ANIMATE as a compositing program!

It didn't take long for Animate to become my animation program of choice. But recently I had the need to work in Flash once again due to the character reference I was provided being in .eps format.

The problem with Flash for me is that (a) there is no camera, so the pans and camera moves can be jerky, (b) the effects don't export reliably and (c) exporting as a high quality Quicktime is impossible.

So following on from the previous post, I exported my animation as .swfs (Don't forget to set your version to Flash 4 or 5 in the swf export pop-up) and then imported them into Animate where I applied effects and camera moves.

The only restriction I can see is that any tints you my use in Flash won't be there when the swf has been imported into animate.

Importing swfs From Flash Into Animate

While it is great that Animate can import and work with swfs created in Flash, I've noticed that it is sometimes hit or miss; sometimes they import - sometimes they don't.

I've just discovered a fix for this if you are using a version of Flash post-Flash 5 (I am using Flash 8). When you export a swf, in the export pop up box go to VERSION and set to either Flash 4 or Flash 5.

That will do it!

Another effect in Animate

Very simple - just changed the BRIGHTNESS and CONTRAST valus over the timeline

Invert Matte Step by Step

In response to Alex and Dee, here's the breakdown on how to apply the invert matte in the Glow FX to add an 'explosive' effect. Apply the following to your already existing scene set-up

Step 1. Create a new drawing layer ABOVE everything you want to affect and draw something. Anything - a brush stroke outside the camera view area will work. Add a GLOW effect to this new layer.

Step 2. Click on the GLOW layer to bring up the layer properties panel. make your blur RADIAL and make your Blur Radius 2 or 3. Tick 'Invert Matte'

Step 3. In the same panel play around with the color values, and push the alpha to a value of 255 for maximum effect (it's actually best to do this with the scene in render view, so you can see what you are doing, and how the effect is working)

Also - create keyframes to change the color values in the timeline for a 'flashing' explosive effect

And that's it. You can also us this process with the SHADOW effect layer to tint your entire scene

The Invert Matte: My New Best Friend!

One great feature the Glow and Shadow effects in Animate possess, is the INVERT MATTE option. I've been using it in a couple of different ways...

Frame with regular Glow effect

The same frame below, with a new Glow effect layer and Invert Matte ticked. It's great for explosions!

Below - and again with the color values changed

The effect can also be used to blend a character with it's background color...

Below is a frame with the Invert Matte Shadow layer beneath the character in the timeline. Only the background is affected

And below the same frame with the Invert Matte layer above the character layer. See how it blends both the character and the background with the same color values?

Just an overview to show what is possible...Email me for a step by step walk through!

More Multiplane

Finally getting the blur/pull focus effects happening in the timeline

Bostie Boys - Scene 3 from Eddie Mort on Vimeo.

More Bostie Boys Animation

Bostie Boys - scene 29A from Eddie Mort on Vimeo.

Everything here was done in Animate, and is a good example how the blur filters and camera can really lift a scene. The mast and rope in the foreground give a sense of depth courtesy of the multiplane camera; just a slight truck in really helps. The bathtub animation is a re-use from a previous post; I created a template of the animation in a previous scene, then assigned all the layers to a PEG so I could motion tween.