Twisters in Adobe After Effects

By Aaron Parson

The CC Twister effect is not made by Adobe.
i Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images

The CC Twister effect in Adobe After Effects causes your video to twist around a selected axis, creating a look like a cloth turned at both ends. Though not produced by Adobe, this third-party effect comes included with full copies of After Effects, but is not available in trial copies. You can use a twister as an effect on a single video clip or use it to transition between two clips.

Add the video clip you want twisted to the timeline in After Effects. Set the playhead to the point in your clip you want the effect to begin.

Open the "Layer" menu, click "New," and then pick "Adjustment Layer." This allows your twister to affect all other layers of your project, so you can combine the twister with other effects or clips later, if you want to.

Choose the "CC Twister" effect from the "Transition" category in the "Effects" menu. You can also search for it using the search box on the "Effects & Presets" panel, and then drag it to your adjustment layer.

Click the stopwatch icon by "Completion" in the CC Twister settings panel. This will automatically add and update keyframes as necessary.

Change the Axis value to the orientation you want your video to twist.

Move the playhead to the time you want the twister to end, and then change the Completion value to 100.

Preview your video and make any adjustments as necessary.

Tips

To use the CC Twister effect to transition between two separate clips, add both to the timeline, and then set the beginning and ending times of the effect -- the space between the Completion values of zero and 100 -- to cover the area between the clips.

Creating a mask allows you to apply the twister to a portion of the video.

Warnings

Information in this article applies to Adobe After Effects CC, CS6 and CS5. It may vary slightly or significantly with other versions.

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