Author Topic: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
Date Posted: 8/21/05 11:49pm Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
Ryan_W posted:
Sounds like a good way to do it, Zap. I'll give it a try sometime. That's why I always say to experiment and tweak, etc. Tutorials shouldn't be folloed explicitly. It's always good to find cool ways to do things (like that) and use the aspects that you like from different methods. For instance you could definitely roto that way and use it as the roto layer fo rhtis method if you wanted to.


Yes exactly - what I am describing is a roto-method. What you *do* with the rotoed result is up to you. I generally throw a "fill" filter on it to white and from then on you can do anything with it you would have done with the white solid. Add on your new method, your old method, or whatever method.

You can even cut-n-paste your finished keyframes to a white solid for performance reasons (I think it may take a set of milliseconds for AE to load the footage which you then completely erase by the "fill" filter, which may add up for many layers/sabers.).

I just recorded a quick-n-dirty video tut for my method of roto but it just may crash in the compress of the video, knowing my luck wink

/Z

 

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Date Posted: 8/22/05 1:25am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
Okay, here is my tutorial

Note; it's kinda big (33M) and it may have some playback issues coz my software compressed it to flash and threw away the original before I could blink, and I got what I got and I aint recording again wink

It kinda - quickly ish - shows how easy it is in the footage window compare to the headaches and pains trying to do effeicient roto in a comp window.

/Z

 

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Date Posted: 8/22/05 3:39am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
Great work Ryan.This is a great tut.It's not so different than the last tut,but the results are looking good.
I agree with the others,the ILM comment was a killer.

 

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Date Posted: 8/22/05 4:46am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
Wow, that was great, i liked your new method;)

btw, it's good to see you here Ryan, have you got a time for new works? You now, you've inspired many people to begin this works such as me:) What are you doing in Lucas Arts?

 

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Date Posted: 8/22/05 5:17am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
Greetings from France !
You have a lot of fans over here. For some people, you are a living legend (no kidding ).

Thx a lot for your new tuto. It will really change the way we were working doing roto and propably a lot of other things too wink
I was wondering what were your future projetcs you were working on.

Again, thx for the knowlege you share with us.

 

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Date Posted: 8/22/05 5:50am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
"Um... no that looks like ILM..."

laugh cry laugh cry laugh

Nice tutorial, very helpful with the adjestement layers.

 

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Date Posted: 8/22/05 6:10am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
Thanks Ryan...very helpful tute!

Peace

 

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Date Posted: 8/22/05 7:22am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
theres something i didn't understand right there, when you screen the footage layer, i thought that was done to get rid of everything black, instead it just removes a piece of the footage that has a mask under it...

 

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Date Posted: 8/22/05 7:35am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects - Date Edited: 8/22/05 7:38am (2 edits total) Edited By: fireresq7
Well I learned some new stuff!

Ryan I like your new method, I'm just an old dog. Hopefully I can learn new tricks....
Even though it's faster in the sense of fixing a roto mistake(just changing one layer instead of fixing and re-duplicated all 3 and adding blur again and etc.) I feel there's just more inbetween steps...but hey I'm an old dog. I will try this out when I finish filming again next week.

Zap, I saw your tutorial and it was very entertaining. You sure have a funny personality.
But I was hoping to see the end result of your version of the tutorial. I was interested in seeing your whole method of rotoing on the layer itself, but I'd like to see how you finish.
Do you copy the mask to a white layer? Do you just increase the brightness till it's white?

~Rory

 

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  • Date Posted: 8/22/05 8:00am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
    This is nice... Now I have something new to pass along to all these emails I keep getting saying, "Dude, how do you make those lightsabers!"

    I still get like 4 or 5 a week, and I just send them to Ryan's site.

    I still find it amuzing how many people say to me, "I tried that Ryan-W method and it's too hard. Is there an easier way?" I always have to answer back, "Well, actually... No..."

     

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    Date Posted: 8/22/05 8:02am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects

    Ryan-W posted:
    12 megs for a 12 minute file. You do the math.



    Hush n00b. I was trying to steer the conversation back on track...

    tongue

     

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    Date Posted: 8/22/05 8:33am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
    I still find it amuzing how many people say to me, "I tried that Ryan-W method and it's too hard. Is there an easier way?"

    It's annoying that people can find something as easy as lightsaber effects "too hard".

     

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    Date Posted: 8/22/05 8:35am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects - Date Edited: 8/22/05 8:39am (2 edits total) Edited By: RyiokuXL
    It's not that they think it's too hard, they're just too lazy to actually sit down and take the time to do it, then go looking for a faster/easier way.

    oh and Ryan_W, nice tutorial

     

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    Date Posted: 8/22/05 9:00am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
    wow cool, i liked it. Thats really good method, able to tweak and have glows on while rotoscoping.

    -Lookfilms-

     

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    Date Posted: 8/22/05 9:13am Subject: RE: New lightsaber video-tutorial for After Effects
    *bows*

    Awesome tutorial, Ryan! Thanks a lot for sharing!

    I love the adjustment layers with a passion that defies words. hypnotized

     

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