Adobe After Effects CS4 User Manual

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This manual is related to the following products:

After Effects CC 2015 After Effects CC 2014 After Effects

Table of contents

Document Outline

Copyright
Contents
Chapter 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
- 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
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
- 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
- Managing layers
- Layer properties
- Blending modes and layer styles
- 3D layers
- Cameras, lights, and points of interest
Chapter 7: Views and previews
- Previewing
- Modifying and using views
Chapter 8: Animation and keyframes
- Animation basics
  - About animation, keyframes, and expressions
  - The Graph Editor
- 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
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
- Managing and animating shape paths and masks
- Shape attributes, paint operations, and path operations for shape layers
Chapter 11: Text
- Creating and editing text layers
- Formatting characters and the Character panel
- Formatting paragraphs and the Paragraph panel
- Animating text
- Examples and resources for text animation
Chapter 12: Transparency, opacity, and compositing
- Compositing overview and resources
  - Compositing overview
  - Online resources for compositing
- 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
  - About 3D Channel effects
    - Using channels in OpenEXR files
    - ProEXR plug-ins, IDentifier and EXtractoR
  - 3D Channel Extract effect
  - Depth Matte effect
  - Depth Of Field effect
  - Fog 3D effect
  - ID Matte effect
- Audio effects
  - Backwards effect
  - Bass & Treble effect
  - Delay effect
  - Flange & Chorus effect
  - High-Low Pass effect
  - Modulator effect
  - Parametric EQ effect
  - Reverb effect
  - Stereo Mixer effect
  - Tone effect
- Blur & Sharpen effects
  - About Blur & Sharpen effects
  - Bilateral Blur effect
  - Box Blur effect
  - Channel Blur effect
  - Compound Blur effect
  - Directional Blur effect
  - Fast Blur effect
  - Gaussian Blur effect
  - Lens Blur effect
  - Radial Blur effect
  - Reduce Interlace Flicker effect
  - Sharpen effect
  - Smart Blur effect
  - Unsharp Mask effect
- 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
    - Input Phase controls
    - Output Cycle controls
    - Modify controls
    - Pixel Selection, Masking, and other controls
  - Curves effect
    - Use the Curves effect
  - Equalize effect
  - Exposure effect
  - Gamma/Pedestal/Gain effect
  - Hue/Saturation effect
    - Adjust colors with the Hue/Saturation effect
    - Colorize an image or create a monotone result
    - Modify the range of Hue/Saturation effect adjustments
  - 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
    - Mask properties
    - Tools
    - Distort an image with the Liquify effect
    - Undo distortions with the Liquify effect
  - Magnify effect
  - Mesh Warp effect
  - Mirror effect
  - Offset effect
  - Optics Compensation effect
    - Add and match lens distortion with Optics Compensation
  - Polar Coordinates effect
  - Puppet effect
  - Reshape effect
    - Use the Reshape effect
  - Ripple effect
  - Smear effect
    - Use the Smear effect
  - Spherize effect
  - Transform effect
  - Turbulent Displace effect
    - Create a seamless loop using Turbulent Displace
  - 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
    - Use tools with the Fractal effect
  - Grid effect
  - Lens Flare effect
  - Paint Bucket effect
  - Radio Waves effect
    - Image Contour controls
    - Wave Motion controls
    - Stroke controls
  - Ramp effect
  - Scribble effect
  - Stroke effect
  - Vegas effect
  - Write-on effect
- Keying effects
  - Color Difference Key effect
    - Use the Color Difference Key effect
  - Color Key effect
    - Key out a single color with the Color Key effect
  - Color Range effect
    - Use the Color Range effect
  - Difference Matte effect
    - Use the Difference Matte effect
  - Extract effect
    - Use the Extract effect
  - Inner/Outer Key effect
    - Use the Inner/Outer Key effect
  - Linear Color Key effect
    - Apply the Linear Color Key effect
    - Preserve a color after applying Linear Color Key
  - Luma Key effect
    - Key out a luminance value with the Luma Key effect
  - Spill Suppressor effect
    - Use the Spill Suppressor effect
- Matte effects
  - Matte Choker effect
    - Close a hole in a matte
  - Simple Choker effect
- 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
    - Controls
    - Create a seamless loop using Fractal Noise
  - Match Grain effect
    - Match noise or grain between images
    - Compensate for existing noise when matching noise
  - Median effect
  - Noise effect
  - Noise Alpha effect
  - Noise HLS effect and Noise HLS Auto effect
  - Remove Grain effect
  - Turbulent Noise effect
    - Controls
- Paint effects
  - Paint effect
  - Vector Paint effect
- Perspective effects
  - 3D Glasses effect
  - Bevel Alpha effect
  - Bevel Edges effect
  - Drop Shadow effect
  - Radial Shadow effect
- Simulation effects
  - Common Lighting controls and Material controls
    - Lighting controls
    - Material controls
  - Card Dance effect
  - Caustics effect
  - Foam effect
  - Particle Playground effect
  - Shatter effect
  - Wave World effect
- Stylize effects
  - Brush Strokes effect
  - Cartoon effect
  - Color Emboss effect
  - Emboss effect
  - Find Edges effect
  - Glow effect
  - Mosaic effect
  - Motion Tile effect
  - Posterize effect
  - Roughen Edges effect
  - Scatter effect
  - Strobe Light effect
  - Texturize effect
  - Threshold effect
- Text effects
  - Numbers effect
  - Timecode effect
- Time effects
  - Echo effect
  - Posterize Time effect
  - Time Difference effect
  - Time Displacement effect
    - Apply the Time Displacement effect
  - Timewarp effect
- Transition effects
  - About Transition effects and the Transition Completion property
  - Block Dissolve effect
  - Card Wipe effect
  - Gradient Wipe effect
  - Iris Wipe effect
  - Linear Wipe effect
  - Radial Wipe effect
  - Venetian Blinds effect
- Utility effects
  - Cineon Converter effect
  - Color Profile Converter effect
  - Grow Bounds effect
  - HDR Compander effect
    - Apply the HDR Compander effect
  - HDR Highlight Compression effect
- Obsolete effects
  - Basic 3D effect
  - Basic Text effect
  - Lightning effect
  - Path Text effect
Chapter 14: Markers and metadata
- Markers
- XMP metadata
Chapter 15: Memory, storage, and performance
- Memory and storage
- Performance
  - Improve performance
Chapter 16: Plug-ins, scripts, and automation
- Plug-ins
- Scripts
- Automation
Chapter 17: Expressions
- Expression basics
- Expression language reference
- Expression examples
Chapter 18: Rendering and exporting
- Basics of rendering and exporting
- 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
  - Export an After Effects project to Adobe Premiere Pro
- Encoding and compression options for movies
- Automated rendering and network rendering
- Converting movies
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
- Numerics
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- X
- Z