========================================================================== ADPTools Professional Version 1.0 Animation and Digital Compositing Software Copyright © 1993 Earobic Digital Systems ========================================================================== INTRODUCTION Welcome to ADPTools Professional. As producers ourselves, busy in everyday production, we know that you will more than likely read as little as possible of your users manual before diving right into the program. With this in mind, we will only suggest that you take a moment to scan though the manual to get familar with the terms and procedures. Image processing and digital compositing for animation and digital video can be very resource intensive. In many ways, this type of animation can be more demanding than 3D raytracing. With this in mind, one of the most asked questions has been; "So, how fast is it?". Well, you will be happy to hear that even complex ADPTools animations are many times faster than the simplest 3D raytraces. Frames render in seconds, not minutes. Setting your memory and disk storage defaults correctly is very important for fast and successful completion of any project. Therefore, check you available resources and be sure to follow the Project setup instructions found in your manual closely. This README file will give you some tips and information not found in the first printing of your manual and is as important as the manual itself. ========================================================================== **** SPECIAL NOTE **** Due to events out of our control, the 3D Imaging/Interlace-DeInterlacing module may not be included in your package. If you do not have this seperate program and wish to receive it, please state that you did not receive it on your registration card, send it in, and we will get a copy of it to you as soon as possible. ========================================================================== INSTALLATION - When installing ADPTools Professional, data files are decompressed in ram: for speed. Please be sure to have two megabytes of fast ram available or the install will abort with an error. PROJECTS/PREFERENCES - When you first start ADPTools be sure to setup preferences and save them. These things include Destination Directory, Project directory, Images Directory, etc. ADPTools will not work as expected if these are not saved. - It is best if you allow ADPTools to launch ADPro, as the memory management of ADPro can be controlled for proper balance between the Animation and Image processing systems. - Be sure to check your total Fast Ram (Not Chip) before setting the ADPro Memory. Example: If your Amiga has eight megabytes of fast ram, then setting ADPro memory to between 4000000 to 5000000 is recommended. - Using the ripple operator (either for visuals or rendering) requires at least 12 megabytes total of fast ram for a NTSC size (752 480) image. Set ADPTools ADPro memory limit somewhere around 8000000 to 9000000 megabytes. - Proper balance between ADPro memory and ADPTools' animation system memory is critical for proper operation. - If at any time your displays seem overly sluggish or ADPTools is unable to continue and aborts, You will need to reduce the amount of memory you have set for ADPro. Due to the way that ADPTools is designed, all data is saved up to the point where the program aborted. DONT PANIC! This is really only a concern during the creation of the animation not during rendering. SEQUENCES - When using the GET ALL feature of the LIST Sequence creation tool make sure that only image files have been inserted into you list. ADPTools does not verify that the files are valid image files. A ".info" file in your list will give you unexpected results in your final product. MASTERLIST - The Master List the the foundation of all animation rendering in ADPTools be sure that the entries in the MasterList are valid. i.e. Sequence and images really exist and the images they point to are really there. - If you dont mind using the UNIVERSAL Loader and you understand it's limitations as defined by ADPro, you can mix different image formats in the Master list. - If you wish to include an Amiga anim file in the masterlist you must first create an Amiga Anim Auto Sequence file using the Sequence Tool in ADPTools. The only valid formats that can be added to the Master List are Images and Sequences. - If you include an Amiga Anim Sequence in the Master List you do not have to set your loader type to Anim, as we will automatically take care of that for you. This will allow you to mix Amiga Anims with other sequences and images. FIRST/LAST FRAMES - When in Animate mode the FIRST and LAST Frames (Located under the Loader Options button.) will allow you to specify what frames in the Master list will be rendered. These numbers are stored each time you change them. - When in Composite mode the FIRST and LAST Frames are also stored and reflect what frames will be rendered from the Total Composite Frames found in the Composite Edit Script. - When generating a Preview the current FIRST and LAST Frames will be used. - When playing back a preview FIRST and LAST Frames are not used and the Preview will display all generated frames. OUTPUT NAMING FORMAT - To change the name that will be used when saving files during rendering you must use the EDIT button found in the Output Format Requestor. Do not type the name in the Destination name field unless your Saver type is ANIM. - Unlike the Destination Name you may type in a valid path in the Destination Directory field or use the DISK icon. - Note that the Range START, END, and BY Fields are ghosted and are shown here for reference only. LOADER OPTIONS - Note that figure 3.2 in your Users Manual shows a delete after convert button. This feature has been removed from the requester in the current production version of the software. GENERATE OUTPUT SEQ - The Generate Output Seq button will automatically create a Sequence referencing the last rendered frames. The Sequence will be saved in your default sequence directory. - The Output Sequence will not be generated if you abort rendering. - Output Sequences are generated for both Animation processing and composite processing. - The Sequence name will reflect the output naming format with the word "OUT" in place of the frame numbers. If the output is an ANIM the word "OUT" is appended to the end of the ANIM name. PREVIEW - When generating previews the only options from the Image Control requester that are used are the Dither Type, Dither Amount and the Lock to File. The only option required is the Lock to File. - After viewing a preview ADPTools will prompt you to delete that preview. - When generating a Preview the "Generate Output Seq" button on the Animation/Compositing screen is not used. - Pressing the "SYNC" button on the Preview Controls and pressing play again will help viewing the preview at 30 fps. EDIT SCRIPTS - After selecting an operator for the first time, if you press CANCEL on the operator screen the operator name is still added to the edit script but no animation or compositing database (db). is saved. If you leave the edit script with an operator in the list without pressing OK on the operator screen you will generate an error in the renderer. This error is not fatal but will slow down the rendering process and that operator will not be used. - Once an operator is added to an edit script you may double-click on the operator name in the list to bring it up again for editing. ANIMATION/COMPOSITING - If you create animation and then modify the Master List or Total Composite Frames (depending the mode you are in.) to be shorter than what you used to create your animation/compositing, Key Frames created beyond the end of your new total frames can not be deleted nor modified. To prevent this problem, always modify your animation data before modifing the Master List or Total Composite Frames. - If you attempt to create a Key or Delete a Key beyond the Total frames that action will be applied to the last frame as defined by the Master List or Total Composite Frames. Be aware that any Key Frame Data that exists on the last frame will be modified. LAYERS/ALPHA MATTE - Layer Cells must contain Amiga IFF images if you are using Alpha Mattes. - Alpha Mattes must always be Amiga IFF Grayscale images. - When using Alpha Mattes the Layer Cell and The Alpha Matte must have the same image size. - When using Alpha Mattes the Mix and RGB Transparency controls are not used. EFX MATTES - EFX Matte files must have the same image size as the current frame. - Realize that the EFX Matte Image size must reflect any scaling or croping animation that is done to the current frame.