PROJECT: TITLE CARD FOR A PRODUCTION COMPANY
By clicking a single switch in the Timeline panel in After Effects, you can turn a 2D layer into a 3D layer, opening up a whole
new world of creative possibilities. Maxon Cinema 4D Lite, included with After Effects, gives you even greater flexibility.
Getting started
Adobe After Effects can work with layers in two dimensions (x, y) or in three dimensions (x, y,
z). So far in this book, you’ve worked primarily in two dimensions. When you specify a layer as
three-dimensional (3D), After Effects adds the z axis, which lets you move the object forward
and backward in space. By combining this depth with a variety of lights and camera angles, you
can create animated 3D projects that take advantage of the full range of natural motion, lighting
and shadows, perspective, and focusing effects. In this lesson, you’ll explore how to create and
animate 3D layers. Then you’ll use Maxon Cinema 4D Lite (installed with After Effects) to add
texture to 3D text for a title card for a fictional production company.
First, you’ll preview the final movie and then set up the project.
1. Make sure the following files are in the Lessons/Lesson12 folder on your hard disk, or
download them from your Account page at http://www.peachpit.com now:
In the Assets folder: Lunar.mp3, Space_Landscape.jpg
In the Sample_Movies folder: Lesson12.avi, Lesson12.mov
2. Open and play the Lesson12.avi sample movie in Windows Movies & TV or the
Lesson12.mov sample movie in QuickTime Player to see what you will create in this lesson.
When you are done, close Windows Movies & TV or QuickTime Player. You may delete
the sample movies from your hard disk if you have limited storage space.When you begin this lesson, restore the default application settings for After Effects. See
“Restoring default preferences” on page 3.