Caustic/Gobo layer problem in after effects

[matthewq96259614]

Hi, I'm animating an underwater shot set in a 3D environment for a short film I'm making (2D paper elements).

I'm using this video tutorial to simulate the shadow and motion of ripples on the surface being cast on the river floor.

I have added some simple fog layers (masks created from solids with feathered edges and lowered opacity) in between my 3d ground layers and the fractal noise caustic layer is casting its shadow on these fog layers as well as the ground layers. My question is how can I use this fractal noise effect on the ground layers while not effecting the fog layers. I feel like I'm missing something simple but I still can't solve it. Plus I'm having trouble figuring out how to phrase this problem in a simple and concise way for the internet.

Any advice or if you can point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Mylenium]

Standard AE answer: In case of doubt, pre-compose (to isolate individual steps). Other than that you may want to play around with the shading settings of the 3D layers and turn off their response to light or tweak the material settings in such a way that the effects don't show up.

Mylenium

[matthewq96259614]

Thank you, will give it a go.