Adobe After Effects CS4 Operating instructions

Using

ADOBE

®

AFTER EFFECTS

®

CS4

Last updated 12/21/2009

Legal notices

Copyright

Using Adobe® After Effects® CS4 for Windows® and Mac OS

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Adobe Systems Incorporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, California 95110, USA.

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Contents

Chapter 1: Getting started

Installation, activation, and registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Adobe Product Improvement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

New features in After Effects CS4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Chapter 2: User interface

Workspaces, panels, and viewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

General user interface items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

User interface changes from After Effects CS3 to After Effects CS4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Chapter 3: Workflows, planning, and setup

Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Planning and setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Working with After Effects and other applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Dynamic Link and After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Chapter 4: Projects and compositions

Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Composition basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Precomposing, nesting, and pre-rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Chapter 5: Importing and managing footage items

Importing and interpreting footage items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Working with footage items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Importing from After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Importing and interpreting video and audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Preparing and importing 3D image files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Preparing and importing still images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Introduction to Camera Raw and importing camera raw files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Navigating, opening, and saving images with Camera Raw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Making color and tonal adjustments in Camera Raw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Retouching and transforming images with Camera Raw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Making local adjustments with Camera Raw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Correcting lens distortion and noise in Camera Raw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Camera Raw settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Chapter 6: Layers and properties

Creating layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Selecting and arranging layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Managing layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Layer properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Blending modes and layer styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

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3D layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Cameras, lights, and points of interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Chapter 7: Views and previews

Previewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Modifying and using views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Chapter 8: Animation and keyframes

Animation basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Setting, selecting, and deleting keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Editing, moving, and copying keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Assorted animation tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Keyframe interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Time-stretching and time-remapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Animating with Puppet tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Tracking and stabilizing motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Chapter 9: Color

Color basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Color management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Chapter 10: Drawing, painting, and paths

Paint tools: Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Overview of shape layers, paths, and vector graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Creating shapes and masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Managing and animating shape paths and masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Shape attributes, paint operations, and path operations for shape layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Chapter 11: Text

Creating and editing text layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Formatting characters and the Character panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Formatting paragraphs and the Paragraph panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

Animating text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354

Examples and resources for text animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

Chapter 12: Transparency, opacity, and compositing

Compositing overview and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

Alpha channels, masks, and mattes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374

Keying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

Chapter 13: Effects and animation presets

Effects and animation presets overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387

Effect galleries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415

3D Channel effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

Audio effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436

Blur & Sharpen effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440

Channel effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

Color Correction effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453

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Distort effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

Generate effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486

Keying effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

Matte effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516

Noise & Grain effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518

Paint effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539

Perspective effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549

Simulation effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553

Stylize effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583

Text effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594

Time effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596

Transition effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602

Utility effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609

Obsolete effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613

Chapter 14: Markers and metadata

Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619

XMP metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625

Chapter 15: Memory, storage, and performance

Memory and storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632

Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637

Chapter 16: Plug-ins, scripts, and automation

Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641

Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643

Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645

Chapter 17: Expressions

Expression basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646

Expression language reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660

Expression examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683

Chapter 18: Rendering and exporting

Basics of rendering and exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688

Rendering and exporting for Flash Professional and Flash Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705

Rendering and exporting still images and still-image sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713

Exporting project information to other Adobe applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715

Encoding and compression options for movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715

Automated rendering and network rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725

Converting movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732

Chapter 19: Keyboard shortcuts

General (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738

Projects (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739

Preferences (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739

Panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739

Activating tools (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741

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Compositions and the work area (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742

Time navigation (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742

Previews (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743

Views (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744

Footage (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745

Effects and animation presets (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746

Layers (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746

Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748

Showing properties in the Effect Controls panel (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749

Modifying layer properties (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749

3D layers (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750

Keyframes and the Graph Editor (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751

Text (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752

Masks (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754

Paint tools (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754

Shape layers (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 755

Markers (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756

Motion tracking (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756

Saving, exporting, and rendering (keyboard shortcuts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757

Index ...............................................................................................................758

1

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Chapter 1: Getting started

For an introduction to the basic terminology, concepts, and workflows in After Effects, see “General workflow in After

Effects” on page 30.

Installation, activation, and registration

Before installing Adobe® After Effects® software, review complete system requirements and recommendations in the

Read Me file. The Read Me file is on the installation disc, as well as on the

After Effects support section of the Adobe

website.

Install the software

1 Quit all applications that are running on your computer.

2 Insert the installation disc into your DVD drive, and follow the on-screen instructions.

For assistance with installation issues, see the Installation Support Center on the Adobe website.

In addition to the full version of Adobe After Effects, you can also install additional copies on additional computers to

use as After Effects render engines to assist with network rendering. You install render engines in the same manner as

the full version of the application, but you do not activate them. You run the render engine using the Adobe After

Effects Render Engine shortcut in the Adobe After Effects CS4 folder.

Important: The free trial version of Adobe After Effects software does not include some features that depend upon

software licensed from parties other than Adobe. For example, mocha for After Effects, some effect plug-ins, and some

codecs for encoding MPEG formats are available only with the full version of Adobe After Effects software.

More Help topics

“Network rendering with watch folders and render engines” on page 727

“Plug-ins” on page 641

“Scripts” on page 643

“Animation presets overview and resources” on page 387

Activate the software

If you have a single-user retail license for your Adobe software, you will be asked to activate your software. Activation

is a simple, anonymous process that you must complete within 30 days of starting the software. During the installation

process, your Adobe software attempts to contact Adobe to complete the license activation process. No personal data

is transmitted.

A single-user retail license activation supports two computers. For example, you can install the software on a desktop

computer at work and on a laptop computer at home.

For more information on product licensing and activation, see the Read Me file or go to the Adobe website at

www.adobe.com/go/activation.

Note: Before transferring an activation to a different computer, deactivate the software by choosing Help > Deactivate.

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Register the software

1 If the registration dialog box isn’t already open, choose Help > Registration.

2 Follow the on-screen instructions.

Run the software in English when installed in other language

You can run After Effects in English or in the language in which you've installed and activated the software. For

instructions, see

Todd Kopriva's blog.

Adobe Product Improvement Program

After you have used your Adobe software a certain number of times, a dialog box appears, asking whether you want

to participate in the Adobe Product Improvement Program.

If you choose to participate, data about your use of Adobe software is sent to Adobe. No personal information is

recorded or sent. The Adobe Product Improvement Program only collects information about the features and tools

that you use in the software and how often you use them.

You can opt in to or opt out of the program at any time:

• To participate, choose Help > Product Improvement Program and click Yes, Participate.

• To stop participating, choose Help > Product Improvement Program and click No, Thank You.

Adobe provides more information about the Product Improvement Program in a frequently asked questions (FAQ)

list on the

Adobe website.

Resources

For a complete list of the After Effects tips from the Tip Of The Day pane of the Welcome screen, see Todd Kopriva's blog.

Help and support

Community Help

Community Help is an integrated environment on Adobe.com that gives you access to community-generated content

moderated by Adobe and industry experts. Comments from users help guide you to an answer.

Community Help draws on a number of resources, including:

• Videos, tutorials, tips and techniques, blogs, articles, and examples for designers and developers.

• Complete on-line product Help, which is updated regularly by the Adobe documentation team.

• All other content on Adobe.com, including knowledgebase articles, downloads and updates, Developer

Connection, and more.

Choose Help > product name Help in the application to access the Help and Support page, the portal to all of the

Community Help content for your product. You can also use the Help search field in some Creative Suite 4

applications, or press F1 (Windows), to access Community Help for your product.

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The sites searched by the default Community Help search engine are hand-selected and reviewed for quality by Adobe

and Adobe Community Experts. Adobe experts also work to ensure that the top search results include a mixture of

different kinds of content, including results from on-line product Help.

For more information on using Community Help, see http://help.adobe.com/en_US/CommunityHelp/.

For a video overview of Community Help, see www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4117_xp.

For frequently asked questions about Community Help, see http://community.adobe.com/help/profile/faq.html

Product Help

Adobe provides a comprehensive user guide for each product in several formats, including on-line product Help, PDF,

and printed book. Results from on-line product Help are included in your results whenever you search Community Help.

If you’re connected to the Internet, the Help menu within the product opens the product Help and Support page by

default. This page is a portal to all of the Community Help content for the product. If you want to consult or search

on-line product Help only, you can access it by clicking the product Help link in the upper-right corner of the Help

and Support page. Be sure to select the This Help System Only option before you do your search.

If you’re not connected to the Internet, the Help menu within the product opens local Help, a subset of the content

available in on-line product Help. Because local Help is not as complete or up-to-date as on-line product Help, Adobe

recommends that you use the PDF version of product Help if you want to stay offline. A downloadable PDF of

complete product Help is available from two places:

• The product’s Help and Support page (upper-right corner of the page)

• Local and web Help (top of the Help interface)

For more information on accessing product help, see http://help.adobe.com/en_US/CommunityHelp/.

If you are working in Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Fireworks, or Dreamweaver, and you want to turn

off Community Help so that local Help opens by default, do the following:

1 Open the Connections panel (Window > Extensions > Connections).

2 From the Connections panel menu , select Offline Options.

3 Select Keep Me Offline and click OK.

Note: When you disable web services from the Connections panel, all other web services (such as Adobe Kuler and Adobe

ConnectNow) are also disabled.

Printed resources

Printed versions of the complete on-line product Help are available for the cost of shipping and handling at

www.adobe.com/go/store.

Support resources

Visit the Adobe Support website at www.adobe.com/support to learn about free and paid technical support options.

Services, downloads, and video tutorials

You can enhance your software with various services, plug-ins, extensions, samples, and other assets.

For more information about extensions for After Effects, see “Scripts” on page 643 and “Plug-ins” on page 641.

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You can find additional free services, downloads, plug-ins, scripts, extensions, samples, examples, and tutorials by

using

After Effects Community Help. For a video overview that describes Community Help, see

www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4117_xp.

Adobe creative online services

Many Adobe Creative Suite® 4 applications include online features that bring the power of the Web to your computer

to help you connect to community, collaborate, and get more from your Adobe software. Some services offer full or

partial functionality when you’re offline, too.

Adobe Exchange

Visit the Adobe Exchange at www.adobe.com/go/exchange to download example projects, animation presets, plug-

ins, scripts, and tutorials from Adobe and members of the community.

Adobe downloads

Visit www.adobe.com/go/downloads on the Adobe website to find free updates, tryouts, and other useful software.

Adobe Labs

Adobe Labs at www.adobe.com/go/labs gives you the opportunity to experience and evaluate new and emerging

technologies and products from Adobe. At Adobe Labs, you have access to resources such as these:

• Prerelease software and technologies

• Code samples and best practices to accelerate your learning

• Early versions of product and technical documentation

• Forums, wiki-based content, and other collaborative resources to help you interact with like-minded users

Adobe Labs fosters a collaborative software development process. In this environment, customers quickly become

productive with new products and technologies. Adobe Labs is also a forum for early feedback, which the Adobe

development teams use to create software that meets the needs and expectations of the community.

Extras

The installation disc contains various extras to help you make the most of your Adobe software. Some extras are

installed on your computer during the setup process; you can install others later, as needed, from the disc.

Adobe TV

Visit Adobe TV at http://tv.adobe.com to view video tutorials, video training, and other instructional and inspirational

programs to help you get the most from your Adobe software.

Video tutorials: getting started, new features, and common procedures

Adobe and its partners provide a basic set of video tutorials on Adobe TV and in the Video Workshop on the Adobe

website, in addition to excellent tutorials provided by other members of the community. (See “After Effects

community resources” on page 7.)

Many sections of After Effects Help refer to additional video tutorials in context to provide information about specific

features.

For detailed information about new features, see “New features in After Effects CS4” on page 9.

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Note: Video tutorials on Adobe TV were created for After Effects CS4. Video tutorials on Video Workshop were created

for After Effects CS3. Because most features don’t change substantially from one version to the next, most materials

created for After Effects CS3 are still valid and useful for After Effects CS4. All video tutorials referred to within this

section are still useful and valid for After Effects CS4. For details about changes between After Effects CS3 and After Effects

CS4, see

“User interface changes from After Effects CS3 to After Effects CS4” on page 22.

Getting started

• Overview of After Effects:

• Introducing After Effects CS4 (Adobe TV)

• Overview of After Effects CS4 (Adobe TV)

• Overview of Creative Suite 4 Production Premium edition: Introducing CS4 Production Premium (Adobe TV)

• Working with workspaces and panels: Using shared elements of the After Effects, Encore, Soundbooth, and Adobe

Premiere Pro workspaces (Video Workshop)

• Creating and organizing projects and importing assets:

• Creating and organizing projects (Video Workshop)

• Creating projects (Adobe TV)

• Creating and using compositions: Creating compositions (Adobe TV)

• Creating and managing layers: Creating and managing layers (Video Workshop)

• Working with the Timeline panel: Working with the Timeline (Adobe TV)

• Animation essentials:

• Working with keyframes in the timeline (Video Workshop)

• Animation essentials (Adobe TV)

• Animating transforms: Animating transforms (Adobe TV)

• Animating text:

• Animating text (Video Workshop)

• Animating text (Adobe TV)

• Painting and cloning: Painting and masking (Video Workshop)

• Shape layers: About shape layers (Video Workshop)

• Previewing: Previewing animations (Adobe TV)

• Effects and animation presets:

• Applying effects in After Effects (Video Workshop)

• Applying effects (Adobe TV)

• Color correction: Correcting color with effects (Adobe TV)

• Rendering and exporting: Rendering and exporting (Video Workshop)

New features and common procedures

• Community Help: Adobe Community Help overview (Adobe TV)

• Using the XML project file format: Using the XML project file format (Adobe TV)

• Keying with Keylight: Keying with the Keylight plug-in (Video Workshop)

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• Creating compositions for mobile devices: Creating After Effects mobile compositions (Adobe TV)

• Using 3D object layers from Photoshop: Using 3D object layers from Photoshop (Adobe TV)

• Animating x, y, and z components of Position with Separate Dimensions: Animating precisely with Separate

Dimensions (Adobe TV)

• Using color management features: Achieving consistent video color (Video Workshop)

• Using the Puppet tools:

• Using the Puppet tools (Video Workshop)

• Animating characters (Adobe TV)

• Using the Cartoon effect: Using the Cartoon effect (Adobe TV)

• Importing layered documents from Photoshop: Importing Photoshop files into After Effects (Video Workshop)

• Rotoscoping with Photoshop and After Effects: Rotoscoping using After Effects and Photoshop (Adobe TV)

• Importing and using Vanishing Point Exchange data from Photoshop:

• Working with Vanishing Point in Photoshop and After Effects (Video Workshop)

• Using Vanishing Point to map a 3D environment (Video Workshop)

• Rendering and exporting compositions for Flash Player and Flash Professional:

• overview (SWF, XFL, FLV, F4V): Exporting from After Effects to Flash (Adobe TV)

• XFL: Exporting from After Effects to Flash via XFL (Adobe TV)

• FLV and F4V: Creating FLV and F4V files (Adobe TV)

• Working with markers and XMP metadata:

• Understanding the digital video metadata workflow (Adobe TV)

• Converting metadata and markers to cue points (Adobe TV)

• Using markers and cue points (Adobe TV)

• Applying metadata in Adobe Bridge (Video Workshop)

• Working with markers and cue points (Video Workshop)

• Working with metadata and keywords in Adobe Bridge (Video Workshop)

• Using Adobe Bridge with After Effects:

• Using Adobe Bridge (Video Workshop)

• Using Adobe Bridge in a video production workflow (Video Workshop)

• Introducing Bridge CS4 (Adobe TV)

• Working with Premiere Pro, Encore, and After Effects:

• Using Dynamic Link (Video Workshop)

• Optimizing the video workflow between After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro (Video Workshop)

• Animating Encore menus in After Effects (Video Workshop)

• Using Dynamic Link (Adobe TV)

• Creating Encore menus with After Effects (Adobe TV)

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After Effects community resources

Resources on the Adobe website

Adobe provides documentation resources for After Effects on the After Effects Community Help section of the Adobe

website. From the Community Help page, you can also search for community resources not on the Adobe website.

To make a feature request or file a bug report, fill out the feature request and bug report form on the Adobe website.

The Adobe After Effects User-to-User Forum is a great place to ask questions about After Effects and have them

answered by other After Effects users.

You can subscribe to RSS feeds from Adobe Technical Support so that you can get notification of issues and

workarounds related to After Effects (or other Adobe products).

For information on plug-ins available for After Effects, go to the After Effects plug-in page on the Adobe website.

To exchange scripts, projects, and other useful items with other After Effects users, go to the After Effects Exchange

on the Adobe website.

Michael Coleman, After Effects product manager, provides news and notes about After Effects on his Keyframes blog.

Todd Kopriva, After Effects documentation lead, provides links to instructional resources and reference material for

After Effects users on his

After Effects Region of Interest blog.

Adobe provides resources for scripting and plug-in creation on the After Effects Developer Center section of the

Adobe website. The Video Technology Center section of the Developer Center has information about all of the Adobe

digital video and audio applications. The Adobe Developer Center newsletter, The Edge, occasionally includes

material of interest to After Effects users, especially with regard to interactive video and video for the Web.

You can use the Adobe Community Publishing System (CPS) on the Adobe website to write and post articles directly

to Adobe.com.

Resources on other websites

A good place to ask questions about After Effects—especially with regard to integration with 3D applications—is the

Mograph forum.

The ProVideo Coalition (PVC) website contains articles and blogs on topics of interest to professionals in the video

industry. In addition to articles by Chris and Trish Meyer, the PVC website includes articles by Mark Christiansen,

Frank Capria, Jim Feeley, Adam Wilt, Mark Curtis, and Scott Gentry.

The Toolfarm website provides forums, tutorials, and other resources related to After Effects and other Adobe

products. The AE Freemart website is a division of Toolfarm that provides free tutorials about After Effects.

The AE Enhancers forum provides example scripts and useful information about scripting (as well as expressions and

animation presets) in After Effects.

Jonas Hummelstrand provides tutorials, troubleshooting tips, and insights about After Effects and motion graphics in

general on his

General Specialist website.

Trish and Chris Meyer provide instructional resources for After Effects in many places, including their CyberMotion

website.

Lutz Albrecht provides a list of After Effects error codes and some possible solutions on his Mylenium error code

database website.

John Dickinson provides tutorials and other resources for After Effects and related software on his Motionworks

website.

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Alan Shisko provides insights and tips about motion graphics on his Motion Graphics 'n Such blog.

Harry Frank provides tutorials on all areas of After Effects, with an emphasis on expressions and use of third-party

plug-ins on his

graymachine website.

Andrew Kramer provides tutorials and training on his Video Copilot website.

Dan Ebberts provides scripting tutorials and useful scripts on the scripting portion of the MotionScript website. Dan

also provides an excellent collection of example expressions and tutorials for learning how to work with expressions

on the

expressions portion of the MotionScript website.

Lloyd Alvarez provides a collection of useful scripts on his After Effects Scripts website.

Jeff Almasol provides a collection of useful scripts on his redefinery website.

Stu Maschwitz provides insights and tips about After Effects and video, visual effects, and compositing in general on

his

ProLost blog.

The Creative COW website provides several resources for After Effects users. Many of these resources feature Aharon

Rabinowitz:

• Multimedia 101 podcast

• After Effects podcasts

• After Effects tutorials

• After Effects articles

• After Effects Basics forum

• After Effects forum

• After Effects Expressions forum

The Layers Magazine website provides articles and tutorials about After Effects and other Adobe creative products.

David Van Brink provides tips, insights, and downloadable utilities for After Effects and other digital video software

on his

Omino website.

Colin Braley provides tutorials—mostly about expressions—on his website.

Rich Young maintains a list of After Effects resources on his AE Portal News blog.

Rick Gerard provides tips and tricks on his AE Tips and Tricks website.

David Torno provides tips and tutorials about visual effects and compositing on his AE I Owe You blog.

Dean Velez provides many sample projects (some free) and other useful things on his Motion Graphics Lab website.

Jerzy Drozda, Jr. provides After Effects tutorials on his Maltaannon website.

Dale Bradshaw provides scripts and tricks on his Creative Workflow Hacks website.

Richard Harrington provides tutorials and other useful material about After Effects and other video software on his

Photoshop for Video website and Raster|Vector website. He also posts video tutorials on Adobe TV.

Sean Kennedy provides several video tutorials—including some about rotoscoping and motion tracking—on the

SimplyCG website. They're all linked to from

his website.

Ayato Fuji provides tutorials on his ayato@web website. Some of the tutorials are a little out of date, but much of the

material is still strong, especially for learning to use some of the Trapcode plug-ins.

Ko Maruyama, Stephen Schleicher, and Brian Maffitt are among the people who post about After Effects on the DMN

After Effects Channel.

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Chris Pirazzi provides technical details of digital video on his Lurker's Guide to Video website.

Chris Zwar provides articles, After Effects projects, scripts, and other resources on his website.

Christopher Green provides many useful scripts on his website.

New features in After Effects CS4

The new features listed here are only a few highlights from the hundreds of improvements and additions made for

After Effects CS4.

For a complete list of new and changed features in After Effects CS4, see Todd Kopriva's blog on the Adobe website.

For a detailed list of changes to the user interface for After Effects CS4, see “User interface changes from After Effects

CS3 to After Effects CS4” on page 22.

• Create movies tailored to a set of mobile devices that you specify: “Create compositions for playback on mobile

devices” on page 56.

• Configure memory and multiprocessing settings more easily: “Memory & Multiprocessing preferences” on

page 635.

• Use XMP metadata and improved marker features to facilitate various stages of your work: “XMP metadata” on

page 625 and “Markers” on page 619.

• Save compositions for use in Adobe Flash® Professional: “Rendering and exporting for Flash Professional and Flash

Player” on page 705.

• Navigate among nested compositions more easily: “Opening and navigating nested compositions” on page 62.

• Animate each component of position separately: “Separate dimensions of Position to animate components

individually” on page 146.

• Find items more easily with search fields: “Search and filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panels”

on page 17.

• Use 3D object layers from Adobe Photoshop® Extended: “3D object layers from Photoshop” on page 185.

• Save a copy of your project in the new XML project file format to improve automation workflows: “About projects”

on page 49.

• Import or create an Adobe Premiere® Pro sequence using Dynamic Link: “Working with Adobe Premiere Pro and

After Effects” on page 42.

• Use Imagineer Systems mocha for After Effects to track motion: “Tracking and stabilizing motion” on page 261.

For more information about new features in After Effects CS4, go to the Adobe website:

www.adobe.com/go/learn_ae_indepth.

Chris and Trish Meyer provide a discussion of new and changed features in After Effects on the ProVideo Coalition

website. Chris and Trish Meyer also provide a free chapter from their book Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects

on the Focal Press website that explains the new and changed features in After Effects CS4.

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Last updated 12/21/2009

Chapter 2: User interface

Chris and Trish Meyer provide a video overview of the After Effects user interface on the Focal Press website.

Workspaces, panels, and viewers

Workspaces

Adobe video and audio applications provide a consistent, customizable user interface. Although each application has

its own set of panels, you move and group panels in the same way in each application.

The main window of a program is the application window. Panels are organized in this window in an arrangement

called a workspace.

Each application includes several predefined workspaces that optimize the layout of panels for specific tasks. You can

also create and customize your own workspaces by arranging panels in the layout that best suits your working style for

specific tasks.

You can drag panels to new locations, move panels into or out of a group, place panels alongside each other, and

undock a panel so that it floats in a new window above the application window. As you rearrange panels, the other

panels resize automatically to fit the window.

Example workspace

A. Application window B. Grouped panels C. Individual panel

To increase the available screen space, use multiple monitors. When you work with multiple monitors, the application

window appears on the main monitor, and you place floating windows on the second monitor. Monitor configurations

are stored in the workspace.

For a video about workspaces, go to the Adobe website: www.adobe.com/go/vid0249.

Chris and Trish Meyer provide a video overview of the After Effects user interface on the Focal Press website.

BC

A

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More Help topics

“Panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows (keyboard shortcuts)” on page 739

Choose a workspace

• Choose Window > Workspace, and select the desired workspace.

• Choose a workspace from the Workspace menu in the Tools panel.

• If the workspace has a keyboard shortcut assigned, press Shift+F10, Shift+F11, or Shift+F12.

To assign a keyboard shortcut to the current workspace, choose Window > Assign Shortcut To [Workspace Name]

Workspace.

Save, reset, or delete workspaces

Save a custom workspace

As you customize a workspace, the application tracks your changes, storing the most recent layout. To store a specific

layout more permanently, save a custom workspace. Saved custom workspaces appear in the Workspace menu, where

you can return to and reset them.

❖ Arrange the frames and panels as desired, and then choose Window > Workspace > New Workspace. Type a name

for the workspace, and click

OK.

Note: If a project saved with a custom workspace is opened on another system, the application looks for a workspace with

a matching name. If it can’t find a match (or the monitor configuration doesn’t match), it uses the current local

workspace.

Reset a workspace

Reset the current workspace to return to its original, saved layout of panels.

❖ Choose Window > Workspace > Reset workspace name.

Delete a workspace

1 Choose Window > Workspace > Delete Workspace.

2 Choose the workspace you want to delete, and then click OK.

Note: You cannot delete the currently active workspace.

Dock, group, or float panels

You can dock panels together, move them into or out of groups, and undock them so they float above the application

window. As you drag a panel, drop zones—areas onto which you can move the panel—become highlighted. The drop

zone you choose determines where the panel is inserted, and whether it docks or groups with other panels.

Docking zones

Docking zones exist along the edges of a panel, group, or window. Docking a panel places it adjacent to the existing

group, resizing all groups to accommodate the new panel.

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Dragging panel (A) onto docking zone (B) to dock it (C)

Grouping zones

Grouping zones exist in the middle of a panel or group, and along the tab area of panels. Grouping a panel stacks it

with other panels.

Dragging panel (A) onto grouping zone (B) to group it with existing panels (C)

Dock or group panels

1 If the panel you want to dock or group is not visible, choose it from the Window menu.

2 Do one of the following:

•

To move an individual panel, drag the gripper area in the upper-left corner of a panel’s tab onto the desired drop zone.

C

B

A

B

C

A

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Drag panel gripper to move one panel

• To move an entire group, drag the group gripper in the upper-right corner onto the desired drop zone.

Drag group gripper to move entire group

The application docks or groups the panel, according to the type of drop zone.

Undock a panel in a floating window

When you undock a panel in a floating window, you can add panels to the window and modify it similarly to the

application window. You can use floating windows to make use of a secondary monitor, or to create workspaces like

those in earlier versions of Adobe applications.

❖ Select the panel you want to undock (if it’s not visible, choose it from the Window menu), and then do one of the

following:

• Choose Undock Panel or Undock Frame from the panel menu. Undock Frame undocks the panel group.

• Hold down Ctrl (Windows®) or Command (Mac OS®), and drag the panel or group from its current location.

When you release the mouse button, the panel or group appears in a new floating window.

• Drag the panel or group outside the application window. (If the application window is maximized, drag the

panel to the Windows taskbar.)

Resize panel groups

To quickly maximize a panel beneath the pointer, press the ` (accent grave) key. (The accent grave is the unshifted

character under the tilde, ~, on standard US keyboards.) Press the key again to return the panel to its original size.

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When you drag the divider between panel groups, all groups that share the divider are resized.

1 Do either of the following:

• To resize either horizontally or vertically, position the pointer between two panel groups. The pointer becomes a

double arrow

.

• To resize in both directions at once, position the pointer at the intersection between three or more panel groups.

The pointer becomes a four-way arrow

.

2 Hold down the mouse button, and drag to resize the panel groups.

Dragging divider between panel groups to resize them horizontally

A. Original group with resize pointer B. Resized groups

Open, close, and show panels and windows

Even if a panel is open, it may be out of sight, beneath other panels. Choosing a panel from the Window menu opens

it and brings it to the front of its group.

When you close a panel group in the application window, the other groups resize to use the newly available space.

When you close a floating window, the panels within it close, too.

• To open or close a panel, choose the panel from the Window menu.

• To close a panel or window, click its Close button .

• To open or close a panel, use its keyboard shortcut.

• If a frame contains multiple panels, place the pointer over a tab and roll the mouse scroll wheel forward or backward

to change which panel is active.

• If a frame contains more grouped panels than can be shown at once, drag the scroll bar that appears above the tabs.

A

B

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Adobe After Effects CS4 Operating instructions

Adobe After Effects CS4 Operating instructions

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