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Nucleo Pro 3 User Guide
Nucleo Pro 3 User Guide
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
Contents at a Glance
Contents at a Glance ............................................................................................................3 Contents ...............................................................................................................................4 About Nucleo Pro ..............................................................................................................8 Getting Started...................................................................................................................13 Status Icon .........................................................................................................................15 Nucleo Pro Status Pop-up Messages .................................................................................16 Control Menu.....................................................................................................................17 Feature Interactions ...........................................................................................................27 Fast Preview ......................................................................................................................28 Fast Render ........................................................................................................................34 Background Render ...........................................................................................................38 Spec Preview .....................................................................................................................48 Spec Render.......................................................................................................................55 Commit To Disk ................................................................................................................60 Pre-composition Proxies....................................................................................................63 Managing Cache Files .......................................................................................................69 Support Tool ......................................................................................................................75 Performance.......................................................................................................................77 Licensing ...........................................................................................................................81 Online Purchases ...............................................................................................................83 Orders by Fax or by Mail ..................................................................................................83 GridIron Sales....................................................................................................................83 Moving Your License........................................................................................................84 Upgrading Nucleo License to Nucleo Pro.........................................................................85 Nucleo Pro Updates ...........................................................................................................86 Uninstalling Nucleo Pro ....................................................................................................87 Getting Help ......................................................................................................................88 Contacting GridIron Software ...........................................................................................89 Appendix 1: GridIron Nucleo Pro License Agreement .....................................................90
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
Contents
Contents at a Glance ............................................................................................................3 Contents ...............................................................................................................................4 About Nucleo Pro ..............................................................................................................8 System Requirements ..................................................................................................... 9 Software Requirements .................................................................................................. 9 Terminology ................................................................................................................... 9 Multi-processing in After Effects CS3 ........................................................................... 9 How Nucleo Pro Improves your Workflow ................................................................. 10 Fast Preview and Fast Render .................................................................................. 10 Background Render .................................................................................................. 10 Background Rendering of 3D Projects..................................................................... 11 Spec-Preview ............................................................................................................ 11 Spec-Render ............................................................................................................. 11 Commit to Disk ........................................................................................................ 11 Pre-composition Proxies........................................................................................... 12 Getting Started...................................................................................................................13 Downloading ................................................................................................................ 13 Installation .................................................................................................................... 13 Purchasing a License .................................................................................................... 13 Upgrading Nucleo License to Nucleo Pro.................................................................... 14 Using Nucleo Pro ......................................................................................................... 14 Status Icon .........................................................................................................................15 Nucleo Pro Status Pop-up Messages .................................................................................16 Control Menu.....................................................................................................................17 Viewing Your Nucleo Pro Session History.................................................................. 18 Disabling Nucleo Pro ................................................................................................... 19 Enabling Nucleo Pro..................................................................................................... 19 Selecting Fast Preview Behavior.................................................................................. 20 Selecting the Render Button Behavior ......................................................................... 21 Disabling Status Popup Windows ................................................................................ 21 Open a Nucleo Pro Application Window ..................................................................... 22 Selecting the Performance Level.................................................................................. 23 Resource Settings ......................................................................................................... 24 Purchasing or Activating a Nucleo Pro License........................................................... 25 Getting Nucleo Pro Software Updates ......................................................................... 26 Nucleo Pro Version Information .................................................................................. 26 Feature Interactions ...........................................................................................................27 Fast Preview ......................................................................................................................28 Using After Effects Previews ....................................................................................... 28 Starting/Stopping Nucleo Pro Fast Previews ............................................................... 28 Using the After Effects Composition Menu ................................................................. 29 Using the Keyboard Short-cut ...................................................................................... 29 Selecting your Fast Preview Behavior ......................................................................... 30 What is the difference between preview behaviors? .................................................... 30
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) Tracking Preview Status............................................................................................... 32 Known Issues and Limitations ..................................................................................... 32 Temporally Dependent Plug-ins............................................................................... 32 Camera...................................................................................................................... 32 Region of Interest ..................................................................................................... 32 Troubleshooting............................................................................................................ 33 Fast Render ........................................................................................................................34 Starting a Nucleo Pro Fast Render ............................................................................... 34 Tracking Fast Render Status......................................................................................... 35 Stopping a Nucleo Pro Fast Render.............................................................................. 36 Known Issues and Limitations ..................................................................................... 36 Pausing a Nucleo Pro Fast Render ........................................................................... 36 Temporally Dependent Plug-ins............................................................................... 37 Troubleshooting............................................................................................................ 37 Background Render ...........................................................................................................38 Starting a Nucleo Pro Background Render .................................................................. 38 Background Render Life Cycle .................................................................................... 39 Adding Compositions to the Background Render Queue ............................................ 39 Queuing Compositions from Other Projects ................................................................ 39 Background Render Queue........................................................................................... 40 Opening the Background Render Queue .................................................................. 40 Render Status and Control............................................................................................ 41 Viewing Background Render Status ........................................................................ 41 Stopping a Background Render................................................................................ 41 Pausing and Resuming a Background Render.......................................................... 41 Render Item Details ...................................................................................................... 41 Queued Items................................................................................................................ 41 Prioritizing Render Queue Items .............................................................................. 42 Background Rendering of 3D Projects......................................................................... 42 Supported 3D Applications ...................................................................................... 42 Starting a 3D Background Render............................................................................ 43 Trouble Shooting ...................................................................................................... 43 Background Render Queue History.............................................................................. 45 Opening the Background Render History ................................................................ 45 Removing Items from the History ............................................................................ 46 Sending Rendered Items Back to the Original AE Project....................................... 46 Post Render Actions ..................................................................................................... 46 Known Issues and Limitations ..................................................................................... 46 Temporally Dependent Plug-ins............................................................................... 47 Troubleshooting............................................................................................................ 47 Spec Preview .....................................................................................................................48 How It Works ............................................................................................................... 48 Enabling and Disabling Spec Preview ......................................................................... 48 Configuring Spec Preview............................................................................................ 49 Tracking Status ............................................................................................................. 51 Stopping Spec Preview................................................................................................. 51 Caching Preview Frames on Disk ................................................................................ 52 2010 GridIron Software Inc. 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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) Enabling and Disabling Persistent Frame Caching ...................................................... 52 Changing Your Project Cache Location....................................................................... 52 Managing Cache Files .................................................................................................. 53 Known Issues and Limitations ..................................................................................... 53 Temporally Dependent Plug-ins............................................................................... 54 Camera...................................................................................................................... 54 Region of Interest ..................................................................................................... 54 Troubleshooting............................................................................................................ 54 Spec Render.......................................................................................................................55 How It Works ............................................................................................................... 55 Enabling and Disabling Spec Render ........................................................................... 55 Using Settings Templates ............................................................................................. 56 Tracking Status ............................................................................................................. 56 Stopping Spec Render .................................................................................................. 56 Caching Render Frames on Disk .................................................................................. 57 Changing Your Project Cache Location....................................................................... 57 Managing Cache Files .................................................................................................. 59 Known Issues and Limitations ..................................................................................... 59 Temporally Dependent Plug-ins............................................................................... 59 Troubleshooting............................................................................................................ 59 Commit To Disk ................................................................................................................60 Starting Commit to Disk............................................................................................... 60 Using Settings Templates ............................................................................................. 61 Tracking Status ............................................................................................................. 61 Stopping Commit to Disk ............................................................................................. 61 Transfer Modes............................................................................................................. 61 Track Mattes ................................................................................................................. 62 Known Issues and Limitations ..................................................................................... 62 Temporally Dependent Plug-ins............................................................................... 62 Troubleshooting............................................................................................................ 62 Pre-composition Proxies....................................................................................................63 How It Works ............................................................................................................... 63 Tagging a Composition for Proxying ........................................................................... 63 Enabling and Disabling Pre-composition Proxy .......................................................... 64 Configuring Pre-composition Proxies .......................................................................... 64 Using Templates ........................................................................................................... 65 Tracking Status ............................................................................................................. 65 Stopping Pre-composition Proxy Render ..................................................................... 66 Caching Rendered Frames on Disk .............................................................................. 66 Changing Your Project Cache Location....................................................................... 66 Managing Cache Files .................................................................................................. 67 Known Issues and Limitations ..................................................................................... 67 Temporally Dependent Plug-ins............................................................................... 68 Compositions flagged as 3D layers .......................................................................... 68 Composition that Contain Audio.............................................................................. 68 Troubleshooting............................................................................................................ 68 Managing Cache Files .......................................................................................................69 2010 GridIron Software Inc. 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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) What Are Cache Files? ................................................................................................. 69 Creating Cache Files..................................................................................................... 69 The Cache Manager Tool ............................................................................................. 70 Viewing Cache Data................................................................................................. 71 Deleting Caches........................................................................................................ 71 Moving Caches ......................................................................................................... 72 Cache Settings .......................................................................................................... 73 The Default Cache Location..................................................................................... 73 Maximum Cache Size............................................................................................... 74 Exceeding the Cache Size Limit............................................................................... 74 Enabling Cache File Creation................................................................................... 74 Support Tool ......................................................................................................................75 Performance.......................................................................................................................77 Measuring Performance Gain....................................................................................... 77 Variables that Affect Nucleo Pro Performance ............................................................ 77 Temporally Dependent Plug-ins............................................................................... 77 CPU Intensity of your Composition ......................................................................... 78 Amount of RAM Installed on your Computer ......................................................... 78 Multi-threaded Effects.............................................................................................. 79 After Effects Settings for Previews .......................................................................... 79 Anti-virus Software .................................................................................................. 79 Close Unused Applications ...................................................................................... 79 FileVault on Mac OS X ............................................................................................ 79 Hyper-threading........................................................................................................ 80 Not Seeing a Speed-up? Let us Know!......................................................................... 80 Licensing ...........................................................................................................................81 Obtaining a Serial Number ........................................................................................... 81 Activating Your License............................................................................................... 81 Online Purchases ...............................................................................................................83 Orders by Fax or by Mail ..................................................................................................83 GridIron Sales....................................................................................................................83 Moving Your License........................................................................................................84 Upgrading Nucleo License to Nucleo Pro.........................................................................85 Nucleo Pro Updates ...........................................................................................................86 Uninstalling Nucleo Pro ....................................................................................................87 Getting Help ......................................................................................................................88 Contacting GridIron Software ...........................................................................................89 Appendix 1: GridIron Nucleo Pro License Agreement .....................................................90
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
System Requirements
The following are the minimum and recommended system requirements for your After Effects Workstation computer: Computer Systems with multiple CPUs, multi-core CPUs, or Hyper-Threaded CPUs installed (performance gain on hyper-thread CPUs is less dramatic). Operating System Nucleo Pro supports all Windows and Mac OS X operating systems supported by Adobe After Effects 7.0 and above RAM 2GB (2GB per CPU/Core recommended1) Disk 20MB of available hard-disk space for installation
Software Requirements
Adobe After Effects 7.0 (or later) Standard or Professional editions must be installed before installing Nucleo Pro.
Terminology
In this document we discuss the features of Nucleo Pro using the following terminology: a. Background Process/Instance After Effects processes that do not have a window associated with them. There can be many of these. b. Foreground Process/Instance The After Effects process that presents the user interface (i.e. window). There should only be one (1) of these.
Windows XP Home and Professional only support up to 4 GB of RAM. To use more RAM you will need to run Windows XP 64-bit.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) must be disabled. In fact, Nucleo Pro can not be enabled until multi-processing option is disabled and AE restarted. This restriction is in place to save you the headaches that would arise when both AE and Nucleo Pro launch background After Effects processes, thus consuming inordinate amounts of CPU and RAM before youve even thought about doing a render.
Background Render
When you perform renders with the Adobe After Effects Render Queue you are locked out of After Effects. This means you must wait until your render is completed before you can continue working in After Effects. With the Nucleo Pro Background Render feature you no longer need to sit idle waiting for your After Effects renders to complete. Nucleo Pro provides its own Background Render Queue. Simply add items to the After Effects Render Queue and then click on the Composition->Nucleo Pro Background Render menu. Nucleo Pro will transfer the queued items on the After Effects Render Queue to the Nucleo Pro Background Render Queue and render the items in the background.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) Nucleo Pro will by default, override the Render button in the After Effects render queue. This can be changed by using the Render Options menu from the Nucleo Pro status icons control menu. You are now free to work on another composition or project within After Effects while your render progresses. If you need to add more items onto the Nucleo Pro Background Render Queue from the same or different After Effects project simply add them to the After Effects Render Queue and click on the Nucleo Pro Background Render menu again. Nucleo Pro will append the new render queue items onto the Background Render Queue and render them in turn.
Spec-Preview
With Spec-Preview enabled as you create your composition Nucleo Pro automatically and continuously renders it and fills in your AE RAM Cache. Nucleo Pro detects when you make a change to your composition and re-renders any modified frames. Nucleo Pro can also create cached disk files (scratch files) of the rendered frames. When you close and re-open a composition Nucleo Pro will automatically fill in the AE RAM Cache with the pre-rendered frames from your last editing session of the composition using the disk cached version of the frame. Therefore when you close and re-open a composition the AE RAM Cache will automatically return to the same state as when you last worked on the composition. For information on cache files, refer to the Managing Cache Files section of this document.
Spec-Render
With Spec-Render enabled as you create your composition Nucleo Pro automatically and continuously renders it. Spec-Render instead of filling in the AE RAM Cache like SpecPreview will render your composition to your final output format. Nucleo Pro automatically detects when you make a change to your composition and re-renders any modified frames. Nucleo Pro allows you to select the Render Settings and Output Module template to use for the final output. Spec-Render can greatly reduce or eliminate entirely the wait time for a final render.
Commit to Disk
If you have layers in your timeline that are complete but are costing you time when previewing, Nucleo Pro allows you to commit those layers to disk. Simply select the 2010 GridIron Software Inc. Page 11
GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) layers and have Nucleo Pro render out only those layers using background After Effects processes. When the render is complete, the selected layers in your composition are nondestructively replaced with the rendered footage item. Nucleo Pro allows you to select the Render Settings and Output Module template to use for the render so the rendered footage item will be in the format you choose.
Pre-composition Proxies
Pre-comp proxies are new way of keeping your AE proxies cached and up to date. All you do is tag a composition for proxying and Nucleo Pro 3 will render it in the background and use the rendered output as the proxy. If you make changes to that composition, Nucleo Pro 3 will update the necessary frames and re-apply the proxy for you.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
Getting Started
Downloading
You can download a trial version of Nucleo Pro for free from our web site at www.GridIronSoftware.com/download. The free download is fully functional but all frames are watermarked.
Installation
To install Nucleo Pro: 1. Open the GridIron Nucleo Pro.zip (GridIron Nucleo Pro.dmg on Macintosh) by double clicking on it. 2. On Windows double click on the Setup.exe file. On Macintosh double click on GridIron Nucleo Pro.pkg 3. Follow the prompts to install the software. You will need to accept a License Agreement to install GridIron Nucleo Pro. 4. Re-start After Effects. If After Effects was running when you installed Nucleo Pro you must re-start After Effects to have After Effects load the Nucleo Pro plug-in. Once you have installed Nucleo Pro the remainder of this guide will help you use the complete set of Nucleo Pro features.
Purchasing a License
Once youve completed your trial of the Nucleo Pro software, you can purchase a license from within Nucleo Pro by accessing the Licensing menu of the Nucleo Pro Status Icon in the system tray (Windows)/menu bar (Mactinosh). You can also go directly to our website at www.GridIronSoftware.com/purchase. There is a 3-step process to have your copy of the software fully licensed: 1. Obtain a serial number - selecting the Purchase option opens a browser to our purchase web-site. Upon entering the necessary purchase details, you are emailed a license serial number. 2. Download the Non-Trial version Once you made your purchase a new download will be made available in your www.GridIronSoftware.com account. It is this version of the software that can and must be activated before it is usable. 3. Activate your serial number - once you have received the serial number, you need to activate it by selecting the Activate option from the Licensing submenu of the Nucleo Pro control menu. This will launch the Activation tool. To activate, simply cut and paste the serial number into the Activation tool and hit the Activate button. Nucleo Pro takes care of the rest.
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Status Icon
The status icon provides you with an at a glance view of the current state of Nucleo Pro. You can immediately see whether or not Nucleo Pro is enabled, disabled, loading or working on a Nucleo Pro task you have initiated (for example, a Fast Preview etc.). The Nucleo Pro Status icon also provides access to the control menu and status messages. The status icon is displayed on the Windows system tray or the Mac OS X menu bar when After Effects is started. The icon is removed from the system tray or menu bar when you exit After Effects, which indicates that the plug-in is no longer active. Before using any Nucleo Pro feature you should ensure the Status icon is in the Enabled state. Refer to the table below for Nucleo Pro state indicators. Status Icon Description
Disabled (Black) When Nucleo Pro is disabled Nucleo Pro actions cannot be initiated. The Nucleo Pro menus in After Effects will be disabled (grayed-out) and the After Effects background processes are terminated. Loading (yellow) Loading of Nucleo Pro occurs when After Effects is started (assuming Nucleo Pro has not been disabled) or when Nucleo Pro transitions from a Disabled to Enabled state. During the loading phase, background instances of After Effects are started to process Nucleo Pro actions. When Nucleo Pro has determined the background instances of AE have successfully been started it will transition to Enabled. Nucleo Pro can not be used until it has reached the Enabled state. Enabled (Red) When Nucleo Pro is in Enabled state you can initiate a Nucleo Pro action. The Nucleo Pro menus in After Effects will be enabled and the background After Effects processes used by Nucleo Pro have been started and are awaiting work. Busy (green) You have initiated a Nucleo Pro action and Nucleo Pro is busy working on that action. The status icon may flash between the idle (enabled) and busy states as the background After Effects processes render frames and await new frames to be assigned to them.
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Control Menu
Right clicking (clicking on Mac OS X) on the Nucleo Pro Status icon presents you with a control menu that provides the following selections: View the Nucleo Pro Session History Enable and Disable Nucleo Pro Enable or Disable status pop-up windows Open a Nucleo Pro application window (i.e. the Background Render Queue, the Cache Manager, the Support Tool, and Last Status windows). Specify the behavior of Fast Previews Specify the behavior of the After Effects Render button. Specify the performance level at which to operate Adjust Nucleo Pros CPU and RAM use on your system Purchase and activate your Nucleo Pro license Upgrade to the latest version of Nucleo Pro Determine the currently installed version of Nucleo Pro
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The default setting for Fast Previews is to emulate an After Effects RAM preview. If the Move Play-head (slower) option is selected, during previews Nucleo Pro will advance the play-head in the AE timeline. Due to the negative impact on performance, this option is OFF by default. Note: this feature is available for Mac OS X only. After Effects on Windows does not allow third party applications, like Nucleo Pro, to use this feature.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
When Nucleo Pro is installed, the default is to add items in Queued state to the Background Render Queue and run a background render when the Render button is pressed.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
For more information about the Background Render Queue, Cache Manager, and Support Tool please refer to the corresponding sections of this manual.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
Maximum Foreground and background processes run at same priority Consume as much memory as required Computer may seem unresponsive at times during preview and renders Excellent performance Normal (recommended) Background processes run at reduced priority Attempt to leave memory free for other applications Computer will remain responsive Good performance When changing performance levels, Nucleo Pro will reinitialize. This means any operations that are currently in progress must be aborted. This is expected behavior and required to adjust memory limits for the background After Effects processes.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
Resource Settings
You can make custom adjustments to the number of CPUs and the amount of RAM used by Nucleo Pro by using the Resource Settings dialog.
Nucleo Pro attempts to leave a certain amount of RAM free on your system. The default amount is 512 MB (left free). You can adjust this low-watermark for RAM using the controls provided in the Resource Settings dialog shown below.
Changing the number of CPUs determines the number of the background AE processes used by Nucleo Pro. The number AE processes created will be the number CPUs selected plus one. This also effects the RAM use on your system since each AE process uses a certain amount of memory just by running. Important! Changes made via this dialog will not take effect until After Effects has been restarted.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
Feature Interactions
Nucleo Pro operates only one feature at a time. This allows every feature to make full use of the available CPU and RAM. If there is a feature running and you request another feature to run, you will be asked if you want to terminate the original. For instance if you are running a commit to disk and decide to initiate a background render, Nucleo Pro will display a warning as shown below.
A similar warning will be presented any time one feature attempts to interrupt another. Spec Preview and Spec Render are exceptions to this rule. Spec operations will: 1. Automatically get interrupted to allow other features to run. 2. Automatically restart once the interrupting feature completes or is stopped. Spec Preview can be interrupted by Spec Render, and vice versa but only one will ever be active at any time. If you enable Spec Preview while another operation is progress, the Nucleo Pro Spec Preview menu item will show an adjacent checkmark, but the preview will not be initiated until the current operation completes or is stopped.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
Fast Preview
Nucleo Pro supports the emulation of After Effects RAM, Shift RAM, and Standard (spacebar) previews. For current Nucleo users a Nucleo Pro Fast Preview is synonymous to a Nucleo Preview. Nucleo Pro does not does change the way After Effects normally renders frames. It simply renders a subset of the frames in the background using the extra CPU resources available on your multi-processor or multi-core computer. The level of performance gain realized using Nucleo Pro may vary. It will depend on the effects used and complexity of the composition being previewed.
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The default setting for this option is to emulate Standard (spacebar) preview. If the Move Play-head (slower) option is selected, during fast previews Nucleo Pro will advance the play-head in the AE timeline. Due to the negative impact on performance, this option is OFF by default. Note: this feature is available for Mac OS X only. After Effects on Windows does not allow third party applications, like Nucleo Pro, to use this feature.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) The table below describes the preview methods and how Nucleo Pro Fast Preview emulates them: Preview Type Standard Preview After Effect Behavior 1. Starts play-head in the timeline. 2. Starts from current playhead location. 3. Displays current frame in viewer window. 4. Fills in green line. 5. Displays current frame in the info section of viewer window. 6. Will write frame data to disk cache (if enabled) when RAM has been exhausted. 1. Does not start the playhead in the timeline 2. Displays current frame in the viewer window. 3. Fills in the green line 4. Stops when RAM is exhausted. 5. Loops over previewed frames in accordance with the Loop setting the Time Controls palette. 6. Honors all settings specified in the Time Controls palette. Same as RAM preview, but honors the Shift-RAM preview settings of the Time Controls palette. Nucleo Pro Emulation Behavior 1. Starts the play-head in the timeline. 2. Starts from beginning of Work Space. 3. Does not display current frame in viewer window. 4. Fills in green line. 5. Does not display current frame in the info section of the viewer window. 6. Will write frame data to disk cache (if enabled) when RAM has been exhausted. 1. Does not start the playhead in the timeline 2. Does not display current frame in the viewer window. 3. Fills in the green line 4. Stops when RAM is exhausted. 5. Loops over previewed frames in accordance with the Loop setting the Time Controls palette. 6. Honors the Skip frame, and Loop settings specified in the Time Controls palette. Same as Nucleo Pro emulation of RAM preview except it honors the Skip frame and Loop settings of the Shift-RAM preview settings in the Time Controls palette.
RAM Preview
Shift-RAM Preview
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
Camera
Nucleo Pro will only preview frames for the Active Camera. You must have the Active Camera selected to see the timeline being updated. Your Nucleo Pro fast preview will still continue if the Active Camera is not selected, but you must select the Active Camera to see the updated green line.
Region of Interest
Nucleo Pro only renders entire frames and does not support Region of Interest. Your Nucleo Pro fast preview will still continue if the Region of Interest is selected, but you must disable Region of Interest to see the updated green line.
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Troubleshooting
The status icon will display a pop-up message if a problem occurs during a Nucleo Pro operation. Clicking on the pop-up message will display the Nucleo Pro session history. In the session history, problem entries are highlighted (red for errors, yellow for warnings) and contain a hyper-link to the Nucleo Pro support web site where more detailed information and troubleshooting assistance is available.
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Fast Render
Nucleo Pro provides the ability to optimize the rendering of items on the After Effects Render Queue. For existing Nucleo users a Fast Render is synonymous with a Nucleo Render. The level of performance gain realized using Nucleo Pro may vary. It will depend on the effects used and complexity of the composition being rendered.
If you do not want to use Nucleo Pro for your renders you can: 1. Disable Nucleo Pro (using the Disable menu from the control menu).
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) 2. Re-assign the behavior of the render button Render Options menu of the Nucleo Pro control menu in the status icon. When you start a fast render using Nucleo Pro, a back-up copy of your project file is saved in a folder called Nucleo Backups under the same folder as your project file. Since Nucleo Pro has to save the project file at the end of a render (in order to update render queue status), the back-up file ensures you can reverse any changes made to the project during a render (such as the effects of import and replace post render actions). Nucleo Pro will inform you of the back-up location with the following reminder window at the start of each render (unless the dont show this again option has been selected).
When a Nucleo Pro fast render is started a dialog box appears indicating that the render has begun. Pressing the Stop button will terminate the render and leave any un-rendered items in queued state.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) progress bar to indicate the status of each render queue item. You can dismiss the pop-up window at any time during the preview by clicking the X in the upper right hand corner of the window. To restore the progress pop-up, select Window->Last Status from the Nucleo Pro control menu.
GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
For this reason, Nucleo Pro does not offer the pause/resume functionality because no changes could be introduced to the render queue even in a paused state.
Troubleshooting
The status icon will display a pop-up message if a problem occurs during a Nucleo Pro Fast Render. Clicking on the pop-up message will display the session history. In the session history, problem entries are highlighted (red for errors, yellow for warnings) and contain a hyper-link to the Nucleo Pro support web site where more detailed information and troubleshooting assistance is available.
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Background Render
Nucleo Pro provides the ability to render items on your After Effects Render Queue in the background while you continue to work in After Effects.
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Queued Items
The lower section of the background render queue contains a list of the items waiting to be rendered. These items are rendered in the order they appear in the list.
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Supported 3D Applications
Nucleo Pro 3 supports the following 3D applications and versions: Application Maxon Cinema 4D Minimum Version 9.6, 10 Platforms Windows Mac OS X (10.4.9+) Vista (32 and 64 bit) Windows XP Pro 32 bit (SP2) Windows XP Pro x64 Windows XP Pro 32 bit (SP2) Windows XP Pro x64 Mac OS X (10.4.8+) Mac OS X (10.4.6+) Windows XP Pro 32 bit (SP2) Windows XP Pro x64 Windows XP Pro 32 bit (SP2) Window XP Pro x64 Mac OS X (10.3.9+)
Autodesk Maya
8.5
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Trouble Shooting
Nucleo Pro makes every effort to automatically discover the installed location of your 3D applications. If you find that Nucleo Pro complains about the format not being support, it can often be related to being unable to locate the application associated with the project. 2010 GridIron Software Inc. Page 43
GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) In these situations you can tell Nucleo Pro where to look for the application using the Nucleo Support Tool. Launch the Support Tool from the Window menu of status icon control menu and select the 3D Renderers option as shown below.
From this tool you can specify the location of the application by setting Executable field to Specify and entering the full path to the applicationin the Path field. Once you have completed the configuration hit the Apply button and restart After Effects if it was running.
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The render queue history window lists previously rendered compositions. The history window presents the following information: 1. The composition that was rendered. 2. The project that contained that composition. 3. The final status of the render. 4. The start data and time of the render 5. The time required to render the composition. Selecting an item in the history window will present all of the render settings and output module settings details in the Background Render Queue window.
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Troubleshooting
The status icon will display a pop-up message if a problem occurs during a Nucleo Pro Background Render. Clicking on the pop-up message will display the session history. In the session history, problem entries are highlighted (red for errors, yellow for warnings) and contain a hyper-link to the Nucleo Pro support web site where more detailed information and troubleshooting assistance is available.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
Spec Preview
Spec Preview (a.k.a. Speculative Preview) can best be described as a continuous, opportunistic, and automatic RAM Preview. The feature - when enabled - will start rendering the frames of your composition in the background while you work. As rendered frames are available, they are used to fill in your After Effects RAM cache (that is, the green line in your timeline window). It will continue to do so until your RAM has been exhausted (like RAM Preview) or until told to stop.
How It Works
Spec Preview is continuously scanning your compositions timeline looking for frames that need rendering. When it finds one, that frame gets rendered and submitted to the green line as a frame that is ready for viewing. As you make changes, sections of your compositions RAM cache will become invalidated (meaning the frames need to be rerendered). Spec Preview will automatically detect the modifications and re-render only the necessary frames.
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Compositions listed in this dialog will indicate whether Spec Preview is enabled via the value shown in the Spec Mode column. To configure Spec Preview for any given composition, simply click the Settings button adjacent the composition and the following dialog will appear.
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The Composition Settings dialog box allows you to store per-composition preference settings for Spec Preview. Each composition that has Spec Preview applied can be uniquely configured. So what do all those settings mean? Essentially there are only 3 things to configure: 1. What frame range to speculate over. 2. Where to start speculating. 3. The order in which frames are placed in the RAM cache (i.e. the green line). The first three options in the settings dialog above allow you to decide what range to operate for this composition. You can choose the Work Area, the entire Timeline, or a custom frame range. The Start render from current time check box is on by default and simply means that rendering will start at the position of the Current Time Indicator (CTI) at the instant the feature is enabled. If you want the frames to be rendered starting at the beginning of the composition, you simply uncheck this box.
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The Render around current time indicator check box is off by default but allows you to change the order in which frames are rendered. By default, Spec Preview will render frames sequentially (i.e. frame 1, then 2, then 3, and so on) starting from the current time indicator and extending left to right.
By checking this checkbox, frames will be rendered in a cluster starting from the current time indicator and expanding outwards in both directions. For instance, if the CTI is at frame 10, Spec Preview render frames as follows: 10, 9, 11, 8, 12, 7, 13, 6, 14, and so on.
Tracking Status
When Spec Preview detects that frames need to be rendered, it presents a popup window as shown. This window shows the progress of the Spec Preview in terms of the number of frames that need to be re-rendered. Status popup windows can be closed by clicking the X in the upper right corner. If you do not wish see the popup windows at all, they can be disabled from the Nucleo Pro status icon. However, even with status disabled you can always get the status of your preview by selecting Show Status from the Window submenu of the status icon or by hovering over the status icon itself.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) If you have any existing cache files associated with the project you will be asked what you want to do with those files.
Your options are to: 1. Keep the files but move the files to the new location (Migrate) 2. Delete them and allow the cache data to be re-generated.
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Camera
Nucleo Pro will only preview frames for the Active Camera. You must have the Active Camera selected to see the timeline being updated. Your Spec Preview will still continue if the Active Camera is not selected, but you must select the Active Camera to see the updated green line.
Region of Interest
Nucleo Pro only renders entire frames and does not support Region of Interest. Your Spec Preview will still continue if the Region of Interest is selected, but you must disable Region of Interest to see the updated green line.
Troubleshooting
The status icon will display a pop-up message if a problem occurs during a Nucleo Pro operation. Clicking on the pop-up message will display the Nucleo Pro session history. In the session history, problem entries are highlighted (red for errors, yellow for warnings) and contain a hyper-link to the Nucleo Pro support web site where more detailed information and troubleshooting assistance is available.
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Spec Render
When enabled Spec Render (a.k.a. Speculative Render) will start rendering the frames of your composition in the background while you work. The final rendered file will be placed wherever you instruct Nucleo Pro to put it.
How It Works
Spec Render is continuously scanning your compositions timeline looking for frames that need rendering. When it finds one, that frame gets rendered and written to disk as a single frame. As you make changes, sections of your composition will become invalidated (meaning the frames need to be re-rendered). Spec Render will automatically detect the modifications and re-render only the necessary frames. Once all frames have created, Spec Render quickly generates the final output using the pre-rendered frame files. Spec Render uses two (2) phases to generate the final output. The first phase performs a sequence render to a sequence of Photoshop files that act as the persistent frame cache for the composition. As you work to build up the composition, Spec Render will be continuously regenerating the sequence of cache files until an opportune time to generate the final movie presents itself. The second phase of Spec Render uses the cache files generated from the first phase to create the final output in the format that you specified.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) Once started using the dialog shown above, Spec Render is enabled on the composition until your project is closed, at which time the feature is turned off.
Tracking Status
When Spec Render detects that frames need to be rendered, it presents a popup window as shown. This window shows the progress of the Spec Render in terms of the number of frames that need to be re-rendered. Spec Render operates using two passes. This is reflected in the status dialog as follows: 1. The first 50% of the status represents the progress in creating the intermediate frame cache files. This means that when the status reaches 50% - all of the caches files have created. 2. The last 50% of status represents the progress in creation of the final output file. When the status reaches 100% the render file has been created in the specified location. You can dismiss the pop-up window at any time during the render by clicking the X in the upper right hand corner of the window. To restore the progress pop-up, select Window->Show Status from the Nucleo Pro control menu.
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If you have any existing cache files associated with the project you will be asked what you want to do with those files.
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Your options are to: 1. Delete them and allow the cache data to be re-generated. 2. Keep the files but move the files to the new location (Migrate)
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Troubleshooting
The status icon will display a pop-up message if a problem occurs during a Nucleo Pro Fast Render. Clicking on the pop-up message will display the session history. In the session history, problem entries are highlighted (red for errors, yellow for warnings) and contain a hyper-link to the Nucleo Pro support web site where more detailed information and troubleshooting assistance is available.
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Commit To Disk
If you have layers in your timeline that are complete but are costing you time when previewing, Nucleo Pro provides the ability to commit those layers to disk. This allows you to convert a contiguous set of layers to a rendered movie or image sequence and have that output added back into the composition as footage layer which replaces the selected layers. This operation occurs in the background while you continue to have responsive control of After Effects. The render area ranges from the first frame of the earliest layer in the timeline to the last frame of the latest layer in the timeline.
Once initiated, a new placeholder layer is added to the composition. This layer is called Commit in Progress. DO NOT DELETE this layer before the commit operation has completed. When the Commit to Disk render is complete, the selected layers in your composition are non-destructively replaced with the rendered footage item. The new footage layer is added above the first layer in the selected range. The original layers are made invisible, shy, and locked and a new footage item containing the rendered material will have been added to the project. Because your original layer are made into shy layers, you can use the Hide shy layers button in the composition Timeline window, to completely hide them from view (thus cleaning up the timeline considerably).
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Tracking Status
Nucleo Pro performs all Commit to Disk rendering activity using background After Effects processes. This allows for you to continue working in After Effects while the commit progresses. Since all activity related to rendering occurs in the background, status is limited in the main After Effects window. To assist in the tracking of render status, Nucleo Pro uses a pop-up based progress bar to indicate the status of the Commit to Disk render item. You can dismiss the pop-up window at any time during the preview by clicking the X in the upper right hand corner of the window. To restore the progress pop-up, select Window->Last Status from the Nucleo Pro control menu.
Transfer Modes
If transfer modes have been specified on layers within the set to be committed to disk, then those transfer modes are applied during the rendering process. The resulting footage layer which replaces the selected set will NOT have a transfer mode specified since they have already been rendered.
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Track Mattes
If track mattes are being used on layer within the set selected for commit to disk, the Commit in Progress placeholder layer and the rendered footage layer will be placed below the last layer in the selected range. This is done to ensure that the new layer does not interfere with any defined track mattes.
Troubleshooting
The status icon will display a pop-up message if a problem occurs during a Nucleo Pro Fast Render. Clicking on the pop-up message will display the session history. In the session history, problem entries are highlighted (red for errors, yellow for warnings) and contain a hyper-link to the Nucleo Pro support web site where more detailed information and troubleshooting assistance is available.
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Pre-composition Proxies
Pre-composition Proxies are new way of keeping your AE proxies cached and up to date. All you do is tag a composition for proxying and Nucleo Pro 3 will render it in the background and use the rendered output as the proxy. If you make changes to that composition, Nucleo Pro 3 will update the necessary frames and re-apply the proxy for you.
How It Works
With Pre-composition Proxies, Nucleo is continuously scanning any tagged compositions timeline looking for frames that need rendering. When it finds one, that frame gets rendered and written to disk as a single frame. As you make changes, sections of your composition will become invalidated (meaning the frames need to be rerendered). With Pre-composition Proxies enabled, Nucleo will automatically detect the modifications and re-render only the necessary frames. Once all frames have created, the proxy for the tagged composition is set to the image sequence that was just rendered in the background.
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Select the appropriate Render Settings or Output Module template from the drop down lists provided. Notice that you cannot select the output location for rendered proxy frames. These are directed to the Nucleo Pro cache directory. If you need proxy frames in a specific disk location, you need to change the cache directory associated with the project. This can be done from the Nucleo Pro Project Settings window.
Using Templates
Pre-composition Proxies operate using templates for both Render Settings and Output Module Settings. You can modify or create new templates for Render or Output Module settings by selecting the appropriate menu from the Edit->Templates menu in After Effects. Important! If you modify or add new templates, you must disable and re-enable Nucleo Pro before starting either a Spec Render or Commit to Disk operation. This is required to ensure that all background processes are made aware of the template modifications. Failure to restart Nucleo Pro will result in erroneous render results.
Tracking Status
Nucleo Pro 3 will present a pop-up status window with a progress bar to allow you to monitor the state of your proxy renders. Compositions will be rendered in the order that they appear in the Nucleo Pro Settings dialog. A new pop-up will appear for each composition rendered. You can dismiss the pop-up window at any time during the render by clicking the X in the upper right hand corner
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If you have any existing cache files associated with the project you will be asked what you want to do with those files.
Your options are to: 1. Keep the files but move the files to the new location (Migrate) 2. Delete them and allow the cache data to be re-generated.
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Troubleshooting
The status icon will display a pop-up message if a problem occurs during a Nucleo Pro Fast Render. Clicking on the pop-up message will display the session history. In the session history, problem entries are highlighted (red for errors, yellow for warnings) and contain a hyper-link to the Nucleo Pro support web site where more detailed information and troubleshooting assistance is available.
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For Spec Render, cache files are automatically created because they also serve as the intermediate frame data which is used to generate the final render.
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Deleting Caches
You can delete cache files for any combination of projects, compositions, or Spec Preview, Spec Render, or Precomp Proxy entries. You can delete a single entry by selecting the entry and: a. Clicking on the Delete button in tool bar b. Right clicking on the entry and selecting the Delete option from the menu. c. Hitting the delete key on the keyboard.
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) To delete multiple entries, the Cache Manager supports multiple entry selection using either control-click or shift-click selection. You will be prompted to confirm the delete action. Once confirmed, the delete operation is final and can not be undone.
Moving Caches
If you decide that current cache location for a given project is not suitable (the disk is full, or not fast enough, etc.) you can use the Cache Manager to move the cache files associated with the project to a new location. Important! NEVER try to manually move your cache data. Nucleo uses a number of files in various locations to manage cache information and its association with an AE project. Trying to move it yourself will result in hair loss and stomach ulcers. To move the cache location for a project, select the project from the list and: a. Choose the File menu (in the Cache Manager not AE) and select Move cache to new location. b. Right click on the project and select Move cache to new location from the popup menu. You will be asked to navigate to the new directory. Once a new location is selected, Nucleo Pro will begin moving the cache data.
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Cache Settings
From the Cache Manager you can change the default cache settings used by Nucleo Pro on new AE projects.
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Support Tool
Nucleo Pro comes with a tool to assist in troubleshooting and reporting if things go wrong. You can access the support tool in to ways: 1. By launching it from Window sub-menu of the Nucleo status icons control menu. 2. By running the executable application directly from the Nucleo Pro plugin folder. When the tool is launched you will be present with the following window.
This screen describes the steps you should take when attempting to correct or diagnose a problem.
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The 3D Renderers section allows you to configure Nucleo Pro to launch the correct versions of your 3Dpplications. The Maintenance section allows you to clear out log, cache, and configuration files that may have become corrupt.
The Support section allows you to adjust the logging detail level and to collect all logs created by Nucleo Pro. This is useful when working with GridIron support to diagnose problems. Creating a support package actually places a .zip file on your Desktop. This zip file can then be emailed to GridIron support for analysis.
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Performance
Measuring Performance Gain
The only way to get a true measure of performance gain is to do the following: 1. Get the stand-alone time: Clear all caches in After Effects (Using the Edit->Purge->All menu item) Preview or render using only After Effects with Nucleo Pro DISABLED Measure and record the time to complete. 2. Get the Nucleo Pro time: Clear all caches. Preview or render with Nucleo Pro ENABLED Measure and record the time to complete. 3. Compare the two time measurements. To see typical performance gains using Nucleo Pro refer to the benchmark data available at http://www.gridironsoftware.com/Nucleo/Benchmarks
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) Company 2d3 Adobe Buena Revision Effects Algolith Red Giant Software Plug-in SteadyMove Pro Particle Playground Digital Interference Feedback Twixtor Time Stretch Video Gogh Noise Reduction (DNR, MTNR, MNR and MNR2) Film Fix Web Site www.2d3.com www.adobe.com www.buena.com www.revisionfx.com www.algolith.com www.redgiantsoftware.com
For an updated list of known tight coupled plug-ins please see the FAQ What are tightly-coupled plug-ins and how do they affect performance?
GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0) consume RAM as required until it is determined that physical RAM is close to exhaustion. This ensures that After Effect will not be affected by disk accesses due to the use of virtual memory.
Multi-threaded Effects
Some visual effects are already optimized to take advantage of multi-processor and/or multi-core computers. Nucleo Pro is not able to provide additional speed improvements if the effects used in the composition already max out the available CPU resources.
Anti-virus Software
During renders files are written to disk. Many Antivirus software packages will interrogate every file creation to ensure the interception of destructive disk activity. These checks can be costly in terms of performance. To maximize render performance we recommend you configure your anti-virus software to exclude checks on the output path specified in the Output Modules. For further information, please refer to: http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/330390.html
FileVault on Mac OS X
The FileVault feature of Mac OS X secures a users home directory by encrypting its contents. If your home folder is secured using FileVault it should not be used for the After Effects disk cache or as an output location for any Output Modules in the render queue. Using FileVault for this data will adversely affect render performance.
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Hyper-threading
Nucleo Pro can provide a performance benefit if your Windows computer supports hyper-threading. When using Nucleo Pro please enable hyper-threading if it is supported on your computer.
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Licensing
If you are running a trial copy, all Nucleo Pro functionality is available however, all frames rendered by Nucleo Pro will be watermarked. (Watermark consists of a red tint on the image along with a red X with an n at the center). With a full release copy of the software, none of the Nucleo Pro features (Fast Preview, Fast Render, Background Render, Commit to Disk, Spec Preview and Spec Render) will be accessible until your license has been activated. Nucleo Pro licenses cannot be shared amongst workstations. If you have more than one workstation in your studio you must purchase a copy of Nucleo Pro for each computer.
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Activation Window
After Entering your serial number in the field provided, click the Active button. You will see the following popup window indicating that the Activation process has started.
At this point Nucleo Pro is communicating with our web site to retrieve your license information. When you license has been installed properly, you will see the following message.
Once your license is activated your previews and renders will no longer be watermarked. There is no reason to restart After Effects after your license is activated.
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Online Purchases
To place an online order via our secure commerce server, visit http://www.GridIronSoftware.com/purchase.
GridIron Sales
To speak directly with a GridIron sales representative or to place an order by phone you can contact us at our general inquiry number: 1-866-850- 4743 in North America or +1613-226-9445 outside North America. You can also email GridIron at sales@gridironsoftware.com
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Replace or disable the NIC Nucleo Pro uses. For example, if you replace an older 100BaseT network card with a faster gigabit Ethernet card) Move your Nucleo Pro license from one computer to another.
Please contact GridIron Software sales (sales@gridironsoftware.com) if you need to change your Nucleo Pro license. If possible please provide the following information:
Your serial number The reason why you are moving the license The new System ID. To get your System ID please do the following: Windows Open a Command Prompt window Type ipconfig /all in the Command Prompt window. You should get a line in the output for Physical Address like this:
Physical Address............0A-50-70-3B-37-7B Your System ID is 0A50703B377B
Mac OS X Launch the System Preferences and click on Network In the Show field select Built-in Ethernet. Click on Ethernet tab to display the Ethernet ID
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To get the latest version you can simply do one of the following: 1. Click on the pop-up window OR 2. Right-click (click on Mac) on the status icon to display the control menu and select Get Latest Updates Either of these methods will bring you to the Nucleo Pro download site so you can download the latest update. The download site will have information on the new features and enhancements of the latest release as well as installation instructions. Before you install the latest version you must uninstall the previous version of Nucleo Pro. Please see the Uninstalling Nucleo Pro section of this document for details. Your current license information and preferences will be retained after uninstalling Nucleo Pro.
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Getting Help
Several resources are available to assist you in installing, using and optimizing the performance of Nucleo Pro. In addition to this Nucleo Pro User Guide, the supplemental README file included with the Nucleo Pro download also provides important and up to date information. The Nucleo Pro Support Forum on the http://www.GridIronSoftware.com/Support web site provides you with access to an ongoing, open discussion of matters relating to GridIron Nucleo Pro and other GridIron Software products. At the Support Forum you can freely browse, read and post messages, and add new discussion topics. As a registered user you can subscribe and follow discussions through the message center (which manages all of your subscriptions to threads and folders) or receive an e-mail digest of discussions you've subscribed to. Please see the detailed Forum Help page (http://forums.gridironsoftware.com > Forums Help) for further information on using the Nucleo Pro Support Forum. Responses to support inquiries directed to support@gridironsoftware.com will also be posted in the Nucleo Pro Support Forum. http://www.GridIronSoftware.com/Support also provides you with access to documents that provide useful information for optimizing your use of Nucleo Pro and tips for improving performance and troubleshooting.
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the right to use the Licensed Materials in accordance with this Agreement. The Licensed Materials are protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. The Licensed Materials are licensed, not sold. All rights not expressly granted to the End User are reserved to GridIron. 5. Confidential Information The End User acknowledges that: the Licensed Materials, this Agreement and any other information of whatever kind (whether or not in material form and whether or not disclosed before or after the effective date of this Agreement) disclosed or revealed by GridIron to the End User under or in relation to this Agreement that: (i) is by its nature confidential; (ii) is designated by GridIron as confidential; or (iii) the End User knows or reasonably ought to know is confidential, (together the "Confidential Information") constitute the valuable property and trade secrets of GridIron embodying substantial creative efforts and confidential information. The End User agrees: (a) to take all measures necessary to keep the Confidential Information confidential; and (b) not to release, disclose, divulge or otherwise make available any of the Confidential Information to any person except: (i) employees of the End User who need to use the Confidential Information to facilitate the End User's use of the Licensed Materials, provided that the End User issues written instructions to such employees requiring them not to disclose, use or copy the Confidential Information except as expressly permitted by this Agreement; or (ii) its subcontractors, representatives and legal and professional advisors, provided that each such subcontractor, representative and advisor shall first execute a non-disclosure covenant no less protective of the Confidential Information than this Article 5. 6. Limited Warranty (a) GridIron warrants that for the period of thirty (30) days from the date of delivery of the Licensed Materials: (a) the media containing the Licensed Software will be free from defects; and (b) if not modified and if properly installed and used, the Licensed Software will materially conform to the specifications set out in the Documentation. (b) EXCEPT FOR THE LIMITED WARRANTY EXPRESSLY SET OUT IN SECTION 6(A) AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GRIDIRON DISCLAIMS, AND END USER AGREES TO WAIVE, ALL REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, OBLIGATIONS AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR COLLATERAL, INCLUDING ANY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, OBLIGATIONS OR CONDITIONS OF TITLE, OWNERSHIP, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, HIDDEN AND LATENT DEFECTS, MERCHANTABILITY, MERCHANTABLE QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND THOSE ARISING BY STATUTE OR OTHERWISE IN LAW OR FROM THE COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, GRIDIRON DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE LICENSED SOFTWARE WILL MEET THE END USER'S PARTICULAR REQUIREMENTS, THAT THE OPERATION OF THE LICENSED SOFTWARE WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED OR THAT ALL PROGRAMMING ERRORS IN THE LICENSED SOFTWARE CAN BE FOUND IN ORDER TO BE CORRECTED. No oral or written information or advice given by GridIron, its dealers, distributors, agents or employees shall create a warranty or in any way increase the scope of the limited warranty herein. (c) Your exclusive remedy under this Section 6 is to return the Licensed Software to the place you acquired it, with a copy of your receipt and a description of the problem. GridIron will use reasonable commercial efforts to supply you with a replacement copy of the Licensed Software that substantially conforms to the documentation, provide a replacement for the defective media, or refund to you your purchase price for the Licensed Software, at its option. GridIron shall have no responsibility with respect to Licensed Software that has been altered in any way, if the media has been damaged by accident, abuse or misapplication, or if the nonconformance arises out of use of the Licensed Software in conjunction with software not supplied or recommended by GridIron. 7. Limitation of Liability END USER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT END USER IS RECEIVING THE LICENSED MATERIALS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT FOR THE LIMITED PURPOSES SET FORTH HEREIN AND THAT, THEREFORE, GRIDIRON WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES, COSTS OR OTHER CLAIMS OF END USER OR ANY THIRD PARTY, RELATING TO THE LICENSED MATERIALS. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will GridIron, or GridIron's directors, officers, employees or shareholders, be liable for any claims for direct, punitive, exemplary, aggravated, indirect, incidental, consequential or special damages under or relating to this Agreement or its subject matter, including damages for lost business revenue, lost profits, failure to realize expected savings, loss of data or loss of business opportunity, whether based on breach or recission of contract (including fundamental breach or breach of fundamental term), restitution, strict liability, tort (including negligence), any other theory of extracontractual liability, breach of trust or fiduciary duty or otherwise, even if GridIron has been advised of the possibility of such damages, and notwithstanding any failure of essential purpose of any exclusive remedy provided in this Agreement. IN NO EVENT SHALL GRIDIRON'S TOTAL LIABILITY RELATING TO OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT, HOWSOEVER ARISING, EXCEED THE SUM OF $495 USD. 8. Term and Termination This Agreement is effective from the earlier of the date End User clicks "Accept", installs, copies or uses the Licensed Materials and continues in full force and effect until terminated, as provided below. This Agreement will terminate immediately if End User fails to comply with any term or condition of this Agreement. Termination of this Agreement will not prevent GridIron from pursuing any other remedies available to it, including injunctive relief. Upon termination End User will destroy all copies of the Licensed Materials. 9. General Contract Provisions (a) Entire Agreement - This Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between GridIron and End User. No supplement, modification or waiver of this Agreement is binding unless signed by both parties. This Agreement will be binding upon and enure to the benefit of the parties to this Agreement and their respective successors and permitted assigns. End User will not assign or otherwise transfer this Agreement or any of its rights under this Agreement, whether directly or indirectly, without the prior written consent of GridIron. Provisions of this Agreement which by their nature continue after termination, including without limitation
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GridIron Nucleo Pro For Adobe After Effects User Guide (Version 3.0)
Sections 5, 6 and 7, will survive termination of this Agreement. If in any jurisdiction, any provision of this Agreement shall be held illegal, invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, such provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it legal, valid and enforceable, and the legality, validity and enforceability of all other provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. (b) Governing Law - THIS AGREEMENT WILL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF PROVINCE OF ONTARIO AND THE LAWS OF CANADA APPLICABLE IN THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO AND THE PARTIES IRREVOCABLY ATTORN TO THE NON-EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE COURTS OF THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. END USER AGREES THAT THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE GOVERNED BY THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON CONTRACTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SALE OF GOODS, THE APPLICATION OF WHICH IS EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED. (c) Independent Parties - Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed to place the parties in the relationship of principal and agent, franchisor and franchisee, partners or joint venturers. No representations will be made or acts taken by the End User which could establish any apparent relationship of agency, joint venture, partnership or franchisee and GridIron shall not be bound in any manner whatsoever by any agreements, warranties or representations made by the End User to any other person or with respect to any other action of the End User. (d) Injunctive Relief - End User acknowledges that monetary damages may not be a sufficient remedy for each of its obligations under this Agreement, including without limitation a breach of the license restrictions or its confidentiality obligations herein, and that GridIron shall be entitled, without waiving any of its other rights and remedies, to such injunctive or equitable relief as may be deemed proper by a court of competent jurisdiction. (e) Export - The End User acknowledges that the Licensed Materials may be subject to export and re-export restrictions under United States and Canadian export control laws and thus may not be exported or re-exported except in compliance with such laws. (f) Government Restrictions - Use, duplication or disclosure of the Licensed Materials by any agency or department of the United States Government is restricted in accordance with FAR 12.212 for civilian agencies and DFAR Supplement 227.7207 for military agencies. The Licensed Materials are commercial computer software and commercial computer software documentation. Any use, modification, reproduction, release, performing, displaying or disclosing of the Software by the U.S. Government shall be governed solely by the terms of this Agreement and shall be prohibited except to the extent expressly permitted by the terms of this Agreement. (g) Language - The End User and GridIron confirm that it is their wish that this Agreement has been and shall be drawn up in the English language only. Les signataires confirment leur volonte que la presente convention, de meme que tous les documents s'y rattachant, y compris tout avis, annexe et autorisation, soient rediges en anglais seulement. ACCEPTANCE OF AGREEMENT You agree and acknowledge that by clicking on the "ACCEPT" button, you are attaching your electronic signature to and demonstrating your acceptance of the terms and conditions of this Agreement in its electronic form in its entirety, making this a legally enforceable agreement between GridIron and you. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT AND UNDERSTAND IT, AND THAT BY INSTALLING THE LICENSED SOFTWARE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS. YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT, EXCEPT FOR SEPARATE WRITTEN AGREEMENTS BETWEEN YOU AND GRIDIRON, THIS AGREEMENT IS THE COMPLETE AND EXCLUSIVE STATEMENT OF THE RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES OF THE PARTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE LICENSED SOFTWARE.
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