Real-World Skills for theAspiring Motion Graphics Artist

AFTER EFFECTS

TRISH & CHRIS MEYER

3rd EditionVersion CS6/5.5/5

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.

First published 2013by Focal Press70 Blanchard Road, Suite 402, Burlington, MA 01803

Simultaneously published in the UKby Focal Press2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business.

© 2013 Trish and Chris Meyer. All rights reserved.

The right of Trish and Chris Meyer to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted bythem in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any formor by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, includingphotocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, withoutpermission in writing from the publishers.

NoticesKnowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research andexperience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge inevaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein.In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and thesafety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication DataApplication submitted.

ISBN: 978-0-240-81736-1

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

iii

Table of Contents

16 creating folders in the Project panel17 creating a new composition17 importing media18 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 panel24 editing a keyframe’s Bezier handles25 editing spatial keyframes; motion paths26 animating Opacity, Scale, and Rotation28 arranging and replacing layers30 adding solid layers30 applying, copying, and pasting effects32 rendering33 RAM Preview options; the Work Area34 caches and memory36 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

x Introduction

xi Getting Started

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

10 Workspaces12 Adobe Bridge

Excerpt from After Effects Apprentice, 3rd Edition.

Copyright © 2013 Trish and Chris Meyer. All Rights Reserved.

Focal Press, ISBN 978-0-240-81736-1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

iv

� Lesson 3 – Layer Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Learning how to trim layers and enhance them using blending modes and effects.

� Lesson 2 – Advanced Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Manipulating keyframes to create more refined animations.

38 keyframe basics 40 Anchor Point overview41 Anchor Point tool42 motion control moves44 the Graph Editor45 speed versus value graphs46 panning and zooming time47 editing graph curves48 easing animations49 editing multiple keyframes49 Graph Editor Sets50 Separate Dimensions

54 Motion Sketch55 smoothing keyframes56 Auto-Orient57 Motion Blur58 Roving keyframes59 Time-Reverse Keyframes60 Hold keyframes62 time display and timecode

64 layers and stacking order65 moving layers in time66 trimming layers67 trimming in the Layer and

Footage panels68 slip editing69 Sequence Layers keyframe assistant71 looping footage72 image sequences73 changing the frame rate; Time Stretch74 blending modes76 effects and solids77 effect motion path79 Effects & Presets panel79 searching for effects

80 animation presets83 Behavior presets84 Layer Styles86 adjustment layers87 filmic glow trick88 Brainstorm; the Cartoon effect90 non-square pixels

TABLE OF CONTENTS

v

94 masking tools; creating mask shapes 95 Rounded Rectangle tool96 Free Transform Points96 masking in the Layer panel; Ellipse tool97 Mask Feather98 animating a mask path99 creating a vignette; Mask Expansion

100 masking with the Pen tool (Bezier masks)101 applying an effect to a masked area102 controlling mask path interpolation103 using effects with the mask path104 Mask Modes and multiple masks105 Mask Opacity

106 creating and editing RotoBezier masks

107 Audio Spectrum effect108 variable mask feathering

(new in CS6)112 Alpha Track Matte114 nesting a track matte composite116 Luma Track Matte117 animating matte layers118 Stencil Luma and Stencil Alpha121 effects with track mattes and

stencils

� Lesson 5 – Type and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122Animating text and working with music are essential to motion graphics design.

� Lesson 4 – Creating Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Using masks, mattes, and stencils to cut out portions of a layer.

133 title safe areas134 animating text Blur and Tracking135 text on a path136 Per-character 3D140 separating fields141 adding the Wiggly Selector142 rendering with an alpha channel143 field rendering144 adding audio to a comp145 spotting audio; using layer and

comp markers146 mixing and enhancing audio148 using text animation presets150 saving text animations as presets151 editing Photoshop Text layers

123 creating basic text125 creating text animators; Range Selectors127 animating text Position, Rotation,

and Opacity129 randomizing the order of characters129 creating cascading text129 working with selection Shapes131 setting the text Anchor Point132 animating by words

TABLE OF CONTENTS

vi

� Lesson 7 – Expressions and Time Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Using expressions and playing with time.

184 using the pick whip to create expressions185 altering expressions186 stabilizing shadows188 matching value ranges (the linear expression)190 looping keyframes191 expression tips192 the wiggle expression193 expression controllers193 keyframing the wiggle expression194 creating a master controller with a null object195 converting sound to keyframes196 frame blending197 Pixel Motion

198 stop motion tricks199 preserve frame rate200 creating freeze frames201 time remapping205 resources for learning more

about expressions

� Lesson 6 – Parenting and Nesting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152Grouping layers to make them easier to coordinate.

152 parenting, nesting, and expressions defined154 assigning a parent155 parenting, opacity, and effects156 parenting with null objects158 nesting to group layers; using guides160 editing precomps162 navigating composition hierarchies163 nesting a common source

165 sizing precomps167 ETLAT (edit this, look at that)168 precomposing a group of layers170 precomposing a single layer172 render order explained173 splitting work between comps174 precompose options compared174 using precomposing to reorder176 continuous rasterization178 collapsing transformations179 compound effects

TABLE OF CONTENTS

vii

� Lesson 8 – 3D Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Adding a new dimension to your animations.

218 building a camera rig220 layer and camera auto-orientation222 camera depth of field blur224 3D lights226 casting shadows228 Light Falloff; Material Options230 Ray-traced 3D Renderer (new in CS6)231 extrusion and beveling233 bending footage layers234 transparency; index of refraction236 reflections238 environment layers239 ray-tracer image quality240 Fast Previews

207 enabling layers for 3D208 moving and rotating layers in 3D space210 multiplaning effects212 3D motion paths213 multiple views214 adding a camera; camera settings215 using the camera tools; 3D views216 moving and animating cameras

244 tracking overview246 Warp Stabilizer (new in CS5.5)249 point-based tracking and stabilization250 creating track points252 applying stabilization253 fixing bad tracks254 2D motion tracking255 applying a motion track256 tracking interlaced footage256 Radio Waves effect257 applying tracks to effect points259 planar tracking with mocha AE262 pasting the mocha track into After Effects263 Bezier Warp effect264 3D Camera Tracker (new in CS6)

265 defining the plane; moving the target266 creating a track null; parenting268 adding 3D text and a shadow catcher270 stabilizing position, rotation, and scale273 keying using the Keylight effect275 creating garbage mattes276 Rolling Shutter Repair (new in CS6)

� Lesson 9 – Track and Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244Tackling several essential skills for creating special effects.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

viii

� Lesson 10 – Paint, Roto, and Puppet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278Exploring Paint, Roto Brush, and the Puppet tools.

279 basic painting281 erasing strokes281 Paint Channels282 Paint blending modes282 brush duration bar283 animating strokes284 revealing a layer

285 creating organic textures286 tablet settings287 cloning288 transforming strokes289 basic Roto Brush292 Roto Brush workflow; the base frame294 propagating strokes296 corrective strokes298 refining the matte300 Puppet Pin tool301 animating Puppet pins302 Puppet Overlap tool303 recording puppet animation303 Puppet Starch tool304 multiple shapes

� Lesson 11 – Shape Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306Creating, animating, and extruding vector-based shapes.

306 creating a shape layer307 Stroke and Fill settings, editing shapes308 multiple shapes309 Even-Odd Fill310 shape effects311 creating buttons312 Shape Repeater314 compound shapes; Merge Paths316 gradients317 shape pen paths318 Wiggle Transforms

320 advanced strokes321 dashes and gaps322 animating a stroke323 create shapes from vector layers

(new in CS6)324 extruding shape layers (new in CS6)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ix

326 delivery specifications327 music considerations; creating the main comp328 spotting music329 mocking up the 3D world; Label colors330 3D view layouts331 initial camera move; Separate Dimensions334 placing the 3D background335 3D Camera Tracker336 time stretch; frame blending337 typesetting the title338 applying text animation presets

339 timing animation to music340 using shapes to create a video frame342 creating a reusable element343 crafting an efficient composition hierarchy344 replacing placeholders; ETLAT345 filling out the background 346 creating animated lines348 using expressions to animate to music350 enabling Motion Blur; rendering a proof351 delivering a broadcast package352 ideas for enhancing the final project

� Appendix – Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354Unleashing your creations on the world.

� Back Matter

354 The Render Queue (movie)354 rendering: under the hood355 Render Settings Templates355 Output Module Templates356 rendering movies

362 Resources, Production Credits363 Index

356 rendering sequences357 issues that affect

image quality359 field flicker (movie)361 3:2 Pulldown

� Lesson 12 – Final Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326Creating a show opening, from draft to completion.