Tim Kurkoski
Forum Replies Created
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Are you using a .SCC file or a .CSS file? Only .SCC files will work.
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I use the presets in Photoshop (CS2, but CS has the same) to create 720×480, 0.9 pixel aspect ratio.
That’s all that really matters. Sometimes I start with transparent, sometimes white, it depends on what I’m doing. The resolution doesn’t matter. (Repeat after me: The resolution doesn’t matter. The resolution doesn’t matter. — This is a hard lesson for many people to learn, but ppi/dpi resolution means exactly zero in video.)
I save my files as .PSD.
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The Cycore manual should be in the same place as the installer.
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To find documentation on the AE effects, choose Help > Effects Help.
For the Cycore effects, there’s a manual on the install CD.
As for tutorials for how to make smoke or such, have you tried Google? I’m sure there’s more than a few out there. There’s also the “Tutorials and Reviews” link at the top of this page. The Cow/Calf has a lot of AE tutorials, though I don’t know if this type of thing is specifically covered.
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You need to have a button that has a video layer in it. The layer prefix for a video layer is (%). All it really is is a layer with rectangle that defines the area you want the video to be shown in. You can either set this up using Photoshop, or you can just use one of the existing video buttons and modify it with Encore or Photoshop for the appearance you want.
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I think you need to downgrade QuickTime to 7.0 or 6.5. Apple dropped support for some older API’s with 7.0.1 and later, which left AE out in the cold. (Upgrading to AE7 could also fix the problem.)
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Use File > Export > Movie.
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Use the Distort > Displace filter. The trick to this is that you need to create a displacement map file that gives you the shape you’re looking for. A displacement map is a grayscale image that tells Photoshop how far to move the pixels. Black means move them the full distance of the setting for the filter, white means don’t move them at all.
Try creating a new file, filling it with a pattern, and then saving it and using it as the displacement map. I just now was fooling with the default Satin pattern, and some scaling and contrast adjustments were necessary, but it worked pretty well to get a basic crumple look. You’ll undoubtedly need to tweak it a bit, and maybe toss in some distortion afterwards. Good luck.
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There are some problems with how you did the action that batching won’t like. I’m not going to write your action for you, but here’s a rough idea of what I would do:
1. Open one file that you are going to copy a layer from.
2. Start recording.
3. Select All.
4. Copy.
5. Open the target file.
6. Paste (this should automatically go into a new layer).
7. Save the target file.
8. Close the target file.
9. Close the source file.
10. Stop recording.When you run the batch, make sure that “Override Action Open Commands” is NOT checked, Suppress File Open Options Dialogs is not checked, and Destination is None.
However, I think you’re still approaching this the wrong way. If you’re creating an animation, you’re much better off using a Filmstrip file, which you can export out of AE, or just using After Effects to do the painting. You’re really only causing yourself headaches by doing it this way. (This falls into the “work smarter, not harder” category.)
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There are a couple of different ways to set keyframes.
The method that I usually use is that if you change the value of a property when keyframing is enabled, and there isn’t already a keyframe at that point in time, a new one will be created.
You can click on the Add/Remove Keyframe button, which sits between the keyframe navigation buttons (left/right triangles) in the timeline.
There are keyboard shortcuts for several of the standard layer properties that will set keyframes. Alt+Shift+P, for example, sets a position keyframe. Use the same Alt+Shift combo for others: T=Opacity, R=Rotation, A=Anchor Point. You can look up other shortcuts in the manual or help files.