[Mike Clasby]

You could reverse this:

https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/1/855213

Or ask at the Cow Trapcode pasture.

https://forums.creativecow.net/viewforum/63

[Mike Clasby]

Can you duplicate the layer with the Layer Style, remove the layer styles, then set it to Cast Shadows: Only, so that it casts the shadow you want ?

[Mike Clasby]

Dan has three tuts under “Audio and Expressions” to use Convert Audio to keyframes to animate layers in AE.

https://www.motionscript.com/design-guide/toc.html

Trapcode’s SoundKeys is similar but on steroids, where you can pick out frequency ranges for animation reactions.

https://www.trapcode.com/products_soundkeys.html

I don’t know if you canget anymore precise… let me think on that, you can always ask over at the Cow AE Expressions page:

https://forums.creativecow.net/viewforum/227

Or write Dan an e-mail at his site (first link).

[Mike Clasby]

Try putting the styles on the text, precomping it, then make the precomp 3D. Just guessing here as I don’t have CS3.

[Mike Clasby]

Add Drop Shadow to that middle layer, the top Cheek (the one with Blobbylize) and it will look even better.

[Mike Clasby]

I didn’t read the original post close enough, I agree with ScottieH, I thought you’d be using BEAM instead of Lightning (Although you cn paste the mask shape in there too.

[Mike Clasby]

Yes, you can do what you want. CC Blobbylize and an animated mask for a teardrop.

It helps if the video footage you want inserted into the tear, and the comp that has the Cheek (Main Comp) are the same size.

In the Project window, drag the footage you want to be inserted into the tear, onto the Create Comp Button. Name the comp “Insert”, In that new comp, draw a mask (Pen Tool) on that video layer that will be the shape of the tear. MM reveals the mask properties, feather the mask.

Now, S reveals Scale for that layer, reduce the Scale until the tear drop is the size you want back in the main comp. And position it where you want the tear to start. Set a position keyframe and go down the timeline and change the Position to down where you want it to end. If you need to drop in the Cheek footage to see where you want it to flow, that’s fine, just be sure to turn that check layers eyeball off when you done with this comp.

So in this comp, you should have a teardrop shaped down-scaled video that flow down the screen against a black background (if you turned any Cheek layer’s eyeball off).

In the main comp, take you Cheek layer (the main footage, I presume), duplicate it (Ctrl D).

From the project window drag that comp with the tear, named “Insert”, into the main comp, on top of the two Cheek layers.

To the top Cheek layer, add CC Blobbylize, setting follow.

CC Blobbyize
Blobbyness>Blob Layer: Choose “Insert” (the teardrop masked layer)
Property: Alpha

Reduce the Opacity (T) of the Insert layer to somewhere between 40%-70%, so you can see the cheek underneath the teardrop (it will be warped by the edges of the tear, like it should). If you wan the teardrop to change shape a bit while flowing down, go back to the Insert comp and keyframe the Mask Shape (M reveals).

So it looks like this:

1 – Insert Comp Layer (in that comp, masked teardrop, scale down and positioned to flow down). Opacity reduced.
2 – Cheek (Blobbylize: Insert & Alpha)
3 – Cheek

[Mike Clasby]

Draw the path with the Pen Tool, a mask, then M reveals the Mask Shape, sek=lect then Copy the Mask Shape.

Now set a keyframe for the Starting Point or Ending Point of Beam, and Paste.

You can drag the first or last keyframes to make the animation along the pth longer or shorter.

[Mike Clasby]

Good.

[Mike Clasby]

Yep, they work for me too. I make so many mistakes I have to test them before I publish.