The Block Dissolve Effect

The Block Dissolve is fairly simple, but it needs a little help to be useful. Its default settings look like a layer using the Dissolve blend mode (that’s bad). The purpose of this effect is to transition to transparency by removing the layer in blocks. There are only a few settings, but they can create a variety of looks. We can probably categorize them into two groups: settings that control the size of the blocks, and settings that control the softness of the edges of the blocks.

If we adjust width and height independently, we can create fractal/turbulent noise-type transitions.

If you want to produce hard-edged blocks with this effect, you’ll need to deselect the Soft Edges option. By so doing, you can create fractal bars and other interesting patterns. This could also be good if you’re looking for a venetian blinds effect, but don’t like uniform look created by the included Venetian Blinds effect.

The Card Wipe Effect

Card Wipe is by far the most powerful of the transition effects, and really stands in a class all its own. Similar to the slightly more powerful Card Dance effect we looked at in the Simulation effects category, Card Wipe breaks up a layer into a group of cards. Although Card Dance gives you more control with the use of maps, Card Wipe still allows you to control card movement in 3D space, randomize the motion, control when they flip over, control what the image is on the backside of the cards, and much more.

The original purpose of this effect is to reenact those times in major sporting events when large groups of people all hold up signs for a company, and then flip them over. As if you could ever get a rowdy crowd at a sporting event to ignore the sporting event to praise their cell phone service provider. Hence, this effect was created to simulate the cards that those people would have held up and flipped over. But it’s even more common to use this effect to create a 3D postcard effect, as we’ll see later in this section.

First let’s open up the Card Wipe.aep project from the Chapter 19 folder. There is a comp here called Simple Card Wipe, which is similar to the comp found in the Transitions.aep project we’ve been working with in this chapter. Let’s apply the Card Wipe effect to the magenta solid, just to get the idea of what’s going on. Then we’ll move into deeper waters.

After applying the Card Wipe effect, the Transition Completion value is bumped up a little for us, just so we can see what’s going on with this effect. As with Shatter, Fractal Noise, and other effects, the default settings here don’t really tell the whole story of what this effect can do.

What’s really going on here is that Card Wipe is turning the magenta solid into a sea of cards. The ones on the left side of the screen have started flipping over, or transitioning. This is very similar to what we saw in Chapter 16 with the Card Dance effect. However, I find that the Card Wipe effect is much easier to understand and control than the Card Dance effect. Card Wipe also has several easy-to-use features that Card Dance does not have. Let’s look at the highlights from the top of the Effect Controls panel down.

Transition Completion functions here the same as it does in every other effect. But what about Transition Width? Transition Width determines how wide the area of flipping cards is. If you want a single strip of cards flipping at once, reduce the Transition Width value considerably. Likewise, if you want all of the cards to flip at once, increase this value to 100%.

As with Card Dance, we can specify how many rows and columns of cards we want. We’ll use this to our advantage later in this section, when we create the ever popular 3D postcard effect.

Flip Axis, Flip Direction, and Flip Order all allow you to control how these cards flip. Flip Axis has a really interesting value. By default, the flip axis is the X axis, meaning that the cards rotate around the X axis when transitioning. You can also set Flip Axis to Y, which makes the cards flip around the Y axis when transitioning. Note that the cards can still transition from left to right (or any other order you choose from the Flip Order drop down), but the cards themselves will spin on their own individual Y axis. But the Flip Axis drop down also allows you to select Random, which causes each card to randomly flip along the X or Y axis. The results are actually quite chaotic and artistic. You can also have more control over how your cards flip by using a gradient layer to control the flip order. To do this, select Gradient from the Flip Order drop down, and then choose the gradient layer from the Gradient Layer drop down. Note that if you create the gradient using effects, layer styles, or shape layers, you might have to precompose the layer before it can be used as a map for effects.

Like many effects we’ve already discussed, this effect operates in 3D space. There are camera controls, as well as lighting and material options. And as with Shatter, and other such 3D effects, you can animate the camera built into the effect, animate the perspective using Corner Pins, or control the 3D movement with a camera in the composition. Choose your method of movement from the Camera System drop down.

The last two properties are perhaps the most special of the features in Card Wipe. You might have noticed that Card Wipe does not auto-animate. However, if you do want to add some random animation to these cards, the developers of Card Wipe have made it so that you don’t have to even set keyframes (or use expressions) to generate random motion. Open up the Position Jitter and Rotation Jitter groups. Remember that “jitter” is often Adobe’s way of saying “randomness.” At first, this may seem like there’s a lot going on. But really, there are just two properties each for X, Y, and Z position and rotation jitter.

Those two properties are jitter amount and jitter speed. Note that all jitter amount properties have been set to 0 and all jitter speed properties have been set to 1. As soon as you adjust the jitter amount value for any property, that property auto-animates randomly. No keyframes are necessary because of the jitter speed value. If you were to take the jitter speed value to 0, the property would not animate. Say for example that you wanted to have these cards pulsate towards the camera randomly. You would increase the Z Jitter Amount value, and that’s all. If you wanted the cards to randomly move in Z space and just stay there without motion, you would increase the Z Jitter Amount value, and decrease the Z Jitter Speed value to 0. Adjusting these jitter values can create an entire world of beautiful randomness.

The Gradient Wipe Effect

The Gradient Wipe effect uses a gradient to determine in what order pixels are removed from the top layer to reveal the bottom layer. Because you can actually create some innovative transitions using the Gradient Wipe effect, I’ve created a project for you to use to experiment with this effect. It’s called Gradient Wipe.aep, and you’ll find it in the Chapter 19 folder of the exercise files.

This project contains the same basic magenta and green solids we’ll be looking at in this chapter, and it also contains a couple of layers that we’ll use to control the transition. The first control layer we’ll use is a simple gradient created with the Ramp effect (discussed in Chapter 9).

Next, apply the Gradient Wipe effect to the magenta solid. In the Gradient Layer drop down, choose the Ramp layer. The luminance (brightness) values of the Ramp layer will now determine how the magenta solid layer transitions to the layers beneath it. Darker values are removed first. Figure 19.17 shows the transition at about 30% complete. You can soften the hard edge seen here by increasing the Transition Softness value.

Now, this was just a simple example to get the gist of what this effect is doing. Now let’s push the envelope here a little bit. At the bottom of the layer stack in the Timeline panel, you’ll find a layer called Rad Rockets.mov. This is a render from a 3D program, and also contains movement.

One of the ways we can create very unique results with the Gradient Wipe effect is by using video as the gradient layer! In this case, we don’t even have to animate Transition Completion to get movement in the magenta and green solid layers. The

movement in the gradient layer can create the motion for us because the Gradient Wipe effect is constantly updating, based on the changes in the gradient layer. The Gradient Wipe effect is like Card Wipe, in that it can do far more than just create a transition from one layer to another.

Note that every pixel seen in Figure 19.20 is either from the Seattle clip or the Artbeats clip of children. We’re not seeing any of the actual pixels of the Rad Rockets clip. The Rad Rockets clip is only being used to determine what pixels are seen from which layer.

The Iris Wipe Effect

The Iris Wipe effect is quite unusual. It creates a transition by essentially creating a transparent geometric shape on the top layer. Once the shape is larger than the layer, the transition is complete. This is the only Transition category effect that doesn’t have a Transition Completion value, and as a matter of fact, no talk of transitioning in this entire effect. The parameters make it look more like a Generate category effect. The difference here is that the effect is not generating a shape, it’s creating a hole in the layer.

To explore this effect, we’ll be using the Transitions.aep project in the Chapter 19 folder. Apply the Iris Wipe effect to the magenta solid in the Basic comp. To see any of the features of the Iris Wipe, you’ll need to increase the Outer Radius value. This creates a triangle-shaped hole in the layer. To fully transition to the layers beneath, just increase the size of this shape until it completely removes the layer it is applied to.

Another important characteristic of the Iris Wipe effect is the Inner Radius. However, the Inner Radius value is not used until you select the Use Inner Radius checkbox. You can increase the number of points to create a star by increasing the Iris Points value. You can rotate the shape, move it around, or feather it (using the Rotation, Iris Center, and Feather values, respectively).

The Linear Wipe Effect

The Linear Wipe effect is one of the most simple effects in this category, but it’s also one of the most useful effects for actual transitioning. Transitioning with a linear wipe is usually the least tacky kind of wipe. Linear wipes can be seen extensively in all of the Star Wars movies. George Lucas used these to show the great distances of time and space between scenes.

For this example, I’m again using the Transitions.aep project from the Chapter 19 folder. The Linear Wipe effect transitions between clips with a simple line. You can change the transition completion, alter the angle of the line, and feather it, and that’s it. But it is the simplicity here that makes it so appropriate. Just like the way it was used by George Lucas, use this to create a harder transition than a simple cut between shots. It can also be used to transition with movement in the shot. If you had footage of someone opening a door, for example, you could use the Linear Wipe transition to create the illusion that they were opening the door to the next clip.

The Radial Wipe Effect

The Radial Wipe effect creates a wipe that goes around a layer, like the hands of a clock. Because of this, it is often used to communicate the passage of time. Let’s say you had a nervous father pacing in a hospital waiting room, waiting to hear about the birth of his child, you might show different shots of him pacing, separated by a radial wipe.

But when used with motion graphics instead of as a video transition, Radial Wipe actually does come in handy quite often as a cool way to reveal graphic elements. We’ll look in a moment at how to use Radial Wipe to reveal a flower blossoming, for example.

Before we jump into that, let’s just make sure we’re clear what Radial Wipe does. Again using the Transitions.aep project, apply the Radial Wipe effect to the magenta solid in the Basic comp. Figures 19.26 and 19.27 demonstrate the purpose of the effect, with only the Transition Completion value altered.

You can change the Start Angle value, which is the equivalent of an offset value. You can move the center of the wipe with the Wipe Center property. You can soften the edges with Feather. You can also adjust the direction of the wipe with the Wipe drop down. The default setting is Clockwise. You can also choose Counter Clockwise. Or, you can choose both, which creates an interesting result, as if someone were waving both arms (like when doing jumping jacks). This could also be used for a dramatic reveal, or to create a searchlight effect.

Now, let’s look at what this baby can really do. Open the Radial Wipe.aep project from the Chapter 19 folder of the exercise files. We’re going to use Radial Wipe to make the petals disappear, and then appear.

Apply the Radial Wipe effect to the petals layer (the only visible layer in the Timeline panel, as the other layers are hidden). Nothing happens. Increase the Transition Completion value to 100%. This will make the petals completely disappear.

Now the magic. Animate the Transition Completion value from 100% to 0%, which makes the petals appear to blossom. In this case, I didn’t like where the flower was being split by the Radial Wipe effect. So, I adjusted the Start Angle value a bit (to a value of –5 degrees). And then I softened that a little bit by adding a smidgen of feather (2 pixels worth). When animated, ESPECIALLY when echoed by duplicates, this kind of animation just works and is eye-catching.

It’s a really cool effect. Radial Wipe can also be used to replicate the motion of a radar scan, or to animate the growth of a ring created with the Polar Coordinates effect, as described in Chapter 7.

The Venetian Blinds Effect

The Venetian Blinds effect mimics the look of venetian blinds, turning the layer into slats. Other than Transition Completion, you can adjust the direction, width, and feather of the blinds. To play with this effect, you can open the Transitions.aep project from the Chapter 19 folder.

Honestly, I can’t think of a good reason to use the Venetian Blinds effect as a transition. Unless you had a time machine back to the 1980s (or were simulating video created then), this effect will be too tacky to use as a transition for most projects.

However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t use the effect in other ways. Without animating this effect, you can obviously make static venetian blinds, especially those in between the camera and the subject. But you can also quickly and easily make bars, like the

bars of a jail cell. Figure 19.34 shows an image of an African dog in a cage. The cage was created by a black solid with the Venetian Blinds effect applied with the Transition Completion value set to around 70%, and the Width set to about 80. To enhance the effect, I’ve applied the Bevel and Emboss layer style to the black solid layer. This creates the look of roundness on the bars.