aescripts + aeplugins

Gary Bird

Looking forward to this! Any idea on an approximate ETA?

Miika Turunen

Hopefully there will be a way to install this tool without audio/SFX that your not going to use or need.

Marc Quaedvlieg

ETA please ;-)

mamoworld Möhl

@GaryBird, @Marc Quaedvlieg: it's published now :-)
@Miika: In the Pro version you should be able to simply delete the Sounds folder from your behavior library. Also, in the Pro version, the behaviors + sounds can be located on any drive independently of the actual extension itself.
In the Free version, everything is inside the extension itself, since it is not huge in terms of disk space anyway.

Marc Quaedvlieg

Yet another great plugin from MamoWorld, as expected.

This will make a great impact in my workflow as I can finally focus on the design of my projects.

Lots of hours will be saved!

p.s. 

A very generous free version I must say.

And the price of the PRO version is really justified.

Thank You!

Gary Bird

Absolutely fantastic must-have tool for anyone using After Effects. Makes brilliantly quick work of what would be complex and time-consuming animations to give lovely, organic results with a couple of clicks.

A game-changer - especially for animating text and shapes in After Effects! Bravo Mathias and Mamoworld!

Marc Quaedvlieg

One thing I would like is the ability to adjust the start and end position of the move without having to select the actual keyframes.

Like using a slider to adjust start and end.

mamoworld Möhl

Marc Quaedvlieg said:

One thing I would like is the ability to adjust the start and end position of the move without having to select the actual keyframes.

Like using a slider to adjust start and end.

Hi Marc,
do you mean changing the duration of the behavior or just just moving it in time? Changing duration is difficult to do automatically, in particular due to the sound effects.
Note that the "set workarea to comp" tool of Squash & Stretch is useful to figure out where exactly the keyframes will be in the timeline before applying the behavior.

Paul Bernstein

Hi,

comments for sqash & stretch pro seem to not be working so I came here.

I love the extension but many of the behaviors seem to ignore or miscalculate the composition size.

For example the Angry Wiggle sends the object way off screen.

Even though in the preview it sits nicely centered in view.

In the pro comments you said to adjust the "oomph", but what if want the oomph as it is?

I can add a null and scale it down but now my object is smaller than I wanted it to be.

If I were a computer I could pre-calculate and make my object a % larger than I need it to compensate.....

Wait...Maybe there is some way you could fix the code so the behaviors respect the dimensions of the comp?

          Or fix the preview to accurately depict how far off screen the behavior will go?

Hopefully this is something you're working on?

The currently unpredictable results make me worry I may have tossed away $100..:(

mamoworld Möhl

@Paul Bernstein:

I am very happy about your feedback. It is very important for me to understand what part of the workflow is not yet feeling 100% smooth. Actually, the points that you mention are a bit more complex that it might seem initially (because Squash & Stretch is designed to hide all this complexity as much as possible).

I see two different aspects here:
1) preview
2) how to adjust the behaviors to make them look good in your comp

Preview
The preview of Squash & Stretch is currently designed to show the full animation as large as possible. If we would switch this to showing the preview w.r.t. the comp size, this would cause several challenges:

1. The preview would need to know in advance which layer (or layers) you want to apply the behavior to. I.e. you would need to select the layers (and for texts the options whether it should be split or not) before being able to see the preview.
2. The Squash & Stretch UI is designed to use little space. If the preview shows the entire comp, you would need to either make it much larger or the rectangle in the preview would become tiny.

For future versions I could image an option to switch the preview to comp preview (i.e. after opening a behavior you can select one or a few layers and then click a button that does something like "switch the preview to show the actual animations if I apply this behavior to all currently selected layers in the current comp").

Adjusting Animations

When adjusting an animation to the size of the comp and the size of the layer, there is always a trade-off. The more you change it, the more you change the character or the feel of the animation. How Squash & Stretch adjusts a behavior depends on many factors and tries to strike the best possible balance between all those aspects.

Example:
Let's say we have a "Angry Wiggle" and apply it to a large layer. The angry wiggle moves very fast and far, because this creates the angry feeling. Therefore - for the large layer - it will move outside the comp boundaries. How can you avoid that? Well, of course you can lower the oomph. Set it to 20% and the angry wiggle will only move 20% as far. Now you say you want to keep the oomph - because an angry wiggle with 20% oomph does not feel so angry anymore. Or you can scale down the layer. If you scale the layer to 20%, the wiggle will also just move 20% as far (since Squash & Stretch will adjust the behavior to the new layer size and smaller layers need to move less to create the same feeling). Now you say "but my layer needs to be that large - I just want you to make the animation such that for my large layer it feels exactly like the one in the preview, but does not leave the comp". Well, this is like saying "please throw the ball with exactly the same energy, speed etc. But make sure if only flies half as far. If it should fly half as far, you must throw it slower and with less energy. This is how our world, our physics works. So in other words: If you want the Angry wiggle to move less, changing the oomph is the only alternative. Yes, this will change the feeling of the animation, but this is not a limitation of Squash & Stretch, but a limitation of how things are working in our universe. If lowering the oomph does not look good and leaving the comp is not an option, then probably this is not the right behavior for your animation. Angry wiggle says "move around far and fast like crazy". You cannot do that for large layers without leaving the comp. So to communicate the same emotion for a very big object, you maybe need a very different animation. That's why we think about creating a "big & heavy" bundle that is designed to work in particular well with large layers.

Summary:
Either you force the animation to stay inside the comp (by lowering the oomph) and this will always alter the feel of the animation or you accept that it leaves the comp.

Usually, Squash & Stretch chooses the second option, i.e. sets a priority for the feel. But for animate in or animate out behaviors, for example, it is crucial that they leave the comp. So S&S will add an extra portion of oomph there, for example, when you apply it to tiny layers to ensure they really travel as far as needed.

As you see, this is a pretty tricky thing. Do you think an option to "clip the oomph automatically to keep the object in the comp" would help in future version of S&S ?  But again, this might still change the feel of the animation and would only save you from finding the maximum possible oomph manually that still keeps the object inside the comp.

Cheers,
Mathias

steve schmitt

Hello MamoWorld, digging the squash & stretch Pro bundle, But curious what the best way is to make an object bounce down a ladder, In your video the square moves around in this video game setting from one bounce to the next, when I apply several bounces to on object it gets all weird and crazy, I've kinda pulled off something by making duplicates, but it's very cumbersome, how might I apply multiple bounces to one object, go down a ladder etc, Thanks!

-Steve.

Paul Bernstein

mamoworld Möhl said:

@Paul Bernstein:

I am very happy about your feedback. It is very important for me to understand what part of the workflow is not yet feeling 100% smooth. Actually, the points that you mention are a bit more complex that it might seem initially (because Squash & Stretch is designed to hide all this complexity as much as possible).

I see two different aspects here:
1) preview
2) how to adjust the behaviors to make them look good in your comp

Preview
The preview of Squash & Stretch is currently designed to show the full animation as large as possible. If we would switch this to showing the preview w.r.t. the comp size, this would cause several challenges:

1. The preview would need to know in advance which layer (or layers) you want to apply the behavior to. I.e. you would need to select the layers (and for texts the options whether it should be split or not) before being able to see the preview.
2. The Squash & Stretch UI is designed to use little space. If the preview shows the entire comp, you would need to either make it much larger or the rectangle in the preview would become tiny.

For future versions I could image an option to switch the preview to comp preview (i.e. after opening a behavior you can select one or a few layers and then click a button that does something like "switch the preview to show the actual animations if I apply this behavior to all currently selected layers in the current comp").

Adjusting Animations

When adjusting an animation to the size of the comp and the size of the layer, there is always a trade-off. The more you change it, the more you change the character or the feel of the animation. How Squash & Stretch adjusts a behavior depends on many factors and tries to strike the best possible balance between all those aspects.

Example:
Let's say we have a "Angry Wiggle" and apply it to a large layer. The angry wiggle moves very fast and far, because this creates the angry feeling. Therefore - for the large layer - it will move outside the comp boundaries. How can you avoid that? Well, of course you can lower the oomph. Set it to 20% and the angry wiggle will only move 20% as far. Now you say you want to keep the oomph - because an angry wiggle with 20% oomph does not feel so angry anymore. Or you can scale down the layer. If you scale the layer to 20%, the wiggle will also just move 20% as far (since Squash & Stretch will adjust the behavior to the new layer size and smaller layers need to move less to create the same feeling). Now you say "but my layer needs to be that large - I just want you to make the animation such that for my large layer it feels exactly like the one in the preview, but does not leave the comp". Well, this is like saying "please throw the ball with exactly the same energy, speed etc. But make sure if only flies half as far. If it should fly half as far, you must throw it slower and with less energy. This is how our world, our physics works. So in other words: If you want the Angry wiggle to move less, changing the oomph is the only alternative. Yes, this will change the feeling of the animation, but this is not a limitation of Squash & Stretch, but a limitation of how things are working in our universe. If lowering the oomph does not look good and leaving the comp is not an option, then probably this is not the right behavior for your animation. Angry wiggle says "move around far and fast like crazy". You cannot do that for large layers without leaving the comp. So to communicate the same emotion for a very big object, you maybe need a very different animation. That's why we think about creating a "big & heavy" bundle that is designed to work in particular well with large layers.

Summary:
Either you force the animation to stay inside the comp (by lowering the oomph) and this will always alter the feel of the animation or you accept that it leaves the comp.

Usually, Squash & Stretch chooses the second option, i.e. sets a priority for the feel. But for animate in or animate out behaviors, for example, it is crucial that they leave the comp. So S&S will add an extra portion of oomph there, for example, when you apply it to tiny layers to ensure they really travel as far as needed.

As you see, this is a pretty tricky thing. Do you think an option to "clip the oomph automatically to keep the object in the comp" would help in future version of S&S ?  But again, this might still change the feel of the animation and would only save you from finding the maximum possible oomph manually that still keeps the object inside the comp.

Cheers,
Mathias

Thanks for the thoughtful explanation Mathias.  I see the challenges you explain and have no solutions.  The idea include a toggle option to have the extension clip the oomph automatically sounds like a good compromise.   Truth is the behavior just takes a little getting used to.  I'm happy with my purchase & it's a great tool.

-Paul

mamoworld Möhl

steve schmitt said:

Hello MamoWorld, digging the squash & stretch Pro bundle, But curious what the best way is to make an object bounce down a ladder, In your video the square moves around in this video game setting from one bounce to the next, when I apply several bounces to on object it gets all weird and crazy, I've kinda pulled off something by making duplicates, but it's very cumbersome, how might I apply multiple bounces to one object, go down a ladder etc, Thanks!

-Steve.

Hi Steve, I would do this as follows:
If you just need two steps, you can simply use the "Bounce Steps" behavior and adjust the position of the first bounce as needed.

If you need more than one step:

1. Start with the "Bounce Steps" behavior
2. Duplicate the middle part as often as you need to get as many jumps as you need
3. Adjust the position keyframes of each jump to fit the height of the different steps.

This is a test I just did very quickly using this approach, duplicating the middle part of "Bounce Steps" once:

mamoworld Möhl

I just released a tutorial about this, showing the process in more detail:
https://mamoworld.com/tutorials/modify-and-combine-behaviors-squash-stretch-after-effects

steve schmitt said:

Hello MamoWorld, digging the squash & stretch Pro bundle, But curious what the best way is to make an object bounce down a ladder, In your video the square moves around in this video game setting from one bounce to the next, when I apply several bounces to on object it gets all weird and crazy, I've kinda pulled off something by making duplicates, but it's very cumbersome, how might I apply multiple bounces to one object, go down a ladder etc, Thanks!

-Steve.

Sulabh Rastogi

Does it work with CC 2018. It doesn't seem to work with us. 

mamoworld Möhl

Yes, it works with CC 2018. Please open a support ticket here:
https://aescripts.com/contact/
Include as much detail as possible (screenshots of the error message etc). The more I know the quicker and better I am able to help.

Also, make sure to install it with the installer from here
https://aescripts.com/learn/zxp-installer/

Do NOT use Adobe Extension Manager for installation. It is discontinued by Adobe and not able to install extensions for any recent CC apps.

Sulabh Rastogi said:

Does it work with CC 2018. It doesn't seem to work with us. 

Eric Camden

I downloaded the installer twice and each time when I tried to run the executable, an error popped up.  Attached the error message.  Would like to install Squash, but no go so far.

Win 7 

AE CC 2017

Eric Camden

For now I installed it manually, but I'd still like to know why the exe doesn't work.  Thank you

mamoworld Möhl

Hi Eric,
thanks for reporting this. I forwarded your screenshots to the developer of the installer such that he can check what is going on. Maybe the server was down temporarily?

Cheers,
Mathias

Michael Purugganan

Hey please help I'm using the free version on adobe 2015 cc I click the black box that says select the behavior a window pops out showing all the behaviors i choose drop and click it and nothing happens the window disappears but the behavior doesn't register and nothing happens it doesnt says behavior: drop on the top. What do I do?  

mamoworld Möhl

Hi Michael,
does it work if you select a behavior in the treeview on the right instead of the gallery view? Ywith the button on the very top right.
If you still have issues please open a support ticket here:
https://aescripts.com/contact/
with as many details as possible (which Ae version, which OS version, screenshot of the issue). The more I know the better I am able to help.

Cheers,
Mathias

Michael Purugganan said:

Hey please help I'm using the free version on adobe 2015 cc I click the black box that says select the behavior a window pops out showing all the behaviors i choose drop and click it and nothing happens the window disappears but the behavior doesn't register and nothing happens it doesnt says behavior: drop on the top. What do I do?  

Tatenda Chawanzwa

Where are the free 100 sound effects that come with the free version of Squash Strecth?

mamoworld Möhl

Tatenda Chawanzwa said:

Where are the free 100 sound effects that come with the free version of Squash Strecth?

1) download & install Squash & Stretch Free
2) in the preferences of Squash & Stretch Free there is a button to open the folder containing all the sound effects.
See this tutorial for details
https://mamoworld.com/tutorials/get-100-free-sound-effects-squash-stretch-ae

Nico Zdunich

I have been testing the free version before buying the pro version and it doesn't seem to be working consistently with CC 2018. Sometimes it wants to create precomps on a layer and sometimes it doesn't. Is there a reason for this? It even happens on the same layer. It will want to precomp it, then I undo it and the next time it applies the effect without precomping it.

mamoworld Möhl

Hi Nico,
Squash & Stretch precomposes a layer only when it is necessary. It is necessary in one of three cases:

1. layer is a text layer
2. layer is a shape layer
3. layer has collapse transformations enabled

In addition, it often makes sense to precompose layers when they have masks, because masks might cause that only a small part of the entire layer is actually visible. If this is the case and the layer is not precomposed, Squash & Stretch animates the layer as if the entire layer was visible. If the behavior rotates around one corner, for example, it will rotate around the corner of the layer, not of the visible part. Therefore, when applying a behavior to a masked layer, Squash & Stretch also asks whether it should precompose it (and will crop the precomp to only the masked area). But this can also be deactivated in the Squash & Stretch settings.

Also note that of course each layer needs to be precomposed only once. So if you apply a first behavior to a text layer, it will be precomposed. If you now apply a second behavior to it, it is already precomposed and does not need to be precomposed again.

Cheers,

Mathias

Nico Zdunich said:

I have been testing the free version before buying the pro version and it doesn't seem to be working consistently with CC 2018. Sometimes it wants to create precomps on a layer and sometimes it doesn't. Is there a reason for this? It even happens on the same layer. It will want to precomp it, then I undo it and the next time it applies the effect without precomping it.

aubolessi aubolessi

HI 

I instaled plugin trough aeplugins manager, i can see it it in windows/extensions but it does not appear in window when i click on it

cheers

Kevin Schires

aubolessi aubolessi said:

I instaled plugin trough aeplugins manager, i can see it it in windows/extensions but it does not appear in window when i click on it

We're aware that this can sometimes happen, it's an issue with the permissions of the files installed (basically the extension is installed properly but AE can only load it if launched as admin).

Please use our ZXP Installer (https://aescripts.com/learn/zxp-installer/) to re-install Squash & Stretch or open a support ticket so that we help you fix the issue.

Once you have installed the ZXP Installer, in the manager app right-click Squash&Stretch and choose "Reveal Installer Files" to see the ZXP file.

aubolessi aubolessi

i got it!! thanks. looking forward to play with free version. than buy pro

thanks once more

almir silva

Hello, I installed squash & stretch in the after cc 2017 with the pluguin you recommend, more when opening the after and go to extention> the panel does not open

mamoworld Möhl

Hi Almir,

see what Kevin answered to Aubolessi:

Kevin Schires said:

We're aware that this can sometimes happen, it's an issue with the permissions of the files installed (basically the extension is installed properly but AE can only load it if launched as admin).

Please use our ZXP Installer (https://aescripts.com/learn/zxp-installer/) to re-install Squash & Stretch or open a support ticket so that we help you fix the issue.

Once you have installed the ZXP Installer, in the manager app right-click Squash&Stretch and choose "Reveal Installer Files" to see the ZXP file.

If this does not help, please try to enable debug mode (in the settings of the Aescripts ZXP installer) or open a support ticket here https://aescripts.com/contact/

John Kirksey

The Free version is not working on my Windows 10, AE-CC2018 machine. I find the script in the "Extensions" Menu Option. A Window opens, but nothing is there.
I cannot solve it. I'm perfectly OK with buying the Full version, as I truly need this capability, but I'm a bit afraid because I might have the same problem.

mamoworld Möhl

Hi John,

could you please open a support ticket here

https://aescripts.com/contact/

and show me a screenshot of the open window and one of the aescripts installer showing the installed extension (in particular I need to know whether it is shown as "custom install/manual install" or not).

The more details I know, the quicker and better I can help.

Cheers,

Mathias

John Kirksey said:

The Free version is not working on my Windows 10, AE-CC2018 machine. I find the script in the "Extensions" Menu Option. A Window opens, but nothing is there.
I cannot solve it. I'm perfectly OK with buying the Full version, as I truly need this capability, but I'm a bit afraid because I might have the same problem.

Mario Mangano

Hi. I have the same issue as John Kirksey in PC AE CC18. It either does not open a window at all, or when extension debug options selected in manager just opens a white window

it is installed as a direct installation in the installer

reveal installation files in the manager shows the files in appdata > local > temp > com.aescripts.updater > 1141-0-1.1.001

Please post a fix for this

Zach Carter

Having the same issue.

I downloaded using the installer, found the option in extensions, but when I click on it nothing happens!

I located it in the aescripts manager, right clicked to reveal installer files, but am not sure what to do with those. 

I just tried uninstalling and re-installing, but have the same problem.

Kevin Schires

Hi Zach,

installation issues with zxp files are sometimes difficult to fix because it's a complex installation process.

If you installed it using our manager app, uninstall it from the app. Choose "Reveal Installer Files" and locate the zxp file in the folder.

Then use our ZXP Installer to install this zxp file. This app will give us more info about the issues with the installation.

If the installation still fails please open a support ticket so that we can share screenshots and solve the issue.

Zach Carter

That worked!

Carmen Diaz

I have installed Squash & Stretch on AE CC 2019/Windows 10 and it keeps crashing AE when I start the program. I  used the zxp installer. Now I want to uninstall the script and don't know how. I can't find any information on how to do it. Please help, I need my AE back to finish my client's project.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Carmen

mamoworld Möhl

Hi Carmen,

I am sorry to hear that you have such an issue! 

You can uninstall Squash & Stretch using the aescripts ZXP installer. The installer lists all installed extensions (if you don’t find Squash & Stretch listed in the Ae section, look in the  “custom installs” section). When you hover over an extension in the list, a “remove” button is shown which will uninstall the extension.

Side note:

I few month ago another client told me that his Ae became unstable and crashed frequently after he installed Squash & Stretch. He uninstalled and did lots of experiments and finally found that after reinstalling Ae everything worked fine again - even with Squash & Stretch being installed. So at least in his case it was just a coincidence and not that Squash & Stretch actually caused the issue. I don’t want to say it has to be the same in your case - just mentioning this, such that you are not too surprised that uninstalling Squash & Stretch will maybe not solve the issue. This case from a few month ago also has been the only support case so far with such a crashing issue for S&S - so in general Squash & Stretch is pretty stable :-)

Cheers,

Mathias

Carmen Diaz said:

I have installed Squash & Stretch on AE CC 2019/Windows 10 and it keeps crashing AE when I start the program. I  used the zxp installer. Now I want to uninstall the script and don't know how. I can't find any information on how to do it. Please help, I need my AE back to finish my client's project.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Carmen

marina lopez

Hi! I have a problem, when I tried to install squas and strech with ZXP intaller I had this error " The extension cannot installed. Install a compatible CC application" 

I have AE CC 2018 V.15.0.1 

Would I need to install a new version?

mamoworld Möhl

Hi Marina,

Squash & Stretch is compatible with CC 2018. This sounds like your CC 2018 installation is not properly registered at the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop tool and therefore, the installer is not aware that CC 2018 is installed. Reinstalling CC 2018 will most likely solve the issue.

If this does not help, please open a support ticket at
https://aescripts.com/contact/

Then I can assign this ticket directly to the developer of our installer who will definitely be able to solve this for you.

marina lopez said:

Hi! I have a problem, when I tried to install squas and strech with ZXP intaller I had this error " The extension cannot installed. Install a compatible CC application" 

I have AE CC 2018 V.15.0.1 

Would I need to install a new version?

Michael Blendow

Hi, is there a solution to use squash and stretch with collapse transformation on? I need the Illustration sharp and clean for scaling etc. 

mamoworld Möhl

Collapse Transformations does not work with the Bezier Warp effect that Squash & Stretch uses for the deformation.

What you can do is

1. In the layer transforms scale your layer up until it is as large as you want it to be without getting blurry (collapse transformations enabled).

2. select the layer and click on Squash & Stretch "Precompose & Crop to Content Size" icon. This will place it inside a precomp, that has Collapse Transformations disabled but is still sharp at the current size.

3. now you can scale the precomp layer down to whatever smaller size you want to work with.

Michael Blendow said:

Hi, is there a solution to use squash and stretch with collapse transformation on? I need the Illustration sharp and clean for scaling etc. 

Richard Stachelek

Using the search box for behaviors in the side panel doesn't seem to work. Or rather it works for a few seconds then the whole panel blinks and reverts to the complete list.

I'm on AE 17.0.6 and Mac OS 10.15.4

mamoworld Möhl

Thank you for reporting this! I just tested and see the same behavior on my Mac, too. I look into this now.

Richard Stachelek said:

Using the search box for behaviors in the side panel doesn't seem to work. Or rather it works for a few seconds then the whole panel blinks and reverts to the complete list.

I'm on AE 17.0.6 and Mac OS 10.15.4

mamoworld Möhl

Hi Richard,

I just published version 1.2.004 of Squash & Stretch which fixes the broken search function. Thank you again for reporting this!

You always find the most recent version in the “My Downloads & Licenses” section of your aescripts customer account at
https://aescripts.com/downloadable/customer/products/

Richard Stachelek said:

Using the search box for behaviors in the side panel doesn't seem to work. Or rather it works for a few seconds then the whole panel blinks and reverts to the complete list.

I'm on AE 17.0.6 and Mac OS 10.15.4

Mark Santella

Can Squash and Stretch work with Element 3d?  Thanks for letting me know.

mamoworld Möhl

Hi Mark,

Squash & Stretch works with 2D layers. So you cannot truely deform 3d objects. A workaround could be to place a Element 3d layer in a precomp and then apply Squash & Stretch to the precomp layer in the main comp. However, this will always be a 2d deformation.

Mark Santella said:

Can Squash and Stretch work with Element 3d?  Thanks for letting me know.

Fausto Kawada

Hello,

I couldn't install Squash & Stretch on After Effects 2020. I've tried with aescript+aeplugins manager and zxp installer. It installs but I can't find S&S on windows>extensions. Any clue?

mamoworld Möhl

Hi Fausto,

please open a support ticket at
https://aescripts.com/contact/

then I can assign it to the developer of the installer and he will be able to help.

A quick fix that often works: In ZXP Installer go to the settings and enabe debugging for all CEP version listed there. Then restart Ae.

Fausto Kawada said:

Hello,

I couldn't install Squash & Stretch on After Effects 2020. I've tried with aescript+aeplugins manager and zxp installer. It installs but I can't find S&S on windows>extensions. Any clue?

Agostinho Simões

Hello,

I have my channel logo which I would like to animate with your plugin. If I choose the free version, will I be allowed to then use that intro in all my YouTube videos or not?

Kind regards