Create Videos (with After Effects) on demand

[webfacer]

Hi Experts

As a newby, I would like to know if it is possible to create videos on demand, by sending commands, images, audio and text to the server (Creative Cloud?) like I can do in other products over APIs.

Can anybody give me details about how the architecture looks like? If APIs does not exist, do I have to create the scripts in depending of incoming requests before I execute and run those?

Many thanks, regards

Cengiz

[shachar carmi]

if i understand you correctly, you wish to have AE installed on a server, and have it invoke a render when a remote users sends over materials.

if that is indeed the case, then you'd probably want to go with the javascript API, where you can run javascript files and commands via command line or batch files.

here's a thread discussing it:
https://forums.creativecow.net/docs/forums/post.php?forumid=2&postid=931161&univpostid=931161&pview=...

there are also off-the-shelf solutions available such as dataclay templater:

https://aescripts.com/search/?q=templater

[webfacer]

Thanks for your fast response.

So, the content in that discussion is similar the way I have thought about. When a request (images, text, positions of text, audio etc.) is sent by a user who is using the frontend application, I create a batch command or create the command itself dynamically, and run it on the server-side. After the video has been created, I can make convertions or whatever I need to do with Ffmpeg.

I think Creative Cloud is the server as product needs to be installed or used as a service. And the JavaScript Framework is called "EffectScript", right?

Regards

Cengiz

[shachar carmi]

yes, you need to have AE installed on the server, and the javascript interface is referred to as "ExtendScript".

[Dave Merchant]

This sounds like you want to sell on-demand access to Creative Cloud to other users (a service bureau system). That is completely forbidden and will provoke legal action.

The features which allow After Effects to be used across a network are only permitted as a way for the licensed subscriber to operate the software (e.g. as part of a personal render farm or via remote-working). The Adobe Terms of Use are absolutely clear:

6.2 You must not: offer, use, or permit the use of the Services or Software in a computer services business, third-party outsourcing service, on a membership or subscription basis, on a service bureau basis, on a time-sharing basis, as a part of a hosted service, or on behalf of any third party.

[webfacer]

No, that is not what I want to do. The user will put all the video sources (images, audio files, texts, animations etc.) together in a frontend software and send the request with this content to the server. According the incoming request, I (as owner of the AE license) use the server to create a video with a script/command file made before. Let us say, The user has a web application in front of his, puts three images, an audio file together and adds a text over one of the image. All together were be sent with the request to the server, and the result is a video (e. g. *.mp4 file).

So, this is just an automated way how to create and sale videos. And (I think) when I have payed for the AE license, can I not use this way of creation videos?

Thanks.

[shachar carmi]

oh god... please let's not turn this into an opinion based legal discussion...

this was a heated issue 10 years ago, where suddnely a whole industry of server based rendering sprouted using aerender noeds, which at the time could have been installed on an unlimited number of machines with a single AE license. the EULA has changed since then and i honestly don't know where it stands on server rendering.

adobe has also launched it's own AE server rendering service, and i'm not sure if it's still up or not.

in any case, either write adobe's sales team a question, or consult with lawyer about the EULA.

i don't think there's gonig to be a problem, but then again it's what i THINK, and not what i KNOW.

[webfacer]

Ok, thanks for your help in this question.

[Zhiqiang_Li]

Hi,

Here's another solution you might wanna take a look.

We created a solution to export your AE project to custom template bundle, and using our rendering engine to render it on iOS, Android or GPU Cloud Server.

You can learn more about it here http://www.seeshiontech.com/en-us/index.html