After Effects Master Class: The 3D Camera Explained

Create a new 3D camera in After Effects using the top menu, by right-clicking the timeline, or with keyboard shortcuts, and open the camera settings window.

Explore the After Effects camera settings window, covering camera type and name, presets from 15 to 200 mm, zoom, film size, angle of view, and depth of field and focus.

Choose between the one node camera and two node cameras in the top section of the camera settings window, and rename or switch types by double-clicking.

Learn how the middle settings use presets from 15mm to 200mm to control zoom, angle of view, focal length, focus distance, aperture, and f-stop, and enable depth of field.

Explore bottom camera settings to adjust units, comp size, and film distance; measure film size horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, lock zoom, and control depth of field with aperture and presets.

Learn three methods to manipulate the 3d camera in after effects: double-click to edit camera settings, right-click for options like reset and focus, and use triangle switches for quick transforms.

Explore how the after effects 3d camera timeline settings use transform options and iris and highlight groups, including iris shape, rotation, roundness, aspect ratio, and highlight threshold and saturation.

explore depth of field in after effects, examining how zoom, focus distance, aperture, and blur level shape focus and blur, while noting that enabling it increases render time.

Explore how to view the camera's perspective using the select view layout and 3D view options, with multiple horizontal, vertical, and custom bird's-eye layouts to tailor your animation workflow.

Explore the After Effects camera tools to navigate three-dimensional space with orbit, track x-y, and track z. Understand how the unified camera tool enables all functions with different mouse setups.

Explore how to edit a 3D camera motion path in After Effects, adjusting X, Y, Z keyframes and bezier handles to create organic arcs and dynamic looks.

Learn to animate a 3-D camera in After Effects by setting keyframes on transform properties, point of interest, position, orientation, and rotation, and understand two-node versus one-node camera behavior.

Attach a 3D null to your camera to separate movement from rotation, created via layer camera create orbit null or by adding a new 3D null.

Learn to rove across time in after effects to keep a 3-D camera speed constant across keyframes. Select keyframes and apply rove across time to maintain even motion.

Master layer ordering in After Effects by understanding how z position determines front-to-back stacking; group 2D and 3D layers to avoid breaking depth relationships.

Select active camera to view through the current lens in a 3-D view, and manage multiple cameras by stacking them in the Active-X timeline to switch cuts.

Pre-compose 3D layers to clean up your timeline and selectively apply effects, then enable collapse transformations to preserve 3D positions and allow interaction with outside layers.

Fixes boomerang effect in After Effects by adjusting spatial interpolation from auto bezier to linear. Apply easy ease or use convert vertex tool on keyframes for smoother 3-D camera motion.

Separate position dimensions in After Effects to control the X, Y, and Z attributes independently for the 3D camera and 3D layers, enabling separate animation and keyframes.

Explore how the wiggle expression in After Effects enables a handheld camera look by applying wiggle to the camera position, controlling frequency and amplitude without keyframes.

Create a 3d video from at least five photos of family and friends, combining text and photos, applying depth of field, and using a null to control a camera movement.