Brightness of Objects Not Affected By Proximity to Light

[Eric Steinberg]

I have one suggestion, but not sure if it will work in your particular situation:

1. Duplicate the layer you want to move away from the light, and parent it to the original layer.
2. Make the duplicate black, either by using the “Fill” effect, or replacing it with a black solid with the same dimensions, or whatever other way you can come up with.
3. Make sure the duplicate layer is between the light and the original layer, so it covers it. You might have to move it one pixel closer to the light. Set the opacity to 0 (zero).
4. Make sure the anchor point of the original layer is set to 0 (zero) when you start, and animate the anchor point instead of the position. But before you start animating the anchor point:
5. Create an expression by using the pick whip: Drag the pick whip from the duplicate’s opacity to the original layers anchor point z-value. At the end of the text string type in: “/-50”. You’ll have to experiment with this number to get the desired result. -10 will turn your original layer black in a short distance, and -100 will make it go black in a longer distance.

Like I said, this may not work in your particular scenario. I’m sure there is a more advanced expression that can do what you want, but somebody smarter than me will have to help you with that. Anyway, I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Eric

[Chris Vanartsdalen]

Thanks Eric! Unfortunately I was hoping to fly past my objects with a camera, so I’m not sure if adjusting the anchor point z-value will work. But that’s a smart suggestion and I’ll keep it in mind!

Chris

[Chris Vanartsdalen]

** Also, I was planning to attach the light to the camera.

Chris