TeacherPants: 2010

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Timecode Calculator!

Found this great widget for Mac:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/calculate_convert/timecodecalculatorwidget.html

Friday, March 12, 2010

Open a new After Effects Project:
-Drag the mov in Proj window onto the Comp icon to make a comp the same size and duration
-View menu/Show rulers
-drag from the rulers down to get horizon line (guide lines)

Window/Tracker
-select the layer and click "stabilize motion" button
-outer box: how far from frame to frame the computer's going to look for your unique pattern
-inner box: the unique pattern-thing that you're tracking (if it's linoleum, it would be the blob of gum that's stuck to it)
-attach point the point that your tracker sticks to: what your keyframes are made of.

Set the inner box first
set the outer box
if there's a moving camera (pan) "favor" one side of the outerbox for the search.

Use the Analyze and play forward OR (better yet) use the frame-by frame forward
-Once that area is off-screen, go back with Pg up key till the tracker is on-screen, go to Layer/Add marker (so I know I switched trackers.
-in the tracker controls hit Apply button

Stabilize more?
Click the STabilize motion button again, that makes a new tracker.
-repeat process.
Move the frame around using Position keyframes, and you'll probably have to scale the layer as well (at most 120% scale) OR if it's HD, stick it into an SD comp and do the position keyframing there.

Awesome work my students did.

Maya's Dark Theatre Show

Sebastian's Anime-inspired Video

Zach's Water Droplets

Candice Text Animation

Accessibility options! Zooming into screen

I try to teach my classes so everyone can see what my little mouse cursor is doing.
This movie shows how to set up both Mac and PC so you can do the zooming in thing I do when I teach at Pratt and NYU!

And learn about Mouse Finder/Mouse Locator here: Mac only, unfortunately:
http://2point5fish.com