AE Portal
Rich Young is a long-time After Effects user from the San Francisco Bay Area. His After Effects weekly round-ups provide viewers with an easy-to-digest summary of what developments have been taking place with After Effects. He also supplies info and links for tutorials that allow users to do things in After Effects they never thought were possible....
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New tools for After Effects
By Rich Young | May 12, 2011
Trim Compose is a new After Effects script from Video Copilot that helps you work with shots on large projects with many edits:One of the nice things about doing VFX inside of AE is seeing your shots in sequence to make sure they flow together, but it can get tricky if you start adding hundreds of layers into a single composition as we all know.A more organized solution is to Pre-Compose each shot into individual compositions and do the work inside. The Trim Compose Script helps make that job fast and easy but wait there's more. The script automatically takes selected layers and then pre-composes each one into time accurate pre-comps, based on the length of each edit.
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The first physics engine for After Effects is announced
By Rich Young | May 11, 2011
Motion Boutique has announced the upcoming release of Newton, the first physics engine for After Effects:Newton interprets each 2D layer as a rigid object in a real environment. Once the simulation is calculated, the corresponding animation is recreated in After Effects as keyframes.
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with video for Mac & Windows
By Rich Young | May 11, 2011
Todd Kopriva explains why You do not need new versions of plug-ins for After Effects CS5.5, with background and instructions for avoiding use of installers for both Mac and Windows.If you prefer video, Michele Yamazaki of Toolfarm shows one way to move plug-ins to CS5.5 from CS5 in the video below, [update] and Digieffects shows you How to Transfer CS5 Plug-ins to CS5.5 in Windows:
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A Motionworks Effects A-Z tip from James Zwadlo
By Rich Young | May 10, 2011
The After Effects: Effects A-Z tip series from Motionworks continues with guest host James Zwadlo on the CC Bubbles effect that ships with After Effects. As James points out, this filter is simpler than the Foam filter in AE, and that can make for effective control despite limitations. He shows to to get a variety of looks, including one similar to Harry Franks' Rippling Circles that uses Ball Action. Bubbles can be created with a number of other particle and faux particle systems, and Mylenium offers a few free projects with different approaches.
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Five tutorials from Gareth Smith
By Rich Young | May 09, 2011
Gareth Smith, who helped create titles for Thank You For Smoking, Juno, and Jennifer's Body, posted 5 tutorials on Vimeo on select topics on creating text animations in After Effects.For more on text and title design, see Type & After Effects Resources at AEtuts. Here's Gareth's first tutorial...
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Mamoworld and Kevin McAuliffe start additional series
By Rich Young | May 09, 2011
Mathias Möhl published the first of his "guru" lessons, a free After Effects training series dedicated to beginners. Mathias aims to teach the basics starting from the very beginning and make it entertaining. In the first lesson (embedded below) you learn importing footage, creating a composition, and moving and scaling layers to create a fire effect. During the next month, Mathias plans on more lessons that will cover the basics from applying effects to basic color keying to basic tracking techniques. All required footage and the project file are available for free so that users can develop their muscle memory. This series joins numerous other beginner series, like the new one by Kevin McAuliffe on Creative Cow. These are among the more recent...
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Plus a MovieBarcode Applescript
By Rich Young | May 02, 2011
The Motion League launched today. It's a new website with articles and forums, and seems to be oriented toward After Effects, Cinema 4D, and design issues:"The blog features (or will feature) original articles, interviews, and tutorials; links to inspiration from around the web and beyond; and showcases great talent that doesn't normally get seen. The forum is a place for motion designers to talk shop, get feedback on their work, ask questions, and help each other out."There's already plenty of content up, like Beyond the Tutorial, which gives away secrets to screening tutorials, and inspiration like Movie Barcodes, on a website that shares unique views of movie color palettes.By the way, if you use the latest Mac OS, The Current Cut shares MovieBarcode.app, an Applescript that approximates Moviebarcode technique. The Current Cut also shares a link for videocolorbars, a Python script designed for GNU/Linux to generate movie color bars.The idea of "movie barcodes" is not new. See the comments in Entire movies compressed into single barcodes at FlowingData, though they don't mention similar things in The DV Rebels Guide by Stu Maschwitz.
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A Motionworks Effects A-Z tip from Eran Stern
By Rich Young | May 01, 2011
The After Effects: Effects A-Z tip series from Motionworks continues with guest host Eran Stern on the CC Blobbylize effect that ships with After Effects. Eran has two sections in this quicktip: how to create a liquid effects and how to create an easy but realistic displacement map for text.There's not many other resources that demonstrate this old Final Effects plug-in. AEtuts hosted Create an Underwater Scene (with Particle World, Blobbylize, Fractal Noise, more) by Eddie Bogdanov, which was mimiced by a video version, Create an Underwater Scene -- After Effects Tutorial from Richard Williams on Vimeo.Another AE filter that also features blobs is CC Mr. Mercury, which Chris Meyer featured in Playing Squash: Blobby Text Effect for NBC (now on PVC). Andrew Kramer also featured Mr Mercury in his tutorial Water Drops.For a list of episodes in the Effects A to Z series, see the old AE Portal.
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After Effects plug-in creates polygon mesh wireframes
By Rich Young | April 26, 2011
Satya Meka (@gutsblow) has a new tutorial for his plug-in Plexus, his 3D particle system plug-in for After Effects. A plexus (as in solar plexus) is a tangled network structure in biology. The plug-in creates something similar with polygon meshes without surfaces in 2D or 3D in After Effects. Plexus works with AE lights and paths with custom and shaded sprites, and OBJ 3D objects can be imported and rendered as plexus wireframes.AE Scripts has a demo version of the new plug-in, and at least 6 more tutorial videos. Below is a preview of Satya's latest tutorial and the intro to basic concepts. Note also the MamoWorld tutorial Time(line) for Plexus that uses the ExpressionTimeline script with Plexus to create a logo animation.
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Two tutorials from Felt Tips
By Rich Young | April 24, 2011
ExpressionUniversalizer is a newish script from Lloyd Alvarez at AE Scripts that will "convert the expressions in your projects so that they are compatible with After Effects running in any language." ExpressionUniversalizer goes a step beyond an older script by Charles Bordenave (nabscripts) that's also at AE Scripts, TranslateExpressions, which translates expression control names according to the language of the running version.AE template author Felt Tips has 2 tutorials about how to use ExpressionUniversalize, including details about writing directly in a universal expression language if the script is not able to universalize some expressions. There's also an expression preset that can help. Here's the main tutorial:
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An array of balls to rotate, twist, and scatter
By Rich Young | April 23, 2011
The After Effects: Effects A-Z tip series from Motionworks continues with guest host Adam Everett on the CC Ball Action effect that ships with After Effects. Beyond the basics he shows the Brightness Twist control, an old favorite that can make things interesting.A number of other tutorials on Ball Action for light walls and audio viz have been cataloged at the old AE Portal, along with a complete list of the Effects A to Z series. An oldie on Ball Action may seem familiar, Molecule fun by Stephen Schleicher.
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Resources from Todd Kopriva
By Rich Young | April 14, 2011
Todd Kopriva has collected some resources for stereoscopic 3D in After Effects CS5.5. It's got all the latest on Stereo 3D for AE including a (text only) document explaining the theory and practice by Amir Stone, the software engineer responsible for steroscopic 3D features in After Effects.Chris Meyer has the full story on the new stuff in AE, so here's Karl Soule on how to edit stereoscopic 3D material using Cineform technology in Premiere Pro CS5+. See also the earlier video by Dave Helmley.
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Well, it looks pretty.
By Rich Young | April 13, 2011
At the risk of overkill, here's some nice nearly complete video from Emmanuel Pampuri on the Supermeet Apple Final Cut X presentation. There's also another less shaky view, from Cam Cornelius:
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a paper.li newspaper
By Rich Young | April 12, 2011
The mograph-source Daily is a new website from Josh Sears trying to tame the information explosion. It's a "newspaper" based on paper.li, which "organizes links shared on Twitter and Facebook into an easy to read newspaper-style format." It joins the more summary approach of SqueezeME.TV. The width and quality of coverage depends on the sources chosen, level of curation, and your interests -- so take a look. As Ken Kesey said, ~ get them into your movie before they get you into theirs.~Update: there's also The Final Cut Pro Daily.
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A new After Effects script
By Rich Young | April 11, 2011
AE Scripts has a new script by Christian Lett, qp_Bars, which generates SMPTE color bars for video. There are four bar options:* SMPTE color bars with PLUGE* PAL colour bars (the color bars run the full height of the image)* SMPTE HDTV color bars* 16:9 color bars (as HDTV bars but the colour bars run the full height of the image)The Colour Bar Intensity slider changes the intensity of the seven color bars only (default 75% for SMPTE defined bar values). All other bars are constant.
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with Marcello Grande in After Effects
By Rich Young | April 11, 2011
SFMOGRAPH posted the recording of the recent GenArts Sapphire Webinar with Marcello Grande (embedded below the fold):"Marcello walks you through some recent projects and shows you how to save time and have fun creating visual effects using GenArts Sapphire in After Effects. Marcello will be explaining how to use Sapphire Textures, Convolve, Defocus and Z Glow. He will also be showing some 3D relighting techniques that take advantage of Light 3D, a Sapphire tool that allows you to relight a 3D model within After Effects to make on-the-fly decisions based on your AE scene."
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How it works
By Rich Young | April 11, 2011
Adobe has a new subscription option that gives you the latest Creative Suite software for a monthly or yearly fee.For After Effects CS 5.5 the cost is $49 per month on the yearly plan, or $75 per month. Upgrades are $179 for CS5 users, and $299 for CS2-CS4 users. The full permanent license is $999, so rentals do make sense in some cases. Below the fold, there's a movie explaining subscriptions, as well as one explaining CS 5.5 in general...
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Chris Meyer lays it out.
By Rich Young | April 11, 2011
Chris Meyer introduces his favorite new features in AE CS 5.5 in the first of a complete training series hosted by Adobe, AE CS 5.5: New Creative Techniques Introduction. How do you spell woohoo?!I'll skip the sexy stuff with multiple tutorial movies, and just include ETLAT here.
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A retooled Audition replaces Soundbooth
By Rich Young | April 11, 2011
Soundbooth is being phased out; a retooled Audition has replaced it. The main product page lists the new features, which include improved roundtrip editing with Premiere, new audio sweetening and restoration effects, native 5.1 surround mixing and editing, and more flexible and powerful effects workflows.For more keep an eye on the Adobe blog Inside Sound. Here's a Jason Levine video overview.
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A video overview and detailed blog from Jason Levine
By Rich Young | April 11, 2011
The main product page lists the major new features in Production Premium. Studio Daily has an nice overview of the suite, plus a new video on the Warp Stabilizer for editors, by AE product manager Steve Forde.Reviews on the updated Premiere include Review: Adobe CS5.5 Production Premium by Shawn Lam and Adobe Premiere Pro hits 5.5 by Scott Simmons.Adobe evangelist Jason Levine has more on his blog, Production Premium CS5.5 - Getting Better All The Time, with an overview of new features in the video suite. Here's his video overview; Adobe TV has the rest in the CS 5.5 feature tour.
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DBA Createasphere