TECH TIPS
When Avid Meets After Effects
by Ben Bardens
What is the best way to take footage or sequences between the Avid and After Effects?” I have been asked many times. Maybe it’s the more widespread use of tools like Photoshop and After Effects, or maybe it’s the ever-changing role of the editor to problem-solve and create graphics on the fly. Whatever the case, it seems that After Effects is a bigger part of the editor’s workflow than ever before.
There are several options for working between Avid and After Effects. New file format support in After Effects 6.5 make it easier than ever to share footage between the two programs. There is also QuickTime as a go-between and, probably the best solution, the Pro Import AE plug-in made by Automatic Duck. In this article we’ll discuss why you would want to use After Effects as a part of your workflow, and which of these options might be best for your needs.
Why would I want to incorporate After Effects into my workflow?
There are many reasons why editors would want to use After Effects along with
their Avid. Probably the biggest reasons are its layer-based timeline and
resolution independence. In Avid, when you import footage, the footage is
copied over and compressed into OMF Media files. This is a great scheme that
allows for smooth playback, and can make media management much easier, especially
when it comes to dealing with lots of clips. This can be a limitation, though,
when working with Photoshop source material and creating animated graphics.
For example, if you modify the Photoshop art after you have imported it, then
you’ll have to make it offline and re-link the media, creating new OMF
source footage, each time you wish to update it. Also, the compression can
make things like animated camera pans or character layers look blocky and
blurry.
When you import graphic files, After Effects creates a link back to the original source file, and respects its embedded resolution. This makes working with Photoshop art, Illustrator art and other graphic files that may need frequent revision much easier. After Effects also offers much richer animation control and keyframing capability than most editing applications. Considering After Effects and Photoshop are both made by Adobe, plus After Effects was written from the ground up to work with Photoshop files, it simply makes sense to use After Effects when compositing Photoshop graphics.
Taking files from the Avid into After Effects
Typically, editors will want to take a clip, or possibly a sequence of clips
from the Avid into After Effects to add special effects, graphics or animation
that would otherwise be difficult or problematic to create in the Avid. This
is where you have the most choices. Depending on whether you need to take
across a single footage item or rendered sequence, or if you want to take
across an entire sequence complete with cuts and transitions, you have a few
different choices.
Option 1: QuickTime or AVI movie formats
The most obvious and common way to go between the two programs is to simply
use QuickTime or AVI movies as your go-between. Use Avid’s Export feature
to easily export a movie of the clip or sequence you wish to take into After
Effects. If you go this route you can use some type of lossless compressor
so that your movie file will be at its best quality. Note that if you export
movies from your Avid using Avid compression, you will need to download and
install the Avid codecs for your After Effects system in order to view and
work with the movie files (www.avid.com/support/downloadcenter/ index.asp).
If you are not sure if your After Effects system has the Avid codecs installed,
export your movies using QuickTime format with the animation compressor for
universal compatibility.
The downside to this approach is that you are rendering new footage material in a relatively uncompressed format, which can eat up disc space very quickly. This also flattens together any tracks, and applies any slips, slides, trims, transitions, etc., that you may have applied in the Avid, so you won’t be able to separate those elements once you bring the movie into After Effects.
If you don’t need to re-cut or separate tracks in your clip once you get it into After Effects, and you’ve got the disc space, this approach may suit you best. If you want to be able to open Avid sequences, or work with the original OMF footage from your OMFi Media Files directory, then you’ll need to use one of the methods described below.
Option 2: Automatic Duck
Automatic Duck (www.automaticduck.com) is a company that specializes in making
import/export solutions for editing and compositing systems. For those who
want to be able to reliably open Avid sequences in After Effects, or go between
After Effects and Avid on a regular basis, the Pro Import AE plug-in is the
best way to go. Pro Import AE offers complete Avid media support as well as
AAF and OMF 2.0 sequence support.
To take an Avid sequence into After Effects:
Select your sequence in your Bin window and choose File -> Export.
In the Export Settings, click on Options.
From the Export As pop-up menu choose OMF 2.0. Check the boxes for Video and Audio tracks as needed. Next to Export Method, choose Link to Current Media to create links back to the source OMF files. (See Figure 1).
 Fig.1: Media Composer's Export Settings dialog box. |
Click Save and then Export.
Launch After Effects and create a New Project.
Choose File -> Import -> Automatic Duck AAF/OMF as Comp.
In the Automatic Duck Pro Import dialog, specify the correct field order, audio track conversion, and effect translation. (See Figure 2).
 Fig. 2: Automatic Duck Pro Import AE import dialog. Make sure the appropriate field order is specified to match your Avid system. |
Click OK and the plug-in will convert your OMF 2.0 sequence into an After Effects composition, complete with all your cuts translated to layers with in and out points, and keyframes for all your transitions, fades and effects. Amazing!
Pro Import AE also allows After Effects to import and work with all OMF footage material and all Avid compressed movie files.
Option 3: Upgrade to After Effects 6.5
After Effects 6.5 offers built in file format support for OMF media files
and AAF exports. This is not as full-featured as the Pro Import AE plug-in
previously discussed. OMF support is limited to footage only, not sequence
exports, and AAF sequence support does not include effects translations, or
any of the other advanced translation features offered by the Pro Import AE
plug in.
If all you want to do is be able to open footage from your Avid projects without having to export the footage as new movie files, then this solution will work fine. You can import the OMF files into After Effects directly from your OMFi media directory, saving you disc space and the added steps of exporting go-between movie files. You can now also render back to OMF, making it easier than ever to take your composites back from After Effects into your Avid cut.
Field Order
Regardless of which method you use to bring footage from your Avid
into After Effects you will need to make sure that After Effects is
correctly separating the video fields. In your After Effects project
window, select your footage item and choose File -> Interpret
Footage -> Main. In the Interpret Footage dialog, specify
upper or lower field dominance, which ever is appropriate for your
Avid system. For additional information on this, follow the link to
the Adobe support document at the end of this article.
Taking files from After Effects back to the Avid
After Effects offers many more effects filters and compositing features
than does the Avid, so taking your composition back into the Avid
as a sequence is not an option. You’ll have to render your After
Effects comp as a QuickTime, AVI, OMF or Image Sequence that you can
easily import into the Avid.
As discussed above, QuickTime makes a good go-between for this. If you download and install the Avid codecs for your system, or have the Pro Import AE plug-in installed, you can render from After Effects using the Avid codec with or without compression. Add your composition to the render queue by choosing Composition -> Make Movie. In the Render Queue window choose Best Settings for Render Settings and choose Lossless for the Output Module. Click on the word Lossless to modify the settings. Click Format Options and from the Compression menu choose the appropriate option (see Figure 3).
 Fig. 3: QuickTime compression settings displaying Avid codecs when rendering from After Effects. |
If you are using AE 6.5 you can render as OMF instead of QuickTime. Add your composition to the Render Queue as normal. Start with Best Settings and Lossless as described above. Click on Lossless and change the format pop-up menu to OMF. Click on Format Options and specify the appropriate settings for your Avid (see Figure 4).
 Fig. 4: OMF format options when rendering to OMF from After Effects 6.5. |
By rendering your After Effects composition as an Avid compressed QuickTime
or OMF you’ll save disc space and time when importing it or re-linking
it to your Avid project.
Final Word
Obviously there are a lot of variables when working between different editing and compositing systems. It’s important to stay consistent with regard to frame rate and pixel aspect ratios. Also keep in mind when using files as go-betweens that you don’t want to ever double-compress footage that’s intended for final output.
For additional information on using After Effects with Avid visit the support knowledgebase at www.adobe.com/support/products/aftereffects.html and search for document 322898: Using Avid Systems with After Effects. This document lists import information on the field dominance of different Avid systems and how to correctly separate fields in After Effects.
Guild member Ben Bardens, runs his own small graphics studio and is a technical director for an animation studio in Burbank. He teaches After Effects and Photoshop at Glendale Community College and can be reached at ben@barkanimation.com. Find out more about his classes at www.glendale.edu/~bbardens.
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