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Participant
April 26, 2023
Question

"Solitaire ending " effect using Echo effect

  • April 26, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 3283 views

Hello all, Im trying to achieve the solitaire ending / Windows XP glitch effect using the Echo effect similar to this reference.

https://giphy.com/clips/laguarimba-glitch-guarimba-film-festival-VWKZo6eOpI9C58M2k1

 

I pretty much want the echos made to stay forever and not move based on the path the animated object goes. I know there is an expression out there for the echo effect that can achieve this, but I just can not find it for the life of me.  Does anyone know this expression? Or perhaps a better way to achieve this effect? 

1 reply

Community Expert
April 27, 2023

Start by pre-composing the moving layer you want to echo, name the layer Echo, make sure that you Move All Attributes to the new comp, and Open the comp. Pre-compose again, moving all attributes and naming the new comp Original, but do not open the second copy. 

 

Apply Echo to the Echo comp, move to the last frame and this expression to echo time: 

 

- thisComp.frameDuration

 

 Now set the Echo Operator to In Front and start increasing the number of echoes until you get about the number of echoes that you want in your final comp. Don't worry about the starting point yet. 

 

Here comes the fun part. Open the composition settings using Ctrl/Cmnd + K, go to the Advanced tab and select Preserve Frame Rate when nested, return to the first tab, and start fiddling with the frame rate until you get the echoed frames to cover the motion path completely. The Comp Preview will update if you click off the frame rate. When you have the echoes starting at the initial position of the moving object, close the comp.

 

Check the work. In this example, the frame rate was set to 12 fps. 

Because the frame rate of the nested comp matches the frame duration of the echo, the moving object will not move in the frame. You should now be able to return to the Main comp and have the laying down Solitaire effect.

 

ShiveringCactus
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 27, 2023

That's a really neat implementation.  Although it is giving me flashbacks to when Solitaire and minesweeper were the only games I had.