Smart Object Not Transforming Correctly In Animation

[anthonyboyd]

I'm doing a simple animation mockup and for some reason, a section of the smart object layer won't stay. The animation is simple. The iPhone just moved right then back left again. The bottom corner seems to always reset its position. No matter how many times I change the position once I move the timeline the size resets again. Any suggestions? I've been trying to google suggestions for 2 days straight and found nothing so far. I recorded my screen so you can see what I'm exactly doing. and I also provided the original file below just in case you would like to test it out yourself.

Note

one thing I did try was changing to hold interpolation and going frame by frame and still doesn't work.

Tried going to the frame animation area and doing it that way. still no change.

The Animation File

[davescm]

Hi Anthony

I've just tried this in CC2017 (and CS6 in case there was a bug). In both cases the transform key-framing seems limited to Scaling and moving but does not take on Distort.

You may be better doing this in After Effects - where you can manipulate a plane in 3D space or, at a push, creating a 3D "postcard" rectangle  in Photoshop and rotating that in 3D space to match the phone layers.

Dave

[anthonyboyd]

would I still keep the smart object functionality? I make a lot of mockups for people on my blog www.anthonyboyd.graphics and that's something I absolutely need to keep.

[davescm]

anthonyboyd  wrote

would I still keep the smart object functionality? I make a lot of mockups for people on my blog www.anthonyboyd.graphics and that's something I absolutely need to keep.

Yes

In Photoshop 3D - you would add the smart object as a texture - that way your smart object contents can be the screen simulation straight on view and will remain fully open to modification. If the smart object contains moving content, your preview will only show the first frame - but the rendered video will include the moving content render as well as the 3D object.

In After Effects you would put your smart object in a PSD file in Photoshop. You then import that PSD into your After Effects project and use the layer, along with your other simulation video layers (which you can import separately). You can rotate the layer using the transform key-frame controls below.

If you modify the PSD file in Photoshop altering the smart object content - the After Effects project is updated as soon as you save it.

This will work with moving smart object  content better as the preview also plays back the moving content.

Dave

[davescm]

Well I'm more and more puzzled with this one.

Anthony (OP) dropped me a PM with a link to another PSD where a smart object was being transformed with Transform Distort.

So I dropped my own Smart object into 3 separate documents. The one Anthony PMd , the one he provided in post one of this thread and a third that I created myself. I can only get keyframes to work with Distort on the one he PMd - however I cannot see any difference in the settings.

So for now I am a bit baffled.

Dave

[JJMack]

Computers +Software +Murphy +Adobe +OS = Baffled  seems like a valid formula to me.

[davescm]

JJMack  wrote

Computers +Software +Murphy +Adobe +OS = Baffled  seems like a valid formula to me.

Haha - I like it.

Actually there is something about the actual distort required (possibly in relation to the bounding box)  that Photoshop does not like.

I can get Anthony's model to follow the exact distortions in that 3rd party PSD, but not the distortions required in his PSD. Similarly when I tried to get the 3rd party PSD to follow the distortions required in Anthony's model it failed.

At this point - I am going to accept your formula JJ and go out for the afternoon

Dave

[JJMack]

Could not do it with your 1080x1920 red rectangle layer but was able to replace its content using your screen layer modified and fix up the smart object  layer's transform remove the animation set it to the replaced content 1920x1080 size. TestSceneJJ.psd

[Pete.Green · Accepted solution]

Hi Anthony,

Thanks for bringing this workflow up, I have been able to reproduce the strange behavior with distorting of smart objects and keyframes. I've logged a bug and the team will investigate.

Thanks to John and Dave for helping out here and providing some good suggestions and workarounds in the meantime.

Regards

Pete

[davescm]

Thanks Pete.

It is a strange one. Some distortions work, others such as the one posted here, do not.

Dave.

[dougs40049564]

Hi Dave,

I’m hoping this is the same issue in discussion here: I cannot find any support on this issue anywhere but I’m hoping it’s not unique to me and there is indeed an answer☹

I have an Etsy shop ( https://www.etsy.com/shop/FamilyPlanks) and I create all my own mock ups in Photoshop.  I just started creating and adding animated mock ups like these:
Click the video image of these products once in Etsy.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1472232398/4th-of-july-sign-fireworks-celebration

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1334681027/harvest-farm-sign-fall-harvest-sign

So you see how I’m simply animated tree shadows on these product mock ups.  That’s not a problem.   However, now I’m trying to add ‘PAN & ZOOM’ to the mockup.  I have no problem in doing this.  However, when I add my sign image, convert it to a smart object then add the pan/zoom ‘to the smart object’ it distorts the smart object I created.    I need to make a smart object of the sign image to save me time on updating all 700 of my product video mock ups.

THE PROBLEM

The smart object of the sign image ‘DISTORTS’ every time I add pan/zoom to it.  It will not hold the skew I set to make it perspectively work within the mockup.

I can:

1. Add a background (and add pan and zoom to it)
2. Add a new layer for my sign image (add the exact same pan zoom settings)

..and it works perfectly.  The sign and background animate beautifully with each other!

However:

When I ‘skew the sign image smart object’ (to show proper perspective to the background)… I can no longer Pan/Zoom it without losing the perspective skew.  I’m attaching a couple of images so you can better see my issue. 

(Image Sample 1 shows smart object of cattle sign before pan/zoom added to it)

(Image Sample 2 shows smart object of cattle sign after pan/zoom added)

I'm hoping there's a solution to this.

Thank you!

Doug Springfield

Family Planks LLC

[dougs40049564]

Hi Pete,

I believe I'm having th same issue.  Is there a worrkaround for this?

[anthonyboyd]

thanks for all the support everyone. Yes, i would love to use after effects to fix it but I would need the file to be completely done in photoshop. I make mockups for other people and some don't have after effects. Hopefully its fix soon. I can't wait to start making complex animated mockups.

[Hasan Can30708540c8f7]

Is this fixed? I am having the same problem. When i share psd some people get this error. Do they need to upgrade ps? 

[dougs40049564]

has this been fixed yet?