Hey, folks!

Though this has up until now been a strictly expression-based blog, I'd like to let you guys know about a cool direction I'm branching out into these days.

After I returned from NAB some couple weeks back had a hankering to try something new, dip my toes elsewhere in the AE/motion graphics world. So, a couple weeks ago I solicited a few ideas from friends and dove deep into the world of scripting.

At this point, I've got two scripts up on aescripts+aeplugins, and I'd like to talk about 'em a little bit here.

Trim Comp to Contents

What this does is look at the layers in your comp (either all of 'em, or just the ones you select); it then, at the push of a button, trims or extends your comp's duration to fit these layers precisely. Keeps everything nice and tidy, I think!

Explode Shape Layers

This one is a bit more widely applicable, I reckon; give it a shape layer with multiple shapes / groups in it, hit the button and it'll explode that shape layer out into separate layers for each path/group. Do a lot of vector => shape layer conversion, or dealing with a lot of projects via Illustrator? This will make your life much easier. No more digging through nested, hidden folders to find your keyframes! BAM, one-click solution.

I've set the price on these both to name your own price / pay what you can-- I understand how things are, and I certainly advocate trying before buying! Though I do appreciate anything you can send me way, don't feel obliged.

I've got three more in the works right now in various stages of testing; as each one gets released on up on aescripts+aeplugins, I'll post up here!