After Effects Live Link
It would be awesome to have a real-time connection between After Effects and Blender.
Preferably, something similar to the integration between C4D and AE or at least, something like this: youtube.com/watch
It would be awesome to have a real-time connection between After Effects and Blender.
Preferably, something similar to the integration between C4D and AE or at least, something like this: youtube.com/watch
11 Comments
AFAIK the current position (at least Ton's ?) is that it's not the Blender Fundation's job to create such "links to other softwares", the concerned softwares or userbases should handle it themselves. Because being able to work seamlessly with other softwares isn't part of the BF's main goals.
So if it's still true, this might not happen anytime soon. But it doesn't prevent anyone outside of the BF to create some form of addon for that.
it looks like someone is developing something like this. check this out: blendview.tech
Isn't that link proprietary?
* @bruno.souza.lino *
The extension doesn't seem to be open source.
I'm not a programmer, but seems there's a lot that can be learned about how it was made by downloading the extension files here: area.autodesk.com/downloads/Adobe-After-Effects-Live-Link/
It seems Adobe CEP was used to create it. Adobe CEP is available here: github.com/Adobe-CEP
* @elopes * If the software isn't GPL compatible it doesn't really matter if the source is available, since it still can't work with Blender's. Adobe isn't very good about working with free software projects, unfortunately, and it's not possible to introduce proprietary code into a GPL protected software, because that would diminish some of the freedoms the GPL guarantees.
* @elopes * CEP uses the Apache 2.0 License which is not GPL compatible.
* @Josephbburg * * @bruno.souza.lino *
I'm confused. Then how this Blender to AE addon created? youtube.com/watch
I'm not so worried about software licenses if, in the end, they're just going to reduce my ability to use blender in a professional environment.
* @bruno.souza.lino * Cycles is on the Apache license. They're compatible. @elopes That looks like an exporter, which is probably just reverse-engineered and not using proprietary code.
That's fine, but you don't have the right to violate Blender's license, just like you don't have the right to violate Adobe's license. Free Software licenses are only necessary because proprietary software exists. There are ways of bridging proprietary tech and closed tech, but it's pretty involved. For a good example, however, look at OpenFX or the similar, Blender/Houdini OpenMeshEffects.
* @Josephbburg * Which Apache license? CEP is 2.0 and the FSF doesn't consider it GPL compatible.
* @bruno.souza.lino * cycles-renderer.org/ "The source code is available under the Apache License v2, and can be integrated in open source and commercial software. Cycles is natively integrated in Blender, Poser, and Rhino. The Cycles4D plugin for Cinema4D and a plugin for 3ds Max are available as well."
* @bruno.souza.lino * This link from the Apache Foundation gives more insight about GPLv2 and GPLv3 compatibility issues with the Apache 2.0 license.
Short version is that technically you can include Apache 2.0 code in GPLv3 projects, but not the other way around. Thus the Apache Foundation avoids GPLv3 code in their projects. So it would be tricky to make this link, but not impossible.
In any case, this would have to be a an add-on as the primary focus of the core development team should be on improving Blender. I'm sure if Adobe or some active After Effects users wanted this link, they could find the resources to write such an add-on.