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Activity Forums Adobe After Effects Lined Timeline Effect

  • Lined Timeline Effect

    Posted by Justin Sims on September 24, 2013 at 2:18 pm

    I wasn’t exactly sure how to explain what I’m looking to create. My client wants a timeline effect similar to the one used on the side of Apple’s Time Machine. Here is the video he sent me showing the effect:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=h3osFFNulAQ#t=94

    I’m creating a timeline of events and that’s the type of timeline he wants across the bottom. I’m still a little new to expressions and I assume that will be the way to go. Basically I want the main line at the time to move vertically, change color and even scale a tiny amount. Then I want the others on the sides of it to stair-step up/down.

    It would be great if there was a way to make it work as text works. I feel the animation controls with the offset would be great for something like this.

    Any insight would be great. I attempted to search for something, but I didn’t exactly know what to call it.

    Justin Sims replied 12 years, 7 months ago 2 Members · 4 Replies
  • 4 Replies
  • Ridley Walker

    September 24, 2013 at 8:38 pm

    I’ve put together a sample file with a controller for Z offset and opacity offset, if this is what you need help with.

    You can download the aep file here:

    6555_offset.aep.zip

  • Justin Sims

    September 25, 2013 at 11:34 am

    Well, thank you. This is pretty cool, but my question was more about the literally timeline that was to the side of the screen. I already have a display for the images created and want a timeline to go with it.

    I now realize the YouTube video I placed into my original post didn’t actually keep the time I wanted the video to start at. If you look at the video starting around the 1:30 mark, you’ll see the timeline at the side of the screen and the effect I want to achieve.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3osFFNulAQ&feature=player_embedded#t=92

    Regardless, thank you for your assistance. That was an effect I thought about attempting, but decided to go a different route. I do like your solution to it as well.

  • Ridley Walker

    September 26, 2013 at 11:39 pm

    More like this?

    TL Mock

    Here’s the file:

    6566_tlmockup.aep.zip

  • Justin Sims

    September 27, 2013 at 11:29 am

    Yes. That’s more of the effect I was looking for. After your last message, I basically came up with this same idea. I used a lowercase “L” in a sans-serif font. Instead of having a light in my comp, I made the animator effect both scale and color, so I went from a light grey to a white that and and set the animator shape to Triangle.

    Thank you very much for your reply.

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