How to Use 3D Lighting in Adobe After Effects

1. Start a new composition.
2. Set your desired properties. The video uses a size of 1920 by 1080 pixels, a rate of 25 frames per second and a duration of 5 seconds. 
3. Enter the desired name for your composition.
4. Click the OK button.

1. Create two layers: a primary layer and a background layer.
2. Make sure the primary layer is overtop of the background layer.
3. Select the background layer.
4. Scale the background layer to be slightly larger than the composition.
5. Highlight both layers.
6. Set both layers as 3D.
7. Ensure the camera settings are set to Classic 3D if not already set by default.

1. Change the view dropdown from 1 View to 2 Views. A Top view appears to the left of the Active Camera view.
2. Change the view if something other than the Top view is shown on the left side.
   1. Click in the space of the view on the left side. Arrows appear in the corners of the space.
   2. Select Top in the dropdown in the lower right of the screen.

1. Select the background layer.
2. Click and hold the Z axis on the Top view.
3. Drag the background layer up, to the back of the 3D space. The background layer will appear to get smaller in the Active Camera view, because it is moving farther away.
4. With the background layer selected, press the S key.
5. Resize the background layer so it is larger than the view in the Active Camera view.
6. You can optionally move the primary layer forward and backward in space but should leave it near the center.
   1. Select the primary layer.
   2. Click and hold the Z axis on the Top view.
   3. Drag the primary layer up to move it toward the back of the space (the layer will appear to get smaller in the Active Camera view), or down to move it toward the front of the space (the layer will appear to get larger in the Active Camera view).
   4. Drop the layer in a position you prefer near the center of the space.

1. Right-click in the space below the layers. A menu opens.
2. Select New > Light... from the menu. The Light Settings dialog box opens.
3. Be sure Spot is selected in the Light Type dropdown.
4. Leave the other settings as default and click OK to close the dialog box. The spotlight appears on your composition.

1. Drag the spotlight down in the Top view to move it forward in space. Drop the spotlight in a location where there is just a little bit of falloff on the edges on the Active Camera view.
2. Double-click the spotlight layer. The Light Settings dialog box opens.
3. Change the Falloff dropdown to Inverse Square Clamped. The Active Camera view will become very dark.
4. Increase the Radius value until the Active Camera view looks like it did before the setting change, but with a more natural looking shadow.
5. Ensure the Cast Shadows checkbox is selected.
6. Click OK to close the Light Settings dialog box.

1. Expand the layer options for the primary layer and then expand the Material Options for the layer.
2. Click the Off setting for Casts Shadows to change it to On. Since the primary layer is between the light and the background, it will cast a dark shadow onto the background in the Active Camera view.

1. Double-click the spotlight layer. The Light Settings dialog box opens.
2. Increase the Shadow Diffusion and decrease the Shadow Darkness until the shadow on the Active Camera view looks realistic and appealing to you.

1. Right-click in the space below the layers. A menu opens.
2. Select New > Light... in the menu. The Light Settings dialog box opens.
3. Select Ambient in the Light Type dropdown.
4. Leave the other settings as default and click OK to close the dialog box. The ambient light will appear on your composition, but will be too bright.
5. Double-click the ambient light layer. The Light Settings dialog box opens.
6. Decrease the Intensity until the darkness around the edges of the Active Camera view looks appropriate. The video uses a 5% Intensity setting.
7. You can optionally adjust the position of the spotlight to fine tune the lighting effects as well.
   1. Select the spotlight layer.
   2. Drag the spotlight up to move it toward the back of the space (the spot will get smaller in the Active Camera view) or down to move it toward the front of the space (the spot will get larger in the Active Camera view).
   3. Drop the spotlight in a position you prefer for the appropriate shadowing around the edges of the Active Camera view.

1. Drag the timeline to the beginning.
2. Adjust the zoom level of the Top view pane to zoom out and allow more room to work. The video shows the adjusted zoom level of 12.5%.
3. Expand the layer options for the spotlight layer and then expand the Transform properties.
4. Select Point of Interest, Position and Orientation under the Transform properties and click the stop watch to the left to create these keyframes at the start of the composition.
5. On the Top view, drag your spotlight into the location and position you would like it to start on the left side of the view. Use the Active Camera view to judge the result.
6. Adjust the timeline into the future. The video selects a position of 2 seconds.
7. On the Top view, drag your spotlight to the right, into the location and position you would like it for this timeframe. Use the Active Camera view to judge the result.
8. Continue moving the spotlight location and positioning throughout the timeline according to your preferences.
9. Highlight all of your keyframes and right-click them. A menu opens.
10. Select Keyframe Assistant > Easy Ease from the menu to ease the keyframe transitions.

1. Right-click in the space below the layers. A menu opens.
2. Select New > Camera... from the menu. The Camera Settings dialog box opens.
3. Leave the default settings and click OK to close the Camera Settings. A new camera layer is added to the composition.
4. Select the camera layer.
5. Drag the camera up in the Top view to move it backward in space. Drop the camera in a location where it is nearly touching the primary layer. It should appear fully zoomed in on the primary layer in the Active Camera view. This will be the starting position of your camera animation.
6. Ensure the timeline is set to the beginning.
7. Expand the layer options for the camera layer and then expand the Transform properties.
8. Select Point of Interest and Position under the Transform properties and click the stop watch to the left to create these keyframes at the start of the composition.
9. Adjust the timeline to the very end of the spotlight animation.
10. On the Top view, drag your camera down into the location where you would like it to finish in the animation. This should be where your primary layer is appropriately framed and the background layer remains within the composition in the Active Camera view.
11. Highlight all of your camera keyframes and right-click them. A menu opens.
12. Select Keyframe Assistant > Easy Ease from the menu to ease these keyframe transitions as well.

Turn on the Motion Blur toggle for both the primary and background layers.