Dude, you can't use Mp4's in AE 9.  Give it up.  You won't have success. Transcode the footage into a lossless, full-frame codec.  Since I like quicktime, I'd suggest a quicktime movie in the PNG codec. ... View more

....and so the fix to which Mylenium alludes is this: use a bigger solid.  You can change the dimensions of the one you have, or just make new and bigger one and cout & paste in the effect. ... View more

Ah. 4096.  Despite the number of comps to be made, I still am at a loss to recommend a script for the task. I hope another individual can offer a solution. ... View more

Thanks for correcting the arithmetic, sir.  However, the original poster now curses you, I think.  Or else he/she needs to describe what's needed in greater detail. ... View more

Actually, it's just 256, I think.  16x16.  As far as I know, there isn't a script that will automatically: create 256 AE comps add each of the 16 clips to each comp check that each clip is in a different order than the preceeding comps add each comp to the Render Queue and render.... ... but then maybe someone else does. ... View more

Wouldn't it be just as easy to drag the desired files into a new folder? ... View more

Well, you CAN snap in AE, but it may not work the way you'd like.  You can snap to a guide layer or to a grid, for example. Here's the info in AE's online Help. Look for the section called, "Safe sones, grids, guides and rulers" ... View more

... obviously this bug is inconvenient for anyone who would prefer the speed and simplicity of rendering straight from After Effects. Because of the nature of waht After Effects does best --  i.e. render frame by frame -- it can't do multipass rendering, which can significantly lower H.264 file sizes, and it may even improve image quality. If you want, you can use Adobe Media encoder to make an h.264 of a specific comp. ... View more

I have tried some basic tutorials, however this one is a lot more complex than those...I will continue to work my way down the list of basic tutorials I have found... And the first place to stop would be here.  It's a solid, take-it-to-the-bank compilation of Basic AE knowledge, from the guy who literally writes the AE Manual.  Can't do much better than that. ... View more

The suggestions above are helpful, but they may not necessarily be correct.  Here's the ONLY way you're going to know for sure: find out the delivery specifications for your project and work backwards from there.  You have to contact the ad distributor / broadcaster / advertising agency / editor.... whoever receives your work.  Presumably, these people already know what they need from you.  You need to find that out. If you don't do that, you're only wasting your time. ... View more

What's holding it back? The nature of the application, that's what.  AE was never, ever intended to work like an editing application.  It was always intended to be a desktop effects, motion graphics and compositing application, working with virtually unlimited layers of footage. If you tried to do what AE does in Premiere, it would come to a screeching halt and need to render.  If you look at similar applications like Apple's Motion, you won't be playing anything back in real time, either. Now, that's not to say that there are NO applications that can composite and play in real time: I believe either Flame or Smoke by Autodesk can do it.  The downside: you have to follow Autodesk's precise hardware specifications including pricey and proprietary hardware, you need a boatload of extremely fast storage, and you can't buy Autodesk software: you can only rent it for a 1-year period for a cost of five figures. Taking that into consideration, I don't think AE looks too bad in comparison. ... View more

I would say that the Meyers' book is most helpful to the AE novice.  Make sure you get the book that matches your version of AE. ... View more

I just took a second look at your computer specs, and you only have 4 gigs.  That's nothing in AE terms.  You need to trick that thing out with memory.  I suspect you're tracking a clip that's longer than ever attemped before, and you're running out of RAM as AE analyzes the clip, leaving no track. points. For now, turn off multiprocessing if it's on -- there's no way you can use it -- and you shouldn't have to worry about AE using Open GL; it's not an option any more.  Additionally, you should make sure your Radeon driver is fully updated; it too is a cause of AE not performing as advertised. ... View more

Look at this.... ...and this... ...and this, too.... ...and as a reference, keep this handy. Most AE features aren't very intuitive, and you need to get trained up. ... View more

Hey, it happens.  I bet you don't make that prticular mistake again.  We all learn tough AE lessons the hard way: you're not the first.  It's not much good to you right now, but just know we've all cone similarly dumb things. ... View more

If you're using AE's new raytracing feature, you need to be aware that it makes rendering painfully slow.  No, excruciatingly slow. ... View more

j.lee32 wrote: I can delete the quicktime x player by simply dragging the icon into the trash and emptying the trash. However, quicktime x will still be existant on my computer. If this sounds wrong to anyone let me know. Here's your answer: find the FCPX application file, wherever it is. Zip & archive it.  Drag the application file to the trash & flush.  Upon restart, only QT 7 will be seen, and you should be good to go. If for some bizarre reason you need QTX in the future, you can unzip it. This is from Shane Ross, a pro editor and a guy who knows his FCP stuff. ... View more

j.lee32 wrote: So I've installed quicktime 7 pro, however from everything I've read, there is no real way to uninstall or remove quicktime x. The key problem here is the difference between quicktime and quicktime player. I can delete the quicktime x player by simply dragging the icon into the trash and emptying the trash. However, quicktime x will still be existant on my computer. If this sounds wrong to anyone let me know. I don't know personally, but I started a thread with people who ought to know: the Final Cut Pro forum on the Creative Cow.  Here's a link to the thread, and there should soon be responses: http://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/8/1158168 ... View more

j.lee32 wrote: I'm running it on a Mac osx, version 10.6.8, quicktime is version 10.0, and as I said before it's cs5. Ah, there's your problem: that God-Awful Quicktime X!  That piece of junk has never worked properly.  I'm not sure how to completely uninstall this Application From Hell on a Mac, but that's what you have to do.  Do not cut corners by dragging it to the trash -- find out how to completely eliminate it. Then you have to replace it with the most current version of QT 7.  If you happen to have Final Cut Suite, it's on the installation disks.  Once installed, life should then be good again. Now, if you DON'T have FCP, you can only READ certain codecs in the ProRes family; you can't write to them.  This stinks, but you can still render lossless QT movies that will even support alpha channels by using the PNG codec. ... View more

nigel952 wrote: What kind of video footage is in the project?  Media container & codec ~I don't know how to answer this question sir, i'm kind of a newbie in Adobe AE. Twirl down that triangle next to the Footage folder to reveal the footage within.  Look for movies: quicktimes, AVIs, etc.  Highlight the clip in the project window.  Read the info about the clip at the top of the project window.  Since you run AE 9, the application freaks out on interframe-compressed movies.  If you see any kind of movies that say HDV, MPEG1, MPEG2, AVCHD, mp4, mts, m2t, H.261, H.264 or AVCHD, you'll have to transcode them to a different kind of codec, and perhaps even a different kind of movie.  I like transcoding to Quicktime's PNG codec.  You may need  the latest version of Quicktime Pro 7 to do it; you can't do it directly in AE.  If you have to do this, the file sizes will be huge, and you'll have to learn to live with them. ... View more

It's nice that you posted the project for a look-see, but it isn't going to answer most of the questions Mylenium and I asked, and they're important diagnostic questions.  You're actually going to have to track the information down in various places within AE, write it down and type it out. ... View more

There's still a lot we don't know yet. What kind of video footage is in the project?  Media container & codec. Trying to use multiprocessing?  Turn if off if you are. Trying to use Open GL to accelerate rendering?  Turn it off, too. And if it always happens on the same frame, tell us what's going on in your comp at that frame. ... View more

Thanks for being forthcoming with the specs.  I suspect you'll need to use a third-party compression application to make the necessary file(s).  I don't know if Adobe Media Encoder can do it (you can try it), so you may have to investigate a Telestream product, Apple Compressor if you're on a Mac, or Sorenson Squeeze.  Render lossless out of AE, and use any of them to make the final delivery files. When Adobe put dimension restraints on certain file types, I suspect the engineers had efficient compression in mind more than the need to deliver out-of-the-ordinary dimensions. ... View more

Can you describe what you're trying to accomplish?  Looking at the dimensions, it appears to be a multiscreen display.  In such cases, you must always, Always, ALWAYS know your delivery specifications before you begin work: media container, dimensions, frame rate, and codec.  If you don't, you're probably headed for trouble. I would consider asking this question not here, but on a different web site and a different forum: the Live & Stage Events forum of the Creative COW.  The people there deal with similar situations all the time, and they know the diagnostic questions to ask when someone produces video for multiscreen. ... View more

That's just the Previewing Open GL selections.  To turn Open GL off for rendering, go to AE Preferences. ... View more

If you used the DV Pal Widescreen comp preset, it sounds like you're not using the Pixel Aspect Ratio compensation toggle switch.  It's at the bottom of the comp window, and it looks like an arrow with two heads.  Toggled one way, the comp window is 16x9, but text layers and other layers will look jagged.  Toggled the other way, the comp window is closer to 4x3, but the text looks smooth.  When a widescreen comp is rendered, the image is 16x9 AND the text is smooth. ... View more

You could always render a PNG sequence, and let the guy use QT Pro to convert to the codec of his FCP edit timeline.  PNG sequences are lossless If he needs an alpha channel, know that PNG sequences support alpha channels.  As always, rendering in the correct horizontal & vertical resolution, proper field order (if any), pixel aspect ratio and frame rate are crucial. Or you could also render a quicktime movie in the codec of his FCP edit timeline.  And tell your parter to avoid the DV codec like the plague.  And please say that nobody's trying to use that God-Awful H.264. ... View more

I don't, I'm a Quicktime guy.  I use it for everything, even on my Windows box at home.  AVI is Terra Incognita in my world. But don't overlook that second search I recommended: somebody recently had AVI problems like yours, and Todd had the answer.  ... View more