Custom UI Parameters / New to List

[Chris Smith <chris(at)sugarfilmproduction.com>]

Hello all.  We are picking up our new DS system next week I believe. We're very excited.  I'm not an official editor by trade, but I'm learning the machine none the less.  I've been training on the training software for a while.  It won't go "online" in use till January though when our post rooms are built.  So I'm sure I will have many questions.  Great to be here.

First question:

In Apple's Shake, I have made many custom nodes by ganging other nodes together, combining them into one node and most importantly creating a custom UI for it so the user doesn't have to search through the internal nodes searching through what parameters are relevant to the effect.  I am very eager to recreate my nodes on the DS.  For example creating Power Windows like in a DaVinci or simulations of Trapcode's Starglow, etc.

I can make the node tree's just fine in DS to do the effects, but when I save the tree as a preset there seems to be no way to build a custom UI for it.  So to use it, one does have to 'expand' the node and go hunting for what works for the effect.  I've been training on 7.5.  I saw that 7.6 has expressions now.  Can this be used to create the custom UI?  Will it allow you, like Shake or FCP, to create dummy interfaces that you link to internal node parameters?  

If not, Is there talk of doing this in the future?  It's incredibly powerful and convenient, I would hope Avid/SI is considering this.  As a side question, are there any plans to do much simpler nodes for some things? e.g. saturation node to change saturation rather than a full blown color correct node.  I hate using all that processing overhead to bump one part of an effect.

TIA,

-Chris

Chris Smith

Partner/Film Director

Sugar Film Production

3699 McKinney #222

Dallas 75204

214.655.2662

http://www.sugarfilmproduction.com