[Roland R. kahlenberg]

The Rotobrush Tool is active for use only in the Layer Panel. Of course the results of the Rotobrush Tool affect the Comp Panel content.

You may also want to view this tutorial – https://provideocoalition.com/cmg_keyframes/story/after-effects-apprentice-free-video-adjusting-propagation-settings

HTH
RoRK

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations

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[Roland R. kahlenberg]

Dave and Walter have provided a few conventional ideas. I have experimented with an Expression Checkbox Control named “RTFM” for abbreviated guide/notes. This checkbox affects the opacity of of all layers, setting the opacity of all layers to zero other than the guide/note layer when the checkbox is switched on.

For projects that require more notes, I set up a Folder in the Project Panel called “Documentation Comp”. This comp is set with an FPS of 1. Comp Markers are set to delineate pagination with each page set equidistant by 1 frame. Users can then use the standard PageUp/Down keys to navigate the documentation, one page at a time. The first page should ideally be a content page.

HTH
RoRK

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations

Imagineer Systems (mocha) Certified Instructor
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[Roland R. kahlenberg]

[Adam Sabla] “In each comp of “10 comps of pen” are nested comps, so it’s quite complex mess… “

You may only need to REPLACE the 10 Pen Comps.

It all boils to this –
[Adam Sabla] “In each comp of “10 comps of pen” are nested comps, so it’s quite complex mess… “. Are the nested comps IDENTICAL between the two AEPs? If they are indentical, then you only need to replace them – from one AEP into the other.

If they are different, then I wouldn’t bother to do anything at all since each project has a different source.

HTH
RoRK

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations

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[Roland R. kahlenberg]

I believe that your “floor” layer contains the shadow. Hence use the same mask/matte that you use for the main text, for the ‘shadow layer’.

HTH
RoRK

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations

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[Roland R. kahlenberg]

I’m with Todd here. It will be good to post a screen capture – video is ideal. If you’re on Windows, use this free app – https://camstudio.org/.

RoRK

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations

Imagineer Systems (mocha) Certified Instructor
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[Roland R. kahlenberg]

The tangent function is part of the try/catch routine which is used to check if indeed there is an active camera in the comp. Without the try/catch routine, an Expression error will popup and invalidate the script.

The tangent function is part of the try/catch routine which comes into play when there is no active camera. These three lines, after ‘catch’ –

——————————–
w = thisComp.width * thisComp.pixelAspect;
z = (w/2)/Math.tan(degreesToRadians(19.799));
C = [0,0,-z];
——————————–

specify what the script should do if there is no active camera.

Lastly, it’s more ideal to use the COW’s AE Expressions Forum for such Qs.

HTH
RoRK

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations

Imagineer Systems (mocha) Certified Instructor
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[Roland R. kahlenberg]

This seems simple enough. Assuming there is no template to work with, what difficulties are you facing to get this going?

Cheers
RoRK

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations

Imagineer Systems (mocha) Certified Instructor
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[Roland R. kahlenberg]

Which version of AE? If you’re on CS6 or CC then try to use the Ray-tracer render to see if this fixes the problem. Another solution is to move the light source away from the layer that is emitting the shadow – move it until the artefacting goes away.

HTH
RoRK

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations

Imagineer Systems (mocha) Certified Instructor
& Adobe After Effects CS6 ACE/ACI

[Roland R. kahlenberg]

The COW’s AE Expressions Forum is more ideal for your post – https://forums.creativecow.net/adobe_after_effects_expressions

Ensure that you include details on the type and duration of the transition and the source of the clip to be inserted (ie precomp or movie)For such a huge task, you should be able to set aside a budget to hire someone to do the scripting bit for you.

HTH
RoRK

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations

Imagineer Systems (mocha) Certified Instructor
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[Roland R. kahlenberg]

See this page (https://helpx.adobe.com/en/after-effects/using/expression-examples.html#expression_example_fade_opacity_of_a_3d_layer_based_on_distance_from_camera) for an example that uses ‘distance from camera’ to trigger an effect.

HTH
RoRK

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations

Imagineer Systems (mocha) Certified Instructor
& Adobe After Effects CS6 ACE/ACI