{"id":2104,"date":"2018-01-30T06:53:16","date_gmt":"2018-01-30T06:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/?page_id=2104"},"modified":"2018-02-05T19:22:35","modified_gmt":"2018-02-05T19:22:35","slug":"ae-basics-pt0","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/topics\/ae-basics-pt0\/","title":{"rendered":"AE basics (pt. 0)"},"content":{"rendered":"

“AE basics pt. 0”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

[ getting started, user interface, importing, comps, layers, transformations, masking, & exporting stills ]<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. Let’s start up After Effects. This is its icon:\n

      \"AE's
      AE’s icon<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
    2. Once launched, the app should take up the whole screen. (Dismiss the\u00a0Start Screen<\/strong> window if it’s sitting on top of the app. This window can be disabled in AE’s preferences area, btw.)<\/li>\n
    3. When opened, AE will automatically start a new, blank\u00a0Project<\/strong>. From the menu select\u00a0File > Save As > Save As…<\/strong>\u00a0in order to name the project file and save it somewhere. This is important for the\u00a0Auto-Save<\/strong> feature to work!<\/li>\n
    4. Instead of\u00a0Sequences<\/strong> like in\u00a0Premiere Pro,<\/strong>\u00a0AE has something slightly different called\u00a0Compositions.<\/strong>
      \nCreate a new\u00a0Composition<\/strong> (aka\u00a0Comp<\/strong>) by any number of ways, including selecting menu\u00a0Composition > New Composition…<\/strong>
      \nWhen the\u00a0Composition Settings<\/strong> window pops up, enter a Composition Name<\/strong>\u00a0and choose the\u00a0Preset<\/strong> called “HDV\/HDTV 720 29.97”<\/strong>. Set the Duration<\/strong> to 5 seconds.\u00a0(These settings can all be changed later, too.)<\/p>\n
      \"Composition
      Composition Settings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      Then click OK<\/strong> to proceed.<\/li>\n

    5. Imported items will be listed in the Project Panel.<\/strong> Import footage and stills any number of ways, including selecting the menu\u00a0File > Import > File…\u00a0<\/strong>
      \n(BTW, you can also drag and drop items from a\u00a0Finder<\/strong> or\u00a0Explorer<\/strong> window into the\u00a0Project Panel.<\/strong>)<\/li>\n
    6. You can drag imported items from the\u00a0Project Panel<\/strong> into your new\u00a0Comp<\/strong>.<\/strong> Each item you drag into a\u00a0Comp<\/strong> gets its own\u00a0Layer<\/strong> in the\u00a0Comp.
      \n<\/strong>(BTW, you can drag the same item into a\u00a0Comp<\/strong> multiple times; it will just create a new Layer each time.)<\/li>\n
    7. Comps<\/strong> have a\u00a0Timeline<\/strong> panel<\/strong> and a Comp Viewer panel.
      \n<\/strong>It’s very important to understand that the Comp Viewer panel<\/strong> is different from two other kinds of Viewer panels that share the same screen area by default: the\u00a0Layer Viewer panel\u00a0<\/strong>and the\u00a0Footage Viewer panel.
      \n<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
      \"Tabbed
      Tabbed viewer panels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      When starting out with AE, you will often only be interested in the Composition Viewer panel.<\/strong><\/li>\n

    8. The Composition’s\u00a0Timeline<\/strong>\u00a0panel<\/strong> is where you can see all your\u00a0Layers<\/strong> and other good stuff. You can scrub through time,<\/strong> trim in and out points<\/strong> of layers, and slide layers left and right.<\/strong> Unlike layers in\u00a0Premiere Pro,\u00a0<\/strong>though,\u00a0layers can contain one and only one item.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    9. To create a freeze-frame<\/strong> from some imported\u00a0footage that has been dragged into a\u00a0Comp<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>find the desired frame by scrubbing through time or by dragging the footage item left-right.
      \nMake sure the layer is selected.
      \nSelect the menu item\u00a0Layer > Time > Freeze Frame<\/strong><\/li>\n
    10. You can transform<\/strong> a layer by changing its scale<\/strong> (aka size), position, rotation,<\/strong> and opacity<\/strong> (aka transparency).
      \nUse the Timeline panel\u00a0<\/strong>to access these properties<\/strong> for each individual layer.<\/p>\n
      \"Transform
      Transform properties<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      (The\u00a0Anchor Point<\/strong> property is used to control the spot that the layer rotates and scales around, but usually you don’t edit this property directly. Instead use the\u00a0Pan Behind (Anchor Point) tool.<\/strong>)<\/li>\n

    11. You can flip a layer horizontally<\/strong> by setting its Scale property’s width-component to negative.<\/strong> (You first have to unlink the width and height values,<\/strong> though; note small, dark square next to the\u00a0<\/span>-100, 100%<\/strong>\u00a0numbers. Otherwise both values will turn negative.)<\/span>\n
      \"Negative
      Negative width-scale property<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      This also works for flopping a layer vertically.<\/strong> Just make the Scale property’s height-component negative.<\/li>\n

    12. Masking<\/strong> is how you can cut layers up into smaller parts,<\/strong> almost like using a scissors.
      \nThe basic masking tools look like this, and can do basic shapes:
      \n\"\"The more advanced masking tools look like this, and can achieve arbitrary shapes:
      \n\"\"Masks must be “closed” to work.\u00a0<\/strong>This just means that you must click on the first vertex point<\/strong> at the end drawing your mask.
      \nLayers can have more than one mask.<\/strong> Multiple masks get combined using a sort of “mask math” (my own, bad phrase.)
      \n\"\"
      \nMasking is a big subject and you don’t have to master it right away! Try watching a tutorial on After Effects Masking to learn more. Here’s a nice tutorial:
      \nhttps:\/\/helpx.adobe.com\/after-effects\/how-to\/using-pen-tool-masks-aftereffects.html<\/a><\/li>\n
    13. Layers (and many other items in AE) can be quickly duplicated<\/strong> by pressing\u00a0command-d<\/strong> (Mac) or\u00a0ctrl-d<\/strong> (PC). Many different kinds of things (like layers) can be copy, cut,<\/strong> or pasted<\/strong> as well.<\/li>\n
    14. The top-to-bottom order of layers affects how the different layers cover-up the other layers. Basically, layers “higher up” cover up layers “lower down” in the layer order.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    15. You can add\u00a0Effects<\/strong> to layers! There’s a lot. Select a layer, then choose the menu item\u00a0Effect > Color Correction > Levels,<\/strong> for example.<\/li>\n
    16. To export a still image<\/strong> from your Comp, select the menu item\u00a0Composition > Save Frame As > File…<\/strong>
      \n<\/strong>The\u00a0Render Queue panel<\/strong> will appear, probably right where your\u00a0Timeline panel<\/strong> used to be. They share the same area with tabs.
      \nIn the\u00a0Render Queue<\/strong> is a new render job<\/strong> that represents the rendering of your chosen still image. You can have multiple\u00a0render jobs<\/strong> in the queue.<\/li>\n
    17. Adjust the various settings for this\u00a0render job<\/strong>:
      \n<\/strong>For\u00a0Render Settings,<\/strong>\u00a0use the drop-down arrow to choose\u00a0“<\/strong>Best Settings”<\/strong> instead of “Current Settings”
      \nFor Output Module,\u00a0<\/strong>click the blue text (it probably says “Photoshop”) and when the\u00a0Output Module Settings<\/strong> window pops up, choose\u00a0PNG Sequence,\u00a0<\/strong>and set the\u00a0Channels<\/strong> setting to\u00a0RGB.<\/strong> Click\u00a0OK\u00a0<\/strong>to proceed.<\/p>\n
      \"Output
      Output Module Settings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      Lastly, back in the Render Queue panel,\u00a0<\/strong>we need to specify where the rendered file should be saved to. Next to the Output To <\/strong>setting,\u00a0click on the blue text (probably named the same as your comp) to specify the\u00a0render location.<\/strong><\/li>\n

    18. Click the Render Button<\/strong> in the Render Queue panel.
      \nGo check your files to see if the render worked!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      “AE basics pt. 0” [ getting started, user interface, importing, comps, layers, transformations, masking, & exporting stills ]   Let’s start up After Effects. This is its icon: Once launched, the app should take up the whole screen. (Dismiss the\u00a0Start Screen window if it’s sitting on top of the app. This window can be disabled … <\/p>\n

      Continue reading “AE basics (pt. 0)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1278,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2104","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2104"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2159,"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2104\/revisions\/2159"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}