A Minor Collection of Useful Expr essions

{ for use w ith adobe after effects }

featur ing

michael natk in, fr ed lew is, dan ebberts, br ian maffitt & steve holmes

total tr aining, inc w w w.t o ta lt r a i n i n g . c o m

CI RC LE FU N
by Michael Natkin & Brian Maffitt
This generates perfect circular motion centered around the original position of the layer. I recommend that you map the radius and cycle inputs to Expression Control sliders, and the phase input to an Expression Control angle. Apply this expression to the position of the layer.
radius = 75; // the radius of the circle cycle = 1; // number of seconds to complete a circle; higher value = slower if(cycle ==0){cycle = 0.001;} //avoids a "divide by zero" error phase = 27; // initial angle in degrees from bottom reverse = 1; // 1 for ccw, -1 for cw x = Math.sin( reverse * degrees_to_radians(time * 360 / cycle + phase)); y = Math.cos(degrees_to_radians(time * 360 / cycle + phase)); add(mul(radius, [x, y]), position)

T R ACK A CH I LD
by Michael Natkin
This expression is designed to track the position of a layer that has been parented to one or more layers. Use the expression below on the position property that you wish to animate, changing the name Child to match the name of the layer you wish to track. For instance, if you want to use write-on to track the position of a layer called moon, apply this expression to the brush position property of the write-on filter, and change child to moon.
c = this_comp.layer("child"); c.to_comp(c.anchor_point)

ADJUSTA BLE W IGGLE

by Brian Maffitt
Use this expression as an interactive, keyframeable Wiggler. Apply it to the property of the layer you wish to wiggle. The variable names in the first three lines can be named whatever you like, but remember to change their corresponding use in the last line of the script.
wigfreq = 3; //wiggle frequency wigamt = 30; //wiggle amount wigdetail = 3; //detail of noise wiggle(wigfreq, wigamt, wigdetail)

ON E -DI MENSIONA L POSI T ION W IGGLE

by Brian Maffitt
Use this expression as an interactive, keyframeable Wiggler, but constrained along a single axis. Apply it to the position or anchor point of the layer you wish to wiggle.
FOR TWO DIMENSIONS wigfreq = 5; //wiggle frequency wigangle = 45; //wiggle amplitude wignoise = 3; //octaves of noise just = wiggle(wigfreq, wigangle, wignoise); [position[0], just[1]] //will wiggle just on Y. FOR THREE DIMENSIONS wigfreq = 5; //wiggle frequency wigangle = 45; //wiggle amplitude wignoise = 3; //octaves of noise just = wiggle(wigfreq, wigangle, wignoise); [position[0], position[1], just[2]] //will wiggle just on Z.

OSCI LLAT E POSI T ION

by Michael Natkin & Brian Maffitt
Creates an oscillating motion between two specified 2-dimensional positions over a specified period of time (in seconds). Use an adjustment layer with Expression Control position points for from, to, and an Expression Control slider assigned to period. Change linear to ease for smoother interpolation.
from = [50, 90]; //one end of your oscillation to = [190, 30]; //the other end of your oscillation period = 1.5; //time between oscillation points (multiply by 2 for a round trip) t = time % (period * 2); if (t > period) t = 2 * period - t; linear(t, 0, period, from, to)

OSCI LLAT E ROTAT ION {OR A N Y SI NGLE VA LU E }

by Michael Natkin & Brian Maffitt
Creates an oscillating motion between two specified values over a specified period of time (in seconds). Use Expression Control angles or sliders for from, to, and an Expression Control slider assigned to period for fine control. You can apply these to any layer. Change linear to ease for smoother interpolation.
from = -45; //one end of your oscillation to = 45; //the other end of your oscillation period = 1.5; //time between oscillation points (multiply by 2 for a round trip) t = time % (period * 2); if (t > period) t = 2 * period - t; linear(t, 0, period, from, to)

BOU NCE
by Michael Natkin & Brian Maffitt
Creates a bouncing (sine wave) motion between two specified 2-dimensional positions over a specified period of time (in seconds). Useful for creating bouncing balls. Use Expression Control position points for from, to, and an Expression Control slider assigned to period for fine control. You can apply these to any layer.
surface = [320, 480]; //the position of the "bounce" surface apogee = [320, 50]; //the "apogee" of the bounce period = 1.5; //the length of time from surface to apogee t = time % (period * 2); if (t > period) t = 2 * period - t; linear(Math.sin(t * Math.PI / period), 0, 1, surface, apogee)

W IGGLE FROM LEADER

by Michael Natkin & Brian Maffitt
These two expressions create a follow the leader effect. One works from the top down, the other from the bottom up. Only use one. A follower will tag along after the leader, deviating from the path according to the wiggle properties that are specified in the inputs. Once applied to a single follower, you can duplicate the layer as many times as you like and each subsequent copy will follow along, offset in time from the last and wiggling uniquely. In this expression, the wiggle is based on the position of the leader. Link Expression control sliders to lag (to interactively control how bunched together the layers are), wigfreq (to control the frequency of the wiggle) and wigamp (to control the amplitude of the wiggle). Apply Expression control effects to the leader only. Change the word Leader to match the name of the leading layer.
//USE THIS ONE IF THE LAYERS STACK UP FROM BOTTOM LEADER lagtime = .1; wigfreq = 3; //wiggle frequency wigamt = 30; //wiggle amount adj = (this_comp.num_layers - index) * lagtime; this_comp.layer("Leader").wiggle(wigfreq, wigamt, 2, .5,time - adj) //OR... //USE THIS ONE IF THE LAYERS STACK DOWN FROM TOP LEADER lagtime = .1; wigfreq = 3; //wiggle frequency wigamt = 30; //wiggle amount adj = (index - 1) * lagtime; this_comp.layer("Leader").wiggle(wigfreq, wigamt, 2, .5,time - adj)

W IGGLE FROM PR EV IOUS

by Michael Natkin & Brian Maffitt
This creates a follow the leader effect that works from the bottom up. A follower will tag along after the previous layer, deviating from the previous path according to the wiggle properties that are specified in the inputs. Once applied to a single follower, you can duplicate the layer as many times as you like and each subsequent copy will follow along, offset from the last in time and wiggling uniquely. In this expression, the wiggle is based on the position of the previous layer. Link Expression Control sliders to lag (to interactively control how bunched together the layers are), wigfreq (to control the frequency of the wiggle) and wigamp (to control the amplitude of the wiggle). Apply Expression Control effects to the leader only. Change the word Leader to match the name of the leading layer.
//USE THIS ONE IF THE LAYERS STACK UP FROM BOTTOM LEADER lagtime = .1; wigfreq = 3; //wiggle frequency wigamt = 30; //wiggle amount adj = (this_comp.num_layers - index) * lagtime; this_comp.layer(this_layer, 1).wiggle(wigfreq, wigamt, 2, .5,time - adj) //OR... //USE THIS ONE IF THE LAYERS STACK DOWN FROM TOP LEADER lagtime = .1; wigfreq = 3; //wiggle frequency wigamt = 30; //wiggle amount adj = (index - 1) * lagtime; this_comp.layer(this_layer, -1).wiggle(wigfreq, wigamt, 2, .5,time - adj)

2D LOOK AT
by Fred Lewis
Apply this Expression to the Rotation channel of any layer you wish to control. Set LookAt, below, to the name of the layer you wish the layer to look at. If the controlled layer is not initially pointing straight up, enter an offset amount in degrees, below, to adjust the direction it is looking.
LookAt = ball offset = 0 diffx = position[0] - this_comp.layer(LookAt).position[0]; diffy = position[1] - this_comp.layer(LookAt).position[1]; if (diffx == 0) { diffx = 1 } sign = 1 + (-1 * (diffx / Math.abs(diffx))) * 90; radians_to_degrees(Math.atan(diffy/diffx)) + sign + offset

3D LOOK AT
by Fred Lewis
Apply this expression to the orientation channel of the layer you wish to have look at another layer (the layer being controlled). Enter the name of the layer to look at in LookAt below. If the layer being controlled does not correctly look at other layer, adjust the layer offset by changing the X, Y and Z rotation values (not the orientation values) for the layer being controlled.
LookAt = "ball" look = look_at(position, this_comp.layer(LookAt).position); [look[0], look[1], look[2]]

A NGLE OF V I EW ZOOMER
by Fred Lewis
This allows you to control the angle of view of a camera interactively, by scaling a null object on screen. To use: Create a null called angle_zoomer. Animate the nulls scale to control viewing angle in degrees.
substitute = this_comp.layer("angle_zoomer").scale[1]; this_comp.width / (2 * Math.tan(degrees_to_radians(substitute/2)))

FOCA L LENGT H ZOOMER

by Fred Lewis
This expression will allow you to zoom a camera in After Effects using real-world focal length values. To use this expression: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Create a camera. Create a null layer called focal_zoomer and turn off its visibility switch in the timeline. Apply the expression below to the Zoom parameter of the camera. Set the value of hFilmPlane in the expression to the size of your film, in millimeters. Animate the nulls scale to control the focal length of the camera, in millimeters

hFilmPlane = 35; FocalLength = this_comp.layer("focal_zoomer").scale[1]; this_comp.width * (FocalLength/hFilmPlane)

CA MER A AUTOFOCUS
by Fred Lewis
Apply this expression to the Focus Distance of your camera, then change the name Focus Layer below, to the name of the layer you wish to keep in focus.
focuser = "Focus Layer"; cam_to_layer = sub(this_comp.layer(focuser).position, position); length(cam_to_layer)

CON N ECTOR
by Fred Lewis
These Expressions can be used to make a connector that stretches like a rubber band between two layers, which by default are named End 1 and End 2. Obviously you can change these names to anything you like. The connector layer wants to be a horizontal rectangle, with the anchor point of the layer moved to the left center edge of the layer. The connector has 3 separate expressions applied to it: one for position, one for rotation and one for scale. The Expressions are listed separately below.
// apply this Expression to the Connector layers Position parameter // set follow1 below to the name of the first layer to follow follow1 = "End 1" this_comp.layer(follow1).position // apply this Expression to Connector layers Rotation parameter // set follow2 below to the name of second layer to follow follow2 = "End 2" diff = sub(position,this_comp.layer(follow2).position); (Math.atan2(diff[1],diff[0]) * 180/Math.PI) + 180 // apply this Expression to Connector layers Scale parameter // set follow2 below to the name of second layer to follow follow2 = "End 2" stretch = length(position,this_comp.layer(follow2).position); [stretch,scale[1]];

GEA R S
by Fred Lewis
This Expression causes one gear to rotate at the proper speed when a second gear next to it is rotated, so that the two gears stay meshed with each other. To use this expression, first create and import two gears that mesh together properly. In order for two gears to mesh properly, the ratio of the difference in size between the two gears must equal the ratio of the difference in the number of teeth between the two gears. Once imported, decide which gear will be the Leader and which will be the Follower. Apply the Expression below to the Rotation parameter of the Follower gear. Then set the LayerToFollow, in the Expression, to the name of the Leader gear. Set the Ratio in the expression to the size of the Leader, relative to the Follower.
LayerToFollow = "Leader"; Ratio = 3/4 mul((this_comp.layer(LayerToFollow).rotation) * Ratio, -1)

PAT H T EXT LEV ELER

by Fred Lewis
This Expression will automatically keep the text in Path Text level within the comp. Useful for when you simply want to make a straight line or paragraph of text in Path Text, without making it follow a path. It allows you to use the extra kerning, spacing and other features of Path Text with ordinary straight text. To use this Expression: 1. Set the Shape Type to Line under Path Options in the effects window for Path Text. 2. Past the expression (below) into the Vertex 2 parameter of Path Text in the Timeline. 3. Use only Vertex 1 of the path to position the text.
radius = 75; cycle = 1; phase = 27; reverse = 1; // // // // the radius of the number of seconds initial angle in 1 for ccw, -1 for circle to complete a circle; higher value = slower degrees from bottom cw

x = Math.sin( reverse * degrees_to_radians(time * 360 / cycle + phase)); y = Math.cos(degrees_to_radians(time * 360 / cycle + phase)); add(mul(radius, [x, y]), position)

T EM POR A RY PA R EN T I NG
by Fred Lewis
Using the analogy of an eagle picking up a fish and dropping it in a nest, these two expressions can be used to parent one layer to another for only a portion of a longer animation. 1. Apply the first expression below to the position channel for a null. Set layertofollow to name of eagle layer. Set pickup and dropoff time values to times for pickup and dropoff, in seconds. 2. Apply the second expression to the rotation channel for the null. Set layertofollow to name of eagle layer. Set pickup and dropoff time values to times for pickup and dropoff, in seconds.
pickuptime = 1.53333; dropofftime = 5.0; layertofollow = "eagle" ticker = Math.min(Math.max(pickuptime, time), dropofftime); this_comp.layer(layertofollow).position.value_at_time(ticker) pickuptime = 1.53333; dropofftime = 5.0; layertofollow = "eagle" ticker = Math.min(Math.max(pickuptime, time), dropofftime); this_comp.layer(layertofollow).rotation.value_at_time(ticker)

T R ACK EFFEC T PA R A MET ER

by Fred Lewis
This expression will track any effect point on a layer, regardless of size, position, or scale of the layer, and translate it to positional values that are relative to the comp. For example, For example, you could have a small layer with corner pin applied, and use this expression to track another layer to the lower right corner of the effect, regardless of how the layer is moved. This expression will not take into account the scale or rotation of the source layer.
// // // // // // Apply this expression to the position parameter of any layer. Set the LayerToFollow to the layer whos effect parameter you want to follow. Set the EffectToFollow to the name of the effect whos parameter you want to follow. Set the ParamToFollow to the name of the parameter within the effect you want to follow The layer this is applied to will follow the effect parameter.

LayerToFollow = "Corner Pinned Layer"; EffectToFollow = "Corner Pin"; ParamToFollow = Lower Right; effectlayer = this_comp.layer(LayerToFollow) effectparam = effectlayer.effect(EffectToFollow).param(ParamToFollow); layposx = effectlayer.position[0]; laywid = effectlayer.width; layheit = effectlayer.height; layposy = effectlayer.position[1]; effectposx = effectparam[0]; effectposy = effectparam[1]; [(layposx + effectposx - (.5 * laywid)), (layposy + effectposy - (.5 * layheit))]

DECAY I NG BOU NC E
by Dan Ebberts & Steve Holmes
This expression allows you to drop a layer from the top of the screen and have it bounce in the center of the comp as if tied to a string, with a bounce decay control. First, create a small solid called Control Layer and hide it in the timeline. Add 3 Slider Control effects, naming them velo control, amplitude control and decay control. Suggested initial slider values for each are -200, -200 and 4 respectively. Paste the expression below into the Position property of the layer you wish to bounce, and be sure to set the layers anchor point to the correct location, such as the bottom edge if dropping from the top.
veloc = thisComp.layer("Control Layer").effect("velo control")("Slider"); amplitude = thisComp.layer("Control Layer").effect("amplitude control")("Slider"); decay = thisComp.layer("Control Layer").effect("decay control")("Slider"); y = amplitude*Math.cos(veloc*time)/Math.exp(decay*time); value + [0,y]

SQU ISH Y SQUASH Y

by Dan Ebberts & Steve Holmes
This expression allows you to drop a layer from any position (defined by your own position keyframes) and have it bounce in the center of the comp as if tied to a string, with a bounce decay control. First, create a small solid called squash control and hide it in the timeline. Add 3 Slider Control effects, naming them maxDev control, spd control and decay control. Suggested initial slider value for decay control is 2. Paste the expression below into the Position property of the layer you wish to bounce. Keyframe the position drop of your layer, making sure the anchor point is in the correct location you wish the bounce to occur from. One frame before the final position keyframe, set keyframes for the maxDev control and spd control sliders, both at 0. Then one frame later, adjust the sliders to the level you desire, and adjust the decay to suit.
maxDev = thisComp.layer("squash control").effect("maxDev control")("Slider"); // max deviation in pixels spd = thisComp.layer("squash control").effect("spd control")("Slider"); //speed of oscillation decay = thisComp.layer("squash control").effect("decay control")("Slider"); //how fast it slows down x = scale[0] + maxDev*Math.sin(spd*(time -inPoint))/Math.exp(decay*time); y = scale[0]*scale[1]/x; [x,y]