What's your favorite "trick"?

[superegophobia 0]

A while back when I realized you could hold down Shift and an Arrow key to do a text selection instead of click dragging, it made me think "How many years have I not been taking advantage of this?!"

 

I know there's a million little shortcuts in each respective program but what tip or shortcut stands out as life changing for you?

[foughtthelaw 2]

The short list of shit I can think of off the top of my head:

• "convert to editable text" (found out about this one about 3 releases after they added it)
• loading output module templates
• output to templates
• Expressions controls to jimmy rig your own controls
• Disabling "cache indicators" to speed up expressions (this is a bug work but useful since cs6)
• expressions beyond the pick whip
  • .toFixed()
  • .toComp([0,0,0])
  • .split()
  • wiggling a wiggle
• select keys "CMD + SHIFT + K"
• Cinema 4d (seriously, was using maya till a year ago)
• The power script combo of "folder setup" "save comp as project" and "rd_mergeProjects"
• ft-Toolbar (has the power to speed up everything short but rendering)

[oeuf 0]

The alt + right click drag to change brush sizes in pshop. Kinda sucks when I jump back and forth from Windows to Mac, cause I get the keys mixed up, but it's a great short cut.

[destro 0]

My favourite new one in Cinema4D, press J and drag in the viewport to scrub through the timeline.

 

I found it in Ryan Summers 2014 Siggraph production tips vids.

 

http://www.cineversity.com/vidplaytut/siggraph_2014_Ryan_1

http://www.cineversity.com/vidplaytut/siggraph_2014_Ryan_2

http://www.cineversity.com/vidplaytut/siggraph_2014_Ryan_3

[levante 0]

My favorite trick is to leave office after eight hours - took me a few years to realize that this actually works pretty well and that i still get the shit done

[simonfarussell 0]

In AE select a layer and press X and it scrolls so that layer is at the top of the window.

Edited October 12, 2014 by simonfarussell

[foughtthelaw 2]

My favorite trick is to leave office after eight hours - took me a few years to realize that this actually works pretty well and that i still get the shit done

 

trick for starting this one off. visualize that you have to catch a plane and the only way you'll make it is if you're out by (whenever the end of your day should be) and base all your decisions for the day off catching that plane. sounds hokey but it worked for me.

[kitkats 0]

The best tricks aren't keyboard shortcuts. They're things like knowing to add a little push in or out when you pull focus to simulate a real lens. Having said that, I only found out recently that holding spacebar whilst creating points on paths usually allows you to move the point position as you're dragging its handle. Doesn't seem to work in PS paths though.

[simonfarussell 0]

My wife is an editor and a trick of hers is to put in a little glitch so producers feel like they've got something to comment on. She's like "Oh, well spotted!"

[theta 0]

My wife is an editor and a trick of hers is to put in a little glitch so producers feel like they've got something to comment on. She's like "Oh, well spotted!"

 

lol, we love doing that one. Typos are the best for this, makes them feel great about themselves.

 

I don't have many tricks, but a cool one I remember learning was selecting a layer and holding alt, and dragging a new asset onto it, to replace it in the timeline.

[foughtthelaw 2]

My wife is an editor and a trick of hers is to put in a little glitch so producers feel like they've got something to comment on. She's like "Oh, well spotted!"

 

I know folks who will send renders w/ terrible banding just so they can say "yeah we're dialing in the compression settings" and then just add grain and re-render.

[este.eri 0]

CC Composite. So powerful. Great way to do layered effects contained in the same layer. Try it. You will have a lot less layers in your comps.

[edrhine 0]

Not really a trick, but using unmult on all object buffer renders speeds up the AE processing time considerably with complicated projects as you are calculating smaller alpha mattes instead of full comp luma mattes.

 

Using render frame script for cinema 4D

 

remembering to use the "cache in background" option in AE

[willryan 0]

rd_merge_projects — Great find!

 

And holy smokes — the "I've got to catch a plane" trick? That might the best one of all-time. I'm so used to being "on-call" for the inevitable 7pm "oh we really need this tonight" client request that I had all but given up on trying to schedule a life during the week. When you don't know when you can leave, the day ends up spreading itself out too far.

[foughtthelaw 2]

When you don't know when you can leave, the day ends up spreading itself out too far.

 

You, my friend, are the victim of Parkinson's law: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_law

 

 

you'll hear a lot of people say "well that's fine for [whoever brings the idea up] but the real world doesn't work like that" which is bullshit. People w/ kids still hold down demanding jobs. they just don't get to relax once their self imposed limit is up. forcing yourself to truly prioritize is probably the hardest thing to learn as a professional.

Edited October 13, 2014 by foughtthelaw

[EdoAlf 0]

When working in Maya, if you uncheck "Two Sided Lighting" under the lighting menu in the viewport, faces with inverted normals will turn black.

[kitkats 0]

Yes I was just about to say, for me the catching a plane is a much more real-world catching my daughter from school once a week. Needless to say she's often last to leave.

[theta 0]

Is there a trick to getting a new layer or null or whatever to appear right above your selected layer when you create it, instead of at the top of your comp? Because that would be a pretty useful trick.

[foughtthelaw 2]

Is there a trick to getting a new layer or null or whatever to appear right above your selected layer when you create it, instead of at the top of your comp? Because that would be a pretty useful trick.

 

that trick is updating to CC. that's the default function now.

[krpdesign 1]

or if you cut/paste that new null, it will paste it to the layer above whichever you have selected.

[nourneme 0]

When working in Maya, if you uncheck "Two Sided Lighting" under the lighting menu in the viewport, faces with inverted normals will turn black.

Good One Alf,

 

if you use the http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/script/feskydomegenerator light dome mel script with maya you will get a great looking GI effect with a very inexpensive render. Just 'attribute spreadsheet' the dome group to change the intensity all at once.

[theta 0]

 

that trick is updating to CC. that's the default function now.

 

Oh no way. Guess it's time to upgrade.

[jkorenman 0]

This trick has made me about twice as productive... and it works instantly.

 

Facebook Newsfeed Blocker

 

joey

[sbowes 0]

This trick has made me about twice as productive... and it works instantly.

 

Facebook Newsfeed Blocker

 

joey

 

I just read this, checked out the link, and then unconsciously tabbed over to facebook and started scrolling....I think I need this.

[simonfarussell 0]

 

I just read this, checked out the link, and then unconsciously tabbed over to facebook and started scrolling....I think I need this.

 

Yep... i do that all the time... Twitter auto reflex