Learning Cinema 4D Lite for After Effects

Build a complete 3D motion graphics sequence in CINEMA 4D Lite, the introductory version of CINEMA 4D included with After Effects CC.

Introduction

• Welcome

1. What Is CINEMA 4D Lite?

• What is CINEMA 4D Lite?
• What CINEMA 4D Lite can't do
• Opening CINEMA 4D Lite in After Effects
• Quick interface tour
• Navigation tips for CINEMA 4D Lite
• CINEMA 4D Lite preferences and settings
• Checking out the new CINEWARE features with After Effects CC 2014.1

2. CINEMA 4D Lite and After Effects CC Workflow

• Importing CINEMA 4D files in After Effects
• The CINEWARE plugin settings
• CINEMA 4D Lite render settings
• After Effects project settings
• After Effects previewing tips
• Using the Picture Viewer in CINEMA 4D

3. Modeling in CINEMA 4D Lite

• Editing primitive objects
• The Move and Scale tools
• The Rotate tool
• Axis limitations
• Working cylinders
• Linking body parts using object hierarchy
• Spline modeling with Sweep NURBS
• Adjusting NURBS settings
• Using nulls as controllers
• Creating copies with the Instance array
• Carving shapes with the Boole array
• Reshaping objects with deformers
• Adding surface detail with a Relief object

4. Animating in CINEMA 4D Lite

• Understanding coordinates
• Understanding rotation
• Timeline shortcuts
• Basic keyframing of properties
• Copying keyframes
• Keyframe interpolation
• Adjusting F-Curves
• Holding values
• Using XPresso to link properties: Part one
• Using XPresso to link properties: Part two
• Importing existing animations into CINEMA 4D Lite
• Animating cameras in CINEMA 4D Lite
• Animating using presets

5. Working with Cameras in After Effects CC and CINEMA 4D Lite

• Importing music and soundtracks
• Customizing commands and shortcuts
• Adding markers
• Creating multiple cameras in CINEMA 4D Lite
• Cutting between CINEMA 4D cameras with CINEWARE
• Creating cameras in After Effects
• Merging 3D camera data into CINEMA 4D Lite
• Animating cameras with Stage objects
• Extracting cameras from CINEMA 4D files

6. Working with Text in After Effects CC and CINEMA 4D Lite

• Adding CINEMA 4D text to After Effects comps
• Formatting text in CINEMA 4D
• Creating CINEMA 4D text or logos in Illustrator
• Importing Illustrator text into CINEMA 4D Lite
• Applying material presets to text
• Merging CINEMA 4D files
• Registering CINEMA 4D Lite for MoGraph features
• Using MoGraph Fracture on text
• The MoGraph Random Effector

7. Scripting and Expressions in CINEMA 4D Lite

• Creating a wiggle expression
• The Reset Position script

8. Materials and Textures in CINEMA 4D Lite

• Introduction to materials
• Custom materials
• Metallic material
• Environment channel
• Adding texture with shaders
• Built-in material presets
• Combining materials
• Using selection sets to isolate surfaces

9. Creating Environments in After Effects CC

• 3D camera tracking in After Effects
• Creating nulls from tracking points
• Adjusting the Shadow Catcher for CINEMA 4D
• Importing a CINEMA 4D file into a scene
• Exporting CINEMA 4D files from After Effects comps
• Merging objects from CINEMA 4D files
• Manually adjusting scenes between apps

10. Layer-Based Compositing with CINEWARE

• Setting up layers in CINEMA 4D
• Compositing CINEMA 4D layers in After Effects
• Casting shadows on layers in CINEWARE
• Adding reflections in CINEMA 4D

11. Lighting Your Scene with CINEMA 4D Lite

• Using preset lighting setups
• Light types in CINEMA 4D Lite
• Creating visible lights
• Adding ambient occlusion effects
• Optimizing your CINEMA 4D scenes

12. Multipass Compositing with CINEWARE

• Multipass compositing explained
• Adding passes to render settings
• Viewing passes in the Picture Viewer
• Adding object buffers
• External compositing tags in CINEMA 4D Lite
• Previewing and experimenting with passes
• CINEWARE multipass options
• Adjusting reflections
• Isolating elements with object buffers

13. Visual Effects with After Effects CC

• Extracting 3D scene data
• Adding video elements to a CINEMA 4D scene
• Working with proxies
• Color correction of shadows
• Layer styles
• Adjustment layers
• Setting up depth of field in CINEMA 4D Lite
• Adding depth of field with camera lens blur
• Speed ramps with time remapping
• Motion blur with the Pixel Motion Blur effect

14. Rendering in After Effects CC and Media Encoder

• Rendering with the After Effects Render Queue
• Background rendering with Adobe Media Encoder
• The BG Renderer script