After Effects 6: Where did 'Blend with Original' go?

[ya3]

I distinctly remember that there was a 'Blend with Original' slider on almost all the AE filters in previous versions. In particular, I want to have a Gaussian Blur on a clip, but only 50% visible. Kinda like the 'Fade...' command in PS.

Does anyone know?
Thanks in advance.

[.soulty]

there should be a opacity slider that is keyable with each filter.

:: wait thats wrong, my bad.. im checking now.

[.soulty]

this is in the help of ae6.5


Blend controls

Adjust the following controls for the Blend effect:

Blend with Layer

Specifies the layer to be blended with the original layer.

Mode

Specifies the Blend mode you want to use. Crossfade fades between the original image and the secondary image. Color Only colorizes each pixel in the original image based on the color of each corresponding pixel in the secondary image. Tint Only is similar to Color Only but tints pixels in the original image only if they are already colored. Darken Only darkens each pixel in the original image that is lighter than the corresponding pixel in the secondary image. Lighten Only lightens each pixel in the original image that is darker than the corresponding pixel in the secondary image.

Blend with Original

Specifies the fading level between the blended image and the original image. A setting of 0% shows only the secondary layer (or just the layers specified with Blend if you are in Crossfade mode). At 100%, only the first layer is visible. Changing this slider linearly over time gives you a standard crossfade. To try the other blending modes, set Blend with Original to 0% to see the full effect of each mode.

Note: You can create a crossfade without applying an effect by animating the Opacity property of one layer on top of another. However, this doesn't work if the frontmost layer has any transparent portions (which allows the other layer to show through, even when at full opacity). The Crossfade mode creates a proper crossfade between two layers, even if both have transparent regions.

If Layer Sizes Differ

Specifies how to position the layers. The layer's quality setting affects Blend only if Stretch to Fit is selected and if the layers are of different sizes. Stretching at Best quality is much smoother.

[.soulty]

ok found it...well this is in 6.5, but i think its like that in 6.0...

after selecting your blur filter for your layer then go to effect/channel /blend/ this will apply this as another effect on your layer... now you have the ability to use blend with original and also select the layer you want to blend with.

[ya3]

ok found it...well this is in 6.5, but i think its like that in 6.0...

after selecting your blur filter for your layer then go to effect/channel /blend/ this will apply this as another effect on your layer... now you have the ability to use blend with original and also select the layer you want to blend with.
aha! just the thing i was looking for! ;)

thanks for your help :D

[.soulty]

no probs. good to find out cause i didnt know either.. lol

[ya3]

...actually, i realised it doesn't work if you've got multiple effects on one clip and you only want to fade ONE effect... :(
i ended up using an Adjustment Layer with a Gaussian Blur on it, and the layer's Opacity set to 50% :D

[.soulty]

yeah that would be another way.. or you could pre-create this effect in photoshop and import the image..

whatever works. ;)

::adjustment layers are pretty powerful with v6+ ... i havent used much of them, i remember seeing a video on how to use them, dont know were that is now...

[ya3]

::adjustment layers are pretty powerful with v6+ ... i havent used much of them, i remember seeing a video on how to use them, dont know were that is now...
yeah, i'd never used them before... not sure if they were in previous versions.
anyway, i saw them used on these Total Training: After Effects 6.5 DVDs (extremely good and helpful videos, btw) :D