Post 1 of 3

Top

In case you haven't seen what FreeForm is, FreeForm converts 2D images of footage into a 3D mesh and adds vectorial control points for reshaping the image of the X, Y and Z axis. This gives AE users some 3D control, finally

Just wanted to point everyone over to the Forge FreeForm website. There are some great examples of what this product can do in the "Users gallery". There are also 3 tutorial to download in the "Download".

So, if you haven't been there yet, check out their website, download a demo and come back here for comments, questions and discussion. www.forge.net

All the best,

Kathlyn Lindeboom

Post 2 of 3 responding to post 1

Top

Thanks, Kathlyn. I will check out the demo. I've heard some good things about the FreeForm plug-in. In your experience, how easy has it been to learn? I'm really not a mathematics guy and I've always felt this one is a very technical plug-in. Is it?

Thanks,

Scott Winslow

Winds Lo! Design

Post 3 of 3 responding to post 2

Top

Scott,

Nice of you to drop in.

I saw some discussion regarding this plug-in that sparked my interest some time ago. Then when Ron and I saw the demo at NAB, we became very enthusiastic about it. It adds 3D functionality to our 2D world of After Effects with some very realistic effects.

Even though I'm hosting this WWUG, I am far from an expert. So if you have any really technical questions, Chris - the developer- has promised to help me out.

As far as learning FreeForm, any 3D app can seem somewhat daunting at first. But the important thing is to read the manual. Yes, this is one program that you have to *read* the manual. And Chris suggests that you pay particular attention to the anti-aliasing paradigm and the 3D displacement. He says that most people have a tendancy to set the anti-aliasing too high.

But I believe the feature set is so rich and deep, that it is well worth the effort to learn it. After all, even learning After Effects is a continuing process.

Chris also has a number of tutorials at his website http://www.forge.net that should help and we'll be posting more tutorials at the WWUG as they become available.

Hope this helps spark your interest, gets you over your mathmatical phobias and spurs you over to the Forge site to at least look at a demo and perhaps to fall in love with it the way we did.

All the best,

Kathlyn Lindeboom