How to Cheat in After Effects

384 Pages·2013·18.63 MB·English

by  Chad Perkins

HOW TO
cheat
IN
After Effects
SECOND EDITION
Chad Perkins
Focal Press
Taylor & Francis Group
First published 2013
by Focal Press
70 Blanchard Rd Suite 402
Burlington, MA 01803
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Focal Press
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013 Taylor and Francis
The right of Chad Perkins to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by [him/her] 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 utilised in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience 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 in evaluating 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 the safety 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 Data
Application submitted
ISBN: [9780415661065] (pbk)
ISBN: [9780203589045] (ebk)
Cover model: Kelcy Tiger. Cover design and photography: Chad Perkins
The cheat format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi 3D Shatter Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii 3D Text with Shatter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
How to use this book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 3D Postcards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
1 Cool Tricks Appetizer! 2 3D Objects from Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
3D Planetscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Fireball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Echospace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Simulated 3D Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 3D in Nested Compositions . . . . . . . . . . .84
Growing Vines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Interlude: Picking a 3D App . . . . . . . . . . 86
Tracked Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Blooming Flower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 4 Compositing 88
Tilt Shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Making a Garbage Matte . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Ink Spatter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Removing a Green Screen . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Damaged Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Pulling a Luma Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
The Master Solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Refining a Matte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
Hot Grill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Using Multiple Mattes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Ornate Vintage Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Intro to Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
Retro Video Game Maze . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
3D Camera Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
Cells Through a Microscope . . . . . . . . . . .28
Warp Stabilize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Interlude: Using the Helpp.............30 Set Extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
2 Lights and Cameras 32 Blending Away Dark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
Blending Away Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
Creating Basic Shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Compositing Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Stained Glass Shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Temporal Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Controlling Shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Compositing with Color . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Negative Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Compositing with Animation . . . . . . . . .118
Film Noir Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Compositing with Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Creating Depth of Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Motion Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Rack Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Matching Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Lens Distortion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Premultiplied Alpha Channels . . . . . . . .126
Multiple Camera Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Tracking with Mocha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
3D Camera Path. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 Mocha Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
Orient to Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Using Roto Brush. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
Restoring Opacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Interlude: Lighting is the Secrett. . . . . . . .56
Manual Shadow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
3 3D Objects 58 Guide Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140
The Parallax Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Interlude: Shooting Better Green Screen
Native 3D Primer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Footage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Faking Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
5 Animation 144
3D Illustrator Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
3D Photoshop Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 The Puppet Pin Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
iii
CCCCCCCoooonnnnnttttttteeeeennnnntttttttttsssss
Puppet Overlap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148 The Vegas Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224
Puppet Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150 Luma Matte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226
Bouncing Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152 Alpha Matte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228
Parenting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154 Animating Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230
Rigging an Arm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156 Feathered Vertices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232
Waving Sail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158 Motion Paths from Illustrator . . . . . . . .234
Animating the Blob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160 Trapcode 3D Stroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236
Animating a Photo: Part 1 . . . . . . . . . . .162
Animating a Photo: Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . .164 8 Particles 238
Displacement Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
Projection Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168 Particle Bootcamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240
Resizing Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170 Sparkles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242
Animating Layers On and Off . . . . . . . . .172 Smoke Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
Text Messaged Animation . . . . . . . . . . .174 Foam Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246
Custom Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248
Interlude: Walt’s Principless. . . . . . . . . . 176
Make it Rain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250
6 Light Effects 178 Basic Snow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
Snow with Foam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254
HDR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
Molten Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256
Volumetric Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
Light Ribbons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258
Silhouettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184
Steam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262
Bars of Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186
3D Fireworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .264
Welding Sparks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
Fire Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266
Light Whips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190
Campfire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270
Stage Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192
Psychic Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .272
Galaxy Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194 Star Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274
Energy Cube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196 Confetti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276
Faked Light Streaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198 Water Surface Disruption . . . . . . . . . . . .278
Searchlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200 Flowing Chocolate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280
Sheen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202 Trapcode Form: 4D Fractal . . . . . . . . . . .282
The Glow Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204 Particular: 3D Light Streaks . . . . . . . . . .284
Flaring Hot Spots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .206
Interlude: Particle Alternativess. . . . . . . 286
Laser Beams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208
Trapcode Shine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210 9 Color Correction 288
Interlude: High Dynamic Rangee. . . . . . .212 Reading a Histogram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290
7 Masks and Shapes 214 Cinematic Color: Warmth . . . . . . . . . . . .292
Cinematic Color: Horror . . . . . . . . . . . . .294
Mask Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216 Cinematic Color: Flashback . . . . . . . . . .296
Instant Vignette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218 Playing with Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .298
Sky Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220 Day for Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300
From Video to Shape Layer. . . . . . . . . . .222 Reference Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .302
iv
Before and After . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .304
Colorizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
Hue Shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308
Stylizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310
Faking Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312
Secondary Color Correction . . . . . . . . . .314
Spot Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
Improving 3D Renders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
Checking Dark Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320
Color Finesse Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .322
Color Finesse “Looks” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .324
Using Color Lookup Tables . . . . . . . . . . .326
Working with SpeedGrade . . . . . . . . . . .328
Working with RED Files . . . . . . . . . . . . .330
Magic Bullet Looks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .332
Interlude: Shooting Filmlike Videoo. . . . 334
10 3rd Party PARTY! 336
Element 3D Primer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .338
Element 3D Polish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .340
Animated 3D Light Bulb . . . . . . . . . . . . .344
Custom Particular Particles . . . . . . . . . .346
Aux Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .348
Campfire Smoke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350
Campfire Embers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .352
Flock of Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .354
Layer Dissolve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .358
Sky Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .360
Particles and Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .362
3D Form Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .364
Trapcode Mir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .366
Instant Color Compositing . . . . . . . . . . .368
Interlude: Scriptss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .370
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .372
v
TThhee cchheeaatt ffooorrmmmmaaaatttt
The cheat format
This whole “cheat” thing was created by Steve Caplin for the epic book, How
to Cheat in Photoshop, which I think is in its zillionth edition (give or take).
So, I’m proudly and unashamedly ripping off of Steve’s brilliance in creating
what I consider to be the ultimate software training book format.
Instead of going through and describing stuff as most computer software
books do (including my previous book, The After Effects Illusionist), this book
tackles one trick (aka “cheat”) at a time in a very visual way. There are a few
steps to follow, and pictures guiding you the whole way. It’s a very visual
process, and in my opinion, it’s a fun way to make a computer book.
Because this book is more focused on little mini recipes of sorts (usually
2 pages, and occasionally up to 4 pages), we’re going to be focusing more on
what to do than how to do it. Against every tendency in my body, I’m just
going to be barking out orders (such as “set this property to this value”, etc.)
without much explanation. Although, I admit that I do fight convention and
try to explain things as much as possible. But that’s not really the point of this
book.
I mentioned the recipe metaphor, and that’s precisely what this book is
like. On a cooking show, the veggies are all pre-cut, the spices are already
measured out and in their own separate bowls, and the chef/host doesn’t
always explain why they are baking at a certain temperature or what the
heck cardamom is doing in the dish. They just make the dish in a very visual
way, so that it is clear how to create the final product. This book is like that
cooking show, but for wicked cool After Effects tricks instead of food.
Now, where possible, I’ve tried to just stuff this book full of extra tidbits
of information. In the right column of most of the right hand pages, I’ve
included extra bonus tips with optional methods to achieve a result, additional
insight or information on related concepts, or ways that you could expand the
current cheat and make it even better.
At the end of most chapters, you’ll also find a little break from the hot,
non-stop cheat action of the rest of the book. We call this break an “interlude”.
And the interludes are filled with tons of extra information to help you get
more out of the After Effects experience. These interludes cover topics from
how to shoot better green screen video so that it’s easier to key, to the story
vi
behind HDR (High Dynamic Range) color and bit depth, and much, much more.
As far as difficulty goes, the book is pretty simple and easy to follow, but
it’s meant for people with a little bit of After Effects knowledge already. There
just isn’t time enough to explain basics like how to apply an effect, or what a
solid layer is, or how to create a new composition, or the difference between
importing and opening, and so on. These are basics that After Effects users in all
disciplines should be familiar with. But I realize that if you’ve spent your time
as a compositor and now want to perfect the craft of animation, there may be
some new terms there. So, I try to explain core concepts where possible. Don’t
let your pride be offended. This is still an intermediate book. But not everyone
is intermediate in everything. Still, I won’t be able to explain all concepts from
scratch as much you’d like, or might need. To that end, I’ve created an interlude
at the end of Chapter 1 to help you find your own solutions if I refer a feature
that you’re unfamiliar with and would like to learn more about.
Because users are often slow to upgrade, I should also point out that this
book was made with After Effects CS6. You’re welcome to use the book with
any version of After Effects, but know that After Effects will not open up future
projects. So if you’re using CS5.5 or before, you won’t be able to open most of
the projects from the book. You’ll still be able to import the assets (e.g. video,
audio, images, etc.), just not the projects. This is the way Adobe made their
software, and there’s not much I can do about it. But for those of you that do
have CS6, you’ll be happy to know that many CS6 features are covered in cheats
here, including the new Ray-trace 3D engine and its ability to create extruded
shapes, feathered vertices, 3D camera tracking, as well as the great CS5.5
addition Warp Stabilizer. There are also tons of new cheats in this edition that
use old tricks in new ways, as well as an entirely new chapter 10 that covers
3rd party effects, including Element from Video Copilot and Trapcode Particular
from Red Giant Software. This edition is significantly more cutting edge and
completely overhauled from the previous version.
The moral of the story is that this cheat format is ridiculously fun. You
can jump around where you’d like to, and only in a few instances are cheats
predicated upon knowledge from previous cheats (and those instances are clearly
noted in the text). For the most part, these are little bite-sized tidbits of sweet
tips and tricks that will enhance your workflow, get you out of sticky situations,
and spark your creativity. You’re gonna love this.
vii
Acknowledgggmmmeeennntttssss
This book is dedicated to Heather, Mikey, Natty, and Lizzie, who have been so
infinitely patient as I’ve been laboring away at this book. I love you all so much.
I’m also really grateful to the following peeps:
Dennis McGonagle and the entire crew at Focal Press. The experience of writing
with Focal Press has been incredible. I feel like I’ve missed every deadline, and
they’re always very professional when telling me how much I suck. I’ve written
books with other publishers, but Focal is my favorite. They also make most of the
filmmaking, software, and visual effects books I like to read as well. Way to go,
team.
Steve Caplin. He has been an incredible resource. I’m not sure that a more helpful
person exists on this planet. This book would have looked worse than the local
high school newspaper had he not coached me through the page layout process for
this template. He’s also created a brilliant system with this book.
The model on the front cover. Kelcy “Smookie” Tiger played the role of the Princess
in my iOS app The Princess and the Paintbrush, which we’ll see often throughout
this book as well. She’s a great friend, and one of the most beautiful and visually
interesting models I’ve ever seen.
I’ve been able to use some incredible art from some great artists and content
providers. Thanks to Daniel Johnson for the incredible matte paintings. Thanks
to Dan Grady for dropping everything and creating some sweet vector art for me.
Thanks to uberstock for providing great high quality stock video to my (picky)
specifications.
Aharon Rabinowitz and Red Giant Software. I desperately wanted to show off some
of your amazing products in this book, and you guys were so willing to participate.
I’m in awe of the plugins you put out there, and the whole After Effects world is
benefited by them as well.
viii
How to use this book
As mentioned, feel free to jump around as you please. You certainly don’t need
to go in order.
As you do go through this book, be aware that the project that
accompanies each cheat can be found in the corresponding folder of the
current chapter in the Exercise Files folder on the book’s DVD. Because that
was the most confusing sentence in the book, here’s an example - if you’re
learning about how to make molten gold in Chapter 8, then you’ll find the
accompanying project (surprisingly called Molten Gold.aep) in the Chapter 08
folder in the Exercise Files folder on the DVD. In most cases, you don’t really
need to use the project file or even follow along to get the most out of this
book. I think the screenshots are sufficient enough to see what’s going on. So
feel free to take this book with you on the subway, or some other public place
where potential book buyers are found. That was a bad joke. There will be
many of those. Fortunately, they will get better as we go along (in most cases).
For this book, I’ve used a Mac, but that really doesn’t matter. Adobe
made After Effects look almost exactly the same on both platforms. When
keyboard shortcuts are used, I have provided both the Mac version (color
coded red) and the Windows version (color coded blue). Shortcuts that are the
same on both platforms (such as Shift or a letter on your keyboard) are shown
in black.
This book has also been tremendously blessed by a very generous
and helpful supply of high quality stock video provided to us by uberstock.
com. Because they’ve provided so many clips for us to use, they have been
watermarked, and their quality and resolution is a little different than what is
seen in the screenshots. But I’ve adjusted the projects so that the difference is
as minimal as possible.
1