Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 516

The zoom factor. Smaller numbers zoom in.
Focal Length
The order in which the camera rotates around its three axes, and whether the camera rotates before
Transform Order
or after it is positioned using the other Camera Position controls.
Corner Pins controls
Corner pinning is an alternative camera control system. Use it as an aid for compositing the result of the effect into
a scene on a flat surface that is tilted with respect to the frame.
Upper Left Corner, Upper Right Corner, Lower Left Corner, Lower Right Corner
of the layer.
Controls the perspective of the effect during the animation. If this option is deselected, the focal
Auto Focal Length
length you specify is used to find a camera position and orientation that positions the corners of the layer at the
corner pins, if possible. If not, the layer is replaced by its outline, drawn between the pins. If this option is selected,
the focal length required to match the corner points is used, if possible. If not, the correct value is interpolated from
nearby frames.
Overrides the other settings if the results you've obtained aren't what you need. If you set the Focal
Focal Length
Length to something that doesn't correspond to what the focal length would be if the pins were actually in that
configuration, the image may look unusual (strangely sheared, for example). But if you know the focal length that
you are trying to match, this option is the easiest way to get correct results.
Creating a custom shatter map
All layers in After Effects are represented as an RGBA image, including black-and-white images. The Shatter effect
calculates the luminance threshold of each channel to create a custom shatter map. Shatter calculates the 50%
luminance threshold of each channel, creating an image composed of only eight colors: red, green, blue, yellow,
magenta, cyan, white, and black. These eight colors become possible combinations of the channels set either all the
way on (255) or all the way off (0). The shatter layer splits along the edges of these different colored sections.
When designing custom shatter maps, you can find it useful to manually set a threshold for each channel of the image
at 50% (you can use the Curves effect to do so). When you set the threshold, you can see how the image will be broken
into pieces. Alternatively, you can create custom shatter maps by drawing an image using only the eight colors listed
above, with no intermediate shades or anti-aliasing.
Note: Use the Colorama effect to posterize the colors of an image to these eight colors. Turn off Interpolate Palette in the
Colorama effect controls. See "Colorama effect" on page 392.
The alpha channel determines whether or not a shattered piece exists. A white alpha channel value results in a
shattered piece, and a black alpha channel value results in no piece. Using an alpha channel, you can make a tile map
with holes in it or generate simple 3D models like extruded text.
Note: The custom shatter map determines the shapes of the pieces a layer shatters into, but not when the pieces shatter.
The timing is determined by the Force controls and can be further controlled by a gradient layer.
Wave World effect
Use this effect to create a grayscale displacement map for use with other effects such as Caustics or Colorama. This
effect creates waves based on a simulation of the physics of liquids. Waves emanate from an effect point, interact with
each other, and realistically reflect off their environment. Use Wave World to create a top-down view of a logo, with
waves reflecting off the logo and the sides of the layer.
This effect works with 8-bpc color.
AFTER EFFECTS CS3
Where to attach each of the corners
510
User Guide