Import Character Animator Scenes via Dynamic Link

You can now open an Adobe Character Animator CC scene directly in After Effects CC 2017 or Premiere Pro CC 2017 and keep a live connection to the original scene in Character Animator, via Adobe Dynamic Link. Changes to the scene in Character Animator are reflected automatically when switching back to After Effects or Premiere Pro.

Character Animator CC (Beta 5) is required for Dynamic Link functionality.

To import a Character Animator scene into After Effects or Premiere Pro via Dynamic Link:

  • Drag the scene from the Project panel in Character Animator into the Project panel in After Effects or Premiere Pro. Tip: You can start dragging the scene in Character Animator, Option/Alt + Tab to After Effects or Premiere Pro, then drop the scene in the Project panel.
  • Import the scene from the .chproj file:
    1. Choose File > Import > File, then select a Character Animator project file (.chproj).
    2. In the Import Character Animator Scene dialog, select the scene within the project that you want to import.

The scene appears in the Project panel as Dynamic Link video footage that you can add to a composition like any other video footage. Character Animator does not need to be open while you use the scene in After Effects.

After-Effects-Tutorial-2017-19After-Effects-Tutorial-2017-19
After Effects Tutorial 2017 – Tutorial After Effects The Healer

Alpha-Only Rendering from Adobe Media Encoder

Adobe Media Encoder CC 2017 can now render the alpha channel of any source as a grayscale image. To enable this, choose Render Alpha Channel Only at the bottom of the Export Settings dialog in Adobe Media Encoder. This functionality is similar to setting the Channels option to Alpha in the Output Module Settings dialog in After Effects.

Render Alpha Channel Only works for any type of source footage in Adobe Media Encoder, not just After Effects compositions. But it is especially useful when you need to export the alpha channel of your composition to formats that do not store a discrete alpha channel, such as MXF OP1a.

Note: In After Effects CC 2017, the Render Alpha Channel Only option also appears at the bottom of the Format Settings dialog, when accessed from the Output Module Settings dialog in After Effects. This is a bug; use the Channels option in the Output Module Settings dialog instead.

After Effects Tutorial 2017 – Tutorial After Effects The Healer