@bexley .... thanks for sharing your thoughts on work flow .... :)
Thought your animation was good! A lot of expression in these 2d cartoons! (helped along by a great sound track) ....
Yeah, I'd heard of 'WAX' a few years back ... might take a fresh look and see what it can do!
Thanks for sharing!

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Please be patient with me ..... I don't always 'get it' the first time 'round - not even the 2nd time! :(  - yikes! ... 

● MSI GT72VR Laptop, i7 7700HQ 4-Core 3.8 GHz 16GB RAM; Nvidia 1070, 8GB Vram ● iClone-7.93 ● 3DXChange Pipeline 7.81 ● CC-3 Pipeline 3.44 ● Live Face ● HeadShot ● Brekel Pro-Body ● Popcorn FX ● iRAY ● Kinect V2 ● DaVinci Resolve17 ● Mixcraft 8.1

By the time I'm at the QT Jpeg stage I don't need the alpha channel.  I went with QT Jpeg because it was recommend to me some years ago by someone who knows what he's doing :-), but I'm sure there are better codecs out there now.  The real advantage to my system is that I get to make precise edits (in Premiere Pro because I'm in QT Jpeg), and still have the option of fixing background and picture detail in After Effects (because I'm in PNG sequence).  After making my changes, I just re-render over the old file and the update is automatic.  This is a system that could work in any NLE with any post-prod software.

Other advantages with AE are things like re-framing and re-timing.  I'm working in a 2D-like environment (fake anime), which helps.  I haven't tried it, but WAX might be useful for this stuff. http://www.debugmode.com/wax/

All these tests were made using the system I described 

@bexley ..... Your approach sounds good to me .... I'm personally not an 'After Effects' person - only because of doing things 'on the cheap', but I was wondering with your use of JPEG image sequences whether you lose your 'alpha' ability at that point? - or doesn't it matter for your purposes?. Your file sizes would certainly be reduced though - compared with PNG sequences .... :)
Steve.

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Please be patient with me ..... I don't always 'get it' the first time 'round - not even the 2nd time! :(  - yikes! ... 

● MSI GT72VR Laptop, i7 7700HQ 4-Core 3.8 GHz 16GB RAM; Nvidia 1070, 8GB Vram ● iClone-7.93 ● 3DXChange Pipeline 7.81 ● CC-3 Pipeline 3.44 ● Live Face ● HeadShot ● Brekel Pro-Body ● Popcorn FX ● iRAY ● Kinect V2 ● DaVinci Resolve17 ● Mixcraft 8.1

Just my 2 cents worth:

By coincidence I've been forced to deal with this issue myself recently.  I'm out-putting lip-synced toon-shaded animation at 24fps to be posted in After Effects and Premiere Pro CS5 (I bought CS5 in 2010 for a project and it still works great!).

Because of I-clones eccentricities, I'm forced to output audio as an mp4 at 30fps, and the picture is a PNG sequence at 24fps.  The picture might comprise of three passes per character ( 1-with lines, 2-without lines, 3-matte pass) and then some motion tracking data if necessary (another pass or more) -- so I have to keep notes.  I block the scene, set up the cameras and lights, use the switcher to figure out the coverage, then render each angle based on the switcher cut -- but with a few seconds either side of the cut to maximise my editing opportunities.  That last part is a lifesaver.  All four files (three PNG picture at 24 fps, and one MP4 sound at 30fps) are pulled into After Effects and synced up into a single composition (very fast).  This is then rendered into a Quicktime JPG sequence for editing.  Any additional work (adding backgrounds, etc.) is done in AE and then re-rendered as necessary.  These re-renders update automatically  in Premiere.

If I could make it simpler I would.  However it guarantees me optimum control of post without sacrificing the ability to edit properly.  Once you get used to it, it becomes automatic.  The Iclone switcher is a great idea (and very handy) but it's just a switcher.  Editing usually involves disrupting the time-line with overlaps, and jump cuts.

Just my 2 cent worth.

--Bex

Earlier in this post I'd mentioned this:

..... upon importing the 'uncompressed' AVI into Vegas MS, it became evident that it doesn't 'include' the alpha component.
Meaning that when attempting to 'overlay' it (using the next video track 'above'), it totally excludes the video track 'below'.
So now I'm wondering whether uncompressed can even hold 'alpha' information at all.......

Well that was incorrect, because the 'uncompressed' video from iClone does contain an alpha component.
I had failed to 'select' the file's 'properties option' for making it's alpha 'active' - as in 'straight' or 'premultiplied', (whatever they mean); but once I did that (in the NLE), - all was well and it showed it's transparency.

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Please be patient with me ..... I don't always 'get it' the first time 'round - not even the 2nd time! :(  - yikes! ... 

● MSI GT72VR Laptop, i7 7700HQ 4-Core 3.8 GHz 16GB RAM; Nvidia 1070, 8GB Vram ● iClone-7.93 ● 3DXChange Pipeline 7.81 ● CC-3 Pipeline 3.44 ● Live Face ● HeadShot ● Brekel Pro-Body ● Popcorn FX ● iRAY ● Kinect V2 ● DaVinci Resolve17 ● Mixcraft 8.1

"Specify a new location or replacement file" opens a file browser and gives you indeed the two possibilities you mention, with #B the one that is suitable for your purposes: specify a replacement file.

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@animagic ....
>>> Sonic, that's an interesting approach. I'm currently working on a project where I renamed a folder containing an image sequence to something more logical, so Vegas Pro couldn't find it. Then, as with Movie Studio, Vegas prompts you and let you specify a new location. <<<
Yes, about that 'message' ... "The following file could not be found in the specified location" (in Vegas MS there's 4 options):
● Search for the missing file
● Specify a new location or replacement file
● Ignore missing file and leave it offline
● Ignore all missing files and leave them offline
With option ●2 - I'm confused as to whether it's referring to two possible fixes: #A "Specify a new location"  #B "Specify a replacement file"
If that's what it means then only #B works for me (specify file).
I was hoping that the #A would mean simply 'pointing to a folder' and it would take care of the rest (finding the right files inside). - But it doesn't seem to work for me.

>>>Another option, which may or may not be available in Movie Studio, is to do a Replace within the editor. In the Project Media panel right-click the image sequence and select Replace, which will then allow you select the hi-res alternative. <<<
Brilliant! .... I wasn't aware of that one! Yes that could come in very handy! .... thanks animagic!  :)

I just watched a video about daVinci Resolve - it's an absolutely incredible piece of software ....

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Please be patient with me ..... I don't always 'get it' the first time 'round - not even the 2nd time! :(  - yikes! ... 

● MSI GT72VR Laptop, i7 7700HQ 4-Core 3.8 GHz 16GB RAM; Nvidia 1070, 8GB Vram ● iClone-7.93 ● 3DXChange Pipeline 7.81 ● CC-3 Pipeline 3.44 ● Live Face ● HeadShot ● Brekel Pro-Body ● Popcorn FX ● iRAY ● Kinect V2 ● DaVinci Resolve17 ● Mixcraft 8.1

Sonic, that's an interesting approach. I'm currently working on a project where I renamed a folder containing an image sequence to something more logical, so Vegas Pro couldn't find it. Then, as with Movie Studio, Vegas prompts you and let you specify a new location. 

Another option, which may or may not be available in Movie Studio, is to do a Replace within the editor. In the Project Media panel right-click the image sequence and select Replace, which will then allow you select the hi-res alternative.

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After much deliberation as well as testing I've come to the following conclusions:
● Regarding 'proxy' generation in Vegas Movie Studio 15 ●
(assuming a low performing system and/or large 4K video files).
This software has a confusing 'dual' approach to proxy creation - well it fooled me, (not helped by '0 results returned' when searching 'proxy' in the manual).
But here's how it works...
☆ The 'manual' mode. By right clicking a file in the preview bin you can select 'Create Video Proxy' from the drop down menu. A short time later you'll be automatically editing with the proxies - seamlessly 'beneath the surface'. When you finally do your render, the original files will be automatically 'referenced' by the software for a full spec output file.
☆ The 'auto' mode. However, if you choose to bring in UHD video, a proxy file WILL BE created by default during import - and you won't really know you're using it. It's in this situation you can end up scratching your head because if you go to create your proxy (thinking you need to do it), your drop down list now has this feature 'grayed out'. Makes sense IF you know why. You can however disable this 'Auto Create Proxy for HD' under 'Preferences>Video'.

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Please be patient with me ..... I don't always 'get it' the first time 'round - not even the 2nd time! :(  - yikes! ... 

● MSI GT72VR Laptop, i7 7700HQ 4-Core 3.8 GHz 16GB RAM; Nvidia 1070, 8GB Vram ● iClone-7.93 ● 3DXChange Pipeline 7.81 ● CC-3 Pipeline 3.44 ● Live Face ● HeadShot ● Brekel Pro-Body ● Popcorn FX ● iRAY ● Kinect V2 ● DaVinci Resolve17 ● Mixcraft 8.1

No, I was suggesting doing #1, but just do it with a much lower-res PNG.  Your machine ought to be able to handle that, and when you are finished with your edit just go ahead and re-render at the higher res you want, reload the editor (with the project) and then output it (you can even output it at the lower res just to make sure first).

If your machine can't handle that lower res there's something wrong, somewhere (even my old laptop could do that, and it's REALLY old, like 7 or 8 years, which in computer terms is a dinosaur).

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Alienware Aurora R16, Win 11, i9-149000KF, 3.20GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, RTX 4090 (24GB), Samsung 870 Pro 8TB, Gen3 MVNe M-2 SSD, 4TBx2, 39" Alienware Widescreen Monitor
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley