Adobe 65008009 - After Effects CS4 Using Manual page 558

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Last updated 12/21/2009 USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Effects and animation presets
Drop Shadow effect
The Drop Shadow effect adds a shadow that appears behind the layer. The alpha channel of the layer determines the
shape of the shadow.
When you add a drop shadow to a layer, a soft-edged outline of the alpha channel of the layer appears behind it, as if
a shadow is cast on the background or underlying objects.
Drop Shadow can create a shadow outside the bounds of the layer. The quality setting of the layer affects the subpixel
positioning of the shadow and the smoothness of the soft edges of the shadow.
For some purposes, the Drop Shadow layer style is preferable to the Drop Shadow effect. (See "Layer styles" on
page 177.)
This effect works with 8-bpc and 16-bpc color.
Original (left), and with effect applied (right)
To render the shadow without the image, select Shadow Only.
Note: To apply a drop shadow to a layer that rotates, rotate the layer using the Transform effect and then apply the Drop
Shadow effect. You can also use nesting, precomposing, or an adjustment layer to achieve this result. If you don't use one
of these methods, the shadow rotates with the layer.
Radial Shadow effect
The Radial Shadow effect creates a shadow from a point light source over the layer it's applied to, rather than from an
infinite light source (as with the Drop Shadow effect). The shadow is cast from the alpha channel of the source layer,
allowing the color of that layer to influence the color of the shadow as light passes through semitransparent areas. You
can use this effect to make a 3D layer appear to cast a shadow onto a 2D layer.
This effect works with 8-bpc color.
Original (left), and with effect applied (right)
The color of the shadow.
Shadow Color
Note: The colors of the layer may override this option if you choose Glass Edges from the Render control menu. See the
Render and Color Influence controls for more information.
The opacity of the shadow.
Opacity
The location of the point light source.
Light Source