Color Commentary

Color Commentary

When dissecting something tricky, it can help to use
. Solo layers to see what’s what
. Locks for layers that should not be edited further
. Shy layers to reduce the Timeline to only what’s
needed
. Color-coded layers and project items
. Tags in the comments field

Solo layers hide visible layers that are not solo’d. They are
great except that other layers can stay mysteriously hidden
in subsequent comps and renders. For this reason, I like to
set Solo Switches to All Off in my default Render Settings.
I don’t often lock layers, but it makes a heck of a lot of
sense particularly for layers that you don’t want “nudged”
out of position, such as adjustment layers, track mattes,
and background solids (but once they’re locked, you can’t
adjust anything until you unlock them). If you’re a superorganized
person, you can use layer locks to check layers in
and out; the locked ones are completed—for now.
Employing shy layers provides a fantastic workaround
for the cluttered Timeline. Layers set to shy disappear
from the Timeline (once the Timeline’s own Shy toggle is
enabled) but remain visible in the Composition viewer. If
you’ve ever worked with an imported 3D track composition
from such software as SynthEyes or Boujou, you know that
they typically come with hundreds of null layers. I tend to

make these shy immediately, leaving only the camera and
background plate ready for compositing.
Colors are automagically assigned to specifi c types of layers
(like Cameras, Lights, and Adjustment Layers) according
to Preferences > Label Defaults. I often give unique colors
to track matte layers so I remember not to move them. On
someone else’s system, the colors may change according to
their preferences, although they will correspond.
Comments are generally the least used column in the
Timeline, but that could change if more people start using
a script called “Zorro-The Layer Tagger,” which manages

the process of adding tags to layers and using them to create
selection sets (Figure 2.2).
Layer Markers (and, new in CS4, Comp Markers) can hold
visible comments. You can add a layer marker for a given
point in time with the * key on your numeric keypad,
meaning you can add them while looping up a RAM Preview
in real time. Comp Markers are added using Shift and
the numbers atop your keyboard. I double-click them and
make notes, both for timing and when I want to make sure
a note won’t get lost in the hidden Comment column.