The Carousel - AE CS3 Project File

Thanks for purchasing this project. The Carousel is really two designs in one!
After downloading the project be sure to make a backup copy before
jumping in and making changes.

The project can be opened in After Effects CS3 or higher

The Project is in PAL format, 25fps, 1080P HD
The Project is organised into four folders.

Card Templates
Main Comp
PreComps
Solids

Everything in each folder is straightforward so let's look at the Card

Template first. There are twelve Card Templates that make up the twelve
cards/panels/filmstrips in the MAIN Comp for Render Comp.
Open up Template 01 from the Card Templates Folder and youll see
that it is currently set to the Film Frame look. You can add your own image or
video by selecting the Your Film Frame Image Layer in the timeline and hold
down the ALT key while dragging your image or video to replace the layer.
Do this for each Card Template.
If you prefer the image to have a shaded border instead, click the
Eyeball Switch next to Film Frame Layer and the Your Film Frame Image
Layer to hide them and turn on the Eyeball Switch for the Border and the
Your Image Layers. Swap the Your Image Layer for your own image or
video.
Do the same for the two Text Layers. You can of course use any Font type
size or colour.
Now open up the MAIN Comp for Render from the Main Comp Folder so that
we can talk about the different layers in the Timeline.
Beginning at the bottom of the stack are two Solid Layers with the Ramp
Effect applied. I have used the Ramp Light Layer for the Film Frame look to
create some contrast between the black frames and the background. The Ramp
Dark Layer I used for the Border style images, again for contrast.

The next twelve layers in the timeline are the twelve Card Templates. You
will see that they are Parented to the Rotator Control Layer. Unlock the Rotator
Control Layer by clicking off the Padlock next to the layers name and with the
layer selected hit the letter U on the keyboard to reveal the keyframes for the Y
Rotation for the layer. Now do the same for the Template01 Layer below.
Unlock the layer and hit U to reveal the Position and Y Rotation keyframes for
this layer. It is a combination of these two layers that produce the motion of each
Card Template.
The project is designed for twelve cards but you can change the number
of cards by deleting them from the time line. You will of course have to delete the
keyframes in the Rotator Control Layer for the deleted card layers and adjust
them over the length of the Comp. This is not as difficult as it sounds!
The next layer to look at is the Camera 1 Layer. Unlock the layer and
reveal the Point of Interest and Position keyframes. These keyframes give the
camera motion while the twelve cards are rotating in a circle before coming to
rest. There is a simple Wiggle Expression added to the cameras position to give
the camera a hand-held feel. Again all of these parameters can be adjusted to
what you want.
Next, unlock the Lens Flare layer and reveal its keyframe properties.
Both the Flare Centre and Blend With Original parameters are keyframed so
that as each card is about to come to rest in front of the camera, it appears that
the card is refecting light into the camera lens. You can adjust the flare settings
to suit your own project.
The two layers above are Lights. Toggle their Eyeball Switches to see the
effect that the lights have on the scene. The Spotlight01 Layer can be adjusted
to produce deeper or lighter shadows, or you can change its position. The
Ambient Light Layer creates a fill for the composition. Again the brightness of
this light can be adjusted to suit.
There are two Text Layers for a main title and an end title that are selfexplanatory. I just want to point out that for any text to have a reflection, the text
layer needs to be pre-composed. It also needs to rest at the bottom of the
composition so that it reflects correctly. So, in the Project Window open the
PreComps folder and open the Main Title Comp. You will see that the Main
Title Layer fills the Comp. This is achieved by creating a new Text Layer, typing
your text, and with the Text Layer selected go to Layer> Transform> Fit to Comp.
Go back to the MAIN Comp for Render and select the Main Title Layer
in the timeline. Open the Effects Window and you will find the effects that create
the reflection. The main effect to adjust is the Linear Wipe effect. By adjusting the
Transition Complete and the Feather parameters the reflection will be longer or
shorter, sharper or more gradual. Play around until you find what you like best.

In the PreComps folder are two other Comps. The Film Frame Comp contains
the elements to produce the transparent film frame used in the Card Template
Comps. You can adjust the size etc. of each element to suit. They are a series of
masks that are very easily changed.
The remaining Comp is Main Time Remapping. This composition is a
Precomposition of the MAIN Comp for Render that has Time Remapping
keyframes added to speed up during the 360 degree spin and to show each card
longer over the same time of one minute duration. Try playing with the time
remapping to get different speeds.
Finally, you can enable Motion Blur for each card and set the camera to have
Depth of Field. These both create a more dynamic appearance but are very
render intensive depending on your computers rendering capability.
I hope you enjoy this project and Happy After-Effecting!
Oh, and remember to rate this project if you havent already.