Steve Roberts
Forum Replies Created
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It is a layer that you cannot render.
It is often used as an invisible parent of another layer, or the source layer for an expression.
For example, if you want more control over a camera’s x,y,z position, you can use an expression to tie those parameters to those of three separate nulls. That way you have access to the position motion graphs of each separate parameter. This technique has been described in the COW before. Search under “null” and “camera”.
I also use a null as the “holder” for various expression controls that affect a bunch of layers.
Basically, you could have probably done these things with solids, but you have to hide solids, and there’s always the risk that you might inadvertently make it visible.
If you want to see how they can be used, just search the COW on … “null”. 🙂
Steve
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We’re getting into DVD Authoring here. Sounds like we should move to another COW forum. 🙂
Steve
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Try effect>stylize>Motion Tile. You might want to then apply effect>distort>offset, but it depends on the effect you want.
Steve
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[r303] “But am I just wasting good bits and harddisk space?”
Yep. You can’t add colors that weren’t on tape when you shot.
However, if you expect to alter the footage in post by re-rendering and recompressing as you add effects, you should re-render to the Animation codec or Microcosm codec beforehand. Those codecs don’t improve the footage, they just “freeze” the quality at its original level, allowing for recompression down the line without degradation.
You would work in 16-bit-per-channel and render to 10-bpc if you have subtle gradients and expected to alter the footage using effects that would crunch those gradients further through rounding and such, creating banding. Sometimes using Hue/Sat can crunch, so it’s likely that most grading procedures would do that as well. However … what would you do with your nice 10-bpc render? Unless you’re going to Digibeta, you have to bring it down to 8-bpc again for your output, I’d wager. Now, it’s possible that bringing it down (and risking banding) later is better than crunching it sooner, but I’d have to test the pipeline for the best effect.
Basically, Animation/Microcosm and 10-bit would preserve your original DVCAM quality, but 10-bpc might not be necessary, depending on the amount of smooth gradients in your footage.
Microcosm is available from Digital Anarchy, and it supports 16-bpc.
my 2 cents,
Steve -
Fog 3D is designed to be applied to an RLA or RPF image from a non-AE 3D application. Those image file formats contain embedded z-depth data that the effect uses to create fog.
Regrettably, the effect does not work on AE’s layers in 3D space.
To do that, you’d have to apply the brightness and contrast effect to all the layers, and, using an expression, tie that effect to the layer’s z-distance from camera. It’s beyond me at this moment, but it you search the COW archives for one of Dan Ebbert’s posts using “camera” and “distance” (maybe “fog”) you might find something… though you might only find a script linking opacity to z-distance.
Hope that helps,
Steve -
Fog 3D is designed to be applied to an RLA or RPF image from a non-AE 3D application. Those image file formats contain embedded z-depth data that the effect uses to create fog.
Regrettably, the effect does not work on AE’s layers in 3D space.
To do that, you’d have to apply the brightness and contrast effect to all the layers, and, using an expression, tie that effect to the layer’s z-distance from camera. It’s beyond me at this moment, but it you search the COW archives for one of Dan Ebbert’s posts using “camera” and “distance” (maybe “fog”) you might find something… though you might only find a script linking opacity to z-distance.
Hope that helps,
Steve -
I’d work in a comp set to the DV widescreen preset, and switch on Pixel Aspect Ratio correction while working, to make circles look like circles. Then I’d switch PAR correction off for rendering.
If you can, look for Rick Gerard’s “Dr. Strangepixel” tutorial on the COW.
Steve
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So when you play the animation once, it plays correctly for a few seconds, then badly, then correctly … ? All within one play?
The jumping sounds like an incorrect field order, but if it changes field order within one playback …
1. Did you stretch in the output module? That’s bad when rendering frames. If that’s the problem, you should drag your comp into a D1 comp (if applicable) and resize to fit before rendering.
2. Are you at 29.97?
3. Did you try rendering lower field first? Maybe you have the wrong field order, but sometimes the text appears in just the right position to hide it … ?Hope that helps,
Steve -
What Mylenium said. 🙂
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Yep — some kind of intelligent motion analyzing tracker would be nice … one that can separate the jerky from the smooth. Hmm …