@ermalr To add to Jeff’s post, Templater ships with both Render Settings and Output Module templates that can add multiple pre-made presets. There are direction on this page on how to import them into After Effects.

@1337err Hmmmm. Typically, when we’ve seen issues like this occur in the past, it’s generally related to either a logic issue with the Time Sculpting setup or some kind of problem with an After Effects Expression that makes adjustments to the layout before the Time Sculpting process can be completed. Either way, we’ll likely need to start by simplifying the project to see if we can narrow down which layer is causing the issue. For this project, I’d recommend starting by creating a backup copy that we can use for troubleshooting. Once we’ve got our backup opened up, I’d recommend removing all of the layers in the project except for B Small Message2, [cameratemplate_15.wav Comp 1], and camera_2_photo_5 since those are the layers that seem to be having a problem. We might need to adjust the properties on [cameratemplate_15.wav Comp 1] and camera_2_photo_5 if they’re being Time Sculpted to other layers. Once that’s done, we can try refreshing to see if B Small Message 2 lines up correctly. If that works, we’ll want to restore our backup and try removing layers a few at a time to see if we can isolate which one is causing the issue. Once we’ve identified our problem layer, we should be able to address whatever is causing the hangup in the Time Sculpting operation. This process can be a bit tedious, but I’ve found it to be the most efficient way to track down logic issues that cause this sort of problem. Typically, issues of this nature occur when a layer is set to adjust to another layer that can’t finish its Time Sculpting calculations until yet another layer is changed. This results in a scenario where the Time Sculpting can’t complete on its first run and requires two refreshes to complete. One last suggestion. While Templater should process the Time Sculpting rules in whatever order makes the most logical sense After Effects tends to load layers in the order that they’re presented in the stack from top to bottom. So, it’s never a bad idea to make sure that the layers are ordered logically based on how they should be Time Sculpted. So, for example, if layer A is being adjusted to the position of layer B, layer B should be placed higher in the stack than layer A. This should ensure that A doesn’t get processed before B. If we still run into issues after performing these troubleshooting steps, we’ll likely need more information about how the project file is set up. If you’d like to get in touch with us directly, please feel free to email us at support@dataclay.com, and we’ll be more than happy to help. Thanks, Jeff

@1337err Thanks for reaching out. The most common cause of this particular error occurs when Time Sculpting is applied directly to an audio layer in After Effects. After Effects treats pure audio layers differently than footage layers since, by default, they don’t have any video data. This causes AE to read audio layers differently than video layers, which changes how their time codes interact with other footage in the project file. This frame difference is the most common cause for the “invalid image buffer size” error that you’re seeing. The easiest way to test if this is what’s happening is to either temporarily remove any audio layers or disable Time Sculpting and see if the error message persists. If it does turn out that audio layers are causing this issue, there are a few ways to get around this. First, we could try pre-composing the layer and then applying the Time Sculpting to the pre-comp instead of the audio layer. Pre-composing audio footage in After Effects will add video frame data to the layer, preventing this issue. The other solution is to pre-render any audio files you might want to use into a format with frame data, like an .mp4 or .mov file. Even if the rendered file has blank “video” data, it should still cause After Effects to generate the frame information needed for Time Sculpting. Hopefully, this is an easy fix, but if this isn’t the cause of the problem, or you encounter anything else we can help with, let us know, and we’ll see where we need to go from there. Thanks, Jeff

@ThomasH The general process for using Templater with mogrts is usually pretty simple as long as the mogrt files can be opened and rigged in After Effects. Once the mogrts have been rigged up to a data source and the text can be swapped out as needed, we’ll basically need to keep Premiere and After Effects open simultaneously. In After Effects, we’ll cycle through the preview data using Templater. This should update the mogrt’s text layers, which should be reflected in the Premiere project. From there, each iteration of the data can be exported as needed from Premiere. Unfortunately, Templater doesn’t have any ability to automate the output process in Premiere, so if we were looking for an entirely hands-off implementation, we’d need to get the project loaded completely into After Effects. Once that was done, Templater Pro or Bot could be used to process the videos in batches using the translated language data. Hopefully, that helps as an overview, but if there’s a more specific question or concept that we can address, just let us know, and we’ll be more than happy to help out. Thanks, Jeff

@Jeff I just emailed for more info.

@SteveUlrich Glad to hear that we were able to get the previous issue resolved. As far as the erroneous Spot Check goes, we did have a bug a few versions back that would cause this to happen when Projects were using some specific frame rate options. What version of Templater are we running? If it’s anything older than 3.2, I’d recommend updating to the latest version (3.3.2, download link here) to see if that changes what we’re seeing. If that doesn’t make any difference, we’ll likely need to get some more information on how exactly Spot Check is set up and what frame rate options we’re using for this project. If we end up needing to go down that road, please feel free to open a troubleshooting ticket with us at support@dataclay.com if you don’t feel comfortable sharing project details here. Either way, let us know how it goes, and we’ll see where we need to go from there. Thanks, Jeff

@ermalr yes, you use the Time Sculpting rules to accomplish this. Watch the videos in this playlist. You can also register ExtendScripts to Templater events to manipulate and alter things in your project for each re-version. You can learn more about that by reading the docs on event scripts and Templater’s ExtendScript API. If you’re going to go that route you would probably register your script to the “After Update” event. I think Time Sculpting is what you’re looking for though. Let us know if this help! Thanks!

@vreddhi-bhat Glad to hear that you were able to resolve the problem. If you run into any other issues or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out, and we’ll be more than happy to help. Happy rendering! Jeff

@wcs Thanks for the clarification. This should absolutely be doable with Templater. You’ll probably need to use a combination of Expressions driven by Templater data like the one suggested above and maybe some of Templater’s flag options to turn layers on and off as needed. Hopefully, that’s enough to get you started, but if you have any additional questions, feel free to post them here or get in touch with us directly at support@dataclay.com Thanks, Jeff

@RyanB Glad to hear that you were able to track down the issue. I did some research and spoke with some of our devs, and I can confirm that all write operations for both replication and render actions should be completed before any “post_cmd_job” actions are run. If you have any other questions, please feel free to let us know. Thanks, Jeff

@Matt-Keyes Unfortunately, ExtendScript doesn’t contain any hooks that can be used to control Templater. Templater can execute ExtendScripts via the Event Scripts feature at various points throughout the reversioning process, but ExtendScript can’t kick off a render or replication operation. The closest thing I could recommend for that sort of behavior would be to run Templater in CLI mode. That would allow you to start Templater up in a way that could be executed via a script or some other form of automation. Thanks, Jeff

@Jeff Thanks for your detailed response! My curiosity has been satiated on this matter.

@Falrinth Thanks for the update. If we can figure out a way to replicate the error reliably, that would be quite useful. When we get the time, it would probably be beneficial if you could open up a direct ticket with us so that we can get some more data about the structure of the project, the workflow for the replications, and, hopefully, some details from a non-sensitive log file. Let us know how else we can help out, and we’ll see where we need to go from there. Thanks, Jeff

@Jeff After not having any success with the expression I posted, I actually did what you suggested, using an expression to change the source text for each layer, adding in the dynamic text. I just didn’t think of using an Animator for the faux italics, so I had just resigned myself to keeping the font the same. I appreciate your ideas, and I’ll give them a try soon. Thanks!

@Jon Sorry for the late reply. Yes, I got everything working with Jeff’s advice and your tips. Big thanks for the help.

In my case the issue was caused by keyframes on the Source Text of a text layer. Removing the keyframes resolved the issue. Thanks to the support team!

@dave Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, it’s not possible to change a text layer to a footage layer dynamically in After Effects. From what I can see, this appears to be due to the fact that AE sets each layer’s type when it’s first created, and text layers seem to be using an entirely different logic engine than footage layers. If I understand the scenario that you’re describing and you’re using Google Sheets, our best bet might be to use some Sheets formulas to turn “First Last - usa.png” into two cells that contain “First Last” and “usa.png”. That would be data that would be more useable for Templater since the “usa.png” value could be set to refer to footage, and the “First Last” input could be added to a corresponding text layer. Hopefully, that helps, but if you have any other questions, please let us know, and we’ll see what we can do. Thanks, Jeff

@Jeff Thanks for the info. I’m familiar with the Filter action in Zapier and will try that out. I was expecting that we’d need to use a Que action. Thanks. Pete