Quickstart for RG Corner Pin plug-in

Welcome to a quick introduction to the RG Corner Pin plug-in. This Quickstart uses screenshots and language from After Effects but its operation in other host applications is almost the same.

Here is what happens when Corner Pin does its thing: The four points of the rectilinear shape of an image are selected. These points are mapped against four points of another rectangular shape that lies beneath in the Timeline. The pinning can be placed at the edge of a mask, rather than just at the edge of the layer being pinned, which gives you the kind of control usually found in higher-end packages.

We will show the simple process for a 'single warp' pin. It's very fun and productive being warped — at least, that's what we tell ourselves around the office — so let's get started.

Step 1: Set up the composition

Go to Composition> New Composition to create a new composition. Our laptop file is 640 x 360 pixels, so we'll set the composition size to match. You do not need the comp to be larger than the output image because the input layer stays within its boundaries. Keep the time Duration at the default 5 seconds.

In your Timeline, lay down the two images you will work with. The bottom layer is the image that you are mapping to, and Corner Pin refers to this image as the To Pins. In our example below, this is the laptop footage. You can also call this the 'target' image or 'ouput' layer.

The layer above is the image you are mapping from, and Corner Pin refers to this image as the From Pins. Our example uses a female face graphic. You can also call this the 'source' image or 'input' layer. So many names, and we've barely started!

At left, the source image/input layer/From Pins graphic. At right, the target image/output layer/To Pins graphic.

Step 2: Apply the plug-in

Lock down the To Pins image (the laptop) by selecting that layer, then clicking the Lock icon in your Timeline. This will allow you to work more easily.

With the From Pins layer (the woman) selected, apply the plug-in from the Effect> Red Giant Warp> RG Corner Pin menu. Go to the Effect Controls palette.

Step 3: Auto-create the To Pins

The plug-in automatically creates the To Pins, which default to the four corners of the input layer. Go to View Mode and choose To Pins Warp. in our example, the woman's bounding box shows a yellow outline and four To Pin labels. When you've looked at their layout, you can change the setting back to Both Pins Warp.

For our project, we are using an input image that is smaller than the output layer so we can already see the whole input image. The output layer is visually covered at the moment. Zoom out if you need to see more of the boundaries of the layer in order to do the next step.

At left, the input layer is sitting above the output layer in our Timeline. At right, a close-up of the To Pins label.

Step 4: Adjust the To Pins

By default, the To Pins group is active, so let's twirl it down. You're going to set the Upper Left, Upper Right, Lower Left and Lower Right points. Each of these points matches the boundary points of the object that you are mapping to, which is the laptop screen.

At left, the default To Pins settings. At right, the new To Pins settings.

To move the To Pins points, you have a few choices. One, you can click and drag on each point in the Preview Window. Two, you can enter specific X and Y values into the numeric fields in the Effects menu. Three, you can click into the cross-hair field of each setting in the Effects menu, then click/drag the point in the Preview Window.

You may need to lower the transparency of the woman graphic so you can see what you're pinning to. To do this, change the Corner Pin Opacity setting from 100 to 50%. Once you have finished pinning, you can set the Opacity back to 100.

At left, we have moved two of the four To Pins. In middle, all To Pins have been adjusted. In the third graphic, Corner Pin Opacity is back to 100%.

Step 5: View the 'single warp' pinning

The result is that you have mapped the woman footage to the perspective of the underlying laptop screen. The screenshot below shows where the input image started and how it was transformed in perspective and size (or 'warped') to fit the output image.

This leads us to show one more area of the Corner Pin controls. The Overlay Mode lets you view your Pin groups in a few ways. By default, it is set to Show To Pins, which are the corners of the input image. This allows us to do a simple 'single warp' pinning without changing any of the View preferences. A single warp indicates that we are transforming only one aspect of one image.

If you need to look at your From Pins, then change then Overlay Mode to Show From Pins. This allows us to redefine the corners of the input image, which you would do to create a 'double warp' pinning.

Overlay Mode> Show To Pins is active.

Overlay Mode> Show From Pins is active.

In conclusion

You're finished creating a 'single warp' corner pin. If you want to animate this pinning, you can keyframe the Pin points adjustments as the woman image follows the laptop screen. Go to www.redgiantsoftware.com to see Warp video tutorials that explain the next level of Corner Pin technique, which is creating a 'double warp' for input images that have masks.