ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 7.0
User Guide
547
configuration, the image may look odd (strangely sheared, for example). But if you know the focal length that you
are trying to match, this is the easiest way to get correct results.
Lighting controls for the Card Wipe effect
Light Type
Specifies which type of light you want to use. When a light is at a great distance from an object, all the
light rays strike the object from virtually the same angle. Sun rays, for example, are parallel by the time they reach
the earth. As a light source moves closer to the object, the rays strike the object from an increasing number of angles.
Distant Source is similar to sunlight and casts shadows in the one direction. Point Source is similar to a light bulb
and casts shadows in all directions. First Comp Light uses the composition’s first light layer, which can use a variety
of settings.
Light Intensity
Specifies the power of the light. The higher the value, the brighter the layer. Other lighting settings
affect the overall light intensity as well.
Light Color
Specifies the color of light.
Light Position
Specifies the position of the light in (x,y) space. To position the light interactively, hold down Alt
(Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and drag the light’s effect point.
Light Depth
Specifies the position of the light in z space. Negative numbers move the light behind the layer.
Ambient Light
Distributes light over the layer. Increasing it adds an even illumination to all objects and prevents
shadows from being totally black. Turning Ambient Light all the way to pure white and setting all other light
properties to 0 makes the object fully lit and eliminates any 3D shading from the scene.
Material controls for the Card Wipe effect
The Material controls specify the reflection values of the cards.
Diffuse Reflection
Gives objects form-defining shading. Shading depends on the angle at which the light strikes the
surface and is independent of the viewer’s position.
Specular Reflection
Takes into account the position of the viewer. It models the reflection of the light source back to
the viewer. It can create the illusion of shininess. For realistic effects, you can animate this control using higher and
higher values to mask the transition from filtered to nonfiltered versions of the layer.
Highlight Sharpness
Controls shininess. Very shiny surfaces produce small tight reflections, while duller surfaces
spread the highlight out into a larger region. Specular highlights are the color of the incoming light. Because light is
typically white or off-white, broad highlights can desaturate an image by adding white to the surface color.
The total lighting process can be thought of in this way: Set the Light Position and Diffuse Reflection to control the
overall light level and shading in a scene. Then adjust Specular Reflection and Highlight Sharpness to control the
strength and spread of highlights. Finally, adjust Ambient Light to fill in the shadows.
Jitter controls for the Card Wipe effect
Adding jitter (Position and Rotation Jitter) makes this transition more realistic. Jitter works on the cards before,
during, and after the transition occurs. If you want the jitter to happen only during the transition, start with the Jitter
Amount at 0, animate it up to the desired amount during the transition, and then animate it back down to 0 at the
completion of the transition.
Position Jitter
Specifies the amount and speed of jitter at the x, y, and z axis. X, Y, Z Jitter Amount specifies the
amount of extraneous movement. Increasing X Jitter Amount makes the cards jitter from side to side; increasing Y
Jitter Amount makes the cards jitter up and down; increasing Z Jitter Amount makes the cards jitter in z space (closer
or farther away). X, Y, Z Jitter Speed controls the speed of jitter for each Jitter Amount option.
Summary of Contents for AFTER EFFECTS 7.0
Page 1: ...Chapter 1 User Guide...
