Some time ago when I was working on a project I had to manage a huge amount of different render passes that came out of 3D Studio Max VRay renderer. Since they were all rendering to the same folder and for some reason there was no way to make each render pass go to it’s own folder. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it was really annoying to work with all those files in one folder. When importing those sequences to After Effects I had to dig through thousands of files just to find the right sequence. So I made a tool that sorted the files for me and putted them in proper folders, but at that time it could only deal with certain cases.

Now the time has come to improve on my solution. Today I give you: File Sequence Detector 1.0.

You can download the file using the download button below. In the ZIP package you will find an executable file (no installation required), and the source code (au3). I developed this script using a free automation tool, AutoIt v3, which I like very much and use quite often. Make sure to check the readme.txt for instructions. Enjoy.

Download: File Sequence Detector 1.0 (Windows)

I’m editing a DSLR green screen footage in Premiere Pro CS5, and once everything is in place, I use Dynamic Link to key out the footage. Why not use Ultra Key? Well… Ultra Key is fantastic, fast, and GPU accelerated, however the footage needs to be close to perfect in order for it to work – which is not the case here. I had a lot of wrinkles, bad lighting that I couldn’t make any better due to space limitations in the room I was shooting in, and, as I mentioned before, I used a DSLR to record the footage so I had no control over the compression settings. All of this caused the footage to be a wee bit too difficult for Ultra Key to pull a decent key. Not to mention garbage mattes and adding Lightwrap to create the final look.

I’ve set up a nice workflow using Dynamic Link and a keying template I made for the project for quickly and efficiently replacing source footage to be keyed out, so now everything works smoothly, however it takes some time to render. I should mention this is 1080p @ 23,976fps. Eventhough the workflow is flawless, the footage was very demanding and required adjustments on every shot, digging through precomps, resampling colors, and doing a long RAM Preview to make sure nothing was missed.

Still… I couldn’t stand the fact, that having Premiere Pro CS5 with GPU accelerated keyer I was forced to use After Effects to do something that goes around as a “simple key” – as you see on the attached images, it’s just me sitting in front of a Mac (and yes – this is just a prop – I use PC’s for work).

So I thought to myself – would it be possible to use the same techniques I use in After Effects to pull a decent key out of “nothing” in Premiere Pro? As I learned about half an hour later – yes!

I created a super tight garbage matte, that I then applied to the original footage treated with Ultra Key, I’ve nested that in it’s own Sequence, which I’ve then put in a new Sequence along with the background, and even created a Lightwrap effect… in Premiere! Sweet!

I ended up having three Sequences for my final composite: one for background, one for the key, and one for putting them together and adding a lightwrap. I grabbed a piece of paper and started counting layers and effects applied.

This is where you should make sure you’re sitting down – I ended up with 9 video layers (1080p @ 23,976fps) with a total amount of 26 effects (including multiple copies of Guassian Blur and Ultra Key).

Guess what… it works in realtime. Thank you Mercury Engine.

In the second part (which did not get recorded) we’ve created a Christmas tree using Trapcode Particular and 3D Serpentine. Also – I gave away a copy of Zaxwerks Serpentine, Toolfarms AE Camera Training, and my very own Youveelizer plugin.

It was much fun. See you next year.

If you ever struggled with your After Effects 3D camera than this tutorial is for you. Learn to rig your camera in seconds or buy a my script that will do it for you.

Click here to watch the video tutorial

Get Simple Camera Rig Script 1.0 (CS3) for only 14.90 USD

I don’t know about you my friends, but each time I’m thinking about using After Effects camera I get the shivers. It’s good for panning and zooming, but once you start to make a more classy and smooth motion, or you want to sex it up a bit with some curves you get into trouble. You need to keep track of zoom, point of interest, position, orientation and rotation keyframes all at once. We should be very grateful for Separate Dimensions feature in After Effects CS4, but it does not solve all the problems.

In this tutorial I will show you a technique that is widely used in camera animation by many artists that work in 3D Studio Max, Cinema 4D, or any other 3d application. I hope it will open your eyes on the subject of camera animation, and that you’ll start making your own more complex rigs. Good luck. Enjoy the tutorial.

And for those of you who don’t have time to build the rig each time you need to use it here’s a handy script that will set up the camera and the rig for you. Enjoy!

Get Simple Camera Rig 1.0 (CS3) for only 14.90 USD