Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 188

Light settings
Parallel emits directional, unconstrained light from an infinitely distant source. Spot emits light from a
Light Type
source that is constrained by a cone, like the spotlight used in stage productions. Point emits unconstrained omnidi-
rectional light, like the rays from a bare light bulb. Ambient creates light that has no source but rather contributes to
the overall brightness of a scene and casts no shadows.
The brightness of the light. Negative values create nonlight. Nonlight subtracts color from a layer. For
Intensity
example, if a layer is already lit, creating a directional light with negative values also pointing at that layer darkens an
area on the layer.
The angle of the cone surrounding the source of a light, which determines the width of the beam at a
Cone Angle
distance. This option is active only if Spot is selected for Light Type.
The edge softness of a spotlight. This option is active only if Spot is selected for Light Type.
Cone Feather
The color of the light.
Color
Specifies whether the light source causes a layer to cast a shadow. The Accepts Shadows material
Casts Shadows
option must be On for a layer to receive a shadow; this is the default. The Casts Shadows material option must be On
for a layer to cast shadows; this is not the default.
Press Alt+Shift+C (Windows) or Option+Shift+C (Mac OS) to toggle Casts Shadows for selected layers. Press AA to
show Material Options properties in the Timeline panel.
Sets the darkness level of the shadow. This option is active only if Casts Shadows is selected.
Shadow Darkness
Sets the softness of a shadow based on its apparent distance from the shadowing layer. Larger
Shadow Diffusion
values create softer shadows. This option is active only if Casts Shadows is selected.
Move a camera, light, or point of interest
Camera layers and light layers each include a Point Of Interest property, which specifies the point in the composition
at which the camera or light points. By default, the point of interest is at the center of the composition. You can move
the point of interest at any time.
Before moving a camera, choose a view other than Active Camera so that you can see the point of interest icon and
the boundaries defining its angle.
1 Select a camera or light layer.
(Optional) To set the camera or light to ignore the point of interest, choose Layer > Transform > Auto-Orient and
2
select an option other than Orient Towards Point Of Interest.
3 Using the Selection or Rotation tool, do one of the following:
• To move the camera or light and its point of interest, position the pointer over the axis you want to adjust, and drag.
• To move the camera or light along a single axis without moving the point of interest, Ctrl-drag (Windows) or
Command-drag (Mac OS) the axis.
• To move the camera or light freely without moving the point of interest, drag the camera icon
• To move the point of interest, drag the point of interest icon
Note: As with all properties, you can also modify a camera or light's position, rotation, and orientation properties directly
in the Timeline panel.
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AFTER EFFECTS CS3 182
User Guide
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