[Paul Stevenson]

The way I see it is this:

With a lower, monthly, price point they can attract people that would normally have just used pirated version or not at all, so they gain customers to make up any short fall they have for lowering the price. Point 1.

Big software developers, including Adobe, have said in the past that the reason for the high cost of software is down to piracy, less piracy = lower prices, higher piracy = higher prices, but higher prices also generate piracy because it becomes too expensive (point 1). It’s a vicious cycle that big companies can’t break out of.
Adobe has tried by offering the “cloud” model. It’s safer for them because it HAS to call home regularly so it can’t be cracked as easily. Point 2.

With traditional sales they get one big sale to a user and then it goes quite, possibly for several years because, as with point 1, it’s bloody expensive. Most people I know in the business skip at least one version, but with the cloud they don’t have to, they can pay a lower monthly price and keep up to date. As long as Adobe doesn’t raise the price too much then they are happy and keep paying. Thus Adobe can say to it’s investors, “look we have X number of cloud users that are paying for one year licenses” and they can, sort of, predict there income meaning a more stable business. Point 3.

The majority of the Adobe suite programs have to run locally, they couldn’t truly live in “the cloud” because it would just die on it’s arse with today’s tech. So they have to be local and that means they are open to being cracked. So if Adobe increases the price too much we go back to point 1 and cascade all through there business model and they are back at square 1. Point 4.

So Adobe is doing what people have been asking for, reducing prices, the problem is people are scared about the price hikes that could come, but Adobe would be stupid to try to go to far. But by the same token, price rises happen, they have to, so we should get upset if they go up a bit (read a few £’s here Adobe!).

But people are now so used to paying through the roof for Adobe products (via the old model) and they haven’t stopped to think about exactly what does it cost. How much profit is Adobe making on some of these products? Until recently some products just used to have a skin change and a few new bells and whistles, but they were essentially the same thing as the previous version. That doesn’t cost a lot to do, certainly nothing like starting from scratch, but Adobe charges the same inflated price for every update.

Now people are stuck in the mindset that they are setting a trap by reducing the prices and getting people into a model where they can have there wallets raided or stop working. You could think like that, or think that they are finally listening to the customers they never had and are reducing there prices, gaining customers and making a more sustainable business in the process.

It’s basically like what Stella Artois’ used to advertise “reassuringly expensive”, only people need to stop thinking like that. It’s a different world to 2007.

[Paul Stevenson]

I have not come across your particular problem before, nor am I in a position to replicate it. But off the top of my head:

1) Have you tried using the “collapse transform” option on the paint comp(s) in question?

2) Have you tried just keying out the background on the paint layers? It won’t require you to do any sort of work-around then.

[Paul Stevenson]

If all you are trying to do is animate the signature on why not try just using an animated mask?

[Paul Stevenson]

Off the top of my head you could do this by hand easy enough…unless I am missing something or reading your picture incorrectly.

Drop in all your videos and scale them accordingly (pre-comp them or comp them to begin with). Then put video 1 comp in and to the top and left align it, it will overhang on the right but that’s fine. Now take the same comp and place it below the first, but this time offset it’s position so the left most pixel is the one after the right most pixel of the comp above it.

You are basically manually wrapping the video into a 1920×1080 box.

If you want too you can mask the comps, but there really isn’t a point.

As I said, I may have completely misunderstood what your trying to do, if I have, I am sorry.

[Paul Stevenson]

I haven’t seen this scene in motion, but if it’s doing what I think it’s doing you could possibly look at the “echo” effect. It’s not going to exactly what your after, but it will probably give you a starting point.

Obviously your going to have to throw other effects at it, I am thinking you will need to add some blur, turbulence etc.

[Paul Stevenson]

Is your actor in the scene or is he green screened?

If he is in the scene how easy would it be to key him out/mask him etc?

[Paul Stevenson]

That’s good to know Walter.

[Paul Stevenson]

Well for a starter you need to factor in how much you paid for the voice over and music and any other 3rd party materials you have used.

What kind of licensing use did you sell this with?

Before factoring in any of that I work out how long it took me to do and have an hourly rate in my head. You then think about what you had to do, did you do it the right way or not. Could you have taken any time off if you had done it differently. If you had to learn how to do something for the project was it something you should have already known how to do, or was it something quite specific that someone else wouldn’t know how to do either.

Once you have added and deducted time (if any) and know an hourly rate you think you are worth you have your starting price. Now you add any operating costs you have and hey presto you have a figure.

Now fiddle with the numbers a bit and see what you have and then add the licensing/purchase costs we discussed earlier and that’s it.

If you are busy or they want it as a rush job then increase the hourly rate.

[Paul Stevenson]

I wish to add my name to the C4D crowd as well. I have been thinking of getting back on the 3D train, I have had experience in Maya and 3DS Max, but C4D seems the way to go for me.

Plus, although I think it now handles other formats as well, you can plug a C4D model into Video Copilot’s Element 3D.

[Paul Stevenson]

Indeed it does.

I am slightly lost as to why this won’t do though? What exactly have you put together that changing the pixel ratio wouldn’t fix? I mean when I set any setting in the pixel aspect ratio, other than square, it’s a deformed picture.

I haven’t been doing this long, so excuse my ignorance, but I am rendering at the moment so I might as well try and help 😀

Just as an idea, would putting the output comp inside another comp (with the correct pixel ratios) and fitting it (as required) solve the problem?