SpiceMaster Help -- Adobe After Effects
Welcome! This help guide holds everything you need to know about Pixelan Software's SpiceMaster 3 Pro. Although SpiceMaster is powerful, it does not have a steep learning curve -- a key benefit. Thus there is no need for a thick manual or training tape, or a large time investment by you to use it effectively. The easy, enjoyable way to learn is to step through this concise guide with SpiceMaster visible on your screen.
How to Use This Help System
This help guide includes basic info, tutorials, and tips. To access this help while using SpiceMaster, Alt-click the ? button at the top of the SpiceMaster window.
Contents
How to Apply SpiceMaster Plugin in Adobe After Effects
In Adobe After Effects ( CS6 or any CC Creative Cloud version):
1. Drag-and-drop SpiceMaster Pro onto a timeline layer, from the Pixelan folder of the Effects and Presets panel of After Effects. All SpiceMaster controls will appear as native effect controls within the After Effects interface.
Basics Within SpiceMaster
SpiceMaster Easy Steps
(1) Choose which layer you are transitioning to or from, using the Layer menu.* It can be any layer in the comp; its Video switch can even be off. If the layer has effects or masks, precompose the layer first. If None is selected, SpiceMaster will reveal lower tracks.
(2) Set the transitions'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 tail. Set the transitions’s ease-in/ease-out, holds, or other timing as desired. To ease-in/out or hold the transition, add additional keyframes or select a handy preset in the Progress Presets menu.*
Choose from hundreds of professional presets (plus your saved favorites) via a large animated Effects Browser window. Or Alt-click for a standard Open dialog.
To create a new effect or to modify a preset...
(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 Progress 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. The Progress keys will automatically be placed in just the overlap. To temporary turn off this feature, Control-click a progress preset.
* COOL TIP: To save time positioning preset keys within the transition: Add the transitions's first and last progress kays at first. Thereafter, you can choose any browser, progress or section preset and its keys will likewise be correctly placed within the Progress keys. To temporary turn off this feature, Control-click to load a preset.
* COOL TIP: To time-reverse the preset keys Shift-click to choose a browser, progress or section preset. Time-reversed preset keys are most appropriate for layer’s head, while the default key order is most appropriate for layer’s tail.
SpiceMaster Saved Settings and Presets
SpiceMaster has three types of presets -- Effects Browser presets, Spice Library presets and Section 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 (as shown by the smiley in the above illustration) 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 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.
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. Ctrl-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, hold the mouse pointer over the right panel then use arrow keys or the mouse wheel.
• 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, right-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), right-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 right-click menu.
• To rename a preset that is in the My Favorites folder, right-click the preset there and choose Rename this preset. To remove a My Favorites preset, right-click and choose Delete this preset.
• To hide any preset, right-click the preset and choose Hide this preset. To show all hidden presets in a folder, right-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.
• To toggle between viewing the source file image and the SpiceMaster preset, click the top large preview image in the Effects Browser.
Section presets
Unlike the most Effect Browser presets, these change ONLY some or all controls in ONE section of SpiceMaster. Mixing presets from several sections is a quick and easy way to try hundreds of fresh transition variations. Click the Section Presets menu at the top of a SpiceMaster control section to instantly change ONLY the controls in that section via handy presets we have developed. Use this to quickly and easily make hundreds of new effect variations.
Detailed SpiceMaster Help and Tutorials
go to SpiceMaster's main help page
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