[Peter Mcauley]

Hi Max,

Just like any other compositing solution, you can drag a clip within the timeline to the left or right to move the media in time. You can also slip (similar to a trim) the media within the track so that it has a different start point within the track. RED is resolution independent – you can mix and match media of any size within the one project. Settings (effects) created on one system can be used on any other system, regardless of platform or host. For example, I one can generate a project settings file in the Engine, and open it in Media 100 on the Mac or perhaps CS3 on Windows with the same result.

I responded to another posting regarding some basics of using of Boris RED so I’ll simply paste the same text here so that you can benefit from this knowledge too.

I hope this helps,

Peter.

In RED, all tracks feature both upstream and downstream masking, so you can place the mask in either pre or post transform slots, with the order of render being: media, upstream mask, transform, downstream mask.

If you create a 3D plane shape and twirl down the top track level, you will notice that there is a mask sub-track and then the transform controls track and then the face sub-track and if you twirl down the face sub-track you will notice that there is another mask sub-track and then the media sub-track.

Spline shapes placed on the face (upstream) mask are subject to transforms made to the track, while spline masks that are placed in the top (downstream) mask are not transformed with the shape. If you want the spline shape to lock on to the media then you place it in the face mask (upstream), if you want the mask to remain static (like a letter box for instance) then you place it on the top mask (downstream.)

And here’s another tip – there are tracks and containers in RED. Tracks have a media element, such as image clips, static images, EPS files, text etc, while containers are group controllers (similar to a null object) for 1 or more tracks. There are three types of containers – “Standard 2D” container for grouping flat 2D tracks, “3D” container for extruded elements and also for 2D/3D layer interaction in 3D space, and “Title” containers for automating rolls/crawls etc. In a 3D container, you can have extruded text or extruded vector art along with 2D objects all of which can be animated in 3D space along with the lights, camera and shadows.

I believe you’ll find that RED is quite a robust compositing solution and with a little practice you should be able to use this software to complete highly sophisticated composites.

[Peter Mcauley]

Hi David,

In RED, all tracks feature both upstream and downstream masking, so you can place the mask in either pre or post transform slots, with the order of render being: media, upstream mask, transform, downstream mask.

If you create a 3D plane shape and twirl down the top track level, you will notice that there is a mask sub-track and then the transform controls track and then the face sub-track and if you twirl down the face sub-track you will notice that there is another mask sub-track and then the media sub-track.

Spline shapes placed on the face (upstream) mask are subject to transforms made to the track, while spline masks that are placed in the top (downstream) mask are not transformed with the shape. If you want the spline shape to lock on to the media then you place it in the face mask (upstream), if you want the mask to remain static (like a letter box for instance) then you place it on the top mask (downstream.)

And here’s another tip – there are tracks and containers in RED. Tracks have a media element, such as image clips, static images, EPS files, text etc, while containers are group controllers (similar to a null object) for 1 or more tracks. There are three types of containers – “Standard 2D” container for grouping flat 2D tracks, “3D” container for extruded elements and also for 2D/3D layer interaction in 3D space, and “Title” containers for automating rolls/crawls etc. In a 3D container, you can have extruded text or extruded vector art along with 2D objects all of which can be animated in 3D space along with the lights, camera and shadows.

I believe you’ll find that RED is quite a robust compositing solution and with a little practice you should be able to use this software to complete highly sophisticated composites.

Cheers,

Peter.

[Peter Mcauley]

Nice to hear it Dan. Glad you’re enjoying the software.

Cheers,

Peter.

[Peter Mcauley]

Cool – glad to hear that helped Eric.

Cheers,

Peter.

[Peter Mcauley]

Hi Eric,

Title Crawl will do that for you – simply enter the text (either manually or via the import button) and then select “roll” from the pop-up. Set the duration of the roll by setting the in and out points in the source monitor before you drag the title into the timeline.

There are options in the title generator window for stylizing the text along with many preset styles from which you can choose and customize.

Cheers,

Peter.

[Peter Mcauley]

Hi Mark,

The new version is now up on the web site ready for you to download and includes the fix for the issue that you reported. Please let us know how this works for you on your system.

Thanks,

Peter.

[Peter Mcauley]

Hi Sergio,

Delighted to hear that worked for you – thanks for letting me know.

Cheers,

Peter.

[Peter Mcauley]

Hi Dan,

4.2 to 4.3 is a free upgrade and does not require a new license to run. The plug-ins should also continue to operate as before, with the only exception being if you move from Mac non-universal to Mac universal then you’ll have to upgrade the plug-ins before they will show up.

Cheers,

Peter.

[Peter Mcauley]

Hi Mark,

We should have a fix posted for this issue later today – we’re just putting the patch through the QA process. I’ll let you know when it’s ready for you to download.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Cheers,

Peter.

[Peter Mcauley]

Hi David,

I don’t know of any officially sanctioned books that are in print apart from the “Instant Boris FX” book which was authored by Chris Vadnais in 2004 – there may be some other books out there but I know not of their existence. You might want to take a look at the free tutorials that are up on our web site at http://www.borisfx.com/tutorials – there are some good tips that can help in your understanding of the product.

Cheers,

Peter.