Auto-orientation towards the camera is a 3D technique in After Effects with a lot of uses. Sometimes though, it would be better if the auto orientation only affected the layer's y axis.

This generates perfect circular motion centered around the original position of the layer.

Creates an oscillating motion between two specified values over a specified period of time
(in seconds).

Creates an oscillating motion between two specified 2-dimensional positions over a specified
period of time (in seconds).

Cast 3D shadows onto live action footage
Use shadow diffusion and special material options
Tutorials for Visual Effects & Motion Graphics
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The Difference Matte effect creates a transparency a mask or a matte by comparing the pixels in a source layer with the pixel in a defined difference layer, and then keying out (eliminating) pixels in the source layer that match both the position and color in the difference layer.

Formatting a number with commas

This expression is customizable, and you can change many things including: the radius of the cylinder, the overall rotation of the cylinder, the spacing vertical spacing between rows of the cylinder, and the amount of layer on each level of the cylinder.

Background animation preset from Adobe After Effects CS3

More experimentation with sampleImage().
from http://www.creative-workflow-hacks.com