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Alan Shisko: Motion Graphics 'n' Such

Hi! Here I'll be picking up from where my old blog left off. I'll be discussing motion graphics, Adobe® After Effects®, expressions and scripting, graphics automation and everything else related to motion graphics design and production.

Alrighty, Then!

Automating After Effects: What is possible?

3/22/2013

11 Comments

 
Picture
Scripting and expressions are great tools that allow you to bring a great deal of automation to After Effects projects. When properly configured, it is possible to quickly and accurately populate AE projects with all manner of content automatically so that all assets will fit within the confines and strictures of your designs. Using scripts and expressions, it is possible to:
  • Automatically resize images to fit pre-defined spaces (aka "auto scale").
  • Fit or Fill images based on horizontal and/or vertical pixel count.
  • Dynamically justify images to the left/right/upper/lower (or combinations thereof) of any defined composition or space.
  • Dynamically justify text to the left/right/upper/lower (or combinations thereof) of any defined composition or space.
  • Scale text automatically to fit inside a pre-defined space.
  • Break up a text strings into independent comps based on number of characters, spaces, sentences, paragraphs etc. Each word (or character, or paragraph) can be treated and animated differently.
  • Dynamically define duration of an entire animation based on any parameter; for instance, an animation can be timed to the duration it takes to read a line of text (as defined by number of characters). More text = longer duration. Also, comp duration can be based on the duration of a video clip.
  • Turn design elements on or off based on any parameter: for instance, if there is an image in a composition, then a "carrier" design element will be automatically turned on and scaled to compliment the image.
  • Automatically populate text layers based on a consistent data stream (for instance, an XML file).
  • Automatically import images based on a consistent data stream (for instance, an XML file).
  • Sample a region of an image to automatically generate a complimentary colour fill.
  • Dynamically create and place design elements based on arbitrary measurements. For instance, if a picture is submitted, calculations could automatically create "photo corners" that would then be placed accurately at each corner of the image.
  • Assets can define the layout of the animation. For instance, if there are one, two or three images submitted to a project, the design will be different for each eventuality. One image = a large, primary image in the design comp. Two images = a composition that has two images in the comp equally sized, etc.
  • Consistent data streams (XML, spreadsheets, tab-delimited files) can be used to automatically populate entire compositions.
In a general sense, there is very little that CAN'T be automated within After Effects. This opens up all sorts of creative and technical possibilities in situations where you've got a great deal of repetitive design tasks to accomplish, or if you'd like to accurately define creative for an AE template, with no need to type text or import/replace image assets.




11 Comments
Mohammed A. Mukhtar link
9/11/2013 08:32:00 pm

Hi Alan,
The idea of scripting in AE was very limited in my mind....what you have done has literally blown me away.....im totally inspired. Wonderful job, and such a simple and clean interface.....can we ask to see any part of the script...just to get our heads around it please.....thank you

Reply
Alan
11/19/2013 12:38:58 am

Mohammed,

Thank you so much for the kind words. Yes, scripting in After Effects is, indeed a very powerful tool. The projects that I design are not 'products' per se, as each implementation solves very particular creative and technical requirements for my clients. If you've got a need for automation please drop me a note and we can discuss the particulars.

Reply
Yuri
1/22/2014 05:43:57 am

Thanks for the great post!
Can u please advise on a script/expression that can automatically fit comp duration to the duration of the video?

That would be a great help!
Thanks in advance!

Reply
Joshua Lewis
4/29/2014 01:06:47 am

Hello,
I love the video, I would like more information on the "Scale text automatically to fit inside a pre-defined space.". I have seen this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLafzyvcQTI&feature=youtu.be
And i would love to achieve the same results, do you have any resources where I could either utilize an existing script or write my own?

Cheers,
Joshua

Reply
David CLougher link
9/16/2014 01:00:47 am

Hello Alan
I'm sure you've com up with that issue already.
Can I script different type faces in a same line?
That I want to automate promos where the 1st line can be:
. Monday 8:30 Live
. Tonight 7:00 Exclusive
…
Any idea

Reply
Alan
9/16/2014 02:54:02 am

David,

That should be do-able. I would suggest posting your query in the 'Expressions' forum at creative cow:

http://forums.creativecow.net/adobe_after_effects_expressions

Regards,

Alan

Reply
Jose Rogerio de Oliveira Pinto link
11/7/2014 02:57:29 am

I Like your Automatic AE, how download ?

Reply
Alan
11/7/2014 03:17:22 am

It's not a download. It's a demonstration of what's possible in After Effects using expressions and Ae scripting. The actual coding is very project-specific.

Reply
Jose Rogerio de Oliveira Pinto
11/9/2014 09:06:25 pm

exatamento is what I need, and I know nothing about "scripting", you could show how you got there. I work with after effets more than 10 years, most never come close to expressions and scripting.

Matt
10/1/2015 05:42:18 pm

Do you have an example script of reading in data from XML and populating an existing text layer?

Reply
Alan
10/1/2015 07:56:32 pm

I'm afraid not, it's a fairly lengthy exercise :) I'd suggest visiting the various AE scripting forums on the web and posting your query, Creative COW has a good expressions forum.

Reply



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    I'm Alan Shisko, a motion graphics artist working in Southern Ontario, Canada. I've been in the business for decades, so I've got a lot of interesting things to say :)

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