After Effects Lesson 3

Import the Footage

1. In a New Project import the lesson file sunrise.psd as a composition.

2. Make sure Composition Retain Layer Sizes is selected from the Import kind
menu.
3. Expand the Sunrise folder and youll see all the layers we will be working with

Creating the Composition

1. Double click the Sunrise composition in the project panel to open it in the
composition panel.
2. In the composition settings change the Duration to 10:00 seconds.
3. Choose File > Save.

Simulating Lighting Changes

1. In the timeline panel, click the SOLO switch () for both the Background Lit
and the Background layers. Soloing the layers isolates them to speed
animating, previewing and rendering.

Currently then background on top is the lit background. Because we want the
animation to start dark and become light we will fade in the lit background.

2. Go to 05:00.
3. Select the background lit layer and press T to reveal the Opacity properties.
4. Click the stopwatch to create a keyframe.
5. Press HOME and change the opacity to 0% to create another keyframe.

Now if you preview the animation youll notice it getting lighter.

6. Click the SOLO switch () for both the Background Lit and the Background
layers to restore the view of the other layers.
7. Expand the Window pane layers Transform properties.
8. Go to 02:00 and click the stopwatch next to Opacity to create a keyframe
and check the value is at 30%.
9. Press HOME and change the opacity to 0% to create another keyframe.
10. Hide the Window Pane properties, preview and SAVE.

Duplicating an Animation using the Pick Whip

Now we need to lighten the view through the window. To do this, well use the pick
whip to duplicate the animation youve created. You can use the pick whip to
create expressions that link the values of one property or effect to another.

01. Press HOME.

02. Select the Window Lit layer and press T.
 03. Alt-click (hold down the Alt key and then use the mouse click) the Opacity
stopwatch to add an expression for the default Opacity value, 100%. The
words transform.opacity appear in the time ruler for the Window Lit layer.
04. With the transform.opacity expression selected in the time ruler click the pick
whip icon (the swirl) on the Window Lit layer and drag it to the Opacity
property name in the Background Lit layer. When you release youll see the
expression change in the Window Lit layer. This means the Opacity value for
the background Lit layer replaces the previous Opacity properties.
05. Drag the playhead from 00:00 to 05:00 to see the effect.
06. Choose File > Save.

Using expressions and the pick whip is similar to parenting but allows you to copy
individual property changes.

Animating Movement in the Scenery

The scenery outside the window is unrealistically static We will add a Sunrise, shifting
clouds and flying birds to bring the image to life.

Animating the Sun

01. In the Timeline panel select the Sun layer and expand its transform properties.
02. Go to 4:07 and click the stopwatch icons for Position, Scale and Opacity.
03. Go to 3:13.
04. Change the Scale to 33,33%, the opacity to 10%.
05. Press the END key and set the y (vertical) value of the Sun layer to 18 and the
Scale value to 150, 150%.
06. Hide the Sun layers properties.
07. Preview the video and the Sun should now rise.
08. Choose File > Save.

Animating the Birds

09. Click on the Birds layer and press P to reveal the Position properties.
10. Go to 04:20, add a keyframe and set the position properties to 200, 49.
11. Go to 04:25 and change the Position values to 670, 49.
12. Hide the Birds layer properties.

Animating the clouds

13. Expand the Clouds layer Transform properties.

14. Go to 5:22 and add a keyframe for the Position property.
15. Add a keyframe for the Opacity settings and change the value to 33%.
16. Go to 05:02 and set the Clouds layer Opacity to 0%.
17. Go to 09:07 and set the clouds Opacity to 50%.
18. Press the END key and change the Clouds layer Position properties to 456.5,
48.5.
19. Preview the animation.
20. Choose File > Save.

Adjusting the layers and creating a Track Matte

Pre-composing Layers

The birds and clouds are currently overlapping to solve this well need to adjust the
hierarchy of layers and use an alpha (colour) matte to allow the scenery to show
through the window but not appear to be in the room.

01. Shift-click to select the Sun, Birds and Clouds layers in the Timeline panel.
02. Choose Layer > Pre-compose.
03. In the Pre-compose dialog box name the new composition Window Contents.
Make sure the Move All Attributes into the New Composition option is
selected and select Open New Composition. Then click OK.

A new Timeline panel named Window Contents will appear containing the layers
you selected. It will also appear in the composition window.

Creating a Track Matte

Now we will create the track matte to hide the outside scenery behind all areas of
the image except the window pane.

04. In the sunrise Timeline panel select the Window Lit layer.
05. Choose Edit > Duplicate.
06. Drag the duplicated layer up in the layer stack until it sits above the Window
Contents layer.
07. Click the toggle switches/modes button in the Timeline panel to display the
TrkMat column so you can apply a track matte.
08. Select the Window Contents layer and choose Alpha Matte Window Lit 2
from the TrkMat pop-up menu. The alpha channel of the layer above
(Window Lit 2) is used to set transparency for the Window Contents layer, so
the scenery outside the window shows through the transparent areas of the
windowpane.
09. Preview the animation.
10. Choose File > Save.

Adding Motion Blur

The birds will look more authentic if we add motion blur. Well add the motion blur
and then set the shutter angle and phase, which control the intensity of the blur.

11. Switch to the Windows Contents Timeline panel.

12. Go to 04:22 and select the Birds layer, choose Layer > Switches > Motion Blur.
13. Click the Enable Motion Blur at the top of the Timeline panel.
14. Choose Composition > Composition Settings.
15. Click on the Advanced tab and reduce the shutter angle to 30 degrees. This
setting imitates the effect of adjusting a shutter angle on a real camera,
which controls how long the aperture is open gathering light. Larger values
create more blur.
16. Change the Shutter Phase to 0 degrees and click ok

Animating the Shadows

In this project well use the Corner Pin effect to distort the Shadows layer of the
imported Photoshop file. This tool is similar to the Free Transform tool in Photoshop.

01. Switch to the sunrise Timeline panel and make sure youre at the beginning of
the time ruler.
02. Select the Shadows layer and choose Effect > Distort > Corner Pin. Small
circles will appear around the corner points of the layer in the Composition
panel.
03. Go to 06:00 and then drag each of the four corner-pin handles to the
respective corners of the glass tabletop.
04. Press UU to show the corner-pin properties and set a keyframe for each
corner.
05. Press the END key and drag the two lower corner-pin handles to shorten the
shadows: Drag them about 25% closer to the back edge of the tabletop. You
may also need to adjust the two upper corner-pins so that the bases of the
shadows still align properly with the vase and the clock.
06. Preview the animation.
07. Choose File > Save.

Adding a Lens Flare

Lens Flares can add or diminish realism in a film. Either way well add one to our
composition.

01. Go to 05:10 and choose Layer > New Solid.

02. In the Solid Settings dialog box, name the layer Lens Flare and click the Make
Comp Size Button. Then set the Colour to black by clicking the swatch and
setting the RGB values to 0. Click OK and then OK again to create the Lens
Flare layer.
03. With the Lens Flare selected in the sunrise Timeline panel, choose Effect >
Generate > Lens Flare. The Composition panel and the effects Controls panel
display the visual and numeric default Lens Flare settings respectively.
04. Drag the Lens Flare Centre cross-hair icon in the composition panel to the
centre of the Sun. You cannot see the Sun in the Composition panel ; the x, y
coordinates are approximately 455, 135.
05. In the Effect Controls panel change the Lens Type to 35mm Prime to give a
more diffuse flare effect.
06. In the effects Control panel click the stopwatch icon for the Flare Brightness
property.
07. Adjust the brightness of the lens flare to peak when the Sun is highest:
Go to 03;27 and set the Flare Brightness value to 0%.
Go to 06;27 and set the Flare Brightness value to 0%.
Go to 06:00 and set the Flare Brightness value to 100%.
08. With the Lens Flare layer selected in the Timeline panel, choose Layer >
Blending Mode > Screen to change the blending mode.
09. Preview the animation.
10. Choose File > Save.

Animating the Clock

1. Bring the Project panel forward. Close the snrise layers folder and double
click to import the clock file.
2. Drag the Clock footage to the top of the layer stack.
3. Preview the animation.
4. Choose File > Save.