To Create A Motion Path From A Mask; Assorted Animation Tools; About Motion Blur - Adobe AFTER EFFECTS 7.0 Manual

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To set the playback speed slower than the sketching speed, set the capture speed less than 100%.
Click Start Capture and then, in the Composition panel, drag the layer to create the motion path. Release the
7
mouse button to end the path.
Note: After Effects automatically ends the motion path when the capture time reaches the end of either your composition
or the work area.

To create a motion path from a mask

You can instantly create a motion path from any mask that you draw in After Effects (or from a path that you copy
from Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop), by pasting the mask or path into a layer's Position property, a layer's
Anchor Point property, or the effect point property of an effect. The assigned keyframes are set to rove in time, except
for the first and last ones, to create a constant velocity along the mask or path. By default, After Effects assigns a
duration of 2 seconds to the motion path. Adjust the default duration by dragging the first or last keyframe to a new
point in time.
Do one of the following:
1
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Select a mask.
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Create and select a path from Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop. (For information on creating paths in those
products, see the respective product Help.)
2 Copy the mask or path to the clipboard.
In the Timeline panel, select the destination keyframe property.
3
Paste the mask or path.
4
See also
"To import an Adobe Illustrator path as a mask" on page 249

Assorted animation tools

About motion blur

When you view one frame of motion-picture film or video containing a moving object, the image is often blurred,
because a frame represents a sample of time (in film, a frame is 1/24 of a second long). In that time, a moving object
occupies more than one position as it travels across the frame, so it cannot be shown as a sharp, still object. The faster
the object moves, the more it blurs. The camera shutter angle also affects the appearance of the blur.
In contrast, in a single frame of a computer-generated animation, you may not be able to tell which objects are
moving because all moving objects may appear as sharp and clear as nonmoving objects. Without motion blur, layer
animation produces a strobe-like effect of distinct steps instead of an appearance of continuous change. Adding
motion blur to layers you animate in After Effects makes layer motion appear smoother and more natural.
You can use motion blur when you animate a layer—for example, moving a layer of text across the screen. You cannot
add motion blur to motion that already exists within a layer, such as live-action video. If you want to smooth live-
action video where you assigned a frame rate much lower or higher than the original, use frame blending.
Note: Previous versions of After Effects included an effect called Motion Blur. That effect is now named Directional Blur,
to avoid confusion with motion blurring applied to layers.
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