{"id":2485,"date":"2018-04-03T17:37:37","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T17:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/?page_id=2485"},"modified":"2018-04-04T01:03:20","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T01:03:20","slug":"intermediate-ae-pt2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/topics\/intermediate-ae-pt2\/","title":{"rendered":"Intermediate AE (pt. 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>&#8220;Intermediate After Effects (pt. 2)&#8221;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong><div class=\"content_block\" id=\"custom_post_widget-2486\"><p>Mask animation, Nesting Compositions, Intro to Null Object layers<\/p>\n<\/div><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Mask Animation<\/h2>\n<p>When masking moving footage (to isolate a foreground element from its background for example,) you&#8217;ll often need to have the shape of the mask (or masks) change over time. To do so, you add keyframes to the <strong>Mask Path<\/strong> property of a <strong>Mask.<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2508\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2508\" style=\"width: 531px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-14.59.18.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2508\" src=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-14.59.18.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"531\" height=\"178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-14.59.18.png 531w, https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-14.59.18-300x101.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 531px) 100vw, 531px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2508\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keyframe the Mask Path property of the mask to animate the mask&#8217;s shape<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>The Basics\n<ol>\n<li>After creating a Mask on a layer, open its properties in the <strong>Timeline panel<\/strong> and enable keyframes for the Mask Path property by clicking on its\u00a0<strong>Stopwatch<\/strong> icon<\/li>\n<li>(Sometimes it can help to temporarily set the Mask&#8217;s mode to\u00a0<strong>None\u00a0<\/strong>so that you can still see the rest of the footage while you&#8217;re animating. Just set it back to <strong>Add<\/strong> or <strong>Subtract<\/strong> when finished.)<\/li>\n<li>Move to another point in time and adjust the shape of the mask by moving its vertices. This will create a new keyframe. Each individual <strong>Mask Path keyframe<\/strong> contains all the info for the mask&#8217;s shape. (In other words, there won&#8217;t be individual keyframes for each vertex of the mask.)<\/li>\n<li>Note: It&#8217;s important to keep a particular vertex near its original feature that you&#8217;re masking. For example, a vertex near an armpit at one point in time should be the &#8220;same&#8221; vertex near the same armpit later in time. (Under the hood, AE numbers each vertex and uses this numbering during the shape-change interpolation.)<\/li>\n<li>After Effects will interpolate a morph of the mask between keyframes. It uses a <strong>linear<\/strong> <strong>interpolation<\/strong> to do so, as opposed to using any <strong>easing.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Divide &amp; Conquer:<\/strong> When you preview the result, if the morphing strays too far from what you want, you may need to add more keyframes in between the original two keyframes to bring the transition back on track.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>You can animate the masks on <strong>Adjustment Layers<\/strong> in order to <strong>animate the region that its effects are applied to.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>If you use the <strong>Pen tool<\/strong> to <strong>add more vertex points<\/strong> to an animated mask, AE will add those new vertex points to all the existing keyframes. (It will try to be smart, but you may need to adjust its efforts.)<\/li>\n<li>You can <strong>animate the masks on Text layers<\/strong> to reveal text over time.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>More complex subjects<\/strong><\/span> may require breaking a foreground element into smaller components that are each masked separately. For example, a running horse could be broken down into the body and the various leg parts. This way, you are mostly\u00a0<em>moving<\/em>\u00a0<em>many masks around<\/em> as opposed to trying to use <em>one mask to achieve many different shapes.<\/em>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_2510\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2510\" style=\"width: 730px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.25.11.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2510\" src=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.25.11.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"730\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.25.11.png 730w, https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.25.11-300x222.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2510\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Muybridge&#8217;s horsey. Beware! This is a very time-consuming example.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Advanced Mask Path Manipulation<\/strong><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li>The simplest way to manipulate the vertices of a Mask Path is to <strong>move each vertex individually,<\/strong> but this can get tedious when animating.<\/li>\n<li>To speed things up a bit, AE provides a <strong>Free Transform Points mode<\/strong> for editing multiple mask vertices<strong> as a group.<\/strong>\n<ol>\n<li>First, select a Mask or a Mask vertex (or segment between vertices) to enter <strong>Mask Editing Mode<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>In this mode, the cursor changes to resemble an <strong>arrow-head<\/strong> more so than a typical arrow symbol, and you can now see which vertices are selected and which are not by the hollow \/ non-hollow indication.\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_2513\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2513\" style=\"width: 351px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.38.03.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2513\" src=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.38.03.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"351\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.38.03.png 351w, https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.38.03-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 351px) 100vw, 351px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2513\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hollow vertices are unselected, solid vertices are selected<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<li>You can hold down <strong>SHIFT and click<\/strong> on a vertex to toggle its current selection state, thus <strong>adding or subtracting<\/strong> it from the current selection group<\/li>\n<li>You can also <strong>drag a selection rectangle<\/strong> around a group of vertices to select several at once, or <strong>SHIFT-drag a rectangle<\/strong> to toggle their selection state<\/li>\n<li>Once you have a group of vertices selected, you can enter the <strong>Free Transform Points mode.<\/strong> Either double-click a vertex in the selection, or use the menu item\u00a0<strong>Layer &gt; Mask and Shape Path &gt; Free Transform Points.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Now there will be a <strong>free transform box<\/strong> around the selected vertices like so:\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_2514\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2514\" style=\"width: 358px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.46.27.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2514\" src=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.46.27.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"358\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.46.27.png 358w, https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.46.27-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 358px) 100vw, 358px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2514\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Free transform box<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<li>The free transform box can be used to\u00a0<strong>move, rotate, <\/strong>and <strong>scale<\/strong> the selected group of vertices.\u00a0 You can hold down <strong>COMMAND<\/strong> (Mac) or <strong>CONTROL<\/strong> (PC) to transform relative to the anchor point. You can hold down <strong>SHIFT<\/strong> to constrain the transformations. You can move the temporary anchor point <strong><strong>without changing to the Anchor Point tool.<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_2515\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2515\" style=\"width: 348px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.48.56.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2515\" src=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.48.56.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"348\" height=\"269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.48.56.png 348w, https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Screenshot-2018-04-03-15.48.56-300x232.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 348px) 100vw, 348px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2515\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vertices transformed<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<li>To <strong>exit the Free Transform Points mode,<\/strong> double-click anywhere outside the selection or simply hit Enter on the keyboard.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Nesting Compositions<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Great way to <strong>compartmentalize complexity<\/strong> so that no comp gets &#8220;too crazy&#8221; with tons of layers<\/li>\n<li>Great way to <strong>change many duplicate components<\/strong> at once<\/li>\n<li>Great way to <strong>apply effects or transformations to multiple layers at once<\/strong> when using an <strong>Adjustment Layer<\/strong> is not convenient<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Workflow 1: Building Up From Simpler to Complex<\/strong><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li>Start by creating pre-comps<\/li>\n<li>Drag pre-comps into other, &#8220;increasingly complex&#8221; container comps<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Workflow 2: Nesting After The Fact\u00a0 (aka &#8216;Pre-Composing&#8217;)<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span>This approach is used when you want to employ nested comps within a composition you&#8217;ve already put work into.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>&#8220;Pre-Compose&#8221;<\/strong> is a command which takes one or more layers, puts them in a new composition, and replaces the original layers with the new comp\n<ul>\n<li><strong>&#8220;Leave all attributes&#8221;<\/strong> &#8211; this option is for when pre-composing a single layer &#8211; all effects and modified properties are left in the containing comp<\/li>\n<li><strong>&#8220;Move all attributes&#8221;<\/strong> &#8211; only option when pre-composing more than one layer &#8211; all effects and modified properties of selected layers are moved into the new pre-comp<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Intro to Null Object Layers<\/h2>\n<p>Occasionally you may find the need for an invisible parent layer. This is one of several cases where <strong>Null Object layers<\/strong> can be useful.<\/p>\n<p>To create a Null Obect layer, either select the menu item\u00a0<strong>Layer &gt; New &gt; Null Object<\/strong> or simply\u00a0<strong>right-click\u00a0<\/strong>in some empty area within the Timeline panel and select\u00a0<strong>New &gt; Null Object.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Then you can\u00a0<strong>parent<\/strong> other visible layers to the\u00a0<strong>Null Object layer,<\/strong> or even parent <strong>other Null Object layers to each other<\/strong> for some advanced animation mechanics.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Intermediate After Effects (pt. 2)&#8221; Mask Animation When masking moving footage (to isolate a foreground element from its background for example,) you&#8217;ll often need to have the shape of the mask (or masks) change over time. To do so, you add keyframes to the Mask Path property of a Mask. The Basics After creating a &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/topics\/intermediate-ae-pt2\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Intermediate AE (pt. 2)&#8221;<\/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-2485","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2485","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=2485"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2521,"href":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2485\/revisions\/2521"}],"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=2485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}