UG.
UG.book Page ii Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM © 2001 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe After Effects 5.0 User Guide for Windows and Macintosh If this guide is distributed with software that includes an end-user agreement, this guide, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license.
UG.book Page iii Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM iii Contents Introduction Registration ............................................ 1 Installing Adobe After Effects ........................... 1 Learning Adobe After Effects ........................... 1 Using Web resources ................................... 3 Other learning resources Customer support An Overview of Adobe After Effects ............................... 5 ......................................
UG.book Page iv Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM iv CONTENTS Preparing and Importing Footage Chapter 2 How After Effects works with imported files . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Preparing a still-image file for import into After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Importing files into a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Importing a sequence of still-image files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
UG.book Page v Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM v About After Effects Audio/Video switches Altering appearances on the layer level Using audio layers Animating Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Chapter 5 About layer properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Understanding keyframes Setting keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
UG.book Page vi Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM vi CONTENTS Fine-tuning Animation Chapter 6 Controlling change through interpolation Comparing interpolation methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Changing the interpolation method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 Using the Value graph to change a layer property value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
UG.book Page vii Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM vii Controlling how masks in the same layer interact Using mask modes Modifying multiple masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Locking a mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 Reusing a mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 Creating track mattes and traveling mattes Using layer modes . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 . . . . .
UG.book Page viii Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM viii CONTENTS Creating Expressions Chapter 10 Using expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309 Creating expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310 Creating expressions with the pick whip Writing your own expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
UG.book Page ix Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ix Working with overflow volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 Rendering movies at different sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384 Creating low-resolution movies for testing motion Testing the field-rendering order Using Property and Tracking Controls (PB only) Chapter 13 Adding randomness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 Simulating a zoom lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
UG.
UG.book Page 1 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 1 Introduction W elcome to the Adobe® After Effects® 5.0 application, the ultimate software tool for motion graphics and visual effects. After Effects is widely used for digital postproduction of film, motion graphics, video multimedia, and the Web. Registration Adobe is confident you will find that its software greatly increases your productivity.
UG.book Page 2 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 2 Introduction Adobe Acrobat® Reader™ software, included on the After Effects CD, makes it possible to view Adobe PDF files. Many of the files on the Adobe Web site are in PDF format. The phrase “PB only” means that the feature is available only in the Production Bundle version of After Effects. Using online Help The Adobe After Effects 5.0 application includes complete documentation in an HTMLbased help system.
UG.book Page 3 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 3 User Guide Using Web resources If you have an Internet connection and a Web browser installed on your system, you can access additional resources for learning After Effects located on the Adobe Systems home page on the World Wide Web. These resources are continually updated. To access the Adobe home page for your region: 1 Open the Adobe U.S. home page at www.adobe.com.
UG.book Page 4 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 4 Introduction Using Adobe Online Adobe Online provides access to the latest products and features that expand your application’s power, including professional services from Adobe and our partners. Bookmarks are also included to take you quickly to noteworthy Adobe- and After Effects–related sites. Adobe Online is constantly changing, so you should refresh before you use it.
UG.book Page 5 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 5 User Guide • Click any button in the Adobe Online window to open the Web page to which the button is linked. • Click the bookmark button ( ) to view suggested Web sites related to After Effects and Adobe. These bookmarks are automatically updated as new Web sites become available. • Click Close to return to After Effects.
UG.book Page 6 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 6 Introduction Customer support on Adobe Online Adobe Online provides access to FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and troubleshooting information that provides solutions to common problems. Additional customer support resources Adobe Systems provides several forms of automated technical support: • See the ReadMe file installed with the program for information that became available after this guide went to press.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 9 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 9 An Overview of Adobe After Effects This overview introduces you to the key features of After Effects. If you’re an experienced After Effects user, you may want to scan this overview and then skip to “What’s New in After Effects 5.0.” After Effects is available in two versions. The Standard version provides the core 2D/3D compositing, animation, and effects tools that motion graphics professionals, Web designers, and video professionals need.
UG.book Page 10 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 10 An Overview of Adobe After Effects Adobe Photoshop You can transform layered Photoshop images into animations with complete ease. Import Photoshop files as compositions one at a time or in batches. After Effects preserves layers, common layer effects, adjustment layers, alpha channels, transfer modes, vector masks, and more. You can then apply visual effects to color-correct, stylize, or manipulate each layer, and animate these layers over time.
UG.book Page 11 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 11 User Guide Adobe Premiere After Effects can import Premiere projects as compositions. Each video, audio, and stillimage clip appears on its own layer, arranged in the correct time-based sequence in the Time Layout window. You can then manipulate these clips to create the sophisticated effects and animations best produced in After Effects.
UG.book Page 12 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 12 An Overview of Adobe After Effects Powerful masking Extensive masking capabilities give you extraordinary control in After Effects. You can create, edit, and animate as many as 127 masks on every layer. Draw paths to create transparencies or to add new objects to an animation, such as stroked lines—even animate text along a mask path. Combine paths to make unusual shapes using Boolean operations such as Add, Subtract, and Intersect.
UG.book Page 13 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 13 User Guide Create as many lights as you need, and then adjust and animate each light’s properties, controlling its shadow and illumination. Create as many cameras as you need to produce the results you envision. Enable a Depth of Field setting to automatically change camera focus between foreground and background information.
UG.book Page 14 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 14 An Overview of Adobe After Effects Keyframes Animate layers by setting keyframes for the layer’s properties at different points in time. Keyframes mark the point in time where you’ve set layer property values. For example, if you want a layer to expand as the clip plays, you would set two or more keyframes containing different scale property values.
UG.book Page 15 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 15 User Guide In addition to applying a number of audio effects to your footage files, you can change the volume levels of audio layers, preview them at a specified quality, and identify and mark locations. Use the familiar Audio palette to set the volume levels of an audio layer, or use the Timeline window to view the waveform values and apply time remapping.
UG.book Page 16 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 16 An Overview of Adobe After Effects RAM Preview One of the big challenges in designing motion graphics and visual effects is imagining how they will look in their final form. Playback controls help, but they don’t really capture the final experience. That’s what makes the RAM Preview feature so exciting. You can play back your compositions in real time without having to render them. You can even preview audio along with the video.
UG.book Page 17 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 17 User Guide Intelligent caching When you view your work in the Composition window—either by scrubbing along the timeline or using the RAM Preview option—After Effects stores, or caches, frames in memory. Cached frames are saved until you make an edit to the composition that renders them obsolete, allowing for faster previews.
UG.book Page 18 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 18 An Overview of Adobe After Effects Web delivery After Effects includes several features that optimize output for Web delivery, including Macromedia Flash support, embedded URLs, audio compression, and QuickTime streaming. Macromedia Flash (SWF) support Export compositions, including audio, as compact, vector-based Flash (SWF) files for use on the Web.
UG.book Page 19 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 19 User Guide Production Bundle features To meet the needs of different audiences, After Effects is available in two versions—the Standard version and the Production Bundle version. Visual effects After Effects offers a variety of exciting types of visual effects including Warping and Particle Playground.
UG.book Page 20 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 20 An Overview of Adobe After Effects Keying effects The Production Bundle of After Effects delivers sophisticated keying controls for producing precise composites. The Linear Color Key uses the RGB, hue, or chroma information you specify to create transparency from a key color. With the Color Difference key, you can produce combination mattes to control hard-to-key images such as smoke, shadows, or glass.
UG.book Page 21 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 21 User Guide Automate the creation of motion and effects by writing custom scripts with the Motion Math tool—or run the Motion Math scripts included with After Effects. You can even simulate the accelerating effect of a zoom lens using the Exponential Scale tool, which converts linear scaling of a layer to exponential scaling.
UG.book Page 22 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 22 An Overview of Adobe After Effects Render Engine Take advantage of network rendering using the Render Engine, which includes an unlimited license. Install multiple copies to streamline your rendering process. Each Render Engine can monitor a Watch folder on a network. If you use the Collect Files command to copy projects (and their associated footage) to this Watch folder, each Render Engine starts rendering those projects as soon as they appear.
UG.book Page 23 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 23 User Guide You can choose whether to work in 8-bit-per-channel or 16-bit-per-channel color mode for each project. You can directly import 16-bit images, including those from Photoshop, and you can composite and color-correct footage in 16-bit mode; the Info palette displays 16bit color values with exact precision.
UG.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 27 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 27 What’s New in After Effects 5.0 After Effects is a powerful upgrade to the award-winning motion graphics and visual effects software. Its versatile and powerful new features enable a flexible workflow tailored to your needs. Precise control New features such as 3D compositing, layer parenting, vector paint tools, and expressions open creative possibilities. Masking enhancements and dozens of new effects offer creative control.
UG.book Page 28 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 28 What’s New in After Effects 5.0 Expressions Define relationships between parameters to create procedural animations without using keyframes. You can now link the behavior of one property in a composition to almost any other property on any other layer—a powerful new capability that’s also easy to use. You can also use JavaScript to modify expressions. New effects After Effects 5.0 includes powerful new effects that offer new creative options.
UG.book Page 29 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 29 User Guide Intelligent caching When you make changes to a composition, only the cached frames affected by the edit are invalidated—so only those frames need to be re-rendered when you preview the composition. This uses RAM more efficiently and results in much faster previewing. A thin green bar beneath the time scale in the Timeline window indicates cached frames, so you can see at a glance how many are currently cached.
UG.book Page 30 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 30 What’s New in After Effects 5.0 More flexible composition settings Specify a different starting timecode for each composition, and save frequently used composition settings as custom presets. Specify Motion Blur shutter angles up to 720 degrees and set phase controls that determine when the shutter opens relative to the start of each frame. Streamlined media management Manage complex projects with ease.
UG.book Page 31 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 31 User Guide Versatile output options After Effects delivers the most versatile motion graphics and visual effects toolkit available today, so you can produce high-quality output for film, video, multimedia, and the Web.
UG.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 35 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 35 Chapter 1: Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes A dobe After Effects is a powerful tool for 2D and 3D compositing, animation, and visual effects. You can composite layers in a variety of ways, apply and combine sophisticated visual and audio effects, and animate both objects and effects.
UG.book Page 36 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 36 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Each Composition window has a corresponding Timeline window. When you edit a composition in a Composition window, After Effects automatically displays the corresponding Timeline window, and vice versa. B A C D A. Source footage B. Project window C. Composition window D.
UG.book Page 37 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 37 User Guide How you start a project Starting a project involves two tasks: (1) planning your project based on the formats of the final output and (2) creating a project file. Once you have planned your project and learned how to perform some basic tasks related to working in After Effects, you’ll be ready to start importing footage (see “Importing files into a project” on page 68).
UG.book Page 38 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 38 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes For film and video, try to match import and composition settings with settings in the output module used to render a movie. For example, to ensure smooth playback, the footage frame rate selected in the Interpret Footage dialog box should match the setting in the Composition Settings dialog box and the output module in the Render Queue window.
UG.book Page 39 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 39 User Guide Videotape If your final output will be videotape, set up your composition with a specific video format in mind, such as NTSC or PAL. Using broadcast-safe colors and maintaining frame size and compression ratios are also important considerations.
UG.book Page 40 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 40 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Flash (.swf) files When you export compositions as Flash (.swf) movies, After Effects maintains vectors as much as possible. However, some items cannot be represented as vectors in the Flash file. See “Exporting to Macromedia Flash (SWF) format” on page 365. Considerations for cross-platform projects After Effects project files are compatible with both the Mac OS and Windows platforms.
UG.book Page 41 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 41 User Guide For a list of common extensions and their associated file types, see the Adobe Web site. Resources Ensure that all resources are available on both systems. Resources can include fonts, effects, and compressors. Time basics Time is central to many operations in After Effects. You can view, specify, and manage time in various ways.
UG.book Page 42 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 42 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes NTSC (29.97) drop-frame timecode When you work with a composition that is set to a frame rate of 29.97 fps, After Effects uses SMPTE 30-fps drop-frame timecode by default, making adjustments using the SMPTE-standard method of renumbering the first two frame numbers of every minute, except at every tenth minute. For example, the frame after 59:29 is labeled 1:00:02 instead of 1:00:00.
UG.book Page 43 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 43 User Guide • Timecode, which counts frames in frames per second (hours, minutes, seconds, frames). • Frames, which counts frames of footage without reference to time. • Feet and Frames, which counts feet of 16mm or 35mm motion-picture film, and counts fractions of feet in frames; 35mm film has 16 frames per foot, and 16mm film has 40 frames per foot. A B C A. Timecode B. Frames C.
UG.book Page 44 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 44 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes 3 If desired, type a value in the Start Numbering Frames At option. This value applies only when you have chosen Frames or Feet + Frames. 4 Click OK. To instantly cycle through Timecode, Frames, and Feet + Frames, Ctrl+click (Windows) or Command+click (Mac OS) the timecode display at the bottom of the Composition window or at the top of the Timeline window.
UG.book Page 45 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 45 User Guide Opening and closing a project You can have only one project open at a time. If you try to open another project, After Effects prompts you to save changes in the first project, and then closes the first project. Closing the Project window closes any associated windows, but palettes remain open. To open a project: Choose File > Open Project, locate the project, and then click Open.
UG.book Page 46 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 46 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Correcting mistakes If you change your mind or make a mistake, undo your work. You can undo only those actions that alter the project; for example, you can undo an edit, but you cannot undo scrolling a window. Specify the number of levels that can be undone. The default is 20. Specifying more levels increases memory requirements but may not affect performance.
UG.book Page 47 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 47 User Guide You can choose whether to work in 8-bit-per-channel or 16-bit-per-channel color mode for each project. Directly import 16-bit images, including those from Photoshop, and composite and color-correct footage in 16-bit mode. Take advantage of 16-bit color when performing most After Effects tasks, including layer adjustment, frame blending, 3D, and Cineon file import.
UG.book Page 48 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 48 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes 2 To switch to another dialog box, do any of the following: • Choose an option from the menu at the top of the dialog box. • Click Next to display the next dialog box in the menu list; click Previous to display the previous dialog box. For information on a specific option, see the index. To restore all preferences to their default settings: 1 Make sure that After Effects is not running.
UG.book Page 49 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 49 User Guide 3 Type a name for the workspace, and click OK. The new workspace is added to the Workspace menu. To select or delete a custom workspace: 1 To select a workspace, choose Window > Workspace, and then choose the name of the workspace. 2 To delete a workspace, choose Window > Workspace > Delete Workspace, choose a name, and click OK.
UG.book Page 50 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 50 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Effect Controls windows By default, effects you apply to layers are grouped in one Effect Controls window. You can combine Effect Controls tabs only with other Effect Controls windows. Project window You cannot group Project windows with any other windows.
UG.book Page 51 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 51 User Guide Working with the Project window The Project window is a storage area for compositions and references to footage items. In the Project window you import, identify, replace, remove, and interpret footage items and compositions. You can organize footage and compositions in the Project window using folders. The folders you create in the Project window exist only in the Project window.
UG.book Page 52 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 52 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes To organize footage items using folders: Do any of the following: • To create a folder in the Project window, choose File > New > New Folder, or click the create folder icon ( ) at the bottom of the Project window. • To move a file or folder into a Project folder, drag the file or folder from the Project window list into a folder.
UG.book Page 53 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 53 User Guide • To sort footage items by any column, click the column name in the Project window. For example, click Type to sort items by footage type. • To rename a composition or folder, select the composition name or folder, press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS), type the new name, and then press Enter or Return again.
UG.book Page 54 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 54 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Changing magnification in windows The lower left corner of a Composition, Layer, or Footage window shows the current magnification. When you change magnification, you change the appearance of the pixels in the window, not the actual resolution of the composition. To zoom in or out: Do one of the following: • Using the zoom tool, click inside the window you want to magnify.
UG.book Page 55 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 55 User Guide After Effects also provides grids that you can use to help arrange and align layers. Set the grid spacing using the Grids & Guides Preferences dialog box. A B C D A. Grid B. Title-safe zone C. Action-safe zone D. Overscan To view safe zones: In a Footage, Layer, or Composition window, click the safe-zones icon ( hide the safe zones.
UG.book Page 56 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 56 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Changing safe-zone margins and grid spacing You can change the percentage of window area marked as title-safe or action-safe, and you can change the number of grid cells. Safe-zone margins represent the percentage of image area not included in the safe area. You can set spacing options for standard grids or proportional grids.
UG.book Page 57 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 57 User Guide To set the zero point in rulers: Drag the cross hair from the intersection of the two rulers (in the upper left corner) into the image area. To create, reposition, lock, hide, or remove a guide line: Do any of the following: • Position the pointer inside either ruler and drag where you want to create a guide line. • In the image area, drag a guide to reposition it.
UG.book Page 58 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 58 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes To view a color channel or alpha channel: 1 Open the Composition, Layer, or Footage window to view a channel for a composition, layer, or footage item, respectively. 2 At the bottom of the window, click the icon that corresponds to the channel you want to display. B D A C A. Red channel B. Green channel C. Blue channel D.
UG.book Page 59 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 59 User Guide To view a snapshot: Click and hold the display-snapshot icon at the bottom of the window, or press F5. To take and view multiple snapshots: Do any of the following: • Hold down Shift and press F5, F6, F7, or F8 to take separate snapshots. • Press and hold F5, F6, F7, or F8 to view the corresponding snapshots.
UG.book Page 60 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 60 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes To view a specific frame by dragging: In the time ruler, drag the current-time marker to a new point in time. To view a specific frame numerically: 1 Choose View > Go to Time, or click the current-time display in a Footage, Layer, Composition, or Timeline window. 2 Type a new time and click OK.
UG.book Page 61 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 61 User Guide 2 Select Show Tool Tips to turn on tool tips, and then click OK. Toolbox Use the tools in the toolbox to select, edit, and view layers. You can edit layer properties, masks, and motion paths graphically, and you can change the view of a Footage, Layer, or Composition window. The small triangle to the right of a tool indicates that additional tools are available.
UG.book Page 62 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 62 CHAPTER 1 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Info palette The Info palette describes the area under the mouse pointer as you drag across a footage frame in the Composition, Layer, or Footage window. This palette displays values for the pixel color (R,G,B), alpha channel (A), and coordinates of the current position.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 65 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 65 Chapter 2: Preparing and Importing Footage footage item is the basic unit in an After Effects project. Before you begin animating, you need to import footage into After Effects. You can import moving image files, still-image files, still-image sequences, audio files, layered files from Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, and other After Effects projects and projects created in Adobe Premiere.
UG.book Page 66 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 66 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage • Set the pixel dimensions to the resolution you will use in After Effects. If you plan to scale the image over time, set image dimensions that provide enough detail at the largest size the image has in the project. The maximum resolution you can use in After Effects is 30,000 x 30,000 pixels. For D1 or DV, see “Using square-pixel footage for output to D1 or DV NTSC” on page 89.
UG.book Page 67 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 67 User Guide • The maximum resolution you can import or export is limited by the amount of physical RAM available to After Effects. When working with large frame sizes, minimize the RAM used by the system or other software running on your computer, but be sure to leave at least 4 MB unused to handle system software requirements for additional RAM.
UG.book Page 68 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 68 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage Importing files into a project With After Effects 5.0, you use the same Import File dialog box to import any usable file into After Effects. To save time and minimize the size and complexity of a project, import a footage item once and then use it multiple times in a composition.
UG.book Page 69 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 69 User Guide The imported footage appears in the Project window. For more information about importing folder contents, see “Importing a sequence of still-image files” on page 70. Note: If the Interpret Footage dialog box appears instead, the imported footage item contains an unlabeled alpha channel, and you’ll need to select a type or click Guess to let After Effects determine the type.
UG.book Page 70 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 70 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage Importing a sequence of still-image files After Effects can import a sequence of still images with the same numeric or alphabetic filename pattern and automatically combine them into a single sequence file. In sequence files, each original file represents one frame. After Effects uses the dimensions and bit depth of the first image in the sequence.
UG.book Page 71 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 71 User Guide To import a folder of still images as a sequence by dragging: 1 Drag the folder from the desktop to the After Effects Project window. After Effects imports the first sequence that is listed in the folder, based on the filename. You can also import an existing sequence as individual footage files. There are two ways to accomplish this.
UG.book Page 72 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 72 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage Importing footage containing an alpha channel The color information in a typical footage item is contained in three channels: red, green, and blue. In addition, a footage item can include a fourth channel, called an alpha channel, that contains transparency information for the parts of the image that are partially or completely transparent. An alpha channel is often used as a matte for creating effects.
UG.book Page 73 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 73 User Guide The interpretation methods include: Ask User Displays a dialog box containing interpretation options each time you import an unlabeled alpha channel. Guess Attempts to determine the type of alpha channel used in the image. If After Effects cannot guess confidently, it beeps. Ignore Disregards all transparency data in the file. Straight (Unmatted) Interprets the alpha channel as straight alpha.
UG.book Page 74 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 74 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage Importing Adobe Photoshop files You can import an Adobe Photoshop file directly into an After Effects project with the option of preserving individual layers, layer masks, and so forth from Adobe Photoshop. Importing layers makes it easy to prepare still images for animation using the imageediting tools in Adobe Photoshop.
UG.book Page 75 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 75 User Guide • As a single still footage item imported from all the Adobe Photoshop layers merged together When you import a layered Adobe Photoshop file as a composition, all the layers contained in the composition retain their original positions as set in Adobe Photoshop. You can open the composition in After Effects and animate the layers.
UG.book Page 76 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 76 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage If you import a layered Adobe Photoshop file as a merged file, After Effects merges the transparent areas and layer masks of all the layers into one alpha channel that is premultiplied with white. See “Importing layered Photoshop files” on page 74. If a layered Adobe Photoshop file contains clipping groups, After Effects imports each clipping group as a composition nested within the main composition.
UG.book Page 77 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 77 User Guide You can edit or remove a layer effect by using either the Timeline window or the Effect Controls window. You can also animate these Adobe Photoshop layer effects over time. To edit an Adobe Photoshop layer effect in After Effects: 1 Open the composition containing the layer effect. 2 In the Timeline window, select the layer containing the effect and press E to display the effect properties.
UG.book Page 78 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 78 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage Continuously rasterizing an Adobe Illustrator file You can continuously rasterize an Illustrator file at any time while designing your project. Whether you choose to continuously rasterize or not, if you view and render a composition using Best Quality, After Effects anti-aliases (smooths) the art.
UG.book Page 79 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 79 User Guide 3 In Import File As, choose Composition, and then click Open. The original filename is used twice in the Project window: for the file as a composition and for the folder containing all the layers as separate footage items. To import an Adobe Illustrator file or one of its layers as a single footage item: 1 Choose File > Import > File.
UG.book Page 80 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 80 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage To import an Adobe Illustrator path as a mask: 1 In Adobe Illustrator, create your path, select all of the points along the path, and then choose Edit > Copy. 2 In After Effects, open the Layer window for the layer into which you want to import the path. 3 Choose Edit > Paste. Note: This process works best if your Adobe Illustrator Preferences are set with AICB Clipboard and Preserve Paths selected.
UG.book Page 81 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 81 User Guide For more information on substituting footage, see “Replacing and substituting footage” on page 97. For information about creating projects for both Windows and Mac OS, see “Considerations for cross-platform projects” on page 40. Importing Adobe Premiere projects The ability to import Adobe Premiere projects eliminates the need to render the project before applying visual effects and animations in After Effects.
UG.book Page 82 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 82 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage With RLA files, all of the auxiliary channels are included in a single file. Softimage PIC files have a corresponding ZPIC file that contains the z-depth channel information. Although you can’t import a ZPIC file, you can access the additional channel information as long as the ZPIC file is stored in the same folder as the imported PIC file.
UG.book Page 83 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 83 User Guide To import a Cineon sequence: 1 Choose File > Import > File. 2 For the file type, select Cineon, and then select Cineon Sequence. 3 Locate and select the first numbered Cineon sequence file. 4 Select the Cineon Sequence option, and then click Open. The Cineon file or sequence appears in the Project window.
UG.book Page 84 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 84 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage As long as the footage is on a computer, it should remain noninterlaced. Keeping the footage in noninterlaced format preserves more image quality and saves you the extra step of separating fields in After Effects. Once it’s ready to go to your nonlinear editor, such as Adobe Premiere, it should be interlaced.
UG.book Page 85 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 85 User Guide 3 Select Conform to Frame Rate, and type a new frame rate in the Frames Per Second box. Then click OK. Note: This procedure can change the synchronization of audio and video files. Be sure to check your files and make any necessary adjustments.
UG.book Page 86 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 86 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage To separate video fields in imported footage: 1 Select the footage item in the Project window. 2 Choose File > Interpret Footage > Main. 3 Select an option from the Separate Fields pop-up menu. 4 Click Motion Detect to increase image quality in nonmoving areas when the image is rendered at Best quality. Then click OK.
UG.book Page 87 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 87 User Guide 7 Using the Frame Advance button ( ) on the Time Controls palette, step forward at least five frames in the Footage window. Moving areas should move consistently in one direction. If the moving areas move backward every other frame, the wrong field-separation option has been applied to the footage. Note: Analog capture cards can vary. DV or footage captures from IEEE 1394 FireWire/i.
UG.book Page 88 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 88 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage 2 Choose File > Interpret Footage > Main. 3 In the Fields and Pulldown section, select Upper Field First or Lower Field First from the Separate Fields pop-up menu. 4 Do one of the following and click OK: • To have After Effects determine the correct settings, click Guess 3:2 Pulldown. • If you know the phase of the 3:2 pulldown, choose it from the Remove Pulldown pop- up menu.
UG.book Page 89 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 89 User Guide To set the pixel aspect ratio for imported footage: 1 Select the footage in the Project window. 2 Choose File > Interpret Footage > Main. 3 Select a ratio from the Pixel Aspect Ratio pop-up menu and click OK. If you are planning to render to the same pixel aspect ratio as your footage, you also need to set the pixel aspect ratio for the composition.
UG.book Page 90 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 90 CHAPTER 2 Preparing and Importing Footage 2 Import the file into After Effects. Note: If your square-pixel footage was created and saved at 720 x 486 or 720 x 480, select it and choose File > Interpret Footage > Main. Then choose Square Pixels from the Pixel Aspect Ratio pop-up menu and click OK.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 93 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 93 Chapter 3: Building a Composition o create a movie with the footage items in your project, set up a composition. A composition includes one or more footage items—video, audio, both video and audio, or a still image—arranged in a Composition window and in the Timeline window. Simple projects may include only one composition, while elaborate projects may include several compositions to organize large amounts of footage or intricate effects sequences.
UG.book Page 94 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 94 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition The QuickTime and Video for Windows Footage windows do not display the effect of settings made in the Interpret Footage dialog box, such as the alpha channel interpretation. However, for any footage item that includes audio, the QuickTime and Video for Windows Footage windows play the audio, while the After Effects Footage window does not.
UG.book Page 95 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 95 User Guide Opening footage in its original application You can open and edit a footage item in the application in which it was created, directly from an After Effects project. The original application must be installed on the computer you are using, and there must be enough unused RAM for it to run.
UG.book Page 96 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 96 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition To set the frame rate for footage: 1 Select an item in the Project window. 2 Choose File > Interpret Footage > Main. 3 In the Frame Rate section of the Interpret Footage dialog box, specify a frame rate for Conform to Frame Rate. Note: If you remove 3:2 pulldown from interlaced video footage, After Effects automatically sets the frame rate of the resulting footage to four-fifths of the original frame rate.
UG.book Page 97 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 97 User Guide Replacing and substituting footage After Effects offers a number of ways to replace and substitute footage in a composition. Using proxies or other items in place of original footage can be useful when the footage you want to use is not available. Also, when you are working with large, high-resolution items, you may want to use low-resolution proxies to work more quickly and efficiently.
UG.book Page 98 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 98 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition About placeholders and proxies When you want to temporarily use a substitute for footage, choose one of two alternatives: a placeholder or a proxy. Placeholder A still image of color bars used to temporarily take the place of missing footage. Use a placeholder when you are building a composition and want to try out ideas for footage that is not yet available.
UG.book Page 99 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 99 User Guide Substituting a placeholder for footage A placeholder appears in After Effects as a still image of color bars. You can apply a mask, effects, and geometric properties to a placeholder. When the actual footage item becomes available, you can replace the placeholder with it, and the applied attributes and keyframes are transferred to the actual footage.
UG.book Page 100 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 100 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition For best results, set a proxy so that it has the same aspect ratio as the actual footage item. For example, if the actual footage item is a 640 x 480-pixel movie, create and use a 160 x 120-pixel proxy. When a proxy item is imported, After Effects scales the item to the same size and duration as the actual footage.
UG.book Page 101 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 101 User Guide • No box indicates that no proxy is assigned to the footage item. D A B C A. Proxy assigned and in use B. Proxy assigned, but original in use C. No proxy assigned D. Proxy name Creating a composition When you first create a new project, you must create a composition before you can start working with your footage items.
UG.book Page 102 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 102 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition 3 Choose a Preset from the menu or specify basic settings as follows. For detailed descriptions 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.
UG.book Page 103 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 103 User Guide 2 Adjust basic settings as explained in “Understanding basic composition settings” on page 103. 3 Click the Advanced tab and adjust advanced settings as explained in “Understanding advanced composition settings” on page 108 and click OK. Note: You cannot undo changes that were made before changing the composition settings.
UG.book Page 104 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 104 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition The viewing frame occupies the center of the frame’s pixel area, which is centered in a larger work area. You can position items outside the frame if, for example, you want a layer to enter the frame from one side, cross the screen, and leave the frame on the other side. You can move layers into and out of the frame.
UG.book Page 105 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 105 User Guide Setting pixel aspect ratio for compositions Most computer monitors use square pixels, while ITU-R 601 (D1) and DV video use rectangular pixels. The Pixel Aspect Ratio option compensates for the rectangular pixels of D1 video format. Set the pixel aspect ratio that corresponds to your final output format. See “Setting pixel aspect ratio” on page 88.
UG.book Page 106 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 106 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition Setting resolution Resolution determines the dimensions of the image in pixels, which affects the image quality of the rendered composition. Setting a low resolution significantly increases frame-rendering speed and decreases the amount of memory required to render. You can use a low-resolution setting when animating or previewing a movie, and then increase the resolution before rendering your final movie.
UG.book Page 107 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 107 User Guide Adjusting the appearance of low-resolution compositions When setting resolution, you can determine the size and appearance of the composition. When you lower the resolution of a composition, you can maintain image clarity by reducing the composition’s size. You can also maintain its size but reduce image clarity, with the layers appearing blockier and more pixelated.
UG.book Page 108 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 108 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition Setting duration The duration is the overall length of the composition. Set duration by typing values in the Duration box in the Composition Settings dialog box. When you preview or render a movie, you can choose to preview or render only a portion of the total duration. See “Setting up a work area” on page 121.
UG.book Page 109 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 109 User Guide Setting the rendering plug-in You can animate layers inside a 3D space. This 3D environment includes shadows, specular highlights, rack focus, and an automatic method of compositing layers based on depth. The default 3D renderer is Standard. However, you can use the Advanced panel of the Composition Settings dialog box to specify other rendering plug-ins for rendering 3D compositions as they become available.
UG.book Page 110 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 110 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition In the Composition window, layers are visible only if they are active at the time currently displayed. For example, if you have three layers in a composition, with two of the layers starting at the beginning of the composition and one layer starting at 6 seconds, only two of the layers appear in the Composition window when the current-time marker is set to the beginning of the composition.
UG.book Page 111 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 111 User Guide • The composition name or icon in the Project window. You can also add a footage item to a composition by selecting the name of the footage item in the Project window and pressing Ctrl+/ (Windows) or Command+/ (Mac OS). To add several footage items to a composition at the same time: 1 Do any of the following: • Select multiple footage items.
UG.book Page 112 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 112 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition Using the Composition window Use the Composition window to preview the composition and animate its contents manually. Move a layer by dragging it; scale a layer by dragging its handle. The Composition window contains a number of features and controls to help you work with layers. You can also change the background color of the composition. G H A B C D E F A.
UG.book Page 113 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 113 User Guide E. Red, green, blue, and alpha channel icons Click one of the first three icons to view the composition’s red, green, or blue channel. Areas with high values of that channel’s color are displayed as white. Click the fourth icon to view the composition’s alpha channel. Transparent and opaque areas are displayed as black and white, and degrees of opacity appear as shades of gray.
UG.book Page 114 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 114 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition 3 Position the pointer within the layer (but not on a handle) and drag the layer to a location within the Composition window. After you start dragging a layer, hold down Shift to constrain the dragging to horizontal or vertical movements, or hold down Ctrl+Shift (Windows) or Command+Shift (Mac OS) to snap to the frame edges or center.
UG.book Page 115 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 115 User Guide To turn on or off the checkerboard background: Choose Checkerboard Backgrounds from the Composition window menu. Changing the region of interest Use the Region of Interest button to create a rectangular preview of the composition window. Reducing the region of interest requires less memory when previewing, thereby improving interaction speed and increasing RAM preview duration.
UG.book Page 116 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 116 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition Default controls and panels By default, the Timeline window contains a number of panels and controls. Optional panels are also available. See “Optional panels” on page 117. A B H C D E F G A. Composition tab Use to close or move the window. Click a tab to display its composition in the current window. Drag a tab to move its composition to another existing window or to put it in a new window. B.
UG.book Page 117 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 117 User Guide Optional panels You can display or hide several optional panels in the Timeline window. To display or hide optional panels: Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) a Timeline window panel heading, and then choose the panel you want to display or hide in the Panels submenu. A B C D E F G H I A. Comment panel Type comments for the layer. B. Modes panel Specify layer modes and track mattes.
UG.book Page 118 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 118 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition To rearrange panels: Drag the panel heading to a different location along the Timeline window. When the panel outline appears where you want the panel to appear, release the mouse. A gray outline appears when you drag a panel (left). When you release, panels are rearranged (right).
UG.book Page 119 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 119 User Guide The time graph also contains controls for adjusting time for layers and controlling motion and changes over time. For more information on working with time for an individual layer, see “Positioning a layer in time” on page 132. A B C D E F G H I A. Time graph Use to view layer durations, a time ruler, markers, and keyframes. B. Viewing-area markers Indicate the area displayed in detail in the time graph.
UG.book Page 120 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 120 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition G. Composition-time marker Used to add markers to the time ruler. Drag the marker to a point on the time ruler. Drag it back to remove it. H. Comp Family button Click to open the active Timeline window’s associated Compo- sition window. I. Zoom slider Drag to magnify a portion of the time graph or to see more of the time graph. You can also use the zoom-in icon ( ) or the zoom-out icon ( ).
UG.book Page 121 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 121 User Guide • In the navigator view, drag the left, right, or both viewing-area markers until the time ruler displays the portion you want. Drag left and right viewing-area markers to magnify or shrink the part of the time ruler displayed. To see more of the time graph: Do one of the following: • In the Timeline window, click the zoom-out icon ( ). • Press the – (minus) key on the main keyboard.
UG.book Page 122 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 122 CHAPTER 3 Building a Composition To set up a work area: In the time ruler, move the left and right work-area markers until they mark the beginning and end of the part of the composition you want to use as a work area. The work-area markers indicate the part of the composition displayed when previewing or rendering. To move the work area: In the time ruler, drag the center of the work area bar left or right.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 125 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 125 Chapter 4: Managing Layers ayers are the components you use to build a composition. Any item you add to a composition—such as a still image, moving image file, audio file, lights and cameras, or even another composition—becomes a new layer. Without layers, a composition consists only of an empty frame. L Using layers, you can work with specific footage items in a composition without affecting any other footage.
UG.book Page 126 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 126 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers • A duplicate of another existing layer • A split layer • A null object Creating new layers Of the numerous ways to create layers in an After Effects composition, the most obvious is to begin with a footage file you want to use. You can create a new layer from any footage item in your Project window, including audio. After you add a footage item to a composition, you can modify and animate the resulting layer.
UG.book Page 127 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 127 User Guide To create a layer from another composition: 1 Display the Composition window or Timeline window for the target composition. 2 Drag a composition from the Project window list to the target Composition window or Timeline window. For nested compositions, if you change certain settings in the parent composition, these propagate through to the nested (child) compositions.
UG.book Page 128 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 128 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers Creating a light or camera layer Light and camera layers create interesting effects for the 3D layers in a composition. To learn more about lights and cameras, see “Using cameras” on page 292 and “Using lights” on page 298. To create a light or camera layer: 1 With the Composition or Timeline window active, choose Layer > New > Camera, or Layer > New > Light.
UG.book Page 129 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 129 User Guide To change an existing layer into an adjustment layer: 1 In the Timeline window, select the name of the layer you want to make into an adjustment layer. (Typically, this layer already has effects applied to it, but you can add effects after making it an adjustment layer.) 2 Choose Layers > Switch > Adjustment Layer. For more information about switches, see “About After Effects Audio/Video switches” on page 146.
UG.book Page 130 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 130 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers Rearranging layers You can change the stacking order (which layers appear above or below other layers), the positions of layers in visual space, and the point in the play time at which different layers appear. The Timeline window provides intuitive methods for dragging layers vertically into different stacking orders and dragging time indicators for a layer horizontally to achieve the results you want.
UG.book Page 131 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 131 User Guide • To move the layer to the bottom of the composition, choose Layer > Send to Back. Selecting a layer by position number After Effects automatically numbers all layers in a composition. The number reflects the position of that layer in the stacking order. When the stacking order changes, After Effects changes all numbers accordingly. Select a layer by its number by pressing the layer number on the numeric keypad.
UG.book Page 132 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 132 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers 2 Choose Window > Align & Distribute. 3 In the Align palette, click the icon representing the type of alignment or distribution you want. Positioning a layer in time Move a layer in time by changing its In or Out point in the Timeline window. After Effects provides two ways to view and change the In and Out points of a layer in the Timeline window: • The In and Out panels represent the layer duration numerically.
UG.book Page 133 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 133 User Guide To move a layer in time by moving its In point: 1 In the Timeline window, drag the current-time marker to the time at which you want the layer to begin playing. 2 In the Timeline window, right-click (Windows) or Control+click (Mac OS) any panel heading, and then choose Panels > In. 3 In the In panel, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and click the number that appears for that layer.
UG.book Page 134 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 134 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers You can specify whether the layers overlap or are arranged end to end. For overlapping layers, you determine how long the layers overlap and whether they cut or crossfade from one to the next. If you specify a crossfade, After Effects creates opacity keyframes that control how the layers fade into each other. Overlapping layers can have opacity keyframes set automatically to create a crossfade.
UG.book Page 135 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 135 User Guide Creating simple cuts and transitions between layers A simple cut (shifting view from one layer to another) is easy to create in the Timeline window. To cut from one layer to another: 1 Display the Timeline window containing the two layers for which you want to create the transition. 2 Set the In point of the second layer at one frame later than the Out point of the first layer.
UG.book Page 136 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 136 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers After you rename a layer, all other layers in the composition display with brackets around the names. Renamed layers display without brackets. To rename a layer: 1 In the Timeline window’s layer outline, select the layer you want to rename. 2 Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS) and type a new name. 3 Press Enter or Return again to apply the new name.
UG.book Page 137 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 137 User Guide To change a color label for an individual layer: 1 In the Timeline window, select the layer. 2 Choose Edit > Label > color name. Note: To change all the similar labels in a composition, right-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the label and choose Select Label Group. Then, select a new color, as above.
UG.book Page 138 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 138 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers Showing and hiding layers in the Timeline window You can mark a layer as shy and then use the Hide Shy Layers button in the Timeline window to hide all shy layers on the Timeline list. Making layers shy is useful when you want to make room in the Timeline window to show the layers and layer properties you want to adjust. Shy layers still appear in the Composition window.
UG.book Page 139 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 139 User Guide • Select one or more layers in the Timeline window and choose Layer > Switches > Lock. • To unlock all layers in the active composition, choose Layer > Switches > Unlock All Layers. Soloing a layer You can isolate one or more layers for animating, previewing, or rendering by soloing. Soloing excludes all other layers of the same type from appearing in the Composition window.
UG.book Page 140 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 140 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers When you use a footage item as a source for different layers, you can trim it differently in each layer. Trimming does not alter the original source file. Note: Trimming a still image layer changes the length of time the image appears in the composition; it does not crop the image (affect what portion of the image appears).
UG.book Page 141 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 141 User Guide • Move the current-time marker in the Layer window to the time at which you want the footage to begin or end, and then click the In ( ) or Out ( ) button to set the In or Out point. A pale rectangle behind the layer duration bar represents the footage you trimmed. Move the current-time marker precisely in either the Layer or Timeline window by choosing View > Go to Time.
UG.book Page 142 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 142 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers • Extracting removes a section from the layers and closes the resulting gap by ripple deletion. To remove a section and leave a gap in time (lift): 1 In the Timeline window, adjust the work area to include only the portion of the layer or layers that you want to remove: • Move the time marker to the time at which you want the work area to begin and press B on your keyboard.
UG.book Page 143 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 143 User Guide Creating composition-time markers Composition-time markers appear on the time ruler in the Timeline window. After Effects automatically numbers them with a single digit that reflects the order in which you add them. You can place up to ten composition-time markers within a composition. If you remove a marker, the other markers remain numbered as they were.
UG.book Page 144 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 144 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers To snap the current-time marker or layer duration bars to a marker: Press Shift as you drag the current-time marker or a layer duration bar. To remove a composition-time marker: Drag the marker onto the time-marker button ( ) on the Timeline window above the vertical scroll bar. Creating layer-time markers Layer-time markers appear as small triangles on a layer-duration bar.
UG.book Page 145 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 145 User Guide Creating Web links from markers When you create a marker, you can type a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) under Web Links in the Marker dialog box to create an automatic link to that site. After Effects embeds this information within movies. When these movies are included in Web pages created by programs such as Adobe GoLive, the embedded URL is recognized at playback, initiating a jump to the specified URL.
UG.book Page 146 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 146 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers Nesting compositions containing layer-time markers If you add one composition to another, the original composition becomes a layer in the parent composition. All the nested composition’s composition-time markers become layer-time markers in the Timeline window of the parent composition.
UG.book Page 147 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 147 User Guide Use the switches to adjust the balance between display performance and display quality during your work session, clicking switch icons for individual layers to turn them off or on. You can also control them for selected layers by choosing Layer > Switches > command. Check marks next to commands indicate that those switches are currently turned on.
UG.book Page 148 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 148 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers To prevent switches from operating through nested compositions: 1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General. 2 Deselect the Switches Affect Nested Comps option, and click OK. Altering appearances on the layer level Use switches to make changes at the layer level that affect the appearance of your final output.
UG.book Page 149 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 149 User Guide To collapse transformations or change the rasterization method for a layer: Do one of the following: • In the Timeline window, click the Collapse Transformations/Continuously Rasterize switch. • Select a layer, choose Layer > Switches, and make sure that the Collapse command is selected (to turn it on), or deselected (to turn it off).
UG.book Page 150 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 150 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers To show or hide all effects applied to one layer: Do one of the following: • In the Timeline window, click the Effect switch icon for a layer to toggle between showing and hiding effects. • Select a layer, choose Layer > Switches, and make sure that the Effect command is selected (to show effects) or deselected (to hide effects). You can temporarily turn on or off an individual effect applied to a layer.
UG.book Page 151 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 151 User Guide Frame blending slows previewing and rendering. To speed things up, you can apply frame blending without using it to redraw or render. The Quality setting you select also affects frame blending. When the layer is set to Best quality, frame blending results in smoother motion but may take longer to render than when set to Draft quality.
UG.book Page 152 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 152 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers Motion Blur slows previewing and rendering, but you can apply motion blur without displaying it in the Composition window. Use the Enable Motion Blur button ( ) near the top of the Timeline window to control whether layers that use motion blur affect redraw and rendering. You can also enable motion blur for all compositions when you render a movie. For more information, see “Changing render settings” on page 358.
UG.book Page 153 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 153 User Guide Using audio layers In After Effects, you can change volume levels of audio layers, preview them at a specified quality, and identify and mark locations. An audio layer contains different properties than a video layer, but you modify them the same way. You can apply special audio effects to audio layers, and adjust the waveform values.
UG.book Page 154 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 154 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers To set display options for the Audio palette: 1 In the Audio palette, click the triangle in the upper-right corner and choose Options. 2 In the Audio Options dialog box, select one of the following: • Decibels to display audio levels as decibels. • Percentage to display audio levels as a percentage, where 100% equals 0 dB.
UG.book Page 155 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 155 User Guide • If the From Current Time option is selected, then move the current-time marker (in either the Composition or Timeline window) to the time at which you want the preview to begin. • If From Current Time is not selected, set the work area for the area you want to preview. For more information, see “Setting up a work area” on page 121. 2 On the Time Controls palette, select the Audio button ( ).
UG.book Page 156 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 156 CHAPTER 4 Managing Layers The VU meter in the Audio palette displays the volume range for the audio as it plays. The red blocks at the top of the meter represent the limit of what your system can handle. When the audio volume extends past the top of the meter, After Effects makes the speaker icons red as a warning that audio is clipping. If you don’t lower the level, the audio playback may be distorted when rendered.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 159 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 159 Chapter 5: Animating Layers nimation is the creation of change over time. You can animate different layer properties, such as position, rotation, masks, and effects, with endless possibilities for creativity. Each change can occur independently of, and yet simultaneously with, other changes. A About layer properties Each layer can contain several sets of properties.
UG.book Page 160 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 160 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers To expand a layer outline heading: 1 Click the triangle to the left of the layer name so that it points downward. 2 Click the triangle to left of Masks, Effects, or Transform to further expand the outline. To collapse a layer outline heading: Click the triangle to the left of the layer name so that it points to the right.
UG.book Page 161 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 161 User Guide Two Position keyframes and the interpolated frames in between create a motion path. You can modify layer properties with or without setting keyframes. If you do not set keyframes, or if you set only one keyframe, changes you make to the property value remain in effect for the duration of the layer.
UG.book Page 162 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 162 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers Keyframe navigator After you set the initial keyframe for a property, After Effects displays the keyframe navigator, which you can use to move from keyframe to keyframe or to set or remove keyframes. When the keyframe navigator box is selected, the current-time marker lies precisely at a keyframe for that layer property. When it is deselected, the current-time marker lies between keyframes.
UG.book Page 163 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 163 User Guide Change the keyframe icons to numbers by choosing Use Keyframe Indices in the Timeline window menu, located on the right side of the window. Keyframes as indices (numbers) Setting keyframes You can set keyframes for any type of layer and any combination of layer properties at any point in time. You can also move, delete, or change the value or interpolation method of a keyframe.
UG.book Page 164 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 164 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers To add additional keyframes for a layer property: 1 In the Timeline window, select the layer you want to animate. 2 Display the layer property for which you want to add a keyframe. It must already contain at least one keyframe, and the stopwatch must be activated. 3 Move the current-time marker to the point where you want to add a new keyframe, and change the value for the layer property you are animating.
UG.book Page 165 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 165 User Guide To move the current-time marker to the previous or next keyframe: Click a keyframe navigator arrow. The arrow to the left moves the current-time marker to the previous keyframe. The arrow to the right moves the current-time marker to the next keyframe. To snap the current-time marker to a keyframe: Press Shift as you drag the current-time marker to a keyframe.
UG.book Page 166 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 166 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers To delete all keyframes of one layer property: Click the stopwatch icon to the left of the name of the layer property to deactivate it. Note: When you deselect the stopwatch icon, keyframes for that property are permanently removed and the value of that property becomes the value at the current time. You cannot restore deleted keyframes by reselecting the stopwatch.
UG.book Page 167 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 167 User Guide 2 Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and drag the first or last selected keyframe to the desired time. To move a keyframe precisely to a different time: 1 Move the current-time marker to the desired time. 2 Hold down Shift after you begin to drag a keyframe icon to the current-time marker. When you drag over the current-time marker, the keyframe snaps to the current-time marker.
UG.book Page 168 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 168 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers 3 Choose Edit > Copy. 4 In the Timeline window containing the destination layer, move the current-time marker to the point in time where you want the keyframes to appear. 5 Do one of the following: • To paste to the same property of the copied keyframes, select the destination layer. • To paste to a different property from the copied keyframes, select the destination property. 6 Choose Edit > Paste.
UG.book Page 169 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 169 User Guide Copying a value from a layer without keyframes You can copy the current value of a layer property to another layer, even when the original layer contains no keyframes. This can save you the time of having to set up a property the same way on various layers. To copy a value from a layer without keyframes: 1 In the Timeline window, display the layer property containing the value you want to copy.
UG.book Page 170 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 170 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers • If you change a value graphically in the Composition or Layer window, all selected keyframes change using the difference between the old and new values, not the values themselves. In other words, you make a relative change. For example, if you select several Position keyframes on a motion path and then drag one of them 10 pixels to the left, they all move 10 pixels to the left of their original positions.
UG.book Page 171 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 171 User Guide Setting layer position Every layer appears at a specific position in the Composition window. You determine the initial position when you add a layer to a composition. You can move the layer in the Composition window, in the Timeline window, or by using keys on your keyboard. For information on layer coordinates, see “Info palette” on page 62.
UG.book Page 172 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 172 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers Modifying a motion path You can modify a motion path either by changing an existing keyframe or adding a new keyframe. A motion path is less complex and generally easier to modify when you use fewer keyframes to describe the path. If you want to add a new keyframe to a motion path, make sure that the current-time marker is positioned at the time you want the new keyframe to occur.
UG.book Page 173 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 173 User Guide To move a position keyframe: 1 Display the Timeline and Composition windows for a composition. 2 In the Timeline window, select the layer you want to modify. 3 Press P to display the Position property for the layer. 4 If you cannot see the keyframe you want to modify in the Composition window, move the current-time marker in the Timeline window to the keyframe.
UG.book Page 174 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 174 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers 5 Move the layer by dragging it in the Composition window or by changing its Position property value. To add a keyframe using the pen tool: 1 Display the Timeline and Composition windows for a composition. 2 Select the layer you want to modify. 3 Select the pen tool ( ) or pen + tool ( ) from the toolbox.
UG.book Page 175 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 175 User Guide 5 In the Composition window, click a keyframe and drag the path to a new position. Changing the number of visible motion-path keyframes By default, After Effects displays motion path keyframes and dots in the Composition window that fall within a 15-second range from the current-time marker. However, you can change this default.
UG.book Page 176 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 176 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers Motion Sketch does not affect keyframes that you have set for other properties. For example, if you set rotation keyframes for an image of a ball, you can use Motion Sketch to generate position keyframes, so that the ball appears to roll along the path you created. For a more fluid animation after you create a motion path using Motion Sketch, use the Smoother to eliminate unnecessary keyframes.
UG.book Page 177 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 177 User Guide 7 Click Start Capture and then, in the Composition window, drag the layer to create the motion path. Release the mouse button to end the path. Note: After Effects automatically ends the motion path when the capture time reaches the end of either your composition or the work area.
UG.book Page 178 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 178 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers 3 Set a value for Tolerance. The units of Tolerance match those of the property you are smoothing. New keyframe values will vary no more than the specified value from the original curve. Higher values produce smoother curves, but too high a value may not preserve the original shape of the curve. 4 Click Apply and preview the results.
UG.book Page 179 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 179 User Guide Setting layer size By default, a layer appears at 100% of its original size in the Layer window. Change the scale of a layer over time by dragging the layer’s handles in the Composition window or by changing the Scale property values in the Timeline window. You can scale the layer partially or completely outside the frame. When you scale, the layer is scaled around its anchor point.
UG.book Page 180 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 180 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers 2 Expand the layer outline to display the Scale property (under Transform) or press S. 3 Click the underlined Scale value. 4 In the Scale dialog box, deselect Preserve Frame Aspect Ratio. 5 Do one of the following and then click OK: • To flip horizontally, type a negative Width value. • To flip vertically, type a negative Height value. A B C D A. Width 100, Height 100 B. Width -100, Height 100 C.
UG.book Page 181 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 181 User Guide To change the angle of a layer by dragging in the Composition window: 1 Select the rotation tool ( ) from the toolbox. 2 In the Composition window, click anywhere on the layer and drag in an arc around the layer. For finer control over rotation, drag in a wide arc away from the layer’s anchor point.
UG.book Page 182 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 182 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers 3 Choose Layer > Transform > Auto-Orient. 4 Do one of the following, and click OK: • To activate Auto-Orient, choose Orient Along Path. • To deactivate Auto-Orient, choose Off. Setting and animating an anchor point After Effects rotates and scales from a layer’s anchor point. By default, the anchor point is at the center of a layer.
UG.book Page 183 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 183 User Guide You can also use the pan behind tool to move a layer’s anchor point without moving the layer’s relative position in the Composition window. When you select a layer in either the Composition or Timeline window and then select the pan behind tool, that layer’s anchor point becomes active and adjustable.
UG.book Page 184 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 184 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers 3 Press the Left, Right, Up, or Down arrow key. To move a layer anchor point by nudging it 10 pixels at the current magnification: 1 In the Timeline window, double-click the layer. 2 In the Layer window, select Anchor Point Path from the Layer window menu. 3 Hold down Shift as you press the Left, Right, Up, or Down arrow key.
UG.book Page 185 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 185 User Guide Once a layer is made a parent to another layer, the other layer is called the child layer. Creating a parenting relationship between layers synchronizes the changes in the parent layer with the corresponding transformation values of the child layers. For example, if a parent layer moves 5 pixels to the right of its starting position, then the child layer will also move 5 pixels to the right of its position.
UG.book Page 186 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 186 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers To remove a parent from a layer: In the Parent column, click the menu of the layer you want to remove the parent from, and choose None. To make a child layer jump when a parent is assigned or removed: Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you assign or remove the parent.
UG.book Page 187 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 187 User Guide Setting and animating a layer property in the Timeline window You can change a keyframe attribute in the Timeline window either by dragging the corresponding underlined transform value or by typing new values in a dialog box. After setting an initial keyframe, changing layer values creates animated layers. Follow the guidelines below to set and animate any layer property in the Timeline and Composition windows.
UG.book Page 188 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 188 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers 5 Set the layer’s value. See the above procedures “To set a layer property by dragging in the Timeline window” or “To change a layer’s value numerically in the Timeline window” for information on setting a layer’s value. 6 Set an initial keyframe. For information on setting keyframes, see “Setting keyframes” on page 163. 7 Move the current-time marker to the time where you want to add the second keyframe.
UG.book Page 189 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 189 User Guide Setting preview options After Effects provides four options for previewing your animations: RAM preview, standard preview, manual preview, and wireframe preview. You can access RAM, standard, and manual previews using the Time Controls palette. Access wireframe preview from the Composition > Preview menu. A B C D E F G H I K J A. First Frame B. Frame Reverse C. Play D. Frame Advance E. Last Frame F.
UG.book Page 190 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 190 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers Audio plays only for layers in which the Audio switch is on. To preview audio alone, see “Previewing audio” on page 153. Standard preview This option provides a preview of all frames in your composition. When you use this option, After Effects displays every frame as quickly as it can using the current settings of the layer switches, composition switches, and composition resolution.
UG.book Page 191 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 191 User Guide • Choose a mode from the Output Mode menu. The choices listed here depend on the device you are using. The Frame Size and Frame Rate indicators below the menu reflect the choices you made in the Output Mode menu and are independent of any After Effects setting. • Select Update Desktop During Video Playback to play the preview simultaneously on the computer screen and the external monitor.
UG.book Page 192 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 192 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers To display the Time Controls palette: Choose Window > Time Controls. To use RAM preview: 1 Activate the Timeline window or display a Layer or Footage window, depending on which one contains the footage you want to preview.
UG.book Page 193 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 193 User Guide • To have the RAM preview play back using the Shift+RAM Preview Options settings, hold down Shift and click the RAM Preview button ( ). To change the number of times the RAM preview plays back: Do one of the following: • To have the preview play back once, click the Loop button until it displays the loop once icon ( ), and then click the Play or RAM Preview button.
UG.book Page 194 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 194 CHAPTER 5 Animating Layers • To go to the beginning of the composition, layer, or footage, click the First Frame button ( ). • To go to the end of the composition, layer, or footage, click the Last Frame button ( ). To use the wireframe preview: 1 In the Timeline window, select the layers you want to preview. To preview all layers, make no selection. 2 Set the work area to the time span you want to preview.
UG.book Page 195 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 195 User Guide Once the cache is full, and you continue to advance either sequentially or nonsequentially through frames in your composition, any additional frame added to the cache replaces the earliest cached frame in order to make room for the new frame.
UG.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 199 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 199 Chapter 6: Fine-tuning Animation n After Effects, you control precisely how change occurs between keyframes. You can apply an interpolation method to any keyframe for any layer property. Some interpolation methods create abrupt changes or sharp angles in motion, while others provide a smooth transition and round curves. You can also control the speed of change between keyframes.
UG.book Page 200 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 200 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation Spatial interpolation and the motion path When you apply or change the spatial interpolation for a property such as Position, you adjust the motion path in the Composition window. The different keyframes on the motion path provide information about the type of interpolation at any point in time. A B C D E Motion path interpolation A. Linear B. Auto Bezier C. Continuous Bezier D. Bezier E.
UG.book Page 201 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 201 User Guide Each temporal interpolation method appears as a specific icon, so you can immediately see what kind of interpolation is applied to a keyframe. Press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) as you click a keyframe icon to switch between Linear and Auto Bezier interpolation. For information on each type of interpolation, see online Help. A B C D Timeline keyframe icons A. Linear B. Linear in, Hold out C.
UG.book Page 202 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 202 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation No interpolation No interpolation is the state in which there are no keyframes for a layer property—when the stopwatch is turned off and the I-beam icon ( ) displays in the Timeline window under the current-time marker. In this state, when you set the value of a layer property, it maintains that value for the layer’s duration, unless overridden by an expression.
UG.book Page 203 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 203 User Guide Auto Bezier is the default spatial interpolation. To change the default, see “Setting the default spatial interpolation to Linear” on page 209. Continuous Bezier interpolation Like Auto Bezier interpolation, Continuous Bezier interpolation creates a smooth rate of change through a keyframe. However, you set the positions of Continuous Bezier direction handles manually.
UG.book Page 204 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 204 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation Hold interpolation Hold interpolation is available only as a temporal interpolation method. Use it to change the value of a layer property over time, but without a gradual transition. This method is useful for strobe effects, or when you want layers to appear or disappear suddenly.
UG.book Page 205 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 205 User Guide 2 Choose Animation > Keyframe Interpolation. 3 For Temporal Interpolation, choose one of the following options: • Current Settings preserves the interpolation values already applied to the selected keyframes. Choose this option when multiple or manually adjusted keyframes are selected and you do not want to change the existing settings.
UG.book Page 206 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 206 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation • If the keyframe uses Bezier, Continuous Bezier, or Auto Bezier, it changes to Linear. Note: You can change interpolation methods directly for temporal keyframes in the Timeline window and for spatial keyframes in the Composition and Layer windows. A Linear keyframe (left) changes to Auto Bezier (right).
UG.book Page 207 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 207 User Guide 2 Press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) as you drag one of the direction handles. This changes the interpolation to Bezier. Each direction handle now moves independently. Adjusting direction handles to create curves and corners By default, Bezier interpolation creates a curved transition at a keyframe. Clicking the keyframe with the Convert Control Point tool ( ) creates a corner at the keyframe.
UG.book Page 208 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 208 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation To retract both Bezier direction handles: 1 Select the Convert Control Point tool ( ) from the toolbox. 2 On a Value graph or motion path, click the keyframe. To extend retracted Bezier direction handles: 1 Select the Convert Control Point tool ( ) from the toolbox. 2 On a Value graph or motion path, click the keyframe and drag outward from the keyframe.
UG.book Page 209 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 209 User Guide 3 Drag the incoming or outgoing handle to adjust the speed of the keyframe. To apply or remove Hold interpolation as outgoing interpolation: 1 In the Timeline window, select the keyframe you want to change. 2 Choose Animation > Toggle Hold Keyframe.
UG.book Page 210 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 210 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation Using the Value graph to change a layer property value The Timeline window displays the values for each keyframe and the interpolated values between keyframes. When the Value graph of a layer property is level, the value of a layer property is unchanged between keyframes. When the Value graph goes up or down, the value of a layer property increases or decreases between keyframes. A B C A.
UG.book Page 211 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 211 User Guide 3 To change the value of a keyframe at any time, double-click the keyframe icon to type a different value. To see the new value displayed next to the property name, position the current-time marker on the keyframe. Adding keyframes to a Value graph The pen tools provide the most flexible way to change temporal properties in the Value graph or a motion path.
UG.book Page 212 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 212 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation You can fine-tune nearly all changes over time using the Speed graph or Velocity graph in the Timeline window. The Speed graph provides complete information about and control of the value and rate of change for all spatial values (such as Position) at any frame in a composition.
UG.book Page 213 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 213 User Guide Value difference The difference between the values of adjacent keyframes. A large difference between keyframe values, such as the difference between 75% and 20% opacity, creates a faster rate of change than a smaller difference, such as the difference between 30% and 20% opacity. Use value differences to adjust the rate of change by increasing or decreasing the value of a layer property at a keyframe.
UG.book Page 214 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 214 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation In the Composition or Layer window, the spacing between dots in a motion path indicates speed. Each dot represents a frame, based on the frame rate of the composition. Even spacing indicates a constant speed, and wider spacing indicates a higher speed.
UG.book Page 215 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 215 User Guide • In the Timeline window, adjust the time difference between two keyframes. Decrease speed by moving one keyframe farther away from the other, or increase speed by moving one keyframe closer to the other. Shorter temporal distance between keyframes increases layer speed.
UG.book Page 216 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 216 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation When adjusting speed on a motion path, set the shape of a motion path first, and then use ease handles to fine-tune the speed relationships in the Speed graph. Ease handles provide the most direct control over acceleration and deceleration. You can control the values approaching or leaving a keyframe together or separately.
UG.book Page 217 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 217 User Guide Adjusting the Speed or Velocity graph border When you drag an ease handle beyond the top or bottom of the graph area, After Effects calculates a new minimum or maximum value based on how far you dragged outside the graph, and it redraws the graph so that all the values you specified for that layer property are visible in the graph by default.
UG.book Page 218 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 218 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation To create a bounce or peak: 1 In the Timeline window, expand the outline for the keyframe you want to adjust. Then click the triangle to the left of the property to display the Speed graph or the Velocity graph. 2 At the desired keyframe, drag the ease handle up until it is near the top of the graph.
UG.book Page 219 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 219 User Guide Extending the influence of an ease handle Along with controlling the level of acceleration and deceleration, you can also extend the influence of a keyframe outward or inward in relation to an adjacent keyframe. Influence determines how quickly the Speed graph reaches the speed you set at the keyframe, giving you an additional degree of control over the shape of the graph.
UG.book Page 220 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 220 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation 5 Type values for the following options, and then click OK: • Influence specifies the amount of influence toward the previous keyframe (for incoming interpolation) or the next keyframe (for outgoing interpolation). • Continuous creates a smooth transition by maintaining equal incoming and outgoing velocities.
UG.book Page 221 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 221 User Guide To smooth motion over several keyframes: 1 In the Timeline window, set up the keyframes for the motion you will smooth. See “Setting layer position” on page 171. 2 Determine the beginning and ending keyframes for the range you want to smooth. 3 Do one of the following: • For every keyframe in the range (except the beginning and ending keyframes), deselect the roving-keyframe option directly below the keyframe.
UG.book Page 222 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 222 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation After you apply Easy Ease, each keyframe has a speed of 0 with an influence of 33.33% on either side. When you ease the speed of an object, for example, the object slows down as it approaches a keyframe, and gradually accelerates as it leaves. You can ease speed only when coming into or out of a keyframe, or both. To ease speed: 1 In the Timeline window, select a range of keyframes.
UG.book Page 223 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 223 User Guide 3 Type a new duration for the layer, or type a Stretch Factor. 4 Click one of the Hold in Place options to specify the point in time from which the layer will be time-stretched, and then click OK: • Layer In-point holds the layer’s current starting time, and time-stretches the layer by moving the Out point.
UG.book Page 224 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 224 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation 5 Move the current-time marker to the time at which the first keyframe appeared before you cut the keyframes. 6 Choose Edit > Paste. Using the Time-Reverse Keyframes keyframe assistant For any property in a layer, you can select a range of keyframes and reverse their order. For example, you can reverse keyframes in the Position property to reverse the motion of an object.
UG.book Page 225 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 225 User Guide Reversing the playback direction of a layer You can easily reverse a layer’s playback direction. When you do, all keyframes for all properties on the selected layer also reverse position relative to the layer. The layer itself maintains its original In and Out points relative to the composition.
UG.book Page 226 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 226 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation About time-remapping In After Effects you can easily expand, compress, play backwards, or freeze a portion of a layer’s duration using a process known as time-remapping. For example, if you are using footage of a person tearing a movie ticket, you can play footage of the tearing, freeze the motion as the ticket is torn halfway, and then play a few frames backwards to make the ticket appear whole again.
UG.book Page 227 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 227 User Guide • The Layer window provides a visual reference of the frames you change, as well as the frame number. The window displays the current-time marker and a remap-time marker, which you move to select the frame you want to play at the current time. D A B C A. Current-time marker B. Remap-time marker C. Time-remap value D.
UG.book Page 228 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 228 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation When remapping time in the Timeline window, use the values represented in the Time Remap graph to determine and control which frame of the movie plays at which point in time: Time Remap This value indicates which frame plays at the current time. As you drag a Value graph marker up or down, this value changes accordingly. You can click this value and type a new one.
UG.book Page 229 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 229 User Guide Time-remapping parts of a motion footage or audio layer There are limitless options for time-remapping in After Effects. For example, you can time-remap an entire layer, making it play backwards. You can time-remap a few frames at the beginning or end of the layer, creating a freeze-frame effect. Or you can time-remap frames in the middle of the layer, creating a slow-motion effect.
UG.book Page 230 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 230 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation 2 Choose Layer > Enable Time Remapping. 3 Click the triangle to the left of the layer name to expand the layer outline. 4 Click the triangle to the left of the Time Remap heading to display the time graph for time remapping. 5 Move the current-time marker to the frame where you want change to begin, and then click the keyframe check box.
UG.book Page 231 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 231 User Guide A B C D A. No change B. Fast motion C. Freeze frame D. Backward motion To remap time in a Layer window: 1 Open the Layer window for the layer you want to remap. 2 Choose Layer > Enable Time Remapping. A second time ruler appears in the Layer window above the default time ruler and the navigator bar.
UG.book Page 232 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 232 CHAPTER 6 Fine-tuning Animation 6 Move the remap-time marker on the upper time ruler to the frame you want to display at the time indicated on the lower time ruler: • To move the preceding portion of the layer forward, set the remap-time marker to a later time than the current-time marker. • To move the preceding portion of the layer backward, set the remap-time marker to an earlier time than the current-time marker.
UG.book Page 233 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 233 User Guide To remove clicks from new In and Out points in the Time Remap graph: 1 If necessary, choose Window > Audio. 2 In the Timeline window, select the audio (or audio and video) layer to which you applied time-remapping. 3 Expand the layer outline to display the Audio property and then the Levels property.
UG.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 237 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 237 Chapter 7: Working with Masks and Transparency hen part of a layer is transparent, that transparency information is stored in the layer’s alpha channel. If the alpha channel of a layer doesn’t meet your requirements, you can use any combination of masks, mattes, and keying to display or hide different parts of a layer.
UG.book Page 238 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 238 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency Using a footage item with an alpha channel An alpha channel is a fourth 8- or 16-bit channel (see “Selecting 16-bpc color depth (PB only)” on page 46 for information on working with 16-bit color in After Effects), included in addition to the three 8- or 16-bit red, green, and blue color channels of video footage or an RGB image.
UG.book Page 239 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 239 User Guide You can create a mask using any of the following methods: • Draw a path using the tools from the toolbox. • Specify the dimensions of the mask shape in the Mask Shape dialog box. • Paste a path copied from another layer or from Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop. For more information, see “Importing masks from Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop” on page 255.
UG.book Page 240 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 240 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency Bezier Use the pen tool to draw a freeform Bezier path as a mask. This is the most flexible type of mask; you can create any shape with the pen tool. After you first create a mask, you can resize it or rotate it as a whole (see “Scaling and rotating selected masks or points” on page 245), or you can change parts of it (see “Changing the shape of a mask” on page 247).
UG.book Page 241 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 241 User Guide 4 Select Rectangle or Oval. 5 If you want, specify the size and location of the mask’s bounding box. For information on coordinates, see “Info palette” on page 62. 6 Click OK. About Mask Paths A mask in After Effects is a drawn path consisting of path segments and control points. Segments are the lines or curves that connect two control points. Control points define where each segment of a path starts and ends.
UG.book Page 242 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 242 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency 4 In the Timeline window, select the layer you want to apply the mask to and expand its properties, or open the layer in its Layer window. 5 Do one of the following: • To use the motion path as a new mask, choose Layer > Mask > New Mask. • To use the motion path as a replacement for an existing mask, select the mask you want to replace.
UG.book Page 243 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 243 User Guide Drawing curves with the pen tool Create a curved mask by dragging the pen tool in the direction you want the curve to go. As with straight segments, control points mark a change in direction, but instead of creating a corner, control points on curves create smooth changes in direction. On curved segments, each selected control point displays one or two direction lines, ending in direction handles.
UG.book Page 244 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 244 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency Selecting masks and control points Before you can modify or animate masks, you must know how to select them, especially when you’ve created more than one mask on a layer. Also, unlike layers, masks can have more than one level of selection. You can select a mask as a whole path, which is appropriate when you want to move or resize a mask.
UG.book Page 245 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 245 User Guide • To select several discontiguous masks together, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) as you click the names of any masks you want to include. Note: You can select only whole masks in the Timeline window. To select individual points on a mask, use the Composition or Layer window.
UG.book Page 246 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 246 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency Note: When you animate rotation using Free Transform Points, the vertices of the mask are interpolated in a straight line from keyframe to keyframe. Because of this, the results may be different than you expect. B A C D A. Free Transform Points bounding box B. Bounding box handle C. Bounding box anchor point D.
UG.book Page 247 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 247 User Guide • To scale the mask or selected points, position the pointer on a bounding box handle and, when the pointer changes to a straight, double-sided arrow ( ), drag to a new size. Hold down Shift as you drag to constrain the scale. Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) as you drag to scale around the bounding box’s anchor point.
UG.book Page 248 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 248 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency To reset a mask to its default boundaries: Select the mask in the Timeline window and choose Layer > Mask > Reset Mask. To delete one mask: Select the mask in the Timeline window and press Delete. To delete all masks: Select the layer containing the masks you want to remove and choose Layer > Masks > Remove All Masks. To move a control point: Using the selection tool ( ), drag the control point.
UG.book Page 249 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 249 User Guide • Using the pen tool, click the control point. Feathering mask edges Using the Mask Feather property, you make mask edges hard-edged or soft-edged (feathered). By default, the feather width straddles the mask edge, half inside and half outside. For example, if you set the feather width to 25, the feathering extends 12.5 pixels inside the mask edge and 12.5 pixels outside it.
UG.book Page 250 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 250 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency To adjust feathering in the Timeline window: 1 Expand the desired layer and its Mask properties. 2 Drag the underlined value for Mask Feather. Note: When you adjust feathering by dragging the single underlined value in the Timeline window, you change both the horizontal and vertical feathering.
UG.book Page 251 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 251 User Guide Specifying which parts of a mask are inside and outside The image area inside the mask outline is fully opaque, and the area outside the mask outline is transparent. If you want to create the appearance of a hole in a video layer to reveal a layer underneath, switch the inside and outside areas by inverting the mask.
UG.book Page 252 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 252 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency When you use the Pan Behind tool to pan a layer behind a mask, the mask’s position remains constant in the Composition window, but changes in the Layer window. The masked layer’s Position values change in relation to the composition. As you pan past the edges of the layer’s frame, the layer’s Mask Shape values also change.
UG.book Page 253 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 253 User Guide 2 Click inside the mask area in the Composition window and drag the layer to a new position. Specifying one mask as the target for animation As soon as you draw the first point on your first mask for a layer, the Layer window displays a Target pop-up menu, which you use to specify a mask as the target for all new mask shapes.
UG.book Page 254 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 254 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency To animate a mask property: 1 In the Timeline or Composition window, select the mask that you want to animate. 2 Move the current-time marker to the time where you want to begin the animation. 3 Expand the Mask properties and locate the property that you want to change. 4 Set a value for the mask property.
UG.book Page 255 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 255 User Guide Importing masks from Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop You can import paths from Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop and use them in After Effects layers. Using the special path-editing tools available in these applications, you can create a wider variety of shapes for your After Effects masks.
UG.book Page 256 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 256 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency Applying effects to a mask You can apply the following standard After Effects effects to a mask shape: Path Text, Audio Waveform, Audio Spectrum, Stroke, Fill (closed paths only), and Smear (closed paths only). You can apply the following After Effects Production Bundle effects to a mask shape: Reshape (closed paths only), Vegas, and the Inner Outer Key (closed paths only).
UG.book Page 257 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 257 User Guide Using mask modes Using mask modes, you can create complex mask shapes with multiple transparent areas. For example, you can set a mask mode that combines two masks and sets the opaque area to the areas where the two masks intersect. A B C D E F Mask shapes that result when different modes are applied to circle mask: A. Original masks B. None C. Add D. Subtract E. Intersect F.
UG.book Page 258 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 258 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency Subtract Subtracts the mask from all masks located above it in the Timeline window. The contents of the subtracted mask area display as a hole in the Composition window. This option is useful when you want to create the appearance of a hole in the center of another mask.
UG.book Page 259 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 259 User Guide Locking a mask Locking a mask prevents you from selecting it in the Timeline, Composition, and Layer windows or setting it as a target in the Layer window. Use this feature to avoid unwanted changes to the mask. To lock or unlock a mask: 1 In the Timeline window, expand the Mask property. 2 In the Switches column, click the box underneath the lock icon ( ) next to the mask you want to lock or unlock.
UG.book Page 260 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 260 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency 4 Copy the mask or keyframes and paste to the new layer. Creating track mattes and traveling mattes When you want one layer to show through a hole in another layer, set up a track matte. You’ll need two layers—one to act as a matte, and another to fill the hole in the matte. You can animate either the track matte layer or the fill layer.
UG.book Page 261 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 261 User Guide Luma Inverted Matte Opaque when a pixel’s luminance value is 0%. After Effects converts the next layer above into a track matte, turns off the video of the track matte layer, and adds a track matte icon ( ) next to the track matte layer’s name in the Timeline window. The Composition window displays the fill layer viewed through the alpha channel of the matte layer.
UG.book Page 262 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 262 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency Layer modes cannot be animated using keyframes. If you want a layer mode to change at a certain time, split the layer at that time and apply the new layer mode to the part of the layer that continues. You can also use the Compound Arithmetic effects, which are similar to layer modes but can change over time. For more information on splitting layers, see “Creating new layers by splitting” on page 129.
UG.book Page 263 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 263 User Guide Soft Light Darkens or lightens resulting colors, depending on the layer color. The effect is similar to shining a diffused spotlight on the layer. If the underlying color is lighter than 50% gray, the layer lightens. If the underlying color is darker than 50% gray, the layer darkens. A layer with pure black or white becomes markedly darker or lighter, but does not result in pure black or white.
UG.book Page 264 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 264 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency Color Creates resulting colors with the luminance of the underlying colors and the hue and saturation of the layer colors. This preserves the gray levels in the image. Luminosity Creates resulting colors with the hue and saturation of the underlying colors and the luminance of the layer colors. This option is the inverse of the Color option.
UG.book Page 265 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 265 User Guide With Stencil Luma, the lighter pixels of the layer are more opaque than the darker pixels. With Silhouette Luma, the lighter pixels of the layer are more transparent than the darker pixels. Stencil (left) shows all layers below through the frame of the stencil layer’s alpha channel. Silhouette (right) cuts a hole through all layers below.
UG.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 269 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 269 Chapter 8: Applying Effects he power of After Effects lies in its ability to employ and change effects over time. After Effects includes a variety of effects that you can apply to any layer. An effect can add a special visual or audio characteristic or provide an unusual feature.
UG.book Page 270 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 270 CHAPTER 8 Applying Effects Applying and controlling effects You can apply or remove an effect at any time. Once you’ve applied effects to a layer, you can temporarily turn off one or all the effects in the layer to concentrate on another aspect of your composition. Effects that are turned off do not appear in the Composition window and typically are not included when the layer is previewed or rendered.
UG.book Page 271 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 271 User Guide To copy effects in a layer and paste them into other layers: 1 In the Effect Controls window, select one or more effects, and then choose Edit > Copy. 2 In the Timeline window, select one or more layers, and then choose Edit > Paste. To temporarily turn off an effect: In the Effect Controls or Timeline window, select the layer, and then click the Effect option to the left of the effect name. A B C A.
UG.book Page 272 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 272 CHAPTER 8 Applying Effects To remove all effects applied to a layer: 1 In the Timeline or Composition window, select the layer or layers from which you want to remove all effects. 2 Choose Effect > Remove All. Note: This command eliminates all keyframes for the deleted effects. If you choose Remove All accidentally, immediately choose Edit > Undo to restore the effects and keyframes.
UG.book Page 273 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 273 User Guide Working with effects in 16 bits (PB only) Many effects in After Effects support 16 bits per channel. If an effect supports only 8 bits, and your project is set to 16 bits, After Effects displays a warning icon ( ) next to the effect name in the Effect Controls palette. Using an 8-bit effect in a 16-bit project will result in a loss of detail.
UG.book Page 274 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 274 CHAPTER 8 Applying Effects 3 Change the value using one of the following methods: • Drag the slider left or right, if available. • Drag the highlighted value or type a new value directly over the existing value. • Click Reset to select default values. To set an angle: Set the angle using one of the following methods: • Click a point inside the angle control ( ). • Click and drag the angle control line.
UG.book Page 275 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 275 User Guide To set an effect point: Select the effect and then do one of the following: • Click the effect point icon ( ) in the Composition window and drag. The coordinates in the Effect Controls window change as you drag. • Click the effect point icon ( ) in the Effect Controls window; then, in the Composition or Layer window, position the cursor where you want the effect point, and click.
UG.book Page 276 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 276 CHAPTER 8 Applying Effects To position an effect exactly where you want it: 1 Select Effect Controls from the Composition window menu to make the effect points visible. 2 Zoom in on the layer in the Composition window. The more you zoom in, the more accurate you can be. Effect points for effects are interpolated throughout the area of the image. Note: A layer must be set to Best quality to take advantage of subpixel accuracy.
UG.book Page 277 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 277 User Guide Many audio effects include Dry Out and Wet Out options. Use these to specify the mix of unprocessed (Dry) and processed (Wet) audio in the final output. For information on audio effects, see online Help. Using cameras and lights with effects Some of the After Effects effects, called Comp Camera effects, can use a composition's camera and lights.
UG.book Page 278 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 278 CHAPTER 8 Applying Effects Using keying effects After Effects includes several different effects that key out, or make transparent, parts of an image. Each effect is called a key, and the color specified for transparency is called the key color. A key locates pixels in an image that match the specified key color and makes them transparent or semitransparent, depending on the type of key.
UG.book Page 279 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 279 User Guide Effects are categorized by functionality. Because you can add new effects and delete unused ones at any time, your menu and submenu selections may be different than those described here. Check the Read Me file included with After Effects for the latest available effects.
UG.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 283 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 283 Chapter 9: 3D Compositing he ability to work with layers in three dimensions, or 3D, allows you to add true depth to animations. By combining this depth with a variation of lights and camera angles, you create projects that take advantage of the full range of natural motion, lighting and shadows, perspective, and focusing effects. T In After Effects, you can add 3D properties to almost any layer.
UG.book Page 284 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 284 CHAPTER 9 3D Compositing In most 3D programs, lights of varying intensities and positions are combined with images and views. All of them can be animated in 3D space. Colors and surfaces change realistically as the objects move through the lights, often creating dramatic and complex animations that can effectively simulate actual motion and perspective.
UG.book Page 285 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 285 User Guide • Select the layer you want to designate as 3D in the Timeline or Composition window, and choose Layer > 3D Layer. Moving a 3D layer in the Composition window To move a 3D layer in the Composition window, drag either the axes or the layer itself. Once you have designated a layer as 3D and have selected the layer, three arrows, called the axes, appear on the layer in the Composition window.
UG.book Page 286 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 286 CHAPTER 9 3D Compositing You can also move 3D layers by dragging the layer in the Composition window. Dragging within a layer using the selection tool moves the layer within the camera’s plane of view. Dragging a layer handle using the rotation tool constrains the rotation to a particular axis. Note: The axis along which you can drag a layer depends on the composition 3D view. For information on 3D views, see “Understanding 3D views” on page 291.
UG.book Page 287 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 287 User Guide To move a layer faster when adjusting position, or to rotate the layer in 45- degree increments: Hold down Shift while dragging an axis. To show a wireframe representation of the layer movement: In the Timeline window, click the Wireframe Interactions button ( ). See “Using Wireframe Interactions” on page 302 for more information on using this feature.
UG.book Page 288 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 288 CHAPTER 9 3D Compositing Light and camera layers add the Orient Toward Point of Interest option. For more information about this option, see “Understanding camera Transform properties” on page 295 or “Understanding Light Transform properties” on page 300. Understanding Z scale Usually, scaling a layer’s Z axis has no effect on the layer because the layer itself has no depth.
UG.book Page 289 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 289 User Guide To adjust rotation by changing the X, Y, or Z Rotation Transform properties: Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you select the rotation tool ( ) in the toolbox. The rotation tool looks like when you are adjusting the X, Y, or Z Rotation property. For information on using the rotation tool, see “Moving a 3D layer in the Composition window” on page 285.
UG.book Page 290 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 290 CHAPTER 9 3D Compositing Specular Sets the level of specular (directional) reflectivity of the layer. Light reflecting from a layer with specular reflective attributes reflects from the layer as if the layer were a mirror. A setting of 100% creates the most reflectivity; a setting of 0% means that the layer does not exhibit any specular reflective properties. Shininess Sets the size of the specular highlight.
UG.book Page 291 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 291 User Guide Understanding 3D views You can view your 3D layers from several angles, using orthogonal views or custom views that employ perspective. The orthogonal views (Front, Back, Left, Top, Right, and Bottom) show a layer’s position in the composition but do not show perspective. 3D Views The three custom views place you at a certain height and angle within the composition, depending on the view you choose.
UG.book Page 292 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 292 CHAPTER 9 3D Compositing To set or replace 3D view shortcuts: 1 Set the 3D View as described in the “To set a 3D View” procedure above. 2 Choose View > Set 3D View Shortcut > Replace n, where n is a view you want to replace. After Effects replaces the view shown in the menu with the current-composition 3D view.
UG.book Page 293 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 293 User Guide Though you can add multiple cameras to any composition, the views affect only 3D layers, or 2D layers with Comp Camera effects applied (see “Using cameras and lights with effects” on page 277 for more information on Comp Camera effects). You can animate cameras along the X, Y, and Z axes. Each camera has its own set of properties, which include varying focal lengths, apertures, and focus distances.
UG.book Page 294 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 294 CHAPTER 9 3D Compositing Understanding camera settings When you create a new camera, it becomes a new layer in the Timeline window and its name appears in the 3D View pop-up menu. Though the cameras’ locations in the layer order in the Timeline window do not affect their positions in the Composition window, they do determine which of the cameras is rendered.
UG.book Page 295 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 295 User Guide F-stop A number representing the ratio of the focal length to aperture. Most cameras specify aperture size using the f-stop measurement; thus, many photographers prefer to set the aperture size in f-stop units. When you specify new values for the f-stop setting, the values for aperture change dynamically to match it. Blur Level Controls the amount of depth-of-field blur in an image.
UG.book Page 296 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 296 CHAPTER 9 3D Compositing If the camera is auto-oriented toward the point of interest, it continues to point that direction as you change its position.
UG.book Page 297 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 297 User Guide • To move the camera along a single axis without moving the point of interest, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) while dragging the axis along which you want to move the camera. • To move the camera freely without moving the point of interest, drag the camera icon. • To move the point of interest, drag the point of interest icon.
UG.book Page 298 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 298 CHAPTER 9 3D Compositing Using Axes modes Use the Axes modes to specify the set of axes for which the layer, light, or camera is being transformed. You can transform a layer on either the local axes, the world axes, or the view axes. The Local Axes mode aligns the axes to the surface of a particular 3D layer. The World Axes mode aligns the axes to the absolute coordinates of the composition.
UG.book Page 299 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 299 User Guide A B C A. Point of interest B. Spotlight cone C. Light To create a new light: 1 From the Timeline or Composition window, choose Layer > New > Light. 2 Choose settings according to the guidelines in “Understanding light settings” on page 299, and click OK. Understanding light settings Use the guidelines below to adjust light options. All the options, except Casts Shadows, can be animated.
UG.book Page 300 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 300 CHAPTER 9 3D Compositing Cone Angle Sets the width of the Spot light by adjusting the angle of the cone surrounding the source. This option is active only if Spot is the Light Type. Cone Feather Adjusts the edge softness of the Spot light. This option is active only if Spot is the Light Type. Color Sets the color of the light. Casts Shadows Indicates whether the light source causes a layer to cast a shadow.
UG.book Page 301 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 301 User Guide If the light is auto-oriented toward the motion path, then the light points only in the direction of the motion path. You could use this option to the depict a driver’s perspective in viewing his own headlights while travelling down a dark road.
UG.book Page 302 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 302 CHAPTER 9 3D Compositing Using 3D compositing with masks You can draw a mask on any 3D layer in After Effects. The mask coordinates correspond to the layer coordinates in 2D space. However, the mask itself has no 3D properties except those of the layer itself, so you cannot draw a mask along the Z axis. However, once you’ve drawn the mask on the layer, the entire layer can be animated along the Z axis.
UG.book Page 303 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 303 User Guide To enable or disable Wireframe Interactions mode: Do one of the following: • Click the Wireframe Interactions button ( ) in the Timeline Window. • Choose Edit > Preferences > Previews and select an option from the either Use Wireframe Interactions While Alt Key (Windows) or Use Wireframe Interactions While Option Key (Mac OS) menu. Select Up to enable Wireframe Interactions.
UG.book Page 304 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 304 CHAPTER 9 3D Compositing After Effects renders the X, Y, and Z rotation Transform properties in their descending Timeline order, regardless of the original order in which you set those Transform properties. Note: After Effects does not render intersecting layers.
UG.book Page 305 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 305 User Guide Using the Adobe render plug-in After Effects uses the included render plug-in to composite both RAM previews and output files. It is chosen by default. After selecting the 3D renderer, you still need to adjust your render and output settings through the Render Queue. For information on rendering After Effects files, see “Using the Render Queue window” on page 355.
UG.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 309 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 309 Chapter 10: Creating Expressions o create elaborate motion and effects, define the value of a property using a mathematical function, or create an automatically updated relationship between two properties, use expressions. Expressions can animate layer properties without (or in addition to) keyframes.
UG.book Page 310 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 310 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions To learn about the more powerful aspects of JavaScript, consult a JavaScript reference manual, such as JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, by David Flanagan. Note: After Effects uses only the core standard JavaScript language, not the Web browserspecific extensions.
UG.book Page 311 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 311 User Guide A B C D E A. On/Off switch B. Graph overlay icon C. Pick whip D. Language elements menu E. Expression field Turning an expression on or off You can turn an expression on or off at any time. To turn an expression on or off: Click the On/Off switch ( ) next to the layer property on which the expression is written. When an expression is off, a slash appears through the switch ( ).
UG.book Page 312 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 312 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions Converting expressions to keyframes In some situations, it may be useful to convert an expression to keyframes. For example, if you want to freeze the values in an expression for a period of time, you can convert the expression to keyframes and then adjust the keyframes accordingly; if an expression takes a long time to evaluate, you can convert it to keyframes so that it renders faster.
UG.book Page 313 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 313 User Guide Determining which values are used in an expression Different properties in After Effects have different value dimensions (1D, 2D, 3D, or 4D) depending on the number of value parameters they have. In the expression language, property values are either single values (numbers) or arrays (see “Numbers and arrays” on page 320).
UG.book Page 314 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 314 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions 6 Preview the animation. Notice that the Opacity property of Light is animated, yet there are no opacity keyframes. Note: Make sure to use Rotation values that are compatible with the Opacity property. For example, Opacity values range from 0 to 100, so rotating the Dial layer backward using a negative value results in an Opacity value of 0.
UG.book Page 315 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 315 User Guide To make the minute hand rotate 12 times faster than the hour hand, type “*12” at the end of the expression as follows: this_comp.layer("hour hand").rotation*12 Controlling blur by its horizontal position Start with one layer that is of smaller dimen- sions than the composition. Set Position keyframes for the layer and then apply the Fast Blur effect.
UG.book Page 316 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 316 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions Write expressions directly in the expression field, or in any text editor, and then copy and paste them to the expression field. For a quick reference to expression elements and their proper syntax, use the language element menus. See “Using the expression language menu” on page 321. For information on After Effects–specific language requirements, see “Understanding the expression language” on page 317.
UG.book Page 317 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 317 User Guide • Type /* at the beginning of the comment and */ at the end of the comment. Any text between /* and */ is ignored. For example: /* This is a mu l t i l i n e comment */ Understanding the expression language The After Effects expression language is based on JavaScript 1.2, with an extended set of built-in objects. All expressions start with a global object.
UG.book Page 318 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 318 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions To construct a simple expression: 1 Start with two layers. 2 Select the Position property for the first layer in the composition and choose Animation > Add Expression. The following expression appears by default: position 3 Type the following directly over the word “position:” this_comp 4 The element “this_comp” is a global attribute whose value is a Comp object representing the current composition.
UG.book Page 319 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 319 User Guide Expression values The value of an expression is the value of the last statement evaluated. For example, in the following expressions the results are the same: x = ro ta tio n * 10; [x, 20] [ ro ta ti o n * 10, 20] Expression time Time within an expression is always measured in seconds. The default time for any expression is the current composition time at which the expression is being evaluated.
UG.book Page 320 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 320 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions Numbers and arrays Arrays represent multidimensional values in expressions. The value of each property in an expression is a single number or Boolean value for values such as opacity, or an array for 2D, 3D, or 4D values such as position or “bg_color”. Many properties in After Effects, such as position, scale, and color, have more than one value parameter and thus are represented by different dimensions of arrays.
UG.book Page 321 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 321 User Guide Accessing specific values in a vector or array You can create an expression that references just one value within the array of a 2D or 3D property. By default, the first value is used, unless you specify otherwise. For example, if you drag the pick whip from layer 1’s Rotation property to layer 2’s Scale property, the following expression appears: this_comp.layer(2).
UG.book Page 322 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 322 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions To continue the expression, add a period (.) to the end and then choose an attribute from the Comp menu, such as “layer”: this_comp.layer( Insert the specific layer information you want, such as: this_comp.layer(1) Next, choose an attribute or method from the Layer, Light, or Camera menu. For example, if layer 1 has Position keyframes, choose “position,” and so on. t h i s_ co mp. l ayer(1).
UG.book Page 323 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 323 User Guide Creating a trail of images This expression instructs a layer to be at the same position as the next higher layer in the Timeline window, but delayed by a specified amount of time (in this case, .5 seconds). You can set similar expressions for the other geometric properties. This expression requires two or more layers. To create a trail of images: 1 Start with two solids that are scaled to about 30%.
UG.book Page 324 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 324 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions 4 Select the Bulge effect’s Bulge Center property in the Timeline window and choose Animation > Add Expression. 5 Select the default expression text and type the following: from_world(this_comp.layer("Mag nifier").position) 6 Click outside the expression to activate it. Moving a layer in a perfect circle You can create an expression without using properties from other layers.
UG.book Page 325 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 325 User Guide • Italic text at the beginning of a description represents the return value type. Some return values include a number in square brackets—this number specifies the dimension of the returned property or array. If a specific dimension is not included, the dimension of the returned array depends on the dimension of the input. • Bold text represents the expression language element to type in your expression.
UG.book Page 326 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 326 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions Vector math methods These are global methods that perform operations on arrays, treating them as mathematical vectors. Unlike built-in JavaScript methods, such as Math.sin(), you do not use the Math prefix with these methods. Unless otherwise specified, vector math methods are lenient about dimensions and return a value that is the dimension of the largest array, filling in missing elements with zeros.
UG.book Page 327 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 327 User Guide Random number methods Number random() The resulting value is a random number between 0 and 1. Number random(max) {max is a number} The resulting value is a number between 0 and max, and is the same dimension as max. Number random(min, max) {min and max are numbers} The resulting value is a number between min and max.
UG.book Page 328 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 328 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions Nothing seed_random(n) {n is a number} This expression takes the existing seed and increments it by the argument. Use it when you don’t like the results you get from random or gauss_random. For example, “seed_random(3); random(10,20)”. Number noise(val) {val is a number or an array [2 or 3]} This returns a number between 0 and 1.
UG.book Page 329 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 329 User Guide Number or Array ease_out(t, tmin, tmax, val1, val2) {t, tmin, and tmax are numbers, and val1 and val2 are numbers or arrays} Similar to ease, except that the tangent is 0 only on the tmax side and is linear on the tmin side. Color conversion methods Array [4] rgb_to_hsl(rgba) {rgba is an array [4]} Converts a color in RGBA space to HSLA space.
UG.book Page 330 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 330 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions Layer, Light, or Camera layer(“name”) {name is a string} Retrieves the layer by name. Names are matched by layer name, or source name if there is no layer name. If duplicate names exist, After Effects uses the first one in the Timeline window. For example, “this_comp.layer("Solid 1")”.
UG.book Page 331 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 331 User Guide Boolean active Returns a true value (1) if the layer’s video switch ( )is on, or a false (0) if it isn’t. Boolean audio_active Returns a true value (1) if the layer’s audio switch ( ) is on, or a false (0) if it isn’t. Number index Returns the Number of the layer in the composition. Layer, Light, or Camera parent Returns the parent Layer object of the layer, if there is one. For example, “position[0] + parent.
UG.book Page 332 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 332 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions Mask mask(name) {name is a string} Returns a layer Mask object. The name can be the default name or a user-defined name. Effect effect(index) {index is a number} Returns an Effect object. After Effects finds the effect by its index in the Effect Controls window, starting at 1 and counting down from the top. Effect effect(name) {name is a string} Returns an Effect object.
UG.book Page 333 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 333 User Guide Array [2 or 3] to_comp(point, t = time) {point is an array [2 or 3], and t is a number} Transforms a point from layer space to comp space. For example, “to_comp(anchor_point)”. Array [2 or 3] from_comp (point, t=time) {point is an array [2 or 3], and t is a number} Transforms a point from comp space to layer space. The resulting point in a 3D layer may have a nonzero value even though it is in layer space.
UG.book Page 334 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 334 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions Camera attributes and methods Camera objects have all of the same attributes and methods as Layer objects, except for source, effect, mask, width, height, anchor_point, scale, opacity, audio_levels, time_remap, and all of the material properties. In addition, Cameras have the following: Property [3] point_of_interest Returns the camera’s Point of Interest values in world space.
UG.book Page 335 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 335 User Guide Effect attributes and methods Boolean active Returns a true value if the effect is turned on, or a false value if it is off. Property param(name) {name is a string} Returns a property within an effect. For example, “effect("Bulge").param("Bulge Height")”. Effect point controls are always in layer space. Property param(index) {index is a number} Returns a property within an effect.
UG.book Page 336 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 336 CHAPTER 10 Creating Expressions Number or Array smooth(width=.2, samples=5, t=time) {width, samples, and t are numbers} Applies a box filter to the value of the property at the specified time, and smooths the result over time. Width (in seconds) is the range of time over which the filter is averaged. Samples equals the number of discrete samples evenly spaced over time.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 339 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 339 Chapter 11: Managing Projects Effectively A s you create large or intricate After Effects projects, use After Effects management tools to meet the challenges of organizing projects, speeding up previews, and working efficiently. Flowchart View, nested compositions, and prerendering movies are some of the ways you can control a complex project.
UG.book Page 340 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 340 CHAPTER 11 Managing Projects Effectively The elements included in Flowchart View depend on what is selected and on whether the compositions are nested (used inside another composition as a layer) or root compositions (not nested). In Flowchart View of a project, all root compositions appear. Nested compositions and other elements that make up the composition appear when you expand a composition tile.
UG.book Page 341 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 341 User Guide Customizing Flowchart View You can customize Flowchart View using the Flowchart View menu. Specify the type of lines between elements (angled or straight), justification, what tiles appear (layers with or without showing effects), and flow direction. The menu also includes a Cleanup command to reorganize elements in aligned flowcharts.
UG.book Page 342 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 342 CHAPTER 11 Managing Projects Effectively You can change other properties of a selected element by right-clicking (Windows) or Control-clicking (Mac OS) the icon to the left of the name in the element tile. The icons have various appearances, depending on the element type, such as layers ( ), compositions ( ), audio footage ( ), and so forth.
UG.book Page 343 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 343 User Guide Understanding default rendering order The order in which After Effects renders the various parts of a composition can affect the look of some visual effects in a rendered movie. An understanding of how After Effects renders a composition will help you get the effects you want.
UG.book Page 344 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 344 CHAPTER 11 Managing Projects Effectively To render the animation so that the shadows appear as if created by a single light source, you need to apply rotation before you apply the drop shadow effect. A B C A. Original layer B. Rotation applied using the Transform effect C.
UG.book Page 345 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 345 User Guide For more information about gathering project files in a special location for rendering or archiving, see the Watch folders section under “Collecting files in one location” on page 376 and “Rendering using a watch folder (PB only)” on page 378. Creating animations by nesting compositions Nesting is useful when you want to apply a single transform property to a layer in more than one way.
UG.book Page 346 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 346 CHAPTER 11 Managing Projects Effectively To synchronize time displays in windows of nested compositions: Choose Edit > Preferences > General, click the Synchronize Time of All Related Items option to add a checkmark, and click OK. Maintaining image quality of nested compositions There are two methods of calculating changes to transform properties (such as rotation or scaling) during rendering of a nested composition.
UG.book Page 347 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 347 User Guide When you collapse the transform properties of a layer, all compositions nested inside it combine their opacity setting with the opacity setting of the layer that uses collapsed transform properties. Because you can collapse transformations but not mask or effect properties, After Effects automatically disables all composition and layer switches related to masks or effects when you collapse transformations.
UG.book Page 348 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 348 CHAPTER 11 Managing Projects Effectively Using a prerendered movie in place of a nested composition also saves time and memory when you render the final version of the main composition. Just be sure to apply your final output settings when you prerender the nested composition. For more information about rendering options, see “Changing render settings” on page 358. There are three phases to prerendering a composition: • Creating a composition.
UG.book Page 349 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 349 User Guide When you precompose, one or more layers that you select move into a new composition. This new composition takes the place of the selected layers—something that does not occur in ordinary nesting. Precomposing also places the new composition in the Project window, available for use in any composition.
UG.book Page 350 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 350 CHAPTER 11 Managing Projects Effectively Reducing the project Use the Reduce Project command to automatically delete any items that are not used, either directly or indirectly, in selected compositions. For example, this command removes both unused footage items and all other compositions that are not included within a selected composition as nested (subordinate) compositions.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 353 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 353 Chapter 12: Rendering a Movie hen you have finished assembling and animating an After Effects composition, you can create many types of output from a single composition, including a compressed movie ready for videotape or an image sequence of the composition frames.
UG.book Page 354 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 354 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie Understanding rendering and compression Rendering is a series of operations performed on your composition. First, each layer or nested composition is rendered with its masks, effects, and layer transformations. Next, transfer modes are applied. Finally, the composited frame is sent to each output module to create the final movie. The output module specifies the compression scheme to be used in rendering the movie.
UG.book Page 355 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 355 User Guide 6 Click the underlined text after Output To to specify the name and location of the output file. 7 Select the Render option under the Render column heading. The status of the item changes to Queued. 8 Click the Render button. Note: To view more information about the composition as it renders, click the triangle to the left of Show Details. To view details of a completed rendering, review the log file.
UG.book Page 356 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 356 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie Working in the Render Queue window You can place multiple items in the render queue. When rendering is complete, each item remains in the queue with its status changed to Done until you remove it. You cannot render a completed item again, but you can duplicate it to create a new item in the queue with the same settings or with new settings you specify.
UG.book Page 357 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 357 User Guide • To render with a new filename, choose Edit > Duplicate, click the underlined Output to filename, type a new filename, and then click Save. 3 Click Render. Close the Composition window to increase rendering speed. Monitoring the rendering process The Render Queue window displays both elapsed time and estimated time remaining for the composition being rendered.
UG.book Page 358 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 358 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie Changing render settings The Render Queue window displays the current render settings—either default settings or settings you made when you created the composition. You can change these settings or override the settings for all layers or compositions. When you set the quality and resolution of a composition while editing, it does not necessarily change the quality or resolution of compositions nested within it.
UG.book Page 359 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 359 User Guide Field Render Determines the field-rendering technique used for the rendered composition. Choose Off if you are rendering for film or for display on a computer screen. For information on determining field order, see “Field-rendering considerations” on page 360 and “Testing the field-rendering order” on page 387.
UG.book Page 360 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 360 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie Field-rendering considerations If vertical scaling, translation, rotation, or effects are applied to the image, the two fields of a video frame should be separated so that rendering can occur separately.
UG.book Page 361 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 361 User Guide 3 Click Edit. 4 Specify the render settings you want and click OK. 5 Click OK to close the Render Settings Templates dialog box. Note: Changes to an existing template do not affect render items that are already in the render queue. To save all currently loaded templates to a file: 1 Choose Edit > Templates > Render Settings. 2 Click Save. 3 Select a location for the file, type a filename, and then click OK.
UG.book Page 362 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 362 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie You can specify the following settings in the Output Module Settings dialog box: Format Specifies the format for the output file or sequence of files. File formats include QuickTime, Video for Windows, and file types available from plug-in file format modules. Embed Specifies whether to include information in the output file that links to the source project in After Effects.
UG.book Page 363 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 363 User Guide Crop Used to trim or add pixels to the edges of the rendered movie. You can specify the number of pixels to be added or subtracted from the top, left, bottom, and right sides of the movie. Type positive values to crop, and type negative values to add pixels. Note: By adding one pixel to the top of a rendered movie with field rendering, you can change the field-rendering order.
UG.book Page 364 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 364 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie Creating and using output module templates You can create templates that save commonly used output module settings. These templates appear in the Output Module pop-up menu in the Render Queue window. You can specify a default output module template for movie rendering and another for creating a single frame. You can also save all output module settings templates to a single file to use on another computer.
UG.book Page 365 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 365 User Guide 3 Select a location for the file, type a filename, and then click OK. 4 Click OK to close the Output Module Templates dialog box. To load a saved output module template file: 1 Choose Edit > Templates > Output Module. 2 Click Load. 3 Select the template file, and then click Open. 4 Click OK to close the Output Module Templates dialog box.
UG.book Page 366 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 366 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie • For JPEG Quality, specify the image quality by typing a number, selecting an option for JPEG Quality, or dragging the slider. The higher the quality, the larger the file. The JPEG quality setting is used for all JPEG-compressed bitmaps exported to the SWF file, including bitmaps generated from composition frames or Adobe Illustrator files if Rasterize is selected for Unsupported Features.
UG.book Page 367 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 367 User Guide Masks Only Add mode and Difference mode are supported. If multiple masks are applied to a layer, they must all have the same mode to be supported. Partial Opacity and the mask Inverted option are supported only if Add mode is specified. Nonzero Mask feathers are unsupported. Effects Path Text is the only supported effect.
UG.book Page 368 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 368 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie Including Web links in a SWF file If the Include Layer Marker Web Links option is selected in the SWF Settings dialog box, a frame label is added to each SWF frame that has a layer marker, and a GetURL action is added to each SWF frame in which a layer marker has a specified URL. For more information on creating Web links from markers, see “Creating Web links from markers” on page 145.
UG.book Page 369 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 369 User Guide Exporting footage using QuickTime components If you have QuickTime 4.1 or later installed on your system, you can export items using components provided by QuickTime. This rendering process exports the movie directly without using the Render Queue window in After Effects. The specific file formats you can export to depend on how you’ve configured QuickTime.
UG.book Page 370 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 370 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie Choosing compression options Compression is essential to reduce the data size of movies that would otherwise be so large as to prohibit effective playback. When compressing a movie file, you can fine-tune it for the best-quality playback on a computer, on a video playback device, on the Web, or from a CD-ROM drive. QuickTime and Video for Windows have several built-in, software-based compression algorithms.
UG.book Page 371 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 371 User Guide 5 Select a Quality level from Least to Best. Note (Mac OS Only): If you intend to use key frames in the movie, hold down Option and adjust the Quality slider to control the temporal compression of the movie. Temporal compression compresses a movie by comparing successive frames and keeping only changed data. High temporal quality maintains smoothness of motion.
UG.book Page 372 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 372 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie Cinepak Use when compressing 16-bit and 24-bit video for playback from CD or for desktop presentations. For best results, use the Cinepak compressor on raw source data that has not been previously compressed with a highly lossy compressor. Note that this is a slow compression method. With Cinepak, decompression is much faster than compression, and the data rate for playback can be defined by the user.
UG.book Page 373 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 373 User Guide 7 If you want the smallest possible files, and your compressor choice allows for a key frame rate, select the Key Frame Every option and type a number of frames. Generally, you should type a number equal to the frame rate. For example, if you set a frame rate of 30 fps, type 30 in the Key Frame box. This sets one key frame every 30 frames of your movie.
UG.book Page 374 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 374 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie To export a single composition frame as an Adobe Photoshop file with layers: 1 In the Composition window, display the frame you want to export. 2 Choose Composition > Save Frame As > Photoshop Layers. 3 Type a filename and click OK. Creating a filmstrip file for editing in Photoshop Use the Filmstrip format to paint directly on video frames, a process known as rotoscoping.
UG.book Page 375 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 375 User Guide 2 Choose Composition > Make Movie. 3 Type a filename. 4 In the Render Queue window, click the underlined Output Module template name. 5 Choose Filmstrip from the Format pop-up menu. Specify the rest of the settings you want and click OK. 6 In the Render Queue window, click Render. Rendering frames as a sequence of still images Movies are the type of output most useful for easy previewing.
UG.book Page 376 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 376 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie Rendering cross-platform movies and stills Because the UNIX platform and some Windows versions play only single-fork movies (sometimes called flattened movies), files created in After Effects for Mac OS systems and intended for use across platforms must be rendered as single-fork files. Earlier versions of After Effects included a plug-in for flattening movies. After Effects 4.
UG.book Page 377 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 377 User Guide Change Render Output To: Use to redirect the output modules to render files to a named folder in the collected files folder. This option ensures that you have access to your rendered files when you’re rendering the project from another system. Note that the rendering status must be valid (Queued, Unqueued, or Will Continue) for the output modules to render files to this folder.
UG.book Page 378 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 378 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie 4 To add your own information to the report that will be generated, click Comments, type your notes, and click OK. The comments appear at the end of the report. 5 Click OK. Name the folder and specify a location for your collected files. Once you start the file collection, After Effects creates the folder and copies the specified files to it.
UG.book Page 379 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 379 User Guide 2 Create a watch folder on a system that’s accessible to all of the After Effects render engines on your network. For example, create a folder called AE Watch Folder. Note: All Windows machines monitoring the watched folder as a mapped network drive must map that drive using the same drive letter.
UG.book Page 380 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 380 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie After Effects renders the item to the specified destination folder, and if necessary, to the overflow volumes you have specified in the Output preferences. When After Effects finishes rendering all of the queued items in a given project, it closes that project without saving it and then scans the watch folder for new projects to render.
UG.book Page 381 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 381 User Guide You can use multiple systems to render only single-frame sequences; you cannot use multiple systems to render movies. You can use any combination of Windows or MacOS systems. Note: If you are rendering a project using Production Bundle effects on multiple systems, each system must be running the Production Bundle version of After Effects.
UG.book Page 382 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 382 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie Network performance There is no limit to the number of systems you can use for rendering; in general, the more systems, the faster the rendering. However, if too many systems are used across a busy network, network traffic may be significant enough to slow down the entire process.
UG.book Page 383 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 383 User Guide If you’re running a Windows system, you can also launch After Effects in watch-folder mode using a command-line option. Choose Start > Run, type "C:\Program Files\Adobe\After Effects\afterfx.exe" -wf C:\temp (adjust the application path as needed to reflect the exact folder name where you installed After Effects, and replace C:\temp with the path to your watch folder), and press Enter.
UG.book Page 384 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 384 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie • You have more than a specified number of sequence files in a folder. In this case, After Effects makes a new folder next to the current one and continues rendering images to the new folder. • A single movie file is larger than a specified size. In this case, After Effects starts a new file next to the current one.
UG.book Page 385 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 385 User Guide • Create a new composition at the smaller dimensions, and nest the large composition inside it. For example, if you create a 640 x 480 composition, you can place it in a 320 x 240 composition. Scale the composition to fit the new smaller composition size, and collapse transformations by choosing Layer > Switches > Collapse.
UG.book Page 386 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 386 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie Making a movie larger than the rendered composition Increasing the size of the output from a rendered composition reduces the image quality of a movie and is not recommended. If you must enlarge a movie, to maintain highest image quality, always enlarge a composition that was rendered at full resolution and highest quality.
UG.book Page 387 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 387 User Guide Creating low-resolution movies for testing motion You can test the motion of a high-quality composition by quickly creating a lowresolution, or thumbnail, movie. Do this by making a movie at a resolution less than full (using the Resolution pop-up menu in the Render Settings dialog box). After Effects creates a movie with dimensions proportional to the resolution.
UG.book Page 388 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 388 CHAPTER 12 Rendering a Movie 3 Apply some fast movement to the solid using keyframes in its Position property. Set keyframes from the upper left of the Composition window to the lower right, for 1 second. 4 Save the project, and then drag the composition to the Render Queue window. 5 Click the underlined Render Settings name, and then choose Upper Field First. 6 Click OK, and then click Render to make the movie.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 391 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 391 Chapter 13: Using Property and Tracking Controls (PB only) he Production Bundle includes a set of motion, property, and tracking controls that you can use to automatically create and modify keyframes. T Note: The Smoother is a non-Production Bundle feature that creates or modifies keyframes in order to smooth a motion path, value curve, or velocity curve. For information on using The Smoother, see “Smoothing motion and velocity” on page 177.
UG.book Page 392 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 392 CHAPTER 13 Using Property and Tracking Controls (PB only) 3 For Apply To, select the type of curve you want The Wiggler to change. If you selected keyframes for a property that varies spatially, you can select Spatial Path to add deviations to the motion, or Temporal Graph to add deviations to the velocity. If you selected keyframes for a property that does not vary spatially, you can select only Temporal Graph.
UG.book Page 393 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 393 User Guide Simulating a zoom lens You can simulate a more realistic accelerating effect of a zoom lens when working with 2D layers by using Exponential Scale, which converts linear scaling of a layer to exponential scaling. This is useful for creating a cosmic zoom, for example. Zooming optically with a lens is not linear—the rate of change of scaling accelerates as you zoom.
UG.book Page 394 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 394 CHAPTER 13 Using Property and Tracking Controls (PB only) Working with the Tracker/Stabilizer Controls The Tracker/Stabilizer is a panel added to the Layer window once you select the Tracker/Stabilizer controls from the Layer window menu. The window displays the layer you selected to track. To specify an area for tracking, set a feature region, a search region, and a track point in the layer shown.
UG.book Page 395 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 395 User Guide E. Tracking coordinates The first set of numbers in parentheses indicates the layer coordi- nates of the corners of the feature region. The second set of numbers in parentheses indicates the x and y coordinates of the track point. The number of coordinate groups listed here depends on the tracking type you choose.
UG.book Page 396 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 396 CHAPTER 13 Using Property and Tracking Controls (PB only) Defining tracking regions Before tracking motion, define three tracking regions in the motion footage layer: a search region, a feature region, and a track point. Resize each region by dragging a handle. Make both regions as small as possible so that the Tracker/Stabilizer can more accurately and quickly track the selected region.
UG.book Page 397 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 397 User Guide Track point Move the cross hair to specify the point of attachment between the tracked area and the second layer. The Tracker/Stabilizer generates keyframes for the specified track point and copies them to the position property of the second layer; when you play back the layers, the second layer is attached to the track point of the first.
UG.book Page 398 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 398 CHAPTER 13 Using Property and Tracking Controls (PB only) Process Before Match Blurs or sharpens an image to enhance the search capabilities. Select Blur to specify the number of pixels that the Tracker/Stabilizer blurs before processing a match. Blurring temporarily reduces noise in the footage to help produce better tracks. Note that blurring occurs only for the purpose of tracking.
UG.book Page 399 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 399 User Guide Tracking different types of motion The Tracker/Stabilizer can track five different kinds of motion—position, rotation, position and rotation, affine corner pinning, and perspective corner pinning. For each type of motion, define one or more tracking regions.
UG.book Page 400 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 400 CHAPTER 13 Using Property and Tracking Controls (PB only) The rotation in the first layer is defined by two feature regions and the axis that runs between them. An arrow on the axis points from the first feature region to the second. The Tracker/Stabilizer tracks the rotation by measuring the angle of the axis in relation to the first feature region: as either feature region moves, the angle of the axis changes.
UG.book Page 401 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 401 User Guide Tracking position using affine corner pinning When you track position using affine corner pinning, you simultaneously track three points in a motion footage layer with three points in a second layer. The position of a fourth, inactive point is determined by the three active points. As the three points move, the layer is distorted to simulate skewing, scaling, and rotation, but not perspective.
UG.book Page 402 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 402 CHAPTER 13 Using Property and Tracking Controls (PB only) 3 Place the three track points at the locations where you want to attach the three corners of the second layer. You can place the track points in the center, in the corner, or outside the feature regions. In this sequence, the three active feature regions are placed on three corresponding markers in the motion footage layer.
UG.book Page 403 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 403 User Guide When you choose perspective corner pinning, the default positions of the track points form a rectangle in the center of the motion footage layer (left). Moving each feature region extends the rectangle in the direction of motion (center). You can place the track points anywhere in the motion footage layer (right).
UG.book Page 404 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 404 CHAPTER 13 Using Property and Tracking Controls (PB only) Tracking a moving region or object For best results, first prepare the object or region you are tracking before you begin filming. Because The Tracker/Stabilizer compares pixels from one frame to the next to produce an accurate track, attaching high-contrast markers to the object or region lets After Effects more easily follow the motion from frame to frame.
UG.book Page 405 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 405 User Guide 9 In the Tracker panel, click Analyze. Watch the tracking to make sure it is accurate. If not, press any key to stop the tracking, and then correct the problem as described in “Correcting a drifting feature region” on page 405. A black line appears in the time bar, indicating the portion of the layer that has been tracked. Keyframes are not generated until you click Apply.
UG.book Page 406 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 406 CHAPTER 13 Using Property and Tracking Controls (PB only) • To correct a single frame, drag the feature region or track point to new locations. Altdrag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the feature region to move it without moving the track point. Use the Details section of the window to monitor the feature region position. The tracker automatically updates the previous tracking data to this new feature region/track point position.
UG.book Page 407 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 407 User Guide 3 Click OK in the Motion Tracker Options dialog box and, in the Tracker panel, click Analyze. Watch the tracking to make sure it is accurate. If not, press any key to stop tracking, adjust the settings, and begin again. 4 To preview tracking, press the spacebar. 5 When you are satisfied with the track, click Apply to copy keyframes to the selected layer.
UG.book Page 408 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 408 CHAPTER 13 Using Property and Tracking Controls (PB only) 6 Define the feature region, search region, and track point, as described in “Defining tracking regions” on page 396. 7 Click Options to define other tracking settings, as described in “Tracking a moving region or object” on page 404. 8 In the Motion Stabilizer panel, click Analyze. Watch the tracking to make sure it is accurate.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 411 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 411 Chapter 14: Using Motion Math (PB only) se Motion Math to write and run scripts that use a special language and mathematical equations to generate keyframes. Motion Math can create complex changes for any property, using scripts included with the Production Bundle or scripts that you write.
UG.book Page 412 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 412 CHAPTER 14 Using Motion Math (PB only) Working in the Motion Math window All of your work running, editing, and writing scripts occurs in the Motion Math window. In this window, you load a new script, save a script you’ve written, and apply a script to a composition. When you first open the Motion Math window, the Copy Values script appears. You can use this script as it is, edit it, or load a new script. A B C D The Copy Values script A.
UG.book Page 413 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 413 User Guide Motion Math scripts included with the Production Bundle Several prewritten scripts, along with sample movies, are available from the After Effects CD. Each script creates keyframes for specified properties and channels in one of two layers, depending on the motion or effect you want.
UG.book Page 414 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 414 CHAPTER 14 Using Motion Math (PB only) Gravity (gravity.mm and gravity.mov) Applies both a gravitational and a frictional force to a specified layer. Layer Audio (layeraud.mm and layeraud.mov) Copies the values of the audio amplitude of a single layer, multiplies them by a specified scale factor, and then creates keyframes for the specified property using the new values. Point At (pointat.mm and pointat.
UG.book Page 415 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 415 User Guide To run a script: 1 Open the composition and set the work area to the time span over which you want Motion Math to create keyframes. 2 Select a layer. 3 Choose Layer > Keyframe Assistant > Motion Math. The Copy Values script appears by default in the script editor the first time you start Motion Math. 4 To run a different script, click the Load button, and locate the script you want to run.
UG.book Page 416 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 416 CHAPTER 14 Using Motion Math (PB only) Writing your own scripts The Motion Math language provides all the necessary statements, functions, and operators for constructing both simple and complex scripts. To write your own scripts, you should have some basic knowledge of programming and mathematics. Motion Math scripts use the Motion Math language, a simplified version of the C programming language.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 419 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 419 Chapter 15: Using Vector Paint (PB only) ector Paint is an effect you use directly within After Effects. You can apply the Vector Paint effect to solid layers, to existing images on a layer, and to create mattes. Each stroke is recorded in real time and can be animated and played back in various ways.
UG.book Page 420 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 420 CHAPTER 15 Using Vector Paint (PB only) 3 Choose Effect > Paint >Vector Paint. The Vector Paint effect appears and is selected in the Effect Controls window, and the Vector Paint toolbar appears on the left side of the Composition window. Note: This toolbar appears only when Vector Paint is selected (highlighted) in the Effect Controls window. 4 Select the paint tool you want to use from the Vector Paint toolbar.
UG.book Page 421 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 421 User Guide Selecting and modifying paint tools You can select options for painting in various locations: the Vector Paint toolbar, the contextual menu, the Effect Controls window, and the Timeline window. You can also choose how your painting work appears on screen as you create it. For more information on setting work views, see “Selecting viewing options” on page 439.
UG.book Page 422 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 422 CHAPTER 15 Using Vector Paint (PB only) Specifying a Brush type Vector paint includes three Brush types: Paint, Air, and Square. These define the shapes and performance of both the paintbrush tool and the eraser tool. Of the three, the Air brush type is unique because you cannot set a Feather setting for this type. To change brush types: Do one of the following: • In the Vector Paint toolbar, select the Paint ( ), Air ( ), or Square ( ) button.
UG.book Page 423 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 423 User Guide The first three controls on the left column can be changed in two ways. You can click the underlined value to open a dialog box in which you can type a specific value, or you can drag across the value to change it, dragging left to decrease it and right to increase it.
UG.book Page 424 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 424 CHAPTER 15 Using Vector Paint (PB only) Editing your paint work Use tools on the Vector Paint toolbar in the Composition window to revise your paint work. Three of these tools do not require you to select a stroke first. Undo button ( ) Click the Undo button to cancel your last (one) painting action, if it can be undone. If the action cannot be undone, this tool is dimmed (not available).
UG.book Page 425 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 425 User Guide All Selects all strokes on a layer. None Deselects all strokes on a layer. (Available only if some strokes are selected.) Visible Selects all strokes visible at the current frame. Current Time Selects all strokes that were drawn at the current time position. (Playback Speed does not affect the original start time of strokes.) Last Painted Selects the last-painted brush stroke (or erase stroke).
UG.book Page 426 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 426 CHAPTER 15 Using Vector Paint (PB only) Editing the Radius using Relative Values Use relative values to edit the Radius settings of selected strokes based on their original values. If you press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) when clicking the question mark representing the Radius value, a Set Value dialog box appears. You can then type a Relative Radius, reducing the radius of each stroke by that percentage.
UG.book Page 427 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 427 User Guide After you click OK in the dialog box, the stroke paths immediately reflect the smoothing in the Composition window. Important: Smoothing cannot be undone. Removing these points may alter the shape of the path. If you want to preview the results before you commit, create a duplicate of the layer and apply Smoothing to test the result. If these are satisfactory, then apply the command to the original layer.
UG.book Page 428 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 428 CHAPTER 15 Using Vector Paint (PB only) The following illustrations use the same basic example of an imported image. A straight paint stroke has been applied, followed by a curving erasure stroke. The original image is a textured fill and mask that reveals only a circular area of the fill. For these examples, Checkerboard Background is selected (in the Composition window menu, click the right arrow above the vertical stroll bar to open that menu).
UG.book Page 429 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 429 User Guide F. Under Original The layer image is visible in the working view. Painting does not alter the original image; it affects only areas of the layer that are outside the original image. Erasures remove only paint pixels, not the original image. G. Track Original Matte The original image is not visible in the working view. Paint strokes are visible.
UG.book Page 430 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 430 CHAPTER 15 Using Vector Paint (PB only) Playing back your painting Use the Playback Mode pop-up menu in the Effect Controls window to specify when and how quickly your strokes appear in your composition. When you draw strokes, Vector Paint records information for the stroke start time and the drawing time of each stroke (in real time). The Playback Mode you select determines when a stroke starts and for how long it appears.
UG.book Page 431 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 431 User Guide Onion Skin Displays strokes drawn on the current frame plus strokes drawn on the surrounding few frames. These additional strokes appear color-coded and at reduced opacity, to distinguish them from the strokes on the current frame. Those strokes actually exist only on the frames in which they are drawn.
UG.book Page 432 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 432 CHAPTER 15 Using Vector Paint (PB only) Setting playback speed The Playback Speed value in the Effect Controls window can change the timing at which painted strokes appear in previews and rendered compositions. Playback Speed affects the Vector Paint strokes only when you set the Playback Mode to Past Strokes, Hold Strokes, or Animate Strokes.
UG.book Page 433 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 433 User Guide Hold Strokes Like Past Strokes mode, each stroke appears in completed form at the frame in which it was drawn. The difference between this and Past Strokes mode is that in Hold Strokes mode, each stroke disappears when the next stroke appears (without any gap between the disappearance of the first stroke and the appearance of the second).
UG.book Page 434 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 434 CHAPTER 15 Using Vector Paint (PB only) • The values for Re-timer are percentages of the original time required to draw the stroke. The default value is 100%. A higher value causes the drawing time to increase, so that a setting of 200% uses twice the time to draw the selected strokes. A lower value draws the selected strokes more quickly.
UG.book Page 435 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 435 User Guide When you draw, the Info palette displays the abbreviation QP followed by a description of the selected option: Current Frame, Next Frame (for To Sequential Frames), Realtime, or Continuously. These options affect stroke start times in the following ways: To Current Frame All strokes start at the current frame (the Time Marker position when you draw the strokes).
UG.book Page 436 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 436 CHAPTER 15 Using Vector Paint (PB only) Wiggles/sec This value determines the number of Wiggles per second of Composition time. Wiggling is spline-based morphing of paint strokes. Wiggles/sec controls the speed at which the morph completely shifts shape. Lower values result in a smooth animation of morphing strokes. Higher values create more rapid wiggling.
UG.book Page 437 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 437 User Guide When Displacement Detail values are set very high, the stroke may not resemble its original shape at all. This is useful in creating randomly animated strokes.
UG.book Page 438 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 438 CHAPTER 15 Using Vector Paint (PB only) The Radius and Opacity settings in the Brush Settings act as maximum amounts, not to be exceeded while wiggling.
UG.book Page 439 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 439 User Guide If Individual Stroke Seeds is not selected, all strokes use the same wiggle seed, so they all have the same spatial wiggle values. For example, two strokes exactly on top of each other will wiggle equally. By setting individual seeds for each stroke, you avoid identical strokes wiggling in the same way.
UG.book Page 440 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 440 CHAPTER 15 Using Vector Paint (PB only) Better Preview While Drawing When selected, this option enables drawing an anti-aliased preview in the Composition window. When it is not selected, Vector Paint draws a rough preview that works with any graphics card. Note: If the preview does not appear to be drawing correctly, you may have an incompatible graphics card.
UG.book Page 441 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0 441 User Guide Using stylus pressure to affect opacity The pressure variation of the pen on the tablet alters the opacity of the stroke as you draw. Light pressure results in lower opacity values, while increased pressure creates more opaque strokes. The Opacity value defines the maximum of the Opacity range. As with Stylus Radius, you can select and specify a stylus Opacity.
UG.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 445 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 445 angle icon 274 arrays 313 Angle of View camera setting 294 As Inverse Matte (Composite angle, setting 274 Animate Strokes Playback Mode 430 Playback Speed 432 animated GIF 39 animating 159 anchor point 182, 187 bouncing 217 in the Timeline window 187 layers 159 mask properties 253 mask shape or feather 188 Paint) 429 As Matte (Composite Paint) 429 Ask User import option 73 aspect ratio Audio effects category.
UG.book Page 446 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 446 INDEX Background Color option 114 binary keys 278 Brush Strokes effect 280 backward previews 155 black-and-white images brush tool.
UG.book Page 447 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 447 changing auto-orient 297 changing the view 293 creating and using 292 Channel effects category.
UG.
UG.book Page 449 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 449 Continuous Bezier interpolation 203, 205 Continuously (paint option) 435 correcting customizing Flowchart View 341 mistakes 46 cuts, creating between layers 135 Continuously Rasterize switch 78, 346 Creation Station tablet and Vector contrast, setting 278 Crop option in Output Module Paint 419 dialog box 363 control point 248 cropping a movie 386 changing 243 controlling speed along a motion path 213 controls.
UG.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 453 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 453 setting a tint value 274 Video 280 errors.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 456 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 456 INDEX motion footage 95 setting for footage 95 geometrics. See Transform properties Global attributes and methods 325 Frame Rate option in Composition Settings dialog box 102 in Render Settings dialog box 359 frame size 103 frames 42 blending 150 separating video fields 85 handles.
UG.book Page 457 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 457 importing 65 footage items 44 importing moving 65 footage items with alpha reshaping 280 Import Preferences Default Drag Import As 69 default frame rate 71 Interpret Unlabeled Alpha As 72, 73 Sequence Footage 71 Still Footage 67 imported files movie 93 working with 93 importing Adobe Illustrator files 77 Adobe Photoshop files 74, 76 Adobe Premiere projects 81 After Effects projects 80 channel 72 layers from Adobe Illustrator 5.
UG.
UG.book Page 459 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 459 Keying effects category.
UG.
UG.book Page 461 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 461 Local Axes mode tool 61 manual preview 190, 193 location of an effect point 274 margins 55 Lock Aspect Ratio option 102 margins, paint strokes.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 464 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 464 INDEX New Composition command 101 nesting and 347 adding 369 New Solid command 127 paint 422 creating and saving 364 Noise effect 280 speed 219 non-drop-frame timecode display 42 None mask mode 257 None option (Vector Paint contextual menu) 425 noninterlaced video 83 nonlight 299 Normal layer mode 262 NTSC.
UG.
UG.book Page 466 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 466 INDEX rendering over a network 383 alpha channel interpretation 73 Point At script 414 Default Drag Import As 69 point of interest dialog box 47 camera 295 Display 56 lights 300 display options 107 moving camera point of interest 296 for stylus (Vector Paint) 441 moving light point of interest 301 pointat.mm/pointat.
UG.book Page 467 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 467 setting 189 opening 45 PS+Zig Zag effect 280 Shift+RAM 192 organizing 339 pulldown, 3:2.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 470 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 470 INDEX scrubbing.
UG.
UG.
UG.
UG.book Page 474 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 474 INDEX time-vary stopwatch 161 adjusting 394 Tint effect 280 tracking backward 397 tint value, setting 274 tracking motion 393 tinted images 280 affine corner pinning 401 title-safe zones 54, 112 applying an effect point 403 To Current Frame (paint option) 435 attaching markers 404 To Sequential Frames (paint option) 435 toeffect.mm/toeffect.
UG.book Page 475 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 475 preserving during compositing 261 Use High Res.
UG.book Page 476 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM 476 INDEX Video effects category 280 specific frame 59 Video effects category.
UG.
UG.
