AFTER EFFECTS WISH LIST (Prior to Sept 09)

[Andrew Yoole]

AFTER EFFECTS WISHLIST

What features would you like to see implemented in After Effects? New ideas for plugins? Interface changes? Post 'em here!

Let's keep bug identification to individual posts, as these will probably be addressed more readily. Let's use this thread for specific ideas about ways that AE can be improved and expanded.

These Forums are for users, not Adobe employees, so don't forget to also fill in an  Adobe feature request form.

To view the Wish List posts prior to 2008, look here.

[Guest]

How About a "John Nack on After Effects"?

I'm asking myself how come that the Photoshop blog takes such a incredible part besides After Effects.
John is posting every day essential information, mostly about ongoing improvements/development of future Photoshop!?

Man, id wish i could read something like Johns blog just about the roads of After Affects.

sigh...

[Andrew Yoole]

Note Michael Coleman, AE Product Manager, has a blog called Keyframes:

http://blogs.adobe.com/keyframes/

Also Todd Kopriva, AE Documentation lead, has a blog called Region Of Interest:

http://blogs.adobe.com/toddkopriva/

[Guest]

yoh, customer survey has ended and if anyone still does not have recognized Adobe TV, im sorry for you folks.

i'm talking about the future of AE and it's development! i wanna see - at least a sneek peek - vision from the development corner.

[John Stanowski]

Flash CS4's new Bones Tool would be great in After Effects.

[Navarro_Parker]

It would be great to have an effect solo button in the effect controls palette. I frequently have several filters stacked and the on-screen updates get pretty slow when making adjustments. 

I want to 'solo' that effect and turn the rest off so I can make faster adjustments. I know I can do this my manually clicking all the 'fx' radio buttons for each filter, but a one-button solo would be handy!

[Navarro_Parker]

How about OpenFX plug-in support?

[Navarro_Parker]

Would be cool to have a keyboard shortcut to view only keyframes, not keyframes and expressions as it is now.

[Navarro_Parker]

How about a checkbox to exclude layers from the effects of Adjustment Layers?

[Todd_Kopriva]

> How about a checkbox to exclude layers from the effects of Adjustment Layers?

Layers are rendered from the bottom up in the layer stacking order. An adjustment layer applies an effect to the rendered composite of all of the layers beneath it. I don't know how an adjustment layer could somehow not apply to certain layers beneath it without fundamentally changing the way that adjustment layers work.

[Navarro_Parker]

How about more traditional 3D manipulators (translate/rotate/scale) for layers/cameras?  Plus standard W/E/R keyboard modifiers? Also, it be great if holding down the shift key while using the new Unified Camera Tool would constrain rotation to X or Y axis.

[yenaphe]

For the Adjustment layer thing, you can still precompose the layers you want with your adjustement layer.

[joshtownsend]

64 bit native

Curves and hue/sat controld like in Photoshop CS4. Being able to pick a spot on the picture and adjust from there (like with photoshop CS4) would be amazing!!!!!

Fix the 24pa auto pulldown already...please.

Built in NLE - make an 'editing mode' that is set up like a cuts-only premiere. Then change the mode to AE. Not Dynamic link. There's no point in having to go into Premiere to just cuts. All the opacity, fx and tranditions won't be needed because they'll be done on AE. That would have to be way faster than what we have now with the Dynamic link.

When opening a Premiere project have any AE carry over. Right now it doesn't even know where the AE files are.

True Nodes

Importing real 3d objects without photoshop.

Per vertex feathering.

B-splines.

Improved mocha interface AE (also DVCPRO input for mocha would be nice)

Easier Camera projection and simple primatives (that you could tweak) would be sweet.

Per-vertex mask tracking.

Built-in Background rendering (why is this so hard, a scripts been around forever)

[Todd_Kopriva]

Those are a lot of good feature-requests, Josh. Just to play devil's advocate, though...

> Built-in Background rendering (why is this so hard, a scripts been around forever)

Doesn't the availability of a free and high-quality script that does this already (and which tens of thousands of people are using) make it seem less necessary to build this into the application? If development resources are finite, wouldn't you rather that they be used to make things that don't already exist? (This is a serious question.)

[joshtownsend]

Your right, if for some reason it takes 30 man hours to include the script as a check box on the save window or render queue then forget about it, spend the time fixing the auto 24pa pulldown that would really save me some time.

I totally respect you Todd (and have learned a great deal from you), that was a silly thing compared to other more important stuff. I just got used to working with Adobe Media Encoder and Premiere and forget to run the script when I do my final render in AE.

Speaking of AME why does it take so long to load an AE project? It's crazy, also an option to 'Render media' to AME like Premiere would be nice/faster.

[Guest]

Speaking of AME why does it take so long to load an AE project? It's crazy, also an option to 'Render media' to AME like Premiere would be nice/faster.

Because it has to launch a full-blown, headless version of AE to open the Comp. Note that once you open your first Comp in AME, adding more Comps from the same or other projects is much, much faster.

I agree that adding an option to send an AE Comp to AME would be very useful.

For now, If you get into the habit of launching AME and initializing Dynamic Link (just browse to open an AE comp) when you start working, you can from that point drag an drop Comps from AE's project panel directly to the AME queue just as easily as I am saying it.

[Guest]

spend the time fixing the auto 24pa pulldown that would really save me some time.

Can you describe the issue? Don't assume it's a known issue. It may or it may not be.

[joshtownsend]

Oh it's a known issue. So much so that Panny even has this in it's P2/CS4 whitepaper (note first sentence which is curiously out-dated)

ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasonic/business/provideo/whitepapers/WP_Using_P2HD_with_Adobe_CS4.pdf

"• NOTE: The following procedure will be superseded in early 2009 with the release of the 4.0.2 update to Premiere Pro;
the update will feature the same automatic pulldown (standard and advanced) detection and removal currently featured in
Premiere Pro CS3 and manual removal will no longer be required in 24p Sequences

.
Premiere Pro has comprehensive timeline support for all types of 24p shot by a P2HD or P2 SD camera. For 24p footage
shot in the 480 or 1080 modes, or shot in the “over-60” mode in 720p, it is necessary to remove pulldown to work
with native 24p files. In the 480 and 1080 modes, this means reconstructing the 24p frames from the interlaced stream,
and removing extra interlace fields. In the 720 mode, this means removing duplicate progressive frames. Either way, the
pulldown will be removed by working with the footage in the Project window.
With 480 and 1080 footage, whether shot in the 24p standard mode or in the 24pA mode, the clip properties will read as
having a frame rate of 29.97. To remove pulldown, right-click or Control-click on the clip – or select multiple clips – and
choose “Interpret Footage . . . “ From there, click the “Remove 24p DV Pulldown” radio button. The footage will now be
read with a frame rate of 23.976 and all interlaced fields will disappear.
Fig. 14 – Using Interpret Footage to remove pulldown from 24p-over-60 footage
For 720 footage shot in the 24P (not Native), “over-60” mode, the
clip properties will read as having a frame rate of 29.97. As with the
480 and 1080 footage, in the Interpret Footage window, click the
“Remove 24p DV Pulldown” radio button. Duplicate frames will be
removed and the footage will be read as 23.976.
As with the Source Channel Mapping, this process may be applied
to multiple clips at once by selecting them all in the Project window
before right-clicking or Control-clicking and choosing “Interpret
Footage.”

Same thing with not just P2 footage but even tape-based 24pa (DVX and XL-2)

In CS3 I anytime you input 24pa (24p wrapped in 60i) the footage would automatically come in at 23.976. Now in both Premiere and AE you have to manually 'interpret footage' and tell the program to guess 24p footage.

Worse when I bring footage from Premiere that I already 'interpreted' I have to do it again in AE.

ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasonic/business/provideo/whitepapers/WP_Using_P2HD_with_Adobe_CS4.pdf

[joshtownsend]

In AE you have to:

"After Effects can work with files of any frame rate. However, for frame rates shot in “over-60” modes, such as 24p with
pulldown in 60i or 60p streams, the files must be manually converted to the native frame rate by right-clicking or Controlclicking
and choosing Interpret Footage, as described in Premiere Pro above, then choosing “Main.”
Fig. 22 – Finding Interpret Footage dialog in After Effects
From there, in the “Fields
and Pulldown” box, you
can choose to remove
the type of pulldown in
the footage, 3:2 pulldown
(standard) or 2:3:3:2 pulldown
(“24P Advance”).
If the Remove Pulldown
drop-down is blank, you
can choose from the
“Guess 3:2 Pulldown” or
“Guess 24Pa Pulldown” buttons underneath, depending on whether you shot with standard 3:2 pulldown or with Advanced
pulldown. (Footage shot in the 720P/24P “over-60” mode will always use 3:2 pulldown.)"

[joshtownsend]

Adolfo Rozenfeld wrote:

spend the time fixing the auto 24pa pulldown that would really save me some time.

Can you describe the issue? Don't assume it's a known issue. It may or it may not be.

Now I'm scared, Adobe employee's doesn't even know about an issue that Panasonic had to write a white paper to show users how to get around Adobe's P2 changes from CS4.  Nothing against you Aldolfo but that is scary.

It's a TON of extra work trying to finish a whole feature in AE when I have do the 'interpret footage' dance.

I guess if you had no idea Adolfo then I'm out of luck hoping for the fix promised in the Panasonic CS4 white paper.

TODD, did you know about the 24pa issue?

Adolfo Rozenfeld wrote:

For now, If you get into the habit of launching AME and initializing Dynamic Link (just browse to open an AE comp) when you start working, you can from that point drag an drop Comps from AE's project panel directly to the AME queue just as easily as I am saying it.

That's great had no idea that was possible. And it is WAY faster. THANKS A TON.

[Guest]

Why is that scary? You originally provided a list/sumary of requests. I only said "don't assume it's a known issue", because it's' always useful when you explain in detail why something is so important in your worfklow. Even for known requests/issues, that information is useful. Please note that I also say the same thing for the most wildly popular requests, the ones you could never think of as "unknown".

It's a TON of extra work trying to finish a whole feature in AE when I have do the 'interpret footage' dance.

As a workaround you can Interpret Footage for one clip only, then go to IF > "Remember Interpretation", then select every other clip and IF > Apply Interpretation. In 2-3 steps you would have all footage items re-interpreted.

I am investigating the possibility of a better way. No promises, because the better way could have side effects.

[joshtownsend]

I'd apreciate you checking into it. Best I've figured is lasso the footage you can then use shortcut after you've done one. Problem is with bin's, picture, precomps, and all that it's hard to lasso more than a dozen at a time.

So did you know about this issue before I brought it up? The author of the whitepaper said he was contracted by Adobe to write it and in it he said it was going to be fixed in the next update. Don't suppose you know anything about that?

[Guest]

Problem is with bin's, picture, precomps, and all that it's hard to lasso more than a dozen at a time.

This should take care of this very quickly, without having to manually drag selections:

1. Interpret just one clip as you know.

2. Right click that clip and go to Interpret Footage > Remember Interpretation.

3. In the project panel's search field type the name of the format ("AVI", for example). This will filter things so that only clips for that format (and all clips for that format) are revealed and everything else (Comps, still images, other formats, etc)  is hidden.

4. Press tab to make the search field loose focus. Select All (Control + A on Win, Command + A on Mac)

5. Right click > Interpret Footage > Apply Interpretation.

[joshtownsend]

That makes sense...Except what about the slow motion 720p files that I don't need to do a pulldown on, how can I make sure I'm only selecting the 1080 24pa and not the 720p that don't need it? I search mxf and the all come up mixed together.

I'm thinking your work around is a nice of way telling me Adobe has no plans to bring back 24pa auto-detect. Still love AE, though.

[Guest]

In that case, you could perform the same steps but type the pixel dimensions in the search field (just entering "1080" should work).

No, a workaround is a workaround, not a statement.

My role is helping users and try to be just one more way of making sure they're heard. Not making statements.

Please let's keep the wish list thread for that purpose. Feel free to start a new thread about this or any other subject. Just remember that confirming or denying plans is not something I can do.

[joshtownsend]

I understand. Thanks for workflow tips buddy. Oh and thanks for being on this forum and helping. Be nice to have someone like you or Todd in the Premiere forum.

Sorry for going OT for a bit.