User Guide

CHAPTER 3
102
Building a Composition
3 Choose a Preset from the menu or specify basic settings as follows. For detailed descrip-
tions of basic settings, see “Understanding basic composition settings” on page 103.
• Specify the frame’s Width and Height. As a general rule, frame size and aspect ratio
should match your source footage and intended output media.
• Select Lock Aspect Ratio if you want to type a width or height not included in the menu
and if you want After Effects to ensure that the composition dimensions conform to the
aspect ratio for the current values.
• Choose a Pixel Aspect Ratio from the pop-up menu. This is set automatically if you
choose a digital format (D1, D4, D16, or DV) for Preset. See “Setting pixel aspect ratio for
compositions” on page 105.
• Specify a Frame Rate in frames per second. See “Setting frame rate” on page 105.
• Choose a Resolution from the pop-up menu. “Setting resolution” on page 106.
• Specify the Start Timecode or Start Frame to determine the time value that will be
displayed for the first frame of the composition. This value does not affect rendering. See
“Setting start timecode or start frame” on page 107.
• Type a Duration for your composition. “Setting duration” on page 108.
4 Click the Advanced tab, specify advanced settings as follows, and then click OK. For
detailed descriptions of advanced settings, see “Understanding advanced composition
settings” on page 108.
• Use the Anchor control if you want to anchor the layers to a corner or edge of the compo-
sition as it is resized. “Setting the anchor” on page 108.
• If desired, specify Shutter Angle and Shutter Phase settings for motion blur. See
“Adjusting the shutter angle for motion blur” on page 152.
• If desired, select the Preserve Resolution When Nested option so that the nested compo-
sition retains its resolution setting. Select the Preserve Frame Rate When Nested option to
lock a composition to a specific frame rate. “Setting nesting options” on page 108.
• For Rendering Plug-In, you may want to specify a third-party plug-in for rendering 3D
compositions. “Setting the rendering plug-in” on page 109.
To change a composition’s settings:
1 Choose Composition > Composition Settings.
UG.book Page 102 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM