Adobe After Effects CS4 User Manual
Adobe, After effects, Using
Advertising
This manual is related to the following products:
Table of contents
Document Outline
- Copyright
- Contents
- Chapter 1: Getting started
- Chapter 2: User interface
- Workspaces, panels, and viewers
- General user interface items
- Preferences
- General preferences
- Previews preferences
- Display preferences
- Import preferences
- Output preferences
- Grids & Guides preferences
- Label Colors and Label Defaults preferences
- Media & Disk Cache preferences
- Video Preview preferences
- Appearance preferences
- Auto-Save preferences
- Memory & Multiprocessing preferences
- Audio Hardware and Audio Output Mapping preferences
- User interface changes from After Effects CS3 to After Effects CS4
- Chapter 3: Workflows, planning, and setup
- Workflows
- Planning and setup
- Working with After Effects and other applications
- Dynamic Link and After Effects
- About Dynamic Link (Production Premium or Master Collection only)
- Create and link to After Effects compositions with Dynamic Link (Production Premium or Master Collection only)
- Modify a dynamically linked composition in After Effects (Production Premium or Master Collection only)
- Delete a dynamically linked composition or clip (Production Premium or Master Collection only)
- Create and link to Premiere Pro sequences with Dynamic Link (Production Premium or Master Collection only)
- Saving and Dynamic Link (Production Premium or Master Collection only)
- Performance and Dynamic Link (Production Premium or Master Collection only)
- Color and Dynamic Link (Production Premium or Master Collection only)
- Chapter 4: Projects and compositions
- Projects
- Composition basics
- Precomposing, nesting, and pre-rendering
- Chapter 5: Importing and managing footage items
- Importing and interpreting footage items
- Working with footage items
- 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
- 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
- Histogram and RGB levels in Camera Raw
- Preview highlight and shadow clipping in Camera Raw
- White balance controls in Camera Raw
- Adjust tone in Camera Raw
- Fine-tune tone curves in Camera Raw
- Clarity, Vibrance, and Saturation controls in Camera Raw
- HSL / Grayscale controls in Camera Raw
- Adjust color or tone using the Targeted Adjustment tool in Camera Raw
- Tone a grayscale image in Camera Raw
- Adjust color rendering for your camera in Camera Raw
- Retouching and transforming images with Camera Raw
- Making local adjustments with Camera Raw
- Correcting lens distortion and noise in Camera Raw
- Camera Raw settings
- Chapter 6: Layers and properties
- Creating layers
- Selecting and arranging layers
- Select layers
- Change the stacking order for selected layers
- Coordinate systems: composition space and layer space
- Move layers in space
- Separate dimensions of Position to animate components individually
- Align or distribute layers in 2D space
- Trim, extend, or slip-edit a layer
- Remove part of the duration of a layer
- Place or move a layer in time
- Arrange layers in time sequentially
- Copy or duplicate a layer
- Split a layer
- Auto-Orientation options
- Managing layers
- View and change layer information
- Layer switches and columns in the Timeline panel
- Toggle visibility or influence of a layer or property group
- Solo a layer
- Lock or unlock a layer
- Color labels for layers and footage items
- Show and hide layers in the Timeline panel
- Layer image quality and subpixel positioning
- Continuously rasterize a layer containing vector graphics
- Layer properties
- Blending modes and layer styles
- 3D layers
- Cameras, lights, and points of interest
- Chapter 7: Views and previews
- Chapter 8: Animation and keyframes
- Animation basics
- Setting, selecting, and deleting keyframes
- Editing, moving, and copying keyframes
- Assorted animation tools
- Keyframe interpolation
- Speed
- Time-stretching and time-remapping
- Animating with Puppet tools
- Tracking and stabilizing motion
- Chapter 9: Color
- Color basics
- Color management
- Color management and color profiles
- Calibrate and profile your monitor
- Choose a working color space and enable color management
- Linearize working space and enable linear blending
- Interpret a footage item by assigning an input color profile
- Assign an output color profile
- Enable or disable display color management
- Simulate how colors will appear on a different output device
- Broadcast-safe colors
- Chapter 10: Drawing, painting, and paths
- Paint tools: Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser
- Overview of shape layers, paths, and vector graphics
- Creating shapes and masks
- Creating masks
- Create a rectangular or elliptical mask numerically
- Create a mask from channel values with Auto-trace
- Creating shapes and shape layers
- Create a shape or mask by dragging with shape tools
- Create a Bezier shape or mask using the Pen tool
- Create a shape or mask the size of the layer
- Create shapes or masks from text characters
- Copy a path from Illustrator, Photoshop, or Fireworks
- Create a mask or shape from a motion path
- Duplicate a shape group while transforming
- Managing and animating shape paths and masks
- Rotoscoping introduction and resources
- View mask paths and shapes
- Select shape paths, shapes, and shape groups
- Select masks, segments, and vertices
- Lock or unlock masks
- Move vertices in free-transform mode
- Convert a path between manual Bezier and RotoBezier
- Modify a Bezier mask path or shape path
- Change a mask path numerically
- Designate the first vertex for a Bezier path
- Animate a mask path with Smart Mask Interpolation
- Move a mask or pan a layer behind a mask
- Apply motion blur to a mask
- Shape attributes, paint operations, and path operations for shape layers
- Chapter 11: Text
- Creating and editing text layers
- About text layers
- Best practices for creating text and vector graphics for video
- Scripts and expressions for working with text
- Enter point text
- Enter paragraph text
- Select and edit text in text layers
- Resize a text bounding box
- Move a text layer
- Convert point or paragraph text
- Change the direction of text
- Convert text from Photoshop to editable text
- Formatting characters and the Character panel
- Formatting paragraphs and the Paragraph panel
- Animating text
- Examples and resources for text animation
- Example: Animate characters with per-character 3D properties
- Example: Offset characters
- Example: Animate characters with the Wiggly selector
- Example: Animate text tracking
- Example: Use selectors to animate specific words
- Example: Create a write-on animation
- Example: Animate text with multiple selectors
- Example: Animate text position with expressions
- Example: Animate text as a timecode display
- Creating and editing text layers
- Chapter 12: Transparency, opacity, and compositing
- Compositing overview and resources
- Alpha channels, masks, and mattes
- Keying
- Chapter 13: Effects and animation presets
- Effects and animation presets overview
- Animation presets overview and resources
- Effects overview and resources
- Compound effects and control layers
- Effects with a Comp Camera attribute
- Effect Controls panel
- Effects & Presets panel
- Apply an effect or animation preset
- Delete or disable effects and animation presets
- Remove an effect or animation preset
- Effect control points
- Randomness and random seeds
- Animation preset list
- Effect galleries
- 3D Channel effects gallery
- Blur & Sharpen effects gallery
- Channel effects gallery
- Color Correction effects gallery
- Distort effects gallery
- Expression Controls effects listing
- Generate effects gallery
- Keying effects gallery
- Matte effects gallery
- Noise & Grain effects gallery
- Paint effects gallery
- Perspective effects gallery
- Simulation effects gallery
- Stylize effects gallery
- Text effects gallery
- Time effects gallery
- Transition effects gallery
- Utility effects gallery
- Obsolete effects listing
- 3D Channel effects
- Audio effects
- Blur & Sharpen effects
- Channel effects
- Additional resources about Channel effects
- Alpha Levels effect
- Arithmetic effect
- Blend effect
- Calculations effect
- Channel Combiner effect
- Compound Arithmetic effect
- Invert effect
- Minimax effect
- Remove Color Matting effect
- Set Channels effect
- Set Matte effect
- Shift Channels effect
- Solid Composite effect
- Color Correction effects
- Auto Color and Auto Contrast effects
- Auto Levels effect
- Brightness & Contrast effect
- Broadcast Colors effect
- Change Color effect
- Change To Color effect
- Channel Mixer effect
- Color Balance effect
- Color Balance (HLS) effect
- Color Link effect
- Color Stabilizer effect
- Colorama effect
- Curves effect
- Equalize effect
- Exposure effect
- Gamma/Pedestal/Gain effect
- Hue/Saturation effect
- Leave Color effect
- Levels effect
- Levels (Individual Controls) effect
- Photo Filter effect
- PS Arbitrary Map effect
- Shadow/Highlight effect
- Tint effect
- Tritone effect
- Distort effects
- Additional resources about Distort effects
- Bezier Warp effect
- Bulge effect
- Corner Pin effect
- Displacement Map effect
- Liquify effect
- Magnify effect
- Mesh Warp effect
- Mirror effect
- Offset effect
- Optics Compensation effect
- Polar Coordinates effect
- Puppet effect
- Reshape effect
- Ripple effect
- Smear effect
- Spherize effect
- Transform effect
- Turbulent Displace effect
- Twirl effect
- Warp effect
- Wave Warp effect
- Generate effects
- Additional resources about Generate effects
- 4-Color Gradient effect
- Advanced Lightning effect
- Audio Spectrum effect
- Audio Waveform effect
- Beam effect
- Cell Pattern effect
- Checkerboard effect
- Circle effect
- Ellipse effect
- Eyedropper Fill effect
- Fill effect
- Fractal effect
- Grid effect
- Lens Flare effect
- Paint Bucket effect
- Radio Waves effect
- Ramp effect
- Scribble effect
- Stroke effect
- Vegas effect
- Write-on effect
- Keying effects
- Matte effects
- Noise & Grain effects
- Work with Grain effects
- Work with noise samples in Grain effects
- Working with added or matched grain
- Add Grain effect
- Dust & Scratches effect
- Fractal Noise effect
- Match Grain effect
- Median effect
- Noise effect
- Noise Alpha effect
- Noise HLS effect and Noise HLS Auto effect
- Remove Grain effect
- Turbulent Noise effect
- Paint effects
- Paint effect
- Vector Paint effect
- Paint with the Vector Paint effect
- Vector Paint tools
- Work with Vector Paint brushes
- Brush Settings controls
- Selecting and editing Vector Paint strokes
- Tools for editing paint work with Vector Paint
- Smoothing a Vector Paint stroke
- Configure a stylus for Vector Paint (Windows only)
- Play back your painting with Vector Paint
- Adjust the playback speed for the Vector Paint effect
- Change playback time with the Vector Paint Re-timer
- Paint using QuickPaint mode in Vector Paint
- Wiggle controls for the Vector Paint effect
- Composite Paint options
- Select Vector Paint preferences
- Perspective effects
- Simulation effects
- Common Lighting controls and Material controls
- Card Dance effect
- Caustics effect
- Foam effect
- Particle Playground effect
- Use Particle Playground
- Particle content and particle generators
- Cannon controls
- Grid controls
- Layer Exploder and Particle Exploder
- Layer Map controls
- Replace default Cannon particles with text
- Replace default Grid particles with text
- Using Selection Text values to differently affect subsets of text
- Changing a particle over its lifespan
- Gravity controls
- Repel controls
- Wall controls
- Affects controls
- Use Particle Playground Property Mapper controls
- Min and Max controls for Property Mappers
- Operator controls for the Ephemeral Property Mapper
- Control layers for Particle Playground
- Improving performance with Particle Playground
- Shatter effect
- Wave World effect
- Stylize effects
- Text effects
- Time effects
- Transition effects
- Utility effects
- Obsolete effects
- Effects and animation presets overview
- Chapter 14: Markers and metadata
- Markers
- XMP metadata
- Chapter 15: Memory, storage, and performance
- Chapter 16: Plug-ins, scripts, and automation
- Chapter 17: Expressions
- Expression basics
- About expressions
- Add, edit, and remove expressions
- Example: Use the expression language reference to write an expression
- Show expressions and the expression graph
- Writing expressions for source text
- Add comments to an expression
- Save and reuse expressions
- Expression Controls effects
- Convert an expression to keyframes
- The expression language
- Expression errors
- Expression language reference
- Global objects, attributes, and methods (expression reference)
- Time conversion methods (expression reference)
- Vector Math methods (expression reference)
- Random Numbers methods (expression reference)
- Interpolation methods (expression reference)
- Color Conversion methods (expression reference)
- Other Math methods (expression reference)
- Comp attributes and methods (expression reference)
- Footage attributes and methods (expression reference)
- Layer Sub-objects attributes and methods (expression reference)
- Layer General attributes and methods (expression reference)
- Layer Properties attributes and methods (expression reference)
- Layer 3D attributes and methods (expression reference)
- Layer Space Transforms methods (expression reference)
- Camera attributes and methods (expression reference)
- Light attributes and methods (expression reference)
- Effect attributes and methods (expression reference)
- Mask attributes and methods (expression reference)
- Property attributes and methods (expression reference)
- Key attributes and methods (expression reference)
- MarkerKey attributes (expression reference)
- Expression examples
- Expression example: Make a layer revolve in a circle
- Expression example: Rotate the hands of a clock
- Expression example: Position one layer between two others
- Expression example: Create a trail of images
- Expression example: Create a bulge between two layers
- Expression example: Fade opacity of a 3D layer based on distance from camera
- Expression example: Make a 3D layer invisible if facing away from camera
- Expression example: Flip layer horizontally if facing away from camera
- Expression example: Animate scale at each layer marker
- Expression example: Start or stop wiggle at specific time
- Expression example: Match camera focal plane to another layer
- Expression basics
- Chapter 18: Rendering and exporting
- Basics of rendering and exporting
- Rendering and exporting overview
- Supported output formats
- Render and export with the Render Queue panel
- Collect files in one location
- Specify filenames and locations for rendered output
- Render settings
- Output modules and output module settings
- Post-render actions
- Rendering and exporting movies using QuickTime components
- Render with OpenGL
- 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
- Basics of rendering and exporting
- Chapter 19: Keyboard shortcuts
- General (keyboard shortcuts)
- Projects (keyboard shortcuts)
- Preferences (keyboard shortcuts)
- Panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows (keyboard shortcuts)
- Activating tools (keyboard shortcuts)
- Compositions and the work area (keyboard shortcuts)
- Time navigation (keyboard shortcuts)
- Previews (keyboard shortcuts)
- Views (keyboard shortcuts)
- Footage (keyboard shortcuts)
- Effects and animation presets (keyboard shortcuts)
- Layers (keyboard shortcuts)
- Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel (keyboard shortcuts)
- Showing properties in the Effect Controls panel (keyboard shortcuts)
- Modifying layer properties (keyboard shortcuts)
- 3D layers (keyboard shortcuts)
- Keyframes and the Graph Editor (keyboard shortcuts)
- Text (keyboard shortcuts)
- Masks (keyboard shortcuts)
- Paint tools (keyboard shortcuts)
- Shape layers (keyboard shortcuts)
- Markers (keyboard shortcuts)
- Motion tracking (keyboard shortcuts)
- Saving, exporting, and rendering (keyboard shortcuts)
- Index