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 4th Edition
Version CC

AFTER EFFECTS

Real-World Skills for the

Aspiring Motion Graphics Artist

TRISH & CHRIS MEYER

DEDICATED to the After Effects team, past and present: from those hearty
pioneers at the Company of Science and Art (CoSA) who revolutionized our
industry, to the current innovators at Adobe who keep this vital program fresh.

Fourth edition published 2016

by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2016 Trish and Chris Meyer

The right of Trish and Chris Meyer to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by
them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Third edition published by Focal Press 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.

Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and
experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices,
or medical treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in
evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein.
In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety
of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

An application has been submitted for this material.

ISBN: 978-1-138-64307-9 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-64308-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-62954-4 (ebk)

Publisher’s Note: This book has been prepared from camera-ready copy provided by the authors.

Additional materials are available on the companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/meyer

 iii

Table of Contents
x Introduction
xi Getting Started

d Pre-Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Exploring the After Effects landscape.

1 project structure 10 Layer panel

2 main Application window 11 Info, Preview, Audio panels
3 Tools panel; Project panel 12 Effects & Presets; Effect Controls;
4 importing footage other panels
5 Footage panel 13 workspaces; stacked panels
6 transparency and alpha channels 16 previewing
8 Composition panel 17 work area
9 Timeline panel 18 preview behaviors

d Lesson 1 – Basic Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Building your first animation while you learn a typical After Effects workflow.

20 composition basics 30 duplicating and replacing layers

22 starting a project; creating folders 31 more precise placement; snapping
23 importing footage; alpha channels and grids
24 creating a new composition 32 adding solid layers
25 adding layers to the Comp panel 32 applying, copying, and pasting effects
26 changing property values (scrubbing) 34 dragging footage to the Timeline panel
27 animating Position; the motion path 36 editing motion paths; spatial keyframe types
28 previewing the animation 38 animating Scale
28 navigating between keyframes 39 animating Rotation; animating Opacity
28 managing the comp view; zooming 40 rendering
29 applying Easy Ease In 42 importing layered Photoshop and
29 adding the foreground layers Illustrator files
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

iv

d Lesson 2 – Advanced Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Manipulating keyframes to create more refined animations.

44 keyframe basics 62 Auto-Orient

46 Anchor Point overview 63 Motion Blur
47 Anchor Point tool 64 Roving keyframes
48 motion control moves 65 Time-Reverse Keyframes
50 Graph Editor 66 Hold keyframes
51 speed versus value graphs 68 time display and timecode
52 panning and zooming time
53 editing graph curves
54 easing animations
55 improving the timing;
Graph Editor Sets
56 Separate Dimensions
60 Motion Sketch
61 smoothing keyframes

d Lesson 3 – Editing Layers and Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Learning how to trim layers and enhance them using blending modes and effects.

70 layers and stacking order 89 animation presets

71 moving layers in time 91 Behavior presets
72 trimming layers 92 layer styles
73 trimming in the Layer and Footage panels 94 adjustment layers
74 slip editing 95 filmic glow trick
75 Sequence Layers keyframe assistant 96 property links with effects
77 looping footage 97 third-party effects
78 image sequences 98 higher-quality scaling
79 changing the frame rate; Time Stretch
80 applying effects
82 blending modes
84 effects and solids
85 effect motion path
87 Effects & Presets panel; searching
for effects
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

d Lesson 4 – Creating Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Using masks, mattes, stencils, and keying to cut out portions of a layer.

102 masking tools; creating mask shapes 116 creating and editing RotoBezier masks
104 Free Transform Points 117 Audio Spectrum effect
104 masking in the Layer panel; Ellipse tool 118 Rigid Mask Tracker
105 Mask Feather 120 Face Tracking
106 animating a mask path 122 variable mask feathering
107 creating a vignette; Mask Expansion 126 Alpha Track Matte
108 masking with the Pen tool (Bezier masks) 128 nesting a track matte composite
110 effecting a masked area 130 Luma Track Matte
111 mask path interpolation; First Vertex 131 animating matte layers
112 Mask Interpolation keyframe assistant 132 Stencil Luma and Stencil Alpha
113 effects that can use the mask path; 134 Color Keying; Keylight; greenscreen
Scribble effect 136 Key Cleaner and Advanced Spill
114 Mask Modes and multiple masks Suppressor
115 Mask Opacity 139 effects with track mattes and stencils

d Lesson 5 – Type and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Animating text and working with music are essential to motion graphics design.

141 creating basic text 161 adding the Wiggly Selector

145 creating text Animators; 162 rendering with an alpha channel
Range Selectors 164 multiple selectors and animators
147 animating text Position 166 using text animation presets
148 animating text Rotation and Opacity 168 saving text animations as presets
149 randomizing the order of characters 169 editing Photoshop text layers
149 creating cascading text; working with 170 adding audio to a comp
selection Shapes 171 spotting audio; using layer and
151 setting the text Anchor Point comp markers
152 animating by words 172 mixing and enhancing audio
153 title safe areas
154 animating text Blur and Tracking
155 text on a path
156 Per-character 3D animators
159 Ease Low and Ease High
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

vi

d Lesson 6 – Parenting and Nesting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Grouping layers to make them easier to coordinate.

174 parenting, nesting, and expressions defined

176 assigning a parent
177 parenting, opacity, and effects
m p2
178 Coparenting with null objects
sks 198 edit this, look at that (ETLAT)
180 Mato group layers; using guides
nesting
200 continuous rasterization
182 editing precomps
cts
N

e
Eff 202 collapsing transformations
TE

m p1 184 nesting a common source

AT

Co 204 compound effects

FL

s 185 navigating composition hierarchies

ask
rs e
O N r m Lay
M 187 sfoprecomps
sizing All
n site
s Tra mp
o
TE
N
ect 190 Co
precomposing AaT group of layers
Eff FL
192 precomposing a single layer
orm
nsf 194 render order explained
Tra yer
s
A ll La
po site 195 splitting work between comps
Com TT
EN
FL
A 196 precompose options compared
196 using precomposing to reorder

d Lesson 7 – Expressions and Time Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Using expressions and playing with time.

208 using the pick whip to create expressions 223 stop-motion tricks; Preserve
209 altering expressions Frame Rate
210 stabilizing shadows 224 Preserve Frame Rate with effects
212 matching value ranges (the linear expression) 225 adding handle with freeze frames
214 looping keyframes 226 time remapping (varispeeding)
215 expression tips 228 using the graph editor to smooth
216 the wiggle expression time
217 expression controls
217 keyframing the wiggle expression
218 creating a master controller
219 converting sound to keyframes
220 frame blending
221 Pixel Motion
222 Pixel Motion Blur
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

vii

d Lesson 8 – 3D Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Adding a new dimension to your animations.

232 moving and rotating layers in 3D space

234 multiplaning effects
236 3D motion paths
237 multiple views
238 adding a camera; camera settings 258 adjustment lights
239 using the camera tools; 3D views 259 Ray-traced 3D renderer
240 moving and animating cameras 260 extrusion and beveling
242 building a camera rig 262 Fast Previews
244 layer and camera auto-orientation 263 bending footage layers
246 camera depth of field blur 264 transparency; index of refraction
248 3D lights 266 reflections
250 Material Options 268 environment layers
252 casting shadows 269 ray-tracer image quality
254 Light Transmission 270 CINEMA 4D renderer
256 Light Falloff preview

d Lesson 9 – Track and Stabilize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

A key to visual effects work is removing or re-creating camera movement.

276 Warp Stabilizer 298 3D Camera Tracker

279 Reversible Stabilization 299 defining the plane; moving the target
281 point-based tracking and stabilization 300 creating a Track Null; parenting
282 creating track points 302 adding 3D text
284 applying stabilization 302 creating a shadow catcher
285 when tracks go wrong 304 Rolling Shutter Repair
286 2D motion tracking
287 applying a motion track
288 tracking interlaced footage
288 Radio Waves effect
289 applying tracks to effect points
291 planar tracking with mocha AE CC
294 pasting the mocha track into After Effects
295 mocha Shape
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

viii

d Lesson 10 – Paint, Roto, and Puppet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Exploring Paint, Roto Brush, and the Puppet tools.

307 basic painting 313 creating organic textures

309 erasing strokes 314 tablet settings
309 Paint Channels 315 cloning
310 Paint blending modes 316 transforming strokes
310 brush duration bar 317 basic Roto Brush
311 animating strokes 320 Roto Brush workflow; the base frame
312 revealing a layer 322 propagating strokes
324 corrective strokes
326 refining the matte
328 Refine Edge
330 Puppet Pin tool
331 animating puppet pins
332 Puppet Overlap tool
333 recording puppet animation
333 Puppet Starch tool
334 multiple shapes

d Lesson 11 – Shape Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Creating, animating, and extruding vector-based shapes.

336 creating a shape layer

337 Fill and Stroke settings; editing shapes
338 multiple shapes
339 Even-Odd Fill
340 shape effects
342 Bezier Shapes; Pen tool
344 Convert to Bezier Path
345 Create Shapes from Text
346 Repeater 354 advanced strokes; dashes and gaps
348 compound shapes; Merge Paths 356 animating a stroke
350 gradients 357 Create Shapes from Vector Layers
352 Wiggle Transform 358 extruding shape layers
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ix

d Lesson 12 – CINEMA 4D Lite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

Integrating a 3D application into the After Effects timeline using CINEWARE.

362 CINEMA 4D user interface

363 Project and Render Settings
364 frame rate issues
366 navigating the Viewport
367 Extrude object
368 Light Setups
369 Materials
370 texture selection and projection
371 Ambient Occlusion
372 cameras 386 using the After Effects camera
373 keyframing 387 Object Buffers
374 CINEWARE Render Settings 390 importing model
375 extract camera and lights 392 shadows
376 creating text 393 using layers
378 importing Illustrator files 394 Multi-Pass
379 Fracture object
380 Plain effector
383 render quality;
Interactive
Render Region
384 Target Light

d Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Perfecting your renders, as well as dealing with other video issues.

396 rendering: under the hood 403 flickering

397 render templates 403 subpixel positioning
398 Adobe Media Encoder 404 resampling in action
400 rendering movies; rendering 405 non-square pixels
sequences 406 fields and interlacing
401 issues that affect image quality 407 3:2 Pulldown

408 Resources, Production Credits 409 Index

 x

Introduction
Learning After Effects is key to creating a wide range of moving imagery.

It’s simple: We’re attracted to interesting imagery that graphics or visual effects. Or, perhaps you are a video editor
moves. Adobe After Effects excels at creating that imagery, or web designer who wants to learn “just enough” After
be it an opening title for a television program, special Effects to help raise the quality of your productions.
effects for a commercial or film, an animated banner in On the other hand, you might also be a longtime or
a sports stadium or at a trade show, entertaining content former user looking for a refresher course – especially as
on websites or mobile devices, or informational displays you upgrade from an older permanent license version to
in shopping malls, at airports, or even in elevators or cars. a Creative Cloud subscription. In this edition we’ve made
In contrast to editing software that specializes in creat- a point of also adding in some more advanced material,
ing a linear story, the power of After Effects is in layering from motion tracking tricks and refined text animation
multiple images to quickly convey visually rich or complex techniques, to integrating MAXON CINEMA 4D Lite which
ideas. After Effects is a deep, mature tool that allows you is now bundled with After Effects.
to combine video, film, photographs, scans, illustrations, We realize different people learn differently: Some prefer
PDFs, 3D objects, text, and music in myriad ways, plus to read; some prefer to watch. That’s why in addition to
create elements of your own. You can arrange, animate, this book, we’ve created a companion After Effects Apprentice
and treat these components, and render the result to a wide video series. We’ve tried to make this book as concise as
variety of formats for print, the web, video, film, and more. possible while still conveying the information we think you
In short, master After Effects, and you will be able to craft need; the videos allow us to expound a bit more and explain
compelling imagery for a wide variety of clients and tasks. what we’re thinking when we make certain design or tech-
Our goal in After Effects Apprentice is to teach you the nical decisions. The videos are available through multiple
most important core features through a series of practical, outlets, listed on onlinetraining.crishdesign.com. Whether
hands-on exercises. Every lesson is grounded in our own you choose one or use both, we hope After Effects Apprentice
real-world experiences, showing you the right way to use helps you on your path to a
the right feature for a given task. We start out with simple fulfilling career.
animations to help you over that first step in learning the
program, eventually working up to animating text, motion
tracking and stabilization, and creating 3D worlds.
This book has been designed for a variety of users. Our Trish & Chris Meyer
primary target is a beginner or student new to motion Crish Design
 xi

Getting Started
How to use this book including project files, version numbers, and terminology.

Learning any new piece of software can be as frustrating as Effects CC 2014, as the project file format is the same. The
it is rewarding – especially if you are unfamiliar with how it main difference is the preview mechanism has changed;
works or what a book is trying to tell you to do. Although we’ll discuss that in more detail in the Pre-Roll section.
we know you’re probably anxious to jump right in, please And, we’ll mention when a feature is not supported in CC
take a few moments to read these introductions – we 2014. You can also load these project files in later versions
promise they will help reduce your stress level later on: of After Effects, as the core features often remain the same.
• This Getting Started section explains how to use this book
and its associated files.
Preferences
We assume you are starting out using the default After
• The following Pre-Roll section will help familiarize you
Effects preferences. If you have modified your current pref-
with the “lay of the land” inside After Effects including
erences, created custom templates, and so on, and want
the user interface, plus explain how projects are structured.
to save those preferences, launch After Effects and open
In a program as broad as After Effects, there are features Preferences > General. At the bottom of that dialog, click
you will use almost every day, and those you may use only Reveal Preferences in Finder/Explorer. Copy that file to a
once a year or less. The exercises in this book are designed safe place. Then, to restore the default preference settings,
to familiarize you with the core tools and features in After quit After Effects, and hold down Command+Option+Shift
Effects (plus a few important “gotchas”), preparing you for on Mac (Ctrl+Alt+Shift on Windows) while re-launching
many of the real-world tasks you will encounter. the program. You can always later copy your saved prefer-
ences file back to where you found it to restore your custom
Software Versions settings. (Note that if you have only added Render Settings and
To use this book, you need to install Adobe After Effects Output Module templates, and have not changed the program’s
CC 2014, CC 2015, or later on either your Macintosh or Preferences, you will be okay using your current Preferences file.)
Windows computer. If you do not have a licensed copy,
Adobe makes fully functional time-limited trial versions Project Files
available on its website at www.adobe.com/downloads/. The project files and source media that go along with this
This book, including all of the screen shots, was created book are online at www.routledge.com/cw/meyer. You will
using After Effects CC 2015.1 (also known as version 13.6). need to create an account on that site, including answering
However, most of the lessons can be executed using After a question about the content of the book.
 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

xii

After you’ve registered, return to that page and click on the By the way: Just because we provide you with all of the
Project Files menu. Then click on the link for the Lesson materials you need, this does not mean you can’t use your
you’re on, and a .zip archive should download automat- own images and video instead! Indeed, we encourage you
ically. Decompress that .zip archive, and you will have a to use your own sources and to try your own variations on
self-contained folder with everything you need for that our ideas instead of just typing in the numbers we give you.
lesson. Copy that folder to a convenient place on your There are gazillions of motion graphics styles out there.
computer’s drive and double-click the .aep project file Although we can demonstrate only a few of them here,
inside it. After opening any lesson’s project for the first you will learn what you need to re-create a lot of what
time, you should use Edit > Save As and give it a new name. you see on TV – or in your own imagination.
This will ensure you keep the original version intact for
future reference. Fonts
If After Effects is unable to find a project’s source files, With Creative Cloud, Adobe changed to a system where
you will see a warning dialog when the project opens. fonts are not necessarily installed with a new piece of soft-
ware. Instead, you can use Adobe Typekit – included with
your Creative Cloud subscription – to add fonts you may
not have currently installed.
If you open a project
file and get a message
that a font is missing,
g If sources are missing, After Effects open the Adobe Creative
will display a warning dialog . Cloud application and
look under Assets >
f Missing sources appear in italics
in the Project panel . Double-click a Fonts. If needed, enable
missing item to relink the source . Typekit, then click Add
Fonts from Typekit.
In the Project panel, twirl open one of the subfolders inside Search for the missing
the Sources folder; missing items will be displayed in italics. fonts, click Use Fonts,
Double-click a missing item: This will bring up a standard then Sync Selected
file navigation dialog where you can locate that item. Select Fonts. After a pause
the missing file from its corresponding Sources subfolder for them to download,
on your drive and click OK. Provided the folder relation- reload your project.
ship between the project and the source files it uses has
not changed, After Effects will search for the other missing System Requirements
items and link them in as well. Adobe lists the system requirements for After Effects on the
Virtually all of the material inside this book and in the associated web page: www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects/
downloaded exercise files are copyright protected and are systemreqs. That page lists the minimum requirements; the
included only for your own learning and experimenta- bigger display you have, the more pixels you can see, while
tion. (The United States map in Lesson 6 and the Indian more RAM allows you to create longer previews to check
Territories map in Lesson 9 are in the public domain.) your results as you work.
Respect copyrights: Some day, it could be you who made If you plan to take advantage of the Ray-traced 3D
that cool graphic… renderer (introduced in the last third of Lesson 8 and
 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

xiii

optionally used in portions of Lessons 9 and 11), you really Shortcuts and Phrases
want to have a compatible NVIDIA CUDA-enabled GPU
After Effects runs on both Mac OS X and Windows and
(Graphics Processing Unit) in your video card or on the
is nearly identical on both platforms. That said, there are
motherboard of your laptop. This greatly accelerates ray-
numerous elements in an After Effects project to keep
traced rendering. You can still use the ray tracer without
straight, such as files, compositions, effects, and expres-
it, but performance may be so poor that you could become
sions. To help indicate what we’re talking about, we have
discouraged. Compatible GPUs are listed on the System
a handful of particular type conventions and shorthand
Requirements web page mentioned above.
phrases that we will be using throughout this book:
In addition to Adobe’s processor and operating system
restrictions, we personally suggest that you use an extended • Words in bold refer to the names of files, folders, layers,
keyboard (or that you learn how to access the function or compositions you are using. These words refer both to
and numeric keypad equivalent keys on your laptop), and files on disk and to items inside your project file.
a three-button mouse; one with a scroll wheel is a nice • “Words in bold and in quotes” are text you should
bonus. We also recommend installing an SSD (Solid State enter – such as the name for a new composition or solid.
Drive) to use for your applications and/or the After Effects (Obviously, you should not enter the quotes themselves.)
cache. The disk used for this cache is set in Preferences >
Media & Disk Cache. • Words in this typewriter font indicate code
inside an expression.
Retina and HiDPI Displays • Menu items, effects, and parameter names do not get
An increasing number of laptops and even desktop com- a special font.
puters now feature “Retina” (Apple) or “HiDPI” (Microsoft)
• When there is a chain of submenus or subfolders you
displays. After Effects supports these by rendering its user
have to navigate, we separate links in the chain with a >
interface elements at higher resolution.
symbol: For example, Effect > Color Correction > Levels.

• To help make you a faster user, we mention keyboard

shortcuts throughout this book. They are indicated by a
special keyboard font. The Macintosh shortcut – such as
Cs to save a project – is presented first and is colored
red (followed by the Windows shortcut – such as Ls –
in parentheses, colored blue). Keyboard shortcuts that are
the same on both platforms are in gray, such as typing
However, there is a gotcha with how content is
s to reveal a layer’s Scale parameter.
displayed: A magnification or “zoom” level of 100% on
a normal display corresponds to a zoom level of 200% The modifier key icons we use mean:
on a Retina display, or either 150% or 200% on a HiDPI C Command (Mac)
display. If you have one of these displays, whenever we
O Option (Mac)
say something like “set the Magnification level to 100%,”
translate that number to what is supported by your L Control (Windows)
display. For example, all of the screen shots in this book A Alt (Windows)
were taken on a Retina iMac or MacBook Pro, so you will
see 200% in the bottom left corner of panels where you • After Effects makes extensive use of “context-clicking”
might expect to see 100%. on items to reveal additional menus or options. To context-
 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

xiv

click, use the right mouse button; we will

say “right-click” in the instructions. If you
For Instructors
are using a Macintosh single-button mouse, Each lesson in After Effects Apprentice demonstrates essential features
hold down the L key while clicking. On through a series of hands-on exercises. They are supplemented with sidebars
and numerous tips that cover technical issues and other features of inter-
a Macintosh laptop’s trackpad, you can also
est. Additionally, many of the lessons end with a series of challenges you
click with two fingers to “right-click.”
can give your students to have them build on what they’ve learned. We’ve
• After Effects makes a distinction between also included a lot of real-world tips, including how to work with clients and
the normal section of the keyboard and the potential delivery requirements. We hope that you will find this format useful
numeric keypad, especially when it comes and can adapt it to your specific needs.
to the E or R key. When you see This book was created using After Effects CC 2015. After Effects CC 2014
R, we mean the carriage return key that will load the same project files without modification, and it contains most
is part of the normal keyboard; when you of the features covered in this book (the big difference being how previews
see E, we mean the key on the numeric function, as discussed in the following Pre-Roll section). If necessary, you
keypad. If you are using a keyboard without can load the project files into CC 2014 or CC 2015 and use File > Save As >
Save a Copy As CC to run them on the first Creative Cloud version, but again
a numeric keypad, in place of E press
some of the more recent features may not be supported.
CR (LR).
We have created a companion After Effects Apprentice video training
• The Preferences are located under the series which you may find useful to watch. In addition to getting to see
After Effects menu on the Mac (and under and hear us actually walk through the steps, we share a lot of our thought
the Edit menu on Windows). We’ll just say process as we make design and technical decisions. This background may
“Preferences” and assume you can find them. aid your own understanding, as well as provide additional ideas for how to
explain individual concepts to your students. For distributors of these video
Finally: Relax! Have fun! It’s only software;
courses, check our web page onlinetraining.crishdesign.com.
you can’t break it. And remember there is
often more than one solution to any problem The contents of this book and its accompanying files online are copy-
righted. Each student must own his or her own copy of this book. You may
– especially when artistic expression is
not duplicate this book’s text, project files, and associated materials for your
involved. Rather than give you a set of rigid
students if they do not own a copy of this book. As long as they do, you
recipes that must be followed exactly, our
may download the project files and media from the companion website
hope instead is to give you a set of skills that
www.routledge.com/cw/meyer and copy them to their individual computers,
you can draw on to realize your own ideas or you may place the files on a classroom server for them to access. Provided
while using this wonderful program. each student owns the book, you are free to then modify the tutorials and
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 1

Pre-Roll
Exploring the After Effects landscape.

I d In This Lesson
n this section, we want to give you the “lay of
the land” inside After Effects and show you how
to move around inside it. You will learn what 1 project structure
each of the major sections of the user interface 2 main Application window
are called and what they are for, as well as how to 3 Tools panel
rearrange the interface to best suit the task at hand. 3 Project panel
4 importing footage
5 Footage panel
The After Effects Project 6 transparency and alpha channels
Before we explain the pieces of the puzzle, we should first 8 Composition panel
explain the puzzle they are part of: namely, an After Effects
9 Timeline panel
project. A project file points at the footage – sources or
10 Layer panel
pieces of media – you want to use to build one or more
compositions. After Effects does not store a copy of the 11 Info, Preview, Audio panels
footage inside the project file; just a pointer to it. When 12 Effects & Presets; Effect Controls; other panels
you move a project to a different folder or computer, 13 workspaces; stacked panels
you need to move the footage it uses as well. You can use 16 previewing
movies, still images, sequences of stills, or audio files – all 17 work area
in a variety of formats – as footage items.
18 preview behaviors; customizing previews
When you add a piece of footage to a composition
(or “comp” for short), it becomes a layer inside that comp.
Once a footage item is a layer in a comp, you can arrange
d tip
it in relation to other layers, animate it, and add effects Help!
to it. Another way of thinking of a comp is as the place Pressing ! opens the After Effects Help in your web browser.
where your sources get composited together into the This landing page contains a number of helpful links to specific
final image. topics. It also includes a Search box to find specific information.
You can create virtually unlimited compositions in a
project, as well as virtually unlimited layers in each comp. d Getting Started
The same footage item can be used in more than one
Optional: If you’d like to follow along, download the file
comp, as well as more than once in the same comp. archive for Pre-Roll (as discussed in How to Use This Book)
You can even use comps as layers inside of other comps and decompress it. It contains the project file and sources
(this is called nesting, which we’ll cover in Lesson 6). that we used to create the figures in this chapter.
 PRE-ROLL

Tools panel

Info / Audio
Composition panel

Preview

Project panel

Effects &
Presets

Libraries

Timeline panel

The Application Window layer. Different types of panels – or in some cases, multiple
The box all of these puzzle pieces fit into is the After Effects copies of the same type of panel – can share the same frame,
Application window. By default, this window is designed to appearing as tabs along the top of the frame. A blue outline
fill your entire display, although you are able to resize it around a panel indicates it is currently “forward” or selected.
by dragging on its edges or lower right corner, and reposi­ An arrangement of panels and frames is called a work-
tion it by grabbing it along its top. space. After Effects comes with a number of prearranged
This window is split into several different sections workspace layouts; you can also save your own custom
known as frames. Each frame can hold one or more tabbed arrangements. You will learn how to do this later in this
panels; a full list of available panels is included under the Pre-Roll. But first, let’s become familiar with the panels
After Effects Window menu. you will encounter most often, what information they
Each panel type holds a different kind of information, hold, and how you will use them while working on a
such as what footage items you have already imported project in After Effects. You won’t be putting them to use
into your project or which effects you have applied to a quite yet; that will be your task in the following lessons!
 PRE- ROLL

The Tools Panel Hand

Tool (h)
Rotate Pan Behind Pen Tool
Tool (w) (Anchor Point) (g)
Brush Tool
(Cb/
Eraser Tool
(Cb/
Puppet Pin
Tools
The After Effects main window Tool (y) Lb) Lb) (Cp/
Lp)
features a toolbar along its top.
This provides an easy way to switch
between different tools until you learn
the keyboard shortcuts. The keyboard
shortcuts are worth learning; they’ll Selection Zoom Camera Shape Type Tools Clone Roto Brush Tool
make you a much faster After Effects Tool (v) Tool (z) Tools (c) Tools (q) (Ct/ Stamp Tool (Ow/
Lt) (Cb/ Aw)
user. If a tool you want is grayed out, Lb)
make sure you select a comp or a g The Tools panel. A small triangle beside
the tool means that this tool has options,
layer – it should then become active.
in which case its shortcut key will cycle
Selecting some tools (such as Type or between some or all of them. The Tools
Paint) may also open related panels panel is the only one that cannot be docked Local/World/View Snapping Modes
that go along with it. into a different frame. Axis Modes

Options Menu
The Project Panel
The Project panel is the central hub
of an After Effects project. Whenever
you import a footage item or create
a new composition, it appears in the Columns (click to sort by;
Project panel. drag heads left/right to reorder;
QuickSearch right-click to show/hide)
The Project panel displays infor­
mation such as file type, size, and
location in a series of columns. You
can drag the horizontal scroll bar at
the bottom of this panel to view the
different columns. Selecting a column
header causes After Effects to sort the
Project panel based on this column’s
information; look for the arrow along
its top to tell which one’s selected. To
add or subtract a column, right­click
on any column header and select or
deselect it from the list that appears.
When you select a footage item in Delete Selected Project Flowchart
Interpret New Project Items View
the Project panel, a thumbnail of it
Footage Comp
will appear at the top of this panel, g The Project panel. Use File > Close Project to close
along with its vital statistics. If you New Project the project without quitting After Effects. (Closing the
are already using it in a composition, Folder Settings Application panel will quit After Effects.)
 PRE-ROLL

the name of the comp it appears in will be added to a popup menu

to the right of its name.
If you need to change some settings for a footage item – such as
its frame rate or alpha channel type (more on that later) – select it
in the Project panel, then click the Interpret Footage button at the
bottom of this panel.
As projects become more complex, the Project panel can quickly
become messy. Fortunately, you can create folders inside this
panel to keep things organized. To do this, click on the Create a
New Folder icon along the bottom of this panel or use the menu
command File > New > New Folder. You can double­click a folder
or use the arrow to its left to open and close it; to rename a folder,
select its name, press R, type in the new name, and press
R again. (You’ll be creating folders in Lesson 1.)

D Importing Footage
The most common way to “import”
sources (known as footage) into an
After Effects project is to choose File >
Import. This will open a dialog where
you can browse to the file you want
(see figure to the right).
Two other options include opening
Window > Media Browser or choosing
File > Browse in Bridge, which opens a
handy file-browsing utility standardized
across multiple Adobe applications.
Bridge needs to be installed separately
with Creative Cloud.
After Effects itself cannot capture or
digitize its own footage; you will have to
do that in a video editor such as Adobe
Premiere Pro.
To change parameters for your
imported footage, select it in the
Project panel and click on the Interpret
Footage button at the bottom of the The File Import dialog contains important options such as whether you want to import
panel. These settings will be discussed the file as a single footage item or as a composition (handy for layered Photoshop and
in the Transparency and Alpha Channels Illustrator files), whether you want to import a sequence of stills as a movie, and whether
section starting on page 6 . to import an entire folder in one go. (You’ll learn about importing footage in Lesson 1.)
 PRE- ROLL

h The Footage panel. Close Toggle Viewer

Panel Viewer Lock Dropdown Menu Options Menu

Time Ruler Time Marker

Set In Point Set Out Point (trimmed portion (relative to the
Magnification Preview Time to Current Time to Current Time shown in color) start of the source)

Always Primary Viewer Grid & Take Show Last Region of Toggle Reset Adjust Ripple Insert Overlay Edit
Preview Toggle Guide Snapshot Snapshot Interest Transparency Exposure Exposure Edit
This View (for External Options Grid
Video Preview)
Show Channel & Color Toggle Pixel Aspect
Management Settings Ratio Correction

The Footage Panel

The Footage Panel is where you can inspect your footage your cutout source against a checkerboard. This is partic­
in isolation before it is added to a composition. You can ularly useful for troubleshooting problem alpha channels
double­click any footage item in the Project panel to open (discussed in the next couple of pages). If you are viewing a
it in the Footage panel. By default, this panel opens in the video source and you are separating its fields, you can step
same frame as the Comp and Layer panels. If you open through its individual fields in the Footage panel, instead
more than one footage item, you can switch between them of just viewing whole interlaced frames. The arcane subjects
by clicking on the name of the currently open footage item of fields, interlacing, and pulldown are explained in the
along the top of the panel, which will reveal a list of other Appendix at the end of this book.
previously opened items. You may pretrim your sources in the Footage panel and
The buttons along the bottom of the Layer panel affect then add just this trimmed portion to the currently open
how you view this source, such as its magnification, res­ composition (the “Edit Target” displayed along the bottom
olution, and color channels. If your source has an alpha of the panel). This procedure is discussed in the sidebar
channel, clicking Toggle Transparency Grid will display Trimming in Other Panels in Lesson 3.
 PRE-ROLL

D Transparency and Alpha Channels The Background Color is set at the bottom
of the Composition > Composition Settings
dialog under the Basic tab.
Transparency is a crucial concept in After (which scales the alpha channel values of
Effects. Video footage is typically opaque every pixel in the layer by the same amount) The Background Color should be thought
from edge to edge, as are photographs. and by other more targeted techniques such of as a temporary color used primarily for
However, some sources have partially or as masks and mattes (described in Lesson 4). display purposes. If you “render” (output
fully transparent areas: for example, text or or export; discussed in the Appendix) a
a logo in an Illustrator footage item is trans- composition to a format that supports an
Viewing the Alpha Channel
parent beyond the outlines of its characters alpha channel, this color will disappear and
There are two main ways to view the trans- be replaced by transparency. If you want a
or shapes. Transparency makes it more
parency of a layer or composite of layers in solid color to indeed fill your background,
interesting to composite layers on top of
the Footage, Composition, and Layer panels: you should use a solid or shape layer. Solid
each other, as an upper layer can reveal
portions of the layers underneath without Toggle Transparency Grid: Enabling the layers are demonstrated in Lesson 1. Shape
having to resort to tricks such as crossfading. Transparency Grid in any of the viewer panels layers – the subject of Lesson 11 – can also
displays a gray and white checkerboard be created using gradients instead of just a
The transparent areas of a layer are
pattern where the layer or composite of solid color.
defined by its alpha channel. When you
import a footage item into After Effects layers is transparent. This will be familiar to Show Alpha Channel: Clicking on the Show
and use it in a composition, each pixel of those used to working in Photoshop. If you Channel button along the bottom of a viewer
that source is defined by four channels of enable the Transparency Grid and don’t see panel and choosing Alpha converts the view
information: the red, green, and blue color a checkerboard pattern, the entire viewer is to a grayscale image, where white represents
channels (which are added together in covered by an opaque source. fully opaque, black represents fully trans-
varying strengths to create different colors, When the Transparency Grid is toggled parent, and shades of gray represent partial
including black and white), and the alpha off, these transparent areas are filled in with a transparency. This makes subtle details such
channel, which defines the transparency of color: black in the case of the Footage panel, as semitransparent shadows much easier to
that pixel. You can modify the alpha channel or the composition’s background color in the see, without getting distracted by a layer or
of a layer by changing its Opacity parameter case of the Composition and Layer panels. background’s color.

g The Transparency Grid is a checkerboard displayed in the g Choosing Show Channel > Alpha displays just the alpha channel
areas where the layer (or composite of layers) is transparent. as a grayscale image, with white = opaque and black = transparent.
 PRE- ROLL

Straight versus
Premultiplied Alpha
There are two different types of images with
alpha channels: straight and premultiplied.
These terms refer to how the color channels
are handled in the areas where the image is
partially transparent:

Premultiplied means the layer’s background

color is mixed (“multiplied”) with the original
color of the image, depending on how trans-
parent it is in that area. Although the color
channels may appear normal in isolation, the
result is minutely less color fidelity when you
composite it on top of another layer.

Straight means the color is full strength in the

partially transparent areas; it is not diluted
by the background color. Although the color
channels may look strange in isolation, this
approach results in higher quality and it is
what is expected by editing software receiv-
ing a footage item with an alpha channel.
If the alpha channel is “interpreted”
incorrectly, you may see a colored fringe (but not always!) works. If you see a colored g Viewing the color channels of a footage
around the partially transparent edges of fringe, either change the alpha type or try a item or composite with a straight alpha
an object. Changing the alpha type in the different color for the Premultiplied option. channel may look odd. For example, the
Interpret Footage dialog – discussed next – Black is the most common color that is multi- partially transparent shadow around the
text in this example appears solid black;
often fixes this. plied into the semitransparent areas; choose
the translucent bar across the top appears
white when an object was shot against a
solid yellow. Don’t worry: Once the alpha
Interpreting the Alpha Type white background and cut out in a program
channel is factored in, it will look fine.
such as Photoshop. If the footage was
The alpha channel type, as well as other
previously “color keyed”
parameters used to process source footage
(Lesson 4) and has a pre-
such as its Frame Rate, Pixel Aspect Ratio,
multiplied alpha, choose
whether or not it is “interlaced,” and more, is
the color the object was
set in the Interpret Footage dialog. Select a
shot in front of, such as
footage item in the Project panel and choose
green or blue.
File > Interpret Footage > Main to open
this dialog; you may also click the Interpret
e The Interpret Footage
Footage button along the bottom of the
dialog can be opened at
Project panel. The Footage panel displays
any time if you feel you
the source with these interpretations applied.
interpreted the alpha
When determining the alpha channel for a channel incorrectly during
footage item, clicking the Guess button often the import process.
 PRE-ROLL

Toggle Viewer Options

Viewer Lock Dropdown Menu Menu h The Composition panel.

Primary Viewer Toggle Reset Adjust

(for External Video Preview) Exposure Exposure

Always Grid & Preview Show Resolution Toggle 3D Select Comp Flowchart
Preview Guide Time Last Transparency View View
This View Options Snapshot Grid popup Layout Bring Timeline Forward

Magnification Toggle Mask Take Show Channel & Region of Fast Previews Menu
& Shape Path Snapshot Color Management Interest
Toggle Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction
Visibility Settings

The Composition Panel

The Composition panel – “comp” for short – is where you in the composite image as needed to fill the display. A good
see your creations. It displays the current frame of your choice for the Footage, Comp, and Layer panels is Fit Up
composition. You can also directly click on and drag the to 100% (or 150 or 200, depending on your monitor), as
objects (layers) that make up your comp. After Effects this will resize the viewer to take advantage of the available
renders only the pixels that fall inside the comp’s image area space on monitors with fewer pixels such as small laptops.
(which we’ll refer to sometimes as the Comp viewer), but Note that Magnification is the zoom level, while
you also have a pasteboard beyond this area to work with. Resolution decides how many pixels After Effects is going
The buttons along the bottom of the Comp panel affect to process (Full means every pixel, Half is every second
how you view the composite of your layers, such as mag­ pixel in the width and height, and so on). Setting the
nification, resolution, color channels, and mask and shape Resolution popup to Auto will keep these two in sync –
path outlines. The tab along the top includes a popup such as Full Resolution when at 100% Magnification, or
menu that allows you to select which open comp to view. Half Resolution when at 50% Magnification. This gives
Whenever you set Magnification to something other the fastest playback speeds and avoids the common mistake
than 100% (200% on an Apple Retina display; 150% or of processing at Full Resolution when viewing at less than
200% on a Windows HiDPI display depending on your 50% magnification – why spend time rendering more pixels
hardware), by default After Effects interpolates the pixels than your monitor is set to display?
 PRE- ROLL

The Timeline Panel

The Timeline panel gives you details on how the current Like in the Project panel, you may select which columns
composition is built: what layers it includes, what order to view by right­clicking on any column header and select­
they are stacked in, where they start and end, how they ing or deselecting it from the list that appears. These columns
are animating, and what effects have been applied to them. may also be dragged left and right to reorder them – for
It is the left brain to the Comp panel’s right brain. example, we prefer placing the A/V Features column to
The Timeline panel is broken down into two sections: the right near the timeline, rather than its default position
the timeline section to the right, which shows how the of far left. Once you reorder these columns, all new
layers have been trimmed and any keyframes applied compositions you create will have the same arrangement.
to them, and a series of columns to the left that display The Timeline panel features a tab for each currently open
different switches, information, and options. The timeline comp, which makes it easy to see which ones are open
section is also where the Graph Editor (introduced in and to quickly jump between them. Note that the Render
Lesson 2) is displayed. Queue docks into the same frame as the Timeline panel.

Close Comp Composition Hide Shy

Tab Tab Mini-Flowchart Layers
Enable
Time Options Draft Frame Enable Graph Comp
Display Menu 3D Blending Motion Blur Editor Marker Bin

QuickSearch

Current Time
Indicator (CTI)
Click to toggle Column Headers
Source Name/Layer Name (drag left/right to reorder;
right-click to hide/show)

Animation
Stopwatch
Switches A/V Features
“Twirly”

Expand or Collapse the In/Out/Duration/Stretch Panes Zoom Out Zoom In to Zoom In Bring Comp
(in time) Frame Level, (in time) Panel Forward
Expand or Collapse the Transfer Controls Pane or Out to
Expand or Collapse the Layer Switches Pane Entire Comp

g The Timeline panel. Click on a tab to bring that particular Composition and Timeline pair forward. Note that we have moved the A/V
Features column (the column with the eyeball) to the right, so that the keyframe navigator arrows in this column are closer to the keyframes.
 PRE-ROLL

10

The Layer Panel

When you add a footage item to a comp, it becomes a layer as well as after it has been processed by any effects you
in that comp, where it is combined with the other layers have added to the layer. If you have added more than
you’ve added. But there are times when it is hard to view one effect, you can view it at any point in the effect chain.
what is going on with a particular layer in the Comp panel The Render checkbox to the right of the View popup is a
because it’s fading out, has been effected or scaled down quick and easy way to view the layer with or without the
really small, has been dragged out of the visible area of the modifications selected in the View menu.
comp, or the view is otherwise obscured by other layers. A layer may be slid in time in a comp’s overall timeline.
This is where the Layer panel comes in. That means the local time in a layer – how far you are
Double­click a layer in either the Comp or Timeline from its start – often will not match the master time in
panels to open it in its own Layer panel. By default, it the comp. A second timeline and time marker in the
docks into the same frame as the Comp panel. The most Layer panel shows you where you are in the layer.
interesting feature here is the View popup along the bottom If the layer is a precomp (Lesson 6), double­clicking will
right side. This gives you the option of viewing a layer open that comp. To open the Layer panel for a precomp,
before or after a mask (cutout shape) has been applied, press O on Mac (A on Windows) when you double­click.

h The Layer panel. Close Toggle Viewer Options

Some functions can be performed Tab Viewer Lock Dropdown Menu Menu
only in the Layer panel.

Primary
Viewer
Toggle
(for Time Ruler Time Marker
View Set In Point Set Out Point Reset Adjust
External (relative to layer) (relative to start of layer)
Video Modes to Current Time to Current Time Exposure Exposure
Preview)

Always Grid & Take Show Region Bring Comp Forward View Show Rendered Result
Preview Guide Snapshot Channel of Toggle Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction Menu for Current View
This View Options Interest
Show Last Toggle Transparency Grid
Magnification Preview Time Snapshot
 PRE- ROLL

11

Other Panels
There are numerous other types of panels that we will be putting to work
throughout this book; we will explain them in more detail as we need them.
However, so they won’t seem so foreign when you first encounter them, here’s
a quick overview of some you will use most often:

Info
The top portion of this panel gives
a numeric readout of the color
value underneath the cursor in a
Comp, Layer, or Footage panel,
as well as the cursor’s current
X/Y coordinates in those panels.
Additional useful information –
g The Info panel displays information
such as the in and out points of such as the color currently under the cursor
a selected layer – are displayed in (above). Click on the three lines to the right
the lower portion of this panel. of the panel’s name to open its Options
menu (right). Here you can change the color
display to Percent, Web, and more.
Preview
Previous Next
The Preview panel is where you’ll find Frame Frame
the transport controls in After Effects. First Play/ Last Loop Mute
It also contains options that control Frame Pause Frame Options Audio

previewing, which we’ll discuss in

detail at the end of the Pre-Roll.
Once you learn the shortcuts such
as ß for Play and • or
ª to move by a single frame, g The Preview panel.
you will rarely use the top section of
this panel.

Audio
The Audio panel features volume
controls for the selected layer, plus
a level meter that is active while
previewing a comp or layer.
g Hide the Preview Options to
When working with audio, you
allow more room for other panels.
can also view the audio waveform Move your cursor over the area
in the Timeline panel; this is covered below Preview until the icon
in Lesson 5. changes, then drag up. g The Audio panel.
 PRE-ROLL

12

Options Menu
Effects & Presets
This very handy panel provides a quick and
easy way to select and apply effects and f The Effects & Presets
animation presets. The QuickSearch box along panel. We will explain
the top provides a search function for your the different options
available for searching
effects and presets, which is usually faster
and organizing effects
than searching through a menu or file dialog. and animation presets
This panel is demonstrated in Lesson 3. in Lesson 3.

Effect Controls
When you add an effect to a layer, the effect’s
settings and user interface appear in this panel,
docked into the same frame as Project. The d tip
shortcut is to select a layer and press #. If Maximize Frame
you need to get back to the Project panel and To temporarily view a
can’t see it, click on the Overflow menu in the panel full screen, select
upper right corner and select Project. it and press the tilde (~)
You can also reveal effects applied to a layer key. Press ~ again to
by selecting it and typing e, which will twirl switch back to the normal
multiframe view.
them open in the Timeline panel. From there,
you can click on the “twirly” arrow next to
the effect’s name to reveal its parameters.

Toggle Viewer
Close Viewer Dropdown Options Overflow
Tab Lock Menu Menu Menu
Character and Paragraph Panels
Covered in detail in Lesson 5, these are the controls you need
to help typeset text. Selecting Workspace > Text will open
both panels.

Paint and Brush Panels

Reset
Effect After Effects contains a pretty nifty paint and clone engine, which
Toggle will get a workout in Lesson 10. Selecting Workspace > Paint
On/Off will open both panels.
Effect
More Panels
Additional miscellaneous panels (such as Smoother, Align,
Tracker, and more) will be covered as they are needed in various
lessons. (Check the Index for specific references.)

g The Effect Controls panel.

 PRE- ROLL

13

Managing Workspaces Presets Current Workspace

Workspace Options
Overflow
Menu
After Effects comes with a number of preset workspaces.
These open defined sets of panels that come in handy for
doing specific tasks. You select them by using the menu
item Window > Workspace or by choosing one from the
Workspace Bar along the top right of the Application
window. Three workspaces – Essentials, Standard, and Small
Screen – are shown in the bar by default, with an Overflow
menu to the right that reveals more choices. You can also
make the Workspace Bar larger or smaller.
The currently active workspace will either appear in blue
The Workspace Bar, by default, displays three workspace choices,
in the Workspace Bar, or have a check mark next to it in plus an Overflow menu with more choices. Drag the bar to
the Overflow menu. Try a few different workspaces and the left of Essentials (circled) to make more or less room for
notice how the panels and frames change. Some panels will workspace presets in the bar itself.
display just their name tabs; this behavior is referred to as
stacked panels – clicking on their tabs will toggle the entire
panel open and closed.
When you’re finished exploring, return to the Standard
workspace. If the layout is a mess thanks to earlier
experimentation, choose Window > Workspace > Reset
“Standard” to Saved Layout.

Customizing a Workspace g Every panel has an Options menu, indicated by the

You may toggle any panel open or closed by choosing it three bars to the right of its name. The options near the
under the Window menu. All panels have an Options menu top, including the Panel Group Settings, are universal
to all panels; the remainder are specific to that panel.
indicated by the three horizontal lines to the right of the
panel’s name. The options near the top – including Close h When the cursor is placed between frames, its
Panel, Close Other Panels in Group (those docked into the icon will change to indicate you can click and drag to
change the boundary between adjacent frames.
same frame), and Panel Group Settings > Close Panel Group
– are universal to all panels. The options near the bottom
are specific to that panel. Some panels also have a small “×”
in their upper left corner that you can click on to close that
panel (circled in the middle figure to the right).
If you want to give a frame more or less room, move
your cursor over the area between frames until it changes
to an icon of two arrows connected to two parallel lines
(see figure to the right). When you see this icon, click and
drag to balance the size of adjacent frames, such as those
that hold the Project and Composition panels. This works
when resizing a frame horizontally or vertically.
 PRE-ROLL

14

With the Standard workspace still selected, turn your

attention to the column of frames along the right side of the
Application window. The top frame has two panels docked
into it: Info and Audio. The default in the Standard work­
space is for Info to be forward; click on the tab for Audio.
The Audio panel could benefit from being in a taller
frame. Rather than extend its height, you can instead
change where it is docked: Click on the Audio tab, then
drag it until you are hovering over the center of the Effects
& Presets panel (see figure far left). The center of the Effects
& Presets panel will turn blue, indicating that if you were to
release your mouse now, Audio would be docked into this
frame instead. Keep the mouse depressed for now.
In addition to this central “drop zone” you will see four
smaller zones around it. Drag to these and watch them
highlight. If you release the mouse over one of these, you
will create a brand­new frame for the Audio panel on that
side of Effects & Presets. Finally, drag your cursor over the
tab along the top of Effects & Presets until it highlights in
blue: This option also means “add me to the same frame as
this panel.” Release your mouse, and Audio will be tabbed
into the same frame as Effects & Presets and Libraries.
Now click on the Window menu and select Smoother.
It defaults into opening a new frame to the right of the
Timeline panel and frame. Because this layout reduces the
width of the timeline, feel free to move this panel as well:
Drag Smoother’s tab and dock it into the same frame as
Click on the Audio panel tab and drag it to the center of the Effects & Presets and Audio.
Effects & Presets panel (left). Once you release the mouse,
the Audio panel will be docked into the same frame (right). When multiple panels are docked into the same frame
(known as a panel group), you may not be able to see all
of their names. In this event, a double arrow icon will
appear for the Overflow menu (circled in red below).
d tip Click on it and choose the name of the panel you desire
Floating Windows from the menu that appears.
To convert a panel into a floating window,
click on its Options menu and choose
Undock Panel. To re-dock it into a frame,
click on the panel’s name and drag it on
top of another panel’s name.
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 But Bambi had no desire to go to sleep. “Come on,” he begged,
“let’s go to the meadow.”
His mother lifted her head. “Go to the meadow,” she said, “go to
the meadow now?” Her voice was so full of astonishment and terror
that Bambi became quite frightened.
“Can’t we go to the meadow?” he asked timidly.
“No,” his mother answered, and it sounded very final. “No, you
can’t go now.”
“Why?” Bambi perceived that something mysterious was involved.
He grew still more frightened, but at the same time he was terribly
anxious to know everything. “Why can’t we go to the meadow?” he
asked.
“You’ll find out all about it later when you’re bigger,” his mother
replied.
“But,” Bambi insisted, “I’d rather know now.”
“Later,” his mother repeated, “you’re nothing but a baby yet,” she
went on tenderly, “and we don’t talk about such things to children.”
She had grown quite serious. “Fancy going to the meadow at this
time of day. I don’t even like to think of it. Why, it’s broad daylight.”
“But it was broad daylight when we went to the meadow before,”
Bambi objected.
“That’s different,” his mother explained, “it was early in the
morning.”
“Can we only go there early in the morning?” Bambi was very
curious.
His mother was patient. “Only in the early morning or late
evening,” she said, “or at night.”
“And never in the daytime, never?”
His mother hesitated. “Well,” she said at last, “sometimes a few of
us do go there in the daytime.... But those are special occasions.... I
can’t just explain it to you, you are too young yet.... Some of us do
go there.... But we are exposed to the greatest danger.”
“What kind of danger?” asked Bambi all attention.
But his mother did not want to go on with the conversation.
“We’re in danger, and that’s enough for you, my son. You can’t
understand such things yet.”
Bambi thought that he could understand everything except why
his mother did not want to tell him the truth. But he kept silent.
“That’s what life means for us,” his mother went on, “though we
all love the daylight, especially when we’re young, we have to lie
quiet all day long. We can only roam around from evening till
morning. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” said Bambi.
“So, my son, we’ll have to stay where we are. We’re safe here.
Now lie down again and go to sleep.”
But Bambi didn’t want to lie down. “Why are we safe here?” he
asked.
“Because all the bushes shield us,” his mother answered, “and the
twigs snap on the shrubs and the dry twigs crackle and give us
warning. And last year’s dead leaves lie on the ground and rustle to
warn us, and the jays and magpies keep watch so we can tell from a
distance if anybody is coming.”
“What are last year’s leaves?” Bambi asked.
“Come and sit beside me,” said his mother, “and I will tell you.”
Bambi sat down contentedly, nestling close to his mother. And she
told him how the trees are not always green, how the sunshine and
the pleasant warmth disappear. Then it grows cold, the frost turns
the leaves yellow, brown and red, and they fall slowly so that the
trees and bushes stretch their bare branches to the sky and look
perfectly naked. But the dry leaves lie on the ground, and when a
foot stirs them they rustle. Then someone is coming. O, how kind last
year’s dead leaves are! They do their duty so well and are so alert
and watchful. Even in mid-summer there are a lot of them hidden
beneath the undergrowth. And they give warning in advance of every
danger.

The leaves fall slowly.

Bambi pressed close against his mother. It was so cozy to sit there
and listen while his mother talked.
When she grew silent he began to think. He thought it was very
kind of the good old leaves to keep watch, though they were all dead
and frozen and had suffered so much. He wondered just what that
danger could be that his mother was always talking about. But too
much thought tired him. Round about him it was still. Only the air
sizzling in the heat was audible. Then he fell asleep.
 CHAPTER IV
One evening Bambi was roaming about the meadow again with his
mother. He thought that he knew everything there was to see or hear
there. But in reality it appeared that he did not know as much as he
thought.
This time was just like the first. Bambi played tag with his mother.
He ran around in circles, and the open space, the deep sky, the fresh
air intoxicated him so that he grew perfectly wild. After a while he
noticed that his mother was standing still. He stopped short in the
middle of a leap so suddenly that his four legs spread far apart. To
get his balance he bounded high into the air and then stood erect.
His mother seemed to be talking to someone he couldn’t make out
through the tall grasses. Bambi toddled up inquisitively.
Two long ears were moving in the tangled grass stems close to his
mother. They were grayish-brown and prettily marked with black
stripes. Bambi stopped, but his mother said, “Come here. This is our
friend, the Hare. Come here like a nice boy and let him see you.”
Bambi went over. There sat the Hare looking like a very honest
creature. At times his long spoon-like ears stood bolt upright. At
others they fell back limply as though they had suddenly grown
weak. Bambi became somewhat critical as he looked at the whiskers
that stood out so stiff and straight on both sides of the Hare’s mouth.
But he noticed that the Hare had a very mild face and extremely
good-natured features, and that he cast timid glances at the world
from out of his big round eyes. The Hare really did look friendly.
Bambi’s passing doubts vanished immediately. But oddly enough, he
had lost all the respect he originally felt for the Hare.
 There sat the Hare looking like a very honest creature.

“Good evening, young man,” the Hare greeted him, with studied
politeness.
Bambi merely nodded good evening. He didn’t understand why,
but he simply nodded. He was very friendly and civil, but a little
condescending. He could not help it himself. Perhaps he was born
that way.
“What a charming young prince,” said the Hare to Bambi’s mother.
He looked at Bambi attentively, raising first one spoon-like ear, then
the other, and then both of them, and letting them fall again,
suddenly and limply, which didn’t please Bambi. The motion of the
Hare’s ears seemed to say, “He isn’t worth bothering with.”
 Meanwhile the Hare continued to study Bambi with his big round
eyes. His nose and his mouth with the handsome whiskers moved
incessantly in the same way a man who is trying not to sneeze
twitches his nose and lips. Bambi had to laugh.
The Hare laughed quickly, too, but his eyes grew more thoughtful.
“I congratulate you,” he said to Bambi’s mother. “I sincerely
congratulate you on your son. Yes, indeed, he’ll make a splendid
prince in time. Anyone can see that.”
To Bambi’s boundless surprise he suddenly sat straight on his hind
legs. After he had spied all around with his ears stiffened and his
nose constantly twitching, he sat down decently on all fours again.
“Now if you good people will excuse me,” he said at last, “I have all
kinds of things to do to-night. If you’ll be so good as to excuse
me....” He turned away and hopped off with his ears back so that
they touched his shoulders.
“Good evening,” Bambi called after him.
His mother smiled. “The good Hare,” she said; “he is so suave and
prudent. He doesn’t have an easy time of it in this world.” There was
sympathy in her voice.
Bambi strolled about a little and left his mother to her meal. He
wanted to meet his friend again and he wanted to make new
acquaintances, besides. For without being very clear himself what it
was he wanted, he felt a certain expectancy. Suddenly, at a distance,
he heard a soft rustling on the meadow, and felt a quick, gentle step
tapping the ground. He peered ahead of him. Over on the edge of
the woods something was gliding through the grasses. Was it alive?
No, there were two things. Bambi cast a quick glance at his mother
but she wasn’t paying attention to anything and had her head deep
in the grass. But the game was going on on the other side of the
meadow in a shifting circle exactly as Bambi himself had raced
around before. Bambi was so excited that he sprang back as if he
wanted to run away. Then his mother noticed him and raised her
head.
 “What’s the matter?” she called.
But Bambi was speechless. He could not find his tongue and only
stammered, “Look over there.”
His mother looked over. “I see,” she said, “that’s my sister, and
sure enough she has a baby too, now. No, she has two of them.” His
mother spoke at first out of pure happiness, but she had grown
serious. “To think that Ena has two babies,” she said, “two of them.”
Bambi stood gazing across the meadow. He saw a creature that
looked just like his mother. He hadn’t even noticed her before. He
saw that the grasses were being shaken in a double circle, but only a
pair of reddish backs were visible like thin red streaks.
“Come,” his mother said, “we’ll go over. They’ll be company for
you.”
Bambi would have run, but as his mother walked slowly, peering
to right and to left at every step, he held himself back. Still, he was
bursting with excitement and very impatient.
“I thought we would meet Ena sometime,” his mother went on to
say. “Where can she have been keeping herself? I thought I knew
she had one child, that wasn’t hard to guess. But two of them!...”
At last the others saw them and came to meet them. Bambi had
to greet his aunt, but his mind was entirely on the children.
His aunt was very friendly. “Well,” she said to him, “this is Gobo
and that is Faline. Now you run along and play together.”
The children stood stock-still and stared at each other, Gobo close
beside Faline and Bambi in front of him. None of them stirred. They
stood and gaped.
“Run along,” said Bambi’s mother, “you’ll soon be friends.”
“What a lovely child,” Aunt Ena replied. “He is really lovely. So
strong, and he stands so well.”
“O well,” said his mother modestly, “we have to be content. But to
have two of them, Ena!...”
 “O yes, that’s all very well,” Ena declared; “you know, dear, I’ve
had children before.”
“Bambi is my first,” his mother said.
“We’ll see,” Ena comforted her, “perhaps it will be different with
you next time, too.”
The children were still standing and staring at each other. No one
said a word. Suddenly Faline gave a leap and rushed away. It had
become too much for her.
In a moment Bambi darted after her. Gobo followed him. They
flew around in a semi-circle, they turned tail and fell over each other.
Then they chased each other up and down. It was glorious. When
they stopped, all topsy-turvy and somewhat breathless, they were
already good friends. They began to chatter.
Bambi told them how he talked to the nice grasshopper and the
butterfly.
“Did you ever talk to the gold bug?” asked Faline.
No, Bambi had never talked to the gold bug. He did not even
know who he was.
“I’ve talked to him often,” Faline declared, a little pertly.
“The jay insulted me,” said Bambi.
“Really,” said Gobo astonished, “did the jay treat you like that?”
Gobo was very easily astonished and was extremely timid.
“Well,” he observed, “the hedgehog stuck me in the nose.” But he
only mentioned it in passing.
“Who is the hedgehog?” Bambi asked eagerly. It seemed
wonderful to him to be there with friends, listening to so many
exciting things.
“The hedgehog is a terrible creature,” cried Faline, “full of long
spines all over his body and very wicked!”
 “Do you really think he’s wicked?” asked Gobo. “He never hurts
anybody.”
“Is that so?” answered Faline quickly. “Didn’t he stick you?”
“O, that was only because I wanted to speak to him,” Gobo
replied, “and only a little anyhow. It didn’t hurt me much.”
Bambi turned to Gobo. “Why didn’t he want you to talk to him?”
he asked.
“He doesn’t talk to anybody,” Faline interrupted, “even if you just
come where he is he rolls himself up so he’s nothing but prickles all
over. Our mother says he’s one of those people who don’t want to
have anything to do with the world.”
“Maybe he’s only afraid,” Gobo said.
But Faline knew better. “Mother says you shouldn’t meddle with
such people,” she said.
Presently Bambi began to ask Gobo softly, “Do you know what
‘danger’ means?”
Then they both grew serious and all three heads drew together.
Gobo thought a while. He made a special effort to remember for he
saw how curious Bambi was for the answer. “Danger,” he whispered,
“is something very bad.”
“Yes,” Bambi declared excitedly, “I know it’s something very bad,
but what?” All three trembled with fear.
Suddenly Faline cried out loudly and joyfully, “I know what danger
is—it’s what you run away from.” She sprang away. She couldn’t bear
to stay there any longer and be frightened. In an instant, Bambi and
Gobo had bounded after her. They began to play again. They
tumbled in the rustling, silky green meadow grass, and in a twinkling
had forgotten all about the absorbing question. After a while they
stopped and stood chattering together as before. They looked
towards their mothers. They were standing close together, eating a
little and carrying on a quiet conversation.
 Aunt Ena raised her head and called the children. “Come, Gobo.
Come, Faline. We have to go now.”
And Bambi’s mother said to him, “Come, it’s time to go.”
“Wait just a little longer,” Faline pleaded eagerly, “just a little
while.”
“Let’s stay a little longer, please,” Bambi pleaded, “it’s so nice.”
And Gobo repeated timidly, “It’s so nice, just a little longer.” All three
spoke at once.
Ena looked at Bambi’s mother. “What did I tell you,” she said,
“they won’t want to separate now.”
Then something happened that was much more exciting than
everything else that happened to Bambi that day. Out of the woods
came the sound of hoofs beating the earth. Branches snapped, the
boughs rustled, and before Bambi had time to listen, something burst
out of the thicket. Someone came crashing and rustling with
someone else rushing after him. They tore by like the wind, described
a wide circle on the meadow and vanished into the woods again,
where they could be heard galloping. Then they came bursting out of
the thicket again and suddenly stood still, about twenty paces apart.
Bambi looked at them and did not stir. They looked like his mother
and Aunt Ena. But their heads were crowned with gleaming antlers
covered with brown beads and bright white prongs. Bambi was
completely overcome. He looked from one to the other. One was
smaller and his antlers narrower. But the other one was stately and
beautiful. He carried his head up and his antlers rose high above it.
They flashed from dark to light, adorned with the splendor of many
black and brown prongs.
“O,” cried Faline in admiration. “O,” Gobo repeated softly. But
Bambi said nothing. He was entranced and silent. Then they both
moved and, turning away from each other, walked slowly back into
the woods in opposite directions. The stately stag passed close to the
children and Bambi’s mother and Aunt Ena. He passed by in silent
splendor, holding his noble head royally high and honoring no one
with so much as a glance.
The children did not dare to breathe till he had disappeared into
the thicket. They turned to look after the other one, but at that very
moment the green door of the forest closed on him.
Faline was the first to break the silence. “Who were they?” she
cried. But her pert little voice trembled.
“Who were they?” Gobo repeated in a hardly audible voice. Bambi
kept silent.
Aunt Ena said solemnly, “Those were your fathers.”
Nothing more was said, and they parted. Aunt Ena led her
children into the nearest thicket. It was her trail. Bambi and his
mother had to cross the whole meadow to the oak in order to reach
their own path. He was silent for a long time before he finally asked,
“Didn’t they see us?”
His mother understood what he meant and replied, “Of course,
they saw all of us.”
Bambi was troubled. He felt shy about asking questions, but it
was too much for him. “Then why ...” he began, and stopped.
His mother helped him along. “What is it you want to know, son?”
she asked.
“Why didn’t they stay with us?”
“They don’t ever stay with us,” his mother answered, “only at
times.”
Bambi continued, “But why didn’t they speak to us?”
His mother said, “They don’t speak to us now; only at times. We
have to wait till they come to us. And we have to wait for them to
speak to us. They do it whenever they like.”
With a troubled heart, Bambi asked, “Will my father speak to
me?”
 “Of course he will,” his mother promised. “When you’re grown up
he’ll speak to you, and you’ll have to stay with him sometimes.”
Bambi walked silently beside his mother, his whole mind filled with
his father’s appearance. “How handsome he is!” he thought over and
over again. “How handsome he is!”
As though his mother could read his thoughts, she said, “If you
live, my son, if you are cunning and don’t run into danger, you’ll be
as strong and handsome as your father is sometime, and you’ll have
antlers like his, too.”
Bambi breathed deeply. His heart swelled with joy and
expectancy.
 CHAPTER V
Time passed, and Bambi had many adventures and went through
many experiences. Every day brought something new. Sometimes he
felt quite giddy. He had so incredibly much to learn.
He could listen now, not merely hear, when things happened so
close that they struck the ear of their own accord. No, there was
really no art in that. He could really listen intelligently now to
everything that stirred, no matter how softly. He heard even the
tiniest whisper that the wind brought by. For instance, he knew that a
pheasant was running through the next bushes. He recognized clearly
the soft quick tread that was always stopping. He knew by ear the
sound the field mice make when they run to and fro on their little
paths. And the patter of the moles when they are in a good humor
and chase one another around the elder bushes so that there is just
the slightest rustling. He heard the shrill clear call of the falcon, and
he knew from its altered, angry tones when a hawk or an eagle
approached. The falcon was angry because she was afraid her field
would be taken from her. He knew the beat of the wood-doves’
wings, the beautiful, distant, soaring cries of ducks, and many other
things besides.
He knew how to snuff the air now, too. Soon he would do it as
well as his mother. He could breathe in the air and at the same time
analyze it with his senses. “That’s clover and meadow grass,” he
would think when the wind blew off the fields. “And Friend Hare is
out there, too. I can smell him plainly.”
Again he would notice through the smell of leaves and earth, wild
leek and wood mustard, that the ferret was passing by. He could tell
by putting his nose to the ground and snuffing deeply that the fox
was afoot. Or he would know that one of his family was somewhere
nearby. It might be Aunt Ena and the children.
 By now he was good friends with the night and no longer wanted
to run about so much in broad daylight. He was quite willing to lie all
day long in the shade of the leafy glade with his mother. He would
listen to the air sizzling in the heat and then fall asleep.
From time to time, he would wake up, listen and snuff the air to
find out how things stood. Everything was as it should be. Only the
tit-mice were chattering a little to each other, the midges who were
hardly ever still, hummed, while the wood-doves never ceased
declaiming their ecstatic tenderness. What concern was it of his? He
would drop off to sleep again.
He liked the night very much now. Everything was alive,
everything was in motion. Of course, he had to be cautious at night
too, but still he could be less careful. And he could go wherever he
wanted to. And everywhere he went he met acquaintances. They too
were always less nervous than in the daytime.
At night the woods were solemn and still. There were only a few
voices. They sounded loud in the stillness, and they had a different
ring from daytime voices, and left a deeper impression.
Bambi liked to see the owl. She had such a wonderful flight,
perfectly light and perfectly noiseless. She made as little sound as a
butterfly, and yet she was so dreadfully big. She had such striking
features, too, so pronounced and so deeply thoughtful. And such
wonderful eyes! Bambi admired her firm, quietly courageous glance.
He liked to listen when she talked to his mother or to anybody else.
He would stand a little to one side, for he was somewhat afraid of the
masterful glance that he admired so much. He did not understand
most of the clever things she said, but he knew they were clever, and
they pleased him and filled him with respect for the owl.
Then the owl would begin to hoot. “Hoaah!—Ha!—Ha!—Haa!—
ah!” she would cry. It sounded different from the thrushes’ song, or
the yellow-birds’, different from the friendly notes of the cuckoo, but
Bambi loved the owl’s cry, for he felt its mysterious earnestness, its
unutterable wisdom and strange melancholy.
 Then there was the screech-owl, a charming little fellow, lively
and gay with no end to his inquisitiveness. He was bent on attracting
attention. “Oi, yeek! Oi, yeek!” he would call in a terrible, high-
pitched, piercing voice. It sounded as if he were on the point of
death. But he was really in a beaming good humor and was
hilariously happy whenever he frightened anybody. “Oi, yeek!” he
would cry so dreadfully loud that the forests heard it for a mile
around. But afterwards he would laugh with a soft chuckle, though
you could only hear it if you stood close by.
Bambi discovered that the screech-owl was delighted whenever
he frightened anyone, or when anybody thought that something
dreadful had happened to him. After that, whenever Bambi met him,
he never failed to rush up and ask, “What has happened to you?” or
to say with a sigh, “O, how you frightened me just now!” Then the
owl would be delighted.
“O, yes,” he would say, laughing, “it sounds pretty gruesome.” He
would puff up his feathers into a grayish-white ball and look
extremely handsome.
There were storms, too, once or twice, both in the daytime and at
night. The first was in the daytime and Bambi felt himself grow
terrified as it became darker and darker in his glade. It seemed to
him as if night had covered the sky at mid-day. When the raging
storm broke through the woods so that the trees began to groan
aloud, Bambi trembled with terror. And when the lightning flashed
and the thunder growled, Bambi was numb with fear and thought the
end of the world had come. He ran behind his mother, who had
sprung up somewhat disturbed and was walking back and forth in the
thicket. He could not think about nor understand anything. The rain
fell in raging torrents. Everyone had run to shelter. The woods were
empty. But there was no escaping the rain. The pouring water
penetrated even the thickest parts of the bushes. Presently the
lightning stopped, and the fiery rays ceased to flicker through the
tree-tops. The thunder rolled away. Bambi could hear it in the
distance, and soon it stopped altogether. The rain beat more gently.
It pattered evenly and steadily around him for another hour. The
forest stood breathing deeply in the calm and let the water drain off.
No one was afraid to come out any more. That feeling had passed.
The rain had washed it away.
Never before had Bambi and his mother gone to the meadow as
early as on that evening. It was not even dusk yet. The sun was still
high in the sky, the air was extremely fresh, and smelt sweeter than
usual, and the woods rang with a thousand voices, for everyone had
crept out of his shelter and was running excitedly, telling what had
just happened.
Before they went on to the meadow, they passed the great oak
that stood near the forest’s edge, close to their trail. They always had
to pass that beautiful big tree when they went to the meadow.
This time the squirrel was sitting on a branch and greeted them.
Bambi was good friends with the squirrel. The first time he met him
he took him for a very small deer because of the squirrel’s red coat
and stared at him in surprise. But Bambi had been very childish at
that time and had known nothing at all.
The squirrel pleased him greatly from the first. He was so
thoroughly civil, and talkative. And Bambi loved to see how
wonderfully he could turn, and climb, and leap, and balance himself.
In the middle of a conversation the squirrel would run up and down
the smooth tree trunk as though there was nothing to it. Or he would
sit upright on a swaying branch, balance himself comfortably with his
bushy tail, that stuck up so gracefully behind him, display his white
chest, hold his little forepaws elegantly in front of him, nod his head
this way and that, laugh with his jolly eyes, and, in a twinkling, say a
lot of comical and interesting things. Then he would come down
again, so swiftly and with such leaps, that you expected him to
tumble on his head.
He twitched his long tail violently and called to them from
overhead, “Good day! Good day! It’s so nice of you to come over.”
Bambi and his mother stopped.
 The squirrel ran down the smooth trunk. “Well,” he chattered, “did
you get through it all right? Of course, I see that everything is first
rate. That’s the main thing.”
He ran up the trunk again like lightning and said, “It’s too wet for
me down there. Wait, I’m going to look for a better place. I hope you
don’t mind. Thanks, I knew you wouldn’t. And we can talk just as
well from here.”
He ran back and forth along a straight limb. “It was a bad
business,” he said, “a monstrous uproar! You wouldn’t believe how
scared I was. I hunched myself up as still as a mouse in the corner
and hardly dared move. That’s the worst of it, having to sit there and
not move. And all the time you’re hoping nothing will happen. But my
tree is wonderful in such cases. There’s no denying it, my tree is
wonderful! I’ll say that for it. I’m satisfied with it. As long as I’ve had
it, I’ve never wanted any other. But when it cuts loose the way it did
to-day you’re sure to get frightened no matter where you are.”
The squirrel sat up, balancing himself with his handsome upright
tail. He displayed his white chest and pressed both forepaws
protestingly against his heart. You believed without his adding
anything that he had been excited.
 The squirrel sat up, balancing himself with his handsome
upright tail.

“We’re going to the meadow now to dry ourselves off in the sun,”
Bambi’s mother said.
“That’s a good idea,” cried the squirrel, “you’re really so clever. I’m
always saying how clever you are.” With a bound he sprang onto a
higher branch. “You couldn’t do anything better than go to the
meadow now,” he called down. Then he swung with light bounds
back and forth through the tree-top. “I’m going up where I can get
the sunlight,” he chattered merrily, “I’m all soaked through. I’m going
all the way up.” He didn’t care whether they were still listening to him
or not.
 The meadow was full of life. Friend Hare was there and had
brought along his family. Aunt Ena was there with her children and a
few acquaintances. That day Bambi saw the fathers again. They
came slowly out of the forest from opposite directions. There was a
third stag too. Each walked slowly in his track, back and forth, along
the meadow. They paid no attention to anyone and did not even talk
to one another. Bambi looked at them frequently. He was respectful,
but full of curiosity.
Then he talked to Faline and Gobo and a few other children. He
wanted to play a while. All agreed and they began running around in
a circle. Faline was the gayest of all. She was so fresh and nimble
and brimming over with bright ideas. But Gobo was soon tired. He
had been terribly frightened by the storm. His heart had hammered
loudly and was still pounding. There was something very weak about
Gobo, but Bambi liked him because he was so good and willing and
always a little sad without letting you know it.
Time passed and Bambi was learning how good the meadow
grass tasted, how tender and sweet the leaf buds and the clover
were. When he nestled against his mother for comfort it often
happened that she pushed him away.
“You aren’t a little baby any more,” she would say. Sometimes she
even said abruptly, “Go away and let me be.” It even happened
sometimes that his mother got up in the little forest glade, got up in
the middle of the day, and went off without noticing whether Bambi
was following her or not. At times it seemed, when they were
wandering down the familiar paths, as if his mother did not want to
notice whether Bambi was behind her or was trailing after.
One day his mother was gone. Bambi did not know how such a
thing could be possible, he could not figure it out. But his mother was
gone and for the first time Bambi was left alone.
He wandered about, he was troubled, he grew worried and
anxious and began to want her terribly. He stood quite sadly, calling
her. Nobody answered and nobody came.
 He listened and snuffed the air. He could not smell anything. He
called again. Softly, pathetically, tearfully, he called “Mother, Mother!”
In vain.
Then despair seized him, he could not stand it and started to
walk.
He wandered down the trails he knew, stopping and calling. He
wandered farther and farther with hesitating steps, frightened and
helpless. He was very downcast.
He went on and on and came to trails where he had never been
before. He came to places that were strange to him. He no longer
knew where he was going.
Then he heard two childish voices like his own, calling, “Mother!
Mother!” He stood still and listened. Surely that was Gobo and Faline.
It must be they.
He ran quickly towards the voices and soon he saw their little red
jackets showing through the leaves. Gobo and Faline were standing
side by side under a dog-wood tree and calling mournfully, “Mother,
Mother!”
They were overjoyed when they heard the rustling in the bushes.
But they were disappointed when they saw Bambi. They were a little
consoled that he was there, however. And Bambi was glad not to be
all alone any more.
“My mother is gone,” Bambi said.
“Ours is gone too,” Gobo answered plaintively.
They looked at one another and were quite despondent.
“Where can they be?” asked Bambi. He was almost sobbing.
“I don’t know,” sighed Gobo. His heart was pounding and he felt
miserable.
Suddenly Faline said, “I think they may be with our fathers.”
 Gobo and Bambi looked at her surprised. They were filled with
awe. “You mean that they’re visiting our fathers?” asked Bambi and
trembled. Faline trembled too, but she made a wise face. She acted
like a person who knows more than she will let on. Of course she
knew nothing, she could not even guess where her idea came from.
But when Gobo repeated, “Do you really think so?” she put on a
meaningful air and answered mysteriously, “Yes, I think so.”
Anyway it was a suggestion that needed to be thought about. But
in spite of that Bambi felt no easier. He couldn’t even think about it,
he was too troubled and too sad.
He went off. He wouldn’t stay in one place. Faline and Gobo went
along with him for a little way. All three were calling, “Mother,
Mother!” Then Gobo and Faline stopped, they did not dare go any
farther. Faline said, “Why should we? Mother knows where we are.
Let’s stay here so she can find us when she comes back.”
Bambi went on alone. He wandered through a thicket to a little
clearing. In the middle of the clearing Bambi stopped short. He
suddenly felt as if he were rooted to the ground and could not move.
On the edge of the clearing, by a tall hazel bush, a creature was
standing. Bambi had never seen such a creature before. At the same
time the air brought him a scent such as he had never smelled in his
life. It was a strange smell, heavy and acrid. It excited him to the
point of madness.
Bambi stared at the creature. It stood remarkably erect. It was
extremely thin and had a pale face; entirely bare around the nose
and the eyes. A kind of dread emanated from that face, a cold terror.
That face had a tremendous power over him. It was unbearably
painful to look at that face and yet Bambi stood staring fixedly at it.
For a long time the creature stood without moving. Then it
stretched out a leg from high up near its face. Bambi had not even
noticed that there was one there. But as that terrible leg was
reaching out into the air Bambi was swept away by the mere gesture.
In a flash he was back into the thicket he came from, and was
running away.
In a twinkling his mother was with him again, too. She bounded
beside him over shrubs and bushes. They ran side by side as fast as
they could. His mother was in the lead. She knew the way and Bambi
followed. They ran till they came to their glade.
“Did you see Him?” asked the mother softly.
Bambi could not answer, he had no breath left. He only nodded.
“That was He,” said the mother.
And they both shuddered.
 CHAPTER VI
Bambi was often alone now. But he was not so troubled about it as he
had been the first time. His mother would disappear, and no matter
how much he called her she wouldn’t come back. Later she would
appear unexpectedly and stay with him as before.
One night he was roaming around quite forlorn again. He could
not even find Gobo and Faline. The sky had become pale gray and it
began to darken so that the tree-tops seemed like a vault over the
bushy undergrowth. There was a swishing in the bushes, a loud
rustling came through the leaves and Bambi’s mother dashed out.
Someone else raced close behind her. Bambi did not know whether it
was Aunt Ena or his father or someone else. But he recognized his
mother at once. Though she rushed past him so quickly, he had
recognized her voice. She screamed, and it seemed to Bambi as if it
were in play, though he thought it sounded a little frightened too.
One day Bambi wandered for hours through the thicket. At last he
began to call. He simply couldn’t bear to be so utterly lonely any
more. He felt that pretty soon he’d be perfectly miserable. So he
began to call for his mother.
Suddenly one of the fathers was standing in front of him looking
sternly down at him. Bambi hadn’t heard him coming and was
terrified. This stag looked more powerful than the others, taller and
prouder. His coat shone with a deeper richer red, but his face
shimmered, silvery gray. And tall, black, beaded antlers rose high
above his nervous ears.
“What are you crying about?” the old stag asked severely. Bambi
trembled in awe and did not dare answer. “Your mother has no time
for you now,” the old stag went on. Bambi was completely dominated
by his masterful voice and at the same time, he admired it. “Can’t
you stay by yourself? Shame on you!”
 Bambi wanted to say that he was perfectly able to stay by himself,
that he had often been left alone already, but he could not get it out.
He was obedient and he felt terribly ashamed. The stag turned
around and was gone. Bambi didn’t know where or how, or whether
the stag had gone slow or fast. He had simply gone as suddenly as
he had come. Bambi strained his ears to listen but he could not catch
the sound of a departing footstep or a leaf stirring. So he thought the
old stag must be somewhere close by and snuffed the air in all
directions. It brought him no scent. Bambi sighed with relief to think
he was alone. But he felt a lively desire to see the old stag again and
win his approval.
When his mother came back he did not tell her anything of his
encounter. He did not call her any more either the next time she
disappeared. He thought of the old stag while he wandered around.
He wanted very much to meet him. He wanted to say to him, “See, I
don’t call my mother any more,” so the old stag would praise him.
But he told Gobo and Faline the next time they were together on
the meadow. They listened attentively and had nothing to relate that
could compare with this.
“Weren’t you frightened?” asked Gobo excitedly.
O well—Bambi confessed he had been frightened. But only a little.
“I should have been terribly frightened,” Gobo declared.
Bambi replied, no, he hadn’t been very much afraid, because the
stag was so handsome.
“That wouldn’t have helped me much,” Gobo added, “I’d have
been too afraid to look at him. When I’m frightened I have streaks
before my eyes so that I can’t see at all, and my heart beats so fast
that I can’t breathe.”
Faline became very thoughtful after Bambi’s story and did not say
anything.
But the next time they met, Gobo and Faline bounded up in great
haste. They were alone again and so was Bambi. “We have been
hunting for you all this time,” cried Gobo. “Yes,” Faline said
importantly, “because now we know who it was you saw.” Bambi
bounded into the air for curiosity and asked, “Who?”
Faline said solemnly, “It was the old Prince.”
“Who told you that?” Bambi demanded.
“Mother,” Faline replied.
Bambi was amazed. “Did you tell her the whole story?” They both
nodded. “But it was a secret,” Bambi cried angrily.
Gobo tried to shield himself at once. “I didn’t do it, it was Faline,”
he said. But Faline cried excitedly, “What do you mean, a secret? I
wanted to know who it was. Now we all know and it’s much more
exciting.”
Bambi was burning up with desire to hear all about it and let
himself be mollified. Faline told him everything. “The old Prince is the
biggest stag in the whole forest. There isn’t anybody else that
compares with him. Nobody knows how old he is. Nobody can find
out where he lives. No one knows his family. Very few have seen him
even once. At times he was thought to be dead because he hadn’t
been seen for so long. Then someone would see him again for a
second and so they knew he was still alive. Nobody had ever dared
ask him where he had been. He speaks to nobody and no one dares
speak to him. He uses trails none of the others ever use. He knows
the very depths of the forest. And he does not know such a thing as
danger. Other Princes fight one another at times, sometimes in fun or
to try each other out, sometimes in earnest. For many years no one
has fought with the old stag. And of those who fought with him long
ago not one is living. He is the great Prince.”
Bambi forgave Gobo and Faline for babbling his secret to their
mother. He was even glad to have found out all these important
things, but he was glad that Gobo and Faline did not know all about
it. They did not know that the great Prince had said, “Can’t you stay
by yourself? Shame on you!” Now Bambi was very glad that he had
not told them about these things. For then Gobo and Faline would
have told that along with the rest, and the whole forest would have
gossiped about it.
That night when the moon rose Bambi’s mother came back again.
He suddenly saw her standing under the great oak at the edge of the
meadow looking around for him. He saw her right away and ran to
her.
That night Bambi learned something new. His mother was tired
and hungry. They did not walk as far as usual. The mother quieted
her hunger on the meadow where Bambi too was used to eating
most of his meals. Side by side they nibbled at the bushes and
pleasantly ruminating, went farther and farther into the woods.
Presently there was a loud rustling in the bushes. Before Bambi
could guess what it was his mother began to cry aloud as she did
when she was very terrified or when she was beside herself. “Aoh!”
she cried and, giving a bound, stopped and cried, “Aoh, baoh!” Bambi
tried to make out the mighty forms which were drawing near as the
rustling grew louder. They were right near now. They resembled
Bambi and Bambi’s mother, Aunt Ena and all the rest of his family,
but they were gigantic and so powerfully built that he stared up at
them overcome.
Suddenly Bambi began to bleat, “Aoh baohbaoh!” He hardly knew
he was bleating. He couldn’t help himself. The procession tramped
slowly by. Three, four giant apparitions, one after the other. The last
of them was bigger than any of the others. He had a wild mane on
his neck and his antlers were tree-like. It took Bambi’s breath away
to see them. He stood and bleated from a heart full of wonder, for he
was more weirdly affected than ever before in his life. He was afraid,
but in a peculiar way. He felt how pitifully small he was, and even his
mother seemed to him to have shrunk. He felt ashamed without
understanding why, and at the same time terror shook him. He
bleated, “Baoh! b-a-o-h!” He felt better when he bleated that way.
 It took Bambi’s breath away to see them.

The procession had gone by. There was nothing more to be seen
or heard. Even his mother was silent. Only Bambi kept giving short
bleats now and then. He still felt the shock.
“Be still,” his mother said, “they have gone now.”
“O, Mother,” Bambi whispered, “who was it?”
“Well,” said his mother, “they are not so dangerous when all is
said and done. Those are your big cousins, the elk—they are strong
and they are important, far stronger than we are.”
“And aren’t they dangerous?” Bambi asked.
“Not as a rule,” his mother explained. “Of course, a good many
things are said to have happened. This and that is told about them,
but I don’t know if there is any truth in such gossip or not. They’ve
never done any harm to me or to any one of my acquaintances.”
“Why should they do anything to us?” asked Bambi, “if they are
cousins of ours?” He wanted to feel calm but he kept trembling.
“O, they never do anything to us,” his mother answered, “but I
don’t know why, I’m frightened whenever I see them. I don’t
understand it myself. But it happens that way every time.”
Bambi was gradually reassured by her words but he remained
thoughtful. Right above him in the branches of an alder, the screech-
owl was hooting in his blood-curdling way. Bambi was distracted and
forgot to act as if he had been frightened. But the screech-owl flew
by anyhow and asked, “Didn’t I frighten you?”
“Of course,” Bambi replied, “you always frighten me.”
The screech-owl chuckled softly. He was pleased. “I hope you
don’t hold it against me,” he said, “it’s just my way.” He fluffed
himself up so that he resembled a ball, sank his bill in his foamy
white feathers and put on a terribly wise and serious face. He was
satisfied with himself.
Bambi poured out his heart to him. “Do you know?” he began
slyly, “I’ve just had a much worse fright.”
“Indeed!” said the owl displeased. Bambi told him about his
encounter with his giant relations.
“Don’t talk to me about relations,” the owl exclaimed, “I’ve got
relations too. But I only fly around in the daytime so they are all
down on me now. No, there isn’t much use in relations. If they’re
bigger than you are, they’re no good to you, and if they’re smaller
they’re worth still less. If they’re bigger than you, you can’t bear
them because they’re proud, and if they’re smaller they can’t bear
you because you’re proud. No, I prefer to have nothing to do with the
whole crowd.”
“But, I don’t even know my relations,” Bambi said, laughing shyly,
“I never heard of them, I never saw them before to-day.”
 “Don’t bother about such people,” the screech-owl advised.
“Believe me,” and he rolled his eyes significantly, “believe me, it’s the
best way. Relatives are never as good as friends. Look at us, we’re
not related in any way but we’re good friends and that’s much better.”
Bambi wanted to say something else but the screech-owl went
on, “I’ve had experience with such things. You are still too young but,
believe me, I know better. Besides, I don’t like to get mixed up in
family affairs.” He rolled his eyes thoughtfully and looked so
impressive with his serious face that Bambi kept a discreet silence.
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