Animating an Effect
In some cases, you may want to have the intensity, color, or another parameter of an effect animated. For example, you may want an object to fade in or out, which would require making its transparency level animated so that it increases or decreases as your scene goes. You can animate an effect's parameters by creating a function curve for its parameter. You can then add keyframes to the function and set them to different values, hence making your effect's parameter change value as your scene plays out. To do this, you will need to use the Layer Properties view.
- In the Timeline view, select a layer and add an effect to it by doing one of the following:
- Click the Add Layer button and select Effects > desired effect.
- Right-click and select Insert > Effects > desired effect.
- From the top menu, select Insert > Effects > desired effect.
- Create the function curve by doing one of the following:
- Double-click on the effect layer to display the effect properties. Click the Function button of the parameter you want to animate and create a function curve.
- In the Timeline view, expand the effect layer's parameters by clicking the Collapse/Expand button. Then click the Function button of the parameter you want to animate and create a function curve.
- In the Timeline view, go to the frame on which you want to start animating the effect.
- In the Timeline toolbar, click the Add Keyframe button.
- In the Value field of the parameter you want to animate, enter the keyframe value. If your keyframes are stop-motion keyframes, in the Timeline view, select the new keyframes. Right-click and select Set Motion Keyframe.
- Repeat these steps until your effect's animation is complete.