How to trace an image in After Effects

Hi
I was just wondering if it was possible to have an image (such as an eye) being traced into Ae.
I want the eyelids and eyelashes but do not want the eye itself.
Any suggestions on the most practical way of creating an eye?
Masking? Photoshop?
Cheers

Photoshop would work. Make sure you create LAYERS for the individual pieces of the eye you want to reveal. It's also good to make it bigger than you think you'd need. Then import it as a comp into AE, and reveal the parts you want revealed using animated masks.

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Opacity of photoshop images in after effects

When I import a photoshop image into after effects, the image always has less opacity than the video. You can see through it.
I have tried every adjustmen or effect I can find to increase the opacity but nothing works. The photshop image is 100% opacity.
I have tried importing as a comp too. Can anyone tell me how to get still images into after effects so that you cant see through them? thanks John

shovel5000 wrote:
sorry you are dealing with a beginner still.
...which means that you need to begin at the beginning. AE is NOT the kind of application that lets you jump into the deep end of the pool. Your experiences with something as simple as importing a Photoshop document, and the confusion you encountered, are blindingly-clear testimony to that simple fact.
You really owe it to yourself to take advantage of the free training materials for beginners found here:
http://blogs.adobe.com/toddkopriva/2010/01/getting-started-with-after-eff.html

Bridge default opens images in After Effects.

I am working in Bridge CS 5 (4.0.5.11) on a Mac Pro OS X 10.6.8. I am trying to open files (jpg, psd, bmps) in Photoshop CS 5 and the default is set to PS but Bridge is opening the images in After Effects. Where or how do I reset the default for files to open in Photoshop and not After Effects? When I right-click on the image the default is set to PS but still opening in AE.
Thanks for the help.

I forgot to do so and had to recreate from scratch.
Downside from resetting prefs is indeed you loose some settings, I always recreate them from scratch and have done so often in the past that I almost can dream this. Plus side is in this way you will learn more about Bridge and its prefs and will become more used to it. Maybe even discovering things you never new of
I rely heavily on the folder panel and have only 4 main folders in the favorites that I also don't use very often. The folder panel gives you so much more overview and options, you should give it a try.
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Help! Ideas for displaying ~100-300 still images with After Effects / Premiere Pro

Hi, I am a cadet at a US Air Force detachment and am responsible for making this semester's end of the year video.
I have the Adobe creative cloud and am familiar with the basics of Photoshop, and Premiere Pro, and I am trying to also learn After Effects. I have a large amount of picture and video, and am at a loss for how to quickly make all these pictures into an interesting slideshow. Software such as Cyberlink Powerdirector had a "photo grid" which would allow me to create an automatic slideshow of images on a 3x3 grid, where each image flashed into place one at a time. I am looking for automated processes or tutorials to feed my images into and have a modern effect of displaying the images.
If anyone has any idea for a template or where to start on handling a large amount of still images in After Effects or Premiere Pro, I could definitely use a point in the right direction!
Exactly what I want can be found at 5:27 of this video: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150247563700519&set=vb.120583801339638&type=2&theat er

read below
-http://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/kb/error---preludevideo-play-modules.html
-http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1001579
-Use BIOS http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1019004?tstart=0
-link to why http://forums.adobe.com/message/4685328
-http://www.anandtech.com/show/4839/mobile-gpu-faceoff-amd-dynamic-switchable-graphics-vs-n vidia-optimus-technology/2

How do I open/ re-install After Effects CC on my laptop, after I have put the app in the trash and deleted due to a difficulty? It is still installed in Creative Cloud.

How do I open/ re-install After Effects CC on my laptop, after I have put the app in the trash and deleted due to a difficulty? It is still installed in Creative Cloud.

Run the cleaner tool and reinstall.
Use the CC Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems | CC, CS3-CS6
Mylenium

How much does Premiere Pro and After Effects rely on the hard drive it's installed on?

This may be a really dumb question, but how much does Premiere Pro and After Effects rely on the hard drive it's installed on if all your video files, assets, disk cache, etc are on different drives than the one the program itself is installed on?
The reason I am asking is that I currently have a "relatively" slow Sata II SSD for my C drive that has just my OS (windows 7 64bit) and programs (adobe editing programs, no games) installed on it and nothing else. All of the files used in my projects are saved on either a very fast Sata III SSD or a slower HDD depending on what the files are. For example, disk cache on the Sata III, stills on the HDD.
Being cyber monday I have the opportunity to buy another very fast Sata III SSD to replace my current Sata II SSD C Drive (just OS and programs). Both synthetic and real world benchmarks show a near double in performance. I just want to know if anyone thinks the upgrade is even worth it because for all I know there won't be any increase in performance since no videos, still, cach, etc will be stored on the C Drive.
The alternative is to get a second monitor because I currently only use one 21" monitor.
I suppose another alternative would be to not buy anything on the cyber monday deals and just save money for something else.
Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks Alex! I think you are right about not being able to notice the difference between the SSDs. I ended up finding a deal to get about $80 off a great monitor that I've been looking at for a while and decided to pull the trigger on it. I thought about it and realized that there have already been a bunch of times where I want to watch a tutorial on youtube and follow allong in AE or PrePro, but have to keep switching windows. I also frequently want to have my video preview on a separate monitor so I can have a taller timeline window. This monitor will help a lot with that. Thanks again for your help!

How can i access mocha in after effects cs6

how can i access mocha in after effects cs6

To use mocha AE in After Effects CS6, select the item to track and choose Animation > Track in mocha AE.

How can I get trial for after effects 4? it is the only version my PC meets the requirements.

How can I get trial for after effects 4?
it is the only version my PC meets the requirements.

Hello yaniv7m,
in my eyes you will find it only in shops like ebay or Amazon, like this:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xafter+ef fects+4&_nkw=after+effects+4&_sacat=0
or
http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-After-Effects-CS4-VERSION/dp/B001EUJ0SI/ref=sr_1_1?s=software& ie=UTF8&qid=1407396391&sr=1-1&keywords=after+effects+cs4
Good luck!
Hans-Günter

How i can download and trial After Effects CC or cs5-6 medle east edition ??

how i can download and trial After Effects CC or cs5-6 medle east edition ??

Downloads available:
Suites and Programs: CC | CS6 | CS5.5 | CS5 | CS4 | CS3
Acrobat: XI, X | 9,8 | 9 standard
Premiere Elements: 12 | 11, 10 | 9, 8, 7
Photoshop Elements: 12 | 11, 10 | 9,8,7
Lightroom: 5 | 4 | 3
Captivate: 7 | 6 | 5
Contribute: CS5 | CS4, CS4
Download and installation help for Adobe links
Download and installation help for Prodesigntools links are listed on most linked pages. They are critical; especially steps 1, 2 and 3. If you click a link that does not have those steps listed, open a second window using the Lightroom 3 link to see those 'Important Instructions'.

How to enable sound scrolling in After Effects?

So basicly what im trying to do is be able to scroll through my compisition with the mouse and hear sound like in Sony Vegas is this possiple? So if i drag my mouse over footage sound will play. Also can you enable keyframes on a mask?
Thanks so much!
Cam

According to this page in the Adobe Help you can preview audio by ctrl+alt+drag the current timeline indicator. It also has a lot of other useful info about previewing in AE.
Now, keep in mind, previewing audio and video in AE is very different from non-linear editors like Vegas. Rick Gerard had a good explanation for this:
Sony Vegas, Premiere Pro, Final Cut, Avid are all NLE's (Non Linear Editors) and they are specifically designed to playback a video stream. With any of them, if you stack enough layers or effects on the video they will have to render a new video stream based on pixel based calculations for every pixel in the stack. This rendering, especially for HD sources or for complex plug-ins, will take quite a bit of time.
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- Rick Gerard
This page has links to lots of information about animating masks and shape layers.
It sounds like you're a beginner in AE. You should really start here to get a foundation in the basics before you just jump into it.

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If you are telling us that you could not find After Effects in the Creative Cloud app then your system does not meet the minimum system requirements. If you somehow found a disk image and managed to run it and it gave you the option to choose Desktop when installing then you probably don't have a light copy of CC 2014, because it should only be installed using the CC app. Mac OSx tells us nothing. You could be on Lion, or Leopard, or Mountain Lion or even something else.
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How to import transparent gifs in after effects cc

I just upgraded form after effects cs5 to cc and one thing i cant understand is why i cant directly import transparent gifs as i could in cs5. I heard that you have to make a png sequence from fireworks but i dont want to go through all of that. I would appreciate if someonecan tell me how to easily import transparent animated gifs into after effects cc as you could in sc5

You can't and that is that. This stuff used Quicktime components and simply too much has changed. You need to work with image sequences exported from Photoshop or whatever other program based on your GIF.
Mylenium

How does Motion 2 compare to After Effects?

I have used After Effects in school but now that I am using FCP instead of AVID I was thinking that it'd probably be a good idea to switch over.
I mainly want to use Motion 2 for adding filter effects and transistions to my videos. Is the connectivity between FCP and Motion such a boon that I should learn how to use it?
From messing around in Motion I've found that it seems much more complicated than After Effects and a bit more unwieldy (but I've barely scratched the surface).
When I looked at what has been added in Motion 3 I was a bit upset that I bought FCS1 a couple months before 2 came out. Motion 3 seems to be much improved, but alas, it's too late.

I agree. I too am in the job market and find that there are more jobs that ask for After FX experience than Motion. Having learned both, I made the decision of just working with Motion and developing my skills to a higher level.
Motion is way more enjoyable to work with. I produce faster with it and it does just about everything that After FX can do. If it doesn't...I go to Shake 4.1. Shake has a much better keyer than After FX. You can combine Primate and Keylight together and get much better results than After FX. I even like the work flow better in Shake than I do in After FX.
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Best Regards,
Ed
Powerbook 15" 1.67 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.9) Maxed out!

How do web site created with After Effect differ from that created with dream weaver or Flash?

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Mylenium

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I've been working on a project that uses movie files made in After Effects and then brought into Encore to create a DVD. The problem I'm having is jagged edges appearing on raster photo images - things like people's chins especially look jagged. All looks ok on my monitor/computer, but once I watch it on my flat screen TV I get these jagged edges. I've tried transcoding Progressive in Encore but that didn't help.
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Mylenium

How to trace an image in After Effects

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