User Guide

CHAPTER 9
294
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. After Effects renders the Active
Camera view, regardless of the view selected in the 3D View menu.
The After Effects camera is intended to simulate the capabilities of real-world cameras.
Therefore, you can configure the camera view either to match settings you may have used
to record video footage or to create a custom view.
Use the guidelines below to determine the optimal setting. You can change the camera
settings at any time.
Name After Effects, by default, assigns the name Camera 1 to the first camera you create
in a composition, and all subsequent cameras are numbered in ascending order. If you
delete a camera, and are still using the After Effects default naming convention, then After
Effects names the next camera you create with the lowest available number. You should
choose distinctive names for multiple cameras to make it easier to distinguish them.
Preset Cameras come with several presets. The presets are named according to focal
lengths. Each preset is meant to represent the behavior of a 35mm camera with a lens of a
certain focal length. Therefore, the preset also sets the angle of view, zoom, focus distance,
focal length, and aperture values. The default preset is 50mm. You can also create a custom
camera by specifying new values for any of the settings.
Zoom The distance from the position of the camera to the image plane.
Angle of View This is the width of the scene captured in the image. The focal length, film
size, and zoom determine the angle of view. A wider angle of view creates the same effect
as a wide-angle lens.
Enable Depth of Field The depth of field is the distance range within which the image is in
focus. Images outside of the distance range are blurred. Select this option to apply custom
variables to the focus distance, aperture, f-stop, and blur level. Using these variables, you can
manipulate the depth of field to create more realistic camera-focusing effects.
Focus Distance Distance from the camera’s position to the plane that is in perfect focus.
Aperture The size of the lens opening. The aperture setting also affects the depth of
field—increasing the aperture increases the depth of field blur. When you specify new
values for the aperture, the values for f-stop change dynamically to match it.
UG.book Page 294 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM