User manual MAXWELL RENDER AFTER EFFECTS PLUGIN MANUAL V2.1

[. . . ] MAXWELL RENDER PLUG-IN FOR AFTER EFFECTS PLUGIN MANUAL VERSION 2. 1 Maxwell Render plug-in for After Effects The Maxwell Render Importer Plug-in | 2 The Maxwell Render plug-in for After Effects allow us to read a MXI file/sequence and access to all the data buffers that the MXIs contains, such as light buffers, alpha, object id, material id, shadows, etc. It is important to note that in order to get independent access to adjust each individual emitter, the render must be launched with Multilight feature on. Color Multilight is not needed. http://www. maxwellrender. com/videos/filmtv_videos/filmtv18. php 1 CONSTANT REFINEMENT An interesting feature in Maxwell Render is the constant refinement approach of the render, which allows the post-production process to start while the render process is still going on, working in parallel and saving an extraordinary amount of time. [. . . ] The installer should locate your After Effects installation automatically. If not, browse the location(s) where After Effects was installed. Usually: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects CS5\Support Files or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe After Effects CS4\Support Files. Copy the MXI. plugin to the After Effects format plug-ins directory: Usually: /Applications/After Effects CS5/Support files/Plug-ins/Format and the mxiMixer. plugin file to the After Effects effect plug-ins directory. Usually: /Applications/After Effects CS5/Support files/Plug-ins/Effects). u Remember that you should have writing permissions and Administrator privileges to install the plug-ins. Muddville : New Holland Bees © Next Limit Technologies 2010 Maxwell Render plug-in for After Effects The Maxwell Render Importer Plug-in | 4 3 USING THE PLUG-IN http://www. maxwellrender. com/videos/filmtv_videos/filmtv15. php The plug-in comes with two components: the MXIReader and the MXIExtractor. TheMXIReader The Maxwell Render image file reader for After Effects allows you to load MXI files or sequences as an After Effect footage into a 8/16/32 bpc projects. Simply import the MXI file(s) as you do with any other files in After Effects. That way you can work with the render buffer of the MXIs like any other image format. The power of the MXI format is in the amount of information that the file have. To access that information we need an additional component: the MXI extractor. TheMXIExtractor We can access all the MXI buffers using the MXI extractor. It is an effect plug-in, so first add your MXI footage into a comp, and then apply the "MXI Extractor" effect to the layer. Then, you can "extract" the buffer you want. Cartoon Network : Push the button - Extracting the environment light from a MXI © Next Limit Technologies 2010 Maxwell Render plug-in for After Effects The Maxwell Render Importer Plug-in | 5 The "Channel" parameter allows you to select the buffer, and the "Light" parameter indicates the light buffer you want to use. Using the "Light" parameter only makes sense when you select "Light" or "Shadow" in the "Channel" parameter. CreatingcompsfromaMXIfootage The easy way to work with all the buffers is creating a folder containing all the data. [. . . ] Lights buffer (If Multilight was enabled). Note that the layers are blended in "linear dodge" mode © Next Limit Technologies 2010 Maxwell Render plug-in for After Effects The Maxwell Render Importer Plug-in | 6 4 MORE TRAINING RESOURCES Paolo Velcich You can view the After Effects plug-in video-tutorial at: http://think. maxwellrender. com/first10steps. php?id=342 You can download a MXI sequence at: http://think. maxwellrender. com/first10steps. php?id=343 You can download a sample MXI at: http://think. maxwellrender. com/cms/tutorial. php?id=345 Justin Goode © Next Limit Technologies 2010 © Copyright 2010 Next Limit SL Maxwell Render is a registered trademark of Next Limit SL All trademarks included in this catalogue belong to their respective owners All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the artists concerned and no responsibility is accepted by producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that credits accurately comply with information supplied. [. . . ]