Layers that React to Other Layers in After Effects

Build Cinema 4D style effectors in After Effects
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In this week's After Effects tutorial, we explore building a Cinema 4D-like effector by setting up behaviors based on positioning of layers. In our first example of a very wildly inaccurate Apollo mission example, we use distance to illustrate a burn of the Command Module. I also mentioned that this was inspired by the 50th anniversary of the moon landing an the new Apollo 11 (2019) (amzn.to/2Mf8R0s) documentary. There's some amazing footage in there that was recovered, and I believe it's a lot of never-before-seen footage. It was painstakingly put together, and the result is excellent.
Anyway, we continue on to make objects scale as another object approaches and finally we make a space ship capable of matter rejection. What's that you ask? It's the ability to force objects to stay outside of a predefined perimeter. There's not asteroid that can touch our ship.
There are a ton of things that can be done with this technique. You're really only limited by your imagination and ability to code. We've already covered distance and angle, so you have a good base to start from!
See our website at the project file link above to grab the code.
#AfterEffects #MotionGraphics #Mograph

[@saadshah7857]

Nice one, Joe. By the way, you are getting famous in the Fusion community now.

[@Workbenchtv]

Haha, what? Fusion? That's odd. I still need to learn it. 🤣

[@saadshah7857]

@@Workbenchtv kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppCraZKfg8iFqa8

[@Workbenchtv]

@@saadshah7857 Just saw this. Did he mention us anywhere in there? That's not cool if he just ripped the look off and didn't even say anything about it.

[@saadshah7857]

@@Workbenchtv Did you read my comment under the video? I mentioned you by name :)

[@Workbenchtv]

@@saadshah7857 No. Shoot. I thought I looked at all of them. Thanks! I made a comment as well.

[@IsionIndustries]

You sir are a mastermind! Like it takes me a while to understand concepts then I sort of understand them. You are on another level!

[@Workbenchtv]

Thanks! I appreciate that. I've done a bunch of programming, so I'm kind of analytical. I guess that helps.

[@eliasrayz1412]

this is some advance stuff. like damn. I love it.

[@Workbenchtv]

Thanks! That's what we try to do. :)

[@NawazAlamgir]

Okay, I doth my cap to you for this one. Brilliant.

[@Workbenchtv]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jakefreas4794]

yo this video is sick, def gonna use some of this. also u are a cool dad keep it up

[@Workbenchtv]

Haha, thanks! I’m glad you found it useful!

[@Rombododecaedron]

I like very much expressions like these. And I remember my excitement near 2 years ago when I understood that school's trigonometry is eventually needed, haha

[@Workbenchtv]

Haha! Yes exactly. I wish they used stuff like this to teach math when I was a kid. I’d have understood trig and calc better.

[@frecklenuckle4450]

good stuff, man. keep up the good work!

[@Workbenchtv]

Thanks!

[@Juliangonzi]

Seriously how did u get that pro? Amazing.

[@Workbenchtv]

Years of trial and error! 🤣

[@josh5917]

Nice video, just wondering do you use the Motion 2 plugin and if not whys that? Thanks.

[@Workbenchtv]

No, I don't. I just never really looked into it, it always just seemed like a lot of the things it does I use other tools for. Here's a semi-current list of what we use as far as scripts go: workbench.tv/blog/2018-11-20_Tools2/ Thanks!

[@franzformer3000]

Thanks!

[@Workbenchtv]

Thank you for checking it out!

[@NawazAlamgir]

Hi Joe, Im trying to see if its possible to have layers effected by more than one target at the same time? Ive tried but i break the code everytime. The idea is have the reactive layers also interact with each other so they don't collide either

[@Workbenchtv]

It's possible. It'd be a lot more complicated, and would probably slow down things a lot. You'd have to figure out how to add all of the offsets together. However, it might be a better idea to look into collision detection in javascript and try to apply it to AE.

[@NawazAlamgir]

Workbench thanks for the reply.

[@Workbenchtv]

You’re welcome. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.

[@digitalmole8236]

This sounds like something Newton 3 would do. It's a physics engine plugin for AE but it's quite pricey if you just want something simple

[@digitalmole8236]

Love this expression - it's so useful. But I was just wondering how to get it to work without the CC sphere effect? If I apply to the position property it doesn't work anymore. Instead of measuring the CC Sphere radius would it be possible to measure the scale or size of the shape layer and apply the expression to the position property? Many thanks

[@Workbenchtv]

Thanks. Yes, you should be able to get the size parameter of a shape and do the same thing.

[@digitalmole8236]

@@Workbenchtv yeah I thought so, but I tried removing cc sphere and applying the expression to the position property. And instead of referencing the CC spehere radius I referenced the size (also tried scale) of the shape layer. But nothing happens. It doesn't move and I can't figure out why. Strange.

[@Workbenchtv]

@@digitalmole8236 I'd have to mess with it, but you should just be able to reference the shape's size[0] or size [1] as the radius value to at least make something happen.

[@ginkyo]

Hi, I'm new to your channel! All of your videos are really cool however I don't understand how you go from 1-100 on the OMFG AMAZING scale in like 10 seconds.... perhaps these are too advance After Effects techniques and I have watched many times but couldn't get anything to work. Amazing stuff, I wish to be like you someday😥

[@Workbenchtv]

Haha! Sorry, yeah we're aiming at intermediate to advanced users for the most part. But if you have a specific thing you don't understand, I have no problem explaining further if I can. Some expressions can get pretty complicated, so I understand.

[@ginkyo]

@@Workbenchtv Thank you, I'll be sure to ask :D

[@desertrose1996]

please do us a vector morphing tut .. like how a clock vector morph halfways into a coffe cup.. thats what is still missing to this day... thanks a bunch for your efforts 😘😘

[@Workbenchtv]

Most of that stuff is hand animated, so it's highly dependent upon what you're starting with so that's probably why you don't find many tutorials for it. :)