[Mike Clasby]

Are you making the mask in one layer and pasting to another? If so and they are different sizes or aspect ratio you’ll have problems. You should be able to copy the mask (not shape ) to the new layer, double click any point on the mask to get a transform box and re-size that way (Shift and Ctrl, I think, give proportional resizing as you drag). If you set mask to none you can see everything fine. Then copy/paste that mask shape on the same layer to the write-on position.

Otherwise try Stroke, it will climb onto the mask.

[Mike Clasby]

IF you have the pro version, Keylight is a separate install from the disk and is excellent.

[Mike Clasby]

Are you using Advanced Lightning? If so click the little “Composite On Original” box at the bottom of the plugin parameters.

[Mike Clasby]

I think you’d be best tying either Amplitude or Frequency of the wiggle to a slider, then keyframing the slider. Zero as a keyframes kills the wiggle dead, a positive value down the line builds to the wiggle gradually. Hold keyfraems make for an abrupt start/stop for wiggle.

In case you don’t know how:

wiggle (5,20)

highlight (select) the 5, then pickwhip to a slider stopwatch(Effect>Expression Controls>Slider Control) and you have an expression like this:

wiggle (effect(“Slider Control”)(“Slider”),20)

Setting keyframes with the slider now puts you in complete control.

[Mike Clasby]

Always a good idea.

[Mike Clasby]

File>Project Settings, then click the “Frames” radio button.

[Mike Clasby]

I think the easiest is to just Time Stretch that layer 300%, then each image will be three frames long.

Select the layer, Layer>Time Stretch, or double click those two Little back to back triangles at the bottom of the timeline.

[Mike Clasby]

I can’t getColin’s to work, love Dan’s.

Here is an old style if/else, it needs hold keyframes:

First you need a Null named “control”. Add a Slider to the Null. Add this expression to Opacity:

n = thisComp.layer(“Null 1”).effect(“Slider Control”)(“Slider”);
if (n==1) {
10
} else if (n==2) {
25
} else if (n==3) {
50
} else if (n==4) {
100
} else {
0
}

[Mike Clasby]

No expressions involved, but the old method was to duplicate the layer, rotate it and Corner pin. You could position that on the floor layer and parent it too it.

This makes a reflection, to turn it into a shadow, add Drop Shadow/Radial Shadow (with Shadow Only checked).

There are alignment problems with both, manually adjust.

[Mike Clasby]

The only thing I can think of would be to try and track the animating scribble, the leading edge. You might have to do some of it manually. If you can track it you could use the track point to position the pen point.