The Wiggle Expression in AfterEffects

An expression is just a piece of Javascript code that you can insert into the properties of shapes, texts, and media. A script will tell the application to do something, but an expression will inform the individual property of a layer when instructing the property, like scale, opacity etc., to wiggle within the set parameters. This is much faster than continually animating the media back and forth.

I watched a tutorial in which the animator had an end card on a commercial with a visible parallax between the foreground and the mountains he included. He also added a "3D push in". 

First, select the layer you want to animate. Then hit p to open up the position transform properties. 

Then hit option on Mac and click on the stopwatch to create the expression. Then TYPE: wiggle (frequency# USING 2 ,amplitude# USING 50).

This expression reads as wiggling 50 pixels twice a second. 

I used a png from work- we make social media posts for ESPN's Armed Forces Bowl. I also added a simple blur "loop" to spice it up.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More Text Preset Features

1. A nice way to easily present text in a clean fashion is the "Fade Up Character" preset. I like this one because it looks more professional and minimal, which means I can even use this effect on projects that do not accept a lot of extra frills.  2. Next up is Wheatfield, which is a much more organic looking present. This is a nice tool not to fade in or fade out but to add a peaceful element to a project that includes slower music etc. I would describe it as "slinky". 3. The “Slow Fade on Preset” is from the 3D reveal folder. It’s a great way to create a really dramatic reveal, possibly with music in the background. 4. Next is “Blur by Word”, and I honestly am sad I didn’t know about this earlier. I was using the usual gaussian blur effect and applying it to my text for a project and adjusting it with keyframes. It’s true that the more you know, the faster you can work. 5. Lastly, my final effect I am exploring is Typewriter. I have actually learned this one befo...
Read more

Making a Crash Zoom Effect with AfterEffects

 Here is the original tutorial I based this post on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb2UiX3Ws3Q&list=PLiHybYpWvASFukxYOlSw9DdmFxquaLT3z&index=7 If you were doing some basic product shots and wanted to add some movement, more specifically a transition with a little more action than just a standard cut zoom in. This is a basic "cheat" effect from using your actual camera lens. I am just using one stock footage clip of Pexels, so I will have to adjust accordingly for the tutorial.  I aligned one cropped/zoomed in version of the clip perfectly over the full clip. I then put the close up layer underneath the wide shot.  Now, I am animating the crash zoom.  I will be doing this by creating a null object and naming it Crash Zoom.  I turned off the visibility of the closeup so I could just focus on the null object and then I zoomed in my close up shot/changed the scale with keyframes. Now, to make it more interesting I am using the speed graph to give it a...
Read more

Using Masks In AfterEffects

Image
 Today I will be learning how to put either text, a logo, or whatever graphics I wish behind a mask to animate them using AfterEffects. When I am using just text, all I need to do is use the CMD/SHIFT/N shortcut to create a perfect mask around my text. You can use the Text > Animate tool specifically for text and have a variety of effects that follow. It is very important that I use the Animate button from the text menu, because if I simply use position, the mask will move with it- doing no desired effect. Once I have the Animator 1 drop down menu added, I select it and then alter it with the position tool underneath it. You can use keyframes to have it move in any direction you desire.  When animating a logo, you can create a new shape layer to start out. Select the rectangle tool over it and put it directly over the logo. When I click on my logo again, I have to make sure it is below my shape layer on my timeline. I then select toggle switches in modes, which pulls up my ...
Read more