SpiceMaster Help -- Adobe After Effects
Welcome! This help guide holds everything you need to know about Pixelan Software's SpiceMaster. This help guide includes basic info, tutorials, and tips. To access this help while using SpiceMaster, click FxHelp button at the top of the SpiceMaster.
Contents
How to Apply SpiceMaster Plugin
SpiceMaster is applied like any plugin effect in Adobe After Effects. Simply drag-and-drop it on a timeline layer, from the Pixelan folder of the Effects and Presets panel of After Effects. SpiceMaster interface will appear in the Effect Controls panel of After Effects. See below for the basic steps to using this plugin. In a few minutes of seeing the below and then experimenting with the SpiceMaster plugin, you will have much of the creative power of SpiceMaster at hand for your projects.
Basics Within SpiceMaster
Single-Layer Transition:
(1) Set the transition's progress over time, using the Progress control. A typical linear transition is 100 to 0 at a layer's head, or 0 to 100 at the tall. To ease-In/out or hold the transition, add additional keyframes or select a handy preset in the Progress Presets menu. Presets say "HEAD" or TAIL" to indicate which side they are most appropriate for.
(2) Click Click here to load a preset... to visually choose from hundreds of pre-made transitions (plus saved favorites) in an animated Effects Browser window. Take a look at the SpiceMaster Presets section below to see which presets are most appropriate for single-layer transitions. Click Recent to quickly load a recently used preset. Click Menu to quickly load an effect via a pop-up menu. Or Open for standard Open dialog box.
Transition Between Two Layers:
If None is selected in the Layer menu, some features are not available and some presets will look complete only when applied between two layers. To create a transition between two layers choose which layer you are dissolving to or from, using the Layer menu, then proceed with steps 1-2. It can be any layer in the comp; Its Video switch can even be off. Pre-compose the layer at first if necessary*.
To create a new effect or modify a preset, do the steps below...
(3) Click the large Choose Spice File button to open a Spice Library window and visually choose/compare from 1000+ spices. Choosing a "spice" file is a key step to applying SpiceMaster. Then you can adjust it several ways, such as flipping or reversing the effect, moving it to a new position, or putting it in motion.
(4) If needed, expand other sections of the SpiceMaster plugin to fine-tune further. For detailed help per control, see below on this web page.
You’re done! To save your new/modified look in our large visual Effects Browser for easy future re-use, click the Save button.
COOL TIP: To save time positioning section preset keys where two AE layers overlap: Make sure the Layer control in SpiceMaster is set to your overlapping layer (i.e. the other half of the transition), then choose a Progress preset within SpiceMaster. The Progress keys will automatically be placed in just the overlap. Thereafter, you can choose any other section preset and its keys will likewise be correctly placed within the Progress keys. To temporary turn off this feature, Cmd-click a section preset.
COOL TIP: To organically animate/flow any other effect(s) applied to a SINGLE clip -- such as blurs, color changes, tonal changes, or third-party video effects plugins -- set the Layer control to the same layer SpiceMaster is in and make sure "Source" is selected in Input Parameter menu to the right of the layer selection. That' is how you can easily reveal or fade video effects in a way that relates visually to your scene's content rather than the standard approach of ramping a video effect's strength uniformly over an image.
You’re done! To save the custom SpiceMaster transition you've created for future use, click the Save button. A
standard Save dialog will appear. We recommend saving in the "My Favorites" subfolder provided.
* It may be necessary to pre-compose the second or both input layer(s) before applying SpiceMaster if they have differentt sizes/positions, are text or 3D layers.
SpiceMaster has four types of presets -- Effects Browser presets, Spice Library presets, Section presets and AE Animation presets.
Effects Browser presets
This is the most powerful and visual way to access presets and is where HUNDREDS of transition presets are located. Click the Click here to load a preset... button at the top of SpiceMaster to open a wonderful large Effects Browser window to visually choose/compare from over 200 pre-made presets (including those you have made and saved for future re-use). To explore presets, click a folder in the left pane, then click a thumbnail image to see animated preview. Double-click to apply. To save your own custom presets in the Effects Browser, use SpiceMaster controls to set up the desired look, then click the Save button in the main SpiceMaster control area.
Time-saving tips to load presets faster:
The Effects Browser is fast, but sometimes you may already know which preset you want to use, such as when you are applying the same preset repeatedly in a project. In that situation, selecting a preset by one of the following methods can be faster...
To see recently chosen Effects Browser presets, click the Recent button. For a drop-down menu of Effects Browser presets, click the Menu button. To use a standard Open file dialog box, click the Open button.
Presets for Single-Layer transitions:
If None is selected in the Layer menu some features are not available and some presets will look complete only when applied between two layers. Presets in 'AnimatedPIPs', 'Basic Presets', 'Mattes', 'PIP+', 'Soft Slides' and 'Soft Zooms' folders expect a second clip selected in Layer menu. If 'None' is selected you may need to toggle 'Switch Clips' option and reverse progress.
Spice Library presets
Each 'spice' is a specially-designed grayscale map that guides SpiceMaster. The SpiceMaster effect will begin where blackest pixels reside (in the spice file's image, not your content), then proceed to where lighter grays reside, and finally end where the whitest pixels exist in the spice image. It's simple in concept but incredibly flexible and organic in its creative possibilities compared to the usual hard-edged, limited-adjustment, standard algorithmic effects.
Click the large Choose Spice File button located in Spice section of SpiceMaster to open a Spice Library window and visually choose/compare from 1000+ spices.
Click a subfolder in the Library's left pane, as shown below. Thumbnail-size
previews of available effects will then play in the right pane so
you can visually compare and choose the best effect design for your segment.
Double-click a thumbnail in the Library's right pane to select the effect
and close the Library.
To choose a spice but bypass the Library, Alt-click
the Choose Spice File button to get a
standard Open dialog box. Then navigate to and select
the file. This is how you can load a gradient/alpha wipe or black & white matte
you have created.
Shift-click
the Choose Spice button to quickly load a spice via a multi-level menu. Cmd-click
the Choose Spice button to quickly load a recently used spice.
Handy tips while working within the Effects Browser and Spice Library:
• To scroll through presets in a folder while keeping your eye on the top preview image for comparison, click a thumbnail in the right pane then use arrow keys.
• To increase/decrease the thumbnail image size, use the Size button at the bottom of the Effects Browser.
• To copy a favorite preset into the My Favorites folder located atop the left column of preset folders, Control-click any preset image and choose Copy to My Favorites. To copy the preset into a subfolder within that folder (such as if you want to organize presets per project or per client), Control-click the preset and choose Copy to My Favorites >> [new subfolder]. You can then name the subfolder as desired. After the subfolder is created, it will also appear in the Control-click menu.
• To rename a preset that is in the My Favorites folder, Control-click the preset there and choose Rename this preset. To remove a My Favorites preset, Control-click and choose Delete this preset.
• To hide any preset, Control-click the preset and choose Hide this preset. To show all hidden presets in a folder, Control-click any preset in that folder and choose Restore all hidden presets from this folder. To temporarily view the folder's hidden presets, which can be handy if you just want to momentarily browse them, choose Temporarily show hidden presets.
Section presets
Unlike the Effect Browser presets, these change ONLY the controls in ONE section of SpiceMaster controls. Mixing presets from several sections is a quick and easy way to try hundreds of fresh film transition variations. Within any section (aka "twirly") of controls, choose from the Preset menu.
AE Animation presets
If you prefer, you can save SpiceMaster presets as animation presets in the usual place within After Effects, by selecting SpiceMaster, then choosing Save Animation Preset from the Animation menu in After Effects or from the Effects & Presets panel menu.
Detailed SpiceMaster Help and Tutorials
• Softness
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