The Basic 3D effect manipulates a clip in 3D space. You can rotate an image around horizontal and vertical axes and move it toward or away from you. With Basic 3D, you can also create a specular highlight to give the appearance of light reflecting off a rotated surface. The light source for the specular highlight is always above, behind, and to the left of the viewer. Because the light comes from above, the image must be tilted backward to see this reflection. Specular highlights can enhance the realism of the 3D appearance.

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Basic 3D effect: Swivel (left), Swivel and Tilt (center), and Swivel, Tilt, and Distance (right)

Swivel

Controls horizontal rotation (rotation around a vertical axis). You can rotate past 90° to see the back side of the image, which is the mirror image of the front.

Tilt

Controls vertical rotation (rotation around a horizontal axis).

Distance To Image

Specifies the image’s distance from the viewer. As the distance gets larger, the image recedes.

Specular Highlight

Adds a glint of light that reflects off the surface of the rotated image, as though an overhead light were shining on the surface. If Draw Preview Wireframe is selected, the specular highlight is indicated by a red plus sign (+) if it isn’t visible on the clip (the center of the highlight doesn’t intersect the clip) and a green plus sign (+) if the highlight is visible. You must render a preview before the Specular Highlight effect becomes visible in the Program Monitor.

Preview

Draws a wireframe outline of the 3D image. The wireframe outline renders quickly. To see your final results, deselect Draw Preview Wireframe when you finish manipulating the wireframe image.