Adobe AFTER EFFECTS 5.5 Help Manual page 17

Adobe After Effects Help
Using Help | Contents
Displaying After Effects viewing controls in the Footage window
By default, the Footage window displays movie controls for movie footage rather than the
After Effects viewing controls found in the Layer and Composition windows. QuickTime
and Video for Windows controls are fast and familiar tools for playing movie footage, and
they play audio if it's included in the footage. However, for the preview options discussed
in this section, you must open the footage in a standard After Effects Footage window.
Note: A standard After Effects Footage window is always used for non–QuickTime and
non–Video for Windows footage.
To display a footage item in the Footage window:
Double-click a footage item in the Project window.
To display .mov or .avi movies in the standard After Effects Footage window:
Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you double-click a footage item in the Project
window. After Effects Footage windows provide editing commands not available in Video
for Windows or QuickTime Footage windows.
Changing magnification in windows
The lower left corner of a Composition, Layer, or Footage window shows the current
magnification. When you change magnification, you change the appearance of the pixels
in the window, not the actual resolution of the composition.
To zoom in or out:
Do one of the following:
Using the zoom tool, click inside the window you want to magnify.
•
Using the zoom tool, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you click inside the
•
window you want to reduce.
Double-click the zoom tool in the toolbox to view at actual size.
•
Choose a magnification from the menu in the lower left corner of a Footage, Layer, or
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Composition window.
Viewing safe zones and grids
In Footage, Layer, or Composition windows, you can display safe zones for titles and
action, as well as grids used for aligning layers.
Television sets enlarge a video image and allow some portion of its outer edges to be cut
off by the edge of the screen. This is known as overscan. The amount of overscan is not
consistent across television sets, so you should keep important parts of a video image,
such as action or titles, within margins known as safe zones. When you arrange layers in a
composition, do the following:
Keep important scene elements, graphics, and actors within the action-safe zone.
•
Keep titles and other text within the title-safe zone.
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Working with Projects, Windows, and Palettes
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