[Mike Derk]

If you want it to stay in the same place on the screen, you can:

1. Save Frame As… > Photoshop File
2. Go to Photoshop and cut the object out. Save the image.
3. Import that file back into AE and place it over your footage. It’ll just sit there.

Or, you can do the same thing in AE by duplicating your footage, freezing the top layer on the frame you want, and mask out everything but the object.

If I’m misunderstanding you, and you want it to stay put on the ground, I advise you to invoke Newton’s First Law: things in motion tend to stay in motion; things at rest tend to stay at rest.

If I’m misunderstanding you in a different way, then I probably don’t have the expertise to help.

Mike

[Mike Derk]

The actual camera, or the AE camera?

[Mike Derk]

I suppose I should add that the reason the original eyes were in the “right” place is that I used a “same frame as…” to get a reference.

And I have CS3.

And, I read about rotoscoping in the “click here first” and didn’t find the answer to my question.

[Mike Derk]

[moldyboot] “if you want a jacuzzi with jets, get ready for particle systems… another good learning experience ;-)”

Exactly why I chose a jacuzzi! The perfect kind of noobie torture.

[Mike Derk]

You rock. Not only did you help with with Wave World, but I used Caustics today and it all went right the very first time. Thank you for taking the time to explain this so well. I had a feeling attacking Caustics was going to be a good way to learn a lot about the inner workings (the philosophy?) of After Effects.

I was able to build a pool, a pool bottom, a sky, and a pool surface that rippled and reflected it all perfectly. It had a mask, things were nested and pre-composed.

Now, if I really had guts, I’d try to build a jacuzzi with the jets turned on!

But, I think I’ll let that wait for now…

So, thanks again, and to Aharon and Andrew for their tutorials.

Mike

[Mike Derk]

Thank you! I finally got it to work.

(Even so, there’s a shorthand I’m not familiar with yet… precomp the Wave World layer… does that have the image on it, or is it a solid? Anyway, that’s one of the things that makes AE have a steep learning curve at the beginning… That, and I swear I did this exact thing over the weekend without sucess…)

I’m off to try caustics tomorrow.

Mike

[Mike Derk]

Well, let me be a bit more clear. I AM playing — that’s how I ended up trying to apply “Caustics” to an image. But nothing happened. Now I’m trying to use Water World, and while I can generate the waves, I can’t get them to distort anything.

I don’t know if I’m misusing the pre-comp, the Displacement Effect, or if the layers are simply in the wrong order. The Help has been unhelpful. Aharon’s tutorials, which I’ve been watching since before I got AE CS3, are fantastic, but they aren’t helping me here, and I don’t know where to turn.

I’d rather not come here and be a burden with every question I have, especially when there might be a resource that has the answers.

(I’m sorry is this is coming off as snarky. I’m feeling snarky, but it has nothing to do with you, or this. It has to do with my DSL, so sorry if it’s bleeding over.)

Mike

[Mike Derk]

Thanks for the follow-up.

[Mike Derk]

I read the description of the plugins effects, but can’t figure out what it would be used for. Do you have an example you can rattle off?

Thanks

[Mike Derk]

Thanks, and thank you for giving me a good search string. Knowing what to look for is half the battle.

Mike