|
|
|
|
How to do some of those complicated effects you've been dreaming about
|
A Six-Sided Cube
Using three Transform Engines and "Easy Cube" mode, you can create a Cube with a different image on each of its six faces.
For a cube, each face needs to be a square. Use "Crop" on each TE. Numbers will be different depending on whether you are operating in 16:9 or 4:3. It's essential to construct geometric shapes "by the numbers".
| Crop |
16:9 |
4:3 |
| Top |
9 |
3 |
| Bottom |
-9 |
-3 |
| Left |
-9 |
-3 |
| Right |
9 |
3 |
Centre all three TEs. (I'm assuming M/E 1, Keyers 1,2 & 3.)
- In the Transform menu, turn on "Easy Cube" for each TE. This will cause each channel to "jump" to the opposite face as the cube is rotated in 3-D space. Also turn on "Global" for each TE. All movement of the cube will be done by moving the Global channel.
- In the Transform Subpanel, delegate "M/E 1 | Keyer 2 | Keyer T-Form | Src Space | Rot". Press [X] and enter an "sRotX" value of "-.25". This rotates Keyer 2 to be the left side.
- Delegate "M/E 1 | Keyer 3 | Keyer T-Form | Src Space | Rot". Press [Y] and enter an "sRotY" value of ".25". This rotates Keyer 3 to be the top side.
- Delegate All three Keyers, then select "Loc 3D" as the function. Press [Z] and enter "3" (for a 4:3 world) or "9" (for a 16:9 world). This moves each channel away from the centre of the cube by the exact distance from the centre of each side to the crop edge.
- If you want a visual example of what this step does, delegate "Global Ch" in the Transform subpanel instead of the individual Keyers. In "Rot" mode, rotate the Global channel slightly to the left and slightly towards the top. You should see your three Keyers intersecting at a central point. Now delegate the three Keyers and select [Loc 3D]. Twist the joystick's "Z" axis to slowly move the three sides away from the centre. Since you are in "Source" space, each channel is moving towards its own "front"; with each channel facing a different direction, they move towards their final position. If you move further along the Z-axis than 3 (or 9), the cube will have gaps between the faces.
- The cube is manipulated by Transforming the Global channel, with [Spin] being a good example.
- Finally, to put a different image on opposite faces, hold down the "Far Side" modifier for the M/E, and select the Source you want seen for the "other side" of each Keyer. The Keyer will switch Sources as the TE flips between the back and the front.
Note that you might prefer to turn off Source Memory, as otherwise keying Modes etc may change when sources change, disrupting your effect.
For an interesting variation, each face could have a border.
For an even more interesting variation (but without the border), key each face as a Preset Pattern, but make the pattern a Soft-Edge circle with a very large white border, inverted, aspected and rotating to make the merest hint of a white shading appear over each face. This will give the illusion of a light source as the Cube rotates.
|
| |