hello everybody!
I am beginning with animate studio but that will not stop me hehehe!!
I'm going to make a short film animated that will be showing in the movie theaters and hopefully in the tv networks as well, and I think use Anime Studio for the character animation and After Effects for background, effects..compositing..so I'm wondering is someone could help me with this and give me some tips for make those programs work well together and the best setting for this project
:oops:I will try myself to explain better .. This short animated I think to develop with friends who are employed at different areas, some from 3d max others from Anime Studio and those who are going to work from After Effects.
We are very humble in fact we know that still we need much to cross in this path of the animation but we have the initiative of which this becomes reality.
I still not had the opportunity to work much with AS for that reason I ask myself if there will be some problem with the compatibility in the exit of the videos, because in this forum I found some tips that they spoke about AS only work with square and nonrectangular pixels and they did not recommend to put format NTSC of 720x486 because It would be deformed..and well evidently it is the first time that I am going to participate in something so great and was looking for simply an advice on the ideal format for this work.
Don't know where you got that "information" from. We work happily in AS with all possible dimensions and formats and import our work back and forth to other applications without trouble. I still have the feeling that you're lost in technical minutiae, instead of concentrating of a story and a design.
Well, I'm old fat and lazy as well (and probably older AND fatter -- can't speak to the lazy per se) but I'll at least give the first response a shot.
I think you're asking what settings to use in AS for outputting. That totally depends on the final format of your project. AS can output in the same formats that Max (which I used for decades) and After Effects (which I still use).
So your REAL question is: what format do I need this project to be in? And that really depends on both your final intentions as well as the capabilities you have. Ideally, nowadays, you'd output in widescreen hi-def (and even there you have several different formats to choose from, such as 720 and 1080, both interlaced and progressive). That also assumes you have the ability to put your final product on some media that can display it (for example, if you need to play it in a DVD player you will need a Blu-ray burner).
If you are going to deliver it (either in person or electronically) then you could use an external hard drive large enough to store your project (typically blu-ray resolution is going to be around 30GB of space but remember that's 30GB of *condensed* or converted space -- the actually project raw files will be up to 10 or 20 times that amount).
If HD isn't possible for you then you still need to decide whether you want to do it widescreen or not. I use 854 x 480 in AS to get widescreen the way I want it, at "normal" NTSC DVD resolution. This works in Max, it works in After Effects, it works anywhere (because it's a *standard* -- that's the way graphics programs work, they output the same in each or they wouldn't be very good). Neither of the NTSC presets work for me well (they are actually too large in the height dimension) but that's just me -- for some folks they like them just fine. This works for me as it delivers the right pixel resolution for doing a widescreen NTSC project if I bring the raw files into After Effects or Adobe Premiere, which I think is what you are asking. But if you want HD or are not doing widecreen (or ar doing Pal) then your settings will be different.
So, to recap -- first decide your project delivery, then decide your resolution. You'll be good to go.
If I understand correctly, it sounds like you're worried about any possible issues relating to pixel dimensions. Content rendered from AS will be composed of square pixels. Unlike computer monitors, though, the pixels on an NTSC television are slightly elongated. Hence, if you render out your AS animation using the standard NTSC resolution (720x486), the picture ratio will be slightly off from the 4:3 screen ratio of a standard definition television. Rendering those square pixels as elongated NTSC pixels will result in the proper ratio, but will also leave the image stretched a bit.
This is why the NTSC preset in AS is set for 720x540 pixels instead of 720x486 or 720x480. If standard definition NTSC is your ultimate format, you should be fine with the 720x540 preset.
I wouldn't expect a high-end piece of software like AfterEffects to choke up just because you gave it a file with square pixels. The only possible issue I can think of (having never used AfterEffects, mind you) is that you might have to make sure the project settings in AfterEffects match up with that of your AS video, i.e. 720x540 square pixels.
Ultimately, you should be able to convert that 720x540 square pixel video to an NTSC 720x486 elongated pixel video.
Of course, I'm strictly an amateur, but I'm sure someone here can correct me if any of my information is wrong.
slowtiger wrote:Don't know where you got that "information" from. We work happily in AS with all possible dimensions and formats and import our work back and forth to other applications without trouble....
I found this information within this forum specifically on FAQ-What output resolution to use-I copy a piece for you that says:
lost Marble wrote:Below are the actual resolutions of TV screens. Do not use these resolutions in Moho. NTSC and PAL TV signals use rectangular pixels, and if you use these resolutions, your animation will appear distorted on TV. These are listed for your information, not to be used directly in Moho:
mkelley wrote:..I think you're asking what settings to use in AS for outputting. That totally depends on the final format of your project. AS can output in the same formats that Max (which I used for decades) and After Effects (which I still use).
So your REAL question is: what format do I need this project to be in? ...
arthbard wrote:If I understand correctly, it sounds like you're worried about any possible issues relating to pixel dimensions. Content rendered from AS will be composed of square pixels. Unlike computer monitors, though, the pixels on an NTSC television are slightly elongated. Hence, if you render out your AS animation using the standard NTSC resolution (720x486), the picture ratio will be slightly off from the 4:3 screen ratio of a standard definition television. Rendering those square pixels as elongated NTSC pixels will result in the proper ratio, but will also leave the image stretched a bit.
Thank you for your answers this is exactly what I was trying to ask mkelley am very grateful for your comments just as with Mr arthbard doubtless imagine that my questions are a bit difficult to understand because really do not speak English very well and perhaps it is more difficult for me when writing it, so once again thanks
hello everybody! 
