Hey everybody! First off, thank you so much for all of the amazing comments and kind words that have been pouring in, almost hourly over the last few months. We don’t get paid for the podcast or the blog, so the overwhelming kindness makes us want to keep going. I have some BIG news that I will be sharing soon about a massive new website I’m launching, and I’ve also got many other small projects in the works. I’m also developing training for several other companies (in addition to lynda.com), so I’ll keep you posted on how you can check them out as they get released. Todd and I are also working on an exciting new project together that we’ll share with you soon.I also directed a music video, and have been working on movies in various capacities. I’ll keep you posted on all of that as I can, as well.

One of my original podcasts taught people how to make 3D objects using the Shatter effect in After Effects. I had intended this tutorial for more advanced users, but as it turns out, it seems like users of all experience levels are digging the tip. That’s awesome! But one question that keeps coming up is how to stop the 3D object from shattering. I kept posting responses on youtube for this, but there are so many comments on the video that my advice kept getting pushed back in the list and eventually deleted! So, it finally hit me to create  a blog explaining the dealio.

First, we have to understand the Shatter effect a little bit. When you first apply the effect, you see a wireframe version of the layer, or rather, the pattern that Shatter will be using to blow up your layer. The default pattern is bricks.

There are also a bunch of blue lines that are CRITICAL to understanding what is really happening with Shatter. To understand these, we need to see them a little better. Open up the Camera Position category of properties, and take the Y Rotation value to -87 (that’s negative 87).

Now we can see what’s going on. That big blue sphere is known as the FORCE (insert cliché Star Wars joke here). Here is the key rule with Shatter: ONLY THINGS THAT TOUCH THE FORCE GET SHATTERED! We can reduce the size of the force using the Radius value in the Force parameters, and the Radius value is visually represented by the little cyan ring around the force. So, if you wanted to make a baseball going through a window, the default force size would be way too big. So, you could reduce the value of Force 1>Radius to make it smaller.

The DEPTH value in the Force 1 area controls the Z depth of the force. In other words, the Depth property controls how close/far away from the layer the force is. If I took the Depth value (in the Force 1 set of controls) to 0.5, then the force would never come into contact with the layer, and it would therefore never Shatter. So, to make 3D objects created in Shatter NOT blow up, adjust the depth value so that the force never touches the layer. To make a layer blow up later in time, simply animate the Depth value. (for more information on basic animation concepts like creating keyframes, consult the VERY USEFUL After Effects help documentation. Unfortunately, it’s not built into the program anymore, and you have to try and find it on the web, but it’s worth searching for).

P.S. WordPress isn’t allowing me to upload and embed images right now, so I’ll have to get back to you on the screenshots. Sorry!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 2:51 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.