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. The Help can also be printed as a desktop reference. Navigating in Help The Help will open in an Acrobat window with the bookmark pane open. If the bookmark pane is not open choose Window > Bookmarks. You can also navigate using the navigation bar, the index, or search the document. At the top and bottom of each page is a navigation bar. Click Using Help to return to this introduction. Clicking Contents, or Index will take you to that section. The Next Page and the Previous Page arrows let you move through the pages sequentially. Click Back to return to the last page you viewed. You can also use the navigation arrows in the Acrobat toolbar. Using bookmarks, the table of contents, the index, and Find The contents of Help are shown as bookmarks in the bookmark pane. To view subtopics, click the plus sign next to a bookmark. Each bookmark is a hyperlink to the associated section of the Help document. To go to the information, click its bookmark. As the information is displayed in the document pane, its bookmark is highlighted. You can turn highlighting on or off by selecting the Highlight Current Bookmark option from the bookmark pane menu. To find a topic using the table of contents: 1 Click Contents in the navigation bar at the top or bottom of any page. 2 Click a topic on the Contents page to move to the first page of that topic. 3 In the bookmark pane, expand the topic to see its subtopics. To find a topic using the index: 1 Click Index in the navigation bar at the top or bottom of any page. 2 Click the appropriate letter at the top of the page. You can also expand the Index bookmark, and click the letter in the bookmark pane. 3 Locate your entry, and click the page number link to view the information. 4 To view multiple entries, click Back to return to the same place in the index. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 1 Adobe After Effects Help Using Help Using Help | Contents | Index Back 2 To find a topic using the Find command: 1 Choose Edit > Find. 2 Enter a word or a phrase in the text box, and click OK. Acrobat will search the document, starting from the current page, and display the first occurrence of the word or phrase you are searching for. 3 To find the next occurrence, choose Edit > Find Again. Printing the Help file Although the Help has been optimized for on-screen viewing, you can print pages you select, or the entire file. To print, choose Print from the File menu, or click the printer icon in the Acrobat toolbar. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 2 Adobe After Effects Help Contents Using Help | Contents | Index Back 3 Contents Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes 4 Preparing and Importing Footage 25 Building a Composition 50 Managing Layers 71 Animating Layers 95 Fine-tuning Animation 122 Working with Masks and Transparency 148 Applying Effects 170 3D Compositing 228 Creating Expressions 244 Managing Projects Effectively 264 Rendering a Movie 278 Using Property and Tracking Controls (PB only) 304 Using Motion Math (PB only) 317 Using Vector Paint (PB only) 333 Creating Particle Effects (PB only) 351 (5.5) Working with After Effects 5.5 to Build a Composition 377 (5.5) Layers 381 (5.5) Working with Masks and Transparency 383 (5.5) Applying Effects 387 (5.5) 3D Compositing 391 (5.5) Expressions 397 (5.5) Rendering a Movie 402 Macintosh shortcuts 408 Windows shortcuts 423 Legal Notice 438 Using Help | Contents | Index Back 3 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 4 Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Working in a project An After Effects project is a single file that stores references to all the footage you use in that project. It also contains information about how you've arranged the footage in compositions, including the details of any effects or animation you applied. Inside a project, you create one or more compositions. After you have imported source footage into the project, you can add footage items into the compositions. Where you work with footage items In a project, you work with footage items using primarily three windows: the Project window, which lists all the source footage items you import; the Composition window, which displays images as they relate in space; and the Timeline window, which displays compositions and animation events in terms of time. Add footage items to a composition by dragging them from the Project window into either the Composition window or the Timeline window. Each Composition window has a corresponding Timeline window. When you edit a composition in a Composition window, After Effects automatically displays the corresponding Timeline window, and vice versa. B C A D A. Source footage B. Project window C. Composition window D. Timeline window As you work with compositions, you also use three other types of windows: Footage windows, Layer windows, and Effect Controls windows. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 4 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 5 · · Footage windows are useful for viewing and evaluating footage items in their original form (see "Viewing imported footage" on page 50). To view a layer's original source independently of other layers or to trim footage, you can open a Layer window (see "Composition, Layer, and Footage window controls" on page 16). As you work with effects, you use the Effect Controls window to modify and animate the effects (see "Working with effects" on page 170). · When you render your compositions into a movie, you work in the Render Queue window to select rendering options and queue compositions for rendering (see "Using the Render Queue window" on page 279). How you start a project Starting a project involves two tasks: (1) planning your project based on the formats of the final output and (2) creating a project file. Once you have planned your project and learned how to perform some basic tasks related to working in After Effects, you'll be ready to start importing footage (see "Importing files into a project" on page 28). You then create a composition and begin working with your source footage (see "Working with imported footage" on page 50). Planning your project Planning your project before you start importing footage makes your work easier. A large part of planning is simply determining the best settings for your source footage based on the media for which you will render your finished project. This step is essential to achieving optimal image quality. Rendering order and nesting may also be part of project planning (see "Organizing a project using nesting" on page 265). Choosing the right media Before you start importing footage items into your project, decide which media you'll use for your finished movies. Then determine the best settings for your compositions and source material. For example, if you will be rendering your project to videotape, create footage at an image size, color bit-depth, and frame rate that will produce the best image quality on videotape. Likewise, if your project is intended for streaming video on the Web, the image size, color bit-depth, and frame rate may need to be reduced to work with the data-rate limits of streaming video on the Web. However, any footage item that can be imported can be used in any composition. If you will be rendering a project to more than one media format, always match the resolution setting for your composition to the highest resolution setting used for your output. Then set up the Render Queue window to render a separate version of the project for each format. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 5 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 6 For film and video, try to match import and composition settings with settings in the output module used to render a movie. For example, to ensure smooth playback, the footage frame rate selected in the Interpret Footage dialog box should match the setting in the Composition Settings dialog box and the output module in the Render Queue window. Also, the composition-frame size should be determined by the image size in the playback medium. However, any footage item that can be imported can be used in any composition. See "Preparing motion-footage frame rates for final output" on page 42, "Understanding basic composition settings" on page 57, and "Changing output module settings" on page 284. If you will be mixing source footage with different pixel aspect ratios, correctly specify this ratio for each footage item in the Interpret Footage dialog box. See "About D1, DV, and various pixel aspect ratio footage" on page 46. The suggestions that follow will help you select composition settings. However, the best way to ensure that your project is suitable for a specific medium is to make a test composition and view it using the same type of equipment your audience will use to view it. Film If you will be rendering for film, consider both the aspect ratio of the frame size you select for your composition and the frame rate of your source footage. For footage that was transferred from film to video using the 3:2 pulldown telecine method, you must remove 3:2 pulldown before adding effects. See "Removing 3:2 pulldown from video transferred from film" on page 45. CD-ROM When you create a movie that you plan to render for playback from a CD-ROM, you may need to specify import and composition settings that take into account the wide range of hardware that your audience may be using, possibly including older single- or double-speed CD-ROM drives. To make your final output compatible with older CD-ROM drives, try to reduce the datatransfer rate of your final output by specifying certain settings for footage items: · · Lower the frame rate as far as you can in the Composition Settings dialog box without making motion seem too jerky. Start at 15 frames per second (fps). When rendering your final composition, choose a file type and compressor/decompressor (codec) appropriate for the final media. For example, for a cross-platform CDROM, you might specify a QuickTime codec or a codec designed for low data rates, such as Indeo, Cinepak, or Sorenson Video. Regardless of which codec you select, however, it must be available on the system used by your intended audience to ensure successful playback. Also consider the key frame rate of the codec you have selected. See the Adobe Web site for more information on QuickTime compressors and codec key frame rates. Videotape If your final output will be videotape, set up your composition with a specific video format in mind, such as NTSC or PAL. Using broadcast-safe colors and maintaining frame size and compression ratios are also important considerations. These guidelines will help in setting up a composition intended for videotape: · · Select a frame size in the Composition Settings dialog box that matches the frame size of the destination video format. Use only NTSC-safe colors when adding or changing color in a project. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 6 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 7 · If you will be using an MJPEG codec, keep in mind that the frame sizes and resolutions available for rendering are determined by the specific MJPEG board you are using. Refer to the specifications for your MJPEG board. Animated GIF When you render an animated GIF, colors are dithered to an 8-bit palette. Before rendering your final project, render a test composition so that you can adjust colors if the results are not what you expected. If any source footage includes an alpha channel, be sure that you know how it will affect your final project before you start rendering. Streaming video over the World Wide Web Streaming video resembles a conventional television signal in that video is sent to the viewer frame by frame, instead of by downloading a large file to the hard disk. Streaming video on the Web is constrained by the limited bandwidth (56 Kbps or less) of most consumer modems, which is even lower than those used for CD-ROM playback. Use the same techniques that are listed for CDROM playback, but adapt them for further reduction in file size and data-transfer rate. You can export QuickTime streaming directly from After Effects. See "Exporting footage using QuickTime components" on page 289. Downloading video over the World Wide Web If your final output will be downloaded as a file from the World Wide Web, the main concern is the size of the file, which directly affects how long it takes to download the file. QuickTime and Microsoft Video for Windows are formats often used when rendering final output that will be downloaded. When you render a QuickTime movie, After Effects automatically creates a movie that can play on both Windows and Mac OS without modification. Intranet playback An intranet is an in-house or private network that uses Internet network protocols. Intranets generally use higher-quality communications lines than standard telephone lines, so they are usually much faster than the Internet. The datatransfer rate for playback can be 100K per second or faster, depending on the speed of your intranet. Flash (.swf) files When you export compositions as Flash (.swf ) movies, After Effects maintains vectors as much as possible. However, some items cannot be represented as vectors in the Flash file. See "Exporting to Macromedia Flash (SWF) format" on page 286. Considerations for cross-platform projects After Effects project files are compatible with both the Mac OS and Windows platforms. You can do several things to ease the process of exchanging projects between platforms. Project hierarchy When you move a project to a different computer and open it, After Effects attempts to locate the project's footage files, first looking in the folder in which the project file is located, second using the file's original path or folder location, and third searching the root of the directory where the project is located. If you are building cross-platform projects, it is best if the full paths have the same names on Mac OS and Windows systems. If the footage is on a different volume than the project, make sure that the appropriate volume is mounted before opening the project, and that network volume names are the same on both systems. It helps to store footage in the same folder as the project file or in another folder within that folder. Here's a sample hierarchy: c:\newproject\project_file.aep c:\newproject\source\footage1.psd c:\newproject\source\footage2.avi Using Help | Contents | Index Back 7 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 8 The newproject folder can then be copied in its entirety across platforms, and After Effects will properly locate all of the footage. File-naming conventions When possible, name your footage and project files with Windows-compatible filename extensions, such as .mov for QuickTime movies and .aep for After Effects projects. If files will be used on the World Wide Web, be sure that filenames adhere to the appropriate conventions for extensions and paths. Mac OS file types On Mac OS systems, footage files should have proper Mac OS file types. Using services for Macintosh in Windows NT Server or Windows 2000 Server, you can set up explicit extension-to-file-type mappings; see the system's server documentation. If footage files are not properly recognized on Mac OS systems, select All Files for Show in the Import File dialog box to override the Mac OS file types. To open a Windows project on a Mac OS system, the project must have the correct .aep extension. For a list of common extensions and their associated file types, see the Adobe Web site. Resources Ensure that all resources are available on both systems. Resources can include fonts, effects, and compressors. Time basics Time is central to many operations in After Effects. You can view, specify, and manage time in various ways. Whichever way you handle time, there are several specific time concepts you should understand as you create a project. Time display The way you view and specify time in After Effects depends on the display style, or unit of measure, that you use to describe time. By default, After Effects displays time in Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) timecode: hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. You can change to another system of time display, such as film frames, or feet and frames of 16mm or 35mm film. See "Setting time-display options" on page 9. Video-editing workstations use SMPTE timecode that is often striped (encoded) onto videotape for reference. If you are creating video that will be synchronized with video that uses SMPTE timecode, use the default timecode display style. Frame rate Each composition you create can have its own frame rate. The frame rate is the number of frames the rendered composition produces in every second when played back. The frame rate you use is generally determined by the type of output you will produce. For example, video for NTSC television plays at 29.97 frames per second (fps), and PAL plays at 25 fps. When you set up changes over time, After Effects treats the changes as continuous throughout a composition timeline. Each frame is rendered as a slice out of the timeline at the frame rate you specify. Because After Effects treats time continuously, it is possible to change a composition's frame rate at any time or override the frame rate of a composition when you render the final movie. See "Setting frame rate" on page 58. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 8 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 9 NTSC (29.97) drop-frame timecode When you work with a composition that is set to a frame rate of 29.97 fps, After Effects uses SMPTE 30-fps drop-frame timecode by default, making adjustments using the SMPTE-standard method of renumbering the first two frame numbers of every minute, except at every tenth minute. For example, the frame after 59:29 is labeled 1:00:02 instead of 1:00:00. Non-drop-frame timecode is also available. In both cases, frames are not discarded or skipped; they are merely numbered differently. After Effects displays drop-frame timecode by using semicolons between the numbers and displays non-drop-frame timecode using colons between the numbers. In the Project Settings dialog box, you can choose how 29.97-fps compositions and footage display their timecode. See "Setting time-display options" on page 9. Duration Each video footage item, layer, and composition in a project has its own duration. Duration determines the beginning and ending times of the timelines in the Footage, Layer, and Timeline windows. It is important to notice which duration you are viewing while you edit in multiple windows. See "Understanding trimming" on page 81 and "Positioning a layer in time" on page 76. Frames and fields Each frame in an interlaced video source is made up of fields. It's important not to confuse frames with fields. For video, every frame contains two interlaced fields. If you want to use interlaced video as source footage, you'll usually want After Effects to separate the interlaced fields. Separating fields ensures maximum image quality when you apply animations and effects to video that was originally interlaced. If you're producing a movie for videotape, you can render the composition to fields in a process known as field-rendering. See "Interlaced and noninterlaced footage" on page 40 and "Field rendering" on page 44. Setting time-display options After Effects supports several methods of measuring and displaying time. The method you choose applies to time display in the current project and in any subsequent project you create. Changing the method does not alter the frame rate of footage or a composition-- it changes only how frames are numbered. You can choose from three time-display options: · · · Timecode, which counts frames in frames per second (hours, minutes, seconds, frames). Frames, which counts frames of footage without reference to time. Feet and Frames, which counts feet of 16mm or 35mm motion-picture film, and counts fractions of feet in frames; 35mm film has 16 frames per foot, and 16mm film has 40 frames per foot. A B C A. Timecode B. Frames C. Feet and Frames Using Help | Contents | Index Back 9 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 10 When working with footage digitized from NTSC video, you usually use the 30-fps, dropframe timecode base. This counts NTSC-created frames using standard drop-frame timecode for maximum device compatibility. For frames (or feet and frames) timecode, you can also change the starting frame number to match the time-counting method of another editing system you may be using. To change the time display: 1 Open the project and choose File > Project Settings. 2 Select a time setting: · · To use timecode, click Timecode Base, and then select a frame rate from the Timecode pop-up menu. To use drop-frame time code for footage and compositions with a frame rate of 29.97 fps, click Timecode Base, and then select 30 fps from the Timecode Base pop-up menu and Drop Frame from the NTSC menu. To use non-drop-frame timecode for footage and compositions with a frame rate of 29.97 fps, click Timecode Base and then select 30 fps from the Timecode Base pop-up menu and Non-Drop Frame from the NTSC menu. To use frames for the display style, click Frames. To use feet and frames for the display style, click Feet + Frames, and then choose a film type from the Feet + Frames pop-up menu. · · · 3 If desired, type a value in the Start Numbering Frames At option. This value applies only when you have chosen Frames or Feet + Frames. 4 Click OK. To instantly cycle through Timecode, Frames, and Feet + Frames, Ctrl+click (Windows) or Command+click (Mac OS) the timecode display at the bottom of the Composition window or at the top of the Timeline window. Setting up a project After you create a new project, you import footage into the project. You can also specify project settings or application-wide preferences. Creating a new project By default, After Effects opens a new Project window when you start the application. When you know the media for your final project, you are ready to create a project by importing your footage items into a new Project window. You can also open a new Project window at any time from the File menu. See "Working with the Project window" on page 15. To create a new project after closing the current project in After Effects: Choose File > New > New Project. Importing footage items When you import a footage item, After Effects creates only a reference to the file and does not copy or move the file itself. These references to your source files are displayed in the Project window. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 10 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 11 To import source footage items into an After Effects project: 1 Choose File > Import > File or Multiple Files. 2 Locate and select footage files and click Open. For details, see "Importing files into a project" on page 28. Opening and closing a project You can have only one project open at a time. If you try to open another project, After Effects prompts you to save changes in the first project, and then closes the first project. Closing the Project window closes any associated windows, but palettes remain open. To open a project: Choose File > Open Project, locate the project, and then click Open. To close a project: Click the Project window title bar to make it active and choose File > Close. Saving a project Save your work frequently as you develop a project. To save a project: Choose File > Save. To save a project using a different name or location: Choose File > Save As. Specify a filename and location and click Save. The project currently open takes the new name and location; the original file remains as it was. To save a copy of the project using a different name or location: Choose File > Save a Copy. Specify a filename and location and click Save. The project currently open retains its original name and location, and a copy is created but not opened. Correcting mistakes If you change your mind or make a mistake, undo your work. You can undo only those actions that alter the project; for example, you can undo an edit, but you cannot undo scrolling a window. Specify the number of levels that can be undone. The default is 20. Specifying more levels increases memory requirements but may not affect performance. Note: The Vector Paint effect (PB only) can perform only one level of undo, regardless of the number of levels you set. You can also discard changes by reverting to the last saved version of the project. Note that when you revert to the last saved version, all editing and footage imported since you last saved are lost. You cannot undo this action. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 11 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 12 To undo the most recent change: Choose Edit > Undo. You can sequentially undo as many as 99 of the most recent changes made to the program in any After Effects window, depending on how many undo levels are set in Preferences. To set the number of undo levels: 1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General. 2 Specify a number for Levels of Undo, and then click OK. To revert to the last saved version: Choose File > Revert. Selecting 16-bpc color depth (PB only) After Effects can work in 16-bit-per-channel mode, making a larger range of colors available. When you work with high-resolution images that use a narrow range of colors, such as when you're creating subtle gradients for film effects or HDTV output, transitions between colors are smoother with less visible banding, and more detail is preserved. You can choose whether to work in 8-bit-per-channel or 16-bit-per-channel color mode for each project. Directly import 16-bit images, including those from Photoshop, and composite and color-correct footage in 16-bit mode. Take advantage of 16-bit color when performing most After Effects tasks, including layer adjustment, frame blending, 3D, and Cineon file import. The Info palette displays 16-bit color values with exact precision. Many effects support 16 bits per channel. If an effect supports only 8 bits, and your project is set to 16 bits, After Effects displays a warning icon ( ) next to the effect name in the Effect Controls palette. Using an 8-bit effect in a 16-bit project will result in a loss of detail for the effect's layer. When rendering to output module depths of Trillions of Colors, set the project to 16-bit color depth to take advantage of the output file's extra color precision. To optimize performance, rough out a composition in 8-bit color mode, and then finalize and output 16-bit files for maximum quality. To specify color depth: 1 Open the project and choose File > Project Settings. 2 For Depth, choose 8 bits per channel or 16 bits per channel, and then click OK. Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and click the color depth indicator at the bottom of the project window to toggle between 8- and 16-bits per channel color. Setting preferences When you start After Effects for the first time, the default settings are used. You may want to change some of these default settings so that each time After Effects is opened, it uses your selections instead of the standard defaults. After changing settings, you can easily restore the default settings at any time. All After Effects default settings are stored in a single file. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 12 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 13 After Effects saves the location and type of each open window with the project. Palette positions are saved in the After Effects Preferences file, which applies to all projects. You can also save custom workspaces; see "Customizing the workspace" on page 13. To open a preferences dialog box: 1 Choose the preferences command you want from the Edit > Preferences submenu. 2 To switch to another dialog box, do any of the following: · · Choose an option from the menu at the top of the dialog box. Click Next to display the next dialog box in the menu list; click Previous to display the previous dialog box. For information on a specific option, see the index. To restore all preferences to their default settings: 1 Make sure that After Effects is not running. If it is, choose File > Exit (Windows) or File > Quit (Mac OS). 2 Do one of the following: · · (Windows) Search for the "Adobe After Effects 5 Prefs" file (use quotation marks to narrow the search) and delete it or move it to another folder. (Mac OS) Use the Finder to locate the "Adobe After Effects 5 Prefs" file in the Preferences folder in your System folder and delete it or move it to another folder. When you start After Effects again, it creates a new preferences file. Customizing the workspace Depending on the type of work you are doing, you may want to size and arrange palettes and windows. This arrangement of windows is called a workspace. You can save custom workspaces. To restore default palette and window positions: Do one of the following: · · · Hold down Shift when starting After Effects. Choose Window > Workspace > Default. Choose Window > Reset Palette Locations. To save the workspace: 1 Arrange the palettes and windows the way you want them, including size and location. 2 Choose Window > Workspace > Save Workspace. 3 Type a name for the workspace, and click OK. The new workspace is added to the Workspace menu. To select or delete a custom workspace: 1 To select a workspace, choose Window > Workspace, and then choose the name of the workspace. 2 To delete a workspace, choose Window > Workspace > Delete Workspace, choose a name, and click OK. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 13 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 14 Using context menus In addition to the menus at the top of your screen, context menus display commands relative to the active tool or selected item. To display context menus: 1 Position the pointer over the footage or over a label in a palette or window, such as a button in the Time Controls palette. 2 Click the right mouse button (Windows) or press Control and hold down the mouse button (Mac OS). Using windows Many After Effects windows are organized in groups by default. You can customize and display these windows in certain ways depending on the type of window: Composition window The title of a Composition window appears as a tab under the group window's title bar. By default, Composition windows are grouped into one window. You can combine Composition windows with Layer and Footage windows. Layer and Footage windows As with Composition windows, the title of a Layer or Footage window appears as a tab under the group window's title bar. By default, Layer and Footage windows are grouped into one window. They can also be combined with the Composition windows and other Layer and Footage windows. Timeline windows Each composition name appears as a tab in the Timeline window. You can combine Timeline windows only with other Timeline windows. Effect Controls windows By default, effects you apply to layers are grouped in one Effect Controls window. You can combine Effect Controls tabs only with other Effect Controls windows. Project window You cannot group Project windows with any other windows. Reorganizing windows Use the following techniques to reorganize windows: · · · · · · · · To change the default from grouped windows to ungrouped windows, choose Edit > Preferences > General, deselect Tabbed Windows, and click OK. To rearrange or separate a group window, drag the tab for a window. To move a window to another group window, drag its tab to that group. To group Layer or Footage windows with Composition windows by default, open a Layer or Footage window and choose Window > Group Tab with Comps. To display a window menu, click the triangle in the upper right corner of the palette or window (not available for all windows or palettes). To resize a window, drag any edge (Windows) or drag its lower right corner (Mac OS). If a window contains more grouped windows than After Effects can display at once, drag the slider bar that appears above the tabs. To open a Timeline window from its Composition window (and vice versa), select the tab for the window and then click the Comp Family button above the vertical scroll bar. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 14 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 15 · · · To display a window that is obscured by other windows, select it from the Window menu. If both the Composition and Timeline windows are closed, double-click the composition's icon in the Project window to open both windows again. When you close a single window in a group, you can make sure that related windows, such as the Timeline and Composition window for the same composition, are closed at the same time. To turn on this option, choose Window > Closing in Groups to select it. To close individual windows without closing related windows, deselect this menu command. Working with the Project window The Project window is a storage area for compositions and references to footage items. In the Project window you import, identify, replace, remove, and interpret footage items and compositions. You can organize footage and compositions in the Project window using folders. The folders you create in the Project window exist only in the Project window. You can expand a folder to reveal its contents. You can also put folders inside other folders. To remove footage from a project: Do any of the following: · · · · To eliminate an item from a project, select the item and press Delete. To remove all unused footage items from a project, choose File > Remove Unused Footage. To remove all compositions and footage items that are not used in the selected composition, choose File > Reduce Project. To remove all duplicate footage items from a project, Choose File > Consolidate All Footage. To organize footage items using folders: Do any of the following: · · To create a folder in the Project window, choose File > New > New Folder, or click the create folder icon ( ) at the bottom of the Project window. To move a file or folder into a Project folder, drag the file or folder from the Project window list into a folder. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 15 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 16 · · To move a file or folder from a folder to the top level of the Project window, drag the file or folder to the gray information area at the top of the window. To show or hide the contents of a folder, click the triangle to the left of the folder icon. To customize the Project window: · · · · · To resize a panel, drag the bar on the right side of the panel's heading. Drag left to make the panel smaller, or right to make it larger. To hide a panel, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) any panel heading and choose Hide This. To show a panel, right click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) any panel heading and choose Panels > panel heading. To show or hide a panel, choose Panels > panel heading from the Project window menu. To disable thumbnails, choose Edit > Preferences > Display, select Disable Thumbnails in Project Window, and then click OK. To create a new composition from the Project window: Click the create new composition icon ( ) at the bottom of the Project window. To create a new composition that automatically uses the same dimensions, duration, and frame-rate settings as a footage item, drag the selected item or items onto the create new composition icon at the bottom of the Project window. To manage footage items in the Project window: Do any of the following: · To display information about a footage item or composition, select the footage or composition. Information is displayed at the top of the Project window next to the thumbnail image. To sort footage items by any column, click the column name in the Project window. For example, click Type to sort items by footage type. To rename a composition or folder, select the composition name or folder, press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS), type the new name, and then press Enter or Return again. To find footage items in the Project window, choose File > Find, type the name of the footage item, and click OK. Select Find Missing Footage to locate all footage items that refer to a file that has been moved, deleted, or renamed. · · · Composition, Layer, and Footage window controls Use the Composition, Layer, and Footage windows to preview and edit different parts of a project. These windows share a set of controls that you can use to view safe zones (the visible areas of a television screen), view RGB and alpha channels, and change the magnification. These controls function the same way in all three windows. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 16 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 17 Displaying After Effects viewing controls in the Footage window By default, the Footage window displays movie controls for movie footage rather than the After Effects viewing controls found in the Layer and Composition windows. QuickTime and Video for Windows controls are fast and familiar tools for playing movie footage, and they play audio if it's included in the footage. However, for the preview options discussed in this section, you must open the footage in a standard After Effects Footage window. Note: A standard After Effects Footage window is always used for non­QuickTime and non­Video for Windows footage. To display a footage item in the Footage window: Double-click a footage item in the Project window. To display .mov or .avi movies in the standard After Effects Footage window: Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you double-click a footage item in the Project window. After Effects Footage windows provide editing commands not available in Video for Windows or QuickTime Footage windows. Changing magnification in windows The lower left corner of a Composition, Layer, or Footage window shows the current magnification. When you change magnification, you change the appearance of the pixels in the window, not the actual resolution of the composition. To zoom in or out: Do one of the following: · · · · Using the zoom tool, click inside the window you want to magnify. Using the zoom tool, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you click inside the window you want to reduce. Double-click the zoom tool in the toolbox to view at actual size. Choose a magnification from the menu in the lower left corner of a Footage, Layer, or Composition window. Viewing safe zones and grids In Footage, Layer, or Composition windows, you can display safe zones for titles and action, as well as grids used for aligning layers. Television sets enlarge a video image and allow some portion of its outer edges to be cut off by the edge of the screen. This is known as overscan. The amount of overscan is not consistent across television sets, so you should keep important parts of a video image, such as action or titles, within margins known as safe zones. When you arrange layers in a composition, do the following: · · Keep important scene elements, graphics, and actors within the action-safe zone. Keep titles and other text within the title-safe zone. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 17 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 18 After Effects also provides grids that you can use to help arrange and align layers. Set the grid spacing using the Grids & Guides Preferences dialog box. A B C D A. Grid B. Title-safe zone C. Action-safe zone D. Overscan To view safe zones: In a Footage, Layer, or Composition window, click the safe-zones icon ( the safe zones. To view a standard grid: With a Footage, Layer, or Composition window active, choose View > Show Grid or Hide Grid. To view a proportional grid: Press and hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and click the safe zones icon. To snap a layer to a grid: With a Footage, Layer, or Composition window active and the grid shown, choose View > Snap to Grid and then drag a layer until it snaps to the desired grid lines. ) to show or hide Changing safe-zone margins and grid spacing You can change the percentage of window area marked as title-safe or action-safe, and you can change the number of grid cells. Safe-zone margins represent the percentage of image area not included in the safe area. You can set spacing options for standard grids or proportional grids. The size of proportional grids increases or decreases when the composition size changes; the size of standard grid squares remains the same regardless of composition size. To change safe-zone margins: Choose Edit > Preferences > Grids & Guides, type values for Action-Safe Margin and TitleSafe Margin, and click OK. To change grid spacing: Choose Edit > Preferences > Grids & Guides, type a value for Gridline Every, type a value for Subdivisions, and click OK. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 18 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 19 To change proportional grid spacing: Choose Edit > Preferences > Grids & Guides, type Horizontal and Vertical values for Proportional Grid, and click OK. Using rulers and guides You can display rulers along the sides of the Composition, Layer, and Footage windows to provide a visual guide for positioning and editing your footage. Using the cross hair in the upper left corner of the rulers, you can change the origin, or zero point, in both rulers. Changing the zero point makes it easy to measure from a specific point in the image. By default, rulers are hidden. For added precision in positioning objects, you can create guide lines. You can also lock guide lines to prevent them from being repositioned. Note: Rulers and guide lines are only a reference in the Composition, Layer, and Footage windows. They do not appear in your rendered movie. To display or hide rulers: Choose View > Show Rulers or Hide Rulers. To set the zero point in rulers: Drag the cross hair from the intersection of the two rulers (in the upper left corner) into the image area. To create, reposition, lock, hide, or remove a guide line: Do any of the following: · Position the pointer inside either ruler and drag where you want to create a guide line. · · · · · In the image area, drag a guide to reposition it. To lock or unlock guides, choose View > Lock Guides. In the image area, drag a guide line into a ruler to remove it. To display or hide all guide lines, choose View > Show Guides or Hide Guides. To remove all guide lines, choose View > Clear Guides. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 19 Adobe After Effects Help Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes Using Help | Contents | Index Back 20 Viewing color and alpha channels You can preview the red, green, blue, and alpha channels of a still image or movie in a Footage window, Layer window, or Composition window. When you view a color channel, areas with that color are displayed according to the color value of each pixel. For example, if you view the red channel, areas with high red values are displayed as white. To see the color values in a color channel displayed in the channel's own color instead of white, hold down Shift and click the desired color channel icon. When you preview the alpha channel, After Effects displays transparent and opaque areas as black and white to make identification easier. Degrees of opacity appear as shades of gray. To view a color channel or alpha channel: 1 Open the Composition, Layer, or Footage window to view a channel for a composition, layer, or footage item, respectively. 2 At the bottom of the window, click the icon that corresponds to the channel you want to display. BD AC A. Red channel B. Green channel C. Blue channel D. Alpha channel Taking and viewing a window snapshot When you want to compare one view to another in the Composition, Layer, or Footage window, take a snapshot of one view and temporarily replace the window image with the snapshot. For example, you might want to compare two frames in different locations in a movie. You can instantly show and hide the snapshot to identify differences between the views. If you have a sound card installed, you hear a sound when you take a snapshot. When working with snapshots, here are some tips to keep in mind: · Snapshots taken in one kind of window can be displayed in another kind. For example, you can take a snapshot of a Layer window and display the snapshot in the Composition or Footage window. Displaying a snapshot does not replace the content of the window. If the snapshot has a different size or aspect ratio than the window in which you display it, the snapshot is resized to fit the window. Choose Edit > Purge > Snapshot to free up memory used by your snapshots. Snapshots are for reference only and do not become part of the layer, composition, or rendered movie. · · · · To take a snapshot: Click the take-snapshot icon at the bottom of the window, or press Shift+F5. To view a snapshot: Click and hold the display-snapshot icon at the bottom of the window, or press F5. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 20