What is it?
ShapeShifer is an After Effects plug-in that produces three-dimensional extrusions from text, shape layers or any pre-comp with an alpha channel. Sounds familiar? A reminiscent of another product from the same company? Well it is, and it isn’t.

ShapeShifer is a completely new product which is based on new technology and includes many surprising add-on tools. This plug-in will allow you to create brilliant graphics in a matter of minutes. If you can’t wait (or don’t want to read further) just skip to the tutorial and see what it’s all about.

Great! you’re still here
So I can extend my thoughts a bit more about it, before we’ll press ‘play’.

The idea here is to use native After Effects elements such as text, masks and shape layers and then extrude and combine them with a powerful displacement engine to create a unique design.

In addition to those, ShapeShifer has the ability to replicate the elements in the scene and to manipulate them in 3D space, taking into consideration the location, size and rotation which will create impressive scenes in a matter of minutes.

To run this plug-in in a reasonable speed, you’ll need a display card with 1GB of VRAM (or higher).
I was impressed by the quality and stability of this product. It only crashed once and this was due to the fact I had too many lights present in my comp (the limitation is 12).

To show all these nice features, I’ve recorded a tutorial which tries to simulate a possible usage of it in a real world scenario. As you may know, After Effects SDK currently doesn’t support a uniform 3D space. This means that plug-in that supports 3D are actually working in their own 3D space sending the bake results to the composition. Therefore, sometimes it can cause issues when you want to cast shadows, reflections, motion blur, DOF and other 3D properties, especially when you need to combine them with several instances of the plug in.

Towards the middle of this tutorial I’ll offer you some workarounds and nice tricks to overcome this issues.

If you are not afraid to change shape, join me on this short journey.

Watch Tutorial

Itay Tevel – POV

Roy Sturdy – Urban Sustainability

Roni Azgad – ABC

Matan Arbel – D.H.D.A

Soslan Bitrov – Galani

Gil Itzcovich – A dad to be ?!

Shir David – Anywhere

Ori Lagziel - Perception conception

Ramit Pincu

Yonatan Solomon

For those of you who are not ready for 3D, you can download the same clip in 2D for use in your everyday high def projects.

You can download the free clip now thru July 5th, 2011
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Get the clip here
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Before and After using Contrastica and EdgeHancer • Clip WC-FH100-50 courtesy of Artbeats

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These effects comes with minimal controls which makes them very easy to use. They are working inside Photoshop (CS4+) as well – I guess this is the reason for the preview switch which doesn’t make a lot of sense for AE users, but crucial on the Photoshop side. They are also 32-bpc and GPU-accelerated.
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You can watch short demo clips of each effects at AEscripts
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Here’s a short list of what you can expect from this event:

• Two-days of inspiring presentations and discussions that will alter the way you think about work, life and everything in between
• Re:Play Festival: An international showcase of cutting-edge film, animation and design commissioned by Motionographer
• A relaxing bar/lounge to recharge your batteries and make new friends
• A reason to visit New York City, one of the great creative centers of the world
• An amazing after-party
• Cake!

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I’m glad to offer all my readers a discount code good for 10% off the ticket price. Use the coupon code “ERANSTERN” on the registration page.
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I’ll be there too (not teaching, just learning). Come and give high5 to F5
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UPDATE: Here’s the Post|Production World 2011 Promo:

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The great thing about the conference is that you can select a specific educational track that is only in Avid, Adobe, Final Cut Studio or Motion Graphics just to name a few. Those tracks are listed here. But, if you register for the conference, you’re also free to move between tracks if you want to get a little more diverse.
Not only that, If you’re one of my readers you’re also entitled to get a special discount.

Register today with code: TF09, to save $100 on SMART Pass and Post|Production World rates

My two sessions are:

Simulation Effects in After Effects

Wednesday, 4/13/2011 03:30 PM – 04:45 PM • Room Number N252

Your chance to master the advanced physical simulation effects in After Effects. In this session you’ll learn how to make the most of the following effects: Shatter, Mr. Mercury, Pixel Polly, Particle World, Caustics and more. You’ll see real world examples which harness the power of these effects in a way you never thought possible.
Target Audience: After Effects Artists and Animators

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Solving Difficult Tracking Problems

Wednesday, 4/13/2011 05:00 PM – 06:15 PM • Room Number N252

Learn up close and detailed about Mocha – a planner tracking software which comes bundled with After Effects. How to track elements that go out of the frame, pan through screen and don’t comply with standard planes. In addition you’ll expand your knowledge on three-dimensional tracking using CameraTracker plug-in and PFHoe software. After this lecture nothing can escape you!

Target Audience: Motion Graphics Designers, Animators and Digital Artists

Just to tease you a little, here’s one sample from the simulation session. I’ll explain how I’ve created this using only solid layers and effects from the simulation category in After Effects.

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Both of these sessions should be a lot of fun. If you have any questions please leave a comment below. I hope to see you in class.
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If you want to take advantage of the advanced features of the leading non-linear editor from Adobe this is the place to explore them. Whether you’re a beginner or a senior editor, you’ll find here dozens of professional tips and tricks which will influence your daily experience with this software. Most of these techniques apply to version CS4 and above. I’ll explore the true depths of Premiere Pro, from Editing tricks through fancy Graphics Design, Audio Mixing, Transitions and Effects – This training has got it all. Throughout these lessons you’ll learn how to master Premiere Pro and squeeze more juice out of it. At the end of the journey, we’ll also visit other softwares that comes in the Production Premium, such as Photoshop, After Effects, Soundbooth and Encore to show you how to create a stunning Blu-ray HD DVD and Interactive content.  This bonus chapter will tell you everything you’ll need to know (pros and cons) about the Dynamic Link feature.

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To top it all, there’s a SPECIAL BONUS:
2 Amazing FREE HD clips, courtesy of Artbeats (Value of $598)

Price: $49 • Download Only

Learn more and watch extracts

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Watch The Transparent Video Tutorial
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I’m finalizing a new product that should be out very soon. More details will be available on launch day, but you may get a sense about the content judging by the cover-art.
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Stay tuned…
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Almost all shooting techniques are explained in great detail pointing you to the pros as well as the gotchas so you won’t be surprised in the field. Concepts are broken down to the simplest terms and explore most of the available options. This is great especially for low budget film makers who want to get the most from their gear at the lowest cost possible. I love the fact that this DVD not only tells you how to shoot but also explains what works and why. The camera moves explored in this title are accompanied with a clear graphical path, showing you both the actor(s) and the camera crane, so you’ll know exactly where and how to locate the camera in the scene.

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There are good examples of parallax behaviors and a few methods which show you how to combine crazy moves in order to create interesting but logic camera angles. Following these suggestions will help you decide when to avoid real actors and just do it virtually in a 3D program.

I really like the fact that all the camera moves shown here repeat themselves several times so you can examine, learn and understand the concept that you’re learning.

Of course you can always rewind the DVD when needed, but when important things are repeated it gives you the opportunity to really follow the script and the narration without pushing any extra buttons.

The narration is slow and easy to follow. It walks you through the procedure a step at a time, mentioning everything you’ll need to consider when approaching these complex shots.

You’ll find solutions for camera bumps and artificial keyframes, and suggestions regarding when to ease in and how to control the camera speed, so the move will look realistic and interesting. These are all great advices for a real camera as well as a virtual 3D camera in your compositing or 3D program.
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The only thing which bugs here is the quality of the render. In most cases it looks like it was done in a hurry using low count polygons, even if this is not the case, the result is an ugly edges look which sometimes gave a rough feeling to the scene. It doesn’t impact the concept being shown, but I found it disturbing as sometimes the image tends to flicker (at least on my 42 inch LED screen). Of course you can argue that this is not important and not needed in order to learn the principals, its just that all the films coming out of Hollywood have accustomed us to such high quality these days, my eyes just probably expected to get some more.

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In conclusion: This training DVD offers a good lesson about story telling with the camera as well as technical instructions which can save you hours of research and a few bucks as well. You won’t have to invent the wheel each time you go out for a shoot, just watch the related chapter a few times and you should be ready to roll. And while you might not get the Legend of the Guardians render quality here, you’ll certainly learn how to create those amazing camera moves you’ve been seeing in the recent Hollywood blockbusters.

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