We can emphasize the 3D aspect of our layers by adding lights and cameras to our Compositions.
We’ll use both in this tutorial. You can watch the finished example below and download the .aep file here.
We’ll start off with the Composition we made in the 3D layers tutorial. You can download the starting file here.
Let’s start by adding a light to our Composition:
- Go to Layer > New > Light…
- Set the light to your desired properties. Here we’ll use:
- Light Type: Spot
- Color: Light yellow (#FFF5CA)
- Intensity (the brightness of the light): 100%
- Cone Angle (the angle of the cone surrounding the source of a light – only for Spot): 90 degrees
- Cone Feather (the edge softness of a spotlight – only for Spot): 50%
- Falloff (how a light’s intensity is lessened over distance): None
- Cast Shadows (specifies whether the light source causes a layer to cast a shadow): On
- Shadow Darkness: 10%
- Shadow Diffusion: 10px
Once you hit OK, you’ll notice that a Light layer has been added to the Timeline.
In order for Casts Shadows to work, the layer casting the shadow must have that option enabled. Let’s turn it on for the green circle and the Text Layer:
- Toggle the greenEllipse layer’s Material Options tab.
- Set Cast Shadows to “On”
- Repeat for the Text layer
Hit the Spacebarto preview your animation. You’ll notice that both layers now cast a shadow.
To remove the Cast Shadow from view until the green circle starts to rotate, shift the beginning of the layer in the Timeline to the start of the rotation (0;00;02;00)
Next, let’s adjust the position of our light. It could change overtime, but we’ll keep it in the same location for the entirety of the animation:
- Activate the Light layer
- In the Top view, you’ll see the Point of Interest and the X,Y and Z control points. Adjust each one until you get the desired effect (in this example the Point of Interest is in the center of the green circle, and the light is positioned just outside the Composition). You can make further/more precise adjustments by toggling the Transform tab of the Light layer and adjusting the numerical values.
Next, we’ll add a camera to our Composition:
- Go to Layer > New… > Camera
- You can change the type of camera and lens, but we’ll keep the default setting:
- Type: Two-Node Camera
- Preset: 50mm
- Units: Millimeters
- Measure Film Size: Horizontally
Once you hit OK, you’ll notice that a Camera layer has been added to the Timeline.
Once again, the 2 Views Layout is useful here. You can clearly see the camera’s position in the Top view.
We’ll shift the camera towards the end of the animation: we’ll move it’s position back and forth.
- Set the Time Indicator to where you’d like the camera move to start (0;00;06;00)
- Toggle the Transform tab of the Camera layer
- Click on the little Stop Watch next to to Point of Interest AND Position Property and keep the values as they are
- Set the Time Indicator to where you’d like the camera move to end (0;00;08;00)
- Click and drag the Camera’s little red arrow in the Top view and move it towards the left (so that the elements are still visible but on the right side of the Composition in the Active Camera view). You’ll notice that a new Keyframe was created on both the Point of Interest and Position properties’ Timeline.
- We’ll stay at this position for 1 sec before shifting the camera back to the center:
- Set the Time Indicator 1 second further (0;00;09;00)
- Add a Point of Interest AND Position Keyframe by clicking on the little diamonds at the very left of the properties
- Let’s move the camera back to its original position:
- Select and Copy (Command + C) the starting Keyframes (at 0;00;06;00) of the Position and Point of Interest properties.
- Set the Time Indicator to when you’d like the Camera to reach its final position (when the green circle has receded behind the yellow one – 0;00;10;22)
- Past the 2 Keyframes (Command + V)
