Transition effects

Third-party effects in this category included with After Effects:

• CC Glass Wipe effect

• CC Grid Wipe effect

• CC Image Wipe effect

• CC Jaws effect

• CC Light Wipe effect

• CC Line Sweep effect

• CC Radial ScaleWipe effect

• CC Scale Wipe effect

• CC Twister effect

• CC WarpoMatic effect

See Third-party plug-ins included with After Effects.

For an example of how to use animation presets to create custom transitions, see this entry in Stu Maschwitz’s ProLost blog. From this page, you can download the Film Burn animation preset, which adds film-like flicker to layers and adds a film burn transition to the ends of the durations of layers.

Chris Zwar provides an example project on his website that uses the Displacement Map effect, the Turbulent Displace effect, the Texturize effect, and a combination of Blur and Color Correction effects to create a transition in which an image appears as a watercolor image washed onto a rough piece of paper.

Dave Scotland provides a video tutorial on the CG Swot website that uses the Fractal Noise effect to create a transition between still images.

About Transition effects and the Transition Completion property

All Transition effects except the Iris Wipe effect have a Transition Completion property. When this property is 100%, the transition is complete, and the underlying layers show through; the layer to which the effect is applied is entirely transparent. You typically animate this property from 0% to 100% over the time of the transition.

Block Dissolve effect

The Block Dissolve effect makes a layer disappear in random blocks. The width and height of the blocks, in pixels, can be set independently. At Draft quality, the blocks are placed with pixel precision and have sharply defined edges; at Best quality, the blocks can be positioned with subpixel precision and have soft edges.

This effect works with 8-bpc and 16-bpc color.

Card Wipe effect

This effect simulates a group of cards displaying a picture and then flipping to display another picture. Card Wipe provides control over the number of rows and columns of cards, the flip direction, and the transition direction (including the ability to use a gradient to determine flip order). You can also control randomness and jitter to make the effect appear more realistic. By varying the rows and columns, you can also create venetian blind and Chinese lantern effects.

The Card Wipe effect shares many controls with the Card Dance effect.

This effect works with 8-bpc color.

Basic controls

The width of the area that actively changes from the original to the new image.

The layer that appears in segments on the backs of the cards. You can use any layer in the composition; its Video switch can even be turned off. If the layer has effects or masks, precompose the layer first.

Specifies the interaction of the numbers of rows and columns. Independent makes both the Rows and Columns sliders active. Columns Follows Rows makes only the Rows slider active. If you choose this option, the number of columns is always the same as the number of rows.

The number of rows, up to 1000.

The number of columns, up to 1000, unless Columns Follows Rows is selected.

The size of the cards. A value smaller than 1 scales the cards down, revealing the underlying layer in the gaps. A value greater than 1 scales the cards up, creating a blocky mosaic as they overlap each other.

The axis around which each card flips.

The direction in which the cards flip around their axes.

The direction in which the transition occurs. You can also use a gradient to define a custom flip order: Cards flip first where the gradient is black and last where the gradient is white.

The gradient layer to use for the Flip Order. You can use any layer in the composition.

Randomizes the timing of the transition. If this control is set to 0, the cards flip in order. The higher the value, the more random the order in which the cards flip.

Whether to use the effect’s Camera Position properties, the effect’s Corner Pins properties, or the default composition camera and light positions to render 3D images of the cards.

Camera Position controls

Rotate the camera around the corresponding axis. Use these controls to look at the cards from the top, side, back, or any other angle.

Where the camera is positioned in x,y space.

Where the camera is positioned along the z axis. Smaller numbers move the camera closer to the cards, and larger numbers move the camera away from the cards.

The distance from the camera to the image. Smaller numbers zoom in.

The order in which the camera rotates around its three axes, and whether the camera rotates before or after it’s positioned using the other Camera Position controls.

Corner Pins controls

Corner Pinning is an alternative camera control system. Use it as an aid for compositing the result of the effect into a scene on a flat surface that is tilted with respect to the frame.

Where to attach each of the corners of the layer.

Controls the perspective of the effect during the animation. If Auto Focal Length is unselected, the focal length you specify is used to find a camera position and orientation that place the corners of the layer at the corner pins, if possible. If not, the layer is replaced by its outline, drawn between the pins. If Auto Focal Length is selected, the focal length required to match the corner points is used, if possible. If not, it interpolates the correct value from nearby frames.

Overrides the other settings if the results you’ve obtained aren’t what you need. If you set the Focal Length to something that doesn’t correspond to what the focal length would be if the pins were actually in that configuration, the image may look unusual (strangely sheared, for example). But if you know the focal length that you are trying to match, this control is the easiest way to get correct results.

Jitter controls

Adding jitter (Position Jitter and Rotation Jitter) makes this transition more realistic. Jitter works on the cards before, during, and after the transition occurs. If you want the jitter to happen only during the transition, start with the Jitter Amount at 0, animate it up to the desired amount during the transition, and then animate it back down to 0 at the completion of the transition.

Specifies the amount and speed of jitter at the x, y, and z axes. X, Y, and Z Jitter Amount specify the amount of extraneous movement. The X, Y, and Z Jitter Speed values specify the speed of jitter for each Jitter Amount option.

Specifies the amount and speed of rotation jitter around the x, y, and z axes. X, Y, and Z Rotation Jitter Amount specify the amount of rotational jitter along an axis. A value of 90° makes it possible for a card to rotate up to 90° in either direction. The X, Y, and Z Rot Jitter Speed values specify the speed of rotational jitter.

Gradient Wipe effect

The Gradient Wipe effect causes pixels in the layer to become transparent based on the luminance values of corresponding pixels in another layer, called the gradient layer. Dark pixels in the gradient layer cause the corresponding pixels to become transparent at a lower Transition Completion value. For example, a simple grayscale gradient layer that goes from black on the left to white on the right causes the underlying layer to be revealed from left to right as Transition Completion increases.

This effect works with 8-bpc and 16-bpc color.

The gradient layer can be a still image or a moving image. The gradient layer must be in the same composition as the layer to which you apply Gradient Wipe.

You can create gradient layers in many ways, such as using the Ramp effect or creating them in Photoshop or Illustrator.

The degree to which the transition is gradual for each pixel. If this value is 0%, pixels in the layer to which the effect is applied are either completely opaque or completely transparent. If this value is greater than 0%, pixels are semitransparent at the intermediate stages of the transition.

How the pixels of the gradient layer are mapped to the pixels of the layer to which the effect is applied:

Uses multiple tiled copies of the gradient layer.

Uses a single instance of the gradient layer in the center of the layer.

Resizes the gradient layer horizontally and vertically to fit the entire area of the layer.

Inverts the influence of the gradient layer; lighter pixels in the gradient layer create transparency at a lower Transition Completion value than do darker pixels.

Iris Wipe effect

The Iris Wipe effect creates a radial transition that reveals an underlying layer. Specify the number of points used to create the iris using a range of 6 to 32 points, and specify whether an inner radius is used. If Use Inner Radius is selected, you can specify values for both Inner Radius and Outer Radius; the iris isn’t visible if Outer Radius, Inner Radius, or both are set to 0. The iris is roundest if both Outer Radius and Inner Radius are set to the same value.

The Iris Wipe effect is the only Transition effect that doesn’t have a Transition Completion property. To animate the Iris Wipe effect to expose the underlying layers, animate the Radius properties.

This effect works with 8-bpc and 16-bpc color. In After Effects CS6 or later, this effect works in 32-bit color.

Linear Wipe effect

The Linear Wipe effect performs a simple linear wipe of a layer in a specified direction. At Draft quality, the edge of the wipe isn’t anti-aliased; at Best quality, the edge of the wipe is anti-aliased and the feather is smooth.

The direction that the wipe travels. For example, at 90° the wipe travels from left to right.

This effect works with 8-bpc and 16-bpc color. In After Effects CS6 or later, this effect works in 32-bit color.

Radial Wipe effect

The Radial Wipe effect reveals an underlying layer using a wipe that circles around a specified point. At Best quality, the edges of the wipe are anti-aliased.

The angle at which the transition starts. With a start angle of 0°, the transition starts at the top.

Specifies whether the transition moves clockwise or counterclockwise, or alternates between the two.

This effect works with 8-bpc and 16-bpc color. In After Effects CS6 or later, this effect works in 32-bit color.

Venetian Blinds effect

The Venetian Blinds effect reveals an underlying layer using strips of specified direction and width. At Draft quality, the strips are animated with pixel precision; at Best quality, the strips are animated with subpixel precision.

This effect works with 8-bpc and 16-bpc color.