Chapter 20 CC18

From Digital Foundations

Chapter 20: Video

Exercise 1 : Draw Solar and Lunar Solid

1. Open Adobe After Effects. Select “New Project…” in the startup menu.

Fig20 Ex1 01 CC2018.png


2. Select “New Composition.” Name the Composition “Eclipse” Make sure the width is set to 1920 px and the height is set to 1080 px. Set the frame rate by selecting 29.97 from the pull-down menu. Set the Duration to 20 seconds which is 0;00;20;00. Press OK.

Fig20 Ex1 02 CC2018.png


3. In the center of the comp create a circle by using the ellipse tool and name this layer “Sun.”

Fig20 Ex1 03 CC2018.png


4. Change the shape so that the Fill Color is yellow and no Stroke Color.

Fig20 Ex1 04 CC2018.png


5. Duplicate the “Sun” layer and rename the duplicate “Moon.”

Fig20 Ex1 05 CC2018.png


6. Change the Fill color of the “Moon” to black.

Fig20 Ex1 06 CC2018.png

Exercise 2 : Add Glow Effect and and Keyframes

1. Select the “Sun” layer and search for the “Glow” effect in the Effects & Presets Panel.

Fig20 Ex2 01 CC2018.png


2. Double click on the Glow effect to apply it to the “Sun” layer.

Fig20 Ex2 02 CC2018.png


3. Under Glow > Glow Radius in the Effect Controls Panel, change the value to 300.

Fig20 Ex2 03 CC2018.png


4. Go to the 9 second mark on the timeline and create a keyframe next to Glow Radius.

Fig20 Ex2 04 CC2018.png


5. Move the playhead to the 10 second mark and change the Glow Radius to 1000.

Fig20 Ex2 05 CC2018.png


6. Move the playhead to the 11 second mark and change the Glow Radius back to 300.

Fig20 Ex2 06 CC2018.png

Exercise 3 : Animate Transit

1. Move the playhead to the first frame. Move the “Moon” layer to the bottom right corner of the composition and make a Keyframe for position under Transform > Position.

Fig20 Ex3 01 CC2018.png


2. Move the playhead to the last keyframe and change the position so that the shape is at the top left of the composition.

Fig20 Ex3 02 CC2018.png


3. Press SPACE to preview. This will make the “Moon” layer transit across the composition and create an eclipse.

Exercise 4 : Add First Lens Flare and Keyframes

1. Create an adjustment layer by clicking on Layer > New > Adjustment Layer. Rename this layer “First Flare” and make sure it is the top layer in the Layers Panel.

Fig20 Ex4 01 CC2018.png


2. In the Effects & Presets Panel, search for “Lens Flare” and double click it to apply it to your adjustment layer.

Fig20 Ex4 02 CC2018.png


3. Under Effects > Lens Flare > Flare Center, change the the Flare Center position so that it is slightly above and to the left of the center of the “Sun” layer. (See screenshot for reference)

Fig20 Ex4 03 CC2018.png


4. Move the playhead so it is at the 2 second mark and create a Keyframe for the Flare Center.

Fig20 Ex4 04 CC2018.png


5. Move the playhead to the 9 second mark and change the Flare Center Position so that it is towards the upper left edge of the “Sun” shape.

Fig20 Ex4 05 CC2018.png


6. Move the playhead to the first frame and change the value of Flare Brightness to 0%.

Fig20 Ex4 06 CC2018.png


7. At the 2 second mark, make a keyframe for Flare Brightness.

Fig20 Ex4 07 CC2018.png


8. Then move the playhead to the 9:15 second mark and bring the value for the Flare Brightness up to 150%.

Fig20 Ex4 08 CC2018.png


9. Move the playhead to the 10 second mark and make another Keyframe with the Flare Brightness at 0%.

Fig20 Ex4 09 CC2018.png


10. Press SPACE to preview the composition. The moon should be transiting across the sun with the lens flare growing in brightness then quickly disappearing once the moon is directly over the sun.

Exercise 5 : Add Second Lens Flare and Keyframes

1. Create another adjustment layer by clicking on Layer > New > Adjustment Layer. Rename this layer “Second Flare” and make sure it is the top layer in the Layers Panel.

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2. In the Effects & Presets Panel, search for “Lens Flare” and double click it to apply it to your adjustment layer.

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3. Under Effects > Lens Flare > Flare Center, change the the Flare Center position so that it is at the bottom left edge of the “Sun” layer. (See screenshot for reference)

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4. Move the playhead so it is at the 10 second mark and create a Keyframe for the Flare Center.

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5. Move the playhead to the 18 second mark and change the Flare Center Position so that it is towards the center of the “Sun” shape.

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6. Move the playhead to the 10 second mark and make a Keyframe for the Flare Brightness at 0%.

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7. Move the playhead slightly right to the 10:15 second mark and make another Keyframe with the Flare Brightness at 150%.

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8. Then move the playhead to the 18 second mark and bring the value for the Flare Brightness down to 0%

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9. Press SPACE to preview the composition. The moon should be transiting across the sun with the first lens flare growing in brightness then quickly disappearing once the moon is directly over the sun. As the Moon continues transiting across, the second lens flare grows then slowly disappears as the Moon leaves the frame. Some adjustments to the values keyframes may be needed if certain animation do not line up correctly.