[quote="greg"]by the way, what happend to your website?[/quote] Thanks for telling me. Looks like the host has had problems. I have a backup version, but the address is a little more complicated. Hopefully either the host will return, or I can buy the domain myself. brad

Bob, I agree with you here completly. A similar thing happens to me all the time I build an effect just to have someone use it without knowing how it works. It is frustrating to have them ask me about simple questions that they at TD's should have known. I don't know how anyone can put an effect on the air without knowing it inside and out, just in case you were asked to modify it in some way. I understand where Brad is coming from with this. I see it as not a site to simply copy effects but more of a tutorial extension of the manual or something along those lines. It could also be a way to share ideas between other TD's.

As one who does instruction, I'm more a believer in the "teach a man to fish" approach rather than the "give a man a fish" approach. I have rarely seen an effect that doesn't have to be modified on-site, and that requires a higher skill level than just being able to load someone else's creation. I have built effects for people only to have them try to run them without understanding how they were built, and I hate to see someone try to look good with a whiz-bang effect only to end up looking foolish when the director asks to change it by some parameter and they can't. As a teaching tool, an effects disk can be great (I did this on the Krystal for Grass Valley) - but often, an operator will not try to reverse-engineer the effect...they will just take it to air & never understand how to build it. That can be a trap, but on the other hand, it seems to be how a lot of sporting event telecasts work.

Brad, I brought this subject up on the old fourm and it seemed that alot of td's didn't think highly of it. I think it is a good idea though at least as a learning resource to see how things are done out there. by the way, what happend to your website?

[quote="brad fisher"]Hope some of this is helpful. Wouldn't it be nice if someone had a website with downloadable effects, so you didn't have to re-invent the wheel? I'm considering it myself, but not sure if the effort is worth it. What do others think?[/quote] I think this is a very good idea. I say give it a shot. If you need a place to host it I have some web space I'm not using at the moment.

G'Day Brian Easiest is to wait for version 12. Next easiest is to use a Transform Engine to freeze the image in field mode, then release. This needs to be in an infinite loop. I usually program two identical E-Mems that do the effect, then create a SEQuence from one E-Mem to the other and back again. Creating this is: [LEARN] [SEQ] [E-Mem#1] [E-Mem#2] [E-Mem#1] [SEQ] Then run it with [Auto Run] enabled. This way uses an entire M/E to create the effect - very extravagant of resources. Another extravagant way involves the Still Store in "live" mode fed with an M/E, where the M/E uses the live Still Store as a background and the keyer popping on and off very rapidly. This uses the Still Store as a freeze frame, so not needing the Transform Engine. If you want some "hop" to give a more rustic filmic look, you can put a shadow on the keyer, make it transparent, and position it ABOVE the fill. As you vary the size of the shadow, it will push the fill down the screen. By making small variations between keyframes, the keyer can be made to bounce up and down, without needing a Transform Engine. Another way is to program a Macro that will press the Transform Engine's [Freeze] button, delay as appropriate, turn [Freeze] off, and delay again. Then create another Macro where you repeatedly run the first Macro, many many times. The problem with this is that it is not a loop, so it will last as long as the Macro lasts. It may also prevent you from running other Macros while this one is running (not certain of this, but I think it's true). Hope some of this is helpful. Wouldn't it be nice if someone had a website with downloadable effects, so you didn't have to re-invent the wheel? I'm considering it myself, but not sure if the effort is worth it. What do others think? brad