question about AE and 3d ani camera matching

#1

Ok, so I want to render an animation in 3ds max that is just an open box with a camera passing over an open side to the box.

Then I’d like to bring it into After Effects and fill the box with AE bubbles, particles or whatever.

Can this be done without 3d camera tracking software?

I have been trying to do it by manually matching camera movements to the 3D footage by eye, and using masks to hide the bubbles where they shouldn’t be seen (through the box sides) but it isn’t looking too good.

Is there an easier way?

I’m fairly experienced with 3ds max, but haven’t been using AE that long…

#2

You need plug-ins/ scripts to exchange 3D data between programs. MAX2AE would be one option, Collada Import/ Exportanother. There are also some MAXscripts somewhere that fill a part of the equation. If you just need the camera, RPF fiels are the way to go. you can then use the RPF camera extract keyframe assistant. Of course all of this may entail scene scale issues, so you may need to adapt your 3D workflow as well. AE thinks in pixels, so it usually translates 1 unit = 1 pixel. Ergo, using 1000 mm (= 1000 pixels) may be more favorable then 1 m (= 1 pixel) and similar, depending on what is the actual scale.

Mylenium

#3

That should get me going in the right direction. Thanks!

#4

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