Tutorial: Modifiers Vol. 2

[rkligman Profile Private messageWebsite]

A brand new feature in version of Producer is Modifiers. This tutorial shows you a real world example of why Modifiers can help you in your shows, therefore investing your time to learn them. The tutorial is 7 minutes long.

Click here to go to the tutorial: Modifiers Volume 2

[nannybear Profile Private messageWebsite]

That was great! and I understand it perfectly. The one I can't get and need that kind of tut is for movement. As in:

Two balloons on one slide - green and blue - I set up the green balloon with 5 keyframes of movement. I leave the blue balloon alone - it has the standard 2 keyframes. Now can you add a modifier to the blue balloon so it follows the movement of the green balloon without adding key frames to the blue balloon? I have tried adding the modifier to the blue balloon pan but when you are that screen "pan " is not one of option under the Variable menu. X & Y have to do with zoom and not pan. This is where I get confused. I tried the tracking style but it didn't work for me. I tried some very simplistic stuff but so far no light bulbs. anyhow - off to the day job. cheers Jan

[BarbaraC Profile Private messageWebsite]

So, once again, what would have required a long series of slides or keyframes can now be done much quicker.

One thing I noticed that may or may not be a function of the laptop I'm currently using is that the spin seemed to have several extremely quick stops that were only barely noticeable, but "barely" means I did notice them. Is this a function of the sawtooth wave or is it more a matter of my video card?

Barbara

[rkligman Profile Private messageWebsite]

That was great! and I understand it perfectly. The one I can't get and need that kind of tut is for movement. As in:

Two balloons on one slide - green and blue - I set up the green balloon with 5 keyframes of movement. I leave the blue balloon alone - it has the standard 2 keyframes. Now can you add a modifier to the blue balloon so it follows the movement of the green balloon without adding key frames to the blue balloon? I have tried adding the modifier to the blue balloon pan but when you are that screen "pan " is not one of option under the Variable menu. X & Y have to do with zoom and not pan. This is where I get confused. I tried the tracking style but it didn't work for me. I tried some very simplistic stuff but so far no light bulbs. anyhow - off to the day job. cheers Jan

Glad you liked it.

The tracking is simple and the problem is as you found, you're looking for the wrong thing. I believe it's called Horizontal X/Y. Clearly the interface person that did that form didn't know what the Effects form called it hence the difference. Set the Pan on Layer 2 to match the Horizontal X of Layer 1 and it will follow it around all day.

[rkligman Profile Private messageWebsite]

So, once again, what would have required a long series of slides or keyframes can now be done much quicker.

One thing I noticed that may or may not be a function of the laptop I'm currently using is that the spin seemed to have several extremely quick stops that were only barely noticeable, but "barely" means I did notice them. Is this a function of the sawtooth wave or is it more a matter of my video card?

Barbara

I don't know that you could have done this effect in v3 period. Remember, I have this thing spinning something like 10 times per second. You could do keyframes but you'd go nuts me thinks. But lets say you could do it in keyframes. I have it at 10 spins per second. When I decide I want the slide to be 1 second longer, you have to either double your keyframes or get a 50% decrease in speed. With the modifier the spin rate stays constant. Need to spin a little faster? Change the Frquency of 10 to 13. Need to spin slower? Change the 10 to 7. Very nice and flexible.

The choppyness is a limitation of the recording software. The thing spins so fast that at 15fps or whatever it makes it look a bit choppy. Now if it that did that on your computer while testing out this function, then it would seem that it's the video card/system. I'm on a pretty quick system so maybe I don't notice the pitfalls. I should post up the show I suppose and then we can compare apples and apples.

[BarbaraC Profile Private messageWebsite]

Rick, I'll have to watch the tutorial again when I'm at my desktop computer because it's much finer, much faster, and rarely has nervous breakdowns. It could be as I mentioned: a function of the machine I'm currently sitting at.

I didn't think about that: ten times per second would cause me to have my nose glued to the monitor to see the spaces between the keyframes.

Barbara

[Tom Perry]

I am not sure whether this is posted in the right place or not. It's not really a sample show and it's not really a tutorial. This seemed to be the logical place? Let me know if this is incorrect.

After watching Rick's Modifier Tutorial V2, I started to rack my brain to see where I could possibly apply this concept of the sawtooth wave rotation in some sort of practical way.

Here's what I came up with... it's not perfect... I would tweak it for a good video. iI's just an idea video... not a sample show and not a tutorial.

Thanks Rick for the idea and your excellent tutorial. Ever so slowly, I'm starting to understand!

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewsho ... alb=144028

EDIT: Forgot to mention I'm also using the Off-Center Rotation feature new in V4

[debngar Profile Private message]

Tom,

That was pretty good.

Rick,

One doesn't necessarily have to use key frames or modifiers to get it to rotate 10 per second. The really old fashioned way would be to make one slide rotate in 1/10th of a second and dupe copy/paste the slide nine more times - something like that. Sometimes I don't bother with kfs if it's just as easy to copy/paste slides. Sound silly maybe but whatever takes less time and especially if I can better predict my outcome which I cannot yet that well with these darn modifiers. LOL

Of course that makes it more complicated by adding more slides but it may be faster at this point than trying to calculate percentages for some things for the number one might need in a modifier.

[nannybear Profile Private messageWebsite]

The tracking is simple and the problem is as you found, you're looking for the wrong thing. I believe it's called Horizontal X/Y. Clearly the interface person that did that form didn't know what the Effects form called it hence the difference. Set the Pan on Layer 2 to match the Horizontal X of Layer 1 and it will follow it around all day.
Rick Insane Diego...

Thanks Rick I will try that when I get home, of all the things the modifier can do this is the one I want!!! Cheers Jan

[Tom Perry]

So, once again, what would have required a long series of slides or keyframes can now be done much quicker.

Debbie,

I don't disagree with you re: multiple slides and kf's, but I'm with Barbara on this one. By changing one lousy number in the modifier, I can speed up/slow down the rotation of the big hand in my little clock example. From what I can see right now, that's the most important benefit of modifiers.

[debngar Profile Private message]

I don't doubt that. I'm just saying that in SOME cases, it might be just as easy to copy/paste slides and be done with it.

I'll be happier when I find a really good use for it other than just to make something move without purpose. Your clock is a good purpose!

[Tom Perry]

Debbie - Did you ever play "Spin the Bottle" in any of your videos

Basically think of something/anything that requires in excess of a 360° rotation, variable speed and possibly off center... that's way I did it anyway!

[Tom Perry]

Debbie - Did you ever play "Spin the Bottle" in any of your videos

Basically think of something/anything that requires in excess of a 360° rotation, variable speed and possibly off center... that's way I did it anyway!

[BarbaraC Profile Private messageWebsite]

Rick, I just now looked again at your tutorial, this time on the big-momma computer. I replayed the very last part where you preview the final effect, doing it twice just to make sure, and I'm thinking it isn't jerky motion. There's something similar to the effect of a quickly spinning wheel where it looks as if the spokes are moving but the outer circumference isn't. I'm thinking that the jerkiness is an optical illusion caused by its being an oval rather than a circle. I could be totally off-base about this, but I couldn't come up with any other explanation for it because the motion itself was obviously continuous. What do you think? Any other possibilities come to mind?

Tom, you've given me hope that I'll be able to do the things I dream of doing with a relocated rotation point.

Barbara

[moehler Profile Private message]

Thanks for the Tutorial 2...I was trying to think of a use for the saw tooth modifier.

Mark