an After Effects Portal: 2014

December 30, 2014

After Effects and Premiere Pro in 2014

It was a slightly slower year in feature releases, with After Effects development underway that one might assume will help speed work within the app in 2015. In January 2014, the AE team hinted that performance, workflow, and improved creative capability was the main focus behind the scenes. Performance in Premiere Pro was addressed several years ago and the emphasis now is more on usability and workflow.

... read the rest at PVC in After Effects and Premiere Pro in 2014: A few highlights.

December 10, 2014

Holiday gift lists for digital video creators, including AE in 2014

It seems that, so far, most of the 2014 gift lists for digital video creators are on PVC.

We'll link in a few extra lists, and look back the year in After Effects for more ideas in Holiday gift lists for digital video creators.

December 2, 2014

Video Copilot releases Element 3D v2

Video Copilot released Element 3D v2 today. E3D v2 is $199 or a $99 upgrade, with more bundle upgrade discounts. The plug-in is compatible with After Effects CS5 + above.

There's more on PVC, but here's the 2nd intro movie:

December 1, 2014

ASCII Art & After Effects

Easy-to-use scripts and other resources...

ASCII art, pioneered by Victorian female stenographers, has enjoyed brief periods of interest and cobbled together solutions for After Effects, but there's now easy-to-use AE scripts to speed solutions.

Read the article at PVC... ASCII Art & After Effects.

Decent cheap earphones: backups and stocking stuffers

Yes, earphones less than $10 can sound respectable, but which ones?

There's more at PVC in Decent cheap earphones: backups and stocking stuffers.

November 23, 2014

Making sound visible through Cymatics

Cymatics, the study of wave phenomena (often of material media on a vibrating substrate), was popularized by Swiss MD Hans Jenny (1904-1972). Though often discussed in the context of "new age" ideas, DIY techies and artists have expanded interest in the phenomena.

There's more at PVC in Making sound visible through Cymatics. For now, here's a recent example of cymatics from Nigel Stanford, Ferro Fluid:

November 15, 2014

Whip (swish) pans in After Effects & Premiere

re-post of some tools and tutorials

A whip or swish pan describes the motion of a fast camera move, as in following a passing train or spaceship. Because of motion blur, it's most often used to smooth transitions between abrupt cuts of shots or scenes. While this is often done in post, Adobe doesn't include dedicated tools for this effect, so here are some 3rd-party filters and tutorials you can use to construct whip pan transitions in After Effects and Premiere Pro.

Read the rest in Whip (swish) pans in After Effects & Premiere at Pro Video Coalition.

Here's an example from a newer FREE tool from Red Giant Universe:

"Better Man" is recombinant "Save It For Later"

Out of touch with Seattle... It's strange to years later finally notice influences in pop songs: for example Pearl Jam's "Better Man" is based on "Save It For Later" by The English Beat. Apparently Pete Townshend of The Who liked the song too, which may explain Eddie Vedder's windmill motions in some videos.

Here's some footage from Chicago 2006 and 1982:

November 8, 2014

Jazz: Maiden Voyage/ Everything in its right place

Robert Glasper Trio - Maiden Voyage/ Everything in its right place - Bridgestone Music Festival `09, or and a later trio in a more abstract mood with Chris Dave drumming.

On the other hand, the visuals look good for the Flying Lotus tour, as detailed in Step Inside Flying Lotus's Mind-Blowing Performance Sculpture at The Creators Project.

October 31, 2014

ProRes 4444 XQ in Creative Cloud

Apple released a new codec this summer with updates to its video apps, Apple ProRes 4444 XQ, the highest-quality version of ProRes. Arri decided to include ProRes 4444 XQ as a recording option in the ALEXA XT & XR.

The codec isn't available in Adobe and most other QuickTime-aware apps, but you can manually install it for general use with or without installing Final Cut Pro X 10.1.2.

For more, see ProRes 4444 XQ in Creative Cloud at PVC.

October 28, 2014

Cineform: render quality settings + more in Creative Cloud

Adobe does offer information on GoPro Cineform in Help and especially on blog posts, but render quality settings are a little less mysterious if you visit the Cineform forum. Still, some questions remain even after exploring other resources.

Read the rest at PVC in Cineform in Creative Cloud: render quality settings + more.

Note that it includes recent clarifications from Adobe.

In tests here, the important takeaway is that the higher quality options seem to produce smaller files than the lower quality option.

October 27, 2014

HitFilm 3 Pro for free if you own HitFilm Plug-ins

FXHOME has announced HitFilm 3 Pro, now pre-ordering for release in late November 2014 for $299. Hitfilm, available for Mac and Windows, supports modern filmmaking workflows that require you to be an editor, VFX artist, and colorist at the same time.

There's great news for some: if you already own HitFilm Plug-ins, you’ll get HitFilm 3 Pro for free.

Read the rest at PVC...

Adobe Anywhere for video 2014.1

Adobe Anywhere for video is an enterprise-only solution that serves collaboration and remote workflows with version tracking and project sharing for broadcasters and large facilities using Creative Cloud. This workflow (after $150 grand buy-in) lets you edit real-time without dropping a frame via fast WiFi on a Premiere Pro 4K timeline using original 5K .r3d files from remote server on a Macbook Pro.

Adobe Anywhere was recently updated, and some new explanatory videos are available in Adobe Anywhere for video 2014.1 at PVC.

October 21, 2014

Adobe ‘Gone Girl’ panel: Premiere & After Effects

On October 23, you can join Adobe for a panel discussion with the editorial and post-production team behind the movie Gone Girl from director David Fincher. As you may have heard, the Fincher team leveraged Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects in a workflow based on RED Dragon 6K raw footage files framed in 5K.

There background and related resources at PVC in Adobe ‘Gone Girl’ panel: Premiere & After Effects.

October 10, 2014

Free models & other tools for Element 3D

As we're waiting for Element 3D v2, Topher Welsh collected information on Free models for Element 3D, as well as recent AE scripts in his return to blogging this week.

It's also a good time to mention a few related recent products, and it's all on PVC.

October 6, 2014

Video Copilot Element 3D v2 unveiled

Andrew Kramer unveiled new features coming in the long-awaited Video Copilot Element 3D V2 (link to PVC article), which is compatible with AE CS5+ and promised for November release.

Creative Cloud updates and iOS mobile apps

Today at Adobe MAX 2014, Adobe unveiled a new family of iOS mobile apps and enhanced Creative Cloud desktop tools that enable creatives to access, use and create from anywhere. Details on what's available today is noted at PVC in New Creative Cloud and mobile apps at MAX 2014.

The new iOS app Adobe Premiere Clip is pictured below. You can check out an example, of a demo of Project Animal, AE-related tech in general pre-release.

October 3, 2014

After Effects World keynote by Andrew Kramer

Andrew Kramer presented the keynote at the 2014 After Effects World conference and made it available on Video Copilot. It was edited using the multi-camera workflow in Premiere Pro CC.

Andrew spoke on demo reels and some keys to becoming a better artist. A few link on demo reels and such were also included at PVC in After Effects World keynote by Andrew Kramer.

October 2, 2014

Premiere Pro News Notes #10

Here's another collection of news on tutorials, tips, and related tools assorted with Adobe Premiere Pro. Things have been a little slower, perhaps in anticipation of a Creative Cloud update, though paywall training courses saw several new releases.

Premiere Pro News Notes #10

October 1, 2014

Football: a ‘Christian’ Sport

Conservative pundit Stephen Colbert explains why:

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,The Colbert Report on Facebook,Video Archive

Shattering glass in AE

Shattering glass is not that easy if you're looking for realism.

The quickest way to simulate shattered or broken glass in After Effects is with Shatter, but there are other options available if Shatter doesn't work for your needs. For a roundup of resources to create this effect in AE, see Shatter glass in After Effects at PVC.

September 22, 2014

Adobe Video: Fall CC 2014 preview [updated]

At IBC 2014, Adobe is previewing the latest features coming to Creative Cloud pro video apps (blog). Features are a bit light this time, except for some important new ones in Premiere, but these are updates not new version releases, like the ones in June noted in Creative Cloud 2014 June Release.

Adobe Video tools: Fall CC 2014 preview is an updated roundup of articles and video on the updates, and includes long overview videos from reTooled.net and Adobe by Jason Levine and Dave Helmly.

September 5, 2014

Comparing 3D type options for After Effects

Not exactly news, but Ray-traced 3D is "dead"

While some may claim that the After Effects CS6-era Ray-traced 3D renderer is a minor feature that you can ignore, it's still a strong option for basic motion graphics with realistic reflections and refractions, and very fast if you have an Nvidia CUDA GPU. If you're not committed one way or another, you may want to check out an integrated in-depth resource from Eran Stern that compares major alternatives for creating 3D type.

Read Comparing 3D type options for After Effects at PVC...

Face replacement in After Effects [Flashback Friday]

Face replacement in After Effects collected tutorials and articles on face replacement from Mamoworld and other resources resources.

Even though updated, the pickings are a bit meager for After Effects, since processes have often required more serious tracking than found in AE previously, so big iron and big budgets dominate, but there are a variety of resources available.

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The website for the Ace Eddies has a series called Editors on Editing. They have just uploaded one of Kirk Baxter, two time Oscar winner, for Gone Girl.

September 2, 2014

Digital beauty treatments in After Effects and beyond

Digital beauty treatments and cosmetic fixes in post production often involve isolating skin with tracking and mattes for color correction and matching, skin smoothing, and blemish removal. Even skin matching isn't so easy, but there's some help along the way in basic and advanced tutorials on the wide variety of tools available.

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...read the rest at PVC in Cosmetic fixes, blemish removal, and skin retouching in post-production.

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If you're interested in this topic, there's a free webinar this week from Moviola, The Secret Art of Cosmetic Fixes Learning, to be held September 4, 2014 (details at link).

August 30, 2014

At PVC: Premiere Pro News Notes #09

There's another collection of news on tutorials, tips, and related tools assorted with Adobe Premiere Pro at PVC:

Premiere Pro News Notes #09.

August 27, 2014

Always-on auto-kerning in After Effects

http://provideocoalition.com/ryoung/story/quicktip-optical-kerning-preference

There's a bug that sometimes pops up that prevents the Kern method preference from sticking, so you have to constantly change the setting each time you open After Effects, and in each version you have installed.

There an easy fix: edit the preference file. For details, see Quicktip: Optical Kerning preference in After Effects.

Image from hildgrim

August 19, 2014

MaskTracker+ extends features of Mask Tracker

MaskTracker+ is a new AE script from Mamoworld that expands features of the Mask Tracker in After Effects, opening up planar tracking capabilities that allow you to do much more than just moving masks.

Read more at Pro Video Coalition...

August 1, 2014

Premiere Pro News Notes #08

Catching up on the latest news on Adobe Premiere Pro tutorials, tips, and related tools. And there's more to come.

See Premiere Pro News Notes #08 on Pro Video Coalition.

July 10, 2014

CycoreFX plug-ins in AE & Premiere Pro

Over the last several years a few users have experimented with using CycoreFX ("CC") plug-ins built into After Effects inside of Premiere Pro. The current version that ships with AE, the only supported host app for the product, is CycoreFX HD (AE Bundle Only). CS6 saw an upgrade of dozens of the effects to 16-bpc and 32-bpc color depth.

Perhaps because of piracy, it's become trickier to use these plug-ins in Premiere CC 2014.

Read the rest at PVC, in Using CycoreFX plug-ins in Premiere Pro and After Effects.

June 27, 2014

Unmult, premultiplied, and straight

Two resource roundups were posted on PVC this week: Alpha channels: premultiplied vs straight and “Unmult” with and without a plug-in, on Unmult, Xmult, and channel and matte effects.

June 18, 2014

Creative Cloud June 2014

This April, Adobe revealed many of the new features of Creative Cloud at NAB 2014, but that was for After Effects, Premiere, & the other video apps. It appears there's more -- over 1000 updates for 14 desktop apps, and numerous mobile and cloud updates.

Creative Cloud NAB 2014 Reveal was already detailed new features of the video apps, including additional tutorials and reviews by others. Highlights for the overall release is at PVC, Creative Cloud 2014 Release.

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Note: The new versions (2014) install next to old versions, so plug-ins can be integrated when feasible. They may not all work correctly and this let's you manage your migration to the new app. If you don't see the 2014 updates, restart the Creative Cloud desktop application.

Adobe Add-Ons are available as plug-ins, presets, HTML5 panels, and such (with forum). The new After Effects HTML5 panel SDK & plug-in SDK is also available. Scripting update notes were already posted at the bottom of Todd Kopriva's new and changed detail notes. ProEXR v1.9 was released with After Effects CC 2014 (13.0); download for older versions from fnord software website.

June 17, 2014

Fold or unfold objects in AE

Folder or unfolding layers has become popular in After Effects and other apps in the last several years, and tutorials, scripts, and even animated typefaces have popped up to help spread the meme. An origami plug-in would be nice, but for now the easiest way to start folding or unfolding layers is using AE scripts.

See more on scripts, tutorials, and plug-ins in Fold and unfold layers in After Effects at PVC.

June 10, 2014

Automatic rounding with expressions

A few years ago, Stu Maschwitz noted the utility of the Math.round method, which rounds a number to the nearest integer. If you're repositioning or animating an object in AE, you'll often run into AE's subpixel positioning in Best Quality, which as noted long before expressions were a feature by Trish Meyer as the source of bad renders with lossy formats.

But you can use an expression to force rounding on scale/position to whole numbers, in order to avoid softening on anti-aliased text or other layers. It's much easier to use that than to adjust entries by hand, and its utility goes further.

For the rest, see Fixing soft edges & number counters with automatic rounding at PVC.

June 3, 2014

MovieType for After Effects and Element 3D

Element 3D renders in real time, but setup takes time. To help save time, there's now MovieType For Element 3D from Motionworks, with over 1000 animation & camera presets, materials, bevels, and backgrounds. See the blurbs on Pro Video Coalition...

May 29, 2014

HitFilm plug-ins for NLEs and After Effects

In April, FxHome spun off most of the plug-ins from HitFilm, their affordable After Effect "clone" app, into a new product, HitFilm Plugins. With over 130 plug-ins for visual effects, compositing, and color grading, the package supports After Effects, Final Cut Pro X, Premiere Pro, Sony Vegas, and Apple Motion on two computers for all hosts on Mac and Windows.

Oddly enough, HitFilm Plugins are more expensive than the much fuller-featured HitFilm Ultimate app, which itself causes some to wonder Is it the new “Production Premium”?. As for the plug-ins, you'll have to download the free trial to see for yourself if enough of the package is unique for you and how it might fit in your workflow.

If you're not invested in After Effects plug-ins already, and looking for a fun & broadly capable package that's relatively inexpensive, check out the resource guide HitFilm plug-ins for NLEs and After Effects on PVC.

May 18, 2014

Nebulas in After Effects

Nebulas can be created several ways in After Effects: with "cards in space" of real images, or generated by Fractal Noise or 3D particle systems, commonly fractal-displaced particle arrays like Trapcode Mir, Form, or perhaps Hiltfilm Atomic Particle and others.

Nebula construction in After Effects collects a few resources, most notably Nebula Construction Kit, a video guide to a free AE project file using Trapcode Mir from Peder Norrby of Trapcode.

See the rest at PVC... and for the meantime, here's background from the Hubble Space Telescope:

May 9, 2014

Making GAEA: After Effects for print projects

A couple of years ago, Jesse Michael Newman released a layer-by-layer video deconstruction of an After Effects project, 'DECONSTRUCTING GAEA I - Flowing Meditation' — though the end result was a print piece — as part of a Kickstarter campaign. He has a new piece, 'DECONSTRUCTING GAEA II,' to support a short sale on art prints.
Read about Making GAEA and After Effects for print (+ ETLAT) at Pro Video Coalition. Here's some of Newman's work:

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Making It Look Great 5

April 30, 2014

Tidbit on YouTube buffering

a map of the Internet, from Wikimedia Commons

Last November AE Portal posted a quick exploration of How YouTube Works, which, even with a recent update on the "secret" algorithm, still left questions about caching unanswered. But actual explanations become apparent with a simple search word change to "buffering".

The best explanation of YouTube buffering mysteries was offered last summer by ArsTechnica in Why YouTube buffers: The secret deals that make—and break—online video, about how ISPs and video providers fight over peering agreements to "pass traffic from one to another and negotiations over caching services that store videos closer to people's homes so they can load faster in your browser." These issues will most likely be with us for awhile, given new Internet rules that will likely gut net neutrality (more from Boing Boing).

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Read more bits on YouTube buffering mysteries at PVC.

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We are always acting on what has just finished happening. It happened at least 1/30th of a second ago. We think we’re in the present, but we aren’t. The present we know is only a movie of the past.

– Ken Kesey

April 17, 2014

AE Easter eggs + hunt for a plabt egg

People are sometimes surprised discovering Easter Eggs in After Effects -- apparent oddities in the interface. Some of these have been around for a very long time...

Take part in a new hunt at PVC in Easter eggs in After Effects: a new hunt.


brush

April 4, 2014

Behind the Scenes of ‘Adobe and the Frog’

Film Riot and Adobe have a slick little web ad for the new Creative Cloud NAB 2014 reveal. It was edited in Premiere CC, with the CG character rendered in After Effects CC using Element 3D, and color graded using Magic Bullet Looks.

Details at Pro Video Coalition.

April 2, 2014

Sneak peeks of CC Next for NAB

Adobe revealed new features in the video apps in Creative Cloud and will showcase these next versions at the NAB 2014 show in Las Vegas next week (schedule). Highlights of the reveal features, additional details, videos, and links to product pages, team blogs, and 3rd-party previews are at PVC:

Creative Cloud NAB 2014 Reveal: Sneak peeks of what's coming

March 31, 2014

Halftone techniques for After Effects at PVC

There's something new and some things old in Halftone techniques for After Effects at Pro Video Coalition.

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A halftone is an image or printing technique that "simulates continuous tone through the use of dots varying either in size, in shape or in spacing." In the Illustrator and Photoshop worlds, there's long lists of halftone filters, swatches, and compositing techniques used for printing and newsprint, comic, retro, and other effects. But the fun of After Effects is animation, and some techniques may not be immediately apparent without built-in filters.

If you've never used the Color Halftone effect in Photoshop, check out how a gradient is effected by the filter in Creating Synthetic Backgrounds in Photoshop:

March 21, 2014

Chromatic aberration roundup at PVC

[fix for PVC]
A few years ago there was a spate of interest in chromatic aberration -- fixing footage containing the color fringing, but mostly creating it for motion graphics and VFX realism. Now, Quba Michalski has a new tutorial & preset (and donate button) in Chromatic Aberration Rig.

Read the rest in Chromatic aberration: creation and fixes with After Effects at Pro Video Coalition.

March 18, 2014

Long shadows: adding dimension to flat design

The trend toward flat design hit big in 2013 with Windows 8 ("Metro"), iOS7, and website and logo redesigns by Google and others. As part of a general move away from skeuomorphism, Adobe application design elements “flattened out” after CS5. Flat and thin may be in, partly due to hi-res screens, but a missing dimension of "long shadows" added to flat elements became popular too.

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Read the rest at Pro Video Coalition in Long shadows: adding body to flat design in After Effects.

March 7, 2014

The Outer Limits - Original O.B.I.T.

Vaguely reminiscent of E.M. Forster's The Machine Stops of 1909, but with an alien-NSA angle, here's "Original O.B.I.T.", a 50-year old episode of The Outer Limits. Conrad Hall was the DP.

"...A crucial turning point comes when one is able to acknowledge that modern technics, much more than politics as conventionally understood, now legislates the conditions of human existence. New technologies are institutionalized structures within an existing constitution that gives shape to a new polity, the technopolis in which we do increasingly live.

For the most part, this constitution still evolves with little public scrutiny or debate. Shielded by the conviction that technology is neutral and tool-like, a whole new order is built — piecemeal, step by step, with the parts and pieces linked together in novel ways, without the slightest public awareness or opportunity to dispute the character of the changes underway. It is somnambulism (rather than determinism) that characterizes technological politics — on the left, right, and center equally."

from Autonomous Technology by Langdon Winner

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Update: Check out also "The Special One," from the original Outer Limits series. That story reminds The Secret Sun of a famous story from the childhood of Jack Sarfatti (a physicist whose wild ideas now seem mainstream).

March 1, 2014

Kinetic type in After Effects @ PVC

Kinetic type may have reached it peak a few years ago, but there are many handy resources for After Effects users if the need arises.

Read the rest in Kinetic type in After Effects at Pro Video Coalition.

Fly around CC Sphere in After Effects

As noted by Andrew Devis, "cameras are notoriously difficult to get to grips with in After Effects." Once example is trying to fly a camera around a CC Sphere layer, which isn't really 3D.

An updated post on the topic was posted on PVC, Fly around CC Sphere in After Effect.

February 25, 2014

Optimizing Premiere & After Effects

Adobe is offering a free webinar on Optimizing Premiere & After Effects this Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 10:00 AM PT. Links and background on the topic is at PVC.

February 4, 2014

WebM in Premiere and After Effects

WebM in Premiere and After Effects (export through Adobe Media Encoder with fnord software plug-in) was posted at PVC.

February 1, 2014

3D from 2D images in AE + beyond

Faceripper4D is a new "custom effect" for After Effects that helps you create 3D from 2D images.

But wait, there's more -- other tools in and outside After Effects, and even with just built-in tools. See 3D from 2D images in AE + beyond at Pro Video Coalition.

January 29, 2014

Cast iron seasoning: rust never sleeps

Still a klutz in the kitchen...

There's hope for the non-stickiness of my cast iron skillet, as well as less worry over the long-term about metal residues, Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. Via Sweethome, Sheryl Canter explains in Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To.

Apparently pre-heating the pan before applying flaxseed oil helps the seasoning adhere better. The low smoke-point of flaxseed concerns some, even though you'll cook with another oil, so repeat seasonings with sturdier oils might be a good idea.

Better regular care is advised for the klutz. For basics, here's America's Test Kitchen:

Update: Over at Serious Eats, The Truth About Cast Iron Pans: 7 Myths That Need To Go Away by J. Kenji López-Alt (Nov 2014) was good.

January 22, 2014

Driving Plates and Composites in Premiere and After Effects

Also known as process plates, car plates, or vehicle plates, driving plates are traffic backgrounds often used for composites of actors driving a car. Eran Stern has a new tutorial on this using for Premiere Pro, and we add a few other resources on use in After Effects as well in Driving Plates and Composites at Pro Video Coalition.

January 16, 2014

3D printing in Photoshop CC

There's a nice update to Photoshop CC now available as part of Creative Cloud for Designers, with new features also for Illustrator and InDesign. Note that there are new free trials available, if you're not a subscriber.

Please check out the two new AEP resource summaries that were posted on Pro Video Coalition:

Here's demo video of enhancements to the Pencil tool and Path Segment reshape in Illustrator CC and Perspective Warp in Adobe Photoshop CC:

40+ roundups for After Effects

I was tempted to roundup 100+ tutorials just from Andrew Kramer, but instead here's a roundup of After Effects Portal topic roundups on Pro Video Coalition. Many of them have been updated since their initial release.