Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 35

AFTER EFFECTS CS3 29
User Guide
After Effects 3D functionality is limited to the manipulation of two-dimensional layers in three dimensions.
Photoshop, however, can manipulate complete 3D models in 3DS and U3D formats, and output two-dimensional
composites and cross-sections of these 3D models from any angle. You can then use these two-dimensional images
in After Effects. After Effects can also automatically create 3D layers to mimic the planes created by the Photoshop
Vanishing Point tool.
Exchanging still images
After Effects can import and export still images in many formats, but you will usually want to use the native
Photoshop PSD format when transferring individual frames or still image sequences between After Effects and
Photoshop.
When importing or exporting a PSD file, After Effects can preserve individual layers, masks, layer styles, and most
other attributes. When you import a PSD file into After Effects, you can choose whether to import it as a flattened
image or with its layers separate and intact.
It is often a good idea to prepare a still image in Photoshop before importing it into After Effects. Examples of such
preparation include correcting color, scaling, and cropping. It is often better for you to do something once to the
source image in Photoshop than to have After Effects perform the same operation many times per second as it
renders each frame for previews or final output.
By creating your new PSD document from the Photoshop New File dialog box with a Film & Video preset, you can
start with a document that is set up correctly for a specific video output type. If you are already working in After
Effects, you can create a new PSD document that matches your composition and project settings by choosing File >
New > Adobe Photoshop File.
Exchanging movies
You can also exchange video files, such as QuickTime movies, between Photoshop and After Effects. When you open
a movie in Photoshop, a video layer is created that refers to the source footage file. Video layers allow you to paint
nondestructively on the movie's frames, much as After Effects works with layers with movies as their sources. When
you save a PSD file with a video layer, you are saving the edits that you made to the video layer, not edits to the source
footage itself.
You can also render a movie directly from Photoshop. For example, you can create a QuickTime movie from
Photoshop that can then be imported into After Effects.
Color
After Effects works internally with colors in an RGB (red, green, blue) color space. Though After Effects can convert
CMYK images to RGB, you should do video work in Photoshop in RGB.
If relevant for your final output, it is better to ensure that the colors in your image are broadcast-safe in Photoshop
before you import the image into After Effects. A good way to do this is to assign the appropriate destination color
space—for example, SDTV (Rec. 601)—to the document in Photoshop. After Effects performs color management
according to color profiles embedded in documents, including imported PSD files.
See also
"Preparing and importing Photoshop files" on page 90