{"id":2181,"date":"2018-02-13T21:27:55","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T21:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/?page_id=2181"},"modified":"2018-02-21T01:18:24","modified_gmt":"2018-02-21T01:18:24","slug":"ae-basics-pt2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/topics\/ae-basics-pt2\/","title":{"rendered":"AE basics (pt. 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

“AE basics (pt. 2)”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

[keyboard shortcuts, previewing, keyframes]<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A Note on Keyboard Commands<\/strong>\n
      \n
    1. To move forward and backward one frame in time,<\/strong> use Page Down \/ Page Up<\/strong> (as opposed to the Left \/ Right arrow keys like in video editing). Use SHIFT-PageUp\/Down<\/strong> to move 10 frames<\/strong> instead of just 1.<\/li>\n
    2. The up\/down\/left\/right Arrow keys<\/strong> are instead generally used for changing the position<\/strong> of a layer<\/li>\n
    3. The minus (-)<\/strong> and equals (=)<\/strong> are used for magnifying the zoom of the timeline\u2019s display of time.<\/li>\n
    4. Undo<\/strong> is command-z on Macs and control-z on Windows computers. Keep your left-hand on the Undo keys at all times, it’s quite\u00a0handy<\/em>.<\/li>\n
    5. The\u00a0u<\/strong> key is a special key command known as the\u00a0uber<\/strong> key. It’s very useful for revealing and hiding a layer’s keyframes.<\/li>\n
    6. Double-tapping<\/strong> the\u00a0u\u00a0<\/strong>key does something slightly different: it reveals any modified property of a layer, whether they are keyframed or not.<\/li>\n
    7. When working with\u00a0keyframes<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>it’s useful to use the\u00a0j<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0k<\/strong> keys to jump to previous\/next keyframes<\/li>\n
    8. Quickly set the work area with the b<\/strong> and n<\/strong> keys<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    9. Previewing Animation\n
        \n
      1. When animating in After Effects, you can’t simply hit\u00a0Play<\/strong> like in Premiere to see your work, you have to learn how to use the\u00a0Preview\u00a0<\/strong>controls<\/li>\n
      2. AE has a special panel for Previewing<\/strong> as well as customizing the Preview shortcut keys<\/strong><\/strong><\/li>\n
      3. I recommend the following setting for the Spacebar shortcut:
        \n\"\"<\/li>\n
      4. Use the Work Area to control how much to Preview. Set the Work Area quickly with the b<\/strong> and n<\/strong> keys.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
      5. Keyframes – changing property values over the course of time<\/strong>\n
          \n
        1. Most properties in After Effects can be Keyframed,<\/strong> or animated over time<\/li>\n
        2. The term\u00a0comes from hand drawn animation, where a lead\u00a0artist would draw the key frames of an animation sequence, and \u201cin-between\u201d artists would draw the intermediate frames (i.e., “tweening”.)<\/li>\n
        3. Properties in AE are either in \u201cRegular mode<\/strong>\u201d (how they start out in life) or \u201cKeyframe mode<\/strong>\u201d \u2013 You turn on Keyframe mode<\/strong> by clicking the Stopwatch<\/strong>\u00a0icon<\/strong> to the left of a property.
          \n\"\"
          \nSwitch back to Regular mode<\/strong> by clicking the Stopwatch<\/strong> again (but beware, you\u2019ll lose any keyframe work you’ve done in the process, so hit UNDO<\/strong> if you do this by accident).<\/li>\n
        4. When first learning about keyframes, open menu item\u00a0After Effects CC > Preferences > General…<\/strong>\u00a0and enable the setting\u00a0Default Spatial Interpolation to Linear<\/strong> in order to avoid unexpected “boomerang” motion:\n

          \"\"
          Make sure this setting is enabled when 1st learning keyframes<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
        5. When you turn on Keyframe mode<\/strong> for a property, AE will automatically create a new Keyframe wherever the current-time indicator (“CTI”<\/strong>) is at. The current value of the property will be set in that keyframe. You\u2019ll also see some new controls on the property: Previous<\/strong> and Next Keyframe<\/strong> and a Add \/ Remove Keyframe<\/strong> button in the middle:\n

          \"\"
          Keyframe navigation buttons<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
        6. Move to another point in time<\/strong> and add a second keyframe by clicking the Add \/ Remove Keyframe button.<\/strong> Then change the property to some new value. Or simply change the property value; AE will add a new keyframe at that place in time.<\/strong> You can now use the\u00a0Previous\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Next Keyframe\u00a0<\/strong>buttons (or the j<\/strong> and k<\/strong> keys) to jump back and forth between the two keyframes.<\/li>\n
        7. When a layer is in Keyframe mode, AE will automatically add new Keyframes if you change a property value anywhere in time. This can lead to mysterious problems if you\u2019re not careful, especially when accidentally changing the position<\/strong> of a layer with the mouse or arrow keys at arbitrary points in the timeline.<\/li>\n
        8. AE figures out what the comp should look like in between keyframes by Interpolating<\/strong>\u00a0the property from one value to another.\n
            \n
          1. Sometimes what you want is for a value to change at the same speed the whole time, for example a car moving from left to right at constant speed. This is called Linear<\/strong>\u00a0interpolation.<\/li>\n
          2. Other times you might want the property\u2019s value to change gradually at first, and then more quickly towards the end, e.g. something falling from the sky, or a slowly fading light. This is called Exponential\u00a0<\/strong>interpolation.\u00a0AE provides some \u201cKeyframe Assistants\u201d<\/strong> (Easy Ease In, Easy Ease Out, Easy Ease) as good starting points for exponential interpolation for you to work with. Right-click on a keyframe to access these keyframe assistants:\n

            \"\"
            Keyframe Assistants<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
          3. Sometimes you don\u2019t want AE to interpolate the in-between frames between two keyframes;<\/strong> you may want AE to “hold”<\/strong> the value of the most recent keyframe constant until a new keyframe is encountered. So, for any pair of keyframes, you can set the left (earlier) keyframe to be a Hold Keyframe<\/strong> to turn off this interpolation until the next keyframe, thus holding a value constant.\n
            \"\"
            Toggling a keyframe’s Hold state<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

            This can create sudden jumps<\/strong> in values as opposed to smooth changes. Useful for instantaneous changes (e.g., a seconds hand of a clock sometimes appears to instantly tick clockwise around the clock, or a light may instantly turn on or off, or a layer may instantly be transparent or opaque, etc.)<\/li>\n

          4. Right click on a Keyframe to play with all the various interpolation settings under Keyframe Interpolation…
            \n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

            \"\"
            Full Interpolation Settings<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
          5. Interpolation types<\/strong>\n