Projection Content Creation USITT 2016 PDW

After Effects

“Photoshop on Steroids” Composition = Canvas ⌘N = Create new Comp ⌘K = Modify Comp ⌘R = Rulers Masking = Layer Mask Many of the same Tools Many of the same Effects

Workspace Import Files Import Premiere Pro Project Images/Video/Audio Photoshop Files – as footage (flattens layers) Photoshop Files – as comp (preserves layers) Import Premiere Pro Project Can import FCP files as well (export as XML and use Import/Pro Importer)

Playback in After Effects Space bar = Video only . = audio only (ctrl . on a laptop) 0 = audio and video (ctrl 0 on a laptop) * = make marker (ctrl * on a laptop)

Effects Choose an effect from the effects/presets window Drag it onto a layer in the timeline Adjust the effect properties in the Effect Control Window.

Example Effects from Photoshop Hue/Saturation Levels Liquify Smart Blur Edit and animate Hue/Saturation and then liquify

Effects in Photoshop vs. After Effects After Effects is NON-destructive in applying effects. All effects can be animated. Effects can be applied to video (rather than to just one frame)

Particle Effects Create a new solid (⌘Y) Select CC Particle Systems II and drag on to the solid. Adjust the effect properties in the Effect Control Window Birth rate – higher numbers, the more particles. Animate this to start and end the particles. Longevity – how long the particles “live” Physics Particle Type Producer – animate this to move the particles around the screen. Physics – get started and it goes.

Particle Effects: Flames CC Particle Systems II Effect Settings: Birth rate – high (~10) Longevity – low (less than 1) Physics - Fire Particle Type – Motion Polygon Color – Orange and Red Vector Blur Add this effect after CC Particle World Blur amount medium (~10) Create fire.

Explosion Effects CC Scatterize Shatter Effect Settings: Grow Bounds Animate the scatterize amount Animate the twist Shatter Effect Settings: View – Rendered Shape – Glass, Brick, Custom Force 1 Radius Radius = 0, no shatter Radius > 0, shatter starts Grow Bounds Increase the bounds of the original layer Place as the effect before shatter. Shatter building.

Animating Time Time Remapping (⌘ ALT T) Animate each frame of time Can animate physics effect but must pre-compose the layer first. ⌘ SHIFT C = Pre-compose a layer. Choose Move all Attributes Time remap shatter.

Texture Effects Fractal Noise Effects/Animation Presets/Backgrounds The basis of many pre-made backgrounds in After Effects Effects/Animation Presets/Backgrounds Swirly. Use preset backgrounds. Adjust and animate.

Fractal Noise Create a new solid (⌘ Y) Fractal Noise Settings: Fractal Type Contrast Transform – set the scale and rotation of the noise. Turbulence Evolution – the main method of animating fractal noise. Tint or Tritone Use this to add color to your noise.

Chroma Effects Colorama Change to Color Keylight Snazzy Use to change a single color or a range of colors in an image (ala Pleasantville) Keylight Use to key out a color and leave it transparent. Does NOT work on white or black (use a luma keyer or extract for white or black).

Keylight Screen color – pick the eyedropper and select the background color Screen Gain/Screen Balance – adjust to try to remove more of the background Screen Matte Clip Black/Clip White – adjust to remove the rest of the background. Screen Shrink/Grow – Adjust to trim edge Screen Softness– Adjust to soften the edge Keyout Mike

Masking Select a layer Draw a mask Animate the Mask Path Expansion Feather Draw a mask on a layer

Effects using Masking Stroke Lens Flare Apply to a layer with a mask Choose to animate Start or End Percent Lens Flare Masks can be used as position animation for effects. Select the mask path Copy (⌘C) Click on Flare Center and paste (⌘V) Animate on cursive or some drawing – demonstrate.

Drawing Shapes Deselect all layers Draw a shape (using the same tools as masking) Animate the Shapes Create shapes.

Shapes Click on the shape In the Timeline click “add” and choose the shape property to animate.

Puppet Animate pick-points on a layer Edges are determined by transparency of layer Refine in graph editor or with The Smoother

Text & Masking Create Text Draw a path on the text layer Toggle open the text layer in the timeline Choose the Path Animate First Margin Animate text

Text Presets Animate per-character Effects/Animation Presets/Text Drag preset to text layer Animation will start at the play head. ⌘Z to undo

Animating Text Toggle open text Click “Add” Choose a property to animate Adjust the property Animate the range selector or offset Animate text preset.

Matte Matte Cookie Analogy A layer that dictates transparency for the layer underneath Cookie Analogy Matte – Cookie Cutter Image – Cookie Dough Use Keyed footage as a matte for a preset background.

Matte Mattes in After Effects Matte layer must be directly above matted layer. In the TrkMatte column for the matted layer choose the type of matte you want to use.

Types of Mattes Luma Matte Alpha Matte Luminance determines transparency Black = Transparent White = Opaque Gray = somewhat transparent Alpha Matte Alpha channel determines transparency

Luma Matte Use images or video with high contrast for luma mattes Use levels or curves on the matte layer to improve the contrast.

Alpha Matte Use an image with an alpha channel (such as PNGs, ProRes 4:4:4, PSD layers, AI files, etc.) Create an alpha channel (masking, keying, rotoscoping, etc.)

Rendering CTRL ⌘ M Click on “file location” to change where to save to. Click on “lossless” to change the render settings

Render Settings Format: The file format of the finished render. Codec: The compressor/decoder algorithm used to compress the file.

Rendering Efficiency Templates – change the default setting of the movie or image render. Edit/Templates/Output Module Click “Create New” Edit the settings and give your template a name In the Movie Default drop down, pick your new template.