Camera Control, Part 1: Auto-Orient & Orbit
Map Exploration
A common task is navigating around a map-like image. In this column, we’ll discuss three different approaches to this...
The Hi-Def Checklist
The darker areas to the left and right of these images show what happens when a 16:9 image is...
Visual Rhythm, Part 2: Motion & Cinema Tricks
In the previous column, we detailed a number of techniques for animating multiple layers in Adobe After Effects. In...
Visual Rhythm, Part 1: After Effects Tricks
Rhythm – repetition, with variation – is the backbone of many pieces of fine art, as well as motion...
Motion + MIDI
An intriguing feature introduced in version 2 of Apple’s Motion Apple’s Motion is the ability to control it via...
The Almost Perfect Font
The LoveLetter Typewriter font had a few characters that were difficult to read (top line) until they were modified...
A Different Light: Gamma-Corrected Compositing
The image on the left is a normal computer crossfade; the image on the right uses linear blending –...
An Old Friend Returns: CC Effects
One of the stars of the Cycore FX set is CC Particle World, a 3D particle system that includes...
Managing Moving Masks
In After Effects, each mask vertex (the yellow squares) interpolates in a straight line from old to new positions....
A Track of the Clones
One of the most significant but underused sections of After Effects has to be its vector-based painting engine, introduced...
Between Dimensions: 3D Into AE
The logo was rendered in a 3D program; the walls were created in After Effects. Both use the same...
More Motion, Less Control
Most of you are probably familiar with the concept of using a camera to pan and zoom around still...
Pulse Rays
Light ray treatments, where streaks of color extend from type, a logo, or image, are popping up everywhere these...
Gobos and Gels
Finishing our tour of 3D lighting in After Effects, we’ll discuss gobos and gels. For those new to lighting,...