#How to use cs6 after effects how to
#How to use cs6 after effects upgrade

As explained later in the chapter, the resulting cache remains available even if the project is reopened at a later time on the same system. This happens automatically when you preview the master sequence containing the precomp in question, but you can also select the precomp in the Project panel or open its timeline and choose Composition > Cache Work Area in Background to make After Effects immediately pre-render it in the background. One reward for making effective use of precomping is the ability to then save the entire precomp to the disk cache for immediate playback. As you read through this, think about the advantages of considering an element finished, even if only for the time being. Many After Effects artists are already comfortable with the idea of precomping but miss that last point.

Specify an element or set of layers as completed (and even pre-render them, as discussed later in this chapter).

Organize a project by grouping interrelated elements.

For example, masks are always applied before effects in a given layer, but a precomp can contain an effect so that the mask in the master comp follows that effect in the render order. Precomping prevents a composition from containing too many layers to manage in one timeline, but it also lets you do the following: Two options appear (the second option is grayed out if multiple layers have been selected): to leave attributes (effects, transforms, masks, paint, blending modes) in place, or transfer them into the new composition. Typically, precomping is done by selecting the layers of a composition that can sensibly be grouped together, and choosing Precompose from the Layer menu ( Ctrl+Shift+C/ Cmd+Shift+C). In a visual effects context, however, if your main composition has more than 20 or so layers, youвЂ™re not precomping effectively, making work way less efficient overall.

Motion graphics comps can involve the animation and coordination of hundreds of animated elements. Yet precomping is both an effective way to organize the timeline and a key to problem solving and optimization in After Effects. Artists may sometimes let a composition become unwieldy, with dozens of layers, rather than bite the bullet and send a set of those layers into a precomp. Precomping is often regarded as the major downside of working in After Effects, because vital information is hidden from the current compвЂ™s timeline in a nested comp. Closely related to this is composition nesting, the act of placing one already created composition inside of another. Precomping is the action of selecting a set of layers in a master composition and assigning it to a new subcomp, which becomes a layer in the master comp. These tips are especially useful if youвЂ™re someone who understands compositing but sometimes finds After Effects disorienting. shortcuts to help maintain orientation within the project as a whole.

#How to use cs6 after effects how to

how to keep a complex, multiple-composition pipeline organized.

how and why to work with some kind of project template.

ItвЂ™s easy to lose track of stuff when projects get complicated. It does, however, cut down on a good deal of redundancy on the After Effects side of the equation, leaving it up to you to avoid the possibility of PEBKAC (Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair). This addition doesnвЂ™t obviate the need for a solid understanding of how to work with multiple compositions and when to precomp, nor for specific strategies to optimize render time.

#How to use cs6 after effects upgrade

This chapter helps you both artistically and technically (as if itвЂ™s possible to separate the two).ДЄfter Effects CS6 received the most substantial performance increase of any single upgrade thanks to Global Performance Cache, a scheme to preserve more individual render data indefinitely, not just when itвЂ™s buffered into the RAM cache. At other times, youвЂ™re more like a programmer, isolating and debugging elements of a project, even creating controlled tests to figure out how things are working. Sometimes you take the attitude of a master chef-you know what can be prepped and considered вЂњdoneвЂќ before the guests are in the restaurant and itвЂ™s time to cook the meal. Build a system that even a fool can use and only a fool will want to use it.