{"id":2257,"date":"2018-02-27T17:35:32","date_gmt":"2018-02-27T17:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/?page_id=2257"},"modified":"2018-02-28T00:54:25","modified_gmt":"2018-02-28T00:54:25","slug":"ae-basics-pt3","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/topics\/ae-basics-pt3\/","title":{"rendered":"AE basics (pt. 3)"},"content":{"rendered":"

“AE basics (pt. 3)”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Back-and-forth between AE and Premiere, Solid Layers, Adjustment Layers, Parenting<\/p>\n<\/div><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Back-and-forth between AE and Premiere
    \n<\/strong><\/span>Sometimes we need to use After Effects to manipulate footage that already exists within an edited sequence in Premiere (or Final Cut, etc). And other times we need to use After Effects to generate some footage from scratch that will later be imported into Premiere. The following section describes the basic workflow when going back-and-forth between AE and Premiere. This is sometimes called “round-tripping.”
    \n<\/span><\/p>\n
      \n
    1. (If you don’t need to base your AE work on something already in your Premiere edit (i.e., you are creating a clip from scratch in AE) then you can jump right to Step 6<\/strong>)<\/li>\n
    2. In Premiere,<\/strong> mark an IN<\/strong> and an OUT<\/strong> point in your sequence.<\/li>\n
    3. Export the clip(s)<\/strong> to a quicktime file using a good Intermediate Format<\/strong> (eg, ProRes or DNxHD)<\/li>\n
    4. Import the exported file into AE<\/strong> and drag it onto the New Comp button<\/strong> to create a new comp containing the import.<\/li>\n
    5. Now, is the file from Premiere being used merely as a reference? (Like for overlay titles maybe?) Then make the imported layer a\u00a0Guide Layer.<\/strong> It won’t show up in the final render.<\/li>\n
    6. Do some super nifty and creative stuff in After Effects.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    7. Render the composition to a Quicktime file using an Intermediate Format.<\/strong> If you need to preserve any Opacity (aka transparency) info in your render, you’ll need to choose a format that supports it (eg, ProRes4444 or Animation)<\/li>\n
    8. Back in Premiere, import<\/strong> the new AE-rendered Quicktime<\/li>\n
    9. Drag the new import onto a video track\u00a0above the original clip(s)<\/strong>\u00a0that you exported (back in step 3)<\/li>\n
    10. Watch<\/strong> the edit, looking for ways to tweak or improve<\/strong> the AE work.<\/li>\n
    11. Return to AE,<\/strong> make changes, re-render<\/strong> to the exact<\/strong>\u00a0same filename as before.\u00a0<\/strong>The new render will automatically show up in Premiere!<\/li>\n
    12. Here’s where the process begins to loop: go back to step 10 and repeat until you’re satisfied with the edit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    13. Solid Layers<\/strong><\/span>\n
        \n
      1. Used for creating simple solid-color layers<\/strong> which might be used as-is, or as a base for further work:\n

        \"\"<\/a>
        A comp with a single blue Solid Layer<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
      2. Typically they are the size of the active composition, but can be any size.<\/li>\n
      3. Can be transformed,<\/strong> masked,<\/strong> and have effects applied<\/strong><\/li>\n
      4. Create a new Solid via the menu item\u00a0Layer > New > Solid…<\/strong> or with a\u00a0Right-click<\/strong> on some empty area in the\u00a0timeline:<\/strong>\n
        \"\"
        Creating a new Solid Layer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

        This will open the Solid Settings<\/strong> window, where you can pick the color, a name, size, etc of the new Solid layer:
        \n\"\"<\/li>\n

      5. After Effects will create a Solids folder<\/strong> in your Project Panel where it will store any Solid Layers you create. This is to allow for sharing similar solids between multiple comps in your project:\n
        \"\"
        The Solids folder in the Project Panel will be auto-created by AE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

        Here’s a Solid Layer that has been\u00a0transformed, masked,\u00a0<\/strong>and some\u00a0Effects<\/strong> applied:<\/p>\n

        \"\"<\/a>
        A turtle made from a green solid,<\/strong> some masks,<\/strong> and some effects<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
      6. Adjustment Layers<\/strong><\/span>\n
          \n
        1. Used to apply effects to\u00a0multiple layers at once.<\/strong>\u00a0Affects all layers lower down<\/strong> in the layer order.<\/li>\n
        2. You can create an Adjustment Layer<\/strong> via the menu item\u00a0Layer > New > Adjustment Layer\u00a0<\/strong>or with a Right-click<\/strong> on some empty area in the timeline:<\/strong>\n
          \"\"
          Creating a new Adjustment Layer with right-click in the timeline<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

          Then, move the new\u00a0Adjustment Layer<\/strong>\u00a0up or down to the appropriate spot in the layer order, and add one or more effects:<\/p>\n

          \"\"
          An Adjustment Layer<\/strong> that will affect layers 3<\/strong> and 4<\/strong> (but not<\/em> layer 1<\/strong>)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
        3. By default, Adjustment Layers<\/strong>\u00a0will be the full size of the active composition, but can be changed to be any size, can be transformed, animated, and can also be masked:<\/strong>
          \nAn adjustment layer with a mask<\/li>\n
        4. Reducing the Opacity<\/strong> of an Adjustment Layer is sometimes useful for reducing the strength of any effects on the Adjustment Layer. (This often helps with color correction effects, but not so much with blur or distortion effects.) As a side note, each individual effect has its own\u00a0Effect Opacity.<\/strong><\/li>\n
        5. Semi-Useless Trivia:<\/strong> Adjustment Layers are actually special versions of Solids<\/strong> that have the “Adjustment Layer” switch turned on:\n
          \"\"<\/a>
          Adjustment Layers are actually Solids with a special switch enabled<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

          This means you can also manipulate an Adjustment Layer’s<\/strong>\u00a0size, aspect ratio, etc\u00a0by opening its Solid Settings.<\/strong> It also means that Adjustment Layers will show up in the Solids folder<\/strong> in the Project Panel.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n

        6. Parenting Layers
          \n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
          <\/div>\n
            \n
          1. Sometimes you want one or more layers to be\u00a0attached<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>to a “master” layer:\n

            \"\"<\/a>
            A parent layer with three child layers<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
          2. Parenting<\/strong> attaches one or more\u00a0child<\/strong>\u00a0layers<\/strong> to a parent<\/strong>\u00a0layer<\/strong>. Imagine an invisible rod connecting the parent to\u00a0the children. Whatever transformation you do to the parent (scaling, position, rotation<\/strong>, but not opacity<\/strong><\/em>) the children also do:<\/li>\n
          3. Parenting can be achieved with the Parent dropdown selector<\/strong> or with the Parent Pickwhip<\/strong>\u00a0\"\". Each layer has these two controls under the Parent column<\/strong>:\n
            \"\"<\/a>
            In each layer’s\u00a0Parent Column<\/strong> you can access the parent\u00a0pickwhip <\/strong>and the dropdown selector<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

            In the screen grab above, Layer 1<\/strong> is the parent of\u00a0Layer 2<\/strong>, and\u00a0Layer 1<\/strong> has no parent.<\/li>\n

          4. The Parent Pickwhip\u00a0\"\"<\/strong> is a drag-and-drop style control for quickly selecting a layer as a parent.<\/li>\n
          5. Parent layers can have more than one child<\/strong>, but not the other way around:<\/strong>\u00a0i.e.,\u00a0all AE parents are single-parents.<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n
          6. Child layers can be Parent layers to other layers<\/strong>, creating complex trees\u00a0of parent-child relationships:\n
            \"\"<\/a>
            A dog layer “parented” to a boy layer “parented” to a mom layer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

            Here’s an example of a simple solar system done with parenting:<\/p>\n

            \"\"<\/a>
            A sun, earth, moon, and lunar orbiter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

            Here’s what the layers look like in AE:<\/p>\n

            \"\"<\/a>
            Solar system setup in AE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

             <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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

            “AE basics (pt. 3)”   Back-and-forth between AE and Premiere Sometimes we need to use After Effects to manipulate footage that already exists within an edited sequence in Premiere (or Final Cut, etc). And other times we need to use After Effects to generate some footage from scratch that will later be imported into Premiere. … <\/p>\n

            Continue reading “AE basics (pt. 3)”<\/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-2257","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2257","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=2257"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2319,"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2257\/revisions\/2319"}],"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=2257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}