Simon Bonner
Forum Replies Created
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Try adding your effects to an adjustment layer and then drawing a mask onto the adjustment layer. The effects will only show through on the masked part of the adjustment layer. You can animate the mask position to change the region of influence.
Adjustment layers affect all layers below them. If you only want it to affect one of your layers, precompose the adjustment layer and the layer you want to affect.
If any of this isn’t clear, let me know.
Simon Bonner
youtube.com/simonsaysFX -
Hi Laurie,
There are surely several ways to do this, but one way might be to:
1) Add the first image to a new comp.
2) Add a solid layer on top. Comp size, colour doesn’t matter.
3) Add the TV screens on top. These might be 15 individual images, duplicated (you could duplicate these using one of Eran’s duplication methods outlined in his recent AE podcasts here at the Cow), or one image of all 15 TVs. Crucially, the screens will have to be transparent or masked out to allow the image below to show through.
4) Select the solid layer and draw a rectangular mask around the 1st TV screen. Duplicate the mask so there’s one for each screen.
5) Set the track matte of the first image to alpha matte. The transparent parts of the solid will now be used to make areas of the image transparent.
6) Put the 2nd image on the bottom.
7) Now when you animate the opacity of the masks, the 2nd image should show through.You might also want to check out Aharon’s jumbotron / TV style AE podcasts.
This is admittedly quite a time-consuming method, so maybe someone else will have some better ideas.
Simon Bonner
youtube.com/simonsaysFX -
Try adding a 2nd mask off to the side of your first mask (which I am assuming is set to Add). Set its type to Subtract. Then increase the expansion of this 2nd mask. It should obscure the contents of the 1st mask as it goes.
If the 1st mask is Subtract, make the new mask Add.
If you want to reveal from the top right corner of the first mask, place the 2nd mask to the bottom left of the 1st, etc.
Hope this is what you’re looking for.
Simon Bonner
youtube.com/simonsaysFX -
One way would be to add a new solid to the comp, making it the same size as the book cover. If your book cover is in a precomp, you should know exactly what it’s size is. It should be a 3D layer too. The position should be the same as the cover’s, although if the cover’s anchor point is on its left margin (which I imagine it is, so you can rotate from that point) you will need to take this into account when repositioning your new solid because the new solid’s anchor point will be in the middle.
Next, parent the new solid to the book cover, so that it automatically rotates with the cover. They don’t necessarily need the same anchor point for this to work. Then set the z position of the solid to 0.1. This will place it very slightly behind the cover. The distance should be so small that you can’t tell they’re not really touching.
Simon Bonner
youtube.com/simonsaysFX -
This might help: https://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/speed_variation/
Simon Bonner
youtube.com/simonsaysFX -
There are likely to be many better ways of doing this, but when I have sliding text I use this method:
Add two position keyframes about a second apart that start the movement. Get the speed how you want it. Then add this expression to the position property: loopOut(“continue”) The text will keep moving at that same speed after the 2nd keyframe. This is good if the length of the text changes – it will keep moving at that same speed.
Now, you want to stop the text at intervals. This is something I’m not sure how to automate. But you could precompose your text and then add time remapping keyframes to ease it to a halt before starting it again. This would mean a lot of keyframes I suppose, but you wouldn’t have to constantly worry about how fast the text was moving etc, just about when to stop and start it moving.
This is a solution that will save you some time, but perhaps not a huge amount. Maybe someone else has a better idea.
Simon Bonner
youtube.com/simonsaysFX -
To add to what Dave has said, yes – you will get a drop in quality. But a single sided DVD can only hold about 4GB so it’s kind of inevitable that you’re looking at a reduction. Also, make sure you render out from AE in a DVD suitable format, or Encore won’t import your video. DVD only supports standard def (720×576 for PAL, and – I think – 720×480 for NTSC) in either 4:3 or 16:9 format.
Simon Bonner
youtube.com/simonsaysFX -
Hi Max,
I’m afraid I’m no expert when it comes to audio codecs. I’d suggest using your ear as a guide: if it sounds good on a range of playback devices and isn’t too large, then it’s ok.
Upper vs. lower field first separation is indeed part of interlacing, though I’m also no great expert on this. I think I read somewhere that one is PAL and the other is NTSC, but don’t quote me on this. If you’re going progressive you shouldn’t need either.
Simon Bonner
youtube.com/simonsaysFX -
Hi Max,
If you’re going to go h.264 (quicktime), it might be best to go with Apple AAC. Audio data rate 64 kbps, 16-bit, 44.1 khz mono should be fine for this form of delivery. I don’t know if you have this much control over your render from Premiere, so it might be worthwhile purchasing Quicktime pro, which is only about $15-20. Output using a lossless codec like QT animation or photo-jpeg and then compress in QT itself.
You won’t want to interlace the videos if they’re for viewing on the web.
If you’re selling the videos, you might want to consider opting for flv format as almost all computers have the flash player installed, but not every pc user will have Quicktime. Or you could just expressly state to your customers that they will need quicktime, and give them the link.
Simon Bonner
youtube.com/simonsaysFX -