[Tim Garber]

Dude you saved my life! I had a comp that would fail 62 frames in due to that unable to render error. I set my secret menu purge to 50 frames and got through it without a hitch. THANK YOU!

This should NOT be a secret menu option.

[Tim Garber]

I run into this problem frequently. Are you using BCC effects by any chance? I have noticed BCC is involved nearly every time I have encountered this. The other thing I have noticed is that Avid may be running concurrently but not always. I have solved the problem by removing one or both of these factors. I highly suspect BCC is conflicting with another plugin. But I cannot seem to prove it since during tests removing the BCC will correct but removing other effects does not. (Guess that’s a sign it isn’t the case.) maybe a better scenario is that the BCC AVX plugins are competing for resources. Hope this helps.

[Tim Garber]

Naturally you’ll be working when that car passes behind your talent or other foreground elements. If small enough I’ve had luck using this method by simply offsetting the replacement layer a few frames when there was no lockdown.

[Tim Garber]

I have a question. Does it crash on the same frame and/or the same source every time? I just spent time with the same or very similar issue. Mine crashed on the same frame every time. My error mentioned the Color Correction plug-in “LEVELS” So I removed that effect and tested. Still crashed but the message became generic, “After effects can’t continue: sorry, After Effects crashed.” (0::42) I discovered that the source file had several bad frames in it. Fortunately for me the source file was a copy and the original was good.

[Tim Garber]

I agree with all the comments here about the difficulties of keying with DV. PITA. I have run into these issues as well so i feel your pain.

Here’s my suggestion for what it’s worth. Once you get your best key (Keylight’s the best – I see you are using it too) dup the layer and remove the key effect. On this layer draw a garbage mask around the subject. Not so close to the edges that it becomes a rotoscope job but loosely inside and only in the trouble areas. Most of the time we’re talking about an interview subject and they don’t move around a bunch. Feather the mask a bit too. Now key frame the shape as needed to follow the subtle head bobs. I’ve had to do this lots usually due to bad lighting or because the subject was wearing something with a chroma key color on it.

I find placing the garbage mask beneath the chroma key can yield the best results but most of the time it won’t matter.

[Tim Garber]

Shatter is a funky effect. I’m assuming you are referring to the standard effect in the Simulation menu. I’m wondering where you are looking in your timeline. Say you want this effect to happen at the end of the outgoing shot. If you drop the effect on the entire clip then the shatter is complete long before the end of the clip. The effect will complete within 2 seconds. So for starters you’ll have to split the layer at the point you want the effect to begin. Use the Force Strength to control the speed of the explosion. That’ll get you started but you’ll need to learn the controls to get the effect not to look cheesy. Maybe I should say “cheesier.” Oh one final note on that… The effect will default to a wireframe view but before you can see the effect or render it you’ll need to change the view to “Rendered.”

As for your 2nd question, I would need to know if the source is a green screen or an alpha. If it’s neither you’re in for a long night roto-scoping.

If it has an alpha and you are using a light change the material options to shadow only. If you have no light use the drop shadow set the distance to 0 & check shadow only. then adjust the Opacity to suit.

If you have a green screen use Keylight (my favorite) or any other color keyer and get your best key. Then add the shadow effect as discribed before.

[Tim Garber]

I agree that while not optimal AE handles HDV fairly well if not punishingly slow. In your situation, I’d render the whole thing out as a single movie then deal with it later. When you import it back into your editor line it up with the sequence you created & chop it up accordingly. Don’t know Premeire too well but in FCP or Avid you’d subclip it.

[Tim Garber]

I concur. There are many reasons why not to do what you’re trying to do. First, as Thad said, you will degrade the DV clip even if it’s only imperceptibly these things get slowly compounded. Second, you are wasting precious productive time waiting for a render that was not needed. Third, manipulating all that material in AE is cumbersome so in addition to the wasted render time you spent time wrangling a very large clip.

The one thing of value I will add to this thread is the suggestion that you render your titles separately. Make each one the duration it will be on-screen in your finished show. Have no video behind it and render them QT, Compression Animation, RGB+Alpha, Millions+, Premultiplied. You’ll get a relatively small file with high quality.

[Tim Garber]

Wow, I have been too busy to get back to this since April. Just to respond to the comment about the machine I was using… Dell has continued to update that model along the way. This machine was purchased in December 2007 – not 5 years ago, it IS a quad core, and has 4GB of RAM, and runs XP Pro 32bit. That said, let me close this topic out. My problems were solved through another question posted around that same time. It turns out my AE was only accessing 2GB of the RAM until some wise and kind soul shared the deep secret of increasing XP Pro’s memory access from the default of 2GB to the max of 3GB.

This solved all my rendering issues, well nearly all. You see AE divides up the available RAM to each core. So while those extra cores are speeding the render up they are fighting for RAM. In an effect heavy HD comp with blurring, BCC effects, 3D, and lights I still have to pre-render here and there. Fortunately not very often.

My advice is to buy a Mac (since I can’t see using Vista.) The OS allows AE to access 4GB of RAM. The biggest eye-opener for me was that even if you have 10GB of RAM After Effects will never use more than 3 on Windows and 4 on Mac. So save your money if you’re buying extra RAM for AE.

https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/2/867951

[Tim Garber]

My apologies. I see your confusion. I should have said HD comp if i didn’t. I rarely use footage in my work. Mostly my workflow involves psd square pixel files, text layers, solids, & various other image files. When I do use footage it is exclusively either Animation codec or some flavor of Avid.

The comp in question has no footage in it. As stated it contains only a 24mm camera, 1 spot light, & a 3D text layer rotating on the Y axis.

I’ve been using After Effect intensively for 5 years now so I’m well versed in the “frigging’ manual”. That is why I stated that I have tried all of the tricks I’ve read. Now being that AE is very deep I admit something is very likely wrong & I’m missing it. I will soon provide a link to the project. Its reduced so it is tiny.