Trapcode Shine: Write it with Light

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A CreativeCOW Trapcode Shine Tutorial

Mark Simpson, President, JAM Digital, California, USA

Article Focus: Mark Simpson has written this tutorial in response to the many requests (mostly by one very persistent guy :) for info on a sample movie he posted in the Trapcode Forum using Shine in After Effects. This tutorial was done in AE4.1 using Filters from the Cult Effects Collection and the new Trapcode Plug-in Shine. Here's the rundown of how Mark creates the effect.

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Project file

Download Stuffit Expander for Windows

For this Project you will need the "Cult Effects" Plug-ins or Equivalent For this Project you will need Adobe After Effects 4.1 or Later For this Project you will need the Trapcode "Shine" Plug-in Creating the Text Effect First Create a new Project and then create a new composition 1000 x 1000, 5 seconds long. Create a solid, 720 x 486, and apply the "Basic Text" filter (Effects>Basic Text) to it. Create some text. Then apply the Cult Effects "Roughen Edges" (Effects>Cult Effects>CE_Roughen Edges) filter to it. Set the time to 00:00 and adjust the filters parameters as shown in the screenshot below. Set a keyframe (click on the word evolution while holding down the "alt" key is the easiest way to do this) for the "Evolution" setting (should be at "0"). Move ahead to 1 second and set a keyframe for "Edge Sharpness". Move ahead to 2 seconds, and set a keyframe for "Border" and another for "Scale" Move ahead to about 03:25 and change the "Edge Sharpness" setting to 0.3, creating a new keyframe in the process for each. Move ahead to 4 seconds and change the "Border" setting to "0", and the "Evolution" setting to "-1" (or -360 degrees), creating a new keyframe in the process for each. Create a new solid and then apply the "Cult Effects CE_Paint" (Effects>Cult Effects>CE_Paint) filter to it. (In AE 5, the effect is Vector Paint). Using a brush of sufficient size, Paint on the layer so as to cover the text on the layer underneath (see paint instructions to learn how to do this). Then, set "Playback mode" to "Animate Strokes" and "Composite Paint" to "As inverse Matte". Preview your animation, and you should see your text being revealed over time as if it's being written onto the screen. Adjust the CE_Paint "Playback Speed" to get the desired timing for your animation. Precompose the layers and name the new precomp something meaningful like "Text/Paint Comp". Creating the Plasma Ring Effect Create a new Composition 1500 x 1500, 5 seconds in length. (If you don't have the Cult Effects plug-ins, download the CE Circle Fake It Project here.) Create a solid, same size as comp, and apply Cult Effects "CE_Circle" (Effects>Cult Effects>CE_Circle) to it. At 02:15 create a keyframe for the circle radius with it set to "0". Set the Edge Pop up menu to "Thickness and Feather". Set the "Feather Outer Edge" to "0" and the "Feather Inner Edge" to "25". Set the "Thickness" to "20" and the "Transfer Mode" to "None". Move ahead to 5 seconds, and change the "Radius" Parameter to "1000", creating a new keyframe in the process. Create a second solid and apply the "CE_Noise Turbulent II" (Effects>Cult Effects>CE_Noise Turbulent II) to it. Adjust it's parameters as shown in the screenshot below. With the time at 00:00, set the "Evolution" setting to "-180" and create a keyframe for it. Move ahead to 5 seconds and change the "Evolution" parameter to "-1" or (-360 degrees), creating a new keyframe in the process. Precompose the two layers and call the resulting composition something meaningful like "Turbulent Circle Comp". Create a new Composition, 1000 x 1000, 5 seconds in length, and name it something meaningful like "Circle + 3D Comp", drag the "Turbulent Circle Comp" into it, and apply the "Basic 3D" filter (Effect>Perspective>Basic 3D). Adjust the Parameters as shown in the screenshot below. Preview the composition. You should now have a plasma ring that looks something like this: Bringing it all Together Create a new Composition, 1200 x 1200, 5 seconds in length, and drag the "Circle + 3D Comp" into it, and apply the "Shine" Filter to it. Adjust the filter parameters as shown in the screenshot below: Move the time ahead to "02:15" and create keyframes for Shines "Source Point" and "Phase". Move ahead to 5 seconds and change the "Source Point" parameter to "660, 400", and the phase to "1x" (or 360 degrees), creating new keyframes for each in the process. Drag the "Text/Paint Comp" into the composition, and apply the "Basic 3D" Filter (Effect>Perspective>Basic 3D), "Shine" (Effect>Trapcode>Shine) Filter, and the (freely Downloadable) "Unmult" (Effects>Knoll>Unmult). Adjust the filter parameters as shown in the screenshot below: Move back to "00:07" and create a keyframe for Shine "Ray Length" Move ahead to 5 seconds and change the Shine "Ray length" to "0", creating a new keyframe in the process. Finishing Up Create a new composition 720 x 486, 5 seconds in length, and name it something meaningful like "Main Comp". Render your movie out, and that's all there is. Hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the Creative Cow Trapcode Forum. --Mark Simpson Would you like to know more about Mark and see other articles written by him? Click here.

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