So I am getting started in Movies. Took my still camera out and ran continuous shoot for 2-3 seconds then QuickTimed the images to a movie stream. I have been successfully running PASeq's on the stream and getting some very nice stuff, well I think so anyway. Thing is I really like two of the PASeq's and want to combine the effects together.
What I have been experimenting with is using layers. Running the first PASeq on the original source to Layer one and PASeq two again on the original source to Layer two. Then I am setting Layer two to Soft Overlay White at 40% to get the end result I want. On a single frame this look good.
What is the best way to combine the results onto the movie stream to save it out.
I see a few methods of combining the PASeq's into one and modifying the steps to mix into the canvas. However, each PASeq needs to run through completely on the source frame before being mixed together with the other PASeq. Watching the Layers tutorial on the DVD gives me the idea of running the second PASeq on the already processed and saved first PAseq movie, but i don't think the end result will make it as I really want to reprocess the original stream into each PASeq separately then combine the results.
Do I make a new History recording, run the first Paseq into Layer 1 then switch to Layer 2, run the second PASeq, then flatten the layers down and save that history as a new PASeq? Do I adjust Layer two settings before or after or do the changes get saved in the History.
Or is there an easier way.
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There's a number of different ways of doing what you want to do.
One approach would be to render out 2 movies using the 2 PASeqs. You could then use content keyframes in 3.5 to associated the 2 processed movies with 2 different layers, and then generate frames from an empty PASeq to final composited movie.
Another approach would be to build the 2 different PASeq's together in a single PASeq and turn on layer playback. You'd execute the first set of actin steps on layer one, then switch to layer 2 and execute the second set of action steps. then once you had your PASeq recorded, you'd turn on layer playback in the PASeq Configuration preferences in 3.5. You'd then process your source movie with the PASeq.
PASeq steps remember which layer you were using when you recorded them, so you can build a single PASeq like i suggested above that processes in multiple layers. You'd setup the layer compositing the way you wanted to before you generated the output movie from the PASeq.
You can drag steps from a history sequence to a paseq (or vice versa). And you can open saved paseq presets as history sequences if you wish.
Well, this is amazing. Thanks.
I started with your second suggestion as it was closer to where my head was going as to how to put it all together. It took me a bit of fidgeting to set up the layers tracking properly. Sometimes I had it on when I shouldn't have so that the separate PASeq's rendered into either the wrong layer or the compositing didn't apply, or both. Once I realized that I had to have layer tracking off during the PASeq creating and on during the layer rendering all worked out fine.
So then I tried the first suggestion and that works out equally well, if not better, from a time wise and adjusting perspective.
I can see benefits of both methods and and the use of one or the other method will vary with what I need to accomplish. Rendering each PASeq and then combining them would certainly be more efficient as the number of PASeq's used goes up. And as my head trips along farther than is should really go, I pose another question.
I haven't investigated this idea yet but would like to pose the object as I bet you have done it before. The method of rendering each PASeq to its own movie then combining after leads to the ability to easily combine a simple animation against a scrolling background, ie a walking figure against a larger scrolling scene. If the figure is to stay stationary in the view and the scene scrolls across the view, the front animation might be half size of the view, for instance a 640X480 view size. The scrolling background would be 480 high but might be many time wider than the view size of 640.
I am assuming 2 layers, with key frames to scroll the smaller front animation across the background and an alpha channel would be needed, but how does one maintain a 640X480 rendered view size if the background layer is so much bigger than the view. As I said I haven't tried this so it is probably a very simple thing to do.
And thanks for the methods to do my PASeq mixes. I am very happy with the results. Now I need to edit all the scenes into one movie.
You can use a movie stream to do what you want to do. If you look at the File : New Movie Stream menu you have the option to associate the movie stream with the main canvas or the current layer. So you could have a large background canvas and a second smaller 640x480 layer that you would attach the movie stream to. So then the output movie would be 640x480, and you could move that layer across the larger main canvas.
Replies
One approach would be to render out 2 movies using the 2 PASeqs. You could then use content keyframes in 3.5 to associated the 2 processed movies with 2 different layers, and then generate frames from an empty PASeq to final composited movie.
Another approach would be to build the 2 different PASeq's together in a single PASeq and turn on layer playback. You'd execute the first set of actin steps on layer one, then switch to layer 2 and execute the second set of action steps. then once you had your PASeq recorded, you'd turn on layer playback in the PASeq Configuration preferences in 3.5. You'd then process your source movie with the PASeq.
PASeq steps remember which layer you were using when you recorded them, so you can build a single PASeq like i suggested above that processes in multiple layers. You'd setup the layer compositing the way you wanted to before you generated the output movie from the PASeq.
You can drag steps from a history sequence to a paseq (or vice versa). And you can open saved paseq presets as history sequences if you wish.
I started with your second suggestion as it was closer to where my head was going as to how to put it all together. It took me a bit of fidgeting to set up the layers tracking properly. Sometimes I had it on when I shouldn't have so that the separate PASeq's rendered into either the wrong layer or the compositing didn't apply, or both. Once I realized that I had to have layer tracking off during the PASeq creating and on during the layer rendering all worked out fine.
So then I tried the first suggestion and that works out equally well, if not better, from a time wise and adjusting perspective.
I can see benefits of both methods and and the use of one or the other method will vary with what I need to accomplish. Rendering each PASeq and then combining them would certainly be more efficient as the number of PASeq's used goes up. And as my head trips along farther than is should really go, I pose another question.
I haven't investigated this idea yet but would like to pose the object as I bet you have done it before. The method of rendering each PASeq to its own movie then combining after leads to the ability to easily combine a simple animation against a scrolling background, ie a walking figure against a larger scrolling scene. If the figure is to stay stationary in the view and the scene scrolls across the view, the front animation might be half size of the view, for instance a 640X480 view size. The scrolling background would be 480 high but might be many time wider than the view size of 640.
I am assuming 2 layers, with key frames to scroll the smaller front animation across the background and an alpha channel would be needed, but how does one maintain a 640X480 rendered view size if the background layer is so much bigger than the view. As I said I haven't tried this so it is probably a very simple thing to do.
And thanks for the methods to do my PASeq mixes. I am very happy with the results. Now I need to edit all the scenes into one movie.