Learn to Better use the Camera in Adobe After Effects

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The camera layer is a wily one. But you can tame it with a little planning and a null object. Pretty soon you'll be whizzing around like Harry Potter at a quidich match. Or whatever that game is called. It's not like I have a griffindor tattoo on my butt or anything.
Anyway, there's no project file for this on since we're not really making a "project" per se. But if you want some cool stuff check out EvanAbrams.com. It's rad. Also you're rad for watching, so thanks.
If you want to suggest a tutorial topic please do so here: docs.google.co...
If you have any questions just let me know in the comments.
Evanabrams.com
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[@amplifyingpixels2196]

"It doesn't have to look good, it just has to look" genius. Thanks so much for this fantastic tutorial

[@bunyaindian1]

This is by far one of the best series of after effects tutorials that exist! This is true motion design at its best!

[@oherroneous]

Dude. This is what separates your channel from other tutorial channels. Sometimes it's nice to have a video that just teaches you a new skill, rather than just walk through from A to B with no explanation of what anything does or why you're doing it. "ECAbrams know what it do, son." - smart people

[@AshrafEzzat]

One of the best tuts I've watched on camera and null object. Really good stuff. Thanks a lot.

[@ECAbrams]

1. It does not zoom. That is a separate function. You must not confuse the words zoom and dolly. A dolly is physically moving the camera towards or away from something. Zoom is altering the optics of the lens to move the focal length. Totally different operations. 2. When you scale the null you scale the x,y, and z of all things around it. So you are, in effect, doing a similar thing. BUT you are less able to quickly compute the camera's focal distance using a scale method.

[@Lost-io9ux]

This is the best tutorial I've ever seen. Ive bounced off AE camera a couple of times but I get it now. This is going to lift my work to a new level. Feels criminal to get it for free.

[@ECAbrams]

It's an oldie but a goodie I suppose. Glad it helps.

[@saltyp0pcorn652]

Ahhh man, this helped me a lot! I love messing around with ae but the camera tool always scares me a bit, since it’s so complicated. Usually these types of tutorials don’t help me a lot because i get bored easily, but you’re also really funny and entertaining

[@ECAbrams]

bounce inertia is a 4 step thing. Maybe 3. 1. Google Inertia Bounce Expression After Effects 2. Click on one of those 3. copy/paste or you can make copy and paste separate actions if you want.

[@kuunami]

Thanks Evan. That makes sense. You know on a side note, I was about to ask you what the difference was between rotation and orientation but googled it first to find that you'd already made a tutorial about that. Awesome!

[@bluerusselle7050]

I have been watching your tutorial videos for almost 2 years now. I am a graduate now with a degree of multimedia arts. You have been my teacher. Thank you.

[@channoh91]

Yaaay, thanks a lot Evan! This tutorial has helped me alot, I've watched so many tutorials but you explained it so easy in this one!

[@ECAbrams]

Well you can narrow the focal plane to exclude more things if you want by adjusting the aperture of the camera. And then you have to move things in 3d space to not be at the focal plane.

[@ECAbrams]

because the position is a negative value (-x) so we multiply by -1 and it becomes a positive integer (-1*-x = x) and that positive integer is the distance from the camera that we want the focal plane to be.

[@jordansernik]

You have a very Canadian accent and you are a great teacher.

[@ECAbrams]

Thanks?

[@slothguts6678]

ECAbrams why does the text dissapear when its on 3d

[@ECAbrams]

TheHype Demon does it? Are you certain?

[@slothguts6678]

ECAbrams yes it does. but after i made another video and then it worked, i dont get it.

[@ECAbrams]

TheHype Demon well when layers become 3d you have to be 1. looking at them with a camera or 2. be looking at them with an applicable view or 3. not have anything in front of them. 3d space is like the world around you. If you're not pointing a camera at the object you can't see it in frame.

[@donrenato]

Evan, thanks for doing these tutorials! I am 40...and having to change careers...from the no-money world of audio to Video Editing(where hopefully there is at least some money)....these tutorials are saving my life! Keep it up!

[@JVCKFLVSH]

Good to see that you are still going strong. I remember watching your videos a few years ago at home, today I encountered a problem at work regarding AE, fired up youtube and there you are again. Nice coincidence since I lost your channel when switching youtube accounts :) Keep it up and greetings from germany!

[@Lannec]

I wish I could like this video more than once! Thank you for this great tutorial. Super helpful!

[@GaryStockton]

Great video Evan, really simplifies working with camera's, love the Null Object trick and the wiggle effect at the end. Awesome!

[@shannonrose322]

This is exactly what I needed to learn for work! Thank you! I'll have to look through your tuts and grab an intro to the camera tool as well. Thanks for the spruce up! It's great help!!

[@Psych9Tic]

Man since the day before yesterday i am in front of my computer ..had a few hours of sleep but again i am back to this channel..i am not a beginner but still i am learning a lot of little things as i am going through your videos. You are an amazing teacher/master.

[@jeljones01]

Great Video. I've been watching your videos for a little while now. Your content is relevant, well thought out, easy to understand and enjoyable to watch. Thank you for being awesome.

[@Mrelisha999]

one of the easiest and well explained tutorials I've seen. Well Done and keep up the good work :)

[@daffychuy]

Very nice tutorial. I used to be just guessing and dragging the camera to get to that point and hiding the text lol. Now I can give after effects another go!

[@Arelias95]

Very nice tutorial, I used to have some weird issues with camera moving randomly even though keyframes would suggest a quite linear movement. Using a null as a guide is really useful and saved me a lot of time fixing the camera.

[@ECAbrams]

while your keyframes might suggest linear movement you should go into the keyframe interpolation and ensure they are demanding it. If your keyframes slip into bezier spacial interpolation as they are want to do, then you can see some strange movement between identical keyframes.

[@Arelias95]

Wow, that's a quick reply :D Thanks for the advice, I'm going to check it out next time I use a camera.

[@ECAbrams]

It can happen to any layer with spacial data... which I guess means position changes. Just a thing to look into if movement becomes very different from what you expect to see.

[@ECAbrams]

Well thank you for thanking me. Technically this method predates "Sure Target" and is essentially what that plugin does but in a more controlled, manual way. I suppose it's more of a lesson than a tutorial at that.

[@beno0055]

Ohh ok perfect. So I should stop doing that immdediatly and start linking the focal distance to the null, and dolly that camera instead. Thanks! I've never seen anyone on youtube whose videos are more informative and who takes the time to answer people. Keep up the awesome work!

[@Techninjaspeaks]

Thanks for this tut. It came just in time!

[@ECAbrams]

Right. The error is because orientation rolls over from 360 to 1 so 0 and 360 are the same. That means that to compute a vector with inertia it can't because the value instead of being from say 1 to 500 in 3 seconds is changed by the rollover so to prevent crazy time it just doesn't count it.

[@JCatara]

Thank you, You are a good instructor. This was indeed an informative lesson. One of the best things I gain from you is the phrase have fun with it, get crazy. That is great advice. When all else fails one can always start over. Thanks again.

[@ECAbrams]

How do you mean? Things that are beyond or in front of the focal plane are blurry by definition. Can you be more specific in what you're trying to achieve and what's not working for you to achieve that?

[@LexiBass]

This is a world where I only know Evan Abrams and not those other things and people he mentioned... so excellent! I only wish there'd been a little follow up with the other camera views so I could see what was happening...

[@laurenhavard3313]

THANK YOU for making a tutorial that's not based on Sure Target. Love your tutorials!

[@ECAbrams]

you need to do some special things on set to hook the camera to a fixed point attached to the actor's hips and shoulders. The rig is a little ungainly but you then just have to take it out in post and hide it well on set. That's step one.

[@ECAbrams]

yeah you can turn on snapping or use the hot key to snap things.

[@danalito]

Great job again Mr Abrams! Lessons is exactly what makes your video so useful [instead of blindly following tutorials].

[@1000rami1000]

I'm new to after effect and tbh I hardly understood what you did in the multiplying parts 😄 but I plan to learn more and you sound you know what you're doing, so liked and subbed 😊

[@thisisntguy]

Yes, it gives me an error code on orientation. Next time I have AE open ill certainly try it. I am pretty sure it will work. Thanks for the help though. Its awesome to have people like you in the community!

[@alemieux3]

Took me a couple of tries, but this helped me SO much! Every time I tried to use the camera without a Null object, it kept changing orientation between keyframes.

[@owensmith3476]

this was awesome! thank you. null objects always scared me. but now I can't wait to get in there and create stuff. thank you!

[@carloinzunza]

thanks, very useful! I new some about camera movement, but this helped me broaden my understanding! thanks man

[@andresalegria4543]

Thanks a lot, the camera tool has been always tricky to use, but now i start to understand much better :) Really appreciate !

[@eddielee3230]

Holy crap this is such a simple and yet innovative method of controlling that goddamn camera. Thank you!!

[@ECAbrams]

well thank you kindly. I'm glad you like them.

[@ECAbrams]

A null object is a place holder that has no impact on a scene till other elements are stuck to it. A camera is an object that captures the scene from an angle. The Camera is moved, it does not move things. Imagine if you will you are using a real camera, same thing.

[@ECAbrams]

The expression works on position but not orientation? Is that what you're telling me? Try doing the same rotations with the rotation properties and no the orientation.

[@ChrisChavers1]

I used Sure Target to get this effect, but I like this explanation way better, thanks again ;D

[@thepreditard8320]

I want to give you a man hug for making this video

[@jonnyphillips8735]

WOW YOU JUST HELPED ME SO MUCH. I WAS SO CONFUSED WHILE MAKING A BANNER. (sorry caps just excited)

[@newsnight8425]

Thank you! the camera is a mystery. I'm going to be watching this video more than once for sure. Especially because I want to know the real workings of AE.

[@chewchinwai]

thank you abrams but i've been waiting for your latest tutorials for some times hope to see you posting soon

[@lordsacar]

thanks man! Now I can follow my layers easily. You explain this clearly even though that English is not my native language.

[@ECAbrams]

Oh you've gotta get them Depths of Fields. glad you like it.

[@carloinzunza]

Thanks For this class, I wanted to know this for a while

[@ECAbrams]

no worries man. Just remember that the default is HUGE! Try h.264 is you can.

[@RemoFiore]

Hiya Evan, hope you're good, love all your tuts learnt a lot from you I also mention in my notes "Thanks to Evan Abrams..bla bla bla". I'm a bit late to this tutorial, but really helpful especially the bit about copying and pasting the Position with focus point etc etc.. I always use the null object but this is the first time I've come across that technique... I wondered if you have a tutorial which explains the use of the point of interest setting on the camera...? Thanks for sharing your amazing expertise as always.

[@pascalrenka9853]

the best camera use tutorial i have ever seen! thanks for that

[@Gumpa2]

Thank you very much, this makes life much easier! At the Beginning I always found it weird to move the camera. I mostly moved it via selectingboth position and point where its looking at and then moving it with the arrow keys to where I want it. Quite not the best thing. At the Moment Iam having somehow bad Problem: I need to add a 2D Animation where i fly over with a virtual camera over a drawing to fit into a 3D-Footage. So I got some 3D Footage, made some motiontracking, and got myself a virtual camera: Problem is, that the Motiontracking will give you camera Values such as orientation and position and not target point and position, which my other camera has. Also they are on failry different places in the 3D space, and I would need to have some kind of ....mmmh formula for the virtual camera I got, to make each keyframe like a thousand higher or wlower or something like that. Also a weird thing. As Iam looking through my virtual camera that I generated from a Footage and have my other layer allign perfectly at the end with where I want it, It suddenly has like a "hiccup" for one frame, even doh there are no keyframes whatsoever. This is driving me nuts, since I cannot find out where this is coming from. :/

[@ECAbrams]

Maybe yes, maybe no. In my subjective sense of the world I knew of AK before I knew of MC and have read none of Christensen's books. And I know few people in my social circles who have. Which led me to believe he may be less popular than AK if only because of the accessibility of his material. He may have come up with the technique first (or it pre-dates both presenters) but we would have to see some primary sources and graphs to know if either had a larger impact on the spread of the method.

[@JAYROUTHIER26]

Veyr helpful, this helped me understanding the base of the camera tool!

[@xinyueyang1962]

really practical and useful, solved exactly the question I had

[@leedsgh]

I understand everything you've told me in this tutorial, apart from why the pick whip of the focal distance to the position has to have *-1 at the end?

[@ECAbrams]

Well... if we look at the position we can see that the position of the camera is at -something from that null. IF we said, hey camera focus at -some number we would see a very interesting result as the camera tries to focus behind itself, which it cannot. SO we say, make the focal distance the same as your distance from the null but inverted, so that the focal distance is always going to be looking at the null and focussed at that point. You can choose to not do that if you want, that's wide open.

[@DanielMeszarosProd]

it was very helpful dude, i love your videos! btw I always check the font type, yours seem to be cleaner and better. you should upload a font-pack. keep it up!

[@NexusTech]

Thankkkkkk yoooouuuu. I've been working all day trying to figure this out!

[@sandraneutronyx]

Thank you for this! the null object does the trick perfectly.

[@LongLiveMikey]

Thanks Evan, Love your videos

[@adarkerlight]

You sound like a Seth Rogan who never did drugs. Thank you for this, I am not a fan of plug-ins at this point in my AE life, and I couldn't keyframe the silly camera-guess it was because I forgot the null object thing, which Andrew Kramer really does do all the time, but I can't remember every tiny thing he does :D

[@CapsLockKeyon]

One of the issues I'm noticing and I think I'm seeing it by other people posting...as soon as I turn on DOF the image disappears. But it actually isn't disappearing...it's just becoming so out of focus it looks like it doesn't exist. I followed your instructions to a T and I have no idea why it's doing this. Like...I understand After Effects for the most part and I can't figure out why it's doing this either. Thoughts? With DOF off, this method is working flawlessly for me.

[@Shoorik513]

Fabulous tutorial as always! and as always the most entertaining. Love your style

[@SpiritualBabies]

Thank you! brilliant.. could you make something like this but for 'lights' and 'shadows' ?

[@kingmesssamson7547]

I Love your work you are my motivator and a good instructor

[@crisisbliss2462]

Great basic on the camera. was needed by many

[@isabelaaa]

hey, your tutorials are great, you just got a new subscriber! i was wondering if maybe you could help me out... (let's use the project above as an example) i want to zoom in into the text (dark blue) so i could use that color as the background and start writing with the color that once was your background (light blue). can you understand the effect i'm trying to make? is it possible to do it? i need to use the camera to accomplish it? sorry if it's confusing, english isn't my first language. thank you in advance xx

[@fourestfire]

thanks for the tutorial! instead of writing code to lock depth of field to position, can't we just disable depth of field?

[@SpriteMaan]

I am doing similiar kind, but I'm planning to change colour during the turn, and occurred a problem. How can I get particles to be on every text. I'm not even sure if I'm doing it right. ;-; My mind is not for working, my mind is no more. Anyway thanks for the tutorial, helped me a lot.

[@wiewiorka_ojoj4167]

Thank U, I love your tutorials! Super clear :)

[@mikeb1613]

Hi Evan, Do you know of any good resources for more advanced camera moves. This one is a great basic overview, but I can't seem to find anything on how to make the camera whip, then drift in place, then whip all in a clean smooth manner. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[@Joaquinius]

Is there any fast way to center the anchor point? Great tutorials by the way!

[@fernandopaiva85]

Awesome lesson/tutorial! Thank you!

[@notimportant8806]

how do you separate the keyframes? Meaning how do you stop one motion, hold it in place, and start another without having the time slowed down or affected?

[@Robbo-qi2zl]

So simple but so huge - very helpful! thanks

[@2HHB]

thanks!!! this is exactly the video i was hunting for.

[@thisisntguy]

Hey boss, I was watching the video, even before you got to the sure target preset portion I was already thinking I don't want to rely on it. Well I do not use it anymore. I parent every layer to my null object and it acts like a camera just no DOF. I was wondering if you could do a tutorial on bounce inertia. More importantly how to do it with orientation. Thanks posting this though boss!

[@ob707]

great tutorial, is there anyway to automate creating the Null Object and Camera and linking them?

[@kuunami]

I think it was Mark Christiansen who made the camera control null technique popular.

[@KeemIbarra]

great video! you should do a tutorial on expressions..

[@cheesegeezer5019]

Great tutorial and thanks for sharing!!

[@induranindustries706]

Very good tutorial and entertaining too. Thanks

[@VMGMultiTracks]

9:34 That fixed the REAL PROBLEM I was having!

[@user-fh8vw9ut3k]

really perfectly explained. Well done dude! thx

[@KeemIbarra]

Haven't seen those! now I gotta go and find them, i've been wanting to learn expressions haha, thanks man!

[@Dayta]

its 2017 now and i still dont get it why to stick the camera to a imaginary point that has some position information as the camera has it self already so it kinda feels redundand . i get it when its about making it easy where to point at but when it comes to moving the camera i dont get it why i should stick it to something else and move that instead of moving the camera itself. maybe someone has another tip for me or hint what the benefit there is and i know kramers way of doing things. maybe some backround information im used to working with lightwave when it comes to 3d i just recently started with after effects again since the industry is more and more not looking for real 3d and more for that fake 3d effects moving mattepaintings around on a flat surface in 3d space instead of creating the whole stuff in 3d. safes time i get it but that stick the camera to something idea ... i dont :) any hints are welcome

[@ECAbrams]

have you seen my tutorials about the render queue and render settings?

[@littleromio20]

i've noticed that your background didn't change when your camera followed that seccond text that was ofscreen, how is that possible? i'm trying to create something similar for a kinetic typography project. I want my camera to follow my text from left to right, however the whole sentence does not fit entirly in one comp because i scaled it. i'm using an old paper texture as my background. How does this technique work, where the camera follows an sentence without the background changing? I hope you understand my question.

[@ECAbrams]

The background of the intro doesn't change because it's not 3d. It's a 2d background that cannot change with the camera because one is 3d and the other is 2d. 2d layers do not move with 3d layers because they are not part of the 3d system.

[@BAWAkulkarni]

In case your "enable depth of field" is disabled in the camera settings, it's probably because you're using the Cinema4D renderer instead of Classic 3D. Apparently, C4D doesn't support camera DoF. This took me a while to figure out so I thought I'd leave a comment here.

[@thomasp8690]

NIce tutorial! Can't wait to get my feet wet! Thanks, Evan!

[@lordzz00]

Bang up job, Evan. Thank you.

[@xEternalCandy]

Yup and there's more: And can you have more than one camera in a comp, like.. How does that work out? And last question, so if I use the camera to move the layers, what would I be using the null object for? Omg so confused because I'm a noob and orz. Sorry for all these questions xD

[@ECAbrams]

yeah basically this is the thing that sure target does but it does it with scripts.

[@channoh91]

I have one little problem.. I'm using vectors, and when I click on the comp. layer, to keep them sharp the null object (camera) won't move anymore... :( Can you help me out?

[@ould-rouissalim68]

you are an artist