Crate’s Free Midpoint Null Generator Script

in , /by

Crate’s Midpoint Null Generator Script is Free and can be downloaded Here.

Start with two null objects, these can be tracked in manually or using one of the various tracking features in After Effects.

Make sure your AE Script is installed in the After Effects > Scripts Folder

Within After Effects go to File > Scripts > Crate’s Null Generator Script

This script works in both 2D and 3D, so select either 2D Midpoint or 3D Midpoint depending on your needs.

You have the option to add some wiggle to the midpoint null as well. By default there will be wiggle controls on every null but you can select ‘control null’ if you want one set of controls for every null all in one place.

If you don’t need wiggle, keep the Wiggle Amplitude and Wiggle Amount at zero.

By default you just get one Midpoint null, which will be right in the center of your two animated nulls. If you want more than one null, they’ll be automatically distributed evenly between the two animated nulls.

Each midpoint null has a bias slider you can use to move it closer to Point 1 or Point 2.

Check out how we can used this script below. We tracked the handle of the sword and the tip of the sword, and applied that data to two nulls.

There are many ways you can utilize this powerful script in your projects.

20 Free Bullet Sound Effects

in , /by

The next time you’re watching an action movie pay attention to the choice of sounds effects. When the camera is following the shooter you’ll notice how prominent the gunshots sounds are, but when the focus is on the subject being shot at you will hear ricochets, pings, bullet passes and similar sound effects. Those are what we have created for you today. We have 20 New and Free Bullet Sound Effects available for you to download.

Use these in combination with one another as well as other debris and glass breaking sound effects. The Guns Firing Collection will cover the rest.

You can stretch them or speed them up slightly to change the pitch and create an endless variety. Check out our demo below!

 

Rotoscoping Tricks in Adobe After Effects and Mocha AE

in , , /by

Adrian Jensen recently created this Pro VFX Course teaching you his techniques for rotoscoping in Adobe After Effects and Mocha AE. Here are some highlights from his course, Pro Users can view the entire roto-series here. If you’re rotoscoping to place video effects behind your subject or to integrate Motion Graphics into your project then this course is for you.

Rotoscope with Masking in After Effects

This is the most common technique for rotoscoping in After Effects. Some think it is antiquated, however we utilize it all the time.

When you’re using masks to roto in After Effects don’t try to use one mask. This may seem like the correct approach at first, but you’ll quick realize how complex and messy it will become. Instead, break up your subject(s)  with multiple masks, this will speed up your workflow tremendously.

A lot of tutorials suggest a fixed number of frames to move before keyframing. Adrian suggests keyframing your masks at the point of most-motion as a better approach.

There are two different kinds of masks you can use, Adrian prefers the Auto-Bezier mask option.

Remember, you can double click your masks and rotate them, this will save time, especially for rigid body objects. You don’t have to move each mask point by point every time.

Color code your masks. This will help distinguish them from one another, and will help if your mask looks too similar to the subject you are trying to roto out.

Rotoscoping with Mocha AE

Boris FX Mocha AE

Adrian’s preferred method for rotoscoping is Mocha AE.

Mocha AE comes with After Effects and is a terrific tool for motion tracking and rotoscoping work.

You can track multiple masks (or ‘layers’) at one time with Mocha AE. Adrian still recommends multiple masks for your subject, instead of attempting one mask.

When using Mocha AE set your spline up and let it track all the way through before making any adjustments.

Lock your mask when you are done with it, you can turn off the Gear icon to disable processing.

 

Want to learn more? Visit Adrian’s Pro Rotoscoping Course and get your roto-game leveled up. Adrian covers masking, Mocha, the Roto Brush Tool and even techniques to avoid rotoscoping entirely.

“Prying” 3D VFX Course (Z Brush, Substance Painter, Cinema4d)

in , /by

Mark Thorsen from Digital Cube Media is the host of ProductionCrate’s exclusive 3D VFX course covering the techniques utilized in his short film “Prying”.

This 5 Part VFX course will go deep into the workflow and tools used in this amazing project. Mark covers Substance Painter, Z-Brush techniques, Pose-Morphing in C4D and more.

Course Contents

Lesson 1 – An introduction to the course.

Lesson 2 – Combining Z-Brush’s pose-morphing tool to create stunning animations in Cinema4D, without any hassle setting up complicated character rigs.

Lesson 3 – A look into the power of Z-Brush’s Remeshing tool, which can clean the geometry of any model perfectly.

Lesson 4 – Utilizing ProductionCrate assets to create realistic vein displacement maps.

Lesson 5 – Introducing Substance Painter, the industries cutting-edge 3D material editing suite.

Watch the highlight below, you can watch the entire course here.

 

Creating Earthbender VFX

in , , /by

Recently we’ve had a dig at creating one of our most epic shots in ProductionCrate history – Earthbending!

We utilised the full range of FootageCrate content to help us achieve this destruction VFX. After building out the scene in 3ds Max, smoke bursts, shockwaves and debris elements from FootageCrate (which you can download here) brought the compositing to the next level.

Our powerful Camera Shake Script also gave us control over realistically jolting the camera to fully immerse our viewers into this clip.

The crashing elements from SoundsCrate can also help build the action.

We used 3ds Max and After Effects as our choice of software, though anyone wishing to follow along will be able to use almost any program that has the same features!

Head over to our recent Davesplanation video to check out how we did it!

We hope projects like these inspire you to create your next epic project using ProductionCrate assets.

You can check out our previous Davesplanation, where we destroyed a plane!