After Effects CS6 - Adobe

617 Pages·2012·7.84 MB·English

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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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