I added a Fractal Noise to a black solid in After Effects, added a CC Radial Fast Blur and a slight curves adjustment. I then set an expression for the evolution: time*value, replacing value with your preferred value.
A second layer on top of that with another Fractal Noise effect with a slightly reduced CC Radial Fast Blur, with the layer set to Overlay, also added an expression for the evolution: time*value, replacing value with your preferred value.
I then put an adjustment layer over those two and added a twirl with an angle of +8 and a radius of 50.
I then put another adjustment layer over that and added another curves adjustment and used VideoCopilot's Color Vibrance plugin to color it.
It should come out similar to this:
Then, in 3ds max, I created an object like this, simply a plane using the soft selection to pull out the center and added a slight bend modifier (with a value of -35.0) added to it:
I'm sure there is a way to create this with a lower poly version.
Then applied the texture to it, in the diffuse and opacity slots.
I duplicated that object and slightly increased the size and copied the first material into a second slot and offset the time a little, so they weren't playing the same frame at the same time.
Once I rendered it out, I added a wiggle expression to the layer's position values in AE.
I was trying to base the shape on what I saw in the vfx reel from ILM:
It appears straight out without the curve, but I couldn't get the apparent curve that is present in the ILM version, so that's why I added the bend modifier.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB 1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD 32 GB RAM Windows 11 Pro
The next thing I hope to do is figure out how to best go about creating the many particle trails when the ship goes to warp.
I was actually thinking about trying a particle trail warp type effect one of these days. I've seen some people use that free plugin Ky_Trail to do some cool stuff. Might be worth a look. Let me know if you come up with something cool and I'll do the same.
I was actually thinking about trying a particle trail warp type effect one of these days. I've seen some people use that free plugin Ky_Trail to do some cool stuff. Might be worth a look. Let me know if you come up with something cool and I'll do the same.
Yea, Ky_Trail is a great plugin, and the Pro version is even more amazing.
Will do.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB 1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD 32 GB RAM Windows 11 Pro
I love how fluid the movements are. The speed is great too. When watching other peoples animations they are jerky and a little too fast then the original scene.
I might go back to PNG sequences... while the reduced chaos of files OpenEXR brings, their performance in After Effects leave much to be desired, unless it's the settings I use, which are the default OpenEXR settings out of 3ds max.
I love how fluid the movements are. The speed is great too. When watching other peoples animations they are jerky and a little too fast then the original scene.
Thanks. I try to keep the motion very close to the original shot by looking at where the ship is at, at the beginning and end of a particular shot, so that the motion is almost perfect.
Sometimes I do motion track steadier shots, which brings even more accuracy, in regards to speed. However, I don't think I've used motion tracking for any of the shots in my AGT project, except when the Pasteur makes that "dive" downward toward the camera.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB 1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD 32 GB RAM Windows 11 Pro
Problems you may have with EXR format are perhaps due to the increased file size resulting in slower read times than the smaller PNG files. I haven't personally noticed any issues with EXR (at least compared to the main bottleneck of the effects themselves). I just use 16 bit float, and whatever the default compression method is. I believe those are both default settings for EXR in Max though.
Problems you may have with EXR format are perhaps due to the increased file size resulting in slower read times than the smaller PNG files. I haven't personally noticed any issues with EXR (at least compared to the main bottleneck of the effects themselves). I just use 16 bit float, and whatever the default compression method is. I believe those are both default settings for EXR in Max though.
The EXR files in many cases are only slightly larger than PNG's, considering the amount of passes many of them have.
Yea, whatever Max has set when you save out to EXR is what I use, but the performance in AE is abysmal compared to PNGs.
So I'm not sure what the reason is. lol.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB 1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD 32 GB RAM Windows 11 Pro
Maybe it's the extra channels slowing it down? I don't use any extra channels within the EXR files (besides RGBA), I still save them as separate files as I would for PNG, and I can't say I've ever noticed EXR being any slower, at least enough to notice or for it to become a problem. Try a sequence with no extra channels to compare.
Maybe it's the extra channels slowing it down? I don't use any extra channels within the EXR files (besides RGBA), I still save them as separate files as I would for PNG, and I can't say I've ever noticed EXR being any slower, at least enough to notice or for it to become a problem. Try a sequence with no extra channels to compare.
Alrighty. I will.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB 1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD 32 GB RAM Windows 11 Pro
Very cool work, man. Have you ever considered softening your renders and adding effects to them to make them seem more photographic? The image is ultra sharp, much sharper than even the remastered TNG stuff. The colors are also ultra vivid and saturated. Perhaps some slightly desaturated colors, softness, and film grain might help? Up to you of course.
Very cool work, man. Have you ever considered softening your renders and adding effects to them to make them seem more photographic? The image is ultra sharp, much sharper than even the remastered TNG stuff. The colors are also ultra vivid and saturated. Perhaps some slightly desaturated colors, softness, and film grain might help? Up to you of course.
Thanks.
I've used some softer filters in 3ds max, but it always looks too blurry, lol. I usually try to add at least a 1 pixel blur in AE.
I can bring the saturation, by how much would you say?
There is film grain, YouTube's compression might not make it noticeable.
Remastered shot:
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB 1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD 32 GB RAM Windows 11 Pro
Based on what PixelMagic mentioned, the only major differences I see between the two pictures is the heavier contrast and slightly more exaggerated motion blur on the remastered shot. I would try adding just a very minor amount of contrast, but that's really just preference as it looks great either way!
You say you are doing a 1 pixel blur? Doesn't look too soft. The area around the Enterprise neck looks sharp in that frame grab. The rest is motion blurred so it's hard to say. The film grain is noticeable there, but yeah, YouTube must be compressing it out.
As to the saturation, I'm only talking about lowering it a touch. Very little. Your colors just really pop right now, unnaturally so. One plug-in that has helped me with this problem is FilmConvert. I run my final shots through it and it adds a subtle film stock look which reigns the colors back to a natural tone and hue. This is especially helpful on fire elements I render with Fume.
Of course, what I'm saying is a minor nitpick, it's a beautiful render. Are you doing your motion blur in AE on the ships using vector passes? I think you said once you did that.
You say you are doing a 1 pixel blur? Doesn't look too soft. The area around the Enterprise neck looks sharp in that frame grab. The rest is motion blurred so it's hard to say. The film grain is noticeable there, but yeah, YouTube must be compressing it out.
As to the saturation, I'm only talking about lowering it a touch. Very little. Your colors just really pop right now, unnaturally so. One plug-in that has helped me with this problem is FilmConvert. I run my final shots through it and it adds a subtle film stock look which reigns the colors back to a natural tone and hue. This is especially helpful on fire elements I render with Fume.
Of course, what I'm saying is a minor nitpick, it's a beautiful render. Are you doing your motion blur in AE on the ships using vector passes? I think you said once you did that.
Yea, most of the time, I try to add a 1 pixel blur. Before in 3ds max I tried the NTSC filter which made the images too blurry, so I decided to add the blur in AE instead.
I'll look into that FilmConvert, what are the limitations of the trial, do you know?
Thanks. Yes, I use vector passes. I used to use motion blur in 3ds max, but it didn't really turn out the results I liked.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB 1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD 32 GB RAM Windows 11 Pro
If you are working in a Linearized workspace in After Effects (which you should be for physical correctness) then you will have to sandwich Filmconvert between two Color Profile Converters to get the correct results. Otherwise Filmconvert will look washed out because it's not designed to work in Linear. This is the work around. You will convert your final precomp using an Adjustment layer over everything to SRGB and back to Linear by sandwiching the layers like this on your adjustment layer...
The highlighted green areas are what you need to change for proper color conversions to round trip it from Linear>SRGB>Linear. The red highlight is just to show were to adjust film grain. Adjusting film grain is basically the only control I touch in Filmconvert. I leave everything else alone usually.
If you are working in a Linearized workspace in After Effects (which you should be for physical correctness) then you will have to sandwich Filmconvert between two Color Profile Converters to get the correct results. Otherwise Filmconvert will look washed out because it's not designed to work in Linear. This is the work around. You will convert your final precomp using an Adjustment layer over everything to SRGB and back to Linear by sandwiching the layers like this on your adjustment layer...
The highlighted green areas are what you need to change for proper color conversions to round trip it from Linear>SRGB>Linear. The red highlight is just to show were to adjust film grain. Adjusting film grain is basically the only control I touch in Filmconvert. I leave everything else alone usually.
Unfortunately, all of these renders aren't rendered out of max to be used linearly in AE.
I usually turn off the Gamma Correction in Max right after I install it. xD
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB 1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD 32 GB RAM Windows 11 Pro
I've watched your video regarding it. I've just never figured out how to properly set it up in Max, lol.
It's really quite easy. Tutorials just over complicate the explanations of it. These days Max pretty much handles it for you anyway. Hit me up via email or PM sometime, or we could do a Google Hangouts and I can explain it to you and show you how to set it up.
It's really quite easy. Tutorials just over complicate the explanations of it. These days Max pretty much handles it for you anyway. Hit me up via email or PM sometime, or we could do a Google Hangouts and I can explain it to you and show you how to set it up.
Alrighty.
Well, I'm gonna finish this current project as is, to maintain consistency. I'll start using linear workspace in the next project.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB 1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD 32 GB RAM Windows 11 Pro
Definitely take the time to learn Linear. Your renderer works in linear colour space, regardless of what you feed it. That means if you are feeding it non-linear elements, you will be getting incorrect results straight out of the renderer (this is how it was for basically everyone for years, until a few guys twigged and spread the word... the differences between having a proper linear setup and not can be staggering). Ideally, you want to be saving your frames in a format like EXR as well, so that you retain your renderer's native 32 bpc linear output. No point destroying information *before* you do your post processing!
Word of warning: Yes, it will screw with all of your lighting setups. This is because if you're not working in linear right now, your current lighting setups are basically wrong.
Posts
I added a Fractal Noise to a black solid in After Effects, added a CC Radial Fast Blur and a slight curves adjustment. I then set an expression for the evolution: time*value, replacing value with your preferred value.
A second layer on top of that with another Fractal Noise effect with a slightly reduced CC Radial Fast Blur, with the layer set to Overlay, also added an expression for the evolution: time*value, replacing value with your preferred value.
I then put an adjustment layer over those two and added a twirl with an angle of +8 and a radius of 50.
I then put another adjustment layer over that and added another curves adjustment and used VideoCopilot's Color Vibrance plugin to color it.
It should come out similar to this:
Then, in 3ds max, I created an object like this, simply a plane using the soft selection to pull out the center and added a slight bend modifier (with a value of -35.0) added to it:
I'm sure there is a way to create this with a lower poly version.
Then applied the texture to it, in the diffuse and opacity slots.
I duplicated that object and slightly increased the size and copied the first material into a second slot and offset the time a little, so they weren't playing the same frame at the same time.
Once I rendered it out, I added a wiggle expression to the layer's position values in AE.
I was trying to base the shape on what I saw in the vfx reel from ILM:
It appears straight out without the curve, but I couldn't get the apparent curve that is present in the ILM version, so that's why I added the bend modifier.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
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No problem.
The next thing I hope to do is figure out how to best go about creating the many particle trails when the ship goes to warp.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
I was actually thinking about trying a particle trail warp type effect one of these days. I've seen some people use that free plugin Ky_Trail to do some cool stuff. Might be worth a look. Let me know if you come up with something cool and I'll do the same.
Yea, Ky_Trail is a great plugin, and the Pro version is even more amazing.
Will do.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
Chugging along...
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
Thanks. I try to keep the motion very close to the original shot by looking at where the ship is at, at the beginning and end of a particular shot, so that the motion is almost perfect.
Sometimes I do motion track steadier shots, which brings even more accuracy, in regards to speed. However, I don't think I've used motion tracking for any of the shots in my AGT project, except when the Pasteur makes that "dive" downward toward the camera.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
The EXR files in many cases are only slightly larger than PNG's, considering the amount of passes many of them have.
Yea, whatever Max has set when you save out to EXR is what I use, but the performance in AE is abysmal compared to PNGs.
So I'm not sure what the reason is. lol.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
Maybe it's the extra channels slowing it down? I don't use any extra channels within the EXR files (besides RGBA), I still save them as separate files as I would for PNG, and I can't say I've ever noticed EXR being any slower, at least enough to notice or for it to become a problem. Try a sequence with no extra channels to compare.
Alrighty. I will.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
Got a little sick, so I'm a little slower... but doing what I can.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
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Created based on a tutorial by Tomaya.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
Over the cold, more or less, so I'm picking the pace back up.
Further thanks to JMoney for creating the refit Enterprise's red pinstripe nacelle design.
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I modified the phasers a little bit, I think they look better now.
Now onto the big exploding finale.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
Thanks.
I've used some softer filters in 3ds max, but it always looks too blurry, lol. I usually try to add at least a 1 pixel blur in AE.
I can bring the saturation, by how much would you say?
There is film grain, YouTube's compression might not make it noticeable.
Remastered shot:
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
Based on what PixelMagic mentioned, the only major differences I see between the two pictures is the heavier contrast and slightly more exaggerated motion blur on the remastered shot. I would try adding just a very minor amount of contrast, but that's really just preference as it looks great either way!
As to the saturation, I'm only talking about lowering it a touch. Very little. Your colors just really pop right now, unnaturally so. One plug-in that has helped me with this problem is FilmConvert. I run my final shots through it and it adds a subtle film stock look which reigns the colors back to a natural tone and hue. This is especially helpful on fire elements I render with Fume.
Of course, what I'm saying is a minor nitpick, it's a beautiful render. Are you doing your motion blur in AE on the ships using vector passes? I think you said once you did that.
Yea, most of the time, I try to add a 1 pixel blur. Before in 3ds max I tried the NTSC filter which made the images too blurry, so I decided to add the blur in AE instead.
I'll look into that FilmConvert, what are the limitations of the trial, do you know?
Thanks. Yes, I use vector passes. I used to use motion blur in 3ds max, but it didn't really turn out the results I liked.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
Alrighty. Thanks.
I downloaded the demo, it's a little confusing... there are film presets, etc.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
The highlighted green areas are what you need to change for proper color conversions to round trip it from Linear>SRGB>Linear. The red highlight is just to show were to adjust film grain. Adjusting film grain is basically the only control I touch in Filmconvert. I leave everything else alone usually.
Unfortunately, all of these renders aren't rendered out of max to be used linearly in AE.
I usually turn off the Gamma Correction in Max right after I install it. xD
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
Oh no!
I've watched your video regarding it. I've just never figured out how to properly set it up in Max, lol.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
It's really quite easy. Tutorials just over complicate the explanations of it. These days Max pretty much handles it for you anyway. Hit me up via email or PM sometime, or we could do a Google Hangouts and I can explain it to you and show you how to set it up.
Alrighty.
Well, I'm gonna finish this current project as is, to maintain consistency. I'll start using linear workspace in the next project.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
Word of warning: Yes, it will screw with all of your lighting setups. This is because if you're not working in linear right now, your current lighting setups are basically wrong.