[Tim Kurkoski]

Good point, Dan. In a perfect world, I’d still like to see something like it, even if it would only be a static value. (What would be the point of having a text layer running the current time, anyway? It would change each time you rendered.) Maybe something that would grab the last modified date or last accesssed date of the AE project file, like GetLastDate. If somebody truly wanted a clock, it could be incremented. Ah, well. Maybe if I cook up some clam chowder or pork chops for the engineers they’ll do it for me.

[Tim Kurkoski]

Good point, Dan. In a perfect world, I’d still like to see something like it, even if it would only be a static value. (What would be the point of having a text layer running the current time, anyway? It would change each time you rendered.) Maybe something that would grab the last modified date or last accesssed date of the AE project file, like GetLastDate. If somebody truly wanted a clock, it could be incremented. Ah, well. Maybe if I cook up some clam chowder or pork chops for the engineers they’ll do it for me.

[Tim Kurkoski]

A friend asked if it can be done, actually, and I’m not sure of his ultimate motives. I suspect he simply wants a “true random”, if you will. One that shows different results each time you launch the application and isn’t simply the result of a pre-determined equation that’s the same each time in a given situation.

It was an interesting question, so I decided to see if it could be done. I did find references to other types of JavaScript libraries that can do clock functions, but obviously AE can’t access those. A pity.

[Tim Kurkoski]

A friend asked if it can be done, actually, and I’m not sure of his ultimate motives. I suspect he simply wants a “true random”, if you will. One that shows different results each time you launch the application and isn’t simply the result of a pre-determined equation that’s the same each time in a given situation.

It was an interesting question, so I decided to see if it could be done. I did find references to other types of JavaScript libraries that can do clock functions, but obviously AE can’t access those. A pity.

[Tim Kurkoski]

The automatic settings will be fine. Is your DV camera a PAL camera? If so, then yes.

[Tim Kurkoski]

1 gig is about 5 minutes of DV video. Is that how long each of the files are?

At that length, you’ll have no problem using the max bitrate setting for DVD-legal MPEG-2 files. But for compatibility with all DVD players, I’d recommend you top it out 7000 Mbps. It’ll still look great at that rate.

[Tim Kurkoski]

You can turn any action into a Droplet. Just choose File > Automate > Make Droplet, and choose your action in the dialog (changing the Set if necessary). So for what you want, make an action that converts the PAR (and anything else you want to have happen at the same time), and then make a droplet from it.

[Tim Kurkoski]

If you have AE 6.5 Pro, on the install disk there is a set of effects from Cycore that you can install. One of them (CC Snow) produces a fairly decent, if simple, snow effect.

[Tim Kurkoski]

My guess is that either your computer monitor is running a little dark, or your TV is running a little hot. Have you tried the disc on multiple TV’s and/or on a computer?

I have three suggestions, all of which I’d advise doing, but I’ve put them in the order that they’re likely to help.

I’d first suggest using a TV monitor connected to your FireWire port. You’ll need a DV converter, a DV deck, or a DV camera (not all cameras support previewing through the analog ports, though) to hook up, and then go into AE’s prefs and turn on the video preview. Then adjust your effects to what you’re seeing on the monitor. This is really the best way to work.

Second suggestion is to calibrate your monitor. A professional monitor calibration utility (a “spider” + software) is the best way, but you can also get away with “soft” calibration. Mac OS has a calibration tool built-in that you can find in the System Prefs > Displays > Color, and on Windows you can use the Adobe Gamma control panel if you have a version of Photoshop installed.

Third suggestion- there are ways to calibrate your TV, also. The easy way is to use the THX calibrator on any THX-certified DVD, though it works best if you order a pair of glasses:
https://www.thx.com/mod/products/dvd/optimizerIntro.html

Note that this type of calibration, aside from being dependent on the judgement of your eyes, is geared towards movies and home theater viewing, not general purpose and may not be the best for some purposes.

[Tim Kurkoski]

The number isn’t a property you can change. Hmmm… I thought it showed you which number a timeline was, but I guess I’m wrong.

In Encore 1.0, it numbers the timeline in reverse order as you create them. So the last one you create would be #1, the one before that #2, etc. In 1.0.1 (I think) and 1.5, they’re numbered in the order you create them, which is more logical, but you still can’t change the value.

Now that I think about this problem, it may be something Encore is doing. Do a search on this forum and see if you can find any other instances of it.