Datasheet

■ Setting Up a Composite 17
Figure 1.13 The Pre-
compose dialog box
2. If a single layer is selected and Leave All Attributes In Comp is chosen, the selected
layer is left at its original location. However, a duplicate of the layer is placed in a new
composition with a name determined by the New Composition Name cell. If Move
All Attributes Into The New Composition is selected, the selected layer or layers are
moved to the new composition. The new composition is placed at the layers’ original
location.
3. You can nest, transform, or apply effects to the newly created layers within the new
composition as you would any other composition.
You can manually create a precomp by rendering a composite through the Render
Queue and importing the resulting footage. To isolate particular layers for a render, toggle
off the Video layer switch for any layer that is unwanted.
Using Composition, Footage, and Layer Panels
There are four types of panels that appear in the central section of the After Effects inter-
face: Composition, Footage, Layer, and Flowchart. To see a particular composition in
the Composition panel, double-click the composition name in the Project panel. To view
imported footage in the Footage panel, double-click the footage name in the Project panel.
To view a layer, by itself, in the Layer panel, double-click the layer name in the layer outline
of the Timeline panel. The Footage and Layer panel differs from the Composition panel
in that they possess their own timelines. If the Composition panel is open and you switch
between composition tabs in the Timeline panel, the active composition is automatically
displayed. The Composition, Footage, and Layer panels each carry their own viewer. The
viewer may show the default 2D view or carry multiple views of a 3D environment. (3D envi-
ronments are described in Chapter 11; the Flowchart panel is discussed in the next section.)
Aside from carrying viewers, Composition, Footage, and Layer panels include a num-
ber of menus and controls (see Figure 1.14).
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S
Figure 1.14 Composition panel switches and menus: (A) Always Preview This View, (B) Magnification Ratio
Popup, (C) Choose Grid And Guide Options, (D) Toggle Mask And Shape Path Visibility, (E) Current Time,
(F) Take Snapshot, (G) Show Last Snapshot, (H) Show Channel, (I) Resolution/Down Sample Factor Popup,
(J) Region Of Interest, (K) Toggle Transparency Grid, (L) 3D View Popup, (M) Select View Layout, (N)
Toggle Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction, (O) Fast Previews, (P) Timeline, (Q) Comp Flowchart View, (R) Reset
Exposure, (S) Adjust Exposure
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