You created the advertising copy in After Effects, but the crabs’ expressions are in quotation bubbles, which are easier to include as images. You’ll attach the PSD files to solid layers in After Effects to lock them to specific planes. After Effects creates a Track Solid 1 layer, and a colorful solid square appears in […]
Creating realistic shadows – Working with the 3D Camera Tracker
You’ve set up your elements, but unlike true 3D objects, they aren’t casting any shadows. You’ll create a shadow catcher and a light to add depth to your video. NoteBe sure to select the 3D Camera Tracker effect in the Shoreline.mov layer, not the 3D Tracker Camera layer. After Effects adds a light source to […]
Tidying the composition – Working with the 3D Camera Tracker
You’ve done some complex work to create a scene that merges the added components with an existing tableau. You’ll preview it to see it in action. It’s looking pretty good, but the word ARE may show up unexpectedly toward the end, and the crab quotes all appear at once. You’ll adjust layers to ensure they […]
Adding an effect – Working with the 3D Camera Tracker
The 3D elements, camera, and lighting are all complete, but you can make the video more interesting by adding a ripple effect to the quotes. The crab quote disappears, but it will gradually appear and ripple on the screen. Previewing the compositionAll of the elements are in place, along with cameras, lighting, and effects. You’ll […]
Getting started – Advanced Editing Techniques
Lesson overview In this lesson, you’ll learn how to do the following: This lesson will take about two hours to complete. If you haven’t already done so, download the project files for this lesson from peachpit.com/AfterEffectsCIB2024, following the instructions in the Getting Started section under “Accessing the lesson files and Web Edition.” PROJECT: SPECIAL EFFECTS […]
Stabilizing a shot – Advanced Editing Techniques
Stabilizing a shot If you shoot footage while holding a phone or camera, you will probably end up with shaky shots. Unless this look is intentional, you’ll want to stabilize your shots to eliminate unwanted motion. Warp Stabilizer VFX in After Effects automatically removes extraneous jitters. When played back, the motion appears smooth, because the […]
Creating the composition – Advanced Editing Techniques
You’ll start by importing footage and creating the composition. After Effects creates a new composition named snowday with the same pixel size, aspect ratio, frame rate, and duration of the source clip. This clip was shot with a smartphone camera. A dog runs toward the camera, but the camera moves, too, resulting in an unsteady […]
Applying Warp Stabilizer VFX – Advanced Editing Techniques
Warp Stabilizer VFX starts analyzing footage as soon as you apply it. Stabilization is a background process, so you can work on other compositions while it finishes. How long it takes depends on your system. After Effects displays a blue banner while it analyzes the footage and an orange banner while it applies stabilization. 3. […]
Fine-tuning the results – Advanced Editing Techniques
The default analysis works well most of the time, but sometimes you may need to massage the end results even further. You’ll change the method that Warp Stabilizer VFX uses for an even smoother result. NoteScaling a video layer up degrades the image. Scale only as much as you need to in order to hide […]
Setting up the project – Advanced Editing Techniques
If you’ve just completed the first project, and After Effects is open, skip to step 3. Otherwise, restore the default application settings for After Effects. See “Restoring default preferences” on page 3. You’ll start by importing assets and creating the composition. After Effects opens to display a new, untitled project. After Effects creates a new […]