using adobe after effects cs4

Using

ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS CS4

Legal notices

Copyright 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Using Adobe After Effects CS4 for Windows and Mac OS If this guide is distributed with software that includes an end user agreement, this guide, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. Except as permitted by any such license, no part of this guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Please note that the content in this guide is protected under copyright law even if it is not distributed with software that includes an end user license agreement. The content of this guide is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Adobe Systems Incorporated assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in the informational content contained in this guide. Please remember that existing artwork or images that you may want to include in your project may be protected under copyright law. The unauthorized incorporation of such material into your new work could be a violation of the rights of the copyright owner. Please be sure to obtain any permission required from the copyright owner. Any references to company names in sample templates are for demonstration purposes only and are not intended to refer to any actual organization. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Adobe Audition, Adobe Premiere, ActionScript, After Effects, Creative Suite, Encore, Fireworks, Flash, Illustrator, Pixel Bender, Photoshop, Soundbooth, XMP, are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Apple, Mac, and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. Microsoft, Windows, and Windows Vista are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. SGI is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation (http://www.apache.org/). Portions of the TIFF I/O plug-in were written with MacApp: 1985-1988 Apple Inc. APPLE INC. MAKES NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO ITS MERCHANTABILITY OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. The MacApp software is proprietary to Apple Inc. and is licensed to Adobe for distribution only for use in combination with Adobe After Effects. MPEG Layer-3 audio compression technology licensed by Fraunhofer IIS and Thomson Multimedia (http://www.mp3licensing.com). Speech compression and decompression technology licensed from Nellymoser, Inc. (www.nellymoser.com) Video in Flash Player is powered by On2 TrueMotion video technology. 1992-2005 On2 Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.on2.com This product includes software developed by the OpenSymphony Group (http://www.opensymphony.com/). This product contains either BISAFE and/or TIPEM software by RSA Data Security, Inc.

Sorenson Spark video compression and decompression technology licensed from Sorenson Media, Inc. Notice to U.S. Government end users: The Software and Documentation are Commercial Items, as that term is defined at 48 C.F.R. 2.101, consisting of Commercial Computer Software and Commercial Computer Software Documentation, as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. 12.212 or 48 C.F.R. 227.7202, as applicable. Consistent with 48 C.F.R. 12.212 or 48 C.F.R. 227.7202-1 through 227.7202-4, as applicable, the Commercial Computer Software and Commercial Computer Software Documentation are being licensed to U.S. Government end users (a) only as Commercial Items and (b) with only those rights as are granted to all other end users pursuant to the terms and conditions herein. Unpublished-rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United States. Adobe agrees to comply with all applicable equal opportunity laws including, if appropriate, the provisions of Executive Order 11246, as amended, Section 402 of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (38 USC 4212), and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the regulations at 41 CFR Parts 60-1 through 60-60, 60-250, and 60-741. The affirmative action clause and regulations contained in the preceding sentence shall be incorporated by reference. Adobe Systems Incorporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, California 95110, USA.

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ContentsChapter 1: Getting started Installation, activation, and registration Adobe Product Improvement Program Resources New features in After Effects CS4 Chapter 2: User interface Workspaces, panels, and viewers General user interface items Preferences ................................................................................ 1 ................................................................................. 2

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User interface changes from After Effects CS3 to After Effects CS4

Chapter 3: Workflows, planning, and setup Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Planning and setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Working with After Effects and other applications Dynamic Link and After Effects

Chapter 4: Projects and compositions Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Composition basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Nesting, precomposing, and pre-rendering

Chapter 5: Importing and organizing footage items Importing and interpreting footage items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Working with footage items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Importing from After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro Importing and interpreting video and audio Preparing and importing 3D image files Preparing and importing still images

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Introduction to Camera Raw and importing camera raw files Navigating, opening, and saving images with Camera Raw Making color and tonal adjustments in Camera Raw Modifying images with Camera Raw Camera Raw settings Making local adjustments with Camera Raw

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Chapter 6: Layers and properties Creating layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Selecting and arranging layers Managing layers Layer properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Blending modes and layer styles

USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4 ivContents

3D layers

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Cameras, lights, and points of interest

Chapter 7: Views and previews Previewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Modifying and using views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Chapter 8: Animation and keyframes Animation basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Setting, selecting, and deleting keyframes Editing, moving, and copying keyframes Assorted animation tools Interpolation Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

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Time-stretching and time-remapping Animating with Puppet tools Tracking and stabilizing motion

Chapter 9: Color Color basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Color management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Chapter 10: Drawing, painting, and paths Paint tools: Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 Overview of shape layers, paths, and vector graphics Creating shapes and masks Editing and animating shape paths and masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Shape attributes, paint operations, and path operations for shape layers Chapter 11: Text Creating and editing text layers Formatting characters Formatting paragraphs Animating text

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Examples of text animation

Chapter 12: Transparency and compositing Alpha channels, masks, and mattes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352 Keying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

Chapter 13: Effects and animation presets Effects and animation presets overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366 Effect galleries Audio effects Channel effects Distort effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 3D Channel effects Blur & Sharpen effects Color Correction effects

USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4 vContents

Generate effects Keying effects Matte effects Paint effects

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Noise & Grain effects Perspective effects Simulation effects Stylize effects Text effects Time effects Utility effects

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565

Transition effects Obsolete effects

Chapter 14: Markers and metadata Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575 XMP metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581

Chapter 15: Memory, storage, and performance Memory usage and storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588 Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593

Chapter 16: Plug-ins, scripts, and automation Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596 Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598 Automation

Chapter 17: Expressions Expression basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 Expression elements reference Expression examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636

Chapter 18: Rendering and exporting Basics of rendering and exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641 Rendering and exporting for Flash Professional and Flash Player Rendering and exporting still images and still-image sequences Exporting project information to other Adobe applications Encoding and compression options for movies Automated rendering and network rendering Converting movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687

Chapter 19: Keyboard shortcuts Shortcuts: general . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693 Shortcuts: projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697 Shortcuts: preferences

Shortcuts: panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows Shortcuts: activating tools Shortcuts: compositions and the work area

USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4 viContents

Shortcuts: time navigation Shortcuts: previews Shortcuts: views Shortcuts: footage Shortcuts: layers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699

Shortcuts: effects and animation presets

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703

Shortcuts: showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel Shortcuts: showing properties in the Effect Controls panel Shortcuts: modifying layer properties Shortcuts: 3D layers Shortcuts: keyframes Shortcuts: text Shortcuts: masks

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704

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Shortcuts: paint tools Shortcuts: shape layers Shortcuts: markers

Shortcuts: motion tracking

Shortcuts: saving, exporting, and rendering Index

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1

Chapter 1: Getting startedInstallation, activation, and registrationBefore installing Adobe After Effects software, review complete system requirements and recommendations in the Read Me file. The Read Me file is on the installation disc, as well as on the After Effects support section of the Adobe website.

Install the software1 Quit all applications that are running on your computer. 2 Insert the installation disc into your DVD drive, and follow the on-screen instructions.

For assistance with installation issues, see the Installation Support Center on the Adobe website. In addition to the full version of Adobe After Effects, you can also install additional copies on additional computers to use as After Effects render engines to assist with network rendering. You install render engines in the same manner as the full version of the application, but you do not activate them. You run the render engine using the Adobe After Effects Render Engine shortcut in the Adobe After Effects CS4 folder. Important: The free trial version of Adobe After Effects software does not include some features that depend upon software licensed from parties other than Adobe. For example, some effect plug-ins and some codecs for encoding MPEG formats are available only with the full version of Adobe After Effects software.

See alsoNetwork rendering with watch folders and render engines on page 682 Plug-ins on page 596 Scripts on page 597 Animation presets on page 366

Activate the softwareIf you have a single-user retail license for your Adobe software, you will be asked to activate your software. Activation is a simple, anonymous process that you must complete within 30 days of starting the software. During the installation process, your Adobe software attempts to contact Adobe to complete the license activation process. No personal data is transmitted. A single-user retail license activation supports two computers. For example, you can install the software on a desktop computer at work and on a laptop computer at home. For more information on product licensing and activation, see the Read Me file or go to the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/go/activation. Note: Before transferring an activation to a different computer, deactivate the software by choosing Help > Deactivate.

Register the software1 If the registration dialog box isnt already open, choose Help > Registration.

USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4 2Getting started

2 Follow the on-screen instructions.

Adobe Product Improvement ProgramAfter you have used your Adobe software a certain number of times, a dialog box appears, asking whether you want to participate in the Adobe Product Improvement Program. If you choose to participate, data about your use of Adobe software is sent to Adobe. No personal information is recorded or sent. The Adobe Product Improvement Program only collects information about the features and tools that you use in the software and how often you use them. You can opt in to or opt out of the program at any time:

To participate, choose Help > Product Improvement Program and click Yes, Participate. To stop participating, choose Help > Product Improvement Program and click No, Thank You.

ResourcesHelp and supportCommunity HelpCommunity Help is an integrated environment on adobe.com that gives you access to community-generated content moderated by Adobe and industry experts. Comments from users help guide you to an answer. Search Community Help to find the best content on the web about Adobe products and technologies, including these resources:

Videos, tutorials, tips and techniques, blogs, articles, and examples for designers and developers. Complete online Help, which is updated regularly and is more complete than the Help delivered with your product.If you are connected to the Internet when you access Help, you automatically see the complete online Help rather than the subset delivered with your product.

All other content on Adobe.com, including knowledgebase articles, downloads and updates, DeveloperConnection, and more. Use the help search field in your products user interface to access Community Help. For a video of Community Help, see www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4117_xp.

Other resourcesPrinted versions of the complete online Help are available for the cost of shipping and handling at www.adobe.com/go/store. Online Help also includes a link to the complete, updated PDF version of Help. Visit the Adobe Support website at www.adobe.com/support to learn about free and paid technical support options.

Services, downloads, extras, and video tutorialsYou can enhance your software with a variety of services, plug-ins, extensions, samples, and other assets. For more information about extensions for After Effects, see Scripts on page 597 and Plug-ins on page 596.


Adobe creative online servicesMany Adobe Creative Suite 4 applications include online features that bring the power of the Web to your computer to help you connect to community, collaborate, and get more from your Adobe software. Some services offer full or partial functionality when youre offline, too. For information on managing your services, see the Adobe website at http://www.adobe.com/go/learn_creativeservices_en.

Adobe ExchangeVisit the Adobe Exchange at www.adobe.com/go/exchange to download example projects, animation presets, plugins, scripts, and tutorials from Adobe and members of the community.

Adobe downloadsVisit www.adobe.com/go/downloads on the Adobe website to find free updates, tryouts, and other useful software.

Adobe LabsAdobe Labs at www.adobe.com/go/labs gives you the opportunity to experience and evaluate new and emerging technologies and products from Adobe. At Adobe Labs, you have access to resources such as these:

Prerelease software and technologies Code samples and best practices to accelerate your learning Early versions of product and technical documentation Forums, wiki-based content, and other collaborative resources to help you interact with like-minded usersAdobe Labs fosters a collaborative software development process. In this environment, customers quickly become productive with new products and technologies. Adobe Labs is also a forum for early feedback, which the Adobe development teams use to create software that meets the needs and expectations of the community.

ExtrasThe installation disc contains a variety of extras to help you make the most of your Adobe software. Some extras are installed on your computer during the setup process; you can install others later, as needed, from the disc.

Adobe TVVisit Adobe TV at http://tv.adobe.com to view video tutorials, video training, and other instructional and inspirational programs to help you get the most from your Adobe software.

Video tutorials: getting started, new features, and common proceduresAdobe and its partners provide a basic set of video tutorials on Adobe TV and in the Video Workshop on the Adobe website, in addition to excellent tutorials provided by other members of the community. (See After Effects community resources on page 5.) Many sections of After Effects Help refer to additional video tutorials in context to provide information about specific features. For detailed information about new features, see New features in After Effects CS4 on page 7. Getting started Overview of After Effects:

www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4064_ae


www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4206_ae Overview of Creative Suite 4 Production Premium edition: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4087_vs Working with workspaces and panels: www.adobe.com/go/vid0249 Creating and organizing projects and importing assets: www.adobe.com/go/vid0221 www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4207_ae Creating and using compositions: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4208_ae Creating and managing layers: www.adobe.com/go/vid0222 Working with the Timeline panel: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4209_ae Animation essentials: www.adobe.com/go/vid0227 www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4210_ae Animating transforms: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4212_ae Animating text: www.adobe.com/go/vid0226 www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4214_ae Painting and cloning: www.adobe.com/go/vid0223 Shape layers: www.adobe.com/go/vid0224 Previewing: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4211_ae Effects and animation presets: www.adobe.com/go/vid0228 www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4215_ae Color correction: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4216_ae Rendering and exporting: www.adobe.com/go/vid0262New features and common procedures Community Help: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4117_xp

Using the XML project file format: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4065_ae Keying with Keylight: www.adobe.com/go/vid0229 Creating compositions for mobile devices: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4110_xp Using 3D object layers from Photoshop: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4113_xp Animating x, y, and z components of Position with Separate Dimensions: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4067_ae Using color management features: www.adobe.com/go/vid0260 Using the Puppet tools: www.adobe.com/go/vid0274 www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4213_ae Using the Cartoon effect: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4066_ae


Importing layered documents from Photoshop: www.adobe.com/go/vid0252 Rotoscoping with Photoshop and After Effects: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4107_xp Importing and using Vanishing Point Exchange data from Photoshop: www.adobe.com/go/vid0286 www.adobe.com/go/vid0287 Rendering and exporting compositions for Flash Player and Flash Professional: overview (SWF, XFL, FLV, F4V): www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4105_xp XFL: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4098_xp FLV and F4V: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4097_xp Rendering and exporting for Adobe Media Player: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4116_xp Working with markers and XMP metadata: www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4104_xp www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4111_xp www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4112_xp www.adobe.com/go/vid0094 www.adobe.com/go/vid0255 Working with Premiere Pro, Encore, and After Effects: www.adobe.com/go/vid0250 www.adobe.com/go/vid0256 www.adobe.com/go/vid0258 www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4108_xp www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4109_xp Using Adobe Bridge with After Effects: www.adobe.com/go/vid0090 www.adobe.com/go/vid0251 www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4011_bri www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4013_bri

After Effects community resourcesResources on the Adobe website Adobe provides documentation resources for After Effects on the After Effects Community Help section of the Adobe website. From the Community Help page, you can also search for community resources not on the Adobe website. To make a feature request or file a bug report, fill out the feature request and bug report form on the Adobe website. The Adobe After Effects User-to-User Forum is a great place to ask questions about After Effects and have them answered by other After Effects users. You can subscribe to RSS feeds from Adobe Technical Support so that you can get notification of issues and workarounds related to After Effects (or other Adobe products).


For information on plug-ins available for After Effects, go to the After Effects plug-in page on the Adobe website. Adobe provides resources for scripting and plug-in creation on the After Effects Developer Center section of the Adobe website. The Video Technology Center section of the Developer Center has information about all of the Adobe digital video and audio applications. To exchange scripts, projects, and other useful items with other After Effects users, go to the After Effects Exchange on the Adobe website. Michael Coleman, After Effects product manager, provides news and notes about After Effects on his Keyframes blog. Todd Kopriva, After Effects documentation lead, provides links to instructional resources and reference material for After Effects users on his After Effects Region of Interest blog. Resources on other websites A good place to ask questions about After Effectsespecially with regard to integration with 3D applicationsis the Mograph forum. The ProVideo Coalition (PVC) website contains articles and blogs on topics of interest to professionals in the video industry. In addition to articles by Chris and Trish Meyer, the PVC website includes articles by Mark Christiansen, Frank Capria, Jim Feeley, Adam Wilt, Mark Curtis, and Scott Gentry. The Toolfarm website provides forums, tutorials, and other resources related to After Effects and other Adobe products. The AE Freemart website is a division of Toolfarm that provides free tutorials about After Effects. The AE Enhancers forum provides example scripts and useful information about scripting (as well as expressions and animation presets) in After Effects. Jonas Hummelstrand provides tutorials, troubleshooting tips, and insights about After Effects and motion graphics in general on his General Specialist website. Trish and Chris Meyer provide instructional resources for After Effects in many places, including their CyberMotion website. Lutz Albrecht provides a list of After Effects error codes and some possible solutions on his Mylenium website. John Dickinson provides tutorials and other resources for After Effects and related software on his Motionworks website. Alan Shisko provides insights and tips about motion graphics on his Motion Graphics 'n Such blog. Harry Frank provides tutorials on all areas of After Effects, with an emphasis on expressions and use of third-party plug-ins on his graymachine website. Andrew Kramer provides tutorials and training on his Video Copilot website. Dan Ebberts provides scripting tutorials and useful scripts on the scripting portion of the Motionscript website. Dan also provides an excellent collection of example expressions and tutorials for learning how to work with expressions on the expressions portion of the Motionscript website. Lloyd Alvarez provides a collection of useful scripts on his After Effects Scripts. Jeff Almasol provides a collection of useful scripts on his redefinery website. Stu Maschwitz provides insights and tips about After Effects and video, visual effects, and compositing in general on his ProLost blog.


The Creative COW website provides several resources for After Effects users. Many of these resources feature Aharon Rabinowitz:

Multimedia 101 podcast After Effects podcasts After Effects tutorials After Effects articles After Effects Basics forum After Effects forum After Effects Expressions forumThe Layers Magazine website provides articles and tutorials about After Effects and other Adobe creative products. David Van Brink provides tips, insights, and downloadable utilities for After Effects and other digital video software on his Omino website. Colin Braley provides tutorialsmostly about expressionson his website. Rich Young maintains a list of After Effects resources on his AE Portal News blog. Rick Gerard provides tips and tricks on his AE Tips and Tricks website. David Torno provides tips and tutorials about visual effects and compositing on his AE I Owe You blog. Dean Velez provides many sample projects (some free) and other useful things on his Motion Graphics Lab website. Jim Tierney of Digital Anarchy writes about After Effects and related stuff on his Anarchy Jim blog. Jerzy Drozda, Jr. provides After Effects tutorials on his Maltaannon website. Dale Bradshaw provides scripts and tricks on his Creative Workflow Hacks website. Richard Harrington provides tutorials and other useful material about After Effects and other video software on his Photoshop for Video website and Raster|Vector website. He also posts video tutorials on Adobe TV. Sean Kennedy provides several video tutorialsincluding some about rotoscoping and motion trackingon the SimplyCG website. They're all linked to from his website. Ayato Fuji provides tutorials on his ayato@web website. Some of the tutorials are a little out of date, but much of the material is still strong, especially for learning to use some of the Trapcode plug-ins. Ko Maruyama, Stephen Schleicher, and Brian Maffitt are among the people who post about After Effects on the DMN After Effects Channel.

New features in After Effects CS4The new features listed here are only a few highlights from the hundreds of improvements and additions made for After Effects CS4. For more information about new features in After Effects CS4, go to the Adobe website: www.adobe.com/go/learn_ae_indepth.


For a detailed list of changes to the user interface for After Effects CS4, see User interface changes from After Effects CS3 to After Effects CS4 on page 21.

Create movies tailored to a set of mobile devices that you specify: Create compositions for playback on mobiledevices on page 54.

Configure memory and multiprocessing settings more easily: Memory & Multiprocessing preferences onpage 590.

Use XMP metadata and improved marker features to facilitate various stages of your work: XMP metadata onpage 581 and Markers on page 575.

Save compositions for use in Adobe Flash Professional: Rendering and exporting for Flash Professional and FlashPlayer on page 657.

Navigate among nested compositions more easily: Opening and navigating nested compositions on page 60. Animate each component of position separately: Separate dimensions of Position to animate componentsindividually on page 137.

Find items more easily with search fields: Search and filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panelson page 16.

Use 3D object layers from Adobe Photoshop Extended: Using 3D object layers from Photoshop on page 173. Save a copy of your project in the new XML project file format to improve automation workflows: About projectson page 47.

Import or create an Adobe Premiere Pro sequence using Dynamic Link: Working with Adobe Premiere Pro andAfter Effects on page 40.

Use Imagineer Systems mocha for After Effects to track motion: Tracking and stabilizing motion on page 245.

9

Chapter 2: User interfaceWorkspaces, panels, and viewersAbout workspacesAdobe video and audio applications provide a consistent, customizable user interface. Although each application has its own set of panels, you move and group panels in the same way in each application. The main window of a program is the application window. Panels are organized in this window in an arrangement called a workspace. Each application includes several predefined workspaces that optimize the layout of panels for specific tasks. You can also create and customize your own workspaces by arranging panels in the layout that best suits your working style for specific tasks. You can drag panels to new locations, move panels into or out of a group, place panels alongside each other, and undock a panel so that it floats in a new window above the application window. As you rearrange panels, the other panels resize automatically to fit the window. You can use floating windows to create a workspace more like the user interface in previous versions of Adobe applications, or to place panels on multiple monitors.B A C

Example workspace A. Application window B. Grouped panels C. Individual panel

To increase the available screen space, use multiple monitors. When you work with multiple monitors, the application window appears on the main monitor, and you place floating windows on the second monitor. Monitor configurations are stored in the workspace. For a video about workspaces, go to the Adobe website: www.adobe.com/go/vid0249.

See alsoShortcuts: panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows on page 694

USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4 10User interface

Choose a workspace Choose Window > Workspace, and select the desired workspace. Choose a workspace from the Workspace menu in the Tools panel. If the workspace has a keyboard shortcut assigned, press Shift+F10, Shift+F11, or Shift+F12.To assign a keyboard shortcut to the current workspace, choose Window > Assign Shortcut To [Workspace Name] Workspace.


Dock, group, or float panelsYou can dock panels together, move them into or out of groups, and undock them so they float above the application window. As you drag a panel, drop zonesareas onto which you can move the panelbecome highlighted. The drop zone you choose determines where the panel is inserted, and whether it docks or groups with other panels. Docking zones Docking zones exist along the edges of a panel, group, or window. Docking a panel places it adjacent to the existing group, resizing all groups to accommodate the new panel.

A

B

C

Dragging panel (A) onto docking zone (B) to dock it (C)

Grouping zones Grouping zones exist in the middle of a panel or group, and along the tab area of panels. Grouping a panel stacks it with other panels.


A

B

C

Dragging panel (A) onto grouping zone (B) to group it with existing panels (C)

Dock or group panels 1 If the panel you want to dock or group is not visible, choose it from the Window menu.2 Do one of the following:

To move an individual panel, drag the gripper area in the upper-left corner of a panels tab onto the desired drop zone.

Drag panel gripper to move one panel

To move an entire group, drag the group gripper in the upper-right corner onto the desired drop zone.

Drag group gripper to move entire group


The application docks or groups the panel, according to the type of drop zone. Undock a panel in a floating window When you undock a panel in a floating window, you can add panels to the window and modify it similarly to the application window. You can use floating windows to make use of a secondary monitor, or to create workspaces like those in earlier versions of Adobe applications. Select the panel you want to undock (if its not visible, choose it from the Window menu), and then do one of the

following:

Choose Undock Panel or Undock Frame from the panel menu. Undock Frame undocks the panel group. Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS), and drag the panel or group from its current location.When you release the mouse button, the panel or group appears in a new floating window.

Drag the panel or group outside the application window. (If the application window is maximized, drag thepanel to the Windows taskbar.)

Resize panel groupsTo quickly maximize a panel beneath the pointer, press the ` (accent grave) key. (The accent grave is the unshifted character under the tilde, ~, on standard US keyboards.) Press the key again to return the panel to its original size. When you drag the divider between panel groups, all groups that share the divider are resized.1 Do either of the following:

To resize either horizontally or vertically, position the pointer between two panel groups. The pointer becomes adouble arrow . .

To resize in both directions at once, position the pointer at the intersection between three or more panel groups.The pointer becomes a four-way arrow2 Hold down the mouse button, and drag to resize the panel groups.

A

B

Dragging divider between panel groups to resize them horizontally A. Original group with resize pointer B. Resized groups


Open, close, and show panels and windowsEven if a panel is open, it may be out of sight, beneath other panels. Choosing a panel from the Window menu opens it and brings it to the front of its group. When you close a panel group in the application window, the other groups resize to make use of the newly available space. When you close a floating window, the panels within it close, too.

To open or close a panel, choose the panel from the Window menu. To close a panel or window, click its Close button To open or close a panel, use its keyboard shortcut. If a frame contains multiple panels, place the pointer over a tab and roll the mouse scroll wheel forward or backwardto change which panel is active. .

If a frame contains more grouped panels than can be shown at once, drag the scroll bar that appears above the tabs.

Scroll bar for showing tabs of other panels


ViewersA viewer is a panel that can contain multiple compositions, layers, or footage items, or multiple views of one such item. The Composition, Layer, Footage, Flowchart, and Effect Controls panels are viewers. Locking a viewer prevents the currently displayed item from being replaced when you open or select a new item. Instead, when a viewer is locked and a new item is opened or selected, After Effects creates a new viewer panel for that item. If you select the item from the viewer menu of a locked viewer, a new viewer isn't created; the existing viewer is used. Instead of housing multiple items in a single viewer and using the viewer menu to switch between them, you can choose to open a separate viewer for each open composition, layer, or footage item. When you have multiple viewers open, you can arrange them by docking or grouping them, like any other panels. For example, you can create one Composition viewer each for different 3D views (Top, Bottom, Back, Front, custom views) so that you can maximize each of the views with the ` (accent grave) keyboard shortcut, which maximizes or restores the panel under the pointer. To create a custom workspace with multiple viewers, ensure that all viewers are unlocked before you save the workspace. Locked viewers are associated with a specific project context and are therefore not saved in the preferences file.

To create a new viewer, choose New from the viewer menu. (See Open panel, viewer, and context menus onpage 16.)

To lock or unlock a viewer, choose Locked from the viewer menu, or click the Toggle Viewer Lock

button.


To lock the current viewer, split the current frame, and create a new viewer of the same type in the new frame, pressCtrl+Alt+Shift+N (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift+N (Mac OS).

To cycle forward or backward through the items in the viewer menu list for the active viewer, press Shift+period (.)or Shift+comma (,).

See alsoChoose a viewer to always preview on page 187 Shortcuts: panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows on page 694 Shortcuts: previews on page 698 Shortcuts: views on page 699 About nesting and precomposing on page 58

Edit this, look at that (ETLAT) and locked Composition viewersIf a Composition viewer is locked, the Timeline panel for another composition is active, and the Composition viewer for the active composition is not shown, then most commands that affect views and previews operate on the composition for which the viewer is shown. For example, pressing the spacebar can start a standard preview for the composition visible in a locked Composition viewer rather than the composition associated with the active Timeline panel. This behavior facilitates a working setup sometimes referred to as edit-this-look-at-that (ETLAT). The most common scenario in which this behavior is useful is the scenario in which you make a change in the Timeline panel for a nested (upstream) composition and want to preview the result of the change in a containing (downstream) composition. Note: ETLAT behavior works for keyboard shortcuts for zooming, fitting, previewing, taking and viewing snapshots, showing channels, showing and hiding grids and guides, and showing the current frame on a video preview device. To prevent this behavior, unlock the Composition viewer or show the Composition viewer for the composition that you want to view or preview.

Save, reset, or delete workspacesSave a custom workspace As you customize a workspace, the application tracks your changes, storing the most recent layout. To store a specific layout more permanently, save a custom workspace. Saved custom workspaces appear in the Workspace menu, where you can return to and reset them. Arrange the frames and panels as desired, and then choose Window > Workspace > New Workspace. Type a name

for the workspace, and click OK. Note: If a project saved with a custom workspace is opened on another system, the application looks for a workspace with a matching name. If it cant find a match (or the monitor configuration doesnt match), it uses the current local workspace. Reset a workspace Reset the current workspace to return to its original, saved layout of panels. Choose Window > Workspace > Reset workspace name.


Delete a workspace 1 Choose Window > Workspace > Delete Workspace.2 Choose the workspace you want to delete, and then click OK.

Note: You cannot delete the currently active workspace.

General user interface itemsActivate a toolThe Tools panel can be displayed as a toolbar (as shown here) or as a normal panel.

A B

C

D E

F

G H

I

J

K L

M

N

Tools panel A. Selection B. Hand C. Zoom D. Rotation E. Camera tools F. Pan Behind G. Mask and shape tools H. Pen tools I. Type tools J. Brush K. Clone Stamp L. Eraser M. Puppet tools N. Controls related to active tool

Note: Controls related to some tools appear only when the tool is active.

Click the button for the tool. If the button has a small triangle at its lower-right corner, hold down the mouse buttonto view the hidden tools. Then, click the tool you want to select.

Press the keyboard shortcut for the tool. (Placing the pointer over a tool button displays a tool tip with the nameand keyboard shortcut for the tool.)

To cycle through hidden tools within a tool category, repeatedly press the keyboard shortcut for the tool category.(For example, press G repeatedly to cycle through the pen tools.)

To momentarily activate a tool, hold down the key for the desired tool; release the key to return to the previouslyactive tool. (This technique does not work with all tools.)

To momentarily activate the Hand tool, hold down the spacebar, the H key, or the middle mouse button. (Themiddle mouse button does not activate the Hand tool under a few circumstances, including when the Unified Camera tool is active.) To pan around in the Composition, Layer, or Footage panel, drag with the Hand tool. Hold Shift, too, to pan faster. To show or hide panels most relevant to the active tool, click the panel button if available. For example, clicking this button when a paint tool is active opens or closes the Paint and Brushes panels. Select the Auto-Open Panels option in the Tools panel to automatically open the relevant panels when certain tools are activated.

See alsoShortcuts: activating tools on page 695


Open panel, viewer, and context menusPanel menus provide commands relative to the active panel or frame. Viewer menus provide lists of compositions, layers, or footage items that can be shown in the viewer, as well as commands for closing items and locking the viewer. Context menus provide commands relative to the item that is context-clicked. A large number of items in the After Effects user interface have associated context menus. Using context menus can make your work faster and easier.

To open a panel menu, click the button

in the upper-right corner of the panel.

To open a viewer menu, click the name of the active composition, layer, or footage item in the viewer tab. To open a context menu, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS). This action is sometimes referred to ascontext-clicking.

ColumnsThe Project, Timeline, and Render Queue panels contain columns.

To show or hide columns, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) a column heading (or choose Columnsfrom the panel menu), and select the columns that you want to show or hide. A check mark indicates that the column is shown. Note: In general, the search and filter functions in the Project and Timeline panels only operate on the content of columns that are shown.

To reorder columns, select a column name and drag it to a new location. To resize columns, drag the bar to the right of a column name. Drag left to make the column smaller and right tomake it larger. Some columnssuch as the Duration column in the Project panelcannot be resized.

See alsoSearch and filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panels on page 16

Search and filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panelsThe Project, Timeline, and Effects & Presets panels each contain search fields that you can use to filter items in the panel.

To place the insertion point in a search field, click in the search field. To place the insertion point in the search field for the active panel, choose File > Find or press Ctrl+F (Windows)or Command+F (Mac OS).

To clear the search field, click the

button that appears to the right of the text in the search field.

When you type in the search field, the list of items in the panel is filtered, showing some items and hiding others. Only items with entries that match the search query that youve typed are shown. The folders, layers, categories, or property groups that contain the matched items are also shown, to provide context. In general, only text in columns that are shown is searched for this filtering operation. For example, you may need to sow the Comments column to search and filter by the contents of comments. (See Columns on page 16.) If one or more layers are selected in a composition, the filtering operation in the Timeline panel only affects selected layers. In this case, unselected layers are not filtered out (hidden) if they dont match the search query. However, if no layers are selected in the composition, the filtering operation applies to all layers in the composition. This behavior matches that for showing and hiding of layer properties by pressing their property shortcut keys. (See Show or hide properties in the Timeline panel on page 150.)


If the text that you type in the search field in the Project or Timeline panel contains spaces, the spaces are treated as AND operators. For example, typing dark solid matches footage items or layers named Dark Red Solid and Dark Gray Solid. Spaces are treated as space characters in the search field in the Effects & Presets panel. For example, typing change color matches the Change Color effect, but not the Change To Color effect. Examples of searches in the Project panel To show only footage items for which the name or comment contains a specific string, start typing the string.

To show only footage items for which the source file is missing, type the entire word missing. (This search workswhether or not the File Path column is shown, which is an exception to the general rule that only shown columns are searched.)

To show only unused footage items, type the entire word unused. To show only used footage items, type the entire word used. To show only Cineon footage items, type Cineon with the Type column shown.Examples of searches in the Timeline panel To show only layers and properties for which the name or comment contains a specific string, type the string. For example, type starch to show pins created by the Puppet Starch tool.

To show only properties that have an expression that uses a specific method, type the method name. To show only layers with a specific label, type the label name.Click the swatch for a label to see the context menu that lists the label names. Alternatively, drag the right edge of the Label column heading to expand the column to read the label names.

See alsoEffects & Presets panel on page 371 Organize and view items in the Project panel on page 77 Select layers on page 134

Scroll or zoom with the mouse wheelYou can use the mouse wheel to zoom in the Timeline, Composition, Layer, and Footage panels. You can use the mouse wheel to scroll in the Timeline, Project, Render Queue, Flowchart, Effect Controls, Metadata, and Effects & Presets panels.

To zoom into the center of the panel, or into the feature region when tracking, roll the mouse wheel forward. To zoom out of the center of the panel, or out of the feature region when tracking, roll the mouse wheel backward. To zoom into the area under the pointer, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you roll the mousewheel forward.

To zoom out of the area under the pointer, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you roll the mousewheel backward.

To scroll vertically, roll the mouse wheel forward or backward. To scroll horizontally, hold down Shift as you roll the mouse wheel backward or forward. In the Timeline panel,Shift-rolling backward moves forward in time and vice versa. You can scroll or zoom with the mouse wheel in a panel even if it is not currently active, as long as the pointer is over it. For example, you can zoom in the Composition panel even if the Effect Controls panel is currently active.


See alsoAdjust a camera view or working 3D view on page 180

Brighten or darken the user interface1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Appearance (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > Appearance (Mac OS). 2 Drag the Brightness slider to the left or right. Click Default to restore the default brightness level.

Changing the brightness preference affects the brightness of many user interface items. The colors of text and icons change to accommodate the change in brightness, to make these items easier to see. Therefore, the appearance of icons and text in various instructional resources may not exactly match the appearance of these items in your user interface.

Undo changesYou can undo only those actions that alter the project data. For example, you can undo a change to a property value, but you cannot undo the scrolling of a panel or the activation of a tool. You can sequentially undo as many as 99 of the most recent changes made to the project, depending on the Levels Of Undo setting (Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > General (Mac OS)). The default is 32. To avoid wasting time undoing accidental modifications, lock a layer when you want to see it but do not want to modify it.

To undo the most recent change, choose Edit > Undo [action]. To undo a change and all changes after it, choose Edit > History, and select the first change that you want to undo. To revert to the last saved version of the project, choose File > Revert. All changes made and footage items importedsince you last saved are lost. You cannot undo this action.

See alsoLock or unlock a layer on page 147

After Effects user interface tips Use ClearType text anti-aliasing on Windows. ClearType makes the outlines of system text, such as menus anddialog boxes, easier to read. See Windows Help for information on how to enable ClearType text anti-aliasing.

To show tool tips, select the Show Tool Tips preference (Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or After Effects >Preferences > General (Mac OS)).

Use a workspace that contains the Info panel, and leave that panel in front of other panels in its panel groupwhenever possible. The Info panel shows messages about what After Effects is doing, information about items under the pointer, and much more.

Use context menus. Use keyboard shortcuts.

See alsoOpen panel, viewer, and context menus on page 16 Keyboard shortcuts on page 693


Preferences To open the Preferences dialog box, choose Edit > Preferences > [category name] (Windows) or After Effects >Preferences > [category name] (Mac OS).

To open the Preferences dialog box to the General category, press Ctrl+Alt+; (semicolon) (Windows) orCommand+Option+; (Mac OS).

To restore default preference settings, hold Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift (Mac OS)while the application is starting. To also restore default keyboard shortcuts, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the OK button. This section provides links to pages in which the various preferences that arent self-explanatory are explained in context.

General preferences Levels Of Undo: Undo changes on page 18 Show Tool Tips: After Effects user interface tips on page 18 Create Layers At Composition Start Time: Layers overview on page 129 Switches Affect Nested Comps: About nesting and precomposing on page 58 Default Spatial Interpolation To Linear: Controlling change with interpolation on page 217 Preserve Constant Vertex Count When Editing Masks: Designate the first vertex for a Bezier path on page 309 Synchronize Time Of All Related Items: About nesting and precomposing on page 58 Expression Pick Whip Writes Compact English: Add, edit, and remove expressions on page 601 Create Split Layers Above Original Layer: Split a layer on page 143 Allow Scripts To Write Files And Access Network: Scripts on page 597 Enable JavaScript Debugger: After Effects scripting guide at the Adobe After Effects Developer Center on theAdobe website

Use System Color Picker: Select a color or edit a gradient on page 260 Create New Layers At Best Quality: Layer image quality on page 148 Preserve Clipboard Data For Other Applications: Copy between After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro onpage 84

Use System Shortcut Keys (Mac OS only): Keyboard shortcuts on page 693

Previews preferences Adaptive Resolution Limit: Preview modes on page 188 Enable OpenGL: Render with OpenGL on page 656 Enable Adaptive Resolution With OpenGL: Preview modes on page 188 Audio Preview Duration: Preview video and audio on page 183

Display preferences Motion Path: Motion paths on page 210


Disable Thumbnails In Project Panel: Composition thumbnail images on page 57 Show Rendering Progress In Info Panel And Flowchart: Preview video and audio on page 183 Hardware Accelerate Composition, Layer, And Footage Panels: Improve performance on page 593

Import preferences Still Footage: Create layers from footage items on page 131 Sequence Footage: Import a single still image or a still-image sequence on page 100 Interpret Unlabeled Alpha As: Alpha channel interpretation: premultiplied or straight on page 70 Default Drag Import As: Import footage items on page 67

Output preferences Overflow Volumes, Segment Sequences At, Segment Movie Files At, and Audio Block Duration: Overflowvolumes and segment settings on page 687

Grids & Guides preferences Safe Margins: Safe zones, grids, guides, and rulers on page 194

Label Colors and Label Defaults preferences Label Colors and Label Defaults: Color labels for layers and footage items on page 147

Media & Disk Cache preferences Enable Disk Cache and Maximum Disk Cache Size: RAM and disk caches on page 589 Conformed Media Cache and Clean Database & Cache: The media cache on page 590 Create Layer Markers From Footage XMP Metadata and Write XMP IDs To Files On Import: XMP metadata inAfter Effects on page 582

Video Preview preferences Output Device, Output Mode, Output Quality, Output During, and Scale And Letterbox Output To Fit VideoMonitor: Preview on an external video monitor on page 189

Appearance preferences Cycle Mask Colors: Control mask path color on page 355 Brightness: Brighten or darken the user interface on page 18

Auto-Save preferences Automatically Save Projects and Maximum Project Versions: Save and back up projects on page 49

Memory & Multiprocessing preferences RAM To Leave For Other Applications: Memory & Multiprocessing preferences on page 590


Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously, Minimum Allocation Per CPU, and CPUs To Leave For OtherApplications: Memory & Multiprocessing preferences on page 590

Prevent DLL Address Space Fragmentation (Windows only): Memory & Multiprocessing preferences onpage 590

Audio Hardware and Audio Output Mapping preferences Audio Hardware and Audio Output Mapping: Preview video and audio on page 183

User interface changes from After Effects CS3 to After Effects CS4Many instructional materialssuch as tutorialscreated for After Effects CS3 or earlier are still useful for After Effects CS4. In many cases, basic functionality has changed only slightly, or only the names of user interface items have changed. You can get the most use from materials created for previous versions of After Effects if you know how the names and locations of user interface items have changed. For information about current functionality, follow the respective links. For information about major new features, see New features in After Effects CS4 on page 7.

PanelsAlign panel Changed name of panel from Align & Distribute to Align. See Align or distribute layers in 2D space on page 138. Brushes panel Changed name of panel from Brush Tips to Brushes. See Brushes and the Brushes panel on page 279. Character panel Added Line Join submenu to panel menu. Added Miter, Round, and Bevel to Line Join submenu. See Change text stroke line join on page 329. Composition panel Added Composition Navigator along top of panel. Added Show Composition Navigator, Flow Right To Left, Flow Left To Right, Composition Navigator, and Composition Mini-Flowchart to panel menu. Added Composition Navigator and Composition Mini-Flowchart to context menu for a composition. See Opening and navigating nested compositions on page 60.

Added Transform > Flip Horizontal, Transform > Flip Vertical, Transform > Center In View, Open Footage, OpenComposition, Convert To Live Photoshop 3D, and Convert To Editable Text to context menu for a layer. See Scale or flip a layer on page 153, Move layers in space on page 136, Opening layers and layer sources on page 130, Using 3D object layers from Photoshop on page 173, and Convert text from Photoshop to editable text on page 326.

Changed Create Outlines to Create Shapes From Text in context menu for a layer. See Create shapes from texton page 301.

Added Create Masks From Text in context menu for a layer. See Create masks from text on page 301.


Added Use Display Color Management, Simulate Output, and Set Project Working Space to Show Channel menu.See Enable or disable display color management on page 274, Simulate how colors will appear on a different output device on page 274, and Choose a working color space and enable color management on page 270

Added Auto to Resolution/Down Sample Factor menu. See Resolution on page 192. Changed Adaptive Resolution to Adaptive ResolutionOpenGL Off in Fast Previews menu. See Preview modeson page 188. Effects & Presets panel Added Blur & Sharpen > Bilateral Blur. See Bilateral Blur effect on page 400.

Added Noise & Grain > Turbulent Noise. See Turbulent Noise effect on page 494. Added Obsolete effect category and moved Basic 3D, Basic Text, Lightning, and Path Text into this category. SeeObsolete effects on page 568.

Added Stylize > Cartoon. See Cartoon effect on page 542. Upgraded the color depth of many effects so that these effects can work with 32-bpc color. See About effects onpage 367. Effect Controls panel Added Copy Expression Only to context menu for property. See Save and reuse expressions on page 606. Layer panel Added Transform > Flip Horizontal, Transform > Flip Vertical, Transform > Center In View, Open Footage, Open Composition, Convert To Live Photoshop 3D, and Convert To Editable Text to context menu for a layer. See Scale or flip a layer on page 153, Move layers in space on page 136, Opening layers and layer sources on page 130, Using 3D object layers from Photoshop on page 173, and Convert text from Photoshop to editable text on page 326. Mask Interpolation panel Changed name of panel from Smart Mask Interpolation to Mask Interpolation. See Animate a mask path with Smart Mask Interpolation on page 310. Metadata panel Added new Metadata panel. See XMP metadata on page 581. Preview panel Changed name of panel from Time Controls to Preview. See Preview video and audio on page 183. Project panel Added text field for searching and filtering. Removed Find button from bottom of panel. See Search and filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panels on page 16.

Added Interpret Footage button to bottom of panel. See Interpret footage items on page 68. Changed Project Flowchart View to Project Flowchart. See Flowchart panel on page 49. Added label name next to label color swatch. See Color labels for layers and footage items on page 147. Added Composition Settings and Rename commands to context menu. See Composition settings on page 55 andRename and sort items on page 77.


Render Queue panel Moved information from All Renders heading to status bar at bottom of panel. Changed Current Render Details to Current Render. The Render button does not become the Stop button when the render queue is rendering. The Stop, Pause/Continue, and Render buttons are separate buttons. Removed Log File entry. See Work in the Render Queue panel on page 645 and Render and export a movie using the render queue on page 644.

Added plus and minus buttons to add and remove output modules. See Add output modules to and remove outputmodules from render items on page 653.

Changed Embedding to Include under Output Module heading. Possible values include Project Link, Source XMPMetadata, and Project Link & Source XMP Metadata. See About projects on page 47 and XMP metadata on page 581. Smoother panel Changed name of panel from The Smoother to Smoother. See Smooth motion and velocity on page 214. Timeline panel Added text field for searching and filtering. See Search and filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panels on page 16.

Added duration bar to markers. See Layer markers and composition markers on page 575. Added label name next to label color swatch. See Color labels for layers and footage items on page 147. Added Composition Flowchart and Composition Mini-Flowchart to panel menu and to context menu for whenpointer is not on a layer. Replaced Open Parent Composition button with Composition Mini-Flowchart button. See Opening and navigating nested compositions on page 60.

Added Transform > Flip Horizontal, Transform > Flip Vertical, Transform > Center In View, Open Footage, OpenComposition, Convert To Live Photoshop 3D, and Convert To Editable Text to context menu for a layer. See Scale or flip a layer on page 153, Move layers in space on page 136, Opening layers and layer sources on page 130, Using 3D object layers from Photoshop on page 173, and Convert text from Photoshop to editable text on page 326.

Changed Create Outlines to Create Shapes From Text in context menu for a layer. See Create shapes from texton page 301.

Added Create Masks From Text in context menu for a layer. See Create masks from text on page 301. Added Settings, Update Markers From Source (Replaces All Markers), and Lock Markers commands to contextmenu for a composition marker. Added Update Markers From Source (Replaces All Markers) to context menu for a layer marker. See Layer markers and composition markers on page 575.

Added Copy Expression Only to context menu for a property. See Save and reuse expressions on page 606. Added name to Property submenu in Expression Language menu. See Property attributes and methods onpage 630.

Added Separate Dimensions button in Graph Editor. See Separate dimensions of Position to animate componentsindividually on page 137.

Change Brainstorm icon. See Use Brainstorm to experiment and explore settings on page 157. Added tooltip for most keyframes that shows time and value. See View or edit a keyframe value on page 204. Added Wiggle Transform path operation to Add menu for shape layers. See Alter shapes with path operations onpage 317.


Tools panel Added Search Help field. See Resources on page 2.

Added Unified Camera tool. See Adjust a camera view or working 3D view on page 180.Tracker panel Changed name of panel from Tracker Controls to Tracker. See Motion tracking controls on page 250. Wiggler panel Changed name of panel from The Wiggler to Wiggler. See Add randomness to a property with the Wiggler on page 215.

MenusFile menu Added Save A Copy As XML. See About projects on page 47.

Added Import > Adobe Premiere Pro Project. See Import an Adobe Premiere Pro project on page 83. Added Export > Adobe Flash Professional (XFL). See Export a composition as an XFL file to Flash Professionalon page 658.

Added Adobe Dynamic Link > New Premiere Pro Sequence. Added Adobe Dynamic Link > Import Premiere ProSequence. See Working with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects on page 40.

Changed Browse to Browse In Bridge. See Working with Adobe Bridge and After Effects on page 36. Changed Adobe Flash (SWF) to Adobe Flash Player (SWF). See Render and export a composition as a SWF fileon page 661.

Changed contents of File > Scripts menu. See Scripts on page 597. Removed Export > Flash Video (FLV). If you still see this item, you have a third-party FLV encoder installed. SeeRendering and exporting for Flash Professional and Flash Player on page 657.

Removed Find Again. See Search and filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panels on page 16.Composition menu Added Composition Mini-Flowchart. See Opening and navigating nested compositions on page 60.

Change Composition Flowchart View to Composition Flowchart. See Flowchart panel on page 49.Layer menu Added Transform > Flip Horizontal and Transform > Flip Vertical. See Scale or flip a layer on page 153.

Added Transform > Center In View. See Move layers in space on page 136. Added Arrange submenu and moved Bring Layer To Front, Bring Layer Forward, Send Layer To Back, and SendLayer Backward into it. See Change the stacking order for selected layers on page 135.

Added Bring Render Item To Front, Bring Render Item Forward, Send Render Item To Back, and Send RenderItem Backward to Arrange submenu. These menu items replace the corresponding menu items for layers when a render queue item is selected. See Manage render items and change render statuses on page 646.

Added Convert To Live Photoshop 3D. See Using 3D object layers from Photoshop on page 173. Changed Open Source Window to Open Layer Source. See Opening layers and layer sources on page 130.


Changed Create Outlines to Create Shapes From Text. See Create shapes from text on page 301. Added Create Masks From Text. See Create masks from text on page 301.Effect menu Added Blur & Sharpen > Bilateral Blur. See Bilateral Blur effect on page 400.

Added Noise & Grain > Turbulent Noise. See Turbulent Noise effect on page 494. Added Obsolete effect category and moved Basic 3D, Basic Text, Lightning, and Path Text into this category. SeeObsolete effects on page 568.

Added Stylize > Cartoon. See Cartoon effect on page 542.Animation menu Added Separate Dimensions. See Separate dimensions of Position to animate components individually on page 137. Window menu Added Metadata. See XMP metadata on page 581.

Changed Align & Distribute to Align. See Align or distribute layers in 2D space on page 138. Changed Brush Tips to Brushes. See Brushes and the Brushes panel on page 279. Changed Smart Mask Interpolation to Mask Interpolation. See Animate a mask path with Smart MaskInterpolation on page 310.

Change The Smoother to Smoother. See Smooth motion and velocity on page 214. Change The Wiggler to Wiggler. See Add randomness to a property with the Wiggler on page 215. Changed Time Controls to Preview. See Preview video and audio on page 183. Changed Tracker Controls to Tracker. See Motion tracking controls on page 250.Help menu Added Product Improvement Program. See Adobe Product Improvement Program on page 2.

Changed Tip Of The Day to Welcome And Tip Of The Day.

Dialog boxesNew dialog boxes Added Adobe Flash Professional (XFL) Settings dialog box. See Export a composition as an XFL file to Flash Professional on page 658.

Added Import Premiere Pro Sequence dialog box. See Working with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects onpage 40.

Added Save Copy As XML dialog box. See About projects on page 47.Camera Settings dialog box Changed default units to millimeters. See Camera settings on page 176. Composition Settings dialog box Added three HDTV and DVCPRO HD PAL presets to Presets menu. See Composition settings on page 55.


Changed values for several entries in Pixel Aspect Ratio menu. Changed pixel dimensions for several square-pixelpresets. See Pixel aspect ratio and frame aspect ratio on page 73. Composition Marker and Layer Marker dialog boxes Added Duration field. Changed Flash Video Cue Point And Parameters to Flash Cue Point. See Layer markers and composition markers on page 575. Import File, Import Multiple FIles, and Replace Footage File dialog boxes Added Adobe Premiere Pro Dynamic Link (*.prproj) and Adobe Soundbooth (*.asnd) items to Format, Files Of Type (Windows), and Enable (Mac OS) menus.

Changed GIF

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