pbviz.com / 2D Applications & Techniques / Technical Exchange

Post Production Software

Glen Loyd — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:18:34 GMT

We've been bouncing around between 3-4 different software applications for post production depending on what we are doing with the frames and what the output is intended to be. I thought it would make an interesing discussion point and to see what other are using. If you want feel free to comment on your like and dislikes about the software you mainly use for post production.

Cheers!

After Effects compositions in Premiere

Andrew M — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:35:37 GMT

Hi,

Having used Premiere in the past to composite my work, I am now having my first crack at using After Effects (and loving it :D).

I have created the composition in AE (added colour correction, blur, glare etc) and was hoping to import the composition into Premiere for the final movie. I am using version CS4, so I have imported the .aep file into Premiere and done a little time remapping to slow the video at key points.

What I am now trying to do in Premiere - where the video pauses - is to fade the background video away using the tint and fast blur effects. I have setup some simple keyframes to animate the tint from 0 to 100%, and the fast blur from 0 to 10. Pretty simple stuff. What I am finding is the keyframes do not appear to be working on the *.aep file! The value I set at the first keyframe is the value that stays throughout the video.

Has anybody else had this problem? I have animated keyframes in Premiere before using a TGA or PNG sequence without any problems. Or am I going to have to add the tint and blur in AE ?

Thanks in advance

Compositing Software

Tom — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:05:18 GMT

What workflows do people have for compositing and post processing of your stills and animations?
I personally use .exr files and After Effects for most of what I do. I'm looking at Toxic right now to see if ti will make my life easier (it's also going to become very available to our group in not too long)
I really just do color corrections and minor image effects (abberations, grain, glows, etc) in post.

Adobe Lightroom

Claudio Branch — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:09:43 GMT

Anybody out there using Lightroom?

I am thinking about acquiring it as soon as I figure out why I might need it. According to Adobe it's great for managing and organizing lots of fotos...so what! I'm a fairly organized person already.

What tha heck else does it do?

After Effects --> web content

Larissa — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:01:03 GMT

I need to get my demo reel up on the internet (with great quality) ... not sure how to go about doing this. What format works best (using AE CS4) for this? Flash, ...? I would like to embed it into my website maybe.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! :P ;) :cool:

Color Books...!

Jerlin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:02:57 GMT

Hi,

I've a color book file (.acb) which is created for Autocad and it works fine. When I tried the same file with Photoshop......nil!!

The file extension is similar to both programs.

I've attached the file as .txt, should be renamed as .acb to use. (The insert option does not support that extension....!!??)

How can I convert this file to use with PS?

This file is created by xml. How can we use xml to create new color books?

All comments welcome.

Photoshop Tips

LukeC — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 03:28:40 GMT

Well I thought I would start a thread to collect those little photoshop tricks that everyone uses themselves, but others might not be aware of. So if you have any little time savers or handy tips, post them here and share the wealth.

I'll get the ball rolling

Straigtening an image the quick way:

I picked this one up quite a while ago, and thought I should share it. Im sure alot of you have had the problem where they have been supplied with images that just arent quite straight and need to correct them. Well instead of using the free transform tool - you can use your Measure Tool to do align things quicker and more accurately.

Select the Measure Tool (I - or Shift-I to cycle through to it), draw the measure tool down an edge you know should be vertical or horizontal, and with that line still there, go to Image -> Rotate Canvas -> Arbitrary. In the next dialogue box you'll notice it has already calculated the angle to the nearest vertical or horizontal, hit ok and there you go. Use your crop tool to crop the edges back to size and your done.

Awesome Image Resizing!

Tom — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:43:33 GMT

How cool is this?
[url]http://www.ohgizmo.com/2007/08/21/smart-image-resizing-cuts-the-useless-out-of-your-pics/[/url]

Photosynth

Mitch_R — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 06:51:28 GMT

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/129

[quote]Using photos of oft-snapped subjects (like Notre Dame) scraped from around the Web, Photosynth (based on Seadragon technology) creates breathtaking multidimensional spaces with zoom and navigation features that outstrip all expectation. Its architect, Blaise Aguera y Arcas, shows it off in this standing-ovation demo. Curious about that speck in corner? Dive into a freefall and watch as the speck becomes a gargoyle. With an unpleasant grimace. And an ant-sized chip in its lower left molar. "Perhaps the most amazing demo I've seen this year," wrote Ethan Zuckerman, after TED2007. Indeed, Photosynth might utterly transform the way we manipulate and experience digital images.[/quote]

Free Brushes from Brusheezy

Christopher Leone — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:30:19 GMT

Maybe you can find something useful here...maybe you can't...but here you go...

[url]http://www.brusheezy.com/brushes[/url]

PS CS3 Extended and EXRs

Christopher Leone — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:32:41 GMT

I came across this bit of info on the adobe site when I was searching for an answer to why my .exr's haven't been behaving lately. I don't know if it answers my question or not but it is very interesting.

I think I'm making the switch to 32bit TIFFs....

"If you are working with HDR images containing very large values, we recommend that you save the file as either 32-bit TIFF or as a .PSD. EXR support is limited to 16-bit in Photoshop CS3. Saving these files in EXR or 16-bit TIFF will likely produce artifacts due to clipping of the large values when you reopen that file in Photoshop."

Photoshop CS3 Extended

Mark Kauffman — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 16:30:08 GMT

I came across this link regarding the new Photoshop CS3:

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/ps_psext_info.html

In this link you will find information on the new version called Photoshop CS3 Extended which will benefit both DesignViz and motion grphic workflows.

Enjoy!

Photoshop: disappearing cursor

Glen Loyd — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 20:29:45 GMT

This recently came up in our office:

Working in Photoshop I've come across an area that is somewhere in the Grey 5 value range and the cursor is the same value, making it virtually invisible. Setting it to precise make no difference. This only happens with the brush and selection type tools. Anyone ever here of a hot key combo that makes the cursor lighter or darker?

Online Photoshop

LukeC — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 23:18:23 GMT

http://news.com.com/2100-7345_3-6163015.html

This looks rather interesting.

Photoshop Certification

Glen Loyd — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 22:21:07 GMT

Chris and I were on a conference call recently and Channer brought up the subject of Photoshop Certification. Although a legendary "bugger" to pass, it would be benefical personally and for the company of individuals who have passed and hold a Photoshop Certification. I did a little digging and found information on Adobe's site:

http://www.adobe.com/support/certification/ace_certify.html

Todd also recommended that perhaps a "study group" be formed with the focus on taking and passing the certification test. Thoughts?

PS BRUSHS GALOR....

Christopher Leone — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:16:41 GMT

[url]http://www.psbrushes.net/[/url]

IS NICE!

PowerPoint

Phil O'Brien — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:06:36 GMT

"...PowerPoint doesn't kill meetings. People kill meetings. But using PowerPoint is like having a loaded AK-47 on the table: You can do very bad things with it."

Peter Norvig, Engineering Director at Google, Inc.

I'll subscribe to this topic and help you keep the AK-47 clean and ready.

And I have proof of what Mr. Norvig says.

Artrage 2 by Ambient Design

Christopher Leone — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 18:39:46 GMT

[url]http://www.ambientdesign.com/[/url]

I have been using this painting software for a while now, it's really great. There is a free version which is good but there is also a 20 dollar full version which is great. For 20 bucks you can't go wrong with this software to pair up with your wacom.

Gradient Blur

anim8tor — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 17:12:05 GMT

Does anyone know how to create a Gradient Blur? It would really be helpful, Thanks.

Kuler by Adobe

Christopher Leone — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 13:25:11 GMT

This is a really great site from Adobe.

[url]http://kuler.adobe.com/[/url]

I have used simpler site before for getting color themes and ideas for my 2d work but this site is the best I've seen.

Photoshop crashing?

TWhite — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 17:28:25 GMT

Is your Photoshop CS crashing when you use the magic wand or paint bucket?

well, try this:

http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/330407.html

New Keyboard shortcut

anim8tor — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 14:09:26 GMT

I have come across a new keyboard shortcut by accident. Using the Ctrl+1 option allows you to view your Photoshop channels. Ctrl +(1-5) will show you your channels as well as alpha channels.

Photoshop PNG replacement (UPDATE!)

Tom — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 17:44:29 GMT

Okay, we all know Photoshop and the .png format aren’t the best of friends. Well, now they are!

[url=http://www.fnordware.com/superpng/]http://www.fnordware.com/superpng/[/url]

This plugin REPLACES the Photoshop png plugin. Now, pngs with alphas come in with the alpha in a channel, not as a layer! PNG saves are WAY quicker and smaller than the Photoshop plugin. And a LOT more!

Instructions:

1)Download the plugin

2)Go to: Photoshop/Plug-Ins/Adobe Photoshop Only/File Formats

3)Find and remove the png.8bi plugin (Move out of this folder, or delete it)

4)Copy the SuperPNG.8bi plugin to replace it

DONE!

Open Photoshop and when you go to save out a png, it will be listed as SuperPNG, and will have some options when you save regarding file size and save speed.

Keep in mind that PNG is a non-destructive format, so you can save smaller files and not lose any image information!

Enjoy!

[b]UPDATE![/b] It seems that the channel improvements ONLY apply to 48 bit PNG with alpha channels! If you use 24 bit + Alpha, it acts like it always did. Bummer, eh?