• Adobe After Effects

  Simplifying a pretty simple task – shape animation

  Posted by Adam Lewen on October 19, 2018 at 6:05 am

  Hi!
  Before I delve in to manual shape positioning and animation, I though asking here might shed light on a script/plugin of some sort.
  My goal is having long minutes of BG for a video. The BG has a couple of big rectangle shapes moving slowly in space. I DO NEED to be able and move them faster, every few seconds and “clear” space for the BLACK BG, and bring them back together and vice versa…
  The only thing I need control of is the COLOR and the timing of the “CLEAR SPACE” every now and then.
  I hope Im clear. I am attaching an example. (it’s a BG it has no context right now:)
  Thank you!

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  Adam Lewen replied 7 years, 9 months ago 2 Members · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Kalleheikki Kannisto

  October 19, 2018 at 6:28 pm

  Although a bit of an unorthodox use for the plugin, you could consider Trapcode Form. If you use sprites (particles that always face the camera) for your triangles, you can have them floating around automatically using an animated fractal field and then use a spherical field to either push or pull the triangles toward or away from a certain point.

  However, using a full particle system plugin is a bit of an overkill for a couple of triangles.

  If you’re into expressions, you can do a 2D custom implementation of the same idea with a bunch of shape layers, a null object and a slider. You can use the null object to indicate which area needs to be cleared and a slider to tell how far the shapes should be pushed away from that point. Then when “idle” (slider at 0) you can have the shapes “floating” around with a slow wiggle expressions for position and rotation.

  Kalleheikki Kannisto
  Senior Graphic Designer
• 

  Adam Lewen

  October 28, 2018 at 8:56 am

  Thank you so much for the reply Kalle!
  Due to time limitations, and some other limitations that came up during prepping the project, I have done some manual labor ☺
  But your thought and suggestions did open my mind and I might try them with similar tasks!
  So THANK YOU!

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