AfterEffects

Work with effect control points

Some effects have effect control points, which determine how the effect is applied to the layer. For example, the Advanced Lightning effect has two effect control points—Origin and Direction—which specify where the lightning begins and in which direction it points.

The coordinates for effect control points are in the layer’s coordinate space (layer space), not in the composition’s coordinate space (composition space). The coordinates shown in the Info panel are in layer space when the Layer panel is active.

View an effect control point

  • To view an effect control point in the Layer panel, choose the effect name from the Layer panel’s View menu.
  • To view an effect control point in the Composition panel, select the effect name in the Timeline panel or Effect Controls panel.
    Note: To view effect control points in the Composition panel, you must have Show Layer Controls selected in the View menu and Effect Controls selected in View Options (View > View Options).

Move an effect control point

  • In the Composition panel or Layer panel, drag the effect control point .
  • In the Effect Controls panel, click the effect control point button ; then, in the Composition or Layer panel, click where you want the effect control point.
  • In the Timeline or Effect Controls panel, drag or enter values for the x and y coordinates for the effect control point as you would to modify any other property.