User manual ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.5

[. . . ] Adobe After Effects Help Using Help Using Help | Contents | Index Back 1 Using Help About online Help Adobe Systems, Inc. provides complete documentation in the Adobe PDF Help system. The Help system includes information on all the tools, commands, and features for both Windows and Mac OS. The PDF format is designed for easy navigation online, and support for third-party screen readers compatible with Windows. [. . . ] Paint On specifies whether the stroke is applied to the original layer or to a transparent layer. Vegas This effect generates casino-style running lights--and other path-based pulse animations--around any object. You can outline just about anything on screen, surround it with any number of lights or longer pulses, and then animate it to make the lights move around the object. Use the Segments controls to adjust the size, length, and rotation of the stroke. This effect uses the same Contour controls as the Radio Waves effect. For more information, see the After Effects product section on Adobe's Web site. Simulation effects Use these effects to simulate real-world occurrences such as reflections of light, bubbles, explosions, and waves. Card Dance (available from the Adobe Web site) This effect generates card choreography by controlling all geometric aspects of the cards using a second layer. For example, use Card Dance to create the appearance of a crowd doing the wave, simulate an extruded pin sculpture, or create the appearance of the letters of a logo floating on the surface of a pond. Apply Card Dance to the layer you want to be on the front of the cards. For more information, see the After Effects product section on Adobe's Web site. Caustics (available from the Adobe Web site) This effect creates reflections of light, similar to what you see at the bottom of a body of water, which are generated by the light refracting through the water surface. It generates realistic water surfaces when used in conjunction with Wave World or Radio Wave. Use the Bottom controls to specify the layer you want at the bottom of the pool. Use the Water Surface option to specify a layer's luminance as a height map for generating a 3D water surface. For more information, see the After Effects product section on Adobe's Web site. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 216 Adobe After Effects Help Applying Effects Using Help | Contents | Index Back 217 Foam (available from the Adobe Web site) This effect generates bubbles. Use the effect's controls to adjust bubble properties such as stickiness, viscosity, life span, bubble strength, and how the Foam particles interact with each other and with their environment. You can specify a separate layer to act as a "flow map, " controlling precisely where the Foam travels. For example, you can have bubbles flow around a logo, or fill a logo with bubbles. You can also substitute bubbles with an image or a movie. For more information, see the After Effects product section on Adobe's Web site. Particle Playground (PB only) Use this effect to create animations in which a large number of similar objects must be animated independently, such as a swarm of bees. Particle effects simulate the physical interactions between objects in the real world. For example, if you want to create a snowfall effect, you normally have to animate many individual snowflake layers manually, hoping that you animated each layer's motion path realistically. For more information, see "Creating Particle Effects (PB only)" on page 351. For more information, see the After Effects product section on Adobe's Web site. Shatter This effect blows up images. Use the effect's options to set explosion points, and adjust the strength and radius. [. . . ] See Digital Disk Recorders (DDRs) deactivating Vector Paint 335 deceleration fine-tuning 134 gradual 136 interpolation method and 134 rapid 136 default duration, changing 27 frame rate 30 Import Preferences 27, 29 preferences 13 settings 12 spatial interpolation 129 Default Drag Import As 29 Using Help | Contents | Index Back 445 Adobe After Effects Help Index Using Help | Contents | Index Back 446 ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Default Height of Timeline Graphs command 135 degradation limit 121 Delay effect 185 Delete Control Point tool 23, 156 Delete Point tool 22 deleting paint strokes 333 project elements 265 unused files 271 Vector Paint effect 333 Depth Matte effect 181 Depth of Field effect 181 Difference layer mode 167 Difference mask mode 163 Difference Matte 204 Diffuse 3D layer material option 233 digital footage 40 video 40 Digital Disk Recorders (DDRs), setting frames and fields for 49 Digital Picture Exchange (DPX) 38 direction handles, creating curves and corners with 128 direction lines 152 Directional Blur effect 187 Disable Thumbnails in Project Window option 16 Displacement Detail (paint option) 345 Displacement Map effect, edge behavior 193 Displacement Variation (paint option) 345 displacing pixels across an image 193 over time 224 displaying rulers and guides 19 time 9 display-snapshot icon 63 Dissolve layer mode 166 Distort effects category 191 distributing layers 75 dots replacing with a layer 358 replacing with text 361 Double Spring script 319 downloading video 7 Draft 3D mode 273 enabling and disabling 242 Draft quality 88 dragging audio 93 current-time marker 21 to import 28 drawing motion path 106 rectangular and oval masks 150 drift, correcting 308, 314 drop shadow and rotation 266 Drop Shadow effect 176, 213 drop-frame timecode display 9 duplicating composition 61 layers 74 duration 9 bar 76 bar, repositioning 101 defined 9, 50 of still images 27 setting 60 time-stretching and 139 Duration option 56, 282 Duration panel 67 DV footage aspect ratio 46 importing 25 using 46 DV NTSC 48 DV video format 40 pixel aspect ratio 58 dynamic resolution 120 E ease handles 134, 136 description 134 Using Help | Contents | Index Back 446 Adobe After Effects Help Index Using Help | Contents | Index Back 447 ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Easy Ease keyframe assistant 139 influencing adjacent keyframes 136 splitting and rejoining 135 ease, expressions and 257 Easy Ease keyframe assistant 139 Echo effect 223 Edit Original command 51 editing footage. See trimming Effect Controls window 4, 14, 170, 172 changing settings 172 tabs 14 effect points 174, 312 interpolation 175 setting visually 174 Effect property, animating 116 Effect switch 88 effects 16 bits 172 3D Channel 180 3D Channel Extract 181 adding 171, 265 Adjust 182 Alpha Levels 189 applying 170 applying multiple 171 applying to a mask 161 applying to adjustment layer 175 Arithmetic 189 attributes and methods 262 audio 175 Audio Spectrum 213 Audio Waveform 213 Backwards 185 Basic 3D 212 Bass & Treble 185 Beam 214 Bevel Alpha 212 Bevel Edges 212 Bezier Warp 192 Blend 189 Block Dissolve 224 Blur and Sharpen 186 Brightness & Contrast 182 Broadcast Colors 226 Brush Strokes 218 Bulge 192 Card Dance 216 Card Wipe 225 Caustics 216 Change Color 198 changing order 170 changing over time 173, 174 changing rendering order 175 changing settings 172 changing values 172 Channel 189 Channel Blur 187 Channel Mixer 182 Cineon Converter 190 Color Balance 182 Color Balance (HLS) 198 Color Difference Key 199 Color Emboss 218 Color Key 202 Color Range Key 203 Colorama 198 Comp Camera effects 175 Compound Arithmetic 190 Compound Blur 187 copying 171 Corner Pin 193 Curves 183 Delay 185 Depth Matte 181 Depth of Field 181 Difference Matte 204 Directional Blur 187 disabled when nesting 269 disabled with collapsed transformations 269 Distort 191 Drop Shadow 213 Echo 223 Ellipse 214 Emboss 218 Using Help | Contents | Index Back 447 Adobe After Effects Help Index Using Help | Contents | Index Back 448 ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Equalize 198 Extract 205 Fast Blur 188 Fill 214 Find Edges 218 Foam 217 Fog 3D 181 Fractal 214 Fractal Noise 215 Gamma/Pedestal/Gain 198 Gaussian Blur 188 Glow 218 Gradient Wipe 225 Hue/Saturation 183 ID Matte 182 Image Control 198 Invert 190 Iris Wipe 225 Keying 199 learning about 170 Leave Color 219 Levels 183 Lightning 215 Linear Color Key 207 Linear Wipe 225 Luma Key 209 Matte Choker 211 Matte Tools 210 Median 199 Mesh Warp 193 Minimax 190 Mirror 194 Mosaic 219 Motion Tile 219 Noise 219 Numbers 221 Offset 194 on the Web 170 Optics Compensation 194 Paint 212 Parametric EQ 186 Particle Playground 217 Path Text 221 Perspective 212 Polar Coordinates 194 positioning on layers 174 Posterize 184 Posterize Time 223 Production Bundle only 180 PS Arbitrary Map 199 PS+Extrude 219 PS+Lens Flare 215 PS+Pinch 195 PS+Ripple 195 PS+Spherize 195 PS+Tiles 219 PS+Twirl 195 PS+Wave 195 PS+Zig Zag 195 Radial Blur 188 Radial Wipe 226 Radio Waves 215 Ramp 215 Reduce Interlace Flicker 226 Remove Color Matting 190 removing 171 removing all from layer 172 Render 213 rendering order 266 Reshape 195 Reverb 186 Ripple 196 saving favorite 172 Scatter 220 Set Channels 191 Set Matte 191 setting a tint value 173 setting an angle 173 Sharpen 188 Shatter 217 Shift Channels 191 showing and hiding 88 Simple Choker 211 Simulation 216 Using Help | Contents | Index Back 448 Adobe After Effects Help Index Using Help | Contents | Index Back 449 ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Smear 196 Spherize 197 Spill Suppressor 210 standard 179 Stereo Mixer 186 Strobe Light 220 Stroke 216 Stylize 217 Texturize 220 Threshold 184 Time 223 Time Displacement 224 Timecode 227 Tone 186 Transform 197 Transition 224 turning off and on 171 Twirl 197 Unsharp Mask 188 using lights and cameras 175 Vector Paint 333 Vegas 216 Venetian Blinds 226 Video 226 Wave Warp 197 Wave World 217 working with 170 Write-On 220 Effects option in Render Settings dialog box 281 eiz files 241 elapsed time 280 ElectricImage alpha channel 30 Ellipse effect 214 Emboss effect 218 Enable Depth of Field camera setting 236 Enable Frame Blending 89 Enable Motion Blur button 90 Enable Time Remapping command 144, 147 Enable Wiggling (paint option) 344 End option 282 ephemeral property change, defined 366 EPS files, importing 35 Equalize effect 198 Eraser mode (stylus setting) 335 eraser tool (Vector Paint) 335 erasing paint strokes 333 radius 336 errors. See log file Exclusion layer mode 167 exploding a layer or particle 357 Exponential Scale 305 Export command 289 exporting as Adobe Photoshop file 293 to Macromedia Flash (SWF) 286 using QuickTime components 289 expression field, resizing 245 expression graph overlay 245 expressions accessing properties 250 adding noise 257 Camera attributes and methods 261 Color conversion methods 258 Comp attributes and methods 258 constructing 250 converting to keyframes 246 creating 244 defined 244 easing in and out 257 editing 247 Effect attributes and methods 262 example of opacity and rotation 247 examples 247 Footage attributes and methods 258 Global attributes and methods 255 Global objects 255 Interpolation methods 257 language guide key 254 layer attributes and methods 259 layer space transform methods 260 Light attributes and methods 261 Mask attributes and methods 262 Using Help | Contents | Index Back 449 Adobe After Effects Help Index Using Help | Contents | Index Back 450 ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Material properties for 3D layers 260 pick whip 246 Property attributes and methods 262 Random number methods 256 selecting values with pick whip 246 space 260 speed 262 text field 244 turning off 245 using JavaScript 244 Vector math methods 255 velocity 262 viewing multiple 245 wiggle 262 world space 260 extensions, filename 8 Extract effect 205 eyedropper tool 173, 336 File command (for importing) 28, 29 file formats importing 25 list 278 supported for import 25 supporting alpha channels 30 file types, Mac OS 8 filenames compositions 56 conventions 8 extensions 8 files importing files with depth information 38 reloading edited 51 Fill effect 214 film scanner 39 Film Size camera setting 236 Filmstrip format 293 filters. See effects Find Edges effect 218 Finder labels, for tracking discrepancies 299 fine-tuning animation 122 speed 134 fingerprints, simulating with effects 187 first vertex 160 Flash (. swf) files 7, 286 flipping layers 109 Flowchart View 264 buttons 265 customizing 265 Foam effect 217 Focal Length camera setting 237 Focus Distance camera setting 236 Fog 3D effect 181 folders creating 15 moving files 15, 16 project hierarchy 7 renaming 16 showing and hiding contents 16 working in 15 F Fast Blur effect 188 fast motion 142 Favor Memory preference 275 Favor Speed preference 275 Feather (paint setting) 336 feathering mask edges 156 feature region 307 Feet+Frames option 9, 60 Feet, time-display options 9 field order interpreting 43 lower field first 43 reversing 302 testing 302 upper field first 43 field rendering 43, 281, 282 Field Rendering option 44 fields interlaced 9 interlaced and noninterlaced 40 separating 43 setting up for DDR-based footage 49 Using Help | Contents | Index Back 450 Adobe After Effects Help Index Using Help | Contents | Index Back 451 ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ footage conforming to new frame rate 42 grainy 308 importing alpha channel 30 interlaced and noninterlaced 40 interpreting automatically 27 painting on 338 pixel aspect ratio 46 relinking 37 removing from a project 15 replacing and substituting 52 replacing throughout a project 53 separating fields 43 setting the frame rate for 52 footage attributes and methods 258 footage items about 4 adding multiple 62 adding to composition 61 alpha channel 149 arranging in composition 64 as layer source 25 as reference link 25 assigning frame rate to 52 creating new layer from 72 defined 25, 50 editing in original application 51 frame rate of 59 importing 10, 25, 28 importing multiple 28 looping 52 managing 15, 53 opening in original application 51 organizing 15 reloading an edited file 51 removing 15 replacing 53 trimming 81 using a proxy for 53 using placeholders for 53, 54 viewing 50 when used in a layer 71 Footage window 4, 14, 51 outputting from 117 tabs 14 viewing controls 17 viewing movies 50 formats, files for importing 25 four-point tracking 311 Fractal effect 214 Fractal Noise effect 215 frame aspect ratio 46 frame blending and speed 89 applying to a layer 89 Frame Blending option, Render Settings dialog box 281 Frame Blending switch 89 frame rate assigning to a sequence of still images 30 changing before importing 30 default for a sequence 30 defined 8, 58 film 58 footage versus composition 59 for tracking motion 308 motion footage 52 setting for footage 52 Frame Rate option in Composition Settings dialog box 56 in Render Settings dialog box 282 frame size 57 frames 9 blending 89 separating video fields 43 setting up for DDR-based footage 49 starting number 10 time-display options 9 viewing 21 Frames Backward/ Frames Forward (paint option) 341 Frames option 60 Free Transform Points 154 freeze frame 144 frmeffct. mm/frmeffct. mov script 318 Using Help | Contents | Index Back 451 Adobe After Effects Help Index Using Help | Contents | Index Back 452 ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ F-stop camera setting 236 full resolution 59 Hard Light layer mode 167 heat, simulating with effects 187 Hide Other Video command 80 Hide Shy Layers button 80 hierarchy, project 7, 265 histogram 205 Hold Strokes paint Playback Mode 341 Playback Speed 342 hold-out matte 178 Hue layer mode 167 Hue/Saturation command 183 G Gamma/Pedestal/Gain effect 198 garbage matte 177 Gaussian Blur effect 188 geometrics. 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