In this lesson, you’ll create a short ad for a tourism company. You’ll begin by importing the footage and tracking it with the 3D Camera Tracker effect. Then you’ll add 3D text elements that track precisely with the scene. You’ll add images using similar techniques. Finally, you’ll use an effect to quickly add more character to the scene.
First, you’ll preview the final movie and set up your project.
- Make sure the following files are in the Lessons/Lesson13 folder on your hard disk, or download them from peachpit.com now:
• In the Assets folder: BlueCrabLogo.psd, Quote1.psd, Quote2.psd, Quote3.psd, Shoreline.mov
• In the Sample_Movie folder: Lesson13.mp4 - Open and play the Lesson13.mp4 sample movie in Windows Movies & TV or QuickTime Player to see what you will create in this lesson. When you are done, close Windows Movies & TV or QuickTime Player. You may delete the sample movie from your hard disk if you have limited storage space.
When you begin this lesson, restore the default application settings for After Effects. See “Restoring default preferences” on page 3. - Start After Effects, and then immediately hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift (macOS). In the Startup Repair Options dialog box, click Reset Preferences. Click New Project in the Home window.
After Effects opens to display an empty, untitled project. - Choose File > Save As > Save As.
- In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the Lessons/Lesson13/Finished_Project folder.
- Name the project Lesson13_Finished.aep, and then click Save.
Importing the footage
You’ll import five assets for this lesson.
- Choose File > Import > File.
- Navigate to the Lessons/Lesson13/Assets folder. Shift-click to select the Quote1.psd, Quote2.psd, Quote3.psd, and Shoreline.mov files, and then click Import or Open.
- Double-click an empty area in the Project panel to open the Import File dialog box again.
- Select the BlueCrabLogo.psd file, and click Import or Open.
- In the BlueCrabLogo.psd dialog box, select Merged Layers, and then click OK.