After Effects Layers

Ok so I am new to After Effects and I am sure this is so simple but I cant figure it out. I am trying out this fake kick back effect with my brother. I have a shot where i kick a light stand. Then a shot of my brother getting flung back. Then a clean plate of neither of us or the light stand. I put them on top of each other in after effects, but i think only one is showing up at a time. I am trying to adjust the opacity of one so I can line up my brother, my foot, and the light stand, but the opacity wont even adjust because it is only showing one of the layers.

kfishcc3 wrote:
Ok I did find a basics video, so I will watch that, but let me rephrase once more to see if I can explain a little better. So I have 3 clips. Each is stacked on top of the other in my timeline. Now I accidently double clicked on one of the clips I was masking. So when I masked it, the park I masked out showed up black, but there should be the other clip behind it. For some reason when I double clicked the clip on the timeline, it put it in my viewer by itself with no clips behind it. Does that make more sense? If not ill get the basics down.
A basics video will only get you started on your path toward total confusion. You've got to invest many hours in actually working with AE's interface and studying the theory behind the rendering pipeline and why AE presents layer windows and timeline windows to accomplish what you now think are duplicative functions.
AE is a big, deep, monstrous application. You canot even imagine how complex AE is. Yet, once you've got the fundamental skills and pipelines memorized, the rest is more or less linear application of and extrapolation of these basics.

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Applying photoshop filters in After effects layers!

Hi. Is it possible applying those photoshop filters into After effects layers? I thought the filter worked like layers, so when I import the photoshop files to AE I could drag the filter and apply it on a movie layer! I didn't work! Is it possible? thks!
PS: I'm using Production premium CS5.5!

Well, I'm reading the book ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS CS5 CLASSROOM IN A BOOK; chapter 6 (animating layers): it's about importing PSD files to After effects compositions! I was thinking about creating scenarios to a movie using PSD files. When I apply a layer style to a picture in Photoshop CS5, save this picture, and import this picture to AE it comes likes 2 files: a composition ( picture + layer stile) and a picture without the layer style. I'm gonna use the very same words of the book.
Though layer styles are referred to as effects in Photoshop, they behave more like blending modes in AE...Another diference is that each layer style blends directly with the underlying layers in the composition, whereas an effect is rendered on the layer to which it's applied, the result of which then interacts with the underlying layers as a whole!
Well, I have tried to apply a layer style on a movie file of my composition but it doesn't work cuz the layer style doesn't come alone, it comes with the picture!
So I have figured the following possibility! Take a look in this!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T5L62G9WLio/UALdatCbrmI/AAAAAAAAAyI/7hQJK_drigg/s1600/Screen19.j pg
What if I apply a filter in this shot. Will the filter be applied only on the statue or it would be applied on the checkerboard background too? If the second possibility is possible I could apply this image above a movie and use the filter on it, couldn't I? After all the checkerboard background is transparent! Got it?

After Effects, Layers change position when converting project from CC to CC 2014

When we convert some projects from CC to CC 2014 some of the layers are shifting position (both x & y).
Anyone else seeing this kind of problems?

Photoshop changed how layer bounds are calculated in some cases, which causes the Photoshop library that we include with After Effects to also have this change. We are currently working to determine how to fix this for the next update. It's tricky, because the new way that Photoshop is doing things is more correct... but it also means that projects created in previous versions look different when opened in the new version. We'll probably end up with a "legacy" option that will prevent this conversion from happening when opening old projects.

Illustrator - After Effects Layers Question

Having problems importing Illustrator layers into After Effects. I've tried all the recommendations from "release to layers" to "setting colors to rgb". When I import into After Effects and select "composition - retain layer size". AI layers are sub layers too.
I don't see the individual layers to animate.

Here is the pre- "release to layers" :
Any ideas?

Illustrator to after effects layers

If I have a layer in illustrator with multiple sub layers and groups etc with lots of effects and symbols etc and I then import to after effects as a single layer does after effects still have to render all that information or does it just see it as a single flat image? Someone told me that if I dont rasterise it first that after effects will still have to read all that information constantly and so it will use a lot of processing power. Im not sure if this is correct though?

If you're seeing everything in your drawing, seeing all of the layers, then so is AE. It renders them all. It uses all of the vector shapes as vectors except for those layers that have raster effects applied. A raster effect is any effect applied in illustrator that uses the document raster settings to make it's calculations. These layers are not continuously rasterized even when the CR switch is on.
Unless I specifically do not want to do any layer manipulation of the individual layers I always use the release the layers tool to give me individual layers for each shape. Some of these shapes may be re-grouped. Some may not. Then I import the .ai file as a composition retaining layer sizes. This allows me to do all of the manipulation that I need in AE.
Also, if I am given an .ai file that has a bunch of raster effects applied I try and remove those in a duplicate copy and then use the original as a reference to rebuild the file in AE. I actually have to do this fairly often with logos designed by a print person.
I hope this helps. Generally .ai files render very quickly unless the number of line or triangle segments go way way up. Unless you are experiencing render problems I would not worry about the groups and effects.

After effects layers do not show

Hi can anyone help me,
I've looked around for lots of tutorials and nobody seems to have this simple problem.
When I create a layer in CS5 it dosnt show the layer. Just a box - usually black.
So, lets guide you a bit through the problem.
I load after effects up.
I click on new composition - I leave all the settings as default.
I click ok.
(It dosnt matter what back ground color I select, the screen is always black when I have clicked ok).
No matter what I do from here nothing happens.
If I click the txt Icon and type something, no matter what color txt I select it cannot be seen.
If I then click the selection tool a box appears around where the txt should be so it is definitly there - but no matter what color I select this is what happens.
If I then click on new layer (again leaving everything defaulted) I get a new layer but I just get like a wireframe X across it.
This happens no matter what I do.
The only way to change this is if I mess around with the roto brush and then go back to the original compisition box I can see my txt against a white and grey checked background!!!!
Can anyone help because ive been trying to use since installing 2 days ago!!!
Thanks in advance.

It sounds like you've put the Composition panel in Wireframe view mode.
The reason that using the Roto Brush tool makes a difference is that using the Roto Brush tool forces the Composition panel out of Wireframe mode.
I'm going to guess that this happened because you're new to After Effects and you started choosing menu commands and clicking buttons just to see what they did. The problem is that doing that can get you into situation like this one.
I recommend beginning here and working your way through the getting-started materials:
http://blogs.adobe.com/toddkopriva/2010/01/getting-started-with-after-eff.html
It'll save you a lot of headaches later.
By the way, the Roto Brush tool is actually one of the trickiest and most advanced features in After Effects. I strongly recommend against using it until you've familiarized yourself with the basics.

Can you edit layers separately on a sphere in After Effects?

I'm working on a history documentary about World War II and I have a map of the world divided into colonial empires. Each empire is a separate layer.
If you apply the map to a sphere in Photoshop and then bring it into After Effects, can you animate the empire layers fading in their opacity at different times?
Is this possible? I have no idea how to do this but I imagine that it must be relatively simple to do.
Thank you very much in advance for any helpful suggestions.
- Nick

Did you choose File --> Import, picked the PSD and then actually set the dimensions to Comp - Document size? this should definitely work. Note that by default it will import as Footage, which is not what you want. If that's not the problem, you may have accidentalyl flattened/ merged the Photoshop document or done something else that forces AE into flattening the doc. For instance the document being in CMYK instead of RGB color mode would do that... I recommend you double-check in PS.
Mylenium

Can After Effects CC handle this many Illustrator layers?

I designed a world map in Adobe Illustrator with many layers for a documentary about interwar Europe (1919-1939). The Illustrator map actually has 80 layers. Would this be a map with too many layers to animate in After Effects?
In AE I plan to add a camera to zoom in on parts of the map like Europe and the Middle East. But I'll also need to animate the opacity of individual layers to show territorial changes and invasions in Europe before and after 1919 Versailles Treaty and the 1938 Munich Agreement. The reason I have so many layers is that I thought I could use this one map in multiple different map animations for my film.
Can AE handle this many layers? Or is it wiser to keep the layers to a minimum number?
Also, is there no way in After Effects to group the layers other than pre-comping them? It would be great to be able to have sub-layers in AE like you can in Illustrator. I could then reduce the number of layers in my map from 80 to less than 20, by grouping all European states as sub-layers into a Europe layer, as so on for Africa, Asia, etc.
Unless I'm mistaken, Illustrator sub-layers are not visible in After Effects, are they?

Rick and Mylenium,
Thank you both for your feedback. Much appreciated. Mylenium, I'm sure you're right. I probably was trying to do too much in one map. I'll follow your suggestion and use the minimum number of layers for each scenario. I'm spending too much time as it is looking for particular layers among the 80.
I do wish it were possible in AE to simply group layers without pre-comping them though. Or that Illustrator sub-layers could be visible. It would really help to streamline the workflow. I suppose I could precomp all layers and then simply add a camera to the pre-comp.
Rick I'll try the expression controls and parenting, but can you elaborate a little further regarding your suggestion of pre-planning in Illustrator?
Thank you both again for your helpful suggestions.

How do I get rid of black shadows around layered sparkles in file imported from Illustrator CC to After Effects CC?

I have a background with a logo that will have various stars or sparkles around the logo. I eventually want the sparkles to flicker on and off around the logo in my Premiere Pro video.
I created my layered logo/sparkle artwork in Illustrator CC. Each sparkle is on a separate layer. The sparkles came from clip art. In Illustrator CC the sparkles are white or yellow. In After Effects CC they have a black background around each sparkle, almost like a drop shadow.
I want to get rid of the drop shadow/black background.
Any suggestions?

Check the problematic layers in the comp by soloing them and then press the u key twice to reveal everything that is not set to the defaults. Make sure there are no layer styles or other effects checked. If all is normal but the art still looks odd open up the footage interpretation, Click the More Options button at the bottom left. and set the anti aliasing for vector art to More Accurate. You can do similar in Preferences>Previews and set Zoom Quality to More Accurate.
Here's another tip for using Illustrator files for video. Any stroked artwork must have a minimum stroke of 1 point or 1 pixel. 2 is better. Fine details in your artwork should be drawn with the snap to pixel option enabled in Illustrator and artwork should be an even number of pixels (points) high and wide.
If none of that works, save out just some of the problematic layers in you AI file and send us a link so we can check out the file or post a screenshot of the problem viewed at a zoom factor of 100% with resolution set to Auto or Full and the properties of your layer with problems revealed.

Why is After Effects importing my PSD's as a folder of layers and a flat composition?

I've imported Photoshop files to after effects tons of times. But suddenly, I'm having problems importing them. I make sure that I click keep layers and all that, but it imports a strange, short, flat layer in after effects and then a folder of all my layers as opposed to a precomp with the layers. I've tired saving the files again and making sure all of the settings are correct and its not helping at all. I've even tried precomping the folders content and the weird layer and it does nothing.
Can someone please help me? All I want is for this photoshop file to be imported as a precomp, but it keeps opening as layers in one folder which isn't linked to the photoshop file.

There's got to be something different with the PSD. Is it RGB? That's the first thing to check. What is the structure of the PSD. Layer Groups? Effects? There are so many things that could go wrong that without more information we would just be guessing.

Layers Magazine tips about After Effects

Layers Magazine has just posted some tips about several applications in Creative Suite 4, including After Effects CS4.

Without seeing the file and your settings, nobody can say anything about the matter. This could be as trivial as setting the sequence button in the import dialog to issues in the file itself like a smart object that uses a different color profile like the parent document, excessive nesting of groups, some weird belnding tricks with layer styles and whatnot....
Mylenium

Problem importing PSD (with multiple groups and layers) into After Effects. Help!

I created a "comic strip" in photoshop (multiple rectangle shape layers, then various shapes within each box for each frame of the comic strip) that I want to import into AE. When I import it as a composition (to keep my layers), however, what appears is an simply a black image with white lines where the lines of the comic strip used to be. I checked the color modes, but they are both in RGB so I don't think that's the problem. Also, when I double click the cartoon strip composition, I can choose certain groups from the mini flow-chart at the top left and view those individual frames. However, I can't view the entire comic strip as a whole, which is necessary for my animation. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated, as I'm on a tight time constraint. Thanks!

When I asked what version down to the last decimal, I meant it. After Effects version should start with 11, but we need the numbers after that too.
And I understand that you want to pan between them, so just put all the different PSD's you import into the same comp and pan between them.

Exporting layers of audio from After Effects cs6 to Premiere / or Audition? Is this possible?

exporting layers of audio from After Effects cs6 to Premiere / or Audition? Is this possible?
Help - I have an After effects project with multiple layered files and want to copy these to Premiere / Audition. For example I know if you select multiple video files from After Effects these can be pasted straight into Premiere intact - but this does not work with audio. I want to take existing layered audio files from After Effects to Audition / or Premiere but can't copy and paste - is there a simple solution for this?

Hi thanks Dave for responding - yes that could work as a 'workaround' - I was hoping there would be a way I can keep the existing independent audio layers and corresponding audio levels from After Effects- in the same way I can copy and paste video files from After Effects to Premiere - rather than exporting a flattened AIFF /WAV from After Effects.
This would then allow me a lot more control working on the final edit - especially as currently a lot of the audio layers overlap. It does seem there is no simple solution for this, so otherwise I can do what you suggest - and 'stagger all the audio files' in sequence so they do not overlap on the timeline and then when I import the flattened exported AIFF file into Audition/ Premeire / I then can cut it up again and recreate the overlaps. Was hoping there might be a simple copy + paste method or other 'export method' but I guess this is simply not possible. It would save me about 7 hours of work, but not the end of the world I guess
One final point - some of the audio clips are .mp3s but the majority are WAVS, hopefully this should not create any issues on the export.
thanks again for your help, if you or anyone has any other solution pls let me know
Best
Alex

How to link layers in After Effect by script?

Hi!
Is it possible to link one layer to another in After Effect by script?
I would build the custom effect with parameter like "Gradient Wipe" have: Gradient Layer.
The idea is: this connection is independent from the layer number. That mean any layers delete, re-ordering etc will not affect this connection.
Thank you in advance!

Seems I've found the way...
I've used "Layer" parameter:
But there is another question:
How to update the "old" Custom Effect in my AE projects?
The problem is:
If I'm changing the Custom Effect's content in PresetEffects.xml (adding the new parameter) then I can't load the old projects with old Custom Effect on layers.
Can I avoid this?

After Effects not letting me merge shape layers?

I got after effects cs6. I'm working on building a somewhat complex shape made of 5 shapes using the pen tool and I wanted to merge them together. but it's not letting me. I've looked at the documentation and it says all you need to do is select the shapes you want to merge and Ctrl+G or Layer > Group Shapes. Neither works for me, though. Group Shapes is grayed out on the menu.
It's pretty frustrating to me cause I spent a bit of time making this shape. I hope I'm just missing something simple... if i'd of known it was going to be this annoying I would of just made the shape in illustrator.
Thanks for the help

You have all of your shapes in a separate shape layer.
Copy and paste all of the shape paths to a single shape layers.
Then in a single shape layer select all of the paths and perform your group.
This:
becomes this:

After Effects Layers

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