[Mike Clasby]

Methinks you can do it with displacement maps to get the wavy look, then decrease the Opacity to get them to dissapear. If the displacement map is right they will disperse nicely.

Displaccement maps can be a bit tricky, but Aharon has three tuts on them, just click his head at the top of the main AE page and scroll down.

[Mike Clasby]

Here you go:

https://library.creativecow.net/articles/oconnell_pete/roto.php

[Mike Clasby]

A quick way would be to make layer 1 the Parent of Layer 2. Then layer 2 will move from it’s original position but will move relative or mimicing the Parent’s movement.

[Mike Clasby]

Turn off the eyeballs of the layers you don’t want in the render, so that what you see on the screen is what you want, the black background being an alpha or transparent.

“Ctrl M”, brings up the Render Que (don’t use, File>Export, its too limited), then double click the Codec shown for “Output Module” (in blue, Lossless is the usual default), this brings up the Output Module Settings.

Select a Codec, Format>Quicktime Movie, (Animation is a good one, its lossless). Video Format>Output Options to choose “Animation”. Then in that box for “Compressor” choose “Millions of Colors+ “.

That + is the important thing, it means you’ll have Alpha. No +, no Alpha.

Now the Depth box should say millions of colors+, and when you render you’re good.

Several Codecs support Million of Colors+, png, Targa, more, so you don’t have to use the Animation Codec, you just need that +.

[Mike Clasby]

When you do Ctrl N or Composition>New Comp, you get a Composition Dialogue Box, and you can change the Duration there to make the comp nay length you want.

If you have an existing comp you want to change, Ctrk K or Comp>Comp Settings brings up that same box.

If you have clips that are longer, and as long as you want the comp to be, drag them from the project Window onto the “Create a New Composition” button, at the bottom of the Project Window, between the little folder and the little garbage can.

You can also Import Premiere Projects and the comp will be as long as that Premiere Project.

[Mike Clasby]

I assume your wiggling the position, no? How big is the wiggle? Is it wiggling off the screen momentarily?

[Mike Clasby]

In the newest version, CS3, no problem, methinks, look for a preset in the help files, like this one;

https://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/AfterEffects/8.0/help.html?content=WS659A8F62-2B68-41b0-B6E9-9D85E09B331C.html

Or in the older versions, put each letter on it’s own layer, make it 3D then animate the Y rotation.

In case you talking lots of text, here is a handy script for converting text to individual letters:

crg_Text_from_File.jsx

https://www.crgreen.com/aescripts/ie/

just drop the jsx file into your scripts folder, fire up AE, then File>Run Script>Text to File and follow the instructions.

Or…

Make the text, add the Effect Card Dance, a little trick to space it right, then animate the y axis.

[Mike Clasby]

Assuming the illustrator file has an alpha and is the shape of the elevator (the shape you want to mask), put the Illustrator file above the pattern file, then on the pattern file set the TrkMat (Track Matte) to Alpha (in the Modes Column).

[Mike Clasby]

“Is it somehow possible to move layers a certain number of frames also in AE?”

Well, not that I know of, but there are keyboard shortcuts to move layer backwards or forwards in the timeline quickly.

Alt-Page Down, moves the layer 1 frame to the right (later).
Alt-Page Up, moves the layer 1 frame to the left (earlier).

To make it ten frames at a time, hold down Shift along with Alt-Page Up/Down.

So 34 frames to the right is:

Alt Shift Page Down, three times…
Alt Shift page Down, four times…
Pretty fast really.

Works on all selected layers.

[Mike Clasby]

Can you apply Alpha Matte?