but i have definitely some ideas for your monkey - because i really had to solve some issues to get this result.
the camera movement is way much to fast for this kind of fast lipsync video - so i had to cheat a little bit & and did a combination with text monkey & layer monkey. i had fun using it. now i start to imagine what else i can do with it. love.
I'm glad you discovered that combining the two is the way to go. We've heard a few comments that LayerMonkey is better than TypeMonkey, but projects like yours go a long way in proving our point, they both do good things, but different. Smart integration is key to making these monkeys sing. In your case, the LM camera moves were better that TM...
Would you mind if I post this to our product page?
hey orrin, thanks for your kind words. sure - use it. love to see that. i´m totally new into animating with the monkeys. with a little try and error and creative thinking i get the best out of it in that short amount of time. the band asked me if i can do something with their song - so i came up with that idea of using the monkeys and voila
for future updates: is it possible to change some settings in the camera settings? something like easy ease. or when it jumps to the next scene or how.
for that lipsync type its way to quick - so i came up with the idea of using for each beat or complete songline one comp with one line of text. so i had to do 30 extra comps in textmonkey and then put the comps together with layermonkey. but the results are much smoother than just using textmonkey itself for that projekt. to make a long story short - love that plugin and i will do another one with mor time thanks orrin. bless
theres lot more we want to do with it...more algorithms, more camera options...tons of stuff. Before we do, theres one last Monkey script we want to create that will really help round things out. I can't talk about it yet, but it's pretty cool.
As far as syncing to lyrics, we have a few ideas outlined in the knowledge base...check em out.
This is a great plugin. Literally cuts down the time for layout and animation by a good couple of hours if not days, depending on how big your project is.
I found that doing a typography animation, where you have the lyrics on hand, is relatively easy to set up the sync (even doing it by hand, as I did for a rock track that couldn't have it's Beats read correctly due to the music style)
Using the text to layers plugin, combined with a few marker management plugins, you can easily get your distribution later ready for layermonkey.
The only things that I think can be improved is the function to edit/change/modify what's been created.
Some examples:
Let's say, one animation even on "fast" is too slow for the pace of the music. There seems to be no real way of changing that without having to route through expressions.
The same goes for modifying one bit of text animation to be different, if it doesn't appear correct on the first algorithm process. (this is most apparent in sliding from left/right into shot where the movement doesn't complete before the camera moves onto the next word).
Better camera functions would be awesome too, possibly one to convert the expression to keyframes so that we can tweak the existing movement to our liking, or to flip between the different frame modes so we can jump in and out from loose, to medium etc. - I'm finding that if the camera moves way too much, changing the controller size to the one before it, stops it from erratically zooming in and out. I'm sure this is not what you intended, but for now it's the only workaround I have bar from animating the camera myself.
Great job. Keep it up, and I look forward to seeing how you continue to build on this.
it bugs me that your logo has a chimpanzee in it, but it's called typemonkey. Chimpanzees are not monkeys. Chimps are great apes.
Monkeys have tails.
Anyway, love typemonkey, not sure about layer monkey but I have a feeling I better check that out.
Hey John-
As you know, they're both part of the primate suborder, and since we didn't expect a lot of them to buy it, we were a bit looser with our definitions : )
As far as LayerMonkey goes, think of it as an extension of TypeMonkey - optimized for use with video, stills, illustrator files and pretty much anything else. We've also just adapted TypeMonkey to generate text for use in LM, so they work together nicely.
it bugs me that your logo has a chimpanzee in it, but it's called typemonkey. Chimpanzees are not monkeys. Chimps are great apes.
Monkeys have tails.
Anyway, love typemonkey, not sure about layer monkey but I have a feeling I better check that out.
Hey John-
As you know, they're both part of the primate suborder, and since we didn't expect a lot of them to buy it, we were a bit looser with our definitions : )
As far as LayerMonkey goes, think of it as an extension of TypeMonkey - optimized for use with video, stills, illustrator files and pretty much anything else. We've also just adapted TypeMonkey to generate text for use in LM, so they work together nicely.
I'm just messing with you anyway. the only reason it even popped into my head is because I am a very big supporter of chimp and orangutan sanctuaries in Borneo. so i always mention to people that call a chimp a monkey that they're not. but yes, i realise that 99.99999% of the planet would not care in the slightest, and it's totally irrelevant.
anyway, onward, I watched the video and yea i do get it. i really like that videos are triggered to play when they come in, this is going to be very useful.
TypeMonkey Tools should be available when you download either of the Monkey Scripts...check the tut. If thats not happening, open up a support ticket and Lloyd will take care of you.
LayerMonkey is great- thanks for creating such a great time saver.
Here's my question-- how can I offset the anchor point for the camera? What I mean is that I see in the expression on the position of the camera that if I add or subtract any number of pixels from the (TL.anchorPoint,t) line --for instance : (TL.anchorPoint-200,t) moves the camera 200px to the left of the center of the active word-- but I'd like to get it to offset vertically, not horizontally. Basically I want the word cloud that's created to fit within the borders of the frame rather than starting at the center point and disappearing off the top of the frame.
Great product but I am having an issue. How do I manually re-position a layer. It seems like the first layer has to be adjusted by scrubbing to the next layer, then I am able to move that first layer that is now off screen...not sure if its relevant to my issue but I noticed under the hood that the first layer doesn't have a (ctrl) layer. Maybe something is wrong and I am missing something obvious. Any help would be great, thanks!
Great product but I am having an issue. How do I manually re-position a layer. It seems like the first layer has to be adjusted by scrubbing to the next layer, then I am able to move that first layer that is now off screen...not sure if its relevant to my issue but I noticed under the hood that the first layer doesn't have a (ctrl) layer. Maybe something is wrong and I am missing something obvious. Any help would be great, thanks!
Hi Adam - its always hard to tell what someone is looking at, so I'll take a guess...
If you're looking thru the camera, adjusting layers might appear odd at first, because the camera is pointed at the active control layer, and when you move that, you're moving the camera as well, so it doesn't look like you're moving anything... other than the layers above the current one in the timeline. To get a better idea of whats actually going on, switch to a custom view...or turn off the camera.
The first layer does have a control layer- its the master control layer...so not only does it control the first layer of text (or whatever in LayerMonkey), it also controls all the layers below it, so global adjustments can be made by moving the master control layer.
So, if I understand correctly, LayerMonkey will do everything that TypeMonkey will do, but has no text entry capability per se. If you want to do a whole paragraph of text, you have to have broken that paragraph into one word per layer Ai or PS files...?
So, if I understand correctly, LayerMonkey will do everything that TypeMonkey will do, but has no text entry capability per se. If you want to do a whole paragraph of text, you have to have broken that paragraph into one word per layer Ai or PS files...?
Theres a few more differences (TypeMonkey has key commands which help control the layout, LayerMonkey has a couple more algorithms which allow for justification), but in broad strokes, you're correct.
Theres a few more differences (TypeMonkey has key commands which help control the layout, LayerMonkey has a couple more algorithms which allow for justification), but in broad strokes, you're correct.
Thanks, but playing with LM now, I see that I can use Text layers as sources, so, that's a bit more work, but still pretty manageable and saves having to create AI or PS composition layers...
I've been following your combining monkeys tutorial & I have a problem when trying to use layer monkey for my final comp as you do in your tutorial, my pre comps are cut off instead of being lengthened, I guess layer monkey uses a time remap to expand the pre comps? Unfortunately this isn't working with me, basically I want to lay out my pre comps to fit nicer together as you do in your tutorial. Any ideas please I haven't found a solution so far.
Dying to know where you get all your vintage footage for the tutorials. The video and the cartoons? Do you have a source you would be willing to share?
Dying to know where you get all your vintage footage for the tutorials. The video and the cartoons? Do you have a source you would be willing to share?
Hey Mark- Start at the Prelinger Archives and go from there... : )
Just wanted to thank you guys for TypeMonkey and LayerMonkey! I bought them yesterday and started editing with them today. I'm ecstatic with the results! Saved me so much time and relatively easy to use. My first project included syncing with a voice over and object animation so thanks for the tuts! You guys rock!
Just wanted to thank you guys for TypeMonkey and LayerMonkey! I bought them yesterday and started editing with them today. I'm ecstatic with the results! Saved me so much time and relatively easy to use. My first project included syncing with a voice over and object animation so thanks for the tuts! You guys rock!
Hi I followed installation guide and added all the downloaded files into the ScriptUI Panels in After Effects CS6. How can I apply this to my comp in After Effects?
Hi I followed installation guide and added all the downloaded files into the ScriptUI Panels in After Effects CS6. How can I apply this to my comp in After Effects?
Hi Christopher- Do you mean how do you launch the script? (restart and then launch it from the windows menu). after that, check the tutorial.
Could do with some help. In LayerMonkey if I choose 'Horizontal' for a load of text layers, it aligns all the layers to the bottom of the bounding box, but I want to align to the baseline of the text - is that possible? (Basically words with tall letters end up too low and words with hanging letters, like a 'g' or 'y' end up too high) - I think they should be aligned to their original anchor point rather than the box maybe?
Thanks for a cool product - nearly got it doing what I want!
Could do with some help. In LayerMonkey if I choose 'Horizontal' for a load of text layers, it aligns all the layers to the bottom of the bounding box, but I want to align to the baseline of the text - is that possible? (Basically words with tall letters end up too low and words with hanging letters, like a 'g' or 'y' end up too high) - I think they should be aligned to their original anchor point rather than the box maybe?
Thanks for a cool product - nearly got it doing what I want!
Hi Simon-
Yeah- I know what you mean.
Since LayerMonkey doesn't see the text as text, rather it seems it as a shape, you can get situations like this.
Heres a few suggestions:
1) Use all caps (thats the easiest!)
2) Put a letter with a hanging letter and tall letter at the end of any word that doesn't have one of each in it already, then delete them after LayerMonkey lays it out.
3) Raise or lower the words by hand by using MonkeyTools' Reveal Text/Layers
4) This one might be a bit odd and cumbersome, but it works: make each letter 3 lines, with a period (.) occupying the first and 3rd line....like this:
.
word
.
Then once its animated, just mask out the top and bottom.
Sorry thats the best I got right now.. some things need workarounds.
BTW- TypeMonkey will do what you're describing by using the { } brackets.
A recent adobe update has disabled many 3rd party plugins/scripts, Layer Monkey included.
I know that this is an adobe issue and not an issue with your script. I was just wondering if it has been brought to your attention and if you have any fixes for this.
Hello, A recent adobe update has disabled many 3rd party plugins/scripts, Layer Monkey included. I know that this is an adobe issue and not an issue with your script. I was just wondering if it has been brought to your attention and if you have any fixes for this. Thanks a lot.
Hi Mark- thanks for the note... Actually this is the first we heard of it! Can you open a support ticket and describe what you're seeing? Thanks!
When I set Scale and Rotation probability to about 90%, they still happen very rarely, with just the odd scale and rotation change. Is this isolated to just me or a common problem?
When I set Scale and Rotation probability to about 90%, they still happen very rarely, with just the odd scale and rotation change. Is this isolated to just me or a common problem?
Hey Gary-
just out of curiosity, how long of a build is it? Is it just a few layers?
I know we built in an average of 3-4 minimum layers before a rotation because we found the movement was pretty crazy if it were much less than that.
You can always override it by selecting the control layer and manually rotating it (MonkeyTools Unshy Control Layers can help with that).
Also make sure you've got the latest version (1.6).
When I set Scale and Rotation probability to about 90%, they still happen very rarely, with just the odd scale and rotation change. Is this isolated to just me or a common problem?
Hey Gary-
just out of curiosity, how long of a build is it? Is it just a few layers?
I know we built in an average of 3-4 minimum layers before a rotation because we found the movement was pretty crazy if it were much less than that.
You can always override it by selecting the control layer and manually rotating it (MonkeyTools Unshy Control Layers can help with that).
Also make sure you've got the latest version (1.6).
Hi, i'm pretty sure i'm missing a little setting here..
I have a bunch of pre-comps and a layer marker track.. I want to cut or fade between them, as per the markers. Without any camera moves.
It currently works by sliding-in each comp into place, with the camera move in built.
Hope this makes sense.
Thanks
J
Hi Jat- I need a bit more clarification..are you looking for LayerMonkey to create a stationary layout that fits on screen without camera moves or layer moves- -and the comps to fade/cut on?
Or is each layer full screen and they just transition at the markers...like any normal edit?
Yes, Full screen comps/layers that cut/fade to the markers. Yep like a normal edit.
Interesting- we've never been asked that! It wasnt really designed for that. MonkeyCam Pro will cut from one position to the next on a Marker, which will give you that ability as long as the comps don't occupy the same space, but LayerMonkey won't by itself.
The closest it will come - I think - is a quick wipe from one to the next (Horizontal or Vertical Algorithm, Scaling Variable %=0, Transition In=None, Speed=Fast, Movement= Stop & Go, Auto Frame = Best Fit. Distribution = Marker Sync).
Sorry- I guess we should have built a Cut into the Camera Movement types...we'll put it on the list!
Hey OZ, many thanks for the quick response and honestly.
Look forward to your continued great work.
Thanks,
Jat
Jat-
One more thought...a bit of a workaround but here goes:
1) Create your pre-comps and don't put any pad on them at either end.
2) Build your comp - use the specs I mentioned above but change Distribution to 'Play Full Clips'
3) Using MonkeyTools, Click UnShy Control Layers
4) Copy the LM Master Control Position, select all the the other control layers (ctlr) and paste.
But a that point you might as well go with Sequence Layers.
However this approach would let you do stuff like offset the Z positions and give you quick fly throughs or stuff like that.
oz- Thanks i will surely take a look at this solution.
Another little thing maybe you can help.. In Circus monkey.. i'm doing a stationary text swap animation. However i'm seeing some random '1-frame' overlapping.. the current word and the incomming word both overlap each other from 1 frame. rather then cut from one to the next.. Any tips?
From what we've seen - yes. There has been 2 tickets but we couldn't replicate the problem it on our systems. Id suggest downloading a free trial and see if its an issue.
Just updated these and attempted to use in Ae 2023. Nothing works. No marker layer is generated. Script seems to stop after a few steps. It duplicates and shys layers and then adjusts the scale on the top layer and that's it.
Just updated these and attempted to use in Ae 2023. Nothing works. No marker layer is generated. Script seems to stop after a few steps. It duplicates and shys layers and then adjusts the scale on the top layer and that's it.
Hey Aaron...it should work. Please open a support ticket and we'll figure it out. If you can send us a screen capture that shows the problem that would help.
Hey Tristan-
Thats awesome work!
I'm glad you discovered that combining the two is the way to go. We've heard a few comments that LayerMonkey is better than TypeMonkey, but projects like yours go a long way in proving our point, they both do good things, but different. Smart integration is key to making these monkeys sing. In your case, the LM camera moves were better that TM...
Would you mind if I post this to our product page?
it bugs me that your logo has a chimpanzee in it, but it's called typemonkey. Chimpanzees are not monkeys.
Monkeys have tails.
Anyway, love typemonkey, not sure about layer monkey but I have a feeling I better check that out.
anyway, onward, I watched the video and yea i do get it. i really like that videos are triggered to play when they come in, this is going to be very useful.
Definitely getting it.
Merry Christmas!
Hi Guy's,
I bought both Type and Layer monkey before Christmas, will I receive Monkey Tools also or is it being shifted with
later purchases?
Mike
Hi Orrin,
Thanks for getting back to me so promptly. I have just discovered it and have now installed it.
Very happy with the Monkey by the way great job.
happy new year to yourself and Dan
Take care
Mike
Or is each layer full screen and they just transition at the markers...like any normal edit?
Let me know...
oz