

All you have to do is connect the blur node to the node of whatever you want to blur. Effects like blur and color correction are their own nodes. This singular level can be anything from a video to an image to a solid. Additionally, as mentioned before, the bigger your project gets, the harder it is to deal with in AE.Ī node is a singular level inside a node based software. The real question is, why switch from layers if it is so prevalent? The biggest point of contention is the lack of built-in 3D compositing in AE. In fact, most node based software companies assume you have used either Photoshop or AE before ever touching their software. It is no real secret that the reason layers are talked about in the visual effects world is the ubiquity of AE and Photoshop. As a direct result of the need for nesting, projects can become quite large, difficult to navigate and unruly.

However, if you want blur and color correction on all layers, you will either have to duplicate the effect multiple times or nest it into a new composition. Additionally, effects like blur and color correction can be applied to each individual layer. In some layer based applications like After Effects (AE), you can nest entire compositions, consisting of layers and groups, into other compositions. Layers can be combined into bins, directories and groups. Each effect is also represented individually as a layer. This singular level can be anything from a video layer to an image.

LayersĪ layer is a singular level inside a layer based software. In some editing software, you can even attach effects layers to the tracks.

Tracks are different from layers in that tracks can hold numerous elements such as multiple video clips, and each video clip can have multiple effects layers attached to it. In most editing software, you use tracks.
