aescripts + aeplugins

Marcin Mastykarz

about the same, but free: Sure Target 2 from videocopilot

Orrin Zucker

Marcin Mastykarz said:

about the same, but free: Sure Target 2 from videocopilot

Hi Marcin- I think you should compare them on project that have 100-200 layers.

Joe Sheble

How about a Monkey Bundle, with eveything?

Orrin Zucker

Joe Sheble said:

How about a Monkey Bundle, with eveything?

Hi joe- there is one with a 20% discount for everything, but because of the back end architecture you can't do it all in one click... But the end result is the same.

Joe Sheble

Orrin Zucker said:

How about a Monkey Bundle, with eveything?

Hi joe- there is one with a 20% discount for everything, but because of the back end architecture you can't do it all in one click... But the end result is the same.

That's a shame, it's the one click aspect that would make me want and purchase a bundle.  20% is a great discount, but for me it's more about convienence than money...

Lou Ruiz

How does this compare with the MaltyCam? I have that already but it feels a bit cumbersome, looking for something different and easier to use; and although I love videocopilot, sureTarget can get a little wonky and start doing weird stuff, like not working till you save and close the file.

Orrin Zucker

Lou Ruiz said:

How does this compare with the MaltyCam? I have that already but it feels a bit cumbersome, looking for something different and easier to use; and although I love videocopilot, sureTarget can get a little wonky and start doing weird stuff, like not working till you save and close the file.

Hi Lou- Interesting question. I also have MaltyCam tho haven't used it much. I might be wrong, but my impression is that its really nice for long smooth moves that focus on one object (if anybody knows more please chime in).

VideoCopilot' Sure Target is more similar to MCp (tho I'm to sure if it works with current versions of AE). As far as I can tell,  the main differences is that MCp automatically targets layers, while ST needs the layers manual entered into the UI....as well as a bunch of bell and whistle differences.

My suggestion is to download a free trial and just play around with it. You'll be able to see the difference really quickly.

Marc Quaedvlieg

Hi Orrin,

What's the best way to use MCp with VideoCopilot?

Cheers,

Marc

Orrin Zucker

Marc Quaedvlieg said:

Hi Orrin,

What's the best way to use MCp with VideoCopilot?

Cheers,

Marc

Hi Mark- I assume you mean Element? 

Weird- I was just working on a tutorial. I'm not done yet- still working the kinks out, but what I'm finding is that you create all your groups but don't move them around in the UI. Then create a null for each and move & rotate that. Then build MCp will find the null. 

Right now I'm struggling a bit because that null isn't in the center of the group, so I'm finding that once you move things around, then you go into the Element UI and adjust each groups location in there...

see if that works for you...let me know if you find a better way.

Marc Quaedvlieg

Yes I face the same problem with the null as you described.

Looking forward to your solution, in case i'll find a solution I will post it here.

Nice plugin btw ;-)

Marc

James Scott

Will there be a CS6 version coming later as happened with Circus Monkey, or is that not possible?

Orrin Zucker

James Scott said:

Will there be a CS6 version coming later as happened with Circus Monkey, or is that not possible?

James- unfortunately its not possible. The reason its works the way it does is because of the developments in the later versions of AE. Sorry!

Iestyn Lloyd

From what I gathered in the video, I can build my layers using LayerMonkey and then swap out the camera for MonkeyCam Pro, right?

Orrin Zucker

Iestyn Lloyd said:

From what I gathered in the video, I can build my layers using LayerMonkey and then swap out the camera for MonkeyCam Pro, right?

Hi Lestyn- that's right. Build LM without a camera. I'll be posting a tutorial today about how to do it with TypeMonkey, but the same techniques worth with all the other Monkeys.

ABDULLAH AL SALMI

great script .

can you add a soccer match lineup tutorial using MCp please .. i think it will be awesome .

Orrin Zucker

ABDULLAH AL SALMI said:

great script .

can you add a soccer match lineup tutorial using MCp please .. i think it will be awesome .

Thanks!
can you send me an example of what you're referring to?

ABDULLAH AL SALMI

Orrin Zucker said:

great script .

can you add a soccer match lineup tutorial using MCp please .. i think it will be awesome .

Thanks! can you send me an example of what you're referring to?

thanks for the fast replay .. here is an example ;

I don"t know if there is an idea we can use MCp to do something like that !!!

james newman

So far so easy to use. The learning curve is so amazingly shallow on this, I tried it using an existing script and VO from an old project and got some great results in about an hour and a half. the result is something that wouldv'e taken me at least a day to do previously.
Yay MonkeyCamPro!

Orrin Zucker

james newman said:

So far so easy to use. The learning curve is so amazingly shallow on this, I tried it using an existing script and VO from an old project and got some great results in about an hour and a half. the result is something that wouldv'e taken me at least a day to do previously.
Yay MonkeyCamPro!

Thanks James!! We'll try to shave that down to just a couple of minutes (but don't tell your client!)

Orrin Zucker

ABDULLAH AL SALMI said:

Orrin Zucker said:

great script .

can you add a soccer match lineup tutorial using MCp please .. i think it will be awesome .

Thanks! can you send me an example of what you're referring to?

thanks for the fast replay .. here is an example ;

I don"t know if there is an idea we can use MCp to do something like that !!!

The way I'd approach something like this is similar to the technique I used in the MotionMonkey/ MonkeyCam Pro tut I just posted on the product page, but instead use 3D solids to create targets in 3D space. 

I'd also auto-orient the player's pictures toward the camera.

A setup like this is pretty close:

Peter Riese

Hi Orin,

I bought the script as it were mentioned as running with CS6. Now it tells, that it is just running from CC2014 up... Is there a version for CS6 in the making? and if yes, when will it be?

cheers, Peter

Orrin Zucker

Peter Riese said:

Hi Orin,

I bought the script as it were mentioned as running with CS6. Now it tells, that it is just running from CC2014 up... Is there a version for CS6 in the making? and if yes, when will it be?

cheers, Peter

Hey Peter- Sorry- that was a mistake on the site that's been fixed. It only works in 2014+. Only the latest versions allow MCP to work the way it does.
Currently, there's nothing we can do to make it work in older versions.

We'd be happy to issue a refund (well, not happy, but we will!)

Sorry!
oz

Bob Tabor

Hi, quick pre-sales question:  First, I'm a novice at AE (so please "explain it to me like I'm five years old").  

I want to achieve the same effect that you created in the demo with the yellow background/orange foreground text and images w/ the parallax effect across different background layers.  That is very cool, btw!

1) Is that file / tutorial available when I purchase the MonkeyCam Pro script?  I just want to decompose it and re-create for my purposes (specific to software development training videos).

Assuming the file is NOT available to learn from, then:

2) ... in the MonkeyCam Pro tutorial ... at about @1:18, what exactly are you doing there?  It goes so quickly I'm not sure what's happening there.  It appears as if those black and white layers are coming from nowhere as if by magic.

Thank you ... I'm looking forward to learning how to pull off these awesome effects.

Orrin Zucker

Bob Tabor said:

Hi, quick pre-sales question:  First, I'm a novice at AE (so please "explain it to me like I'm five years old").  

I want to achieve the same effect that you created in the demo with the yellow background/orange foreground text and images w/ the parallax effect across different background layers.  That is very cool, btw!

1) Is that file / tutorial available when I purchase the MonkeyCam Pro script?  I just want to decompose it and re-create for my purposes (specific to software development training videos).

Assuming the file is NOT available to learn from, then:

2) ... in the MonkeyCam Pro tutorial ... at about @1:18, what exactly are you doing there?  It goes so quickly I'm not sure what's happening there.  It appears as if those black and white layers are coming from nowhere as if by magic.

Thank you ... I'm looking forward to learning how to pull off these awesome effects.

Hi Bob-

No problem.

Those black and white files were part of the layered illustrator file I brought into the comp. It just took a little while for them to pop up when I continuously rasterized them. 

What your looking at essentially is a 2D layout, with a few layers moved back in Z space. That gives it the dimension you're seeing. Its like layers of paper on glass. The more they're separated in Z space, the more dimension is created. Also the closer the camera is to them the bigger the parallax effect.

I'll try to attach a simplified file to this post so you can see whats going on...check back in a little bit.

Trust me- its simple simple to use...very simple. We don't do complex here at the monkey lab. :-)

Bob Tabor

Also, at @3:19 in the tutorial ... you have a number of "pre-comps that are moved around and rotated in 3D space."  Do you have a more detailed tutorial of how to achieve this effect as well?  Thank you!

Orrin Zucker

Bob Tabor said:

Also, at @3:19 in the tutorial ... you have a number of "pre-comps that are moved around and rotated in 3D space."  Do you have a more detailed tutorial of how to achieve this effect as well?  Thank you!

1)  I made a grid (butted up tightly against each other) of comps in the order I wanted them to appear - so for example, comps 1- 4 in the top row, then 9-5 under them (reverse order because I wanted a simple move to go from 4 to 5...I didn't want the camera to travel a long distance  to get all the way back to where 1 was -like a typewriter).

2) I made the comps 3D and parented them in ascending order (5 parented to 4, 4 to 3 etc) , so when one rotated, all the rest below it rotated too. 

3) I moved each anchor point to the side I wanted to rotate...otherwise it would rotate from the center and leave a gap between the edges.

4) Then I rotated each comp however I liked- usually on either the X or y axis depending on where the anchor was..X if it was on the top or bottom, Y if it was on either side. 

5) Lastly I put markers down on a null at the points I wanted the transitions to happen (see the marker sync tuts)...but you don't have to do this if you don't want to.

Let me know if that makes sense.

Bob Tabor

Orrin Zucker said:

I'll try to attach a simplified file to this post so you can see whats going on...check back in a little bit.

Awesome, thank you so much.

Gary Bird

The MonkeyGurus have done it again - another great script, Orrin and Dan - so easy to learn and use, and it will be my go-to-camera tool in AE from now on. Works seamlessly with the other Monkey-family scripts, as well as with Element 3D, and I have halved the time I spend on camera movement by switching to MonkeyCam Pro. Lots of lovely extras too, especially Drift and Vertigo. Brilliant!

Chelfyn Baxter

Quick question. I`ve just bought this and I`m using it for integration with c4d - all good fun, but c4d renders very slow within AE and I can`t use teamrender to speed things up. 

what I`d like to be able to do it bake the procedural generated camera move into something I can export to c4d and then render from there. Can you bake out camera moves in this monkey?

Orrin Zucker

Chelfyn Baxter said:

Quick question. I`ve just bought this and I`m using it for integration with c4d - all good fun, but c4d renders very slow within AE and I can`t use teamrender to speed things up. 

what I`d like to be able to do it bake the procedural generated camera move into something I can export to c4d and then render from there. Can you bake out camera moves in this monkey?

Hi Chelfyn-

I'm not really sure- we haven't really tried it. But since you have some effects controls as well as the parenting structure, it might not translate well...but what the hell- give it a try and let us know.

You might also want to look at some of the baking scripts here on aescripts to see if those can help.

Bob Tabor

Orrin Zucker said:

I'll try to attach a simplified file to this post so you can see whats going on...check back in a little bit.

Hi Orrin, I know you're a busy guy.  Any chance you could attach the simplified example version of your instructions per our conversation last week?  It would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Bob Tabor

Orrin Zucker

Hi Orrin, I know you're a busy guy.  Any chance you could attach the simplified example version of your instructions per our conversation last week?  It would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Bob Tabor

Sure bob- I'll post it tonight.

Jay Martinez

Any tips on how to make the layers fade in & out?

Thanks!

Orrin Zucker

Jose Martinez said:

Any tips on how to make the layers fade in & out?

Thanks!

hi jose-

If you're referring to monkeycam pro, then that has to be done manually - monkeycam pro doesn't do anything to the layers themselves.

There are some cool auto fade scripts out there tho- they're automatically fade out your layer when it ends so all you have to do it split it and the expression will take care of the rest.

Orrin Zucker

Hi Orrin, I know you're a busy guy.  Any chance you could attach the simplified example version of your instructions per our conversation last week?  It would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Bob Tabor

see if this helps:

Clare Swift

Looks like another great Monkey tool - pity there's no CS6 compatability

Orrin Zucker

Clare Swift said:

Looks like another great Monkey tool - pity there's no CS6 compatability

We totally agree Clare - and we did everything we could to make that happen. But in the end, we had to make the choice to make it as good as we could and take advantage of all the new features available to us in the latest versions of AE, or dumb it down and make it more applicable to a wider range of versions.

Im sure you know this, but just in case - VideoCopilot's Sure Target is a good alternative that works with earlier versions of AE...

 

Miika Turunen

Just tested this for the first tim (bought on release). This is very useful script! Nothing else like it, so it's a must have if theres anything where it could work for you. The thing that I would probably change about it, would be to add ability to have second marker to mark the in/out point of transition. The current "one marker in the middle" seems to work, but in some cases it would be great if you could control the speed of the transition by having the second marker.

Anycase thanks a lot for this script! Worth of every penny

Orrin Zucker

Miika Turunen said:

Just tested this for the first tim (bought on release). This is very useful script! Nothing else like it, so it's a must have if theres anything where it could work for you. The thing that I would probably change about it, would be to add ability to have second marker to mark the in/out point of transition. The current "one marker in the middle" seems to work, but in some cases it would be great if you could control the speed of the transition by having the second marker.

Anycase thanks a lot for this script! Worth of every penny

Thanks for the note Miika- you make some really good points. 

We actually discussed the 2 marker (in/out) idea but in the end decided for a 1 marker approach...not only does it make it possible to use Marker Sync, it also kept things simpler, especially for projects that used a lot of quick camera moves. The 2 marker approach would have been a pain to deal with for those. We try to keep as wide a range of applications in mind when we put these together.

Thanks for the note- and keep those suggestions coming!

Miika Turunen

Orrin Zucker said:

Miika Turunen said:

Just tested this for the first tim (bought on release). This is very useful script! Nothing else like it, so it's a must have if theres anything where it could work for you. The thing that I would probably change about it, would be to add ability to have second marker to mark the in/out point of transition. The current "one marker in the middle" seems to work, but in some cases it would be great if you could control the speed of the transition by having the second marker.

Anycase thanks a lot for this script! Worth of every penny

Thanks for the note Miika- you make some really good points. 

We actually discussed the 2 marker (in/out) idea but in the end decided for a 1 marker approach...not only does it make it possible to use Marker Sync, it also kept things simpler, especially for projects that used a lot of quick camera moves. The 2 marker approach would have been a pain to deal with for those. We try to keep as wide a range of applications in mind when we put these together.

Thanks for the note- and keep those suggestions coming!

Thanks for the fast reply I wouldnt replace the 1 marker system, I would make the 2 marker "system" option. I bet that in many cases the 1 marker system is the best way to go, but I can imagine a situation where you would want some transition move faster or slower than others. If this would be the case, having option to use 2 marker system with its disadvantages could be cool. Although to be honest, dont need it now... but I was just wondering if a situation might occur where it would be useful. And as repetition... really great script! Money well spent PS: One cool thing would be also the ability to bake the cam

Orrin Zucker

Thanks for the fast reply I wouldnt replace the 1 marker system, I would make the 2 marker "system" option. I bet that in many cases the 1 marker system is the best way to go, but I can imagine a situation where you would want some transition move faster or slower than others. If this would be the case, having option to use 2 marker system with its disadvantages could be cool. Although to be honest, dont need it now... but I was just wondering if a situation might occur where it would be useful. And as repetition... really great script! Money well spent PS: One cool thing would be also the ability to bake the cam

Ahhh...if only it were so easy! 

The Monkeys are so optimized to make them do what they do, that putting in major options like that would make them so complex that the wheels would fall off (not to mention it would take forever and cost a lot more). It would actually be easier just to do a whole new script that just does that..

....And another great suggestion about Baking..we've heard that a few times! Also- not an easy one. but its on the list

vfxgopal budati

hello,

It's Great Script.Can we use this script for Ae Templates?(videohive,pond5.....)

Orrin Zucker

vfxgopal budati said:

hello,

It's Great Script.Can we use this script for Ae Templates?(videohive,pond5.....)

Yes- but you can't include a copy of the script itself. Also please put a link to the product page somewhere in the folder. Also- please send us a copy.

Miika Turunen

I'm just finishing a project where I use Element 3D in combination with MCP. At first I created NULL's for the groups in Element and made the MCP animate camera based on those NULL objects. As I started tweaking things I realised that having seperate NULL for MCP works best, because it gives me more flexibility as I can easily change the NULL objects position. Then I started thinking "what if". What if MCP would have feature that would when enabled create NULL objects that have the same location/orientation etc as the layers MCP is animating through? These NULL's would be automatically parented to the layers so they would move if the layer in focus would move. For an example having dedicated null for MCP enables me to orient the camera... so if I want the MCP camera to be in angle, I just re-orient the null. 

Orrin Zucker

Miika Turunen said:

I'm just finishing a project where I use Element 3D in combination with MCP. At first I created NULL's for the groups in Element and made the MCP animate camera based on those NULL objects. As I started tweaking things I realised that having seperate NULL for MCP works best, because it gives me more flexibility as I can easily change the NULL objects position. Then I started thinking "what if". What if MCP would have feature that would when enabled create NULL objects that have the same location/orientation etc as the layers MCP is animating through? These NULL's would be automatically parented to the layers so they would move if the layer in focus would move. For an example having dedicated null for MCP enables me to orient the camera... so if I want the MCP camera to be in angle, I just re-orient the null. 

Interesting...if I understand correctly I have a couple questions-

- If MCP targeted just the nulls, it would have nothing but the null's content area to auto frame to, so that would have to be done manually?

- Did you try playing around with the position and rotation effects controls? That would allow you to reorient the camera so you could look at your target in perspective or whatever- seems like that would act in a similar way to the separate null...no?

Let me know...
Oz

Miika Turunen

Orrin Zucker said:

I'm just finishing a project where I use Element 3D in combination with MCP. At first I created NULL's for the groups in Element and made the MCP animate camera based on those NULL objects. As I started tweaking things I realised that having seperate NULL for MCP works best, because it gives me more flexibility as I can easily change the NULL objects position. Then I started thinking "what if". What if MCP would have feature that would when enabled create NULL objects that have the same location/orientation etc as the layers MCP is animating through? These NULL's would be automatically parented to the layers so they would move if the layer in focus would move. For an example having dedicated null for MCP enables me to orient the camera... so if I want the MCP camera to be in angle, I just re-orient the null. 

Interesting...if I understand correctly I have a couple questions- - If MCP targeted just the nulls, it would have nothing but the null's content area to auto frame to, so that would have to be done manually? - Did you try playing around with the position and rotation effects controls? That would allow you to reorient the camera so you could look at your target in perspective or whatever- seems like that would act in a similar way to the separate null...no? Let me know... Oz

-The framing with nulls is obviously something that doesnt work "so well". I use the ZOOM to frame the content. If the contents size varies a lot, obviously this would mean more keyframing. Obviously the best scenario would be if MCP could auto frame based on the targeted layer and create null that would somehow inherit the auto framing that is based on the targeted layer.

-The position controls have one problem and that is that it's not controlling the camera in cameras space but in the 3D workspace. So if the camera is orientated in any other direction than straight level, the XYZ controls make the camera move in the XYZ of the workspace moving the camera accurately little bit harder. I think it would be better if the cameras position XYZ controls would be relative to the camera not the 3D space of the comp.

-The rotation controls turn the camera around it's own axis. This might be useful in some cases, but most often I think you would need to rotate the camera around the axis the camera is "focusing" on. This I can achieve by having seperate null that MCP is targeting on and turning that null. This way the layer/comp in "focus" stays in place but the camera can "orbit". If possible it would be great if there would be rotation controls within MCP that would make the camera "orbit" around the targeted layer. So camera wouldnt rotate around its own axis but the axis of the targeted layer instead. 

Working with Element3D having seperate NULLs for MCP targets enables me to easily move the area in focus, orbit the camera independently etc. 

MCP already saved HOURS of work so once again thanks for this script!

Orrin Zucker

MCP already saved HOURS of work so once again thanks for this script!

Awesome suggestions Mike!

The problem we always wrestle with is when we come up with a system is it becomes very difficult to work with multiple options (as you're suggesting) within that system. The complexity compounds exponentially and the it becomes difficult to use and unbelievably complicated to code- in some cases exceeding the boundaries of what a script can achieve. And in some cases, it might be a very subtle variation. It's actually easier to create a whole separate script that's optimized to work in that other option... If that makes sense.

But these are very good ideas and we'll toss them on the pile. You never know where they'll end up.

I.C. Production

I was stoked about Monkey Cam until I realized that it isn't designed to be compatible with CS 6. Any chance you guys will create a compatible version for us dinosaurs?

Orrin Zucker

I.C. Production said:

I was stoked about Monkey Cam until I realized that it isn't designed to be compatible with CS 6. Any chance you guys will create a compatible version for us dinosaurs?

I know...we really tried to make it work with CS6, but some of the core functions just couldn't be done in that version...we had  the tough choice of making it better but less compatible, or not as good but available to more users. 

brendan cusker

Looked through comments and FAQ, but did not see this answered - sorry if I missed it. Am I able to share a working project file w/ someone who does not have MCP installed? They wouldn't necessarily need to be able to change camera animation etc, just layer content. Thanks in advance! -bc