Easy, adjustable animation.

The Assistants have a number of functions that let you can and easily experiment with your design, while pumping out sophisticated but simply produced results. For instance, quickly construct a sequence of images into a film strip using the Linear Assistant. Our goal is for the 3D Assistants to allow you to take better advantage of After Effects' 3D space.

Enable layers for 3D space.

Something important to mention is that you use Assistants on 3D-enabled layers. This is because we're positioning the layers in 3D space. If you try to use the 3D Assistants on a 2D layer, the 3D Assistants will remain grayed out and unable to be selected. To enable 3D, simply click on the 3D Cube in your Timeline. Voila! You're ready to roll.

Two Assistants are better than one.

Want to make your compostion even cooler? Combine the functions of two (or more) Assistants to create some really cool animations. Animate from shape to shape, like a square to a circle, using two Assistants. You will use the results of one Assistant as the basis for another.

First, identify the starting shape, and set a few keyframes via one Assistant. Then arrange the layers into a second, different shape using another Assistant for the end keyframes. After Effects will take care of the animation.

For example, use the Spheroid Creator to create a ring of layers. Then stretch and pull those layers into one central point with Linear Distribution. When you animate the composition, it looks like a deck of cards unfolding. Very neat and easy effect.

We used most of the Assistants in this project. The layers just keep ch-ch-ch-changing and finding cool new shapes to form. [play]

Go forwards or backwards.

The 3D Assistants distribute 3D layers in the order they are arranged in the Timeline, or in the exact reverse of this order.

This is great if your animation requires a certain order to your layers, like animating several letters to spell a word. Just be sure to arrange your layers in the proper order in the Timeline before applying the 3D Assistants.

Cylinder Distribution created the boxes rotating in the bathroom. [play] You can buy this HD clip from our Chaosstock.com website.

Repeat your layers.

A great parameter in every Assistant palette is Repeat Layers. This option is very useful if you're trying to quickly fill an area up with layers. Repeat Layers will automatically duplicate the selected layers in your Timeline however many times you tell it to.

Don't worry about importing 100 layers into your Timeline to make up a huge video wall. Let the Matrix Creator repeat 10 imported layers, saving you time and RAM.