When I turn on Collapse Transformation, the camera animation stops

[Jane Levenets]

Hi! I'm new to After Effects and I have a question. I have 2 compositions: the first one is an animation of the website interface with chatting (chat messages are animated with camera and null object). The second composition is the main composition, which has a couple of videos and other text. I put the first composition with the chat in the second composition and made an zoom. But as you might expect, the composition with the chat is pixelated when zoomed in. For that, I turn on the composition with the chat with Collapse Transformation and pixelation goes away. But also stops working chat animation. How to make the chat work and at the same time not pixelated? 

I'm also attaching a video

[Rick Gerard]

When you collapse transformations on any nested comp (pre-comp) with 3D layers, the camera in the main comp renders those layers. If there is a camera in a nested comp and you collapse transformations, that camera is disabled. I didn't see a comp camera in your video, but I'm almost sure that is the problem.

[Mylenium]

Yeah, Rick pretty much explained it. You need to consider the rendering order for 3D stuff as well. That aside, using collapsed transformations isn't a magic tool to keep content sharp and using it always has deeper ramnifications and repercussions. It might be a good idea to actually plan for those situations and prepare your content accordingly. In your example there isn't even a good reason to use CR. You could just have designed the artwork at a larger resolution.

Mylenium

[Dani SdM]

Hi Mylenium,

How would you then prepare a workflow for designing at a very large resolution?

Say your final output is 3 contiguous screens, each 3000x1000, with a gap in between of 500 pixels for a total of 10000x1000 canvas. If I were to work in half the size of that, 5000x500, to save myself some pains in the process, I wouldn't be able to just pop that 1/2 size comp in a full size comp, collapse transformations and expect the camera moves to work. I have tried up-resizing during rendering but there's a definition loss. Would the only option just be to pull the camera out of the 1/2 size comp into the full size one? If that's the case then that workflow would be still be painfull since I wouldn't be able to watch previews as easily.

Thanks for the help

Dani

[Mylenium]

You simply design to spec at full resolution. What you describe is exactly what I said already: CT/ CR is not a magic trick to safe your behind and provide "infinite resolution". You just have to accept that it will be slow. Instead educate yourself about using proxy workflows where possible.

Mylenium

[Dani SdM]

Understood. Thank you!