developing Interactive Custom Control with data binding to realtime data stream

[soldetres]

Hi All,

Newbee on these tools, seek expert advice:

Is it possible to develop (interactive) custom UI controls with After Effects or any other products as good as AE?

Furthermore, can I have this control databind a constant ingress of data (JSON), for example stocks,etc.?

Thank You

[Arie Stavchansky]

You can create custom UI controls within AE using ScriptUI or CEP framework which allows you to develop using modern Javascript libraries like React, Vue, etc.  CEP essentially is a "browser" within the context of an Adobe app.

If you want to build a non-AE interface to map data to elements within the composition.  You can do that, certainly.  Shameless plug, check out Dataclay Templater Bot for a solution that allows you to build an external UI to receive data and then have that data injected into dynamic layers.  

You can, of course, build your own version of something like this and it is entirely possible.

[soldetres]

Thank You Arie.

I am more inclined to use the latter approach:

"build a non-AE interface to map data to elements within the composition.", my composition inside After Effects I assume.

Will my custom UI control still be interactive?

I think you have addressed my initial question. 

Pardon my ignorance.

[Arie Stavchansky]

It is highly doubtful that you can find a solution whereby a non-AE interface actually manipulates the parameters within any part of AE.  Even in a local scripting environment this cannot be acheived.  It wouldn't be interactive, but I question why it would need to be.  

You can certainly get data into After Effects from an external UI, but a script is going to take the data gathered by the UI and do something to a project that is open, but it won't be able to literally set parameters in "real-time".

[Mylenium]

Not a single compositing/ motion graphics tool I know does what you want, at least not the ones currently publicly and commercially available. Maybe the new Notch can do it, but I haven't had a look at it. otherwise this is the domain of realtime on-air graphics tools like VizRT, Chiron or custom developed solutions like the one from Swiss Timing. Even trying this in any Adobe product would be a waste of time. The foundation simply isn't there.

Mylenium