Introduction
Ease and Wizz is a set of expressions for After Effects that give you more ways to interpolate between values. The obvious use is in motion, but they can be used on animated properties of any kind. They’re applied with an After Effects-ish palette that can be docked, so it’s very easy to use.
A while back, Flash guru Robert Penner created a suite of extremely useful easing equations that have been used to build thousands of websites worldwide. I've adapted these equations to work as expressions in After Effects (for an introduction to After Effects expressions, check out Dan Ebberts' excellent site).
One advantage of using an expression for easing is that the keyframes are editable. You can drag objects in the comp viewer, or move keyframes in the timeline, and the easing will be updated immediately.
Download
ease-and-wizz-1.1.zip (weighing in at a mere 75 KB).
Ease and Wizz is free and open source. If, however, you’re burning to donate to the cause, you can do so by clicking the donate button at the bottom of the page. You’d bring me much joy if you did.
System requirements
- After Effects CS3. It may work on earlier versions, but it hasn't been tested.
- Mac OS X or Windows.
Installation
- Open the After Effects preferences. Check that "Allow Scripts to Write Files and Access Network" is enabled.
-
Navigate to the After Effects Scripts folder. On my Mac it’s here:
/Applications/Adobe After Effects CS3/Scripts/
On Windows:C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects CS3\Support Files\Scripts\
- Create a folder in Scripts called "ScriptUI Panels" (if there isn't one already).
- Extract the zip archive into the new ScriptUI Panels folder. It should look something like this:
- Relaunch After Effects. There should be a new item under the Windows menu, right at the bottom: "Ease and Wizz.jsx". When you select this item, a new panel should appear. You can dock it with some other panels, wherever's convenient.
- Create a new comp and put something in there (shape layer, bitmap, solid etc.). Animate one of its properties, such as position or scale. With at least one keyframe selected, select the "Apply" button on the Ease and Wizz palette.
If you’re still stuck, you can watch the hilariously amateur screencast I’ve put together. Note that there’s no sound. Important: the screencast is for version 1.0 of Ease and Wizz. The palette layout has changed, and you no longer have to locate the easingExpressions folder.
Usage
Simply select the properties that you wish to add expressions to, choose the type of easing from the popup menu, whether it should be "in", "out", or both and click Apply. As of version 1.1 it's possible to apply the expression to all keyframes instead of just the first two.
You can choose any number of properties (including different kinds), on any number of layers, and the script will add expressions to everything that's selected.
Note: If there are already expressions on the properties that are selected, they'll be replaced when you click Apply.
Types of easing
- Regular easing (from most to least dramatic)
- Expo, Circ, Quint, Quart, Quad, Sine
- Special types
- Back, Bounce, Elastic
FAQ
- What's with the name?
- It's a pun on a song title by UK band Pulp: “Sorted for E's & Wizz”.
- Why do I need to enable "Allow Scripts to Write Files and Access Network"?
- The expressions themselves are separate files in the "easingExpressions" folder. The main script figures out which one you intend to use, opens the relevant file, and the applies the expression to all the properties you've got selected. In a pinch, you could also do this manually (but it's pretty laborious).
- I’d like to give you some money. Can I?
- Hell yeah! Just click this big ugly yellow button and PayPal will do the rest:
- Are these questions really “Frequently Asked”?
- OK, you got me. They have, literally, never been asked.
Version history
2008.03.24 – Version 1.1
- [NEW] Tooltips added to the palette
- [NEW] Popup menu added so you can select which keyframes to affect (all, first two and last two, or just the first two)
- [CHANGED] Replaced the "type" radio buttons with a popup menu
- [CHANGED] Eliminated need to choose easingExpressions folder path (thanks to Jeff Almasol)
- [FIXED] Fixed colour of text in popup menus - thanks to Jeff again
2008.03.21 – Version 1.0
- Initial release
Contact
If you were to take the word “mail”, and stick it on to the domain “ianhaigh.com” with an “at” symbol, it would more than likely result in my email address. Your feedback is welcome.
