Camera Animation

Camera Animation

The most common confusion about the After Effects camera
stems from the fact that by default, it includes a point
of interest, a point in 3D space at which the camera always
points, for auto-orientation. The point of interest is fully
optional, yet the setting is among the least discoverable in
After Effects. To clarify
. Layer > Transform > Auto-Orient (Ctrl+Alt+O/
Cmd+Option+O) contains the toggles to disable autoorientation
and the point of interest (making the camera
a free camera.
. In that same dialog, you can instead orient the camera
along its path of camera motion so that its rotation
maintains tangency; in other words, it follows the path.
. You might want to use the point of interest but transform
it and the camera together. To do this, don’t
attempt to match keyframes for the two properties—
this is sheer madness! Parent the camera to a null and
translate that instead.

. Orientation works differently depending on whether
auto-orientation is on (causing it to revolve around
the point of interest) or not (in which case it rotates
around its own center).
. The auto-oriented camera always maintains an upright
position; cross over the X/Y plane above the center
and the camera fl ips. To avoid this behavior, use a free
camera.
The preceding points come into play only with more elaborate
camera animations; more modest use of the 3D camera,
such as a simple camera push, raises other questions.