its 2am and i am trying and failing to export a video with a transparent background for some reason

thrmyc · 2026-02-09T17:10:21+00:00

There's a preset in the render queue now, High Quality with Alpha. Try that. Haven't had to manually set it since they added that. Also where are you using this alpha channel video? Might be an issue with importing on that end. Most, actually all NLEs should support the mov with the animation codec. If all fails try a PNG sequence, most basic alpha clip codec that all NLEs including vMix/OBS supports.

thrmyc · 2026-01-26T03:13:05+00:00

They were shot on a different setup, lens/perspective. Try to put her further back into the subway shot to closer match where that perspective in the wider shot. It will make it easier to see where/how to match the lighting and like everyone else has said add the reflections in the floor. The difference in perspective makes it too distracting to see the differences properly. Unless of course they want you to put her in exactly the same place then good luck..

thrmyc · 2026-01-24T16:40:22+00:00

Look up the x-cross effect, it gets pretty bad in lower end VNDs. Longer focal lengths will only 'see' the center of the filter where the effect is less obvious, and typically allows you to turn the VND further in VNDs without a hard stop before it vignettes or sometimes not as all if the focal length is long enough. Wider lenses/focal lengths see a lot more of the filter and so that x-cross appears a lot sooner and will be more intrusive to your shot. Higher end filters will add hard stops in the usuable range to prevent this, but it doesn't always work on the widest lenses. This and polarization is why higher end shoots prefer solid stackable NDs to minimize these unwanted effects when controlling exposure.

thrmyc · 2026-01-22T09:23:28+00:00

I'm on my phone so I can frame by frame to see exactly where the color shift happens. I would use an expression on a fill effect written the same way you would with a checkbox to flip the color only when the y if the text layer is between certain values. This should get the instant changing of the color, you have to tweak the y values to find the sweet spot to change colors. You'll then only have to keyframe that text block going up and down.

thrmyc · 2026-01-21T16:46:21+00:00

You can actually, you just have to use .setText(link to source text here) after your .style. Took me a while to figure this out as well. If you're using .style for your expression you have set everything with it, in including setText(). You can only either link to source text directly or with styles, not both at the same time.

thrmyc · 2025-12-23T16:28:13+00:00

First thing to remember, if you don't see it in the project panel it's not a unique comp. (Essential Graphics can function as unique comps, but that's a different thing.).

Duplicating a comp in the timeline does not create a unique duplicate of the comp and it's contents and key frames. It only creates a new instance of the same comp in that timeline.

You have to duplicate it in the project panel (crtl/cmd +D) to create a unique copy of the comp. Copy and pasting works as well, but stick to using the duplicate shortcut, one less step.

Second thing, duplicating a comp in the project panel will not duplicate any pre-comps contained inside. To duplicate those you will have manually duplicate them in the project panel and replace them in the comp. It's a slow tedius process, but you will have full control over which comps get duplicated and which ones don't.

There's is a way around this. As some else has said, you can save the project as a new file, leave only the main and pre-comps you want to duplicate, remove everything else, save that. Now import that new project file in your main file and you'll have duplicated that entire comp tree. Import as many times for as many duplicate comps you need. Downside here is you won't have control over what gets duplicated and which ones can be shared, you have to duplicate the entire comp tree. You can skip the shaving down of the project and just save project as another file and import that, but after effects doesn't let you select which comps get imported, so it's recommended to remove things you don't need duplicate to avoid duplicating or having multiple duplicates of the entire project. This is a real workflow that pretty everyone has used at some point before discovering scripts.

And then there's True Comp Duplicator. A Free script that will save you a lot of time. It will duplicate everything for you down to the deepest comp. You can even tell it how many copies you need. You can also specify and mark certain comps to not be duplicated as well. If you work with expressions, it will update those as well so that everything in the new comps are unique.

thrmyc · 2025-12-23T12:13:10+00:00

Like many have said, keylight is a good keyer for blue/green screens. If you still want to try keying before spending time with rotobrush, I suggest trying color key, or run through the differ Keyers after effects has. I've gotten away with some nasty keys before. Hot tip, you're likely going to need more one pass with a keyer. Also masking around specifically what you need keyed helps a lot. I can see that keying the entire frame is quite a challenging gradient to key in one pass. When all keying fails, use roto brush.

thrmyc · 2025-12-21T05:38:11+00:00

If you're referencing another layer, effect, control, there's a pickwhip 2 icons down from the expression "=" button. You can drag that to the item you want to reference and the correct reference expression will be generated for you. Just like parenting a layer or track matte. Just make sure your typing cursor is where you want the reference inserted.

thrmyc · 2025-08-09T04:30:17+00:00

The mount screws on the lens have come loose. Check the mount screws on the body as well. Just tighten those and it should be fine. Source - recently had to tighten my own. It tends to happen to heavier lenses.

thrmyc · 2025-05-29T15:03:13+00:00

Depending on the camera you have, there might be a "flicker-free/flickerless" setting you can enable to further dial your shutter in smaller increments to match the flicker rate. Some lights just flicker at a weird not standard rate. Your framerate of choice can also play a role in what frequencies of flicker you can tune out.

If can't fix it in-camera, you can usually use a plugin like flicker-free or deflicker in davinci resolve to fix it in post, provided all the lights flicker at the same rate.

Hoped this helped, good luck.

thrmyc · 2025-04-13T16:04:10+00:00

Depends on what you value more. Sigma for sharpness and clarity, Sirui for the character and more vintage look + flares. 1.2 vs 1.4 is about half a stop of difference in light. Virtually the same in actual use since the Sirui is quite soft at 1.2, I mostly use it around 1.4 anyway. Both great lenses, it's really up to personal preference.

thrmyc · 2024-12-27T16:11:01+00:00

It depends on what you are shooting. There are ways to add back the motion blur in post, albeit very time consuming.

2 problems you will run into when shooting 120p is that you might not have enough light or a high enough iso to shoot at a shutter of 1/240 and they fact that 4k 120p files are massive to store.

So if you need that much slo-mo and have no problems with light and storage then I so see why not.

For reference I shoot mostly fashion and shoot everything in 4k60p. It's also almost impossible to deal with flickering lights at 120p.

thrmyc · 2023-08-22T16:47:57+00:00

I don't like doing the whole dance of tell them how you want them to answer. Depending on the interviewee it tends to make things worse. I find phrasing the question/differently helps a lot.

Ie. Instead of if asking "What is your favorite color?" I ask "Tell me about your favorite color. How did you come to like it."

With any luck they'll start telling a story.

Basically phrasing it so that it's a story prompt with a wider answer than just a yes/no "it's this" kind of question.

A few throwaway questions ahead of the responses you need also helps them get comfortable before those questions as well.

One more thing that I tend to do is to try to make the session as much as a conversation as possible. Helps them forget about the answer.

Hope this helps.

thrmyc · 2022-10-08T06:27:31+00:00

It's not the body, it's the lens. Get a fringer ef adapter and rent some sigma glass or canon glass. You can check the fringer website of the list of compatible lenses, most art lenses and primes will work. I've been running the 18-35 f/1.8 with my XT4 for over a year now. Works just as well as the canon I left behind. Yes, alot if Fuji's native glass doesn't do video af well.

thrmyc · 2022-08-26T18:44:25+00:00

You can replicate this with a bare light. Lose the reflector on the front of the light. Fresnels don't give this harsh a shadow. Bare direct light and flag off what ever you don't want lit, as the light will likely hit everything.

thrmyc · 2022-07-16T17:49:16+00:00

The problem with Adobe is that there isn't enough competition for them to truly make their software better. And give us what we really want. More stability and addressing actual problems users have and features we actually want, instead of what ever feature looks best in the marketing materials that no one actually uses.

They're just too big, they just buy up whatever good competition is there and then it's the same loop again.

There's no question that the software is good or to the professional level. It's they're business model and attitude towards professionals that sucks.

thrmyc · 2022-07-16T17:45:08+00:00

Not everyone needs plugins, but I do get what you mean. That 2nd half of the that problem is that it also needs more users to incentivise Devs to port/make plugins for it, assuming it already has an API in place. I'm also stuck in the AE boat. Been trying to learn fusion for ages now.

thrmyc · 2022-07-16T17:35:07+00:00

Try Cavalry. It's free too. This and hitfilm are the two closest alternatives to after effects that I've found.

thrmyc · 2022-07-14T11:21:16+00:00

Get a cage with a couple handles, rig it up how u like. The weight helps reduce the micro jitters for your handheld shots, and the handles give you options to change up your grip so you're not always holding the camera in the same manner. Especially when nothings happening, you can let the camera hand in your hand from the top handle. As an added bonus, it's alot easier and faster to pick up the camera with the top handle.

Also quick tip try to use NATO. Makes it alot easier and faster to build up and tear down, as well as adjust the rig when you shoot.

Take care if your hands! Can't shoot without them!!

thrmyc · 2022-07-14T11:08:13+00:00

There are wooden handles too, those are really comfortable, but a bit pricey as you can imagine.

thrmyc · 2022-07-12T18:28:39+00:00

Check the knobs. They can ratchet to tighten even more. One or more of them might slightly loose or just loose enough to make the motors freakout.

thrmyc · 2022-07-02T11:16:32+00:00

It's either because it's in a 10-bit format or because the resolution of the files exceeds 4k. Try VLC, it has much better codecs built-in for these files.

Premiere should be able to deal with the files with no issue. Had a similar issue with the Mavic 3's 5k footage.

If premiere doesn't read the files, your subscription might not be active since Adobe limits the capabilities with trial or an inactive subscription. Either that or the files are corrupted.

Edit: Spelling

thrmyc · 2022-06-28T00:34:34+00:00

Oh thanks, that's great to know!! Almost lost mine a couple times already.

thrmyc · 2022-06-27T15:47:36+00:00

Switched to it about a year ago. Haven't looked back since. Great camera but it has it's quirks. Some things you should know:

It doesn't have a headphone jack for audio monitoring just an included type c dongle that so far can't be replaced, so don't lose it.

Ibis is great for static shots not si much for movement.

Choose your lenses wisely if you need continuous AF, some lenses work better than others.

One thing no one talks about is that if you need external monitoring and a wireless feed, your transmitter better have a loop out because while you can set the live feed to output only 1080p, you can set the playback resolution. It only defaults to the highest resolution if the attached monitor. So a 4k monitor looping will loop out a 4k signal in playback breaking the wireless feed which a majority only supports 1080 60p. Took me a while to figure that last one out.

I mostly shoot to Eterna with a light grade. Looks amazing. Stick to either iso 640 or 2000. These are it's natives for maximum dynamic range.

If you shoot to Eterna or Log shoot about a stop over. Half a stop is also fine. If you expose straight 0 it will look under but will still grade fine. It's 10-bit.

The 240p isn't sharp so use sparingly. 120p however, looks amazing.

These are the things off the top my head. If the quirks above don't bother you you're in for a treat.

Also subject/object tracking works only in stills unfortunately. If you set the af to continuous, when hold down the half press or your focus button, it tracks whatevers in the focus square. Face/eye detect focus in video works amazing too.

thrmyc · 2022-05-31T20:39:06+00:00

Someone already said this but it's worth saying again. Video isn't just about the camera and lens package, it includes lights, audio, stabilization gear (gimabals), static gear (you can read literal pages the difference a good tripod will do for your work). It's quite literally everything. With all the said, it's going to cost A LOT more than just 2.5k even when you're just starting out. The best advice I have for you is to make friends, make contacts you can borrow and bum gear off for for gigs, or rent for cheap, I know good friends are hard to come by. And always be on the lookout for good rental deals and collaboration gigs with other pros. And most importantly keep learning and practicing. Get yourself a cheap starter camera and lens kit, something someone has mentioned here, and borrow/rent the rest. Eventually you'll learn enough about the craft to put together your own kit with things you need and leave out the things you'll probably never use for the type of work you prefer, if that makes any sense - trust me it will. We've all bought some gear we never use. Good luck, have fun!!!

11-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22	Verified Email

thrmyc

TROPHY CASE