From the book
Using 3D lights
The composition is looking good so far. Adding lighting will give the scene depth and make it more dramatic.
Creating a light layer
In After Effects, a light is a type of layer that shines light on other layers. You can choose from among four different types of lights—Parallel, Spot, Point, and Ambient—and modify them with various settings. Lights, by default, point to a point of interest, just as camera layers do.
- Press the Home key, or move the current-time indicator to the beginning of the time ruler.
- Choose Layer > New > Light.
- In the Light Settings dialog box, do the following:
- Name the layer Spotlight.
- Choose Spot from the Light Type menu.
- Set Intensity to 100% and Cone Angle to 90°.
- Set Cone Feather to 50%, and set the Color to a light yellow (255, 255, 230).
- Select the Casts Shadows option.
- Make sure Shadow Darkness is set to 100%, and set Shadow Diffusion to 20 pixels.
- Click OK to create the light layer.
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The light layer is represented by a light bulb icon (
) in the Timeline panel, and the point of interest appears in the Composition panel as a cross-hair icon (
).
Positioning the spotlight
The point of interest for this light is pointed at the center of the scene, which just happens to be where the 3D book is located, so you don’t need to adjust it. You only need to change the light position. Simply dragging the axes in the Composition panel would cause the light’s point of interest to move, however, so you’ll change the light layer’s position in the Timeline panel instead.
- In the Composition panel, choose 2 Views – Horizontal from the Select View Layout pop-up menu. Then click the left view to make it active, and choose Top from the 3D View pop-up menu. (The right view should be Active Camera.)
Go to 5:00 in the Timeline panel.
The light will appear throughout the composition, but by working at 5:00, you can see how repositioning the light affects other objects in the scene.
- Select the Spotlight layer in the Timeline panel, and press P to display its Position property.
- While watching the Top and Active Camera views in the Composition panel, drag the Position property y-axis value (the middle value) to the left in the Timeline panel until the light cone is at -105, high above the composition.
- Change the Position property’s x-axis value to -102 and its z-axis value to -208. Moving the light to a negative value on the z axis moves the light back in 3D space.
- Hide the Position property for the Spotlight layer in the Timeline panel.
- Choose 1 View from the Select View Layout pop-up menu at the bottom of the Composition panel, and make sure Active Camera is selected in the 3D View pop-up menu.
- Press F2 to deselect all layers in the Timeline panel, press the Home key, and then press the spacebar to preview the lighted animation. Press the spacebar again to end the preview. Then choose File > Save to save your work.
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Adding an ambient light
The shadows are a little harsh, so you’ll add ambient light to lighten the scene.
- Choose Layer > New > Light.
- In the Light Settings dialog box, do the following:
- Name the light Ambient Light.
- Choose Ambient from the Light Type menu.
- Set Intensity to 50%.
- Change the Color to a light blue (174, 195, 254).
- Click OK to create the light layer.
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Animating lights
Light doesn’t need to be steady. You’ll animate the spotlight so that it flickers on over a second, and then fade in the ambient light over 15 frames.
- Go to 3:15.
- Select the Ambient Light layer in the Timeline panel, and press the T key to display the Light Intensity property for the layer.
- Click the stopwatch icon next to the Intensity property to set a keyframe.
- Go to 3:00, and change the Intensity to 0%.
- Press T to hide the Intensity property.
- Select the Spotlight layer in the Timeline panel, and press the T key to display the Light Intensity property.
- Go to 3:15, and click the stopwatch icon for the Intensity property to set a keyframe.
- Go to 3:00, and change the Intensity value to 0%.
- Set additional Intensity keyframes for the Spotlight layer as follows:
- At 2:28, 100%
- At 2:26, 0%
- At 2:24, 100%
- At 2:21, 0%
- At 2:18, 100%
- At 2:15, 0%
- Press T to hide the Intensity property.
- Press the Home key, or move the current-time indicator to the beginning of the time ruler. Press F2 to deselect all layers. Then press the spacebar to preview the composition.
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With the lights off at the beginning of the composition, the book is backlit by the Ramp effect in the Backdrop layer, making for a dramatic opening shot.