Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 442

• Determines how to adjust the layers if the size of the input layer differs from that of the layer
If Layer Sizes Differ
to which Vegas is applied. Center centers the input layer in the composition at its original size. Stretch To Fit scales
the input layer to match the layer to which Vegas is applied.
• The color attribute of the input layer used to define the contours.
Channel
• The percentage value at which everything below or above is mapped to either white or black. This
Threshold
property is important in determining the location of the edges that the effect strokes.
• Smooths out the input layer before the threshold is sampled. Set this option to 0 if you have a high-
Pre-Blur
contrast image and want the stroke to follow the edges very closely.
• Defines how tightly the stroke conforms to the input layer. A very high value results in sharp corners,
Tolerance
while very low values can make the stroking sensitive to noise.
•
Specifies whether to apply the effect to a selected contour or to all contours in the layer.
Render
•
Specifies the contour to use when Selected Contour is selected from the Render menu.
Selected Contour
Contours are numbered from left top to bottom right; the contour with the highest point is number 1, the second
highest point is number 2, and so on.
•
Shorter Contours Have
contour into the same number of segments. For example, if you apply the effect to the letter R, the outside contour
may look fine with 32 segments, but the inside contour may be almost solid. To resolve this issue, select Fewer
Segments.
The mask or path to use for the stroke. You can use either closed or open masks.
Mask/Path
Specifies the number of segments used to create each stroked contour. For example, if the effect is applied
Segments
to the word Vegas and Segments is set to 10, the outline of each of the letters, plus the inner contours of e, g, and a,
are broken into 10 segments.
Determines the length of a segment's stroke in relation to its maximum possible length. For example, if
Length
Segments is set to 1, the maximum length of a stroke is one complete trip around the object outline. If Segments is
set to 3, the maximum length of a segment is 1/3 of the total outline, and so on.
Determines the spacing of the segments. Bunched puts the segments together like boxcars in
Segment Distribution
a train: The shorter the segment length, the shorter the overall length of the train. Even spaces the segments evenly
around the contour.
Animates the segments around the contour. For example, to create the appearance of running lights, start
Rotation
with a large number of segments set to 50% of their length, and then animate Rotation to move the lights around the
shapes.
Specifies that the stroke starting point is different for each contour. By default, the effect strokes a
Random Phase
contour beginning at its highest point on the screen. In the event of a tie, it starts at the leftmost highest point.
Determines how the stroke is applied to the layer. Transparent creates the effect on a transparent
Blend Mode
background. Over places the stroke over the existing layer. Under places the stroke behind the existing layer. Stencil
uses the stroke as an alpha channel mask, filling the stroke with the pixels of the original layer.
Specifies the color of the stroke, unless Stencil is chosen for Blending Mode.
Color
Specifies the width of the stroke in pixels. Fractional values are supported.
Width
Determines how sharp or blurry the edges of the stroke are. A value of 1 creates a slight blur; a value of 0.0
Hardness
blurs the line so that few solid areas of color remain.
Specify the opacity at the beginning or end of the stroke.
Start, End Opacity
Specifies whether shorter contours have fewer segments. By default, the effect breaks each
AFTER EFFECTS CS3 436
User Guide