Adobe After Effects CS3 - Manual (Page 141)

AFTER EFFECTS CS3
User Guide
136
4 To create a layer based on this trimmed footage item, click an Edit button at the bottom of the Footage panel:
Overlay Edit Creates the new layer at the top of the layer stacking order, with the In point set at the current time
in the Timeline panel.
Ripple Insert Edit Also creates the new layer at the top of the layer stacking order, with the In point set at the
current time in the Timeline panel, but splits all other layers. Newly created split layers are moved later in time so
that their In points are at the same time as the inserted layer’s Out point.
Replace layer sources with references to another footage item
1 Select one or more layers in the Timeline panel
2 Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) a footage item from the Project panel onto a selected layer in the
Timeline panel.
Create or modify a solid-color layer
You can create layers of any solid color and any size (up to 30,000 x 30,000 pixels). Solid-color layers have solid-color
footage items as their sources. Solids work just like any other footage item: You can add masks, modify transform
properties, and apply effects to a layer that has a solid as its source footage item. Use solid layers to color a
background, as the basis of a control layer for a compound effect, or to create simple graphic images.
Solid-color footage items are automatically stored in the Solids folder in the Project panel.
See also
“Working with footage items” on page 58
“Trim, extend, or slip-edit a layer” on page 141
“Shortcuts for working with layers” on page 645
Create a solid-color layer or solid-color footage item
• To create a solid footage item but not create a layer for it in a composition, choose File > Import > Solid.
• To create a solid footage item and create a layer for it in the current composition, choose Layer > New > Solid or
press Ctrl+Y (Windows) or Command+Y (Mac OS).
To create a layer that fits the composition when you create a solid-color layer, choose Make Comp Size.
Modify settings for solid-color layers and solid-color footage items
• To modify settings for the selected solid-color layer or footage item, choose Layer > Solid Settings.
To apply the changes to all solid-color layers that use the footage item, select Affect All Layers That Use This Solid.
If you don’t select this option, you create a new footage item, which becomes the source for the selected layer.
Create an adjustment layer
When you apply an effect to an ordinary layer, the effect applies only to that layer and no others. However, an effect
can exist independently if you create an adjustment layer for it. Any effects applied to an adjustment layer affect all
layers below it in the layer stacking order. An adjustment layer at the bottom of the layer stacking order has no visible
result.