middle picture, the top layer, has a rectangular mask, pull the bottom/top vetrices left or right to give you the trapezoid you want, then add Stroke, black at 5 pixels.

You can change the middle picture size by resizing the mask, double click for a PhotoShop-type Transformation box, or move individual vertices, to get the trapezoid you want.

The only work is to initially crop/resize the left and right panel images/footage, but this should be a never changing standard size, so pretty easy after you settle on the standards you want. You could do that in precomps.

Should work and be pretty hassle-free once you set it up.

[Mike Clasby]

With a slider named “Y”, Try this:

Y = effect(“Y”)(“Slider”);
[position[0],Y,position[2]]

[Mike Clasby]

With this clever little Script it will only take a few minutes. Download the script “maskPointsExpression” from here:

https://www.nabscripts.com/Downloads/downloads_en_2.php?id=5#maskPointsExpression

Click on “maskPointsExpression” and download, or heck download em all. Put the jsx file in your AE script folder, then select the mask (one of three for your layer, if I understand) and File>Run Script>maskPointsExpression.

You’ll get a control panel. Check the Position Expression radio button and type in you wiggle expression in the box that appears.

On the right click “Calculate” so the script knows how many vertices in the mask.

Check the “All” box to apply the expression to all vertices (Custom for single vertices, that way gets complicated).

Click OK.

Sit back and Wait. AE can’t put an expression on mask shape or vertices, so the script calculates the expression, converts to keyframes for each frame (or every 5 frames if you added to that box), so it takes awhile. Anyway…

You’ll now have a new mask in the layer, named Animated Mask that does what you want.

Lots of cool scripts at that site.

[Mike Clasby]

Ripple will go as big as you want, just jack-up the Radius, but methinks you want to try, CC Drizzle, (under Simulate in AE6.5) for that Rainy Day feeling.

[Mike Clasby]

I think a little TIme Remapping on a looping walk cycle will do what you want.

Have you seen Dan’s excellent tut “Animating a Walk-Cycle Using Loop Expressions”:

https://library.creativecow.net/articles/ebberts_dan/layer_looping.php

You can set up the layers that way, like Dan’s comp named “Model”, for a looping walking model.

Then to go from standing to walking, time remap the layer (Layer>Enable Time remapping). Say you want to go from standing to walking in a step and a half, go to that point where you want her to be up to full speed, then add a time remapping keyframe (that little check box by the Eyeball). So you’d now have three keyframes.

Now you can make that first time remapping kayframe an Ease Out, or twirl Time Remapping down and tweak the curves to your liking. You can slide that second keyframe left or right.

Look at a real person go from standing to walking, or a clip, to get the “launch” and acceleration timing right. If the actions for launch, getting going from a stop, are way different than the walk cycle, dup the comp, disable the loop expressions (U or ee reveals all, click the equal sign to disable) then change the keyframes of the rotations and position of the model to make the initial move right, but I think a quick remap of the looping comp will look fine.

Then when Vector Girl is up to speed add the comp with the loop expressions to keep her on the go.

It’s very doable, but as with anything, it takes time. Hope you have enough.

If you want to have Vector Girl, err Woman, do other things, like Dance a Jig, see Dan’s Tut “Inverse Kinematics Redux”, setup is a little work, but then she can do anything.

https://www.motionscript.com/design-guide/ik.html

This a marvel.

[Mike Clasby]

Alt/Option drag the attach point just before it moves offscreen, here’s a tut:

Tracking obscured objects in video

https://studio.adobe.com/us/tips/tip.jsp?p=1&id=399&xml=aft6tracking

[Mike Clasby]

You might want to try converting your text to Outlines (Layer>Create Outlines), then hitting it with Scribble (Render>Scribble). If the text isn’t too thick, and the default “Inside” is selected for Fill Type, it gives an interesting wiggly look, which is highly changeable, see options under “Stroke Type”, Wiggle Type and Wiggles per second.

It’s worth a look.

[Mike Clasby]

Freebie DV quality stuff here:

https://www.detonationfilms.com/free_stuff.htm

I believe they also have better quality footage for a small fee.

[Mike Clasby]

There’s a freebie long magnum cartridge here:

https://www.detonationfilms.com/SpentBrassChroma.html

No pistol I know uses that, but for a small fee they sell auto-pistol cartridge footage.

[Mike Clasby]

My bad. I hadn’t seen that tut for a long time (when it first came out), but if you look at Light Saber v2, at 6 min 55 sec Andrew does exactly what you’re asking:

https://www.videocopilot.net/presets.html?id=99

He uses another solid layer on top to mask the Saber (also on a solid layer).

May the force be with you.