Another thing that was surprising was that you absolutely don’t need to use AE’s 3D space to make the plugin look good. It adds some extra depth, but you can come up with some really cool stuff without it. In fact, I would recommend NOT using AE’s lights, because they’re difficult to setup and the ones built into Real 3D are perfectly suitable for 99% of uses.
The Grid Object Type, used with the warping parameters, can create hi-tech Matrix-esque animations.
Depth of Options
This product can do a lot of great stuff, but I found that it seemed to do best on text and other simple objects. It works on video and still shots, too, but, for the most part, it does so in a random way that is sometimes not visually appealing. As such, most of my examples are going to be text or solid-layer based.
If Real 3D had only included Points Object Type in its features, I’d still be happy. This setting converts your layer to a bunch of points (really more like little lines), and allows you to split them up and move them around. It’s also the most natural-looking Object Type (aside from Surface), since it leaves your text looking normal at default settings. I thought the twist and wrap functions were great, creating helix and whirlpool shapes that warped in very modern ways. These would be perfect for credits in a sci-fi film. The duplication parameters also worked very well in the Point mode, allowing you to rotate multiple copies of your text around the initial copy, or move everything across the screen in a stylish manner. The random spread parameter can explode your layer into a ton of little points, or can just fuzz up the layer a bit in little spurts for interference effects. This is really top-end stuff, and looks like it came out of an expensive post-production house.
The Sphere Object Type is enhanced through the Fog parameter, making for some awesome 3D graphics.
The Sphere Object Type converts your layer into a bunch of reflective balls which can be moved around just like in the Points setting. This is where more of the 3D features come into play, because the Depth of Field and Fog settings are more apparent here. Fog basically sets up a horizon for your layer, where the particles darken and then disappear as they get further from the camera. Again, Sphere is a great setting, although it completely obliterates your layer, meaning it doesn’t really matter what you use as your base; similar results are achieved with text, photos, video, and solids.
