Adobe 12040118 Tutorial - Page 131

other layers. Newly created split layers are moved later in time so that their In points are at the same time as the Out point of the inserted layer. Replace layer sources with references to another footage item 1. Select one or more layers in the Timeline panel 2. Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) a footage item from the Project panel onto a selected layer in the Timeline panel. Solid-color layers and solid-color footage items To the top You can create layers of any solid color and any size (up to 30,000x30,000 pixels). Solid-color layers have solid-color footage items as their sources. Solid-color layers and solid-color footage items are both usually called solids. Solids work just like any other footage item: You can add masks, modify transform properties, and apply effects to a layer that has a solid as its source footage item. Use solids to color a background, as the basis of a control layer for a compound effect, or to create simple graphic images. Solid-color footage items are automatically stored in the Solids folder in the Project panel. Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website with which you can rename the selected solid footage items in the Project panel. You can use this script to, for example, include the pixel dimensions, aspect ratio, and RGB color values in the name. Note: In After Effects CS6, new solid layers are 17% gray (45/255) so they can contrast with the new default darker user interface brightness Create a solid-color layer or solid-color footage item To create a solid footage item but not create a layer for it in a composition, choose File > Import > Solid. To create a solid footage item and create a layer for it in the current composition, choose Layer > New > Solid or press Ctrl+Y (Windows) or Command+Y (Mac OS). To create a layer that fits the composition when you create a solid-color layer, choose Make Comp Size. Modify settings for solid-color layers and solid-color footage items To modify settings for the selected solid-color layer or footage item, choose Layer > Solid Settings. To apply the changes to all solid-color layers that use the footage item, select Affect All Layers That Use This Solid. If you don't select this option, you create a new footage item, which becomes the source for the selected layer. Adjustment layers To the top When you apply an effect to a layer, the effect applies only to that layer and no others. However, an effect can exist independently if you create an adjustment layer for it. Any effects applied to an adjustment layer affect all layers below it in the layer stacking order. An adjustment layer at the bottom of the layer stacking order has no visible result. Because effects on adjustment layers apply to all layers beneath them, they are useful for applying effects to many layers at once. In other respects, an adjustment layer behaves like other layers; for example, you can use keyframes or expressions with any adjustment layer property. Note: A more accurate description is that the adjustment layer applies the effect to the composite created from all layers below the adjustment layer in the layer stacking order. For this reason, applying an effect to an adjustment layer improves rendering performance compared with applying the same effect separately to each of the underlying layers. If you want to apply an effect or transformation to a collection of layers, you can precompose the layers and then apply the effect or transformation to the precomposition layer. (See Precompose layers.) Use masks on an adjustment layer to apply an effect to only parts of the underlying layers. You can animate masks to follow moving subjects in the underlying layers. To create an adjustment layer, choose Layer > New > Adjustment Layer, or press Ctrl+Alt+Y (Windows) or Command+Option+Y (Mac OS). To convert selected layers to adjustment layers, select the Adjustment Layer switch for the layers in the Timeline panel or choose Layer > Switches > Adjustment Layer. Note: You can deselect the Adjustment Layer switch for a layer to convert it to a normal layer. Online resources about adjustment layers Andrew Kramer provides a video tutorial on his Video Copilot website in which he shows how to use an adjustment layer to apply an effect to only a short duration and to only specific portions of a movie. Eran Stern provides a video tutorial on the Creative COW website that demonstrates the use of lights as adjustment layers, to precisely control which layers are affected by which lights. Lloyd Alvarez provides a script on his After Effects Scripts website that creates an adjustment layer above each selected layer, with each new adjustment layer trimmed to the duration of the selected layer.