ADOBE After Effects CS6 User Manual

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Last updated 3/8/2018

Chapter 1: Introduction to After Effects

New features summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Keyboard shortcuts reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

System requirements | After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

System requirements | Older versions of After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Chapter 2: Workspaces

Planning and setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Setup and installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

General user interface items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Working with After Effects and other applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Sync Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Workspaces, panels, and viewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Use the Adobe Color Themes extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Dynamic Link and After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

From an expert: Creative Dynamic Link workflows with Premiere Pro and After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

iii

Chapter 3: Projects and compositions

Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

CINEMA 4D Composition Renderer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Composition basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Precomposing, nesting, and pre-rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Timecode and time display units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Chapter 4: Importing footage

Importing and interpreting footage items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Importing and interpreting video and audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Preparing and importing 3D image files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Working with footage items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

CINEMA 4D and Cineware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Importing from After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Preparing and importing still images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Chapter 5: Views and previews

Previewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Video preview with Mercury Transmit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Modifying and using views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Chapter 6: Layers and properties

Creating layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Selecting and arranging layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Managing layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Layer properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

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Content s

Blending modes and layer styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

3D layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Cameras, lights, and points of interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Chapter 7: Animation and keyframes

Animation basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Compositing tools for VR/360 videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Apply immersive video effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Construct VR environments in After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Work with Data-driven animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Data-driven animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Create Motion Graphics templates in After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Assorted animation tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Setting, selecting, and deleting keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Editing, moving, and copying keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Keyframe interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Time-stretching and time-remapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Tracking 3D camera movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

Face Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Animating with Puppet tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Tracking and stabilizing motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

Chapter 8: Color

Color basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Color management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

Creative Cloud Libraries in After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

Chapter 9: Drawing, painting, and paths

Paint tools: Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371

Overview of shape layers, paths, and vector graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380

Creating shapes and masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386

Managing and animating shape paths and masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

Mask Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409

Shape attributes, paint operations, and path operations for shape layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411

Mask Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

Chapter 10: Text

Creating and editing text layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

Formatting characters and the Character panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

Examples and resources for text animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

Animating text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

Extruding text and shape layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454

Formatting paragraphs and the Paragraph panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

Li ve Te xt Tem plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

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Content s

Chapter 11: Transparency and compositing

Compositing and transparency overview and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

Alpha channels, masks, and mattes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

Keying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475

Roto Brush, Refine Edge, and Refine Matte effects | CC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478

Chapter 12: Markers

Layer markers and composition markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490

XMP metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493

Chapter 13: Memory, storage, performance

Improve performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

GPU (CUDA, OpenGL) features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502

Memory and storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504

Chapter 14: Rendering and exporting

Basics of rendering and exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512

Rendering and exporting still images and still-image sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529

Export an After Effects project as an Adobe Premiere Pro project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

Converting movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

Automated rendering and network rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

Using the GoPro CineForm codec in After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542

Chapter 15: Expressions and automation

Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546

Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547

Expression basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548

Expression language reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561

Expression examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590

Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594

Chapter 16: Collaboration with Adobe After Effects

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Chapter 1: Introduction to After Effects

New features summary

The January 2018 (15.0.1) and October 2017 (15.0) releases of After Effects roll out exciting new features for visual effects artists, graphic editors, and animators. Read on for a quick introduction to the list of new features and enhancements.

For a summary of features introduced in earlier releases of After Effects CC, see Feature summary | Earlier releases .

New features in the January 2018 release

Import support for more video formats

New in the January 2018 release

After Effects can now import the following video formats:

• ARRI ALEXA Mini MXF/ARRIRAW: You can import footage shot by ARRI ALEXA Mini camera in

MXF/ARRIRAW format (ARRIRAW codec in an MXF container file) into After Effects.

• HEVC (H.265) QuickTime: You can import HEVC codec footage in QuickTime (.mov) format such as footage shot

by iPhone or iPad with iOS 11 into After Effects.

Audio sync improvement with variable frame rate footage

New in the January 2018 release

Af ter Eff ect s ma intai ns aud io sync wh en y ou pla y or ex por t a f oot age re corde d wi th a var iable fra me r ate su ch as a vid eo shot on mobile phone.

If there is a significant difference between the video and audio frame rates, maintaining audio sync could cause variable frame rate footage to stutter. the following steps:

• Select footage in the Project panel.

• Select File > Interpret Footage > Main.

• Click More Options.

• In the dialog, set Variable Frame Rate Mode to Preserve Audio Sync (default) or Smooth Video Motion.

• Click OK.

If you want smooth playback, you can choose if After Effects preserves audio sync with

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Introduction to After Effects

The Variable Frame Rate Mode options are only available for variable frame rate footage in an MPEG-4 (.MP4) container. If you use variable frame rate MPEG-4, H.264, or HEVC/H.265 footage inside a QuickTime (.MOV) container, you can sync audio by importing the footage as an MPEG file:

• In the Import dialog, set Enable to All Files, and set Format to MPEG.

• Select the QuickTime file and click Open (macOS) or Import (Win).

Bug fixes

New in the January 2018 release

This release provides fixes to a host of issues. For more information, see List of bug fixes in the After Effects CC 2018.0

(January 2018) Release .

Other enhancements

New in the January 2018 release

• The Create VR Environment and Extract Cubemap tools reduce GPU memory use by generating the intermediate

cubemap in 3:2 format instead of 4:3 format. When Use Edge Blending option is enabled, the memory optimization can not be used.

• After Effects assigns the sRGB IEC61966-2.1 color profile when you enable color management. This is applicable

to JPEG, PNG, PSD, TIFF, and other still-image format footages if there is no color profile embedded in the footage.

• The Set Poster Frame button in the Essential Graphics panel is now named Set Poster Time. You can use the button

to set the time of the composition from which the poster frame renders. The poster frame renders when you export the Motion Graphics template.

New features in the October 2017 release

What's New in After Effects CC (October 2017)

Data-driven animation

New in the October 2017 release

Import JSON data files into After Effects to drive interactive animations inside the application. The JSON file format is flexible and can contain static data easily represent database such as election statistics, survey results, or weather reports. MGJSON can be created and imported for time-based sampled data from data sources such as fitness trackers, telemetry, and motion capture. These data files can be used as footage, to create animations, pie charts, sliders, or create high-quality motion graphics in After Effects.

To le a r n m ore, s e e Work with Data-driven animation.

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Introduction to After Effects

Data-driven animation

Visual keyboard shortcut editor

New in the October 2017 release

Change the way you work with keyboard-driven editing with the new visual keyboard shortcut editor. You can assign shortcuts to keys to suit your requirement and simplify the keyboard-driven editing process.

To le a r n m ore, s e e Visual keyboard shortcut editor.

Visual keyboard shortcuts

Expressions access to path points on masks, shapes, and brush strokes

New in the October 2017 release

You can now use expressions to read and write the x and y coordinates of path points, or vertices, for Layer masks, Bezier shapes, Brush strokes on the Paint, and Roto Brush & Refine Edge effects.

To le a r n m ore, s e e Managing and animating shape paths and masks.

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Introduction to After Effects

Expression access to paths points on shapes, masks, and brush strokes (expression reference) .

Create Nulls From Paths panel

New in the October 2017 release

Create Nulls From Paths panel enables you to create expression-driven animations without having to write expressions yourself. The panel creates nulls for each path and shape point. This script automates the linking of these nulls using the new expression access to paths points and creates interactive animations.

To le a r n m ore, s e e Create Nulls From Paths panel .

Animate nulls with Create Nulls From Paths panel

360/VR transitions, effects, and titles

New in the October 2017 release

After Effects offers a cutting-edge line-up of tools for 360/VR editing. Create high-quality VR productions, effects, titles, and seamless transitions to enhance the Immersive video experience.

To learn more, see Construct VR environments in After Effects, Apply immersive video effects, and Compositing tools

for VR/360 videos .

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360/VR support

Performance enhancement

New in the October 2017 release

The following effects are now GPU accelerated in After Effects:

• Layer transforms (position, rotation, opacity, etc.)

• Layer motion blur

• Bicubic sampling

• Tr a nsform effect

• Directional Blur effect

• Immersive video VR effects

• Third-party effects that use Premiere Pro's Mercury GPU acceleration API

Performance enhancements in After Effects

Motion Graphics templates improvements

New in the October 2017 release

Premiere Pro does not require After Effects to be installed on the same computer to render most Motion Graphics templates exported from After Effects. However, there are certain requirements to render without After Effects. You can confirm on export that your template meets the requirements.

Motion Graphics templates now have scripting access.

To le a r n m ore, s e e Create Motion Graphics templates in After Effects.

Team Projects 1.0 support

New in the October 2017 release

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Introduction to After Effects

Support for Team Projects 1.0 includes various improvements to auto-save functionality and other improvements.

Auto-save improvements:

• You can now browse through the auto-save versions of your project in Team Projects.

• You can change an earlier auto-save version to the current version of a Team Project.

• You can create a Team Project from an auto-save version.

Other improvements:New features summary

• Team Projects in After Effects now includes Sync status.

• You can now assign collaborator badges from the Toolbar.

To learn more, see Team Projects New features summary.

Maxon CINEMA 4D renderer and CINEWARE render engine update

New in the October 2017 release

Maxon CINEMA 4D Lite, which is included with After Effects, has been updated to version R19. Changes include:

Viewport OpenGL enhancements, BodyPaint 3D now uses OpenGL for painting, Updated Spline Tools, Live Link, Take System, Parallax Effect, Vertex Color tag support, and Import Alembic 1.6.1 and FBX 2017.1 files.

To le a r n m ore, s e e CINEMA 4D and Cineware.

Maxon CINEMA 4D Lite R19

New in the October 2017 release

The render engin e used by the Maxon CINEM A 4D re ndere r and t he CIN EWARE pl ug-in has be en up dated t o vers ion R19.

Text input improvements

New in the October 2017 release

You can use the new text input improvements to enter text in text layers more efficiently. The text improvements include:

• Switch between right-left and left-to-right text direction

• Font ligature and Hindi digits support

• Simplified Text Engine options to support the new character and paragraph options

To le a r n m ore, s e e Expanded text support.

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Introduction to After Effects

Font previews and other improvements to the Font menu

New in the October 2017 release

The Font menu in the Character panel now includes a preview of the fonts. Along with the preview, the new Font menu also allows you to:

• Set fonts as favorites, and show only your favorite fonts.

• Show only fonts downloaded from Typekit.

• Choose the style for the font family such as Regular, Italic, Bold, Light, and Oblique.

To le a r n m ore, s e e Font menu .

New getting started experience

New in the October 2017 release

After Effects has made it easy to get you started with your first project with the new getting started experience. A new Start screen helps you speed through the project setup process so you can start animating right away. The Composition panel now displays buttons for creating a composition; or creating a composition from footage. You can directly click one of the buttons to get the work going.

The Import Footage dialog has a new Create Composition option, which automatically adds the footage you import to a new composition.

New getting started experience

Other enhancements

New in the October 2017 release

• The After Effects UI uses a new Adobe Clean font.

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Introduction to After Effects

• After Effects offers easy identification of shy layers (layers with shy switch enabled). Shy layers are represented by a

bold line in between visible layers when the Hide Shy layer option is enabled.

• Mercury Transmit video preview in After Effects supports 10-bits per channel color output when using 10-bit

capable preview hardware, like the AJA Io 4K. On Windows, you can also use a secondary monitor for 10-bit color preview if the GPU and monitor of the machine support that color depth.

• The Show Start Screen When Opening a Project option in General menu has been removed.

• Video footage from ARRI, RED, or Sony cameras once again retains custom source settings when exchanged with

the latest version of Premiere Pro CC.

• After Effects no longer automatically installs Character Animator CC. You can install Character Animator from the

Creative Cloud desktop application along with other desktop applications.

Keyboard shortcuts reference

Visual Keyboard Shortcut Editor

You can work visually when you lay out your keyboard shortcuts with the visual keyboard shortcut editor. You can use the keyboard user interface to view the keys that have been assigned shortcuts, available keys for assignment, and modify assigned shortcuts.

Work with Visual Keyboard Shortcut Editor

To open the editor, select Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts (Ctrl+Alt+').

The editor is divided into three parts:

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Introduction to After Effects

Keyboard shortcut UI

• Keyboard layout: A representation of the hardware keyboard where you can view which keys have been assigned a

shortcut, and which are available.

• Command list: The list displays all the commands that can be assigned shortcuts.

• Ke y modifier list: The list displays all the modifier combinations and assigned shortcuts associated with the key you

select on the keyboard layout.

Color coding

Gray: In the keyboard layout, keys shaded gray do not have any shortcuts assigned to them.

Purple: In the keyboard layout, keys shaded purple are assigned application-wide shortcuts.

Green: In the keyboard layout keys shaded green are assigned panel-specific shortcuts.

Application Shortcuts

The keyboard layout displays application-wide shortcuts by default. These shortcuts work irrespective of which panel is selected. The Command list displays the entire set of commands available. When you select a key in the keyboard layout for application-wide commands, the key is outlined with a blue focus indicator. The Command list displays the Application command assigned to it. The Key modifier list inspects and it displays a list of all the commands assigned to the key and each of the possible modifier combinations.

Panel shortcuts

You can switch to panel-specific view from the Command drop-down list. The keyboard layout only displays keys shaded green. These shortcuts only work when the specific panel is active. When you view a set of Panel shortcuts, only the commands specific to that panel are displayed.

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Introduction to After Effects

Panel shortcuts

Assigning shortcuts

You can assign shortcuts to commands in the Command list shortcut column. Select the command and type the shortcut in the text field. You can search for commands in the Command List, which is filtered by the search criteria. You can also assign shortcuts by clicking in the shortcut column and tapping keys on their keyboard to create the shortcut (including adding modifiers).

You can also assign shortcuts by dragging a command from the Command list onto a key in the keyboard layout or to the Key modifier list. You can drag keys in the keyboard layout onto a command in the Command List to assign them to the command. When a Panel shortcut has the same assigned shortcut as an Application shortcut, the application- wide shortcut does not function when that panel is active.

When After Effects detects a non-supported keyboard, the default view is to display the U.S. English keyboard. By default, the After Effects Default preset is displayed.

Exceptions

After Effects does not allow you to reassign the following keys:

• A

• AA

• E

• EE

• F

• FF

• L

• LL

• M,

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Introduction to After Effects

• MM

• P

• PP

• R

• RR

• S

• SS

• T

• TT

• U

• UU

Key tool tips

Long commands assigned to keys are abbreviated. Hover over a key to view a tool tip containing the full name of the command, and information whether it is an Application or Panel shortcut.

Conflicts and resolutions

Conflicts

A warning indicating a shortcut conflict appears when:

• An Application shortcut already in use by another Application shortcut.

• A Panel shortcut is already in use by another command in the same panel.

• A Panel shortcut overrides an Application shortcut when that panel has focus.

Resolution

• When you type a shortcut that is already in use with another command, a warning message is displayed at the

bottom of the editor.

• Undo and Clear buttons in the lower right corner are enabled.

• The command in conflict is highlighted in blue, and clicking this automatically selects the command in the

Command List.

Saving custom keyboard shortcut sets

You can modify the shortcuts and save them using the Save As button.

General

Result Windows Mac OS

Select all Ctrl+A Command+A

Deselect all F2 or Ctrl+Shift+A F2 or Command+Shift+A

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Introduction to After Effects

Rename selected layer, composition, folder, effect, group, or mask

Open selected layer, composition, or footage item

Move selected layers, masks, effects, or render items down (back) or up (forward) in stacking order

Move selected layers, masks, effects, or render items to bottom (back) or top (front) of stacking order

Extend selection to next item in Projec t panel, Render Queue panel, or Effect Controls panel

Extend selection to previous item in Project panel, Render Queue panel, or Effect Controls panel

Duplicate selected layers, masks, effects, text selectors, animators, puppet meshes, shapes, render items, output modules, or compositions

Quit Ctrl+Q Command+Q

Undo Ctrl+Z Command+Z

Redo Ctrl+Shift+Z Command+Shift+Z

Purge All Memory Ctrl+Alt+/ (on numeric keypad) Command+Option+/ (on numeric keypad)

Enter on main keyboard Return

Enter on numeric keypad Enter on numeric keypad

Ctrl+Alt+Down Arrow or Ctrl+Alt+Up Arrow Command+Option+Down Arrow or

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Down Arrow or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Up Arrow

Shift+Down Arrow Shift+Down Arrow

Shift+Up Arrow Shift+Up Arrow

Ctrl+D Command+D

Command+Option+Up Arrow

Command+Option+Shift+Down Arrow or Command+Option+Shift+Up Arrow

Interrupt running a script Esc Esc

Display filename corresponding to the frame at the current time in the Info panel

Ctrl+Alt+E Command+Option+E

Projects

Result Windows Mac OS

New project Ctrl+Alt+N Command+Option+N

Open project Ctrl+O Command+O

Open most recent project Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P Command+Option+Shift+P

New folder in Project panel Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N Command+Option+Shift+N

Open Project Settings dialog box Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K Command+Option+Shift+K

Find in Project panel Ctrl+F Command+F

Cycle through color bit depths for project Alt-click bit-depth button at bottom of Projec t

panel

Open Project Settings dialog box Click bit-depth button at bottom of Project

panel

Option-click bit-depth button at bottom of Project panel

Click bit-depth button at bottom of Project panel

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Introduction to After Effects

Preferences

Result Windows Mac OS

Open Preferences dialog box Ctrl+Alt+; (semicolon) Command+Option+; (semicolon)

Restore default preferences settings Hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift while starting After

Effects

Hold down Command+Option+Shift while starting After Effects

Panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows

Note: (Mac OS) Shortcuts involving function keys F9-F12 may conflict with shortcuts used by the operating system. See Mac OS Help for instructions to reassign Dashboard & Expose shortcuts.

Result Windows Mac OS

Open or close Project panel Ctrl+0 Command+0

Open or close Render Queue panel Ctrl+Alt+0 Command+Option+0

Open or close Tools panel Ctrl+1 Command+1

Open or close Info panel Ctrl+2 Command+2

Open or close Preview panel Ctrl+3 Command+3

Open or close Audio panel Ctrl+4 Command+4

Open or close Effects & Presets panel Ctrl+5 Command+5

Open or close Character panel Ctrl+6 Command+6

Open or close Paragraph panel Ctrl+7 Command+7

Open or close Paint panel Ctrl+8 Command+8

Open or close Brushes panel Ctrl+9 Command+9

Open or close Effect Controls panel for selected layer

Open Flowchart panel for project flowchart Ctrl+F11 Command+F11

Switch to workspace Shift+F10, Shift+F11, or Shift+F12 Shift+F10, Shift+F11, or Shift+F12

Close active viewer or panel (closes content first)

Close active panel or all viewers of type of active viewer (closes content first). For example, if a Timeline panel is active, this command closes all Timeline panels.

Split the frame containing the active viewer and create a viewer with opposite locked/unlocked state

Maximize or restore panel under pointer ` (accent grave) ` (accent grave)

Resize application window or floating window to fit screen. (Press again to resize window so that contents fill the screen.)

F3 or Ctrl+Shift+T F3 or Command+Shift+T

Ctrl+W Command+W

Ctrl+Shift+W Command+Shift+W

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N Command+Option+Shift+N

Ctrl+\ (backslash) Command+\ (backslash)

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Introduction to After Effects

Move application window or floating window to main monitor; resize window to fit screen. (Press again to resize window so that contents fill the screen.)

Toggle activation between Composition panel and Timeline panel for current composition

Cycle to previous or next item in active viewer (for example, cycle through open compositions)

Cycle to previous or next panel in active frame (for example, cycle through open Timeline panels)

Activate a view in a multi-view layout in the Composition panel without affecting layer selection

Ctrl+Alt+\ (backslash) Command+Option+\ (backslash)

\ (backslash) \ (backslash)

Shift+, (comma) or Shift+. (period) Shift+, (comma) or Shift+. (period)

Alt+Shift+, (comma) or Alt+Shift+. (period) Option+Shift+, (comma) or Option+Shift+.

(period)

Click with middle mouse button Click with middle mouse button

Activate tools

Note: You can activate some tools only under certain circumstances. For example, you can activate a camera tool only when the active composition contains a camera layer.

To momentarily activate a tool with a single-letter keyboard shortcut, hold down the key; release the key to return to the previously active tool. To activate a tool and keep it active, press the key and immediately release it.

Result Windows Mac OS

Cycle through tools Alt-click tool button in Tools panel Option-click tool button in Tools panel

Activate Selection tool V V

Activate Hand tool H H

Temporarily activate Hand tool Hold down spacebar or the middle mouse

Activate Zoom In tool Z Z

Activate Zoom Out tool Alt (when Zoom In tool is active) Option (when Zoom In tool is active)

Activate Rotation tool W W

Activate Roto Brush tool Alt+W Option+W

Activate Refine Edge tool Alt+W Option+W

Activate and cycle through Camera tools (Unified Camera, Orbit Camera, Track XY Camera, and Track Z Camera)

Activate Pan Behind tool Y Y

Activate and cycle through mask and shape tools (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Star)

Activate and cycle through Type tools (Horizontal and Vertical)

button

C C

Q Q

Ctrl+T Command+T

Hold down spacebar or the middle mouse button

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Introduction to After Effects

Activate and cycle between the Pen and Mask Feather tools. (Note: You can turn off this setting in the Preferences dialog box.)

Temporarily activate Selection tool when a pen tool is selected

Temporarily activate Pen tool when the Selection tool is selected and pointer is over a path (Add Vertex tool when pointer is over a segment; Convert Vertex tool when pointer is over a vertex)

Activate and cycle through Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser tools

Activate and cycle through Puppet tools Ctrl+P Command+P

Temporarily convert Selection tool to Shape Duplication tool

Temporarily convert Selection tool to Direct Selection tool

G G

Ctrl Command

Ctrl+Alt Command+Option

Ctrl+B Command+B

Alt (in shape layer) Option (in shape layer)

Ctrl (in shape layer) Command (in shape layer)

Compositions and the work area

Result Windows Mac OS

New composition Ctrl+N Command+N

Open Composition Settings dialog box for selected composition

Set beginning or end of work area to current time

Set work area to duration of selected layers or, if no layers are selected, set work area to composition duration

Open Composition Mini-Flowchart for active composition

Activate the most recently active composition that is in the same composition hierarchy (network of nested compositions) as the currently active composition

Trim Composition to work area Ctrl+Shift+X Command+Shift+X

New Composition from selection Alt+\ Option+\

Ctrl+K Command+K

B or N B or N

Ctrl+Alt+B Command+Option+B

Tab Tab

Shift+Esc Shift+Esc

Time navigation

Result Windows Mac OS

Go to specific time Alt+Shift+J Option+Shift+J

Go to beginning or end of work area Shift+Home or Shift+End Shift+Home or Shift+End

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Introduction to After Effects

Go to previous or next visible item in time ruler (keyframe, layer marker, work area beginning or end)

(Note: Also goes to beginning, end, or base frame of Roto Brush span if viewing Roto Brush in Layer panel.)

Go to beginning of composition, layer, or footage item

Go to end of composition, layer, or footage item

Go forward 1 frame Page Down or Ctrl+Right Arrow Page Down or Command+Right Arrow

Go forward 10 frames Shift+Page Down or Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow Shift+Page Down or Command+Shift+Right

Go backward 1 frame Page Up or Ctrl+Left Arrow Page Up or Command+Left Arrow

Go backward 10 frames Shift+Page Up or Ctrl+Shift+Left Arrow Shift+Page Up or Command+Shift+Left Arrow

Go to layer In point I I

Go to layer Out point O O

Go to previous In point or Out point Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Left Arrow Command+Option+Shift+Left Arrow

Go to next In point or Out point Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Right Arrow Command+Option+Shift+Right Arrow

Scroll to current time in Timeline panel D D

J or K J or K

Home or Ctrl+Alt+Left Arrow Home or Command+Option+Left Arrow

End or Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow End or Command+Option+Right Arrow

Arrow

Previews

Result Windows Mac OS

Start or stop preview Spacebar, 0 on numeric keypad, Shift+0 on

Reset preview settings to replicate RAM Preview and Standard Preview behaviors

Preview only audio, from current time . (decimal point) on numeric keypad* . (decimal point) on numeric keypad* or

Preview only audio, in work area Alt+. (decimal point) on numeric keypad* Option+. (decimal point) on numeric keypad*

Manually preview (scrub) video Drag or Alt-drag current-time indicator,

Manually preview (scrub) audio Ctrl-drag current-time indicator Command-drag current-time indicator

Preview number of frames specified by Alternate Preview preference (defaults to 5)

Toggle Mercury Transmit video preview / (on numeric keypad) / (on numeric keypad), Control+/ on main

Take snapshot Shift+F5, Shift+F6, Shift+F7, or Shift+F8 Shift+F5, Shift+F6, Shift+F7, or Shift+F8

Display snapshot in active viewer F5, F6, F7, or F8 F5, F6, F7, or F8

numeric keypad

Alt-click Reset in Preview panel Option-click Reset in Preview panel

depending on Live Update setting

Alt+0 on numeric keypad* Option+0 on numeric keypad* or

Spacebar, 0 on numeric keypad, Shift+0 on numeric keypad

Control+. (period) on main keyboard

or Control+Option+. (period) on main keyboard

Drag or Option-drag current-time indicator, depending on Live Update setting

Control+Option+0 (zero) on main keyboard

keyboard

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Introduction to After Effects

Purge snapshot Ctrl+Shift+F5, Ctrl+Shift+F6, Ctrl+Shift +F7, or

Ctrl+Shift+F8

Fast Previews > Off Ctrl+Alt+1 Command+Option+1

Fast Previews > Adaptive Resolution Ctrl+Alt+2 Command+Option+2

Fast Previews > Draft Ctrl+Alt+3 Command+Option+3

Fast Previews > Fast Draft Ctrl+Alt+4 Command+Option+4

Fast Previews > Wireframe Ctrl+Alt+5 Command+Option+5

Command+Shift+F5, Command+Shift+F6, Command+Shift+F7, or Command+Shift+F8

Note: Some shortcuts are marked with an asterisk (*) to remind you to make sure that Num Lock is on when you use the numeric keypad.

Views

Result Windows Mac OS

Turn display color management on or off for active view

Show red, green, blue, or alpha channel as grayscale

Show colorized red, green, or blue channel Alt+Shift+1, Alt+Shift+2, Alt+Shift+3 Option+Shift+1, Option+Shift+2,

Toggle showing straight RGB color Alt+Shift+4 Option+Shift+4

Shift+/ (on numeric keypad) Shift+/ (on numeric keypad)

Alt+1, Alt+2, Alt+3, Alt+4 Option+1, Option+2, Option+3, Option+4

Option+Shift+3

Show alpha boundary (outline between transparent and opaque regions) in Layer panel

Show alpha overlay (colored overlay on transparent regions) in Layer panel

Show Refine Edge X-ray Alt+X Option+X

Center composition in the panel Double-click Hand tool Double-click Hand tool

Zoom-in in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel

Zoom-out in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel

Zoom to 100% in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel

Zoom to fit in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel

Zoom up to 100% to fit in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel

Set resolution to Full, Half, or Custom in Composition panel

Open View Options dialog box for active Composition panel

Zoom in time = (equal sign) on main keyboard = (equal sign) on main keyboard

Alt+5 Option+5

Alt+6 Option+6

. (period) on main keyboard . (period) on main keyboard

, (comma) , (comma)

/ (on main keyboard) / (on main keyboard)

Shift+/ (on main keyboard) Shift+/ (on main keyboard)

Alt+/ (on main keyboard) Option+/ (on main keyboard)

Ctrl+J, Ctrl+Shift+J, Ctrl+Alt+J Command+J, Command+Shift+J,

Command+Option+J

Ctrl+Alt+U Command+Option+U

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Introduction to After Effects

Zoom out time - (hyphen) on main keyboard - (hyphen) on main keyboard

Zoom in Timeline panel to single-frame units (Press again to zoom out to show entire composition duration.)

Zoom out in Timeline panel to show the entire composition duration (Press again to zoom back in to the duration specified by the Time Navigator.)

Prevent images from being rendered for previews in viewer panels

Show or hide safe zones ' (apostrophe) ' (apostrophe)

Show or hide grid Ctrl+' (apostrophe) Command+' (apostrophe)

Show or hide proportional grid Alt+' (apostrophe) Option+' (apostrophe)

Show or hide rulers Ctrl+R Command+R

Show or hide guides Ctrl+; (semicolon) Command+; (semicolon)

Turn snapping to grid on or off Ctrl+Shift+' (apostrophe) Command+Shift+' (apostrophe)

Turn snapping to guides on or off Ctrl+Shift+; (semicolon) Command+Shift+; (semicolon)

Lock or unlock guides Ctrl+Alt+Shift+; (semicolon) Command+Option+Shift+; (semicolon)

Show or hide layer controls (masks, motion paths, light and camera wireframes, effect control points, and layer handles)

; (semicolon) ; (semicolon)

Shift+; (semicolon) Shift+; (semicolon)

Caps Lock Caps Lock

Ctrl+Shift+H Command+Shift+H

Footage

Result Windows Mac OS

Import one file or image sequence Ctrl+I Command+I

Import multiple files or image sequences Ctrl+Alt+I Command+Option+I

Open movie in an After Effects Footage panel Double-click the footage item in the Project

Add selected items to most recently activated composition

Replace selected source footage for selected layers with footage item selected in Project panel

Replace source for a selected layer Alt-drag footage item from Project panel onto

Delete a footage item without a warning Ctrl+Backspace Command+Delete

Open Interpret Footage dialog box for selected footage item

Remember footage interpretation Ctrl+Alt+C Command+Option+C

Edit selected footage item in application with which it’s associated (Edit Original)

panel

Ctrl+/ (on main keyboard) Command+/ (on main keyboard)

Ctrl+Alt+/ (on main keyboard) Command+Option+/ (on main keyboard)

selected layer

Ctrl+Alt+G Command+Option+G

Ctrl+E Command+E

Double-click the footage item in the Project panel

Option-drag footage item from Project panel onto selected layer

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Replace selected footage item Ctrl+H Command+H

Reload selected footage items Ctrl+Alt+L Command+Option+L

Set proxy for selected footage item Ctrl+Alt+P Command+Option+P

Effects and animation presets

Result Windows Mac OS

Delete all effects from selected layers Ctrl+Shift+E Command+Shift+E

Apply most recently applied effec t to selected layers

Apply most recently applied animation preset to selected layers

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E Command+Option+Shift+E

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F Command+Option+Shift+F

Layers

Note: Some operations do not affect shy layers.

Result Windows Mac OS

New solid layer Ctrl+Y Command+Y

New null layer Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Y Command+Option+Shift+Y

New adjustment layer Ctrl+Alt+Y Command+Option+Y

Select layer (1-999) by its number (enter digits rapidly for two-digit and three-digit numbers)

Toggle selection of layer (1-999) by its number (enter digits rapidly for two-digit and threedigit numbers)

Select next layer in stacking order Ctrl+Down Arrow Command+Down Arrow

Select previous layer in stacking order Ctrl+Up Arrow Command+Up Arrow

Extend selection to next layer in stacking order

0-9 on numeric keypad* 0-9 on numeric keypad*

Shift+0-9 on numeric keypad* Shift+0-9 on numeric keypad*

Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow Command+Shift+Down Arrow

Extend selection to previous layer in stacking order

Deselect all layers Ctrl+Shift+A Command+Shift+A

Scroll topmost selected layer to top of Timeline panel

Show or hide Parent column Shift+F4 Shift+F4

Show or hide Layer Switches and Modes columns

Setting the sampling method for selected layers (Best/Bilinear)

Setting the sampling method for selected layers (Best/Bicubic)

Turn off all other solo switches Alt-click solo switch Option-click solo switch

Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow Command+Shift+Up Arrow

X X

F4 F4

Alt+B Option+B

Alt+Shift+B Option+Shift+B

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Turn Video (eyeball) switch on or off for selected layers

Turn off Video switch for all video layers other than selected layers

Open settings dialog box for selected solid, light, camera, null, or adjustment layer

Paste layers at current time Ctrl+Alt+V Command+Option+V

Split selected layers. (If no layers are selected, split all layers.)

Precompose selected layers Ctrl+Shift+C Command+Shift+C

Open Effect Controls panel for selected layers Ctrl+Shift+T Command+Shift+T

Open layer in Layer panel (opens source composition for precomposition layer in Composition panel)

Open source of a layer in Footage panel (opens precomposition layer in Layer panel)

Reverse selected layers in time Ctrl+Alt+R Command+Option+R

Enable time remapping for selected layers Ctrl+Alt+T Command+Option+T

Move selected layers so that their In point or Out point is at the current time

Trim In point or Out point of selected layers to current time

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V Command+Option+Shift+V

Ctrl+Shift+V Command+Shift+V

Ctrl+Shift+Y Command+Shift+Y

Ctrl+Shift+D Command+Shift+D

Double-click a layer Double-click a layer

Alt-double-click a layer Option-double-click a layer

[ (left bracket) or ] (right bracket) [ (left bracket) or ] (right bracket)

Alt+[ (left bracket) or Alt+] (right bracket) Option+[ (left bracket) or Option+] (right

bracket)

Add or remove expression for a property Alt-click stopwatch Option-click stopwatch

Add an effect (or multiple selected effects) to selected layers

Set In point or Out point by time-stretching Ctrl+Shift+, (comma) or Ctrl+Alt+, (comma) Command+Shift+, (comma) or

Move selected layers so that their In point is at beginning of composition

Move selected layers so that t heir Out point is at end of composition

Lock selected layers Ctrl+L Command+L

Unlock all layers Ctrl+Shift+L Command+Shift+L

Set Quality to Best, Draft, or Wireframe for selected layers

Cycle forward or backward through blending modes for selected layers

Find in Timeline panel Ctrl+F Command+F

Double-click effect selection in Effects & Presets panel

Alt+Home Option+Home

Alt+End Option+End

Ctrl+U, Ctrl+Shift+U, or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+U Command+U, Command+Shift+U,

Shift+- (hyphen) or Shift+= (equal sign) on the main keyboard

Double-click effect selection in Effects & Presets panel

Command+Option+, (comma)

Command+Option+Shift+U

Shift+- (hyphen) or Shift+= (equal sign) on the main keyboard

Note: Some shortcuts are marked with an asterisk (*) to remind you to make sure that Num Lock is on when you use the numeric keypad.

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel

Note: This table contains double-letter shortcuts (for example, LL). To use these shortcuts, press the letters in quick succession.

Result Windows Mac OS

Find in Timeline panel Ctrl+F Command+F

Toggle expansion of selected layers to show all properties

Toggle expansion of property group and all child property groups to show all properties

Show only Anchor Point property (for lights and cameras, Point Of Interest)

Show only Audio Levels property L L

Show only Mask Feather property F F

Show only Mask Path property M M

Show only Mask Opacity property TT TT

Show only Opacity property (for lights, Intensity)

Show only Position property P P

Show only Rotation and Orientation properties

Show only Scale property S S

Show only Time Remap property RR RR

Show only instances of missing effects FF FF

Show only Effects property group E E

Ctrl+` (accent grave) Command+` (accent grave)

Ctrl-click triangle to the left of the property group name

A A

T T

R R

Command-click triangle to the left of the property group name

Show only mask property groups MM MM

Show only Material Options property group AA AA

Show only expressions EE EE

Show properties with keyframes U U

Show only modified properties UU UU

Show only paint strokes, Roto Brush strokes, and Puppet pins

Show only audio waveform LL LL

Show only selected properties and groups SS SS

Hide property or group Alt+Shift-click property or group name Option+Shift-click property or group name

Add or remove property or group from set that is shown

Add or remove keyframe at current time Alt+Shift+property shortcut Option+property shortcut

PP PP

Shift+property or group shortcut Shift+property or group shortcut

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Showing properties in the Effect Controls panel

Result Windows Mac OS

Toggle expansion of selected effects to show all properties

Toggle expansion of property group and all child property groups to show all properties

Ctrl+` (accent grave) Command+` (accent grave)

Ctrl-click triangle to the left of the property group name

Command-click triangle to the left of the property group name

Modifying layer properties

Result Windows Mac OS

Modify property value by default increments Drag property value Drag property value

Modify property value by 10x default increments

Modify property value by 1/10 default increments

Open Auto-Orientation dialog box for selected layers

Open Opacity dialog box for selected layers Ctrl+Shift+O Command+Shift+O

Open Rotation dialog box for selected layers Ctrl+Shift+R Command+Shift+R

Open Position dialog box for selected layers Ctrl+Shift+P Command+Shift+P

Center-selected layers in view (modifies Position property to place anchor points of selected layers in center of current view)

Shift-drag property value Shift-drag property value

Ctrl-drag property value Command-drag property value

Ctrl+Alt+O Command+Alt+O

Ctrl+Home Command+Home

Center anchor point in the visible content Ctrl+Alt+Home Command+Option+Home

Move selected layers 1 pixel at current magnification (Position)

Move selected layers 10 pixels at current magnification (Position)

Move selected layers 1 frame earlier or later Alt+Page Up or Alt+Page Down Option+Page Up or Option+Page Down

Move selected layers 10 frames earlier or later Alt+Shift+Page Up or Alt+Shift+Page Down Option+Shift+Page Up or Option+Shift+Page

Increase or decrease Rotation (Z Rotation) of selected layers by 1°

Increase or decrease Rotation (Z Rotation) of selected layers by 10°

Increase or decrease Opacity (or Intensity for light layers) of selected layers by 1%

Increase or decrease Opacity (or Intensity for light layers) of selected layers by 10%

Increase Scale of selected layers by 1% Ctrl++ (plus) or Alt++ (plus) on numeric

Decrease Scale of selected layers by 1% Ctrl+- (minus) or Alt+- (minus) on numeric

Arrow key Arrow key

Shift+arrow key Shift+arrow key

Down

+ (plus) or - (minus) on numeric keypad + (plus) or - (minus) on numeric keypad

Shift++ (plus) or Shift+- (minus) on numeric keypad

Ctrl+Alt++ (plus) or Ctrl+Alt+- (minus) on numeric keypad

Ctrl+Alt+Shift++ (plus) or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+(minus) on numeric keypad

keypad

Shift++ (plus) or Shift+- (minus) on numeric keypad

Control+Option++ (plus) or Control+Option+- (minus) on numeric keypad

Control+Option+Shift++ (plus) or Control+Option+Shift+- (minus) on numeric keypad

Command++ (plus) or Option++ (plus) on numeric keypad

Command+- (minus) or Option+- (minus) on numeric keypad

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Increase Scale of selected layers by 10% Ctrl+Shift++ (plus) or Alt+Shift++ (plus) on

Decrease Scale of selected layers by 10% Ctrl+Shift+- (minus) or Alt+Shift+- (minus) on

Modify Rotation or Orientation in 45° increments

Modify Scale, constrained to footage frame aspect ratio

Reset Rotation to 0° Double-click Rotation tool Double-click Rotation tool

Reset Scale to 100% Double-click Selection tool Double-click Selection tool

Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition

Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition width, preserving image aspect ratio for each layer

Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition height, preserving image aspect ratio for each layer

numeric keypad

Shift-drag with Rotation tool Shift-drag with Rotation tool

Shift-drag layer handle with Selection tool Shift-drag layer handle with Selection tool

Ctrl+Alt+F Command+Option+F

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H Command+Option+Shift+H

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+G Command+Option+Shift+G

Command+Shift++ (plus) or Option+Shift++ (plus) on numeric keypad

Command+Shift+- (minus) or Option+Shift+(minus) on numeric keypad

3D layers

Note: (Mac OS) Shortcuts involving function keys F9-F12 may conflict with shortcuts used by the operating system. See Mac OS Help for instructions to reassign Dashboard & Expose shortcuts.

Result Windows Mac OS

Switch to 3D view 1 (defaults to Front) F10 F10

Switch to 3D view 2 (defaults to Custom View 1)F11 F11

Switch to 3D view 3 (defaults to Active Camera)

Return to previous view Esc Esc

New light Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L Command+Option+Shift+L

New camera Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C Command+Option+Shift+C

Move the camera and its point of interest to look at selected 3D layers

With a camera tool selected, move the camera and its point of interest to look at selected 3D layers

With a camera tool selected, move the camera and its point of interest to look at all 3D layers

Turn Casts Shadows property on or off for selected 3D layers

F12 F12

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+\ Command+Option+Shift+\

F F

Ctrl+Shift+F Command+Shift+F

Alt+Shift+C Option+Shift+C

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Keyframes and the Graph Editor

Note: (Mac OS) Shortcuts involving function keys F9-F12 may conflict with shortcuts used by the operating system. See Mac OS Help for instructions to reassign Dashboard & Expose shortcuts.

Result Windows Mac OS

Toggle between Graph Editor and layer bar modes

Select all keyframes for a property Click property name Click property name

Select all visible keyframes and properties Ctrl+Alt+A Command+Option+A

Deselect all keyframes, properties, and property groups

Move keyframe 1 frame later or earlier Alt+Right Arrow or Alt+Left Arrow Option+Right Arrow or Option+Left Arrow

Move keyframe 10 frames later or earlier Alt+Shift+Right Arrow or Alt+Shift+Left

Set interpolation for selected keyframes (layer bar mode)

Set keyframe interpolation method to hold or Auto Bezier

Set keyframe interpolation method to linear or Auto Bezier

Set keyframe interpolation method to linear or hold

Easy ease selected keyframes F9 F9

Easy ease selected keyframes in Shift+F9 Shift+F9

Easy ease selected keyframes out Ctrl+Shift+F9 Command+Shift+F9

Shift+F3 Shift+F3

Shift+F2 or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+A Shift+F2 or Command+Option+Shift+A

Arrow

Ctrl+Alt+K Command+Option+K

Ctrl+Alt+H Command+Option+H

Ctrl-click in layer bar mode Command-click in layer bar mode

Ctrl+Alt-click in layer bar mode Command+Option-click in layer bar mode

Option+Shift+Right Arrow or Option+Shift+Left Arrow

Set velocity for selected keyframes Ctrl+Shift+K Command+Shift+K

Add or remove keyframe at current time. For property shortcuts, see Showing properties

and groups in the Timeline panel.

Alt+Shift+property shortcut Option+property shortcut

Te xt

Result Windows Mac OS

New text layer Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T Command+Option+Shift+T

Align selected horizontal text left, center, or right

Align selected vertical text top, center, or bottom

Extend or reduce selection by one character to right or left in horizontal text

Extend or reduce selection by one word to right or left in horizontal text

Ctrl+Shift+L, Ctrl+Shift+C, or Ctrl+Shift+R Command+Shift+L, Command+Shift+C, or

Shift+Right Arrow or Shift+Left Arrow Shift+Right Arrow or Shift+Left Arrow

Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow or Ctrl+Shift+Left Arrow

Command+Shift+R

Command+Shift+Right Arrow or Command+Shift+Left Arrow

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Extend or reduce selection by one line up or down in horizontal text

Extend or reduce selection by on e line to right or left in vertical text

Extend or reduce selection one word up or down in vertical text

Extend or reduce selection by one character up or down in vertical text

Select text from insertion point to beginning or end of line

Move insertion point to beginning or end of line

Select all text on a layer Double-click text layer Double-click text layer

Select text from insertion point to beginning or end of text frame

To mouse-click point, select text from insertion point

In horizontal text, move insertion point one character left or right; one line up or down; one word left or right; or one paragraph up or down

In vertical text, move insertion point one character up or down; one left or right; one word up or down; or one paragraph left or right

Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down Arrow Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down Arrow

Shift+Right Arrow or Shift+Left Arrow Shift+Right Arrow or Shift+Left Arrow

Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow or Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow

Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down Arrow Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down Arrow

Shift+Home or Shift+End Shift+Home or Shift+End

Home or End Home or End

Ctrl+Shift+Home or Ctrl+Shift+End Command+Shift+Home or

Shift-click Shift-click

Left Arrow or Right Arrow; Up Arrow or Down Arrow; Ctrl+Left Arrow or Ctrl+Right Arrow; or Ctrl+Up Arrow or Ctrl+Down Arrow

Up Arrow or Down Arrow; Left Arrow or Right Arrow; Ctrl+Up Arrow or Ctrl+Down Arrow ; or Ctrl+Left Arrow or Ctrl+Right Arrow

Command+Shift+Up Arrow or Command+Shift+Down Arrow

Command+Shift+End

Left Arrow or Right Arrow; Up Arrow or Down Arrow; Command+Left Arrow or Command+Right Arrow; or Command+Up Arrow or Command+Down Arrow

Up Arrow or Down Arrow; Left Arrow or Right Arrow; Command+Up Arrow or Command+Down Arrow; or Command+Left Arrow or Command+Right Arrow

Select word, line, paragraph, or entire text frame

Turn All Caps on or off for selected text Ctrl+Shift+K Command+Shift+K

Turn Small Caps on or off for selected text Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K Command+Option+Shift+K

Turn Superscript on or off for selected text Ctrl+Shift+= (equal sign) Command+Shift+= (equal sign)

Turn Subscript on or off for selected text Ctrl+Alt+Shift+= (equal sign) Command+Option+Shift+= (equal sign)

Set horizontal scale to 100% for selected text Ctrl+Shift+X Command+Shift+X

Set vertical scale to 100% for selected text Ctrl+Alt+Shift+X Command+Option+Shift+X

Auto leading for selected text Ctrl+Alt+Shift+A Command+Option+Shift+A

Reset tracking to 0 for selected text Ctrl+Shift+Q Command+Shift+Control+Q

Justify paragraph; left align last line Ctrl+Shift+J Command+Shift+J

Justify paragraph; right align last line Ctrl+Alt+Shift+J Command+Option+Shift+J

Justify paragraph; force last line Ctrl+Shift+F Command+Shift+F

Decrease or increase font size of selected text by 2 units

Decrease or increase font size of selected text by 10 units

Increase or decrease leading by 2 units Alt+Down Arrow or Alt+Up Arrow Option+Down Arrow or Option+Up Arrow

Double-click, triple-click, quadruple-click, or quintuple-click with Type tool

Ctrl+Shift+, (comma) or Ctrl+Shift+. (period) Command+Shift+, (comma) or

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+, (comma) or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+. (period)

Double-click, triple-click, quadruple-click, or quintuple-click with Type tool

Command+Shift+. (period)

Command+Option+Shift+, (comma) or Command+Option+Shift+. (period)

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Increase or decrease leading by 10 units Ctrl+Alt+Down Arrow or Ctrl+Alt+Up Arrow Command+Option+Down Arrow or

Decrease or increase baseline shift by 2 units Alt+Shift+Down Arrow or Alt+Shift +Up Arrow Option+Shift+Down Arrow or

Decrease or increase baseline shift by 10 units Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Down Arrow or

Decrease or increase kerning or tracking 20 units (20/1000 ems)

Decrease or increase kerning or tracking 100 units (100/1000 ems)

Toggle paragraph composer Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T Command+Option+Shift+T

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Up Arrow

Alt+Left Arrow or Alt+Right Arrow Option+Left Arrow or Option+Right Arrow

Ctrl+Alt+Left Arrow or Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow Command+Option+Left Arrow or

Command+Option+Up Arrow

Option+Shift+Up Arrow

Command+Option+Shift+Down Arrow or Command+Option+Shift+Up Arrow

Command+Option+Right Arrow

Masks

Result Windows Mac OS

New mask Ctrl+Shift+N Command+Shift+N

Select all points in a mask Alt-click mask Option-click mask

Select next or previous mask Alt+` (accent grave) or Alt+Shift+` (accent

grave)

Enter free-transform mask editing mode Double-click mask with Selection tool or

select mask in Timeline panel and press Ctrl+T

Option+` (accent grave) or Option+Shift+` (accent grave)

Double-click mask with Selection tool or select mask in Timeline panel and press Command+T

Exit free-transform mask editing mode Esc Esc

Scale around center point in Free Transform mode

Move selected path points 1 pixel at current magnification

Move selected path points 10 pixels at current magnification

Toggle between smooth and corner points Ctrl+Alt-click vertex Command+Option-click vertex

Redraw Bezier handles Ctrl+Alt-drag vertex Command+Option-drag vertex

Invert selected mask Ctrl+Shift+I Command+Shift+I

Open Mask Feather dialog box for selected mask

Open Mask Shape dialog box for selected mask

Subtract mode S S

Darken mode D D

Difference mode F F

Add mode A S

Intersect mode I I

Ctrl-drag Command-drag

Arrow key Arrow key

Shift+arrow key Shift+arrow key

Ctrl+Shift+F Command+Shift+F

Ctrl+Shift+M Command+Shift+M

None N N

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Paint tools

Result Windows Mac OS

Swap paint background color and foreground colors

Set paint foreground color to black and background color to white

Set foreground color to the color currently under any paint tool pointer

Set foreground color to the average color of a 4-pixel x 4-pixel area under any paint tool pointer

Set brush size for a paint tool Ctrl-drag Command-drag

Set brush hardness for a paint tool Ctrl-drag, then release Ctrl while dragging Command-drag, then release Command

Join current paint stroke to the previous stroke

Set starting sample point to point currently under Clone Stamp tool pointer

Momentarily activate Eraser tool with Last Stroke Only option

Show and move overlay (change Offset value of aligned Clone Stamp tool or change Source Position value of unaligned Clone Stamp tool)

Activate a specific Clone Stamp tool preset 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 on the main keyboard 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 on the main keyboard

X X

D D

Alt-click Option-click

Ctrl+Alt-click Command+Option-click

while dragging

Hold Shift while beginning stroke Hold Shift while beginning stroke

Alt-click Option-click

Ctrl+Shift Command+Shift

Alt+Shift-drag with Clone Stamp tool Option+Shift-drag with Clone Stamp tool

Duplicate a Clone Stamp tool preset in Paint panel

Set opacity for a paint tool Digit on numeric keypad (for example,

Set opacity for a paint tool to 100% . (decimal) on numeric keypad* . (decimal) on numeric keypad*

Set flow for a paint tool Shift+ a digit on numeric keypad (for example,

Set flow for a paint tool to 100% Shift+. (decimal) on numeric keypad* Shift+. (decimal) on numeric keypad*

Move earlier or later by number of frames specified for stroke Duration

Alt-click the button for the preset Option-click the button for the preset

9=90%, 1=10%)*

Ctrl+Page Up or Ctrl+Page Down (or 1 or 2 on the main keyboard)

Digit on numeric keypad (for example, 9=90%, 1=10%)*

Shift+ a digit on numeric keypad (for example, 9=90%, 1=10%)*

Command+Page Up or Command+Page Down (or 1 or 2 on the main keyboard)

Note: Some shortcuts are marked with an asterisk (*) to remind you to make sure that Num Lock is on when you use the numeric keypad.

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Shape layers

Result Windows Mac OS

Group selected shapes Ctrl+G Command+G

Ungroup selected shapes Ctrl+Shift+G Command+Shift+G

Enter free-transform path editing mode Select Path property in Timeline panel and

Increase star inner roundness Page Up when dragging to create shape Page Up when dragging to create shape

Decrease star inner roundness Page Down when dragging to create shape Page Down when dragging to create shape

Increase number of points for star or polygon; increase roundness for rounded rectangle

Decrease number of points for star or polygon; decrease roundness for rounded rectangle

Reposition shape during creation Hold spacebar when dragging to create shape Hold spacebar when dragging to create shape

Set rounded rectangle roundness to 0 (sharp corners); decrease polygon and star outer roundness

Set rounded rectangle roundness to maximum; increase polygon and star outer roundness

Constrain rectangles to squares; constrain ellipses to circles; constrain polygons and stars to zero rotation

Change outer radius of star Ctrl when dragging to create shape Command when dragging to create shape

press Ctrl+T

Up Arrow when dragging to create shape Up Arrow when dragging to create shape

Down Arrow when dragging to create shape Down Arrow when dragging to create shape

Left Arrow when dragging to create shape Left Arrow when dragging to create shape

Right Arrow when dragging to create shape Right Arrow when dragging to create shape

Shift when dragging to create shape Shift when dragging to create shape

Select Path property in Timeline panel and press Command+T

Markers

Result Windows Mac OS

Set marker at current time (works during preview and audio-only preview)

Set marker at current time and open marker dialog box

Set and number a composition marker (0-9) at the current time

Go to a composition marker (0-9) 0-9 on main keyboard 0-9 on main keyboard

Display the duration between two layer markers or keyframes in the Info panel

Remove marker Ctrl-click marker Command-click marker

* (multiply) on numeric keypad * (multiply) on numeric keypad or Control+8

on main keyboard

Alt+* (multiply) on numeric keypad Option+* (multiply) on numeric keypad or

Control+Option+8 on main keyboard

Shift+0-9 on main keyboard Shift+0-9 on main keyboard

Alt-click the markers or keyframes Option-click the markers or keyframes

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Motion tracking

Result Windows Mac OS

Move feature region, search region, and attach point 1 pixel at current magnification

Move feature region, search region, and attach point 10 pixels at current magnification

Move feature region and search region 1 pixel at current magnification

Move feature region and search region 10 pixels at current magnification

Arrow key Arrow key

Shift+arrow key Shift+arrow key

Alt+arrow key Option+arrow key

Alt+Shift+arrow key Option+Shift+arrow key

Saving, exporting, and rendering

Result Windows Mac OS

Save project Ctrl+S Command+S

Increment and save project Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S Command+Option+Shift+S

Save As Ctrl+Shift+S Command+Shift+S

Add active composition or selected items to render queue

Add current frame to render queue Ctrl+Alt+S Command+Option+S

Duplicate render item with same output filename as original

Add a composition to the Adobe Media Encoder encoding queue

Ctrl+Shift+/ (on main keyboard) Command+Shift+/ (on main keyboard)

Ctrl+Shift+D Command+Shift+D

Ctrl+Alt+M Cmd+Option+M

Note: On Mac OS, some keyboard commands used to interact with the operating system conflict with keyboard commands for interacting with After Effects. Select Use System Shortcut Keys in the General preferences to override the After Effects keyboard command sometimes in which there’s a conflict with the Mac OS keyboard command.

Keyboard shortcuts graphic

Click the link below to download a PDF of about 50 of the more commonly used and pouplar keyboard shortcuts.

System requirements | After Effects

System requirements | October 2017 (15.0) release of After Effects CC

Windows

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

• Microsoft® Windows® 7 with Service Pack 1 (64 bit), Windows 8.1 (64 bit), or Windows 10 (64 bit)

• 8GB of RAM (16GB recommended)

• 5GB of available hard-disk space; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable

flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10GB recommended)

• 1280x1080 display

• Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer

• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and

access to online services.*

macOS

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support

• 10.11 (El Capitan), 10.12 (Sierra), or 10.13 (High Sierra)

• 8GB of RAM (16GB recommended)

• 6GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install

on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10GB recommended)

• 1440x900 display

• Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer

• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and

access to online services.*

*NOTICE TO USERS: Internet connection, Adobe ID, and acceptance of license agreement required to activate and use this product. This product may integrate with or allow access to certain Adobe or third-party hosted online services. Adobe services are available only to users 13 and older and require agreement to additional terms of use and the Adobe Privacy Policy (see countries or languages and may be subject to change or discontinuation without notice. Additional fees or membership charges may apply.

http://www.adobe.com/legal.html). Applications and services may not be available in all

After Effects CC (2017) system requirements

Windows

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support

• Microsoft® Windows® 7 with Service Pack 1 (64 bit), Windows 8 (64 bit), Windows 8.1 (64 bit), or Windows 10 (64

bit)

• 8GB of RAM (16GB recommended)

• 5GB of available hard-disk space; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable

flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10GB recommended)

• 1280x1080 display

• Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and

access to online services.*

macOS

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support

• macOS versions 10.10 (Yosemite), 10.11 (El Capitan), or 10.12 (Sierra)

• 8GB of RAM (16GB recommended)

• 6GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install

on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10GB recommended)

• 1440x900 display

• Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer

• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and

access to online services.*

After Effects CC (2015.3) system requirements

Windows

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support

• Microsoft® Windows® 7 with Service Pack 1 (64 bit), Windows 8.1 (64 bit), or Windows 10 (64 bit)

• 8GB of RAM (16GB recommended)

• 5GB of available hard-disk space; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable

flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10GB recommended)

• 1280x1080 display

• OpenGL 2.0-capable system

• QuickTime 7.6.6 software required for QuickTime features

• Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer

• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and

access to online services.*

macOS

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support

• macOS versions 10.9 (Mavericks), or 10.11 (El Capitan)

• 8GB of RAM (16GB recommended)

• 6GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install

on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10GB recommended)

• 1440x900 display

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Introduction to After Effects

• OpenGL 2.0-capable system

• QuickTime 7.6.6 software required for QuickTime features

• Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer

• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and

access to online services.*

• We have tested versions of After Effects on macOS v10.11 and found them to work with this operating system with

some exceptions. Please visit this

After Effects blog page for details.

http://www.adobe.com/legal.html). Applications and services may not be available in all

After Effects CC (2015) system requirements

Windows

• Intel Core2 Duo or AMD Phenom II processor with 64-bit support

• Microsoft Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 (64 bit), or Windows 8.1 (64 bit)

• 8 GB of RAM (16 GB recommended)

• 5 GB of available hard-disk space; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable

flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10 GB recommended)

• 1280 x 1080 display

• OpenGL 2.0-capable system

• QuickTime 7.6.6 software required for QuickTime features

• Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer

• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and

access to online services.*

macOS

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support

• macOS v10.9 (Mavericks)

• 8 GB of RAM (16 GB recommended)

• 5 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install

on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10 GB recommended)

• 1440 x 900 display

• OpenGL 2.0-capable system

• QuickTime 7.6.6 software required for QuickTime features

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Introduction to After Effects

• Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer

• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and

access to online services.*

After Effects CC (2014) system requirements

Windows

• Intel Core2 Duo or AMD Phenom II processor with 64-bit support

• Microsoft Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, or Windows 8.1

• 8 GB of RAM (16 GB recommended)

• 5 GB of available hard-disk space; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable

flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10 GB recommended)

• 1280 x 1080 display

• OpenGL 2.0-capable system

• QuickTime 7.6.6 software required for QuickTime features

• Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer

• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and

access to online services.*

macOS

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support

• macOS v10.8 (Mountain Lion), v10.9 (Mavericks)

• 8 GB of RAM (16 GB recommended)

• 5 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install

on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10 GB recommended)

• 1440 x 900 display

• OpenGL 2.0-capable system

• QuickTime 7.6.6 software required for QuickTime features

• Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer

• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and

access to online services.*

Supported GPUs for ray-traced 3D renderer

Windows CUDA

• GeForce GTX 285

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Introduction to After Effects

• GeForce GTX 470

• GeForce GTX 570

• GeForce GTX 580

• GeForce GTX 590

• GeForce GTX 670

• GeForce GTX 675MX

• GeForce GTX 680

• GeForce GTX 680MX

• GeForce GTX 690

• GeForce GTX 760

• GeForce GTX 770

• GeForce GTX 780

• GeForce GTX TITAN

• GeForce GT 650M

• Quadro CX

• Quadro FX 3700M

• Quadro FX 3800

• Quadro FX 3800M

• Quadro FX 4800

• Quadro FX 5800

• Quadro 2000

• Quadro 2000D

• Quadro 2000M

• Quadro 3000M

• Quadro 4000

• Quadro 4000M

• Quadro 5000

• Quadro 5000M

• Quadro 5010M

• Quadro 6000

• Quadro K2000

• Quadro K2100M

• Quadro K3000M

• Quadro K3100M

• Quadro K4000

• Quadro K4000M

• Quadro K4100M

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Introduction to After Effects

• Quadro K5000

• Quadro K5000M

• Quadro K5100M

• Quadro K6000

• Tesla C2075

macOS

• GeForce GTX 285

• GeForce GTX 675MX

• GeForce GTX 680

• GeForce GTX 680MX

• GeForce GT 650M

• Quadro CX

• Quadro FX 4800

• Quadro 4000

• Quadro K5000

* NOTICE TO USERS: Internet connection, Adobe ID, and acceptance of license agreement required to activate and use this product. This product may integrate with or allow access to certain Adobe or third-party hosted online services. Adobe services are available only to users 13 and older and require agreement to additional the Adobe Privacy Policy. Applications and services may not be available in all countries or languages and may be subject to change or discontinuation without notice. Additional fees or membership charges may apply.

Language versions

Adobe After Effects CC is available in the following languages:

Deutsch English Español Français Italiano

Português (Brasil) Русский ??? ???

After Effects CC system requirements

Windows

• Intel® Core™2 Duo or AMD Phenom® II processor; 64-bit support required

• Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1

• 8 GB of RAM (16 GB recommended)

• 5 GB of available hard-disk space; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable

flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10GB recommended)

• 1280 x 900 display

• OpenGL 2.0-capable system

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

• QuickTime 7.6.6 software required for QuickTime features

• Optional: Graphics card from list below with at least 1 GB VRAM for GPU acceleration of ray-traced 3D renderer

• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, membership validation, and

access to online services.*

macOS

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support

• macOS v10.7.4, v10.8, or v10.9

• 8 GB of RAM (16 GB recommended)

• 5 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install

on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10GB recommended)

• 1440 x 900 display

• OpenGL 2.0-capable system

• QuickTime 7.6.6 software required for QuickTime features

• Optional: Graphics card from list below with at least 1 GB VRAM and CUDA 5.0 for GPU acceleration of ray-traced

3D renderer

• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, membership validation, and

access to online services.*

* This product may integrate with or allow access to certain Adobe or third-party hosted online services. Adobe online services, including the Adobe® Creative Cloud™ service, are available only to users 13 and older and require agreement to additional countries or languages, may require user registration, and may be subject to change or discontinuation without notice. Additional fees or membership charges may apply.

terms and Adobe's online privacy policy. The applications and online services are not available in all

System requirements | Older versions of After Effects

Note: For system requirements and list of languages supported in the latest version of After Effects CC, see System

requirements | After Effects .

After Effects CS6 system requirements

Windows

• Intel® Core™2 Duo or AMD Phenom® II processor; 64-bit support required

• Microsoft® Windows® 7 with Service Pack 1, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. See the CS6 FAQ for more information

about Windows 8 support.*

• 4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)

• 3 GB of available hard-disk space; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable

flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10 GB recommended)

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Introduction to After Effects

• 1280 x 900 display

• OpenGL 2.0-capable system

• DVD-ROM drive for installation from DVD media

• QuickTime 7.6.6 software required for QuickTime features

• Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer*

• This software does not operate without activation. Broadband Internet connection and registration are required for

soware activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services.† Phone activation is not available.

* Learn more about Windows support.

macOS

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support

• macOS v10.6.8, v10.7, v10.8, or v10.9**

• 4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)

• 4 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install

on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)

• Additional disk space for disk cache (10 GB recommended)

• 1280x900 display

• OpenGL 2.0–capable system

• DVD-ROM drive for installation from DVD media

• QuickTime 7.6.6 software required for QuickTime features

• Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer*

• This software does not operate without activation. Broadband Internet connection and registration are required for

soware activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services.† Phone activation is not available.

** Learn more about macOS Mavericks support.

NVIDIA GPUs Supported in Adobe After Effects CS6

Windows

• GeForce GTX 285

• GeForce GTX 470

• GeForce GTX 570

• GeForce GTX 580

• GeForce GTX 670*

• GeForce GTX 680*

• GeForce GTX 690*

• Quadro CX

• Quadro FX 3700M

• Quadro FX 3800

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Introduction to After Effects

• Quadro FX 3800M

• Quadro FX 4800

• Quadro FX 5800

• Quadro 2000

• Quadro 2000D

• Quadro 2000M

• Quadro 3000M

• Quadro 4000

• Quadro 4000M

• Quadro 5000

• Quadro 5000M

• Quadro 5010M

• Quadro 6000

• Tesla C2075 (Windows)/Maximus configuration

macOS

• GeForce GTX 285

• GeForce GT 650M*

• Quadro FX 4800

• Quadro 4000

* Adobe® After Effects® CS6 renders ray-traced 3D images using your computer’s CPU, employing all of its physical cores. Additionally, it could supported NVIDIA GPU and with 1024+ MB of texture memory). For more information, visit this After Effects blog

post. Download the After Effects CS6 (11.0.2) update to take advantage of these Kepler-class GPUs.

† This product may integrate with or allow access to certain Adobe or third-party hosted online services ("Online Services"). Online Services are available only to users 13 and older and require agreement to additional terms of use and Adobe's registration, and may be discontinued or modified in whole or in part without notice. Additional fees or subscription charges may apply.

online privacy policy. Online Services are not available in all countries or languages, may require user

also take advantage of NVIDIA OptiX™ for highly accelerated rendering (requires a

After Effects CS5.5 system requirements

Windows

• Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor (Intel Core™ i3, i5, or i7 or AMD Phenom® II recommended); 64-

bit support required

• 64-bit operating system required: Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise

with Service Pack 1 or Windows® 7

• 2 GB of RAM

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Introduction to After Effects

• 3 GB of available hard-disk space plus 2 GB of space for optional content; additional free space required during

installation (cannot install on removable flash storage devices)

• 1280 x 800 display with OpenGL 2.0-compatible video adapter

• DVD-ROM drive

• QuickTime 7.6.2 software required for QuickTime features

• Broadband Internet connection required for online services and to validate Subscription Edition (if applicable) on

an ongoing basis*

macOS

• Multicore Intel® processor with 64-bit support

• macOS v10.5.8 or v10.6

• 2 GB of RAM

• 4 GB of available hard-disk space plus 2 GB of space for optional content; additional free space required during

installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)

• 1280 x 800 display with OpenGL 2.0-compatible video adapter

• DVD-ROM drive

• QuickTime 7.6.2 software required for QuickTime features

• Broadband Internet connection required for online services and to validate Subscription Edition (if applicable) on

an ongoing basis*

* Adobe online services, including Adobe CS Live Services, are available only to users 13 and older and require agreement to additional terms and Adobe's online privacy policy (available at www.adobe.com/go/terms). Online services are not available in all countries or languages, may require user registration and may be subject to change or discontinuation without notice. Additional fees or subscription charges may apply.

After Effects CS5 system requirements

Windows

• Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor (Intel Core™2 Duo or AMD Phenom® II recommended); 64-bit

support required

• 64-bit operating system required: Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise

with Service Pack 1 or Windows® 7

• 2 GB of RAM

• 3 GB of available hard-disk space plus 2 GB of space for optional content; additional free space required during

installation (cannot install on removable flash-based storage devices)

• 1280 x 1024 display with OpenGL 2.0-compatible video card

• DVD-ROM drive

• QuickTime 7.6.2 software required for QuickTime features

• Broadband Internet connection required for online services*

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Introduction to After Effects

macOS

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support

• macOS v10.5.7 or v10.6

• 2 GB of RAM

• 4 GB of available hard-disk space plus 2 GB of space for optional content; additional free space required during

installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash-based storage devices)

• 1280 x 900 display with OpenGL 2.0-compatible video card

• DVD-ROM drive

• QuickTime 7.6.2 software required for QuickTime features

• Broadband Internet connection required for online services*

*This product may allow you to access certain features that are hosted online ("online services"), provided you have a high-speed Internet connection. The online services, and some features thereof, aren't available in all countries, languages, or currencies and can be discontinued in whole or in part without notice. Use of the online services is governed by separate terms of use and by the Adobe Online Privacy Policy. Access to these services sometimes requires user registration. Some online services, including services that are initially offered at no charge, may be subject to additional fees. For more details and to review the terms of use and Online Privacy Policy,

visit www.adobe.com.

After Effects CS4 system requirements

Windows

• 1.5-GHz or faster processor*

• Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended) or Windows Vista® Home Premium,

Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (certified for 32-bit Windows XP and 32-bit and 64-bit Window s Vi sta)

• 2 GB of RAM

• 1.3 GB of available hard-disk space for installation, plus 2 GB of space for optional content; additional free space

required during installation (cannot install on flash-based storage devices)

• 1280 x 900 display with OpenGL 2.0-compatible video card

• DVD-ROM drive

• QuickTime 7.4.5 software required to use QuickTime features

• Broadband Internet connection required for online services†

Windows 7 compatibility

macOS

Multicore Intel® processormacOS v10.4.11–10.5.42 GB of RAM2.9 GB of available hard-disk space for installation, plus 2 GB of space for optional content; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on flash-based storage devices)1280 x 900 display with OpenGL 2.0-compatible video cardDVD-ROM driveQuickTime 7.4.5 software required to use QuickTime featuresBroadband Internet connection required for online services†

Snow Leopard compatibility

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Introduction to After Effects

* SSE2-enabled processor required for AMD systems

† is product may allow you to access certain features that are hosted online ("online services"), provided you have a high-speed Internet connection. The online services, and some features thereof, aren't available in all countries, languages, or currencies and can be discontinued in whole or in part without notice. Use of the online services is governed by separate terms of use and by the Adobe Online Privacy Policy. Access to these services sometimes requires user registration. Some online services, including services that are initially offered at no charge, may be subject to additional fees. For more details and to review the terms of use and Online Privacy Policy,

visit www.adobe.com.

• Intel Pentium 4, Intel Centrino, Intel Xeon, or Intel Core Duo (or compatible) processor

• Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise

(certified for 32-bit editions)

• 1 GB of RAM for DV; 2 GB of RAM for HDV and HD

• 3 GB of available hard-disk space plus 2 GB of space for optional content (additional free space required during

installation)

• 1024 x 768 monitor resolution with 32-bit video card; Adobe recommended graphics adapter for GPU-accelerated

playback

• For OpenGL support: Adobe After Effects-supported OpenGL 2.0 card (NVIDIA recommended)

• DVD-ROM drive

• QuickTime 7.1.5 software required to use QuickTime featuresInternet or phone connection required for product

activation

• Broadband Internet connection required for Adobe Stock Photos* and other services

• For recommended video cards and compatibility lists, see the OpenGL page.

Workflows

General workflow in After Effects

Overview of general workflow in After Effects

Whether you use Adobe After Effects to animate a simple title, create complex motion graphics, or composite realistic visual effects, you generally follow the same basic workflow, though you may repeat or skip some steps. For example, you may repeat the cycle of modifying layer properties, animating, and previewing until everything looks right. You may skip the step of importing footage if you intend to create graphical elements entirely in After Effects.

1. Import and organize footage

After you create a project, import your footage into the project in the Project panel. After Effects automatically interprets many common media formats, but you can also specify how you want After Effects to interpret attributes such as frame rate and pixel aspect ratio. You can view each item in a Footage panel and set its start and end times to fit your composition. For more information, see

Importing and interpreting footage items .

2. Create, arrange, and composite layers in a composition

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Introduction to After Effects

Create one or more compositions. Any footage item can be the source for one or more layers in a composition. You can arrange the layers spatially in the Composition panel or arrange them in time using the Timeline panel. You can stack layers in two dimensions or arrange them in three dimensions. You can use masks, blending modes, and keying tools to composite (combine), the images of multiple layers. You can even use shape layers, text layers, and paint tools to create your own visual elements. For more information, see

transparency overview and resources, Overview of shape layers, paths, and vector graphics , and Creating and editing text layers .

3. Modify and animate layer properties

You can modify any property of a layer, such as size, position, and opacity. You can make any combination of layer properties change over time, using keyframes and expressions. Use motion tracking to stabilize motion or to animate one layer so that it follows the motion in another layer. For more information, see and Tracking and stabilizing motion .

4. Add effects and modify effect properties

You can add any combination of effects to alter the appearance or sound of a layer, and even generate visual elements from scratch. You can apply any of the hundreds of effects, animation presets, and layer styles. You can even create and save your own animation presets. You can animate effect properties, too, which are simply layer properties within an effect property group. For more information, see

Effects and animation presets overview .

Composition basics, Creating layers, Compositing and

Animation basics, Expression basics,

5. Preview

Previewing compositions on your computer monitor or an external video monitor is fast and convenient, even for complex projects. You can change the speed and quality of previews by specifying their resolution and frame rate, and by limiting the area and duration of the composition that you preview. You can use color management features to preview how your movie will look on another output device. For more information, see

management.

6. Render and export

Add one or more compositions to the render queue to render them at the quality settings you choose and to create movies in the formats that you specify. You can use File > Export or Composition > Add to Render Queue.

For more information, see Basics of rendering and exporting section in Adobe Media Encoder.

Previewingand Color

Online resources for general workflow in After Effects

Read a basic step-by-step introduction to the general workflow in an excerpt from After Effects Classroom in a Book.

Read Trish and Chris Meyer’s step-by-step introduction to creating a basic animation in a PDF excerpt from their book,

The After Effects Apprentice.

For an overview of After Effects project navigtion, see the video tutorial, “Walking Through A Mini Project,” by Jeff Sengstack and Infinite Skills.

Basic workflow tutorial: Create a simple movie

This tutorial assumes that you have already started After Effects and have not modified the empty default project. This example skips the step of importing footage and shows you instead how to create your own synthetic visual elements. After you have rendered a final movie, you can import it into After Effects to view it and use it as you would any other footage item.

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Introduction to After Effects

Some people prefer to use the mouse and menus to interact with After Effects, whereas others prefer to use keyboard shortcuts for common tasks. For several steps in this example, two alternative commands are shown that produce the same result—the first demonstrating the discoverability of menu commands and the second demonstrating the speed and convenience of keyboard shortcuts. You’ll likely find that you use some combination of keyboard shortcuts and menu commands in your work.

1 Create a new composition:

• Choose Composition > New Composition.

• Press Ctrl+N (Windows) or Command+N (Mac OS).

2 Change the Duration value in the Composition Settings dialog box by entering 5.00 (5 seconds), choose Web Video

from the Preset menu, and click OK.

3 Create a new text layer:

• Choose Layer > New > Text.

• Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift+T (Mac OS).

4 Type your name. Press Enter on the numeric keypad or press Ctrl+Enter (Windows) or Command+Return (Mac

OS) on the main keyboard to exit text-editing mode.

5 Set an initial keyframe for the Position property:

• Click the triangle to the left of the layer name in the Timeline panel, click the triangle to the left of the Transform

group name, and then click the stopwatch button

to the left of the Position property name.

• Press Alt+Shift+P (Windows) or Option+Shift+P (Mac OS).

6 Activate the Selection tool:

• Click the Selection Tool button in the Tools panel.

• Press V.

7 Using the Selection tool, drag your text to the bottom-left corner of the frame in the Composition panel.

8 Move the current-time indicator to the last frame of the composition:

• Drag the current-time indicator in the Timeline panel to the far right of the timeline.

• Press End.

9 Using the Selection tool, drag your text to the top-right corner of the frame in the Composition panel.

A new keyframe is created at this time for the Position property. Motion is interpolated between keyframe values.

10 Preview your animation using preview:

• Click the Play button in the Preview panel. Click Play again to stop the preview.

• Press the spacebar. Press the spacebar again to stop the preview.

11 Apply the Glow effect:

• Choose Effect > Stylize > Glow.

• Type glow in the search field at the top of the Effects & Presets panel to find the Glow effect. Double-click the

effect name.

12 In the Render Queue panel, click the underlined text to the right of Output To. In the Output Movie To dialog box,

choose a name and location for the output movie file, and then click Save. For the location, choose something easy to find, like your desktop.

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Introduction to After Effects

13 Click the Render button to process all items in the render queue. The Render Queue panel shows the progress of the

rendering operation. A sound is generated when rendering is complete.

You’ve created, rendered, and exported a movie.

You can import the movie that you’ve created and preview it in After Effects, or you can navigate to the movie and play it using a movie player such as QuickTime Player or Windows Media Player.

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Chapter 2: Workspaces

Planning and setup

Planning your work

Correct project settings, preparation of footage, and initial composition settings can help you to avoid errors and unexpected results when rendering your final output movie. Before you begin, think about the kind of work you intend to do in After Effects and the kind of output you plan to create. After you have planned your project and made some basic decisions about project settings, you are ready to start importing footage and assembling compositions from layers based on that footage.

The best way to ensure that your movie is suitable for a specific medium is to render a test movie and view it using the same type of equipment as your audience. It’s best to do such tests before you have completed the difficult and timeconsuming parts of your work, to uncover problems early.

Aharon Rabinowitz provides an article on the Creative COW website about planning your project with the final delivery specifications in mind.

For more information about encoding and compression options, see this FAQ entry: “FAQ: What is the best format for

rendering and exporting from After Effects?”

Storyboards and scripts (screenplays)

Your movie or video production project often starts with the pre-production tasks of writing a script (screenplay) and creating storyboards, which then effectively guide you through your production (shooting) and post-production (editing, soundtrack, visual effects, and so on) stages.

You can use Adobe Story to collaboratively write and manage screenplays and dynamically generate shooting scripts, shooting schedules, character lists, shot lists, and more from your script using metadata. You can also generate specific metadata-based reports during the editing phase from Adobe Story. Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator help you create storyboards based on your script for shooting your movie or video.

Acquiring, choosing, and preparing footage

Before importing footage, first decide which media and formats to use for your finished movies, and then determine the best settings for your source material. Often, it’s best to prepare footage before importing it into After Effects.

For example, if you want an image to fill your composition frame, configure the image in Adobe Photoshop so that the image size and pixel aspect ratio match the composition size and pixel aspect ratio. If the image is too large when you import it into After Effects, you increase the memory and processor requirements of the compositions that use it. If the image is too small, you lose image quality when you scale it to the desired size. See

ratio.

Pixel aspect ratio and frame aspect

If you can shoot footage with consistent lighting and colors—and otherwise prevent the need to do tedious utility work in post-production—then you have more time for creative work.

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Workspaces

If possible, use uncompressed footage or footage encoded with lossless compression. Lossless compression produces better results for operations, such as keying and motion tracking because the compression is reversible, whereas lossy compression discards some data that cannot be restored (generation loss). Certain kinds of compression—such as the compression used in MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 camera formats—are especially bad for color keying, because they discard the s ubtle differences in color that you dep end on for goo d bluesc reen or greenscreen k eying. It’s of ten best to wait until the final rendering phase to use compression other than lossless compression. See

If po ssible, use f ootage wit h a frame rate that matc hes that of your output, s o that After E ffect s does n’t have to use fr ame blending or similar methods to fill in missing frames. See

The kind of work that you do in After Effects and the kind of output movie that you want to create can even influence how you shoot and acquire your footage. For example, if you know that you want to animate using motion tracking, consider shooting your scene in a manner that optimizes for motion tracking—for example, using tracking markers.

Motion tracking workflows.

See

Also consider shooting at a larger frame size than what you need for final delivery if you want "head-room" for postproduction, whether for fake pans and zooms, or for stabilization.

Frame rate.

Keying introduction and resources.

Project settings

Project settings fall into three basic categories: how time is displayed in the project, how color data is treated in the project, and what sampling rate to use for audio. Of these settings, it is important to think about the color settings before you do much work in your project, because they determine how color data is interpreted as you import footage files, how color calculations are performed as you work, and how color data is converted for final output. See

managementand Timecode and time display units .

Color

If you enable color management for your project, the colors that you see are the same colors that your audience see when they view the movie that you create.

Note: Click the color depth indicator at the bottom of the Project panel to open the Project Settings dialog box. Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) to cycle through color bit depths: 8 bpc, 16 bpc, and 32 bpc. See

dynamic range color.

Color depth and high

Composition settings

After you prepare and import footage items, you use these footage items to create layers in a composition, where you animate and apply effects. When you create a composition, specify composition settings such as resolution, frame size, and pixel aspect ratio for your final rendered output. Although you can change composition settings at any time, it’s best to set them correctly as you create each composition to avoid unexpected results in your final rendered output. For example, the composition frame size should be the image size in the playback medium. See

If you are rendering and exporting a composition to more than one media format, always match the pixel dimensions

for your composition to the largest pixel dimensions used for your output. Later, you can use output modules in the Render Queue panel to encode and export a separate version of the composition for each format. See

output module settings.

Composition settings.

Output modules and

Performance, memory, and storage considerations

If you work with large compositions, make sure that you configure After Effects and your computer to maximize performance. Complex compositions can require a large amount of memory to render, and the rendered movies can take a large amount of disk space to store. Before you attempt to render a three-hour movie, make sure that you have the disk space available to store it. See

Storage requirements for output files .

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If your source footage fi les are on a sl ow disk drive (o r across a slow net work connect ion), th en per form ance is affected. When possible, keep the source footage files for your project on a fast local disk drive. Ideally, you have three drives: one for source footage files, one from which the application runs, and one for rendered output.

For more information, see Improve performanceand Memory & Multiprocessing preferences .

Planning for playback on computer monitors and mobile devices

When you create a movie for playback on a computer or a mobile device—whether downloaded from the Web, played from a media drive, or streamed from a site—specify composition settings, render settings, and output module settings that keep file size low without compromising on the intended delivery quality. Consider that a movie with a high data rate may not play well on older devices. Similarly, a large movie may take a long time to download over a slower data network.

When rendering your final movie, choose a file type and encoder appropriate for the final media. The corresponding decoder must be available on the system used by your intended audience; otherwise they will not be able to play the movie. Common codecs (encoders/decoders) include the codecs installed with media players such as Flash Player, Windows Media Player, and QuickTime Player.

Adobe Media Encoder CC offers presets that contain predefined settings for various platforms and formats for mobile devices, broadcast, cinema, web video, and so on. For more details about Media Encoder presets, see

Browser .

Using the Preset

For more information on rendering and exporting in After Effects, see Basics of rendering and exporting.

The article Exporting for the Web and mobile devices covers some important tips related to exporting your videos for Web and mobile devices.

For more information about encoding and compression options for After Effects, see this FAQ entry: “FAQ: What is

the best format for rendering and exporting from After Effects?”

Mobile devices

Many of the considerations for creating movies for playback on mobile devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, are similar to the considerations for creating movies for playback on computers—but the limitations are even more extreme. Because the amount of storage (disk space) and processor power can vary for mobile phones, file size and data rate for movies must be even more tightly controlled.

Screen dimensions, video frame rates, and color gamuts vary greatly from one mobile device to another.

Use these tips when shooting video for mobile devices:

•Tight shots are better. It’s hard to see a face on a tiny screen unless it’s shot in relative close-up.

• Light your subjects well, and keep them separated from the background; keep the colors and brightness values

between background and subject different.

• Avoid excessive zooming and rolling, which hinder temporal compression schemes.

• Because stable (non-shaky) video is easier to compress, shoot video with a tripod to minimize the shaking of the

camera.

• Avoid using auto-focus and auto-exposure features. When these features engage, they change the appearance of all

of the pixels in an image from one frame to the next, making compression using interframe encoding schemes less efficient.

Use these tips when working in After Effects (for mobile devices):

•Use a lower frame rate (12-24 fps) for mobile devices.

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• Use motion-stabilization tools and noise-reduction or blur effects before rendering to final output, to aid the

compressor in reducing file size.

• Match the color palette to the mobile devices that you are targeting. Mobile devices, in general, have a limited color

gamut.

• Consider using cuts and other fast transitions instead of zooming in and out or using fades and dissolves. Fast cuts

also make compression easier.

Cross-platform project considerations

After Effects project files are compatible with Mac OS and Windows operating systems, but some factors—mostly regarding the locations and naming of footage files and support files—can affect the ease of working with the same project across platforms.

Project file paths

When you move a project file to a different computer and open it, After Effects attempts to locate the project’s footage files as follows: After Effects first searches the folder in which the project file is located; second, it searches the file’s original path or folder location; finally, it searches the root of the directory where the project is located.

If you are building cross-platform projects, it’s best if the full paths have the same names on Mac OS and Windows systems. If the footage and the project are on different volumes, make sure that the appropriate volume is mounted before opening the project and that network volume names are the same on both systems.

It’s best to store footage in the same folder as the project file or in another folder within that folder. Here’s a sample hierarchy:

/newproject/project_file.aep

/newproject/source/footage1.psd

/newproject/source/footage2.avi

You can then copy the new project folder in its entirety across platforms, and After Effects properly locates all the footage.

Use the Collect Files feature to gather copies of all the files in a project into a single folder. You can then move the folder

containing the copied project to the other platform. See Collect files in one location.

File-naming conventions

Name your footage and project files with the appropriate filename extensions, such as .mov for QuickTime movies and .aep for After Effects projects. For using files on the Web, be sure that filenames adhere to applicable conventions for extensions and paths.

Supported file types

Some file types are supported on one platform but not others. See Supported import formatsand Supported output

formats.

Resources

Ensure that all fonts, effects, codecs, and other resources are available on both systems. Such resources are often plugins.

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If you use a native After Effects effect in a project on one operating system, the effect still works on the other operating system to which you’ve transferred your project. However, some third-party effects and other third-party plug-ins may not continue to operate, even if you have versions of these plug-ins on the target system. In such cases, you may need to reapply some third-party effects.

Setup and installation

Installing the software

Before installing Adobe After Effects software, review the complete system requirements .

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.

Installing a render-only instance of Adobe After Effects CC

Before you start:

If you have installed Creative Cloud applications on two computers, sign out of one of them by opening any of the applications and choosing Sign Out from the Help menu.

You can sign back into Creative Cloud on this computer after the render-only instances of After Effects are installed.

To install a render-only instance of After Effects CC, do the following:

1 Go to the product page to download and install After Effects CC.

2 When the installation is complete, start After Effects.

3 Choose Sign Out from the Help menu.

4 Quit After Effects.

5 Create and place the ae_render_only_node.txt file as described in this blog post.

Limitations of the trial version

The trial version of After Effects includes all of the codecs that are included with the full version of After Effects. This means that you can import and export to all of the supported file formats using the trial version.

The trial version of After Effects also includes the Keylight plug-in, mocha-AE, mocha shape, Cycore (CC) effects, and Color Finesse.

If your installation of After Effects is missing some third-party components, contact your system administrator to ensure that all licensed components have been installed correctly.

Activate the software

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.

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General user interface items

Activate a tool

The Tools panel can be displayed as a toolbar across the top of the application window or as a normal, dockable panel.

Note: Controls related to some tools appear only when the tool is selected in the Tools panel.

• Click the button for the tool. If the button has a small triangle at its lower-right corner, hold down the mouse button

to view the hidden tools. Then, click the tool you want to activate.

• Press the keyboard shortcut for the tool. (Placing the pointer over a tool button displays a tool tip with the name and

keyboard shortcut for the tool.)

• To cycle through hidden tools within a tool category, repeatedly press the keyboard shortcut for the tool category.

(For example, press the Q key repeatedly to cycle through the pen tools.)

• To momentarily activate a tool, hold down the key for the desired tool; release the key to return to the previously

active tool. (This technique does not work with all tools.)

• To momentarily activate the Hand tool, hold down the spacebar, the H key, or the middle mouse button. (The

middle mouse button does not activate the Hand tool under a few circumstances, including when the Unified Camera tool is active.)

To pan around in the Composition, Layer, or Footage panel, drag with the Hand tool. Hold Shift, too, to pan faster.

To show or hide panels most relevant to the active tool, click the panel button if available. For example, clicking this button when a paint tool is active opens or closes the Paint and Brushes panels. Select the Auto-Open Panels option in the Tools panel to automatically open the relevant panels when certain tools are activated.

Open panel, viewer, and context menus

Panel menus provide commands relative to the active panel or frame. Viewer menus provide lists of compositions, layers, or footage items that can be shown in the viewer, as well as commands for closing items and locking the viewer. Context menus provide commands relative to the item that is context-clicked. Many items in the After Effects user interface have associated context menus. Using context menus can make your work faster and easier.

• To o pe n a p an e l m e nu, cl i c k th e b u t t o n in the upper-right corner of the panel.

• To open a viewer menu, click the name of the active composition, layer, or footage item in the viewer tab.

• To open a context menu, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS). This action is sometimes referred to as

context-clicking.

Columns

The Project, Timeline, and Render Queue panels contain columns.

• To show or hide columns, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) a column heading (or choose Columns

from the panel menu), and select the columns that you want to show or hide. A check mark indicates that the column is shown.

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Note: In general, the search and filter functions in the Project and Timeline panels only operate on the content of columns that are shown.

• To reorder columns, select a column name and drag it to a new location.

• To resize columns, drag the bar next to a column name. Some columns cannot be resized.

• To sort footage items in the Project panel, click the column heading. Click once more to sort them in reverse order.

Search and filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panels

The Project, Timeline, and Effects & Presets panels each contain search fields that you can use to filter items in the panel.

• To place the insertion point in a search field, click in the search field.

• To place the insertion point in the search field for the active panel, choose File > Find or press Ctrl+F (Windows) or

Command+F (Mac OS).

• To clear the search field, click the button that appears to the right of the text in the search field.

When you type in the search field, the list of items in the panel is filtered, showing some items and hiding others. Only items with entries that match the search query that you’ve typed are shown. The folders, layers, categories, or property groups that contain the matched items are also shown, to provide context.

In general, only text in columns that are shown is searched for this filtering operation. For example, you may need to show the Comments column to search and filter by the contents of comments. (See

If one or more layers are selected in a composition, the filtering operation in the Timeline panel only affects selected layers. In this case, unselected layers are not filtered out (hidden) if they don’t match the search query. However, if no layers are selected in the composition, the filtering operation applies to all layers in the composition. This behavior matches that for showing and hiding of layer properties by pressing their property shortcut keys. (See

properties in the Timeline panel.)

Clearing the search field and ending the search causes expanded folders and property groups to collapse (close).

Therefore, it’s easier to work with the items that are found by the filter operation if you operate on them before you clear the search field and end the search.

If the text that you type in the search field in the Project or Timeline panel contains spaces, the spaces are treated as and-based operators. For example, typing dark solid matches footage items or layers named Dark Red Solid and Dark Gray Solid. In the Effects & Presets panel, spaces are treated as space characters in the search field. For example, typing change color matches the Change Color effect, but not the Change To Color effect.

Project, Timeline, and Effects & Presets panels accept or-based searching. In an or-based search, a comma denotes an or, with and-based operators taking precedence over or-based ones. For example, sometimes the name of the property that determines the amount for a blur effect is Amount, sometimes it is Blurriness, and sometimes it is Blur Radius. If you search for Amount, Blurriness, Radius, then you will see the equivalent values for all of your blur effects.

When you type in a search field, recent search strings that match your input appear.

This search method also allows a way to save items you use often via a menu that opens when you click the search icon in th e search field. The search menu consist s of t wo lists, s eparated by a divider. The top list cont ains the six most rece nt searches, with the most recent one at the top. The bottom list contains saved search items. As you type, the top list filters to show matching terms.

Columns.)

Show or hide

• To save a search item, Shift-click it in the top list of the search menu. Up to ten items may be saved.

• To delete a saved search item from either list, hover the mouse over the item to highlight it, and then press Delete

or Backspace.

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See this video on the Video2Brain website to learn about the features for searching and filtering in panels.

Examples of searches in the Project panel

• To show only footage items for which the name or comment contains a specific string, start typing the string.

• To show only footage items for which the source file is missing, type the entire word missing. (This search works

whether or not the File Path column is shown, which is an exception to the general rule that only shown columns are searched.)

• To show only unused footage items, type the entire word unused.

• To show only used footage items, type the entire word used.

• To show only Cineon footage items, type Cineon with the Type column shown.

Examples of searches in the Timeline panel

• To show only layers and properties for which the name or comment contains a specific string, type the string. For

example, type starch to show pins created by the Puppet Starch tool.

• To show only properties that have an expression that uses a specific method, type the method name.

• To show only layers with a specific label, type the label name. (See Color labels for layers, compositions, and footage

items.)

Click the swatch for a label to see the context menu that lists the label names. Alternatively, drag the right edge of the

Label column heading to expand the column to read the label names.

Scroll or zoom with the mouse wheel

You can use the mouse wheel to zoom in the Timeline, Composition, Layer, and Footage panels. You can use the mouse wheel to scroll in the Timeline, Project, Render Queue, Flowchart, Effect Controls, Metadata, and Effects & Presets panels.

• To zoom into the center of the panel, or into the feature region when tracking, roll the mouse wheel forward.

• To zoom out of the center of the panel, or out of the feature region when tracking, roll the mouse wheel backward.

• To z oom into the area u nder the pointer, hold down Alt (Windows) or O ption (Mac OS ) as you roll the mous e whee l

forward. In the Timeline, Footage, and Layer panels, this action zooms in time when the pointer is over the time navigator or time ruler.

• To zoom out of the area under the pointer, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you roll the mouse

wheel backward. In the Timeline, Footage, and Layer panels, this action zooms in time when the pointer is over the time navigator or time ruler.

• To scroll vertically, roll the mouse wheel forward or backward.

• To scroll horizontally, hold down Shift as you roll the mouse wheel backward or forward. In the Timeline, Footage,

and Layer panels, Shift-rolling backward moves forward in time and vice versa when the pointer is over the time navigator or time ruler.

You can scroll or zoom with the mouse wheel in a panel even if it is not currently active, as long as the pointer is over it.

Undo changes

You can undo only those actions that alter the project data. For example, you can undo a change to a property value, but you cannot undo the scrolling of a panel or the activation of a tool.

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You can sequentially undo as many as 99 of the most recent changes made to the project.

To avoid wasting time undoing accidental modifi cation s, lock a laye r when you want t o see it but do not want to modify

it.

• To undo the most recent change, choose Edit > Undo [action] or Ctrl-Z

• To undo a change and all changes after it, choose Edit > History, and select the first change that you want to undo.

• To revert to the last saved version of the project, choose File > Revert. All changes made and footage items imported

since you last saved are lost. You cannot undo this action.

After Effects user interface tips

• Use ClearType text anti-aliasing on Windows. ClearType makes the outlines of system text, such as menus and

dialog boxes, easier to read. See Windows Help for information on how to enable ClearType text anti-aliasing.

• To show tool tips, select the Show Tool Tips preference (Edit > General > Preferences (Windows) or After Effects >

Preferences > General (Mac OS)).

• Use a workspace that contains the Info panel, and leave that panel in front of other panels in its panel group

whenever possible. The Info panel shows messages about what After Effects is doing, information about items under the pointer, and much more.

• Use context menus.

• Use keyboard shortcuts.

Working with After Effects and other applications

Working with Adobe Bridge and After Effects

Use Adobe Bridge to run animation presets; run cross-product workflow automation scripts; view and manage files and folders; organize your files by assigning keywords, labels, and ratings to them; search for files and folders; and view, edit, and add metadata.

• To open Adobe Bridge from After Effects, choose File > Browse In Bridge.

• To reveal a file in Adobe Bridge, select a file in the Project panel and choose File > Reveal In Bridge.

• To use Adobe Bridge to browse for animation presets, choose Animation > Browse Presets.

Adobe Bridge is part of the Creative Cloud suite of applications and can be downloaded and installed through Creative Cloud. See the

See this video to get an overview of Adobe Bridge CC.

Working with Photoshop and After Effects

If you use Photoshop to create still images, you can use After Effects to bring those still images together and make them move and change. In After Effects, you can animate an entire Photoshop image or any of its layers. You can even animate individual properties of Photoshop images, such as the properties of a layer style. If you use After Effects to create movies, you can use Photoshop to refine the individual frames of those movies.

help documentation and the Adobe Bridge CC product page for more information.

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Comparative advantages for specific tasks

The strengths of After Effects are in its animation and automation features. This means that After Effects excels at tasks that can be automated from one frame to another. For example, you can use the motion tracking features of After Effects to track the motion of a microphone boom, and then automatically apply that same motion to a stroke made with the Clone Stamp tool. In this manner, you can remove the microphone from every frame of a shot, without having to paint the microphone out by hand on each frame.

In contrast, Photoshop has excellent tools for painting and drawing.

Deciding which application to use for painting depends on the task. Paint strokes in Photoshop directly affect the pixels of the layer. Paint strokes in After Effects are elements of an effect, each of which can be turned on or off or modified at any time. If you want to have complete control of each paint stroke after you’ve applied it, or if you want to animate the paint strokes themselves, use the After Effects paint tools. If the purpose of applying a paint stroke is to permanently modify a still image, use the Photoshop paint tools. If you are applying several paint strokes by hand to get rid of dust, consider using the Photoshop paint tools.

The animation and video features in Photoshop include simple keyframe-based animation. After Effects uses a similar interface, though the breadth and flexibility of its animation features are far greater.

After Effects can also automatically create 3D layers to mimic the planes created by the Photoshop Vanishing Point feature.

Exchanging still images

After Effects can import and export still images in many formats, but you will usually want to use the native Photoshop PSD format when transferring individual frames or still image sequences between After Effects and Photoshop.

When importing or exporting a PSD file, After Effects can preserve individual layers, masks, layer styles, and most other attributes. When you import a PSD file into After Effects, you can choose whether to import it as a flattened image or as a composition with its layers separate and intact.

It is often a good idea to prepare a still image in Photoshop before importing it into After Effects. Examples of such preparation include correcting color, scaling, and cropping. It is often better for you to do something once to the source image in Photoshop than to have After Effects perform the same operation many times per second as it renders each frame for previews or final output.

By creating your new PSD document from the Photoshop New File dialog box with a Film & Video preset, you can start with a document that is set up correctly for a specific video output type. If you are already working in After Effects, you can create a new PSD document that matches your composition and project settings by choosing File > New > Adobe Photoshop File.

Exchanging movies

You can also exchange video files, such as QuickTime movies, between Photoshop and After Effects. When you open a movie in Photoshop, a video layer is created that refers to the source footage file. Video layers allow you to paint nondestructively on the movie’s frames, much as After Effects works with layers with movies as their sources. When you save a PSD file with a video layer, you save the edits that you made to the video layer, not edits to the source footage itself.

You can also render a movie directly from Photoshop. For example, you can create a QuickTime movie from Photoshop that can then be imported into After Effects.

Color

After Effects works internally with colors in an RGB (red, green, blue) color space. Though After Effects can convert CMYK images to RGB, you should do video and animation work in Photoshop in RGB.

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If relevant for your final output, it is better to ensure that the colors in your image are broadcast-safe in Photoshop before you import the image into After Effects. A good way to do this is to assign the appropriate destination color space—for example, SDTV (Rec. 601)—to the document in Photoshop. After Effects performs color management according to color profiles embedded in documents, including imported PSD files.

Working with Animate CC and After Effects

If you use Adobe Animate (formerly called Flash Professional) to create video or animation, you can use After Effects to edit and refine the video. For example, from Adobe Animate, you can export animations and applications as QuickTime movies, .mp4, and other standard video formats. You can then use After Effects to edit and refine the video.

If you use After Effects to edit and composite video, you can then use Animate to publish that video.

Animate and After Effects use separate terms for some concepts that they share in common. The following table lists the differences between the terms used in the two applications:

After Effects Animate

Composition Movie Clip

Composition frame (Composition panel) Stage

Project panel Library panel

Project files FLA files

Render and export a movie Publish SWF file

Additional resources

The following articles provide additional information about using Animate and After Effects together:

• Richard Harrington and Marcus Geduld provide an excerpt, "Flash Essentials for After Effects Users", of their book

After Effects for Flash | Flash for After Effects on the Peachpit website. In this chapter, Richard and Marcus explain Animate in terms that an After

Effects user can understand.

http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1350895

• Richard Harrington and Marcus Geduld also provide "After Effects Essentials for Flash Users", another excerpt from

their book After Effects for Flash | Flash for After Effects. In this chapter, Richard and Marcus explain After in terms that an Animate user can understand.

http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1350894

Effects

• Robert Powers provides a video tutorial on the Slippery Rock NYC website that shows the basics of using After

Effects from the perspective of someone who is familiar with Animate.

Exporting QuickTime video from Animate

If you create animations or applications with Animate, you can export them as QuickTime movies using the File > Export > Export Movie command in Animate. For a Animate animation, you can optimize the video output for animation. For an Animate application, Animate renders video of the application as it runs, allowing the user to manipulate it. This lets you capture the branches or states of your application that you want to include in the video file.

Importing and publishing video in Animate

When you import a movie file into Animate, you can use various techniques, such as scripting or Animate components, to control the visual interface that surrounds your video. For example, you might include playback controls or other graphics. You can also add graphic layers on top of the movie for composite results.

Composite graphics, animation, and video

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Animate and After Effects each include many capabilities that allow you to perform complex compositing of video and graphics. Which application you choose to use will depend on your personal preferences and the type of final output you want to create.

Animate is the more web-oriented of the two applications, with its small final file size. Animate also allows for run-time control of animation. After and is generally used to create video files as final output.

Both applications can be used to create original graphics and animation. Both use a timeline and offer scripting capabilities for controlling animation programmatically. After

Both applications allow you to place graphics on separate layers for compositing. These layers can be turned on and off as needed. Both also allow you to apply effects to the contents of individual layers.

In Animate, composites do not affect the video content directly; they affect only the appearance of the video during playback in Flash Player. In contrast, when you composite with imported video in After export actually incorporates the composited graphics and effects.

Because all drawing and painting in After Effects is done on layers separate from any imported video, it is always nondestructive. Animate has both destructive and nondestructive drawing modes.

Ef fec ts i s or iente d towa rd vid eo a nd f ilm produ cti on, prov ide s a w ide ran ge of v isual e ffects ,

Effects includes a larger set of effects.

Effects, the video file you

Importing SWF files into After Effects

An imat e ha s a un ique set o f ve ct or a rt to ols that make it u sefu l f or a var iety o f dr awin g ta sks n ot po ssib le in Afte r Effects or Adobe® Illustrator®. You can import SWF files into After as video with additional creative effects. Interactive content and scripted animation are not retained. Animation defined by keyframes is retained.

Each SWF file imported into After Effects is flattened into a single continuously rasterized layer, with its alpha channel preserved. Continuous rasterization means that graphics stay sharp as they are scaled up. This import method allows you to use the root layer or object of your SWF files as a smoothly rendered element in After capabilities of each tool to work together.

Effects to composite them with other video or render them

Effects, allowing the best

Working with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects

Ad obe Pre mier e Pro is d esig ned t o captu re, imp or t, a nd e dit m ovi es. A fter Ef fec ts is desi gned to cr eat e mo tion graphi cs, apply visual effects, composite visual elements, perform color correction, and perform other post-production tasks for movies.

You can easily exchange projects, compositions, sequences, tracks, and layers between After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro:

• You can create text template compositions in After Effects where you can edit the source text in Premiere Pro. See

Live Te x t Te mplate s .

• You can import an Adobe Premiere Pro project into After Effects. See Import an Adobe Premiere Pro project.

• You can export an After Effects project as an Adobe Premiere Pro project. See Export an After Effects project as an

Adobe Premiere Pro project .

• You can copy and paste layers and tracks between After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro. See Copy between After

Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro.

• You can render and replace After Effects compositions in Premiere Pro to speed up compositions that take a long

time to render. (See

Render and Replace After Effects compositions in Adobe Premiere Pro .)

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If you have Adobe Premiere Pro, you can do the following:

• Use Adobe Dynamic Link to work with After Effects compositions in Adobe Premiere Pro. A dynamically linked

composition appears as a clip in Adobe Premiere Pro.

• Use Adobe Dynamic Link to work with Adobe Premiere Pro sequences in After Effects. A dynamically linked

sequence appears as a footage item in After Effects.

• Start After Effects from within Premiere Pro and create a new composition with settings that match the settings of

your Premiere Pro project.

• Select a set of clips in Adobe Premiere Pro and convert them to a composition in After Effects.

For information on using Dynamic Link with After Effects and Premiere Pro, see Dynamic Link and After Effects and

Dynamic Link sections in Adobe Premiere Pro Help.

Working with Adobe Media Encoder and After Effects

You can use Adobe Media Encoder to export video from After Effects. Use Adobe Media Encoder to encode formats like H.264, MPEG-2, and WMV. Other formats, are available in Adobe Media Encoder, but not in After Effects. For example, the DNxHD format is available in Adobe Media Encoder, but not in After Effects.

You can add After Effects project files to a watch folder in Adobe Media encoder, and the composition is automatically added to the encoding queue Adobe Media Encoder. See the Encoder for detailed information.

Import files with Watch folder section in Adobe Media

For details about using Adobe Media Encoder with After Effects, see Render and export with Adobe Media Encoder.

See this tutorialto learn how to export After Effects compositions using Adobe Media Encoder.

Edit in Adobe Audition

While working in After Effects, you can use the more comprehensive audio-editing capabilities of Adobe Audition to fine-tune your audio. You can use the Edit in Adobe Audition command to start Adobe Audition from within After Effects.

If you edit an audio-only file (for example, a WAV file) in Adobe Audition, you change the original file. If you edit a layer that contains both audio and video (for example, an AVI file), you edit a copy of the source audio file.

1 Select the layer that contains the audio that you want to edit. The item must be of a type that is editable in Adobe

Audition.

2 Choose Edit > Edit In Adobe Audition to open the clip in Edit view in Adobe Audition.

3 Edit the file, and then do one of the following:

• If you’re editing an audio-only layer, choose File > Save to apply your edits to the original audio file. You can also

choose File > Save As to apply your edits to a copy of the audio file. If you choose File > Save As, import the copy of the file into After Effects.

• If you’re editing a layer that contains both audio and video, choose File > Save As. After you save the file, import

it into After Effects. Then, add it to the composition, and mute the original audio in the audio-video clip by deselecting the Audio switch in the Timeline panel.

Note: Any effects applied to audio in After Effects aren’t included in the copy that is sent to Adobe Audition.

Tutorials and resources about using Adobe Audition to modify audio from After Effects can be found on this post from

the After Effects Region of Interest blog.

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Sync Settings

When you work on multiple computers, managing and syncing preferences among the computers can be timeconsuming, complex, and error-prone.

The Sync Settings feature in After Effects enables you to sync preferences and settings via Creative Cloud. For example, if you use two computers, the Sync Settings feature makes it easy for you to keep those settings synchronized across these two computers.

The synchronization takes place via your Adobe Creative Cloud account. Settings are uploaded to your Creative Cloud account and then are downloaded and applied on the other computer. You can also synchronize settings from another Creative Cloud account. After Effects creates a user profile on your computer and uses it to synchronize settings to and from the associated Creative Cloud account.

You can initiate the synchronization manually; it does not happen automatically and it cannot be scheduled.

Synchronize your settings

To initi ate th e sy nch roniz ation , choos e Ed it > [y our Adobe ID] > Sync Set tin gs Now (Wind ows) o r Af ter Effect s > [ your Adobe ID] > Sync Settings Now.

You can also synchronize the settings on the Start screen. Click SYNC SETTINGS > Sync Now [your Adobe ID] on the screen to initiate the synchronization.

• Download Settings: Synchronize Settings from Creative Cloud to your computer; overwrite the local version with

the Creative Cloud version of settings.

• Upload Settings: Synchronize settings from this local computer to Creative Cloud.

Progress and details about the synchronization is displayed in the Info panel (Window > Info).

Restart After Effects to apply downloaded preferences after using Sync Settings .

Synchronize settings from a different account

By default, the Adobe ID associated with the license for the product is used to synchronize the preferences. To use a different Adobe ID to synchronize the settings, from the Edit menu (Windows) or After Effects menu (Mac OS), choose [your Adobe ID]

Alternatively, on the Start screen, click SYNC SETTINGS > Use Settings from a Different Account.

> Use Settings From a Different Account. Enter the Adobe ID and password.

Managing synchronization

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Clear Settings

Select Edit > [your Adobe ID] > Clear Settings (Windows) or After Effects [your Adobe ID] > Clear Settings (Mac OS), to clear all settings and reset them to the default state. Clear Settings also resets the token that is used to indicate the user's settings that was used to sync the settings.

Click Quit to clear the current preferences, and close After Effects. When the application is launched again, default preferences are set.

Manage Sync Settings

To change the settings for the Sync Settings feature (Windows):

• Click Edit > [your Adobe ID] > Manage Sync Settings

• Click Edit > Preferences > Sync Settings

To change the settings for the Sync Settings feature (Mac OS):

• Click After Effects > [your Adobe ID] > Manage Sync Settings

• Click After Effects > Preferences > Sync Settings

You can change the following settings in the settings dialog:

Automatically clear user profile on application quit Enable this option to clear the user profile when you quit After

Effects. On next launch, preferences are fetched from the default Adobe ID used to license the product.

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Select the preferences to synchronize.

1 Synchronizable Preferences

2 Keyboard Shortcuts

3 Composition Settings Presets

4 Interpretation Rules

5 Render Settings Templates

6 Output Module Settings Templates

Note: Synchronizable preferences refer to preferences that are not dependent on computer or hardware settings.

Note: Keyboard shortcuts created for Windows synchronize only with Windows and Mac OS keyboard shortcuts

synchronize only with Mac OS.

Choose one of the following options from the drop-down menu to instruct After Effects when to synchronize the settings :

• Ask my preference

• Always Upload Settings

• Always Download Settings

Note: The Sync Settings feature does not synchronize files that are manually placed in the preferences folder location.

Workspaces, panels, and viewers

Workspaces and panels

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.

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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.

Workspaces are stored in XML files in the preferences folder. With some caveats regarding monitor size and layout, these workspaces can be moved to another computer and used there.

• (Windows) [drive]:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\After Effects\[version]\ModifiedWorkspaces

• (Mac OS) [drive]/Users/[user_name]/Library/Preferences/Adobe/After Effects/[version]/ModifiedWorkspaces

See this video tutorial about workspaces by Andrew Devis on the Creative Cow website for more details.

Stacked panel layout

Customize your workspace by grouping panels the way you want to. In a panel group, you can arrange panels in both stacked and tabbed states.

You can expand and collapse stacked panels with a single mouse-click on the panel header. For more information, see

Working with stacked panels .

Customizing workspaces

Choose a workspace

You can access custom or default workspaces with a single click in the new workspace bar. The workspace bar occupies the right side of the Tools panel. You can customize the width of the bar by dragging the vertical divider between the tool and the workspace bars.

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The workspaces that do not fit in the available space display in the chevron menu (>>) on the workspace bar.

When you move the Tools panel from its position, the Workspace menu replaces the workspace bar.

Note: Choose Window > Workspace > Edit Workspaces or click the chevron menu (>>) on the workspace bar to display the Edit Workspaces dialog box. You can select a workspace and reorder workspaces.

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Edit Workspaces dialog box

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]

Wo rk sp ac e .

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

Note: (After Effects, Premiere Pro) If a project saved with a custom workspace is opened on another system, the application looks for a workspace with a matching name. If the application cannot find a match (or the monitor configuration doesn’t match), it uses the current local workspace.

OK.

Reset a workspace

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

Choose Window > Workspace > Reset workspace name.

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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.

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. Dropping a panel on a grouping zone stacks it with other panels.

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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.

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.

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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 use a secondary monitor, or to create workspaces like the workspaces 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.)

Maximize or restore panel groups

Double-click the active panel's tab, or in the fallow area of the tab well of a panel group to maximize or restore that panel group. You can also press the ` (accent grave) key with the mouse pointer over that panel group to maximize or restore a panel group.

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.

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.

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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 . If you accidentally close a panel, choose the panel from the

Window menu, and the panel will be displayed again.

• 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.

Scroll bar for showing tabs of other panels

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Viewers

A viewer is a panel that can contain multiple compositions, layers, or footage items, or multiple views of one such item. The Composition, Layer, Footage, Flowchart, and Effect Controls panels are viewers.

Locking a viewer prevents the currently displayed item from being replaced when you open or select a new item. Instead, when a viewer is locked and a new item is opened or selected, After Effects creates a new viewer panel for that item. If you select the item from the viewer menu of a locked viewer, a new viewer isn't created; the existing viewer is used.

Inst ead of hou sing m ult iple ite ms i n a s ing le v iew er and usi ng t he v iew er m enu to switc h be twe en t hem , yo u can c hoo se to open a separate viewer for each open composition, layer, or footage item. When you have multiple viewers open, you can arrange them by docking or grouping them, like any other panels.

For example, you can create one Composition viewer each for different 3D views (Top, Bottom, Back, Front, custom views) so that you can maximize each of the views with the ` (accent grave) keyboard shortcut, which maximizes or restores the panel under the pointer.

To create a custom workspace with multiple viewers, ensure that all viewers are unlocked before you save the workspace.

Locked viewers are associated with a specific project context and are therefore not saved in the preferences file.

• To create a new viewer, choose New from the viewer menu. (See Open panel, viewer, and context menus.)

• To lock or unlock a viewer, choose Locked from the viewer menu, or click the Toggle Viewer Lock button.

• To lock the current viewer, split the current frame, and create a new viewer of the same type in the new frame, press

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift+N (Mac OS).

• To cycle forward or backward through the items in the viewer menu list for the active viewer, press Shift+period (.)

or Shift+comma (,).

Edit this, look at that (ETLAT) and locked Composition viewers

If a Composition viewer is locked, the Timeline panel for another composition is active, and the Composition viewer for the active composition is not shown, then most commands that affect views and previews operate on the composition for which the viewer is shown.

For example, pressing the numpad 0 can start a preview for the composition visible in a locked Composition viewer rather than the composition associated with the active Timeline panel.

This behavior facilitates a working setup sometimes referred to as edit-this-look-at-that (ETLAT). The most common scenario in which this behavior is useful is the scenario in which you make a change in the Timeline panel for a nested (upstream) composition and want to preview the result of the change in a containing (downstream) composition.

Note: ETLAT behavior works for keyboard shortcuts for zooming, fitting, previewing, taking and viewing snapshots, showing channels, showing and hiding grids and guides, and showing the current frame on a video preview device.

To prevent this behavior, unlock the Composition viewer or show the Composition viewer for the composition that you want to view or preview.

See this video on the Video2Brain website to learn about the improvements in ETLAT (edit-this-look-at-that) workflow.

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Use the Adobe Color Themes extension

The Adobe Color service helps you choose harmonious and appealing color combinations for your After Effects compositions. Adobe Color is integrated right within After Effects in the form of an extension that lets you create, save, and access your color themes. You can also explore the many public color themes available on Adobe Color and filter them in several ways: Most Popular, Most Used, Random, themes you've published, or themes you've appreciated in the past. Once you've found a theme that you like; you can edit it and save it to your themes, or add it to your swatches in After Effects.

Aside from After Effects, the Adobe Color Themes extension is currently available in two other Creative Cloud desktop applications: Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop. Themes saved to Creative Cloud libraries from within these desktop apps, mobile apps such as Capture CC, or using the Effects.

Adobe Color website are accessible seamlessly in After

Access the Adobe Color Themes panel

• In After Effects, select Window > Extensions > Adobe Color Themes.

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Explore color themes

Explore themes

1 Click the Explore tab in the Adobe Color Themes panel. By default, the Explore tab displays all public color themes.

2 If necessary, filter the color themes by a category and a timeframe. Use the search bar if you're looking for a specific

theme.

Create and save a color theme

1 Click the Create tab in the Adobe Color Themes panel.

2 Select the color rule on which you want to base the theme: Analogous, Monochromatic, Triad, Complementary,

Compound, Shades, or Custom.

Analogous Uses colors that are adjacent on the color wheel. Analogous colors usually blend well with one another and

are harmonious and pleasing to the eye.

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Example: Analogous color rule

Monochromatic Uses variations in saturation and brightness of a single color. When you use this color rule, you're

presented with five colors sharing the same hue (example: H:182) but different saturation and brightness values. Monochromatic colors go well together and produce a soothing effect.

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Example: Monochromatic color rule

Tri ad Uses colors evenly spaced around three equidistant points on the color wheel. When you use this color rule,

you're presented with two colors with the same hue but different saturation and brightness values from the first point on the color wheel (example: HSB: 182, 90, 45 & HSB: 182, 100, 75), two from the second point on the color wheel (HSB: 51, 90, 55 & HSB: 51, 95, 45), and one color from the third point (HSB: 321, 90, 79). Triadic colors tend to be contrasting—albeit not as contrasting as complementary colors—while still retaining harmony when used together.

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Example: Triad color rule

Complementary Uses colors opposite to each other on the color wheel. When you use this color rule, you are presented

with two colors with the same hue as the base color (example: HSB: 182, 100, 45 & HSB: 182, 90, 100), the base color itself (HSB: 182, 100, 75), and two colors with the same hue from the opposite point on the color wheel (HSB: 23, 100, 45 & HSB: 23, 100, 75). Complementary colors provide high contrast and tend to stand out when used together.

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Example: Complementary color rule

Compound Uses a mix of complementary and analogous colors. When you use this color rule, you are presented with

two colors with the same hue that are adjacent (analogous) to the base color (example: HSB: 214, 90, 95 & HSB: 214, 60, 35), the base color itself (HSB: 182, 100, 75), and two colors opposite to the base color (complementary) but adjacent to each other (HSB: 15, 75, 78 & HSB: 6, 90, 95). Compound color themes have the same strong visual contrast as complementary color themes, but they have less pressure.

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Example: Compound color rule

Shades Uses five colors—all sharing the same hue (example: H: 182) and saturation (S: 100) but different brightness

values.

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Shades color rule

Custom Lets you manually select the colors on the color wheel in your palette without any rules controlling them.

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Custom color rule

Now, choose a base color by clicking the little triangle corresponding to a color in the theme you're editing. Based upon the color rule selected, a color theme is automatically built around the base color.

Choose a base color

While a color is selected, you can adjust it either using the color wheel or by changing its value in one of the following

color systems: CMYK, RGB, LAB, HSB, or HEX.

1 Enter a name for the new color theme. Click Save.

2 Choose the Creative Cloud library to which you want to save the theme.

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Save the new theme to a library

Click Save.

Note: Depending on whether you're logged in using your Adobe ID or your enterprise credentials, different sets of libraries may be available for saving themes. Select Help > Manage My Account to check the credentials with which you're logged in. If you land at the authentication screen for your organization when you select this option, you're logged in using your enterprise credentials.The same email ID may be associated with an Adobe ID as well as an enterprise ID.

Access themes saved to your libraries

Access your themes

1 In the Adobe Color Themes panel, click the My Themes tab.

2 Select the Creative Cloud library from which you want to access the color theme.

3 If necessary, select a sorting parameter/order for the listed themes: By Date, By Name, or By Quantity; ascending or

descending.

Dynamic Link and After Effects

Note: For more information on compatibility when using dynamic link between various versions of Premiere Pro and After Effects see the KB article,

Using Dynamic Link between various versions of Premiere Pro and After Effects .

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From an expert: Creative Dynamic Link workflows with Premiere Pro and After Effects

About Dynamic Link

In the past, sharing media assets among post-production applications required you to render and export your work from one application before importing it into another. This workflow was inefficient and time-consuming. If you wanted to change the original asset, you rendered and exported the asset again. Multiple rendered and exported versions of an asset consume disk space, and they can lead to file-management challenges.

Dynamic Link offers an alternative to this workflow. You can create dynamic links between After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro. Creating a dynamic link is as simple as importing any other type of asset. Dynamically linked assets appear with unique icons and label colors to help you identify them. Dynamic links are saved in projects generated by these applications.

Create and link to After Effects compositions with Dynamic Link

You can create new After Effects compositions, and dynamically link to them from Adobe Premiere Pro. You can also dynamically link to existing After Effects compositions from Adobe Premiere Pro.

Create a composition from clips in Adobe Premiere Pro

You can replace selected clips in Adobe Premiere Pro with a dynamically linked After Effects composition based on those clips. The new composition inherits the sequence settings from Adobe Premiere Pro.

1 Open Premiere Pro and select the clips you want to replace.

2 Right-click any of the selected clips.

3 Select Replace With After Effects Composition.

After Effects opens (if it is not already open) and a new linked composition is created.

Create a dynamically linked composition from Adobe Premiere Pro

Creating a new dynamically linked composition from Adobe Premiere Pro launches After Effects. After Effects then creates a project and composition with the dimensions, pixel aspect ratio, frame rate, and audio sample rate of the originating project. (If After Effects is already running, it creates a composition in the current project.) The new composition name is based on the Adobe Premiere Pro project name, followed by Linked Comp [x].

1 In Adobe Premiere Pro, choose File > Adobe Dynamic Link > New After Effects Composition. In the 2014 version

of Premiere Pro, you can import compositions using Media Browser. See the following sections in Premiere Pro for more information:

• Import files with Media Browser

• Adobe Dynamic Link

2 If the After Effects Save As dialog box appears, enter a name and location for the After Effects project, and click Save.

When you create a dynamically linked After Effects composition, the composition duration is set to 30 seconds. To change the duration, select the composition in After Effects, choose Composition > Composition Settings. Click the

Basic tab, and specify a new value for Duration.

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Link to an existing composition

For best results, match composition settings (such as dimensions, pixel aspect ratio, and frame rate) to the settings in the Adobe Premiere Pro.

Do one of the following:

• In Adobe Premiere Pro, choose File > Adobe Dynamic Link > ImportAfter Effects Composition. Choose an After

Effects project file (.aep), and then choose one or more compositions.

• In Adobe Premiere Pro, choose an After Effects project file and click Open. Then choose a composition in the

displayed dialog box and click OK.

• Drag one or more compositions from the After Effects Project panel to the Adobe Premiere Pro Project panel.

• Drag an After Effects project file into the Premiere Pro Project panel. If the After Effects project file contains

multiple compositions, the Import Composition dialog box opens.

Note: You can link to a single After Effects composition multiple times in a single Adobe Premiere Pro project.

Modify a dynamically linked composition in After Effects

Use the Edit Original command in Adobe Premiere Pro to modify a linked After Effects composition. Once the composition is open in After Effects, you can change the composition without having to use the Edit Original command again.

1 Select the After Ef fects composition in Adobe Pre miere Pro, or choos e a linked clip in the Timeline, and choose Edit

> Edit Original.

2 Change the composition in After Effects. Then, switch back to Adobe Premiere Pro to view your changes.

The changes made in After Effects appear in Adobe Premiere Pro. Adobe Premiere Pro stops using any preview files rendered for the clip before the changes.

Note: You can change the name of the composition in After Effects after creating a dynamic link to it from

Premiere Pro. Adobe Premiere Pro does not update the linked composition name in the Project panel.

Adobe

Premiere Pro does retain the dynamic link, however.

Adobe

Delete a dynamically linked composition or clip

You can delete a linked composition from an Adobe Premiere Pro project at any time, even if the composition is used in a project.

You can delete linked clips from the timeline of an Adobe Premiere Pro sequence or timeline at any time.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, select the linked composition or clip and press the Delete key.

Create a linked sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro with Dynamic Link

Link to a new sequence

Creating an Adobe Premiere Pro sequence from After Effects launches Adobe Premiere Pro. Adobe Premiere Pro then creates a project and sequence with the dimensions, pixel aspect ratio, frame rate, and audio sample rate of the originating project. (If Adobe Premiere Pro is already running, it creates a sequence in the current project.)

In After Effects, choose File > Adobe Dynamic Link > New Premiere Pro Sequence.

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Link to an existing sequence

For best results, match sequence settings and project settings in Adobe Premiere Pro (such as dimensions, pixel aspect ratio, and frame rate) to those settings in the After Effects project.

Do one of the following:

• In After Effects, choose File > Adobe Dynamic Link > Import Premiere Pro Sequence. Choose an Adobe Premiere

Pro project, and then choose one or more sequences.

• Drag one or more sequences from the Adobe Premiere Pro Project panel to the After Effects Project panel.

Dynamic Link performance

A linked clip can refer to a complex source composition. Actions you perform on the source composition require additional processing time depending on the complexity. After Effects applies the actions and make the final data available to Adobe Premiere Pro using the global performance cache and the persistent disk cache features. These features improve the After Effects performance by using the cached frames when Premiere Pro requests the frames.

To reduce playback delays, do one of the following:

• Take the linked composition offline

• Disable a linked clip to temporarily stop referencing a composition

• Replace the dynamically linked composition with the rendered file using the Render and Replace feature in

Premiere Pro (Clip > Render And Replace).

If you commonly work with complex source compositions, increase your RAM or upgrade to a faster processor.

Note: A linked After Effects composition will not support Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously multiprocessing. See

Improve performance by optimizing memory, cache, and multiprocessing settings.

Export to Adobe Media Encoder

To encode After Effects compositions, you must add the item to the encoding queue in Adobe Media Encoder, and then select encoding presets or create your own custom settings for rendering. In After Effects, you can add a composition to Media Encoder queue using one of the following options:

• File > Export > Add to Media Encoder Queue

• Composition > Add to Media Encoder Queue

When you add a composition or project to Adobe Media Encoder queue, After Effects launches Adobe Media Encoder with the compositions listed in the queue.

The encoding process is explained in the following articles:

• Encode video or audio items in Adobe Media Encoder

• Encode using presets

• Encode using custom settings

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Chapter 3: Projects and compositions

Projects

About projects

An After Effects project is a single file that stores compositions and references to all the source files used by footage items in that project. Compositions are collections of layers. Many layers use footage items (such as movies or still images) as a source, though some layers—such as shape layers and text layers—contain graphics that you create within After Effects.

A project file has the filename extension .aep or .aepx. A project file with the .aep filename extension is a binary project file. A project file with the .aepx filename extension is a text-based XML project file.

The name of the current project appears at the top of the application window.

A template project file has the filename extension .aet. (See Template projects and example projects.)

XML project files

Text-based XML project files contain some project information as hexadecimal-encoded binary data, but much of the information is exposed as human-readable text in string elements. You can open an XML project file in a text editor and edit some details of the project without opening the project in After Effects. You can even write scripts that modify project information in XML project files as part of an automated workflow.

Elements of a project that you can modify in an XML project file:

• Marker attributes, including comments, chapter point parameters, and cue point parameters

• File paths of source footage items, including proxies

• Composition, footage item, layer, and folder names and comments

Note: Footage item names are exposed in string elements in XML project files only if the names have been customized. Footage item names derived automatically from the names of source files and solid color names are not exposed in string elements

Some strings, such as workspace and view names, are exposed as human-readable strings, but modifications made to these strings are not respected when After Effects opens the project file.

Note: Do not use the XML project file format as your primary file format. The primary project file format for After Effects is the binary project file (.aep) format. Use the XML project file format to save a copy of a project and as an intermediate format for automation workflows.

To save an XML project (.aepx) file as a binary project (.aep) file, choose File > Save As and enter a filename ending

with .aep, without the x. (See Save and backup projects in After Effects .)

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Project links embedded in QuickTime, Video for Windows files

When you render a movie and export it to a container format, you can embed a link to the After Effects project in the container file.

To import the project, import the container file, and choose Project from the Import As menu in the Import File dialog box. If the container file contains a link to a project that has been moved, you can browse to locate the project.

Create and open projects

Only one project can be open at a time. If you create or open another project file while a project is open, After Effects prompts you to save changes in the open project, and then closes it. After you create a project, you can import footage into the project.

• To create a project, choose File > New > New Project.

• To open a project, choose File > Open Project, locate the project, and then click Open.

You can also create and open a project from the Start screen.

• To create a project, click New Project.

• To open a project, click Open Project and navigate to the location of the project.

Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website that creates and saves a new project for each selected composition in the current project.

Template projects and example projects

A template project is a file with the filename extension .aet. You can create templates based on your projects.

Note: After Effects CC does not install template projects.

When you open a template project, After Effects creates a new, untitled project based on the template. Saving changes to this new project does not affect the template project.

A great way to see how advanced users use After Effects is to open one of the template projects included with After

Effects, open a composition to activate it, and press U or UU to reveal only the animated or modified layer properties. Viewing the animated and modified properties shows you what changes the designer of the template project made to create the template.

Often, the creator of a template project locks layers that are to be left unmodified, and leaves layers to be modified unlocked. It is a convenient way to prevent accidental or inappropriate modifications.

For more sources of After Effects example projects and template projects, see After Effects community resources on the Adobe website.

See this video tutorial by Andrew Devis on the Creative COW website for information about where to find template

projects and sample expressions included with After Effects.

Open a template project

• To open a template project, choose File > Open Project. On Windows, choose Adobe After Effects Project Template

from the Files Of Type menu.

Create a template project

• To convert a project to a template project, change the filename extension from .aep to .aet.

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• To save a copy of a project as a template project, choose File > Save A Copy, and then rename the copy with the

filename extension .aet.

Set a template for new projects

You can create a template with your preferred project settings such as color management and folder structure, and use it as a foundation for every new project you create.

To set a template for your new After Effects projects:

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > New Project.

2 Enable the New project loads template check box.

3 Click Choose Project Template and select a template file.

Note: The format of the template project can be .aet, .aep, or .aex.

Team Projects

Team Projects is a hosted collaboration service for CC enterprise and CC teams users that enables editors to seamlessly collaborate in simultaneously in shared team projects within without any

the editing workflow in real time. Using Team Projects, editors and motion graphics artists can work

Adobe Premiere Pro CC, After Effects CC, and Adobe Prelude CC

additional hardware.

The project updates are securely tracked in the cloud and the source files are saved locally or in lightweight, shared proxies. Team Projects also include deep collaboration features like version

control and smart conflict resolution.

• To create a team project, choose File > New > New Team Project.

• To open a team project, choose File > Open Team Project.

For detailed information on how to use Team Projects for your collaborative workflow, see Working simultaneously in

shared video projects .

Convert Team Project to an Adobe After Effects Project

You can convert your Team projects to a local Adobe After Effects Project (.aep). Select Edit > Team Projects > Convert Team Project to Project.

Converting Team Project to an Adobe After Effects Project

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Save and back up projects in After Effects

• To save a project, choose File > Save.

• To save a copy of the project with a new automatically generated name, choose File > Increment And Save, or press

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift+S (Mac OS).

• A copy of the current project is saved in the same folder as the original project. The name of the copy is the name of

the original followed by a number. If the name of the original ends with a number, that number is increased by 1.

• To save the project with a different name or to a different location, choose File > Save As > Save As. The open project

takes the new name and location; the original file remains unchanged.

• To save the project as a copy in the XML project file format, choose File > Save As > Save A Copy As XML. (See

About projects.)

• To save a copy of the project with a different name or to a different location, choose File > Save As > Save A Copy.

The open project retains its original name and location, and a copy is created with the new settings but is not opened.

• To save a copy of a project to be opened by the previous major version, choose File > Save As > Save A Copy As

<previous major version number>. (For more information, see

Note: New features in the current version of After Effects that are used in a project are ignored in the project that is saved in the format of the previous version of After Effects.

this blog.)

To save a copy of the project and copies of assets used in the project to a single folder on disk, use the Collect Files command. (See

Collect files in one location section for details).

Flowchart panel

In the flowchart for each project or composition, individual boxes (or tiles) represent each composition, footage item, and layer. Directional arrows represent the relationships between components.

Note: The Flowchart panel shows you only the existing relationships. You cannot use it to change relationships between elements.

Nested compositions and other elements that make up the composition appear when you expand a composition tile.

Mid-gray lines between tiles in the flowchart indicate that the Video or Audio switch for those items is deselected in the Timeline panel. Black or light gray lines indicate that the switch is selected, depending on the Brightness setting in the Appearance preferences.

• To open the project flowchart, press Ctrl+F11 (Windows) or Command+F11 (Mac OS), or click the Project

Flowchart

• To open a composition flowchart, select the composition and choose Composition > Composition Flowchart, or

click the Composition Flowchart

• To activate (select) an item, click its tile in the Flowchart panel.

When you click a composition in the flowchart, it becomes active in the Project panel and the Timeline panel. When you click a layer, it becomes active in the Timeline panel. When you click a footage item, it becomes active in the Project panel.

button at the top of the vertical scroll bar on the right edge of the Project panel.

button at the bottom of the Composition panel.

• To customize the appearance of the flowchart, use the Flowchart panel menu and the buttons along the bottom of

the panel.

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For tool tips identifying the buttons in the Flowchart panel, let your pointer hover over a button until the tool tip

appears.

• To delete elements, select them and press Delete. If the selected element is a footage item or composition, it is deleted

from the project and no longer appears in the Timeline and Project panels. If the selected element is a layer, it is deleted from the composition in which it appears.

• To access the context menu for a selected element, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the icon to the

left of the name in the element tile. The icons have various appearances, depending on the element type, such as layers effects, or to change switches, apply transformations, and adjust layer image quality.

Note: When you change element properties in the Flowchart panel, be careful to context-click the icon in the tile, not the name of the element. The context menu associated with the element icon is different from the one that opens from the element name.

Rich Young provides additional information about the Flowchart panel and the Composition Mini-flowchart on the

After Effects Portal website.

and compositions . For example, you can use the context menu for a layer to work with masks and

CINEMA 4D Composition Renderer

The CINEMA 4D Composition renderer is the new 3D renderer in After Effects. It is a tool for extrusion of text and shapes and the preferred renderer for extruded 3D work. You can use this renderer to scratch. The CINEMA 4D Composition renderer does the following:

create faster 3D animations from

• Generates interactive 3D text, logos, and curved 2D planes within After Effects without using any specific hardware.

• Allows you to control the quality and render settings with a single slider while the camera, lighting, and text

animation remains the same.

• Renders faster than the Ray-traced 3D renderer on the CPU.

Basics of Composition Settings

1 You can access the 3D Renderer tab by any of the following options given below:

In the Composition Settings dialog, click 3D Renderer tab.

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3D Renderer tab in Composition Settings dialog

2 Click Renderer and choose CINEMA 4D from the drop-down list.

You can also access the 3D Renderer tab by clicking Renderer in the Comp panel.

Supported features in CINEMA 4D Composition Renderer

The CINEMA 4D Composition Renderer supports the following features to help you create high-quality 3D text and logos:

• Extrude and bevel text and shape layers: Extrude text and shape layers creates 3D objects that have depth and do

not look flat when a camera or light moves around them. Bevel controls the look of the edges of the extruded object. For more information, see

• Reflections: Manipulates the reflection and reflectiveness of 3D objects in your composition. For more information,

Reflection.

see

• Curved footage layers: Adjusts the curve intensity of 3D footage layers and nested composition layers around a

vertical axis using the Geometry Options- Curvature and Segments. For more information, see

layer.

• Material overrides on text/shape bevel and sides: Uses existing text animator and shape operator support to

override the Material properties. The Fill Color, Stroke Color, and Stroke Width options are replaced with the Front, Bevel, Side, and Back options in the pop-up menu. For more information, see

• Environment layer (in reflection only): Dictates the usage of the Environment map in the scene. For more

information, see

Note: Though the above linked article talks about Ray-traced 3D renderer, some of the information holds true for CINEMA 4D Composition Renderer too.

Environment layer.

Creating beveled and extruded text and shape layers.

Bending a footage

Override material properties.

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Using the Quality Slider

Quality Slider Settings

Use the Quality slider to adjust the rendering quality of the composition. Higher-quality outputs require longer rendering time. The quality settings determine how the CINEMA 4D renderer draws the 3D layers.

To access the slider:

1 Click Options in the Composition Settings window. You can also click the Wrench icon (Options) in the Comp

panel.

2 In the CINEMA 4D Renderer Options dialog, the Quality Slider ranges from Draft, Typical, and Extreme.

• Draft: Settings in the Draft range are used for preview quality renders. It takes the least time to draw the 3D

layers.

• Ty pi ca l: Settings in the Typical range are used for most final renders

• Extreme: Settings in the Extreme range are used for scenes containing complex opacity or highly reflective

elements.

3 The variation in the range of the Quality slider affects the Ray Threshold, Ray Depth, Reflection Depth, Shadow

Depth, Anti-Aliasing, and Reflectance settings of the composition. For more information, see

CINEMA 4D

Renderer Options.

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Choosing a CINEMA 4D Installation

Choose CINEMA 4D Installation

Renderer Settings

You can ch an ge t he renderer from the default Renderer to the full retail version of CINEMA 4D if you have it installed. To reset the default renderer, click Defaults.

Choosing a CINEMA 4D installation:

1 In the Composition Settings window, click Render Options.

2 CINEMA 4D Renderer Options dialog opens up. Click Choose Installation.

3 In the Choose CINEMA 4D Installation dialog, browse and select the path to the installation.

Editor Settings

The Editing setting applies to the Cineware workflow and determines what version of C4D opens. The default editor is the latest installed version of CINEMA 4D or

Use any of the following options to open the selected Editor:

1 Select File > New > MAXON CINEMA 4D File.

CINEMA 4D Lite.

Path to open selected Editor

2 Or, select a CINEMA 4D source or layer and choose Edit > Edit Original.

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Path to open selected Editor

Shared CINEMA 4D Installation

Cineware Settings

The Choose CINEMA 4D Installation dialog is shared with the Cineware effect. You can also access it by clicking Options in the Effect Controls panel via the Cineware effect.

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Projects and compositions

Composition basics

About compositions

A composition is the framework for a movie. Each composition has its own timeline. A typical composition includes multiple layers that represent components such as video and audio footage items, animated text and vector graphics, still images, and lights. You add a footage item to a composition by creating a layer for which the footage item is the source. You then arrange layers within a composition in space and time, and composite using transparency features to determine which parts of underlying layers show through the layers stacked on top of them. (See and Transparency and compositing .)

A composition in After Effects is similar to a movie clip in Flash Professional or a sequence in Premiere Pro.

You render a composition to create the frames of a final output movie, which is encoded and exported to any number of formats. (See

Simple projects may include only one composition; complex projects may include hundreds of compositions to organize large amounts of footage or many effects.

In some places in the After Effects user interface, composition is abbreviated as comp.

Basics of rendering and exporting .)

Layers and properties

Each composition has an entry in the Project panel. Double-click a composition entry in the Project panel to open the composition in its own Timeline panel. To select a composition in the Project panel, right-click (Windows) or Controlclick (Mac OS) in the Composition panel or Timeline panel for the composition and choose Reveal Composition In Project from the context menu.

Use the Composition panel to preview a composition and modify its contents manually. The Composition panel contains the composition frame and a pasteboard area outside the frame that you can use to move layers into and out of the composition frame. The offstage extents of layers—the portions not in the composition frame—are shown as rectangular outlines. Only the area inside the composition frame is rendered for previews and final output.

The composition frame in the Composition panel in After Effects is similar to the Stage in Flash Professional.

When working with a complex project, you may find it easiest to organize the project by nesting compositions—putting one or more compositions into another composition. You can create a composition from any number of layers by precomposing them. After modifying some layers of your composition, you can precompose those layers and then prerender the precomposition, replacing it with a rendered movie. (See

You can navigate within a hierarchy of nested compositions using the Composition Navigator and Composition MiniFlowchart. (See

Use the Flowchart panel to see the structure of a complex composition or network of compositions.

Timeline button Click this button at the bottom of the Composition panel to activate the Timeline panel for the

current composition.

Press the backslash (\) key to switch activation between the Composition panel and Timeline panel for the current

composition.

Opening and navigating nested compositions.)

Precomposing, nesting, and pre-rendering.)

Comp button Click this button in the upper-right corner of the Timeline panel to activate the Composition panel

for the current composition.

Flowchart button Click this button at the bottom of the Composition panel to activate the Flowchart panel for the

current composition.

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Create a composition

You can change composition settings at any time. However, it’s best to specify settings such as frame aspect ratio and frame size when you create the composition, with your final output in mind. Because After Effects bases certain calculations on these composition settings, changing them late in your workflow can affect your final output.

Note: You can override some composition settings when rendering to final output. For example, you can use different frame sizes for the same movie. For more information, see

When you create a composition without changing settings in the Composition Settings dialog box, the new composition uses the settings from the previous time that composition settings were set.

Note: New compositions do not inherit the previous Preserve Frame Rate When Nested Or In Render Queue and Preserve Resolution When Nested settings.

Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website that creates and saves a new project for each selected composition in the current project. If a folder is selected in the Project panel when you create a new composition, the new composition is placed in the selected folder.

Create a composition and manually set composition settings

Choose Composition > New Composition, or press Ctrl+N (Windows) or Command+N (Mac OS).

Render settingsand Output modules and output module settings.

Create a composition from a single footage item

Drag the footage item to the Create A New Composition button at the bottom of the Project panel or choose File > New Comp From Selection.

Composition settings, including frame size (width and height) and pixel aspect ratio, are automatically set to match the characteristics of the footage item.

Create a single composition from multiple footage items

1 Select footage items in the Project panel.

2 Drag the selected footage items to the Create A New Composition button at the bottom of the Project panel, or

choose File > New Comp From Selection.

3 Select Single Composition and other settings in the New Composition From Selection dialog box:

Use Dimensions From Choose the footage item from which the new composition gets composition settings,

including frame size (width and height) and pixel aspect ratio.

Still Duration The duration for the still images being added.

Add To Render Queue Add the new composition to the render queue.

Sequence Layers, Overlap, Duration, and Transition Arrange the layers in a sequence, optionally overlap them in

time, set the duration of the transitions, and choose a transition type.

Create multiple compositions from multiple footage items

1 Select footage items in the Project panel.

2 Drag the selected footage items to the Create A New Composition button at the bottom of the Project panel, or

choose File > New Comp From Selection.

3 Select Multiple Compositions and other settings in the New Composition From Selection dialog box:

Still Duration The duration of the compositions created from still images.

Add To Render Queue Add the new compositions to the render queue.

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Note: If you select multiple footage items, the New Composition From Selection dialog is displayed. You can choose whether to create a single composition with all footage items or multiple compositions for each individual footage item.

Composition selection

Duplicate a composition

1 Select the composition in the Project panel.

2 Choose Edit > Duplicate or press Ctrl+D (Windows) or Command+D (Mac OS).

Timeline panel

Each composition has its own Timeline panel. You use the Timeline panel to perform many tasks, such as animating layer properties, arranging layers in time, and setting blending modes. The layers at the bottom of the layer stacking order in the Timeline panel are rendered first and—in the case of 2D image layers— appear farthest back in the Composition panel and in the final composite.

To cycle forward through Timeline panels, press Alt+Shift+period (.) (Windows) or Option+Shift+period (.) (Mac OS).

To cycle backward through Timeline panels, press Alt+Shift+comma (,) (Windows) or Option+Shift+comma (,) (Mac OS).

The current time for a composition is indicated by the current-time indicator (CTI), the vertical red line in the time graph. The current time for a composition also appears in the current time display in the upper-left corner of the Timeline panel. For more information on moving the current-time indicator, see

(CTI).

The left side of the Timeline panel consists of columns of controls for layers. The right side of the Timeline panel—the time graph—contains a time ruler, markers, keyframes, expressions, duration bars for layers (in layer bar mode), and the Graph Editor (in Graph Editor mode).

Move the current-time indicator

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Press the backslash (\) key to switch activation between the Composition panel and Timeline panel for the current

composition.

Composition settings

You can enter composition settings manually, or you can use composition settings presets to automatically set frame size (width and height), pixel aspect ratio, and frame rate for many common output formats. You can also create and save your own custom composition settings presets for later use. Resolution, Start Timecode (or Start Frame), Duration, and Advanced composition settings are not saved with composition settings presets.

Note: The limit for composition duration is three hours. You can use footage items longer than three hours, but time after three hours does not display correctly. The maximum composition size is 30,000x30,000 pixels. A 30,000x30,000 8-bpc image requires approximately 3.5 GB; your maximum composition size may be less, depending on your operating system and available RAM.

Working with composition settings

• To open the Composition Settings dialog box to change composition settings, do one of the following:

• Select a composition in the Project panel or activate the Timeline or Composition panel for a composition, and

choose Composition > Composition Settings, or press Ctrl+K (Windows) or Command+K (Mac OS).

• Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) a composition in the Project panel or Composition panel (not

on a layer), and choose Composition Settings from the context menu.

• To save a custom composition settings preset, set Width, Height, Pixel Aspect Ratio, and Frame Rate values in the

Composition Settings dialog box, and then click the Save button

• To delete a composition settings prese t, choose it from the Pres et menu in the C omposition Settings dialog box, and

click the Delete button

• To restore default composition settings presets, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Delete button

or the Save button in the Composition Settings dialog box.

Note: You cannot move custom composition settings presets from one system to another, as they are embedded into the preferences file.

• To scale an entire composition, choose File > Scripts > Scale Composition.jsx.

Note: Ensure that all layers are unlocked in the selected composition or the script fails.

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Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website to set the frame rate and duration of the current composition and all compositions nested within it.

Christopher Green provides a script (Selected_Comps_Changer.jsx) on his website with which you can change the composition settings for compositions selected in the Project panel.

Basic composition settings

Start Timecode or Start Frame Timecode or frame number assigned to the first frame of the composition. This value

does not affect rendering; it merely specifies where to start counting from.

Background Color Use the color swatch or eyedropper to pick a composition background color. (See Select a color or

edit a gradient.)

note: When you add one composition to another (nesting), the background color of the containing composition is preserved, and the background of the nested composition becomes transparent. To preserve the background color of the nested composition, create a solid-color layer to use as a background layer in the nested composition.

For information on specific Basic composition settings not listed here, see the related sections:

• Pixel aspect ratio and frame aspect ratio

• Frame rate

• Resolution

Advanced composition settings

Anchor

Click an arrow button to anchor layers to a corner or edge of the composition as it is resized.

Preserve resolution when nested and Preserve frame rate when nested or in render queue

For a composition to retain its own resolution or frame rate, and not inherit those settings from the containing composition. For example, if you have deliberately used a low frame rate in a composition to create a jerky, handanimated result, you must preserve the frame rate for that composition when it is nested. Similarly, the results of rotoscoping may look wrong when converted to a different frame rate or resolution. Use this setting instead of the Posterize Time effect, which is less efficient.

Motion Blur settings

• Shutter angle: The shutter angle is measured in degrees, simulating the exposure allowed by a rotating shutter. The

shutter angle uses the footage frame rate to determine the simulated exposure, which affects the amount of motion blur. For example, entering 90° (25% of 360°) for 24-fps footage creates an effective exposure of 1/96 of a second (25% of 1/24 of a second). Entering 1° applies almost no motion blur, and entering 720° applies a large amount of blur.

• Shutter phase: The shutter phase is also measured in degrees. It defines an offset that determines when the shutter

opens relative to the beginning of a frame. Adjusting this value can help if an object with motion blur applied appears to lag behind the position of the object without motion blur applied.

• Samples per frame: The minimum number of samples. This minimum is the number of samples used for frames

for which After Effects is not able to determine an adaptive sampling rate based on layer motion. This sample rate is used for 3D layers and shape layers.

• Adaptive sample limit: The maximum number of samples.

For information on specific Advanced composition settings not listed here, see the related sections:

• Specify resolution to use for rendering shadows

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ADOBE After Effects CS6 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Legal notices

Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction to After Effects

New features summary

New features in the January 2018 release

Import support for more video formats

Audio sync improvement with variable frame rate footage

Bug fixes

Other enhancements

New features in the October 2017 release

What's New in After Effects CC (October 2017)

Data-driven animation

Visual keyboard shortcut editor

Expressions access to path points on masks, shapes, and brush strokes

Create Nulls From Paths panel

360/VR transitions, effects, and titles

Performance enhancement

Performance enhancements in After Effects

Motion Graphics templates improvements

Team Projects 1.0 support

Maxon CINEMA 4D renderer and CINEWARE render engine update

Maxon CINEMA 4D Lite R19

Text input improvements

Font previews and other improvements to the Font menu

New getting started experience

Other enhancements

Keyboard shortcuts reference

Visual Keyboard Shortcut Editor

Work with Visual Keyboard Shortcut Editor

Application Shortcuts

Panel shortcuts

Assigning shortcuts

Exceptions

Key tool tips

Conflicts and resolutions

Conflicts

Resolution

Saving custom keyboard shortcut sets

General

Projects

Preferences

Panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows

Activate tools

Compositions and the work area

Time navigation

Previews

Views

Footage

Effects and animation presets

Layers

Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel

Showing properties in the Effect Controls panel

Modifying layer properties

3D layers

Keyframes and the Graph Editor

Te xt

Masks

Paint tools

Shape layers

Markers

Motion tracking

Saving, exporting, and rendering

Keyboard shortcuts graphic

System requirements | After Effects

System requirements | October 2017 (15.0) release of After Effects CC

Windows

macOS

After Effects CC (2017) system requirements

Windows

macOS

After Effects CC (2015.3) system requirements

Windows

macOS

After Effects CC (2015) system requirements

Windows

macOS