Motion Path in AE CS3

November 20, 2007 9:17 PM

After Effects CS3: Newbie question driving me nuts. Can't paste a path as a Motion path.

I've found a video tutorial and have read through Adobe's Help files and I seem to be following the instructions to the letter.

I have an object I would like to follow a motion path.

According to the tutorial/instructions, I copy the path I want (the one I'm using comes from a Mask Layer) and making sure the object's Position path is set to animate (at least one keyframe), I select the object, select the Position, and Paste the path to create a motion path. According to the video tutorial, this creates a dotted motion path line and you're done.

However, when I paste my path to the object's Position, it simply pastes as another (seemingly nested) layer under the object called "Mask". I can even move my object and see that is has a gray/default motion path that ISN'T the path I created. Somehow my pasted path is "missing" the link to pasting as the object's motion path.

I'm new to AE, so I'm sure I'm missing something very basic here, or perhaps there is a new procedure for doing this in CS3 and my tutorial is out of date, but CS3's Help file explains doing it the same way.

posted by robbie01 to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Is your tutorial for an older version? The method of doing this changed in CS3 (or maybe even the version before that). In any case:

1. Select the layer with the path that you want to copy.
2. Press the M key. [AE will real a Mask Group (e.g. Mask 1) and a Mask Path property in the Timeline.]
3. Select Mask Path in the Timeline, by which I mean click the words "Mask Path" (not the stopwatch next to them).
4. Command+C [PC: Control+C]
5. Select the layer you want to paste to.
6. Press the P key on the keyboard. [AE will reveal the position property in the Timeline.]
7. Select the Position property by clicking the word "Position" (not the stopwatch) in the Timeline.
8. Command+P [PC: Control+P]
posted by grumblebee at 9:50 PM on November 20, 2007

(What you're doing, if you follow my directions, is copying a mask's shape -- bezier paths are called "masks" in AE -- and pasting that shape AS a Position path. The way you were doing it before was copying a mask and pasting it as a mask.)
posted by grumblebee at 9:52 PM on November 20, 2007

That did it, grumblebee, thanks! It appears the tutorial was a version behind, but also a little frustrating that Adobe's own Help files for CS3 don't explain it as thoroughly as you did (and really don't mention the key steps 2 and 3 which are what I needed to know.)
posted by robbie01 at 10:48 PM on November 20, 2007

When you get a chance, you should memorize all the keyboard shortcuts that reveal properties in the Timeline. They make AE much more pleasant to work with.

Off the top of my head:

Select a layer or group of layers and...

p = position
s = scale
r = rotation
a = anchor point
t = opaciTy
m = mask
mm (hit m type quickly) = all mask properties
u = reveal all keyframed properties
uu = reveal all altered properties

That last one is incredibly useful. When I open a project that I haven't work on in a long time -- or someone else's project that I've never worked on -- I Command+A (PC: Control+A) to select all the layers and then I hit uu. That way, I instantly see everything that has been done to every layer.

Also, if you work with text a lot, you'll like Command+Option+Shift+T (PC: Control+Alt+Shift+T), which places a text cursor on the screen. It looks like a really complex shortcut, but it's really just all the modifier keys mashed down at once plus T. You do that shortcut and start typing. When you're done typing, press Enter on the Numeric Keypad to exit text mode.

Finally, Command+Y (PC: Control+Y) creates a new Solid.

I can't imagine using AE without those shortcuts.
posted by grumblebee at 6:12 AM on November 21, 2007

One final tip: buy as many of these training DVDs as you can afford. Almost everyone agrees that they're the BEST way to learn AE. You can sell them on ebay when you're done watching them.

If you can't afford the DVDs, get the Trish and Chris Meyer books.
posted by grumblebee at 6:15 AM on November 21, 2007

Actually, the best way to learn AE was from Grumblebee, but he's out of that business.
posted by filmgeek at 8:20 PM on November 21, 2007