ADOBE® AFTER EFFECTS® Help and tutorials February 2013 Contents What's New....................................................................................................................................................1 What's new in CS6..................................................................................................................................................................2 What’s new in After Effects CS5.5..........................................................................................................................................7 What’s new in After Effects CS5.............................................................................................................................................8 After Effects getting started tutorials............................................................................................................14 Learn After Effects CS5 and CS5.5.......................................................................................................................................15 Planning and setup................................................................................................................................................................17 Setup and installation............................................................................................................................................................21 Workflows..............................................................................................................................................................................23 Workspace and workflow.............................................................................................................................26 Setup and installation............................................................................................................................................................27 Workflows..............................................................................................................................................................................29 Planning and setup................................................................................................................................................................32 Working with After Effects and other applications.................................................................................................................36 Dynamic Link and After Effects..............................................................................................................................................42 Workspaces, panels, and viewers.........................................................................................................................................45 General user interface items..................................................................................................................................................50 Keyboard shortcuts reference................................................................................................................................................53 Modify keyboard shortcuts.....................................................................................................................................................71 Preferences...........................................................................................................................................................................72 Projects and compositions...........................................................................................................................75 Projects..................................................................................................................................................................................76 Timecode and time display units...........................................................................................................................................79 Composition basics................................................................................................................................................................81 Precomposing, nesting, and pre-rendering............................................................................................................................86 Importing footage.........................................................................................................................................91 Importing and interpreting video and audio...........................................................................................................................92 Working with footage items....................................................................................................................................................97 Importing from After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro........................................................................................................102 Importing and interpreting footage items.............................................................................................................................106 Preparing and importing 3D image files...............................................................................................................................117 Preparing and importing still images....................................................................................................................................120 Layers and properties................................................................................................................................127 Creating layers.....................................................................................................................................................................128 Selecting and arranging layers............................................................................................................................................132 Managing layers..................................................................................................................................................................140 Layer properties...................................................................................................................................................................144 Blending modes and layer styles.........................................................................................................................................152 3D layers..............................................................................................................................................................................157 Cameras, lights, and points of interest................................................................................................................................162 Views and previews...................................................................................................................................170 Previewing...........................................................................................................................................................................171 Modifying and using views...................................................................................................................................................180 Animation and Keyframes..........................................................................................................................184 Animation basics..................................................................................................................................................................185 Setting, selecting, and deleting keyframes..........................................................................................................................188 Editing, moving, and copying keyframes.............................................................................................................................191 Assorted animation tools.....................................................................................................................................................195 Keyframe interpolation.........................................................................................................................................................201 Speed..................................................................................................................................................................................206 Tracking and stabilizing motion...........................................................................................................................................212 Tracking 3D Camera Movement (CS6)...............................................................................................................................224 Animating with Puppet tools................................................................................................................................................227 Time-stretching and time-remapping...................................................................................................................................233 Color..........................................................................................................................................................240 Color basics.........................................................................................................................................................................241 Color management..............................................................................................................................................................249 Drawing, painting, and paths.....................................................................................................................257 Paint tools: Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser......................................................................................................................258 Overview of shape layers, paths, and vector graphics........................................................................................................265 Creating shapes and masks................................................................................................................................................270 Managing and animating shape paths and masks..............................................................................................................278 Shape attributes, paint operations, and path operations for shape layers...........................................................................286 Text............................................................................................................................................................292 Creating and editing text layers...........................................................................................................................................293 Formatting characters and the Character panel..................................................................................................................298 Formatting paragraphs and the Paragraph panel................................................................................................................303 Animating text......................................................................................................................................................................305 Extruding text and shape layers (CS6)................................................................................................................................314 Examples and resources for text animation.........................................................................................................................319 Transparency and compositing..................................................................................................................324 Compositing and transparency overview and resources.....................................................................................................325 Alpha channels, masks, and mattes....................................................................................................................................327 Keying..................................................................................................................................................................................336 Roto Brush and Refine Matte..............................................................................................................................................339 Effects and animation presets...................................................................................................................344 Effects and animation presets overview..............................................................................................................................345 Effect list..............................................................................................................................................................................367 3D Channel effects..............................................................................................................................................................375 Audio effects........................................................................................................................................................................380 Blur & Sharpen effects.........................................................................................................................................................383 Channel effects....................................................................................................................................................................389 The rolling shutter repair effect (CS6)..................................................................................................................................394 Color Correction effects.......................................................................................................................................................395 Distort effects.......................................................................................................................................................................407 Generate effects..................................................................................................................................................................420 Keying effects......................................................................................................................................................................434 Matte effects........................................................................................................................................................................442 Noise & Grain effects...........................................................................................................................................................444 Obsolete effects...................................................................................................................................................................458 Perspective effects..............................................................................................................................................................462 Simulation effects................................................................................................................................................................466 Stylize effects.......................................................................................................................................................................487 Text effects..........................................................................................................................................................................496 Time effects.........................................................................................................................................................................498 Transition effects.................................................................................................................................................................503 Utility effects........................................................................................................................................................................509 Markers......................................................................................................................................................513 Layer markers and composition markers.............................................................................................................................514 XMP metadata.....................................................................................................................................................................518 Memory, storage, performance..................................................................................................................523 Memory and storage (CS5.5, and earlier)...........................................................................................................................524 Improve performance...........................................................................................................................................................530 GPU (CUDA, OpenGL) features in After Effects CS6.........................................................................................................533 Memory and storage (CS6).................................................................................................................................................535 Expressions and automation.....................................................................................................................543 Plug-ins................................................................................................................................................................................544 Scripts..................................................................................................................................................................................546 Automation...........................................................................................................................................................................548 Expression basics................................................................................................................................................................549 Expression language reference...........................................................................................................................................560 Expression examples...........................................................................................................................................................577 Rendering and Exporting...........................................................................................................................581 Basics of rendering and exporting.......................................................................................................................................582 Rendering and exporting for Flash Professional and Flash Player......................................................................................595 Rendering and exporting still images and still-image sequences........................................................................................601 Automated rendering and network rendering......................................................................................................................603 Converting movies...............................................................................................................................................................609 Export an After Effects project as an Adobe Premiere Pro project......................................................................................613 What's New 1 What's new in CS6 After Effects CS6 overview Video tutorial: Overview of After Effects CS6 Global performance cache 3D camera tracker 3D enhancements Ray-traced 3D renderer Beveled and extruded text and shape layers Bendable footage and composition layers Environment layer support New material options Fast Previews Mask Feather tool Layer bounding boxes and selection indicators Vector art footage-to-shape conversion Rolling shutter repair effect New 32-bit effects Updated CycoreFX HD plug-ins Pro Import AE plug-in ARRIRAW import MXF OP1a video codec support Improved Adobe Dynamic Link Aerender and watch folder in non-royalty bearing mode Scripting changes Miscellaneous changes To the top After Effects CS6 overview Resources: Video tutorial series: After Effects CS6: New features workshop Video tutorial: New features workshop: Overview of new and changed features in After Effects CS6 Blog: What's new and changed in After Effects CS6 To the top Global performance cache Cached frames are restored in many scenarios for a faster workflow Disk cache is retained even after you close and reopen a project Disk cache is filled in the background while you continue to work Resources: Global performance cache (CS6) Video tutorial: New features workshop: Global performance cache, and persistent disk cache Video tutorial: Learn by Video: RAM and Disk Caching Blog: GPU (CUDA, OpenGL) features in After Effects CS6 To the top 3D camera tracker The 3D Camera Tracker analyzes video sequences to extract camera motion and 3D scene data. This feature allows you to incorporate 3D objects into a 2D scene effectively. Resources: Tracking 3D camera movement (CS6) Video tutorial: New features workshop, 3D camera tracker 2 Video tutorial: Learn by Video, 3D camera tracker To the top 3D enhancements Ray-traced 3D renderer A new Ray-traced 3D renderer allows for enhanced 3D capability. You can render compositions in a separate environment from the existing Advanced 3D composition renderer (now called Classic 3D). Many of the existing capabilities of the Classic 3D renderer are available in the new Ray-traced 3D renderer. Examples include soft shadows, motion blur, and depth-of-field blur. Options include beveled and extruded text and shape layers, bending of footage and composition layers, environment map support and additional material options. Resources: Extruding text and shape layers (CS6) Video tutorial: New features workshop: Using the ray-traced 3D renderer Beveled and extruded text and shape layers 3D text and shape layers can take on a bevel or extrusion (or both). Properties such as bevel style, bevel depth, bevel hole depth, and extrusion depth determine the look. Resources: Extruding text and shape layers (CS6) Video tutorial: New features workshop: Extruding 3D text and shapes and modifying geometry options Video tutorial: Learn by Video: Extruding Shapes Bendable footage and composition layers In the ray-traced renderer, you can curve 3D footage and nested compositions around a vertical axis using controls in Geometry Options: Curvature: The amount of bend (as a percentage) Segments: The smoothness the bend Resources: Bending a footage layer Video tutorial: New features workshop: Bending 2D layers Video tutorial: Learn by Video: Bending Layers Environment layer support Use 3D footage or nested compositions as a spherically mapped environment around the scene, visible on reflective objects. Resources: Environment layer Video tutorial: New features workshop: Environment layers Video tutorial: Learn by Video: Material Options (Environment Layers) New material options 3D layers in the ray-traced renderer include additional materials properties, which affect how 3D objects interact with light. For example, you can use reflection, transparency, index of refraction as materials properties. Resources: New material options Video tutorial: New features workshop: Material options Video tutorial: Learn by Video: Material Options (Environment Layers) Fast Previews Fast Previews supports options for working with different levels of quality when previewing. This menu button has been reordered from highest quality and slower performance to lowest quality and faster performance. Some options have been renamed, and keyboard shortcuts have been assigned to them. Resources: Fast Previews (CS6) Video: tutorial: New features workshop: Fast Previews 3 To the top Mask Feather tool Mask Feather is a new tool for controlling feathering along defined points of a mask. Previously, the width of the feather was the same around the entire closed mask. The Mask Feather tool is available from the Pen tool. Press G to toggle between the Pen tool and the Mask Feather tool. To toggle between all tools under the Pen tool by pressing G, see Edit > Preferences > General (Windows), or After Effects > Preferences > General (Mac OS). Resources: Variable-width mask feathering (CS6) Video tutorial: New features workshop: Variable-width mask feathering To the top Layer bounding boxes and selection indicators Layer bounding boxes and selection indicators include features to support the new 3D features. They support beveled, extruded, or curved layers, in addition to standard "flat" layers. You can scale and rotate a 3D layer by manipulating the bounding box from any side. Snapping the anchor point to different parts of a side of a bounding box is also available. Resources: Layer bounding boxes and selection indicators Video tutorial: New features workshop: Layer bounding boxes and selection indicators Video tutorial: reTooled.net: Bounding boxes To the top Vector art footage-to-shape conversion Vector art footage-to-shape conversion creates shape layers from any vector art footage layer. You can even modify vector-based Illustrator, EPS, and PDF files after you import them into After Effects CS6. Furthermore, with the new 3D extrusion support, you can extrude artwork. For example, you can extrude and stylize logos in After Effects CS6. Resources: Vector art footage-to-shape conversion Video tutorial: New features workshop: Converting imported vector graphics from Illustrator to shape layers To the top Rolling shutter repair effect Rolling shutter distortion occurs mainly in digital cameras with CMOS sensors. This distortion usually occurs when the subject or the camera moves. The Rolling Shutter Repair effect fixes footage containing rolling shutter distortion. The Warp Stabilizer effect also has rolling shutter repair function. However, the Rolling Shutter Repair effect has more controls and is useful when the footage does not need stabilizing. Resources: Rolling Shutter Repair effect Video tutorial: New features workshop: Rolling shutter repair effect To the top New 32-bit effects The following effects are available with 32-bpc color in After Effects CS6: Drop Shadow Fill Iris Wipe Linear Wipe Photo Filter Radial Wipe Set Matte Spill Suppressor Timewarp Resources: Effects and animation presets overview 4 To the top Updated CycoreFX HD plug-ins The CycoreFX HD set is now bundled with After Effects, offering 16-bit and floating point support, and 12 additional effects. Resources: Third-party plug-ins included with After Effects Video tutorial: New features workshop: New Cycore effects and improved color bit depth To the top Pro Import AE plug-in The Pro Import AE plug-in (formerly Automatic Duck Pro AE) is now bundled with After Effects CS6. Use Pro Import AE to do the following: Import AAF and OMF files from an Avid system Import XML files from Final Cut Pro 7 (or earlier) Import project files from Motion 4 (or earlier) Resources: Supported import formats Video tutorial: New features workshop: Using Pro Import After Effects for projects from other applications To the top ARRIRAW import After Effects CS6 now supports files from the ARRI ALEXA, or ARRIFLEX D-21 cameras, called ARRIRAW. Resources: File formats supported for import To the top MXF OP1a video codec support There is export support for additional video codecs in an MXF OP1a wrapper: AVC-Intra Class 50 720 AVC-Intra Class 50 1080 AVC-Intra Class 100 720 AVC-Intra Class 100 1080 XDCAM EX 35 NTSC 1080 (4:2:0) XDCAM EX 35 PAL 1080 (4:2:0) Resources: Supported export formats To the top Improved Adobe Dynamic Link Improved Dynamic Link, including performance enhancements, and removal of the limitation of Dynamic Link to only work within a suite (for example, Dynamic Link now works between CS6 applications purchased as individual products). Resources: About Dynamic Link To the top Aerender and watch folder in non-royalty bearing mode After Effects CS5.5 had to be serialized on render-only machines (for example, in a render farm) due to licensing issues. In CS6, you can now run aerender or use Watch Folder in a non-royalty bearing mode, with serialization not required. Resources: Network rendering with watch folders and render engines To the top Scripting changes Numerous scripting changes have been made, and are compiled on the After Effects Region of Interest blog. 5 Resources: Scripts Blog: Scripting changes in After Effects CS6, plus new scripting guide To the top Miscellaneous changes Miscellaneous changes in After Effects CS6 are described in Help documentation, and are compiled on the After Effects Region of Interest blog. Resources: Video tutorial: New features workshop: Miscellaneous New and Changed Features Video tutorial: New features workshop: Removed Features, with Suggestions for New Workflows Twitter™ and Facebook posts are not covered under the terms of Creative Commons. Legal Notices | Online Privacy Policy 6