In my last post I talked about adding project and scene information to our timestamp script. We’ve covered using system.callSystem() as a gateway to information outside of After Effects. This time we are going to use After Effects built in Socket object to dynamically populate a DropDown list for our script. We’ll also pull JSON out of our old bag of tricks.
Archive for Intermediate
MOVING BETWEEN FINAL CUT PRO AND AFTER EFFECTS: THE SCRIPTING OPTION
With the release of Automatic Duck as a free product there really isn’t a great reason to use this script except as an example of XML parsing and Comp creation from parsed properties. For general FCP to AE workflows I’d recommend downloading Automatic Duck Pro Import AE 5.0. Depending on what happens with FCPX I may write new tools for import from FCPX to AE.
Update 04.17.2007
I’ve posted a small application and tutorial at Final Cut Pro to After Effects Scripting without the hassle for those that find the scripting presented here a little daunting. The following article covers the steps and ideas encapsulated in the application if you’re more interested in the process for learning to script After Effects and Final Cut Pro yourself.
I work a lot in Final Cut Pro and After Effects. They are both really strong programs and more than once I’ve had reason to move projects, art, text, etc. between the two programs.
Until recently, the only option you had to do this kind of interchange was a product called Automatic Duck (which I highly recommend btw) and in previous versions you still had to use Avid’s interchange format and jump through a few hoops to move between the programs.
Now with Final Cut XML and more robust scripting available in After Effects you can finally flow between the two programs with relative ease. In this first installment, I’ll outline a simple workflow for getting clips in a FCP sequence into a AE project. In future posts I’ll go over text elements, filters, generator items etc., but all of these follow the same general development cycle and will just be elaborations on a theme.