After Effects Tutorial - 3D floating titles, Fringe-style (1/2)

[MackEffects]

No, that is incorrect. Caps are not the equivalent to shouting... The exclamation mark is. Also it would not be demanding if I said "MAY I PLEASE KNOW WHAT CAMERA YOU HAVE? THANKS!" would it?... I don't know what age you are but considering that you are on youtube making tutorials, you probably are not making lots of money in your job. Please stop replying to these comments as I am not asking a question and it is a huge waste of my time.

[shortformvideos]

@MackEffects Sorry to have wasted your time. When your busy schedule next allows it, do a quick search for Caps Lock + Shouting. Hopefully, this will help you in your quest for maturity.

[tommyjones1978]

@shortformvideos MackEffects is just another youtuber needing some attention, really dont waste your time... Nice Tutorial BTW!

[MackEffects]

Why caps lock off? People usually don't see the comments unless they stand out, and I figure it gives me a 20% advantage because it stands out a bit more than others.

[shortformvideos]

@MackEffects You know why - it's the equivalent of shouting and it makes you look like you're demanding help rather than asking for it. I get an email for every comment, plus they're highlighted in my YouTube inbox, so it's pretty rare for me to miss them. And as you've just experienced, I'll respond whether you have caps on or not. Maybe I'm showing my age here, but it doesn't hurt to be polite.

[MackEffects]

WHAT CAMERA IS THAT?

[shortformvideos]

@MackEffects I used a Panasonic HVX202. Caps Lock off please.

[NicroLife]

This video is total bullshit don't watch it.

[shortformvideos]

@NicroLife You might want to try exporting your footage to an uncompressed, square-pixel AVI or MOV before running it through PFHoe (which seems to be really picky about video formats). Another technique you could try is to create a second version with the contrast turned up to give PFHoe a better shot at finding tracking points (use the original file back in AE). And finally, you might want to try and avoid being a whiny little asswipe about it. That'll definitely give you better results.

[NicroLife]

WHAT THE HELL!!! You make it look so easy. When I do try the focal length shit it constantly resizes

[Adv3z]

<33333 by the way everyone you can also output in lightwave to cinema 4D and it works perfectly

[afgrocks123]

IT IS REALLY COOL, BUT I AM NOT IN THE MOOD TO LEARN THAT

[TheHypertwist]

Which version of After Effects are you using?

[AntonioRepiso]

PFHoe is so bloody frustrating, it doesnt recognise ANY of my video files when I try to load footage. I converted them all to avi and to 480 x 720, as well as all of the other video resulotions it suggests. But none of them work. What a letdown.

[AntonioRepiso]

PFHoe is so god damn frustrating, it doesnt recognise ANY of my video files when i try to load footage. I tried converting to 480 x 720 and every other resolution that is supposed to work, but the program just does not recognise anything...

[lukisekpl]

What formats PfHoe supports? Cause my pfhoe don't see any video . please help.

[rameshrajak8686]

@lukisekpl me too. try to download avs video converter, convert the video to avi format. its works for me!!!!

[nakamoto]

hey thank you for your awesome tutorial. but deleting all the points in order to have a single null object when exporting on after effect is really long, is that working if we just look at the name of the track point (the number) and just export all the track points at first and then select all the null objects on after effects, except the one your needing.

Or does it affect the export? thank you very much.

by the way i got the same problem exporting the undistorded footage, the button is shade

[shortformvideos]

@nakamoto The problem with deleting the objects instead of the tracker points is finding the one you want in among the hundreds that will appear in your comp. But there's nothing wrong with doing it either way - your call.

[multimediaarts]

i cannot export the undistorted movie..what can i do?

[multimediaarts]

what format could i load to thisapp/?

[LISAB68]

@shortformvideos When you say not included, does it mean pfhoe does not work with cs5? I just bought it and I have cs5 so I will feel stupid if it doesn't wrk -_-

[shortformvideos]

@LISAB68 Yes it will work with After Effects, it just doesn't come as part of the CS suite.

[LISAB68]

@shortformvideos Okay, thank you sir! And I love the tutorials! :D

[Amuffin456]

wow your comp must be fast -______- for it to track that fast specs please?

[shortformvideos]

@Amuffin456 Nothing amazing - quad-core Phenom II 965 with 8GB. I may have shortened some of the sequences in the edit.

[DaveForce]

Tip:  For a better resolution of the text in 3d. Create the document changing the resolution from 72 to 300 dpi. It slowes down rendering time, but you will get a sharper edge. Good work man, very helpfull...

[shortformvideos]

@DaveForce Have you actually tried this and succeeded? I'm asking because I already gave that a shot with no success, and would like to know what I missed.

[DaveForce]

@shortformvideos yes I tried, looks better. Try wiyh 300 dpi on phtoshop...

[BarziHSaeed]

hey thnx for ur tutorial but my  PFHoe 2.2pro cant load any video file any file i try to load has a red crosed line on them, plz help me

Thnx

[shortformvideos]

@BarziHSaeed PFHoe is really touchy about file frame sizes and formats. You may need to transcode your target file into a standard PAL or NTSC frame size, using an uncompressed AVI or MOV.

[BarziHSaeed]

@shortformvideos yah thnx i solved

[Hristoforster]

SOMEBODY HELP!!!

Can't press "export undistorted footage" button!

I have all codecs and QuickTime 7.6.9 PRO!

PFHoe 2.2r2 PRO! Windows 7!!

PLEASE HELP!!!!

[shortformvideos]

@Hristoforster Sorry - haven't had this problem myself, so I don't know what the issue might be.

[Hristoforster]

@shortformvideos, it's ok right know =)

I forgot to click on the red line in the second step =)

[part2themovie]

@shortformvideos man you really suck. obvious capitalist. whats the point of making a tutorial if you cant help?

[shortformvideos]

@part2themovie And your problem is..?

[RuZeFloW]

@shortformvideos he doesnt know the answer so he cant help the guy dumbass

[imaGineEditing]

Nice tut, But i get this problem : Failed to solve frame 675, do u know how to fix that?

[shortformvideos]

@imaGineEditing Can't say I've come across this problem, sounds like a corrupt frame, or not enough tracker points. If it was me, I'd probably try to create a second version of the source video with the contrast turned right up to give PFHoe clearer points to work with. The tricky part here would be to match the lens correction of this 'dummy' video to the source video you actually want to use in the final project. Good luck!

[Hristoforster]

@imaGineEditing too fast motion I think on the 675 frame.

[theyepperson]

it would be awesome if someone could tell me how to get PFHoe 2.2 free, im flat broke and i cant find a dl. i have everything but that. the trial version doesnt let me export. some help would be greaT! thanks

[shortformvideos]

@theyepperson Here's a thought. If you can't afford something, try getting used to the idea that you can't have it. PFHoe is US$99, and it's worth it. I'm sorry to hear that you're broke, but I don't allow any discussion of piracy on this channel. You've been blocked.

[koldproxy]

First off, incredible tutoring.

When I'm fine-tuning the 3D plane to match with the room/object, do I have to adjust it on every 10th frame or just one? Or just the mid one? thx

[shortformvideos]

@koldproxy Thanks for the compliment! The 3D plane only needs to be set once, but you may need to just sanity check it by advancing back and forth in Mocha and make adjustments until you're satisfied. Like I say in the tute, it's a real trial-and-error process, but once you've got it right, you can export to AE.

[JonnyboyVideos]

It wont be way easier using Mocha and the Shatter effect in after effects?

[shortformvideos]

@JonnyboyVideos Not really. You might be able to fudge the position and rotation data into a Shatter extrusion (probably via a Null object with Separate XYZ applied). I did something similar at the end of this video - watch?v=pCDu3SLId3Q But Mocha is a planar tracker, not a motion matcher, so larger camera movements will go beyond its capabilities. It might be possible to use PFHoe with Shatter for better results, but I'll have to get back to you on that one.

[imaGineEditing]

@shortformvideos Ye thanks for the help it worked, But got this other problem when i done everything i cant press the export button, Can u help me with that?

[shortformvideos]

@imaGineEditing Only thing I can think of is that you're using the demo version - think it has the export element locked. Or that you've not finished one of the steps required before exporting.

[ncs0816]

can you do this with MOcha

[shortformvideos]

@ncs0816 If there is a way, I couldn't work it out. I got marginal success by pasting some of the positional data from a Mocha track onto the 3D object, but Mocha is only a planar tracker, while PFHoe is a camera tracker. If there's not too much movement, you might be able to fudge it, but PFHoe is a better tool for the job.

You can see what I mean here: /watch?v=pCDu3SLId3Q (right at the end - about the 9:20 mark)

[SgtStoneDog]

when your ready to export the video whats the best file format and compression setting to use for after effects ?

[shortformvideos]

@SgtStoneDog Sorry for the late response - this one slipped through the net. I always use Uncompressed AVIs for AE assets (or you could use the Animation codec on a Mac). The files are horribly large, but it's best to keep it as lossless as possible until you're ready to render your final version.

I've heard that the real Pros don't even use video files, and favour image sequences instead (less prone to corrupt data, easier to make single-frame alterations/replacements, better colour handling).

[luizfury]

Thanks a lot!!!

[andkgvd]

Thanks a million, very clear tut!

[ninteh]

Awesome tutorial, straight to the point and clear! I now know how to use PFHoe with AE, Thanks!

[SageNTitled]

What's the difference between PFTrack and PFHoe? Which do you think is more worth buying?

[shortformvideos]

@SageNTitled Got to be honest - I've never used PFTrack, but it's pretty powerful stuff. If you're looking for simple object placement and match moving, PFHoe does a good job. PFTrack is a lot more complex, If you look at the features page for PFTrack at Pixelfarm's website, paras 1 and 3 describe what PFHoe does, the rest is found in PFTrack. (And it's a pretty big list!) Personally, I'm pretty happy with PFHoe - and my clients aren't asking for any match-moving work at present.

[ewoukie]

What is your workspace layout, coz ive got CS5 but no 3d option at at he top. in Photoshop CS5 im on a mac but that should make a diffrence

[shortformvideos]

@ewoukie I use the default layout (can't really do tutes with a custom layout!). Maybe you don't have the necessary hardware for 3D editing? It seems that CS5 is pretty picky about graphics cards.

[ewoukie]

@shortformvideos Yea think i need CS5 extended its definatly not the hardwars, been doing research and look like CS5 extended has the 3d Capabiltiy.

Thanks Anyway

[ewoukie]

@shortformvideos Yea think i need CS5 extended its definatly not the hardware, been doing research and look like CS5 extended has the 3d Capabiltiy.

Thanks Anyway ,Also is the blue part of the 3d box in pf hoe always the face of the title and how can I move or rotate that box to change to face to come from a difrent angle

[ewoukie]

@shortformvideos Cool thanks, also on the cam solve button is the blue side always the face of the title, coz i cant seem to switch angle on the box without having bad cam tracking.

[Randomskateboard]

@ewoukie u need extended

[neurotech]

Thanks a lot for this tutorial. This answered my question as to why there were so many damn null objects being added to my AE project. Great stuff!

[truth884]

Very good tutorial. I recently bought PFhoe, and it is really cool, just have a frustrating time trying to get tracks and projects to work. I was wondering what kind of camera you used to shoot your test footage?

[shortformvideos]

@truth884 Thanks! I usually shoot with a Panasonic HVX202 using the 720P setting (which I convert to square pixels before working with PFHoe). It's got really pronounced lens distortion at full wide, but it's the only camera in its price range to offer 4.2.2 colour. This may prove more effective for tracking purposes - I can't really say.

I used to use the Sony PMW-EX1, which has its advantages, but I'd roll with the Panny over the Sony every time - even though the latter costs more.

[shortformvideos]

@truth884 A couple of other points to consider when shooting footage to be tracked - set your shutter speed and aperture as high as you can. 1/60th or better will minimise the amount of blur caused by camera motion, and depending on your camera/lens, F4.0 will increase your depth of field - which keeps everything in focus.

This means that low-light indoor shots won't provide PFHoe with clean tracking points to follow (increasing camera gain will only make matters worse).