Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 419

AFTER EFFECTS CS3 413
User Guide
Ripple effect
The Ripple effect creates the appearance of ripples in a specified layer, moving away from a center point in concentric
circles. The effect is similar to dropping a stone in a pond. You can also specify that ripples move toward the center
point.
Animate ripples at a constant speed using the Wave Speed control. This control doesn't require keyframes for
animation. Animate ripples at varying speeds by creating keyframes for the Ripple Phase control.
This effect works with 8-bpc and 16-bpc color.
Controls the distance the ripples travel from the center point. The Radius value is a percentage of the image
Radius
size. If the center of the ripple is the center of the layer and the radius is set to 100, the ripples travel to the edge of
the image. A value of 0 produces no ripples. Like ripples in water, ripples in the layer become smaller as they travel
farther from the center.
To create a single-wave ripple, set Radius to 100, Wave Width between 90 and 100, and Wave Height as desired.
Specifies the center of the effect.
Center Of Ripple
Specifies how the ripples are created. Asymmetric produces more realistic-looking ripples;
Type Of Conversion
asymmetric ripples include lateral motion and produce more distortion. Symmetric produces motion that travels
only outward from the center point; symmetric ripples produce less distortion.
Sets the speed at which the ripples travel outward from the center point. When you specify a wave
Wave Speed
speed, the ripples are automatically animated at a constant speed (without keyframes) across the time range. A
negative value makes the ripples move toward the center, and a value of 0 produces no movement. To vary wave
speed over time, set this control to 0, and then create a keyframe for the Ripple Phase property of the layer.
Specifies the distance, in pixels, between wave peaks. Higher values produce long, undulating ripples,
Wave Width
and low values produce many small ripples.
Specifies the height of the ripple wave. Taller waves produce greater distortion.
Wave Height
Specifies the point along the waveform at which a wave cycle begins. The default value of 0˚ starts the
Ripple Phase
wave at the midpoint of its downward slope; 90˚ starts it at the lowest point in the trough; 180˚ starts it at the
midpoint of the upward slope, and so on.
Smear effect
Using the Smear effect, you define an area within an image and then move that area to a new location, stretching, or
smearing, the surrounding part of the image with it. Use masks to define the area you want to distort.
This effect works with 8-bpc and 16-bpc color.
To use Smear, first create or import two masks: the source mask and the boundary mask. You can create masks on
the layer in After Effects or use masks created in Adobe Illustrator. To use a mask created in Illustrator, copy the mask
and paste it into a layer in After Effects. Masks must be closed to work with Smear; if a mask is an open trace, After
Effects closes it when you select it. Both masks must be on the same layer as the footage to which you apply the Smear
effect, although you can copy masks from another layer.
When you move the source mask within the image, Smear stretches the portion of the image inside the boundary
mask to follow the edges of the source mask. The boundary mask tries to protect the image outside it from being
stretched. Both the original position of the source mask (set in the Layer panel) and the offset position of the source
mask are displayed in the Composition panel. The first position of the source mask is indicated by a light red outline,
and the new position is indicated by a dark outline.