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ryan_calixto
Participating Frequently
June 12, 2018
Question

Camera movement with 3D layers HELP

  • June 12, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 2465 views

PLEASE HELP! I am making a lyric music video for school. So I created a precomp for every verse in my song and in the precomp is a text layer for each word. I've added a few preset animations like "slide in by word" to make the video more kinetic. When I convert the precomp layer to a 3D layer and add the camera everything is fine. The problem occurs when I try to move the camera in to one of the verses. Instead of zooming into the lyrics, when i move the camera, it also moves my text layer with it. I am never able to center the lyrics in front of the camera. HOW DO I FIX PLEASE?!

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1 reply

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David Arbor
Inspiring
June 12, 2018

If you're just moving your camera then your text precomps aren't moving, the camera is moving around in 3D space. There are a lot of questions here, such as:

Are you using a one-node or two-node camera?

If you're using a two-node camera are you animating your Point of Interest as well as your camera's position?

It sounds like you need do go back to the basics on how to use the camera. Evan Abrams has a 10 minute tutorial to get you started: Learn to Better use the Camera in Adobe After Effects - YouTube

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ryan_calixtoAuthor
Participating Frequently
June 12, 2018

Those are great questions that I’m actually unsure about. If it helps this is the video that I am following

How To Make A Lyric Video In After Effects - YouTube

At around 4:35 he adds the camera and I able to “zoom” the camera into one of the verses. In my project, when I move the camera forward it moves the text layer along with it

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ryan_calixtoAuthor
Participating Frequently
June 13, 2018

There are lots of issues with your workflow.

Why are you precomping the text layers?  The tutorial doesn't tell you to do that.  It's really complicating the process.  By creating very small text and precomping it, your text will look awful when the camera gets close to it, unless you Collapse Transformations of your precomps.  If you do that, you should switch every text layer within the precomps to 3D layers.

Only one of your precomps has been switched to 3D.  They should all be 3D layers.

What are the positions of your layers?  We can't see from your screen grabs.  Are they all in the same Z space?

What kind of camera are you using, one or two node?  If you're using a two node camera, are you taking note of where the Point Of Interest is?

How are you moving the camera?  Using the camera tools, or by just changing numerical position values?   If you are using a two node camera and you change the position of the camera without altering the POI, the camera will rotate toward the POI.  If the POI is very close to the camera, even tiny movements of the camera can cause large movements in the overall view, because the camera will rotate toward the POI.  If the POI gets behind the camera, the camera will literally flip around and look the opposite way.


I precomped the text layers basically for organization. In the video, each verse is one text layer but I am using one text layer for every word that way I can have them appear as it is said in the song. I only had the single verse in 3D top show the example of the problem. I do not however have the text layers in the precomp converted to 3D. As for Z space position, all layers are 2D text until I convert them to 3D and really dont move them on the Z Axis. As for the camera, it is 2 nodes, I have kept the POI default which is straight forward and using top view i move the position of the camera closer and further from the comp with the Z axis and left and right on the x axis and up and down y axis, I do not rotate it nor move the POI.

As for my workflow, being new and working mainly on photoshop, i felt that precomposing each text layer into its own verse group would help me organize and work on the individual verses alone. If you have any suggestions on how I should change it, it would be much appreciated.

As for everyone that has been helping, thank you all for you time and effort.

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