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1. Re: replacements for plugins
Mylenium May 6, 2011 12:21 AM (in response to IsleofGough)or sapphire lightrays?
One comes with AE already - CC Lightburst. Other than that obviously the infamous Trapcode Shine. I don't think you'll find any 3D alternative, but you may be able to use Freeform's displacement for some stuff (also comes with AE these days) and if you have a current version of Photoshop also to some degree use its 3D abilities to import simple extrusions in AE and animate them there - within the limitations of the process. On the other hand, you could always learn a 3D program. Blender is free, Cheetah 3D is a steal at 99 bucks and even Cinema 4D Prime is not that expensive and will pay itself after a couple of jobs...
Mylenium
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2. Re: replacements for plugins
Andrew Yoole May 6, 2011 12:57 AM (in response to IsleofGough)I'm an advocate of Zaxwerk's 3D Invigorator, I find it invaluable for quick 3D stuff.
Now's a good time to buy 3D Invigorator if you're going to do it. NAB discount applies until May 15.
Invigorator Classic is $299, Pro is $349. The Pro version has recently been completely revamped and is very impressive.
Not sure about using it as far back as AE5.5. I suspect if you email Zaxwerks direct they'd provide legacy versions of the product to a licensed user.
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3. Re: replacements for plugins
IsleofGough May 6, 2011 7:25 AM (in response to Andrew Yoole)Thank you for the suggestions. I downloaded and paid for Shine and it works great (but I had to move the plugin from its default directory to get it to work correctly in AE CS5.5. BTW, I meant to say AE CS5.5, not AE5.5. Thanks.
I do most of my video from clips done in Softimage (and have used C4D extensively in the past). When I really care about true 3D, it is worth the work, but for quick 3D logos, invigorator is quicker and allows me to do 2D compositing without having to leave AE. Unfortunately the NAB discount will not help much in an upgrade from an older version of invigorator, as the company hasn't come out with a MAC version for CS5.5 yet. The environmental maps to simulate gold material are faster than reflections in a true 3D program and look good.
C4D is actually a bit easier than Softimage for logo extrudes, but invigorator has several presets for edges that is easier than either. To create a gold effect in either, one needs to add an environmental map and put some image on this, increase reflectivity and add some lights. To create a god ray effect, one has to add volumetric lighting, and this will take a bit of time to get right. I much prefer Softimage to Maya or C4D for modeling, and this requires a restart to Softimage in Bootcamp. It is just easier to do this in a 2D program like AE with plugins.




