Social Media Ad: Video Layers & Parenting

Topics Covered in This After Effects Tutorial:

Adding Video, Slowing Down Video (Slowmo), Animating Multiple Layers Simultaneously with Parenting

Exercise Preview

Exercise Overview

In this exercise you’ll add video to the animation, and animate multiple layers simultaneously using a feature called parenting.

Getting Started

1. You should still have Your Name—Guitar Picks.aep open in After Effects. If you closed it, re-open it now by going to File > Open Project then Desktop > Class Files > After Effects Class > Guitar Picks. We recommend you finish the previous exercises (1B–1D) before starting this one. If you haven’t finished them, do the following sidebar.

   If You Did Not Do the Previous Exercises (1B–1D)

   1. If a project is open in After Effects, go to File > Save, then File > Close Project.
   2. Go to File > Open Project and navigate to Desktop > Class Files > After Effects Class > Guitar Picks > Finished Projects.
   3. Double–click on Guitar Picks—Ready For Video.aep.
   4. Go to File > Save As > Save As. Name the file Your Name—Guitar Picks.aep and save it to Desktop > Class Files > After Effects Class > Guitar Picks (replacing the file if it’s already there).

Adding a Smoke Effect with a Video Layer

While it’s possible to create smoke and other atmospheric effect entirely in software, we can often create a more visually appealing and interesting effect using real video.

1. Move the playhead to the beginning of the Timeline.

2. In the Project panel, expand the 03—Video folder reveal its contents.

3. Drag Blowing Particles.mp4 into the Timeline above the Rockin’ Guitar Picks layer.

4. Press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) and rename the layer smoke

5. Press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) to finalize the change.

   All of the steps in this section will adjust and apply effects to this layer, so keep it selected until we’re done.

6. In the Timeline, CTRL–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) on the smoke layer and choose Transform > Fit to Comp Height.

   This resizes the video to fill the available vertical space of the composition, but keeps it proportional.

7. Choose Window > Align.

8. In the Align panel:

   • Confirm that Align Layers to is set to Composition
   • Click the Align Left button .

9. Click on the panel menu button next to Align and choose Close Panel.

10. Preview the timeline by pressing Spacebar to see the video.

11. Move the playhead to 0;05 by typing 5 into the timecode.

    This gives us a good view of where the mist (it’s actually flower being blown in front of the camera) enters the screen.

12. In the Timeline, to the right of the smoke layer name we want to see a Mode menu that currently says Normal. If you don’t see it and instead you see many switches , go to the bottom of the Timeline and click the Toggle Switches / Modes button.

13. To the right of the smoke layer name, change the Normal mode to Screen.

    Blending modes allow the layer to mix or “blend” with the layers below it. The screen blending mode always brightens, with black areas becoming transparent.

14. Go into the Effect menu and choose Color Correction > Levels.

    We will use levels to increase the contrast of the layer and hide more of its dark areas.

15. In the Effect Controls panel (at the top left of the window):

    • Set Input Black to 85
    • Set Input White to 225

16. In any empty area of the Effect Controls panel, CTRL–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) and choose Blur & Sharpen > Gaussian Blur.

    • Set Blurriness to 80
    • Check on Repeat Edge Pixels

Coloring the Smoke

Let’s colorize the smoke to match our design.

1. Move the Timeline playhead to 3;25 so you see the pink guitar pick photo.
2. In any empty area of the Effect Controls panel, CTRL–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) and choose Color Correction > Tritone.
3. Click on the Midtones eyedropper to activate it.
4. Click on the pink guitar pick in the photo to set the color of the smoke.

5. Use the Spacebar to preview the timeline:

   • The smoke is now pink.
   • The smoke is moving a bit too fast, so let’s slow it down.

Slowing Down the Smoke Video (Slowmo)

1. In the Timeline, CTRL–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) on the smoke layer and choose Time > Time Stretch.

2. Set the following:

   • Set Stretch Factor to 300 (this will make it one third of its current speed)
   • Under Hold in Place choose Layer In–point
   • Click OK.

3. Use the Spacebar to preview the smoke and:

   • If the first time it does not playback smoothly, let it play through once so After Effects can render/cache the frames. Then play it back again.

   • The smoke is now slower, but even after the playback has been cached the slowmo video seems a bit choppy.

   Unless you have with a higher frame rate video, making a video play in slow motion can seem jerky and seem to stutter. We can fix this with frame blending.

4. CTRL–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) on the smoke layer and choose Frame Blending > Frame Mix.

   This blends or “mixes” each frame of the video with the frames before and after, so they kind of fade into each other. This gives the video a smoother effect.

   NOTE: This can also be set by clicking the Frame Blending switch to the right of the layer (if you don’t see these icons, go to the bottom of the Timeline and click the Toggle Switches / Modes button to show them).

   

5. Use the Spacebar to preview. Notice the smoke is much smoother now.

6. The smoke is a bit too intense. Hit the T key to reveal the smoke layer’s Opacity.

7. Change Opacity to 70
8. Hit T to hide the property.

9. Use the Spacebar to preview the final smoke.

Adding More Smoke

1. With the smoke layer selected, press Cmd–D (Mac) or CTRL–D (Windows) to duplicate the layer.
2. In the Timeline, move the playhead to 4;10

3. Press [ to move the beginning of the new smoke 2 layer to the playhead.

   This makes the new smoke layer line up with the animation of the photo.

4. Move the playhead to 5;00

5. With the smoke 2 layer selected, in the Effect Controls panel, under Tritone click on the Midtones eyedropper .

6. Click on the yellow background in the photo of the 2 guitar picks to pick up its color.

7. Preview the timeline by pressing Spacebar.

   This first part is looking good. After the photos have dropped down, we have to move this art off the screen to make room for the logo that we’ll be animating in.

8. Stop the preview by pressing Spacebar again.

9. Choose File > Save or hit Cmd–S (Mac) or CTRL–S (Windows).

Animating Multiple Layers Simultaneously with Parenting

Animating multiple layers at the same time can be troublesome. What happens when you want to animate multiple layers so they move together, but some already have keyframes? Parenting lets one or more layers (the children) follow another layer (the parent).

1. In the Timeline, click on the topmost layer (photo2) to select it.

2. Choose Layer > New > Null Object or press Cmd–Opt–Shift–Y (Mac) or CTRL–ALT–Shift–Y (Windows).

   NOTE: A Null Object layer appears as a hollow square in the Composition panel. They don’t render when you export, and have the same transform properties as visual layers. They are an excellent invisible helper layer for parenting.

3. With the [Null 1] layer selected, press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) and rename it controller

   Press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) again to finalize the change.

4. To the far right the photo2 layer, under the Parent & Link column there’s a menu that says None. Click on that and choose 1.controller

5. Select the photo1 layer.

6. Hold Cmd (Mac) or CTRL (Windows) and click on the following layers to add them to your selection:

   • Rockin’ Guitar Picks

   • background

7. Let’s see another way to set the parent. As shown below, in any of the selected layers’ Parent & Link column, drag the pick whip to the controller layer’s name:

   

8. After you release, notice the Parent & Link column 1.controller is now set as the parent for the 3 selected layers.
9. Select the controller layer.
10. Press P to reveal the Position property.
11. Move the playhead to 6;00 on the Timeline.

12. Click on the stopwatch for Position to create a the first keyframe.

13. Move the playhead to 7;00

14. Click on the first position value and change it to -900

    Notice that all the child layers move off the screen as the controller moves.

15. Press Spacebar to preview the animation.

    Notice that the movement to the side seems a bit mechanical and stiff. In reality, something moving would slowly accelerate as it starts to move, and then decelerate as it comes to a stop.

16. Stop the preview by pressing Spacebar again.

17. Drag a selection box around the controller layer’s 2 position keyframes to select them.

18. CTRL–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) on either one of the selected keyframes and choose Keyframe Assistant > Easy Ease.

19. Press Spacebar to preview the animation.

    Now the movement looks more natural.

20. Stop the preview by pressing Spacebar again.

21. With the controller layer selected, press P to hide Position.

22. Choose File > Save or hit Cmd–S (Mac) or CTRL–S (Windows).