ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 7.0
User Guide
107
Importing 3D image files
How After Effects works with 3D image files
After Effects can import 3D-image files saved in Softimage PIC, RLA, RPF, and Electric Image EI format. These 3D-
image files contain red, green, blue, and alpha (RGBA) channels, as well as auxiliary channels with optional infor-
mation, such as z depth, object IDs, texture coordinates, and more.
With RLA and RPF files, all of the auxiliary channels are included in a single file. Softimage PIC files have a corre-
sponding ZPIC file that contains the z-depth channel information. Although you can’t import a ZPIC file, you can
access the additional channel information as long as the ZPIC file is stored in the same folder as the imported PIC
file.
Similarly, Electric Image (EI) files can now have associated EIZ files with z-depth channel data. Just as with ZPIC
files, you cannot import EIZ files into After Effects; instead, you simply store them in the same folder as the EI files.
For information about creating EIZ files, see your Electric Image documentation.
After Effects can also import baked camera data, including focal length, film size, and transformation data, from
Maya project files as a single composition or two compositions.
See also
“About 3D layers” on page 173
“About 3D rendering” on page 179
To import RLA or RPF data into a camera layer (Pro only)
After Effects imports camera data saved with RLA or RPF sequence files. That data is incorporated into a camera
layer that After Effects creates in the Timeline panel. You can access the camera data of an imported RLA or RPF
sequence and create a camera layer containing that data.
1
Place the imported sequence in the Timeline panel, and then select the sequence.
2
Choose Animation > Keyframe Assistant > RPF Camera Import.
Note:
To create an RLA or RPF file with the camera data in 3D Studio Max, save your rendering in RPF format with
Coverage, Z Depth, and Alpha Channels enabled.
Baking Maya data (Pro only)
After Effects (Pro only) imports camera data from Maya project files. Before importing Maya camera information,
you need to
bake
it. This makes keyframing easier later in your project. Baking places a keyframe at each frame of
the animation. You can have 0, 1, or a fixed number of keyframes for each camera or transform property. For
example, if a property is not animated in Maya, either no keyframes are set for this property or one keyframe is set
at the start of the animation. If a property has more than one keyframe, it must have the same number as all of the
other animation properties with more than one keyframe.
Reduce import time by creating or saving the simplest Maya file possible. In Maya, reduce keyframes by deleting
static channels before baking, and save a version of the Maya project that contains the camera animation only.
Summary of Contents for AFTER EFFECTS 7.0
Page 1: ...Chapter 1 User Guide...
