After Effects 7 for Windows and Macintosh Visual QuickPro Guide

by Bolante, Antony

• ISBN13: 9780321383549
• ISBN10: 0321383540
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-04-18
• Publisher: Peachpit Press

Summary

This completely revised best-seller is the fastest and easiest way to master Adobe After Effects 7.0!

Author Biography

Antony Bolante freelances in video post-production and technical writing. He has taught video editing to graduate and undergraduate students using Avid, Media 100, and of course, After Effects. He is a contributor to the Adobe Certified Expert exam as well as the Premiere Pro User Guide and Help system. He is also the author of the previous edition of this guide and Premiere Pro 1.5 for Windows XP: Visual QuickPro Guide.

Table of Contents

After Effects: The Big Picture	1	(24)
The QuickPro Series	2	(1)
Adobe's Video Bundle	2	(1)
Minimum Requirements	2	(1)
Suggested System Features	3	(1)
Professional System Additions	4	(1)
New Features	5	(1)
After Effects Standard and Professional	6	(1)
Mac vs. Windows	7	(1)
Workflow Overview	8	(1)
Interface Overview	9	(6)
Setting a Workspace	15	(2)
Customizing the Workspace	17	(6)
Using Viewers	23	(2)
Importing Footage into a Project	25	(54)
Creating and Saving Projects	26	(2)
Opening and Closing Projects	28	(2)
Choosing a Time Display	30	(4)
Specifying Color Settings	34	(1)
Importing Files	35	(4)
Setting Still-Image Durations	39	(2)
Importing Still-Image Sequences	41	(2)
Importing Files with Alpha Channels	43	(6)
Photoshop and Illustrator Files	49	(1)
Importing a Layered File as a Single Footage Item	50	(3)
Importing a Layered File as a Composition	53	(2)
Importing Premiere Pro and After Effects Projects	55	(3)
Importing With Adobe Bridge	58	(5)
Interpreting Interlaced Video	63	(2)
Motion Footage	65	(1)
Setting the Frame Rate	66	(2)
Looping Footage	68	(1)
Removing Film 3:2 Pulldown and 24Pa Pulldown	69	(5)
Pixel Aspect Ratios	74	(3)
Setting the EPS Options	77	(2)
Managing Footage	79	(38)
Displaying Information in the Project Panel	80	(2)
Finding Items in a Project	82	(1)
Sorting Footage in the Project Panel	83	(4)
Organizing Footage in Folders	87	(2)
Renaming and Removing Items	89	(3)
Proxies and Placeholders	92	(6)
Viewing Footage	98	(2)
Opening Footage in the Original Application	100	(2)
The Footage Panel	102	(1)
Cueing Motion Footage	103	(1)
Magnifying an Image	104	(2)
Viewing Safe Zones and Grids	106	(2)
Rulers and Guides	108	(3)
Snapshots	111	(2)
Channels	113	(1)
Viewing Transparency	114	(1)
Correcting for Pixel Aspect Ratios	115	(2)
Compositions	117	(38)
Creating Compositions	118	(2)
Choosing Composition Settings	120	(1)
Specifying Composition Presets	121	(10)
Specifying Advanced Composition Settings	131	(5)
Setting a Comp's Background Color	136	(2)
The Composition and Timeline Panels	138	(2)
Setting the Time	140	(2)
Adding Footage to a Composition	142	(2)
Adding Layers Using Insert and Overlay	144	(3)
Creating Solid Layers	147	(4)
Creating Adjustment Layers	151	(2)
Nesting Compositions	153	(2)
Layer Basics	155	(18)
Selecting Layers	156	(2)
Changing the Stacking Order	158	(2)
Naming Layers	160	(2)
Switching Video and Audio On and Off	162	(4)
Locking a Layer	166	(1)
Basic Layer Switches	167	(1)
Making Layers Shy	168	(1)
Continuously Rasterizing a Layer	169	(3)
Quality Setting Switches	172	(1)
Layer Editing	173	(34)
Viewing Layers in the Timeline and Layer Panels	174	(2)
The Time Graph	176	(2)
Navigating the Time Graph	178	(2)
The Layer Panel	180	(3)
Trimming Layers	183	(3)
Moving Layers in Time	186	(1)
Showing Numerical Editing Controls	187	(2)
Changing a Layer's Speed	189	(2)
Performing a Slip Edit	191	(1)
Sequencing and Overlapping Layers	192	(3)
Removing a Range of Frames	195	(3)
Duplicating Layers	198	(1)
Splitting Layers	199	(2)
Using Markers	201	(6)
Properties and Keyframes	207	(40)
Layer Property Types	208	(1)
Viewing Properties	209	(3)
Setting Global vs. Animated Property Values	212	(1)
Viewing Spatial Controls in the Comp Panel	213	(3)
Transform Properties	216	(7)
Orienting Rotation to a Motion Path Automatically	223	(3)
Specifying Property Values	226	(2)
Nudging Layer Properties	228	(1)
Viewing an Audio Waveform	229	(1)
Using the Audio Panel	230	(3)
Animating Layer Properties with Keyframes	233	(6)
Cueing the Current Time to Keyframes	239	(1)
Selecting and Deleting Keyframes	240	(2)
Moving Keyframes	242	(1)
Copying Values and Keyframes	243	(2)
Using Animation Presets	245	(2)
Playback, Previews, and RAM	247	(36)
Rendering and RAM	248	(2)
Previewing to a Video Device	250	(2)
Setting the Region of Interest	252	(1)
Using the Time Controls	253	(2)
Using the Live Update Option	255	(2)
Specifying a Fast Preview Option	257	(1)
Using Adaptive Resolution	258	(2)
Using OpenGL	260	(3)
Suppressing Panel Updates	263	(1)
Scrubbing Audio	264	(1)
Comparing Preview Options	265	(1)
Setting the Work Area	266	(2)
Previewing Audio Only	268	(5)
Previewing Wireframes	273	(2)
Rendering RAM Previews	275	(5)
Saving RAM Previews	280	(2)
Purging the RAM Cache	282	(1)
Keyframe Interpolation	283	(48)
Understanding Interpolation	284	(4)
Interpolation Types	288	(8)
Specifying the Default Spatial Interpolation	296	(1)
Specifying Spatial Interpolation in the Motion Path	297	(4)
Using the Graph Editor: An Overview	301	(2)
Understanding Value and Speed Graphs	303	(4)
Viewing Property Graphs	307	(2)
Specifying the Graph Type	309	(1)
Viewing Optional Information in the Graph Editor	310	(2)
Resizing Property Graphs Automatically	312	(1)
Analyzing Value and Speed Graphs	313	(3)
Moving Keyframes in the Graph Editor	316	(2)
Adding and Removing Keyframes in the Graph Editor	318	(2)
Setting a Keyframe's Temporal Interpolation Type	320	(2)
Adjusting Temporal Interpolation Manually	322	(4)
Adjusting Temporal Interpolation Numerically	326	(1)
Applying Keyframe Assistants	327	(2)
Smoothing Motion with Roving Keyframes	329	(2)
Mask Essentials	331	(42)
Viewing Masks in the Layer and Comp Panels	332	(1)
Viewing Masks in the Layer Outline	333	(1)
Hiding and Showing Mask Paths	334	(1)
Targeting Masks	335	(1)
Comparing Mask Creation Methods	336	(1)
Comparing Closed and Open Paths	337	(1)
Understanding Mask Anatomy	338	(2)
Creating Simple Mask Shapes	340	(1)
Building a Standard Mask with the Pen	341	(2)
Creating a RotoBezier Mask	343	(2)
Converting Masks	345	(1)
Changing the Shape of a Mask	346	(1)
Selecting Masks and Points	347	(2)
Moving and Deleting Control Points	349	(1)
Adding and Deleting Control Points with the Pen Tool	350	(2)
Converting Control Points in a Standard Mask	352	(3)
Adjusting RotoBezier Mask Tension	355	(1)
Opening and Closing Paths	356	(1)
Scaling and Rotating Masks	357	(2)
Using Masks from Photoshop and Illustrator	359	(1)
Converting Mask Paths into Motion Paths	360	(2)
Moving Masks Relative to the Layer Image	362	(3)
Adjusting Other Mask Properties	365	(3)
Inverting a Mask	368	(1)
Mask Modes	369	(4)
Effects Fundamentals	373	(36)
Effect Categories	374	(1)
Using the Effects & Presets Panel	375	(6)
Applying Effects	381	(2)
Viewing Effect Property Controls	383	(2)
Removing and Resetting Effects	385	(1)
Disabling Effects Temporarily	386	(2)
Adjusting Effects in the Effect Controls Panel	388	(1)
Setting an Effect Point	389	(3)
Saving and Applying Effect Presets	392	(5)
Copying and Pasting Effects	397	(1)
Applying Multiple Effects	398	(1)
Applying Effects to an Adjustment Layer	399	(2)
Understanding Compound Effects	401	(1)
Using Compound Effects	402	(3)
Animating Effects	405	(4)
Creating and Animating Text	409	(66)
Setting the Workspace for Text	410	(2)
Creating Type	412	(8)
Editing Type	420	(4)
Formatting Characters	424	(16)
Setting Options for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Text	440	(2)
Blending Characters	442	(1)
Making Text Follow a Path	443	(3)
Formatting Paragraph Text	446	(6)
Animating Text	452	(1)
Animating Source Text	453	(2)
Using Text Animation Presets	455	(3)
Understanding Animator Groups	458	(2)
Animating Type with Animator Groups	460	(4)
Creating Animator Groups	464	(2)
Choosing Animator Group Properties	466	(2)
Choosing a Range Selector	468	(1)
Specifying a Range	469	(2)
Understanding Range Selector Options	471	(2)
Using Multiple Selectors and Selector Modes	473	(1)
Specifying Wiggly Selector Options	474	(1)
Painting on a Layer	475	(42)
Using the Paint and Brush Tips Panels	476	(2)
Specifying Paint Stroke Options	478	(4)
Painting with the Brush Tool	482	(3)
Erasing Strokes	485	(3)
Using Brush Tips	488	(6)
Customizing Brush Tips	494	(2)
Using Brush Dynamics	496	(2)
Adjusting Strokes	498	(3)
Animating Strokes	501	(6)
Cloning	507	(5)
Using the Clone Stamp Tool	512	(2)
Overlaying the Clone Source	514	(1)
Saving Clone Stamp Settings	515	(2)
More Layer Techniques	517	(36)
Using Frame Blending	518	(3)
Using Motion Blur	521	(3)
Understanding Time Remapping	524	(2)
Controlling Time Remap Values in the Layer Panel	526	(2)
Using Time Remapping	528	(7)
Using Blending Modes	535	(2)
Blending Mode Types	537	(11)
Preserving Underlying Transparency	548	(1)
Track Mattes	549	(4)
3D Layers	553	(48)
Using 3D	554	(1)
Viewing 3D Layers in the Comp Panel	555	(3)
Adjusting Views with Camera Tools	558	(3)
Using Comp Panel Layouts	561	(3)
Using Axis Modes	564	(2)
Using 3D Position	566	(1)
Using 3D Orientation and Rotation	567	(3)
Auto-Orienting 3D Layers	570	(2)
Using 3D Material Options	572	(2)
Using Cameras	574	(2)
Choosing Camera Settings	576	(8)
Using Lights	584	(3)
Choosing Light Settings	587	(2)
Using the Point of Interest	589	(4)
Moving Cameras with Camera Tools	593	(4)
Previewing 3D	597	(1)
Understanding 3D Layer Order	598	(3)
Complex Projects	601	(40)
Nesting	602	(4)
Rendering Order	606	(2)
Subverting the Render Order	608	(3)
Synchronizing Time	611	(2)
Using the Flowchart View	613	(3)
Precomposing	616	(2)
Collapsing Transformations	618	(2)
Setting Recursive Switches	620	(1)
Prerendering	621	(1)
Parenting Layers	622	(4)
Using Null Objects	626	(1)
Specifying Guide Layers	627	(1)
Using Expressions	628	(4)
Viewing Expressions	632	(1)
Using the Expression Language Menu	633	(3)
Writing Expressions	636	(5)
Output	641	(40)
The Render Queue Panel	642	(2)
Making a Movie	644	(3)
Using the Render Queue Panel	647	(1)
Pausing and Stopping Rendering	648	(1)
Assigning Multiple Output Modules	649	(1)
Choosing Render Settings	650	(6)
Choosing Output-Module Settings	656	(4)
Creating Templates	660	(5)
Saving Single Frames of a Composition	665	(2)
Exporting to SWF Format	667	(4)
Setting Overflow Volumes	671	(2)
Movie Files and Compression	673	(5)
Using the Adobe Media Encoder	678	(3)
Index	681