Real-World Skills for theAspiring Motion Graphics Artist

AFTER EFFECTS

TRISH & CHRIS MEYER

AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDONNEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO

SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYOFocal Press is an imprint of Elsevier

2nd EditionVersion CS4

Excerpt from After Effects Apprentice, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 2009 Trish and Chris Meyer.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means.

Focal Press, ISBN 978-0-240-81136-9

DEDICATED to the After Effects team, past and present: from those heartypioneers at the Company of Science and Art (CoSA) who revolutionized ourindustry, to the current innovators at Adobe who keep this vital program fresh.

Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USALinacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK

Copyright © 2009, Trish and Chris Meyer. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-0-240-81136-9

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� Lesson 1 – Basic Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Building your first animation while you learn a typical After Effects workflow.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Table of Contents

16 creating folders in the Project panel17 creating a new composition17 importing files and folders18 interpreting alpha channels19 adding layers to the Comp panel20 changing the Background Color20 scrubbing parameter values20 interactively transforming layers21 animating Position; RAM Preview22 navigating between keyframes22 adding a background layer

23 dragging footage to the Timeline panel

24 editing a keyframe’s Bezier handles

25 editing spatial keyframes; motion paths

26 animating Opacity, Scale, and Rotation

28 arranging and replacing layers

30 adding solid layers

30 applying, copying and pasting effects

32 rendering

33 understanding the comp’s alpha channel

34 importing layered Photoshop and Illustrator files

� Pre-Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Exploring the After Effects landscape.

1 project structure2 main application window3 Tools panel3 Project panel4 importing footage5 Composition panel

6 Timeline panel7 Layer panel8 Info, Preview, Audio panels9 Effects & Presets, Effect Controls

10 Workspaces12 Adobe Bridge

ix Introduction

x Getting Started

Excerpt from After Effects Apprentice, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 2009 Trish and Chris Meyer.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means.

Focal Press, ISBN 978-0-240-81136-9

TABLE OF CONTENTS

iv

� Lesson 3 – Layer Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Learning how to trim layers and enhance them using Blending Modes and effects.

90 masking tools, creating mask shapes 91 Rounded Rectangle tool92 Free Transform Points92 masking in the Layer panel

93 Mask Feather94 animating a mask path95 creating a vignette; Mask Expansion96 masking with the Pen tool

� Lesson 2 – Advanced Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Manipulating keyframes to create more refined animations.

36 keyframe basics37 the Work Area38 Anchor Point overview39 Pan Behind tool40 motion control moves42 the Graph Editor43 Speed versus Value Graphs44 panning and zooming time45 editing graph curves46 easing animations

47 Graph Editor Sets48 Separate Dimensions52 Motion Sketch53 Smoother54 Auto-Orient55 Motion Blur56 Roving Keyframes57 Time-Reverse Keyframes58 Hold keyframes60 time display and timecode

62 layers and stacking order63 moving layers in time64 trimming layers65 trimming in the Layer and Footage panels66 slip editing67 Sequence Layers assistant69 looping footage70 image sequences71 changing the frame rate; Time Stretch72 Blending Modes

� Lesson 4 – Creating Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Using masks, mattes, and stencils to cut out portions of a layer.

74 effects and solids75 effect motion path77 Effects & Presets panel77 searching for effects78 Animation Presets81 Behavior presets82 Layer Styles84 Adjustment Layers85 filmic glow86 non-square pixels

Excerpt from After Effects Apprentice, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 2009 Trish and Chris Meyer.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means.

Focal Press, ISBN 978-0-240-81136-9

TABLE OF CONTENTS

v

� Lesson 6 – Parenting and Nesting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142Grouping layers to make them easier to coordinate.

142 parenting, nesting, and expressionsdefined

144 assigning a parent145 parenting, opacity, and effects146 parenting with null objects148 using guides149 nesting comps150 editing precomps152 navigating composition hierarchies

153 nesting a common source155 sizing precomps157 locking panels158 precomposing a group of layers160 precomposing a single layer162 render order explained163 splitting work between comps164 using precomposing to re-order166 continuously rasterized layers

� Lesson 5 – Type and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114Animating text and working with music are essential to motion graphics design.

115 creating basic text117 creating Text Animators, Range Selectors119 animating text transform properties121 randomizing the order of characters121 creating cascading text121 working with selection Shapes123 setting the text Anchor Point124 animating by words125 title safe areas126 animating text Blur and Tracking127 text on a path

96 creating and editing Bezier masks97 effecting a masked area98 controlling mask path interpolation99 using effects with the mask path

100 Mask Modes and multiple masks101 Mask Opacity102 creating and editing RotoBezier masks

Lesson 4 continued:

103 Audio Spectrum effect104 Alpha Track Matte106 nesting a track matte composite108 Luma Track Matte109 animating matte layers110 Stencil Alpha and Stencil Luma113 effects with track mattes and stencils

128 Per-character 3D animators132 separating fields133 adding the Wiggly Selector134 rendering with an alpha channel135 field rendering136 adding sound to a comp137 add comp and layer markers138 applying Text Animation Presets139 customizing presets140 saving text animations as presets141 editing Photoshop Text layers

Excerpt from After Effects Apprentice, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 2009 Trish and Chris Meyer.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means.

Focal Press, ISBN 978-0-240-81136-9

TABLE OF CONTENTS

vi

� Lesson 8 – 3D Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192Adding a new dimension to your animations.

� Lesson 7 – Expressions and Time Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168Using expressions and playing with time.

170 using the pick whip to create expressions171 altering expressions172 stabilizing shadows174 matching value ranges (the linear expression)176 looping keyframes177 expression tips178 the wiggle expression179 expression controllers179 keyframing the wiggle expression

180 creating a master controller181 converting sound to keyframes182 frame blending183 Pixel Motion184 stop motion tricks185 Preserve Frame Rate186 creating freeze frames187 Time Remapping191 resources for learning more

202 moving and animating cameras204 layer and camera auto-orientation206 3D lights207 vignettes; animating lights208 casting shadows210 OpenGL and Fast Previews212 Vanishing Point Exchange214 Photoshop 3D Layers216 adding dimension to stills218 editing stills for 3D

193 enabling layers for 3D194 moving layers in 3D space194 how layers stack in 3D195 3D rotation and orientation196 multiplaning effects198 3D motion paths199 multiple views200 camera settings201 customizing 3D views201 camera track and orbit tools

222 creating track points223 important Tracker options224 applying stabilization225 compensating for stabilized footage

225 fixing bad tracks225 tracking interlaced footage226 motion tracking227 applying a motion track

� Lesson 9 – Track and Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220Tackling several essential skills for creating special effects.

Excerpt from After Effects Apprentice, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 2009 Trish and Chris Meyer.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means.

Focal Press, ISBN 978-0-240-81136-9

TABLE OF CONTENTS

vii

� Lesson 10 – Paint and Puppet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242Exploring Paint, the Puppet Tools, and Brainstorm.

243 basic painting245 erasing strokes245 Paint Channels246 Paint Blending Modes246 brush duration bar247 animating strokes248 revealing a layer249 creating organic textures250 tablet settings251 cloning

252 transforming strokes253 Vector Paint effect254 Puppet Pin tool255 animating Puppet pins256 Puppet Overlap tool257 Recording Puppet Animation257 Puppet Starch tool258 using Brainstorm260 Brainstorm with keyframes261 Brainstorm with the Cartoon effect

228 Radio Waves effect230 applying tracks to effect points231 perspective corner pin tracking233 Bezier Warp effect234 stabilizing Position, Rotation, and Scale

236 interpolating obscured tracks237 working with high-definition footage238 keying using the Keylight effect239 improving keyed composites240 creating garbage mattes

Lesson 9 continued:

� Lesson 11 – Shape Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262Creating and animating vector-based shapes.

262 creating a Shape Layer263 shape Stroke and Fill settings263 editing shapes264 multiple shapes265 Even-Odd Fill266 Shape Effects267 creating buttons268 Shape Repeater

270 Compound Paths272 Gradients273 shape Pen paths274 Wiggle Transforms276 advanced strokes278 animating a stroke279 Brainstormed shapes

Excerpt from After Effects Apprentice, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 2009 Trish and Chris Meyer.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means.

Focal Press, ISBN 978-0-240-81136-9

TABLE OF CONTENTS

viii

281 creating elements; Grid effect

282 creating a gradient

283 preserve underlying transparency

284 creating the Skater comp

285 Block Dissolve effect

286 setting the layer size in Illustrator

287 copying paths from Illustrator

288 Stroke effect

289 Tint effect

290 rotating in 3D with the wiggle expression

291 creating Main Comp 1; audio waveforms

292 nesting the spinning Radar comp

293 nesting the Grid comp

294 setting the anchor point for the Skater layer

295 creating a reflection; precomposing

296 Lens Blur effect; luma track matte

297 using Collapse Transformations

298 crafting the camera move

300 creating and animating a title in 3D space

302 adding a light; casting shadows

303 final tweaks

304 animating a null object parent in 3D

306 assembling the final composition

307 inevitable client changes

� Appendix – Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308Unleashing your creations on the world.

� back matter

308 The Render Queue (movie)308 rendering: under the hood309 Render Settings Templates309 Output Module Templates310 rendering movies310 rendering sequences

316 Resources, Production Credits317 Index

311 rendering for the web311 Flash Video312 Flash project export (XFL)314 converting between D1 and DV315 3:2 Pulldown

� Lesson 12 – Final Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280Using 3D space plus effects to create a show’s opening title.

Excerpt from After Effects Apprentice, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 2009 Trish and Chris Meyer.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means.

Focal Press, ISBN 978-0-240-81136-9