AE | 7 Useful Functions in the Render Queue

Ah, the Render Queue. After Effects' method of pushing out your compositions to movies.

It's pretty straight forward to use, but it also has some powerful and very useful features tucked into it. So, let's take a look at the Render Queue.

All About Expression Controls

Expression Controls are effects that don't seem to do anything to our compositions! But they work as UIs for expressions we create. In this post, we'll take a look at each individual control and see what it can do and how to make use of it.

Change Multiple Comps from a Single Master Composition with Expressions

Okay, here's the scenario, an editor has created promotional material for a few shows. The channel he's working on has specific graphics that I need to make. So, I need to make, for each show, a graphic that shows the name of the show and different versions that say "Tonight at [specific time]", "Next Week", "This Week", "Coming Soon" and so on. Here's how one of them looks:

The problem is there's 6 versions and 4 shows, 24 comps in total. I can't keep rendering, changing text, rendering; it is kinda tiresome and is more prone to mistakes!

This tutorial will take a look at how to set-up your project so all you have to do is change ONE composition and create all 6 variations per show in one go. So technically, I only have to change and render 4 times, as compared to 24.
As always, this technique can be used for anything that requires batch editing and rendering, so adjust it for your specific uses.

AE | Expression Driven Gauge - Part 2

In the first post, we looked at building the base and setting up the numbers, now we're gonna make the Master control and get the bar to change colors.

AE | Expression Driven Gauge - Part 1

Expressions!! Expressions can be used to control various properties of a layer but their use if quite situational. It really depends on how you intend to use your composition. This will affect the approach you take as well as whether it's necessary to use an expression at all. I think the best way to illustrate this is to use a real-world example: a gauge!

So, we're going to make a "Core Temp" gauge as in the header above. It's pretty simple, right, but we're mainly going to focus on the decisions we make about the expressions driving the different elements that make up the gauge, and how we're going to set up the entire composition to be 'expression-friendly'.

PHOTOSHOP | Road to Home Photo Manipulation

We're gonna be using Photoshop and 4 images to create a the below photo manipulation. We'll mainly focus on blending the colors and the contrast of the different images to get the final result, the most important step. Click the title to see the tut. You can click the image to view it larger.

Multipass Compositing with Cinema 4D and After Effects 04

Check Previous Posts

Okay, so we brought everything into AE and set up our workspace. Now, what do we gain from using multipass? Let's take a look:

AE Quick Tip 04 | Isolate Layers for Masking

Here's a quick tip on isolating layers that have effects and have been transformed so you can mask them without obstruction:



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AE Quick Tip 03 | Comp and Layer Markers

Here's another quick tip on adding markers to compositions and layers. Very useful for future reference.

AE Tip 02 | Change Default Render Queue Output Module

The Lossless output module that's default in After Effects leads to some REALLY huge files. Here's a quick tip on how to change that default to your own preset. I personally prefer Quicktime or High-bitrate FLV as my default render setting.



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AE TIP 01 | Using Dingbat Characters

Hey!
Welcome to AE Tips. In this series I'll be explaining some very useful techniques when working with After Effects. You guys liked them on Twitter, now they come in quick videos.
In this episode, we'll look at how to use dingbat fonts like Wingdings and Webdings to get the vector characters you're looking for.



Let me know what you think.
Lots more to come, so subscribe to the channel for updates on new episodes!

TUTORIAL | Jump Out of the Frame

Hello!

In this video tutorial I demonstrate how to make someone jump out of the frame. This technique can be used for pretty much anything. Here's the final product:

Young girl dancing happy in a field by african_fi: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1386581

TUTORIAL | Fix Canon EOS Utility Issue in Windows 8

Having issues using your EOS Utility application on Windows 8? Here's the solution.

I use a Canon EOS 650D and whenever I connected it to my Windows 8 PC (x64), EOS Utility would not pick up on it and all options would remain grayed out and disabled. This problem is also reported on the EOS 7D and 5D.

To fix this problem is pretty simple.

• Go to the Canon Support Page here.
• Select your camera. I'm going to select the 650D.

• On the next page, check out the numbered links below for news on your camera. Might find something important. I just learnt there's a problem with 650D's producing a white irritating substance on the grip over time, luckily their check system said my camera is not affected.
• Click on "Downloads" at the top.

• Select "Software (drivers and applications)", your operating system and select a language.

• Down below, you'll find "EOS Utility 2.12.3" (at least, at the time of this post, it may be higher).

• Read the disclaimer, then click "Accept & Download" if you accept. The download will begin.
• Install the program as you would any other program. If you already have a previous version of EOS Utility, you can proceed with installing and it will update.
• Enjoy using your EOS Utility!
• Remember to check back every few months for new updates to the software.

The real problem was that the previous versions of EOS Utility are not compatible with Windows 8. Since the software on the disk was written before Windows 8 came out, you'll have to download directly from Canon.

Enjoy :-D