[Mike Clasby]

Yes, oddly, moving the anchor point (with the Pan Behind Tool) does not change where the tracking animates from. But if you set the Paragraph (Ctrl 7) to Center Text (second on the right in the Paragraph Palette), then it will track from the center.

Oddly enough it looks like the anchor point is moved to the center (that little circle with the x in it), although the numbers for anchor point don’t change.

So use Centered Text.

[Mike Clasby]

Are you talking about this tut?

https://library.creativecow.net/articles/al_khatib_talid/volume_meter.php

I love the tut, but his expression is a little hard to see what’s going on and adjust easily.

Something like this is easier to get a handle on. Put this expression on Scale of the Speaker layer:

Audio = thisComp.layer(“Audio Amplitude”).effect(“Both Channels”)(“Slider”);
minAudio = 0;
maxAudio = 25;
minScale= 85;
maxScale = 100;
s = linear(Audio,minAudio,maxAudio,minScale,maxScale);
[s,s]

Set maxAudio to whatever the highest reading is on Both Channels of the Audio Amplitude layer. Twirl down the Slider to see the graph. The scale of the speaker will fluctuate with the audio from a scale of 85% to a scale of 100%, change the 85 and 100 as needed.

[Mike Clasby]

Very Nice.

[Mike Clasby]

Here are two post on Camera move, using Nulls to control the AE Camera:

This post by Chris Smith on how he uses Nulls with camera movements:

https://forums.creativecow.net/cgi-bin/new_read_post.cgi?forumid=2&postid=878237

Here is an AE project file (aep) for a nifty camera move Australian commercial by John Dickinson, read the whole thread, very cool:

https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/2/872881?

That being said. I think the easiest thing to do for what you ask, follow an Emitter to a spot then stop for awhile, then follow again, is also best accomplished with a Null.

If you followed Andrew’s method in his tut on Light streaks, here:

https://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials.html?id=34

Then all you need to do is :

1) Add a Camera

2) Position it initially, to the side or behind, where you get a good view of the emitter (Use the Camera Orbit Tools, “C” rotates thru them with the camera selected). Then Parent the camera to that Null Andrew uses to position the Particular Emitter. The camera will now follow the Null, but maybe too rigidly. If you want a little Camera hand held look, keyframe the camera’s position or add a wiggle expression to the camera’s position (Copy the expression, Alt-click the Camera’s Position Stopwatch, Paste, click outside the box)), expression follows:

wiggle (1,25)

The 1 is for Frequency, higher number is a quicker shake, the 25 is the Amplitude, or how big the shake. You can even tie the wiggle to slider if you want the shake to increase/decrease over time), here’s a link for that:

https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/2/880578

3) When you get to where you want the Camera to stop following, Edit>Split Layer, then un-parent the top camera from the Null, it won’t follow any more.

4) To start following again, Split the camera layer again, and re-parent to the Null.

5) One neat things about parenting to a Null is that if you Rotate the Null, the camera will do a circle around the Null, that’s the easiest way to get the camera to circle objects.

I’m not crazy about splitting a lot of layers but it seems the easiest solution here.

[Mike Clasby]

Sounds interesting, Aharon, and glad to hear you’re feeling better. Unfortunately the link you gave to the mov, just gives me a blank Cow Page.

[Mike Clasby]

Adobe Premiere is the only editing program I know that will be compatible with AE. Adobe and Microsoft are more competitors than partners.

No way Movie maker will open AE’s project files, aep’s, but, I did some effects in AE, then rendered out Uncompressed AVI and the highest quality WMV from the AE render Queue (Ctrl M) and Movie Maker Imported the clips. What are you trying to do.

[Mike Clasby]

1) It’s always good to put the expression you created on a Null (or paste the tracker keyframe to the Null) then parent the eyes to the Null, that way you can adjust the relative position easily.

If the eyes were right originally, then out of position later, does the footage need to be stabilized first?

Methinks you need to look at Andrew’s tut ‘Demon Face”, as an aside he puts Sunglasses on Demon face, stabilizing the footage so the new Face and sunglasses stick correctly, then adding back the original movement. This is a must see for what you’re trying to do:

https://library.creativecow.net/articles/kramer_andrew/Demon_Face_Warp.php

2) You can change the shape of mask by keyframing the Mask Shape (MM reveals). set keyframes, then don the timeline drag a mask vertices to a new spot (or select more than 1 with a selection box you drag with your selection arrow), or double click any vertices to get a little transform box (like in PhotoShop) to resize, rotate the mask. Mask Shape Keyframes can be copied/Pasted like any others.

So for you’re eye mask, if it 4 point, one left corner, top, right corner, and bottom, then set the Mask Shape keyframes, and 2 frames later (Page Down key 2 times, or however many frames you want it to take) single click on the top vertices, drag it don to the middle, then select the bottom vertices, drag up to make a slit. You can even adjust the Bezier handles of other vertices at the same time,. Three frames farther don, return the eye to normal, manually or copy that first Mask Shape keyframe an paste it in this spot.

You should have a blink.

Copy/Paste these three keyframes wherever you want the blink.

One you get that down, if the blinking is excessive (beyond convenient Copy/Pasting, then you can do an expression to let Markers trigger or loop keyframes, like this:

MARKER Triggers loop – This only really works if there’s not animation to they eye otherwise, the layer will stay at frame 0, then play from there when it hits a marker.

1) Set up the blink at the beginning of the layer, so 3 Mask shape keyframes in the first 4 to 6 frames. Don’t worry, the blink will only happen later where you place the Marker, not in this actual spot.

2) Precompose the layer (Layer>Precompose, Move All Attributes).

To that precomp layer, Layer>Enable Time Remapping. And you should get two time remapping keyframes, one beginning, one end.

3) Add this expression to Time Remapping (Copy the Expression, Alt-Click the Time Remapping Stopwatch, Paste, Click outside the box):

n = 0;
if (marker.numKeys > 0){
n = marker.nearestKey(time).index;
if (marker.key(n).time > time){
n–;
}
}
if (n > 0) t = time – marker.key(n).time + inPoint else t = inPoint;
valueAtTime(t);

Now place a Marker anywhere you want a blink. Place Marker by sleeting the layer and hitting the “*” key (Asterisk) on the numeric pad. Marker now gives you a blink. Add as many markers as you want blinks.

This is a hack of a Dan Ebbert’s expression, several really.

[Mike Clasby]

I too like that expression/solution.

To set the range of a slider, Right Click the blue number values of the slider and choose “Edit Value”, then you can set the min and Max to what you want.

The default is 0-100, then widest range possible is -1000000 to +1000000.

[Mike Clasby]

Are you using Particular? If not which particle generator?

[Mike Clasby]

1) Waterdrop running down a window.

Here is a post of an earlier question for a water drop on an apple, sub in you layer of what’s seen thru the window/glass for the apple.

Basically it’s CC Blobbylize on a dupped copy, referencing as a Blob Layer, a recomposed animated mask (drop shaped, can be many) on a White Solid. Add a little drop shadow and you get a convincing waterdrop/teardrop.

https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/2/898170

2) Dirty window.

As for the dirty window, see Andrew’s latest:

https://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials.html?id=86