User manual ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0

[. . . ] Adobe After Effects 5. 0 User Guide for Windows and Macintosh If this guide is distributed with software that includes an end-user agreement, this guide, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. Except as permitted by any such license, no part of this guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Please note that the content in this guide is protected under copyright law even if it is not distributed with software that includes an end-user license agreement. The content of this guide is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Adobe Systems Incorporated. [. . . ] See "Importing footage containing an alpha channel" on page 72. Working with masks Each layer in a composition can contain up to 127 masks. Create and view masks in either the Composition or Layer window, and set interactions between mask properties in the Timeline window or in the Layer menu. See "Creating masks" on page 238 for information on creating masks. You can also animate the shape of the mask by animating individual control points on a mask path. For more information on creating keyframes, see "Setting keyframes" on page 163. To view masks in the Composition window: Select Layer Masks from the Composition Window menu. To view masks in the Layer window: Select Masks from the Layer Window menu. To specify a mask in the Layer window as the target for all new mask shapes: Select the mask name from the Target pop-up menu. For more information on the Target menu, see "Specifying one mask as the target for animation" on page 253. Creating masks You can create one or more masks for each layer in a composition. Masks appear in the Timeline window in the order you create them. ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5. 0 239 User Guide You can create a mask using any of the following methods: · Draw a path using the tools from the toolbox. · Specify the dimensions of the mask shape in the Mask Shape dialog box. · Paste a path copied from another layer or from Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop. For more information, see "Importing masks from Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop" on page 255. Working with multiple masks in one layer You can create multiple masks in a single layer using any of the methods listed in"Types of masks" on page 239, "Creating masks from motion paths" on page 241, and "Importing masks from Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop" on page 255. Mask names appear in the order you create them in the Timeline window outline. To organize and keep track of your masks, rename them as you would rename layers (see "Renaming a layer" on page 135). To make it easier to work with multiple masks in the Composition window, you can apply different colors to each mask outline. When creating additional masks for one layer in the Layer window, make sure that the Target pop-up menu in the Layer window is set to None; otherwise, you will replace the targeted mask instead of creating a new mask. See "Specifying one mask as the target for animation" on page 253. To apply a new color to a mask outline: 1 Select the mask whose outline you want to change. See "Selecting masks and control points" on page 244 for information on selecting masks. 2 If necessary, expand the Mask properties. 3 Click the color swatch just to the left of the mask name, pick a new color, and click OK. Types of masks You can draw three types of masks: Rectangular A rectangular mask can also be square. This type of mask is previewed and rendered faster than any other kind of drawn mask. Oval An oval mask can also be circular. 240 CHAPTER 7 Working with Masks and Transparency Bezier Use the pen tool to draw a freeform Bezier path as a mask. This is the most flexible type of mask; you can create any shape with the pen tool. After you first create a mask, you can resize it or rotate it as a whole (see "Scaling and rotating selected masks or points" on page 245), or you can change parts of it (see "Changing the shape of a mask" on page 247). Drawing rectangular and oval masks Use the rectangle and oval tools to create mask shapes, or specify a mask shape numerically. To create a rectangular or oval mask by dragging: 1 Select a layer in the Composition window or display a layer in the Layer window. 3 Position the cursor in the Composition or Layer window at one corner of the mask you want to draw and drag to the opposite corner. [. . . ] See visible lines links chapter 145 Web 145 load-sharing on multiple systems 382 461 Local Axes mode tool 61 location of an effect point 274 Lock Aspect Ratio option 102 Lock switch 138 locking a guide 57 log file overflow and 384 rendering 354, 357 Loop button, direction 155 loop, Motion Math 416 looping footage 96 lower field ordered 86, 387 low-resolution compositions 107 low-resolution movies for testing motion 387 low-resolution proxy 99 Luma Key 280 Luma Matte option 260 luminance value for a track matte 260 Luminescent Premul layer mode 264 Luminosity layer mode 264 M Mac OS file types 40 magnification 54 Main command (for Interpret Footage) 71, 95, 96 Make Movie command 354, 356, 375 manual preview 190, 193 margins 55 margins, paint strokes. See Feather markers chapter link 145 composition-time 142 converting from composition to layer 146 storing and reusing 259 Mask Shape command, disabled when nesting 347 masks 238 adding a control point to 247 adjusting opacity of 250 adjusting the edges of 250 animating 253 current-time 59, 162 applying effects to 256 layer-time 144 Bezier 240 synchronizing 146 changing the shape of 247 tracking motion 404 color 239 marquee 244 converting motion paths to 241 Mask attributes and methods 335 Mask Expansion property, adjusting 250 Mask Feather command 219 disabled when nesting 347 with continuous rasterization 148 Mask Feather property, animating 253 mask modes, applying 258 Mask Opacity property, adjusting 250 mask paths 241 Mask property 188 mask shape and pan behind tool 252 animating 253 speed 219 creating 238 creating lines from 256 defined 237 deleting 247, 248 editing 247 feathering 249 first vertex 253 inverting 251 modes 256 modifying multiple masks 258 moving 247, 252 outline 251 oval 240 panning 251 rectangle 240 462 INDEX removing 245 rendering order 343 replacing 247 resetting 248 resizing 246 reusing 259 rotating 245 saving 259 scaling 245 selecting 244, 245 setting interactions 256 specifying inside and outside 251 specifying with Target menu 238, 253 types 239 material options for 3D layers 289 material properties for 3D layers 332 Matte Choker effect 280 matte options (Vector Paint) 427 Matte Tools effects category 280 Matte Tools effects category. See online Help matte view, defined 278 matted alpha channel 72 mattes defined 237 refining 278 removing 280 tools 278 track 260 traveling 260 Measure Film Size camera setting 295 measuring time 42 media 37 Median effect 280 Mesh Warp effect 280 Microsoft RLE compressor 372 Video compressor 372 Millions of Colors for MJPEG cards 39 Millions of Colors+, effect on background color 114 Minimax effect 280 Minimum Diskspace before overflowing option 384 Mirror effect 280 missing source footage 98 mistakes, correcting and undoing 46 mixing audio 280 MJPEG compression 39 Modes panel 117 modes. See layer modes and mask modes Monochrome option 280 Mosaic effect 280 motion overview 159 randomizing 391 sketching 175 smoothing 221 testing 387 tracking 393 motion blur 151 Motion Blur render setting 359 Motion Blur switch 151 Motion Detect option 86 motion footage changing frame rate 84 preparing for final output 84 preparing to import 83 separating fields 85 time-remapping 229 Motion Math assignments and operators 416 built-in loop 416 comments 416 constants 416 creating keyframes 416 defined 411 functions 416 If statements 416 language element menus 416 language reference 317, 416 463 layer property functions 416 learning more 416 loops 416 math functions 416 numbers 416 running a script 414 specifying layers and properties 416 substitution menus, in scripts 416 testing scripts 416 using vectors 416 variables 416 vector indexing 416 vector operations 416 vectors as variables 416 writing scripts 416 Motion Math window 412 motion path 175, 199, 203 changing keyframe interpolation 206 changing keyframe number 175 changing speed numerically 219 Composition window and 172 controlling speed 213, 214 controls 172 creating 175 creating with mask 178 defined 172 direction handles and 207 display preferences 175 Easy Ease keyframe assistant 215 editing 172 editing with pen tool 206 keyframes 172 modifying 172, 175 moving all points in 174 rotating a layer along 175, 181 spatial interpolation and 199 speed 214 motion picture film 83 Motion Sketch 175 Motion Tile effect 280 Move All Attributes into The New Composition option 349 movies building 35 changing the frame rate for 95 opening in the Footage window 93 preparing for import 84 rendering 353 resizing 384 viewing 93 MP3 format 365 multilayered Adobe Photoshop files, importing 74 multiple systems load-sharing 382 rendering on 380 Multiply layer mode 262 N Name camera setting 294 naming composition 101 conventions for files 40 layers 74 National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) 39, 83 field order 85 frame rate 105 interlacing and 83 navigator, keyframe 162 nesting 126 changing rendering order 344, 345 collapsing transformations 148, 346 common uses for 342 definition 342 opacity and 347 options 108 prerendering and 347 network performance on multiple systems 382 New Adjustment Layer command 128 464 INDEX New Composition command 101 New Solid command 127 Noise effect 280 non-drop-frame timecode display 42 None mask mode 257 None option (Vector Paint contextual menu) 425 noninterlaced video 83 nonlight 299 Normal layer mode 262 NTSC. 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