Will AE affect my original video footage?

M

Mickey Munday

Well-known member
dumb question, but i just got AE CS3 and played around with it but didnt save my work because i didnt know if it would affect my original video footage?

thanks in advanced....first time dealing with a program like this.
 
Nope, your original footage remains intact. AE keeps all the changes within the program until you export your finished composition using the Render Queue (Ctrl + M). The only way you'd change your original footage is if you exported from AE with the same name and filetype as the original footage, but that's a "duh" situation.
 
something I will interject here–

When making graphics in AE, say, lower 3rd straps, you will usually bring your footage in to check placement, color, etc. DON'T export it with the footage in the BG if you don't have to. Turn off the footage layer, add an alpha channel to the export of your graphic and drop it in your NLE over your clip. I seem to recall that exporting video in and out of AE will soften it just a skosh.
 
i've heard that also. i'm using final cut pro. i don't have automatic duck (dont know much about it either except everybody says to get it).

if i edit my video in FCP and add effects in AE is it that big of a difference when exporting video footage?

i'm at work now and cant try it until i get home tonight.
 
If you get the settings correct, the composites you export from AE should match you originals very well. I have intercut AE exports and originals seemlessly before, so it IS possible. I haven't done it extensively, so I don't know what the 'limits' might be. It is still good practice to export graphics with alpha instead of footage, as it gives more flexibility in the editor.

Automatic Duck, if I remember correctly, will translate your timeline in FCP, Avid, etc. into a timeline in AE, so you can change the timing of cuts, effects, etc. all within AE without having to go back to the editor to make changes. It can be very useful for certain workflows, but isn't 'required'.
 
The only reason you should be losing quality bringing footage in and out of AE would be because you've improperly set your footage interpretation, outputs, or are re-compressing footage. I'm not aware of any magic bug in AE that lowers quality compared to your originals. Sounds like user error to me.
 
then you probably aren't exporting uncompressed, or you are importing compressed.
 
Ah, well, that sounds like it's probably a color space issue. Most likely you're importing YUV footage and then exporting it RGB. Color shift, while probably not desirable, is not the same thing as quality loss, however.
 
dougspice said:
Ah, well, that sounds like it's probably a color space issue. Most likely you're importing YUV footage and then exporting it RGB. Color shift, while probably not desirable, is not the same thing as quality loss, however.
Click to expand...

i'm getting this color shift problem also. what is YUV footage? i imported a quicktime file of something i edited in FCP and when i eport it there is no quality loss but everything looks darker. what should i adjust when exporting??
 
no i'm on a mac and importing quicktime files into AECS3 and then making little graphics, text animations, etc and then exporting it out. is there something i am overlooking or need to check?

arges03 said:
When making graphics in AE, say, lower 3rd straps, you will usually bring your footage in to check placement, color, etc. DON'T export it with the footage in the BG if you don't have to. Turn off the footage layer, add an alpha channel to the export of your graphic and drop it in your NLE over your clip. I seem to recall that exporting video in and out of AE will soften it just a skosh.
Click to expand...

i will need to know how to do this also....but when exporting, do i select alpha+rgb inside the video output section in the render que?? also after doing this, if i drop my AE animations above my video footage in FCP will i be able to see my footage in the background? (i.e. like when you create text animations or lower 3rds in motion and import it into FCP)

i have a short movie where i need to add blood hits and muzzle flashes and other misc things but don't want to have to export the entire movie from AE - just the actual graphic work.
 
arges03 said:
something I will interject here–

When making graphics in AE, say, lower 3rd straps, you will usually bring your footage in to check placement, color, etc. DON'T export it with the footage in the BG if you don't have to. Turn off the footage layer, add an alpha channel to the export of your graphic and drop it in your NLE over your clip.
Click to expand...

arges have you actually done this? i've tried it a few times and it doesn't work. there's a black background on the quicktime file exported out of AE even with the alpha+rgb option selected.
 
make sure that when you import your alpha quicktime into your editor you tell the editor to look for alpha. I know that on Avid there is a selection for how to deal with alpha channels on imported files.
 
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