This course introduces new users to motion graphics and visual effects for film, video, multimedia, and the Web. This two-day course will get you started using Adobe After Effects powerful tools for creating a wide range of visual and audio effects.

Please note you will need to bring your own Creative Cloud login

People who want to get started using Adobe After Effects, the industry-standard motion graphics and visual effects software.

Prior experience with Photoshop and a video editing application such as Premiere Pro is recommended. A log-in will be required for Creative Cloud

• Digital video basics
• Digital media management
• Layers and compositing
• Key frames and motion paths
• Working with and animating text
• Working with 3D effects
• Rendering and exporting projects

Lesson 1: Digital video basics.

• Understanding analogue versus digital.
• Clarifying frame rate and resolution.
• Understanding storage space.
• Knowing your system requirements.
• Defining motion graphics.

Lesson 2: After Effects user interface.

• Creating a project.
• Using the After Effects panel system.
• Organising the project window.
• Using the Composition window.
• Using the Timeline window.
• Ram Preview vs. Standard preview.

Lesson 3: Media management.

• Importing media files.
• Importing Photoshop & Illustrator files.
• Previewing footage. Previewing stills and video.
• Previewing audio.
• Trimming a video clip.
• Using the interpret footage dialog box.
• Looping an audio or video file.

Lesson 4: Layers.

• Getting to know layers and their options.
• Creating a layer solid.
• Understanding the layer switches.
• Using time stretch and frame blending.
• Nesting compositions/layers
• Using precomps.

Lesson 5: Keyframes.

• Animating layer properties.
• Using layer parenting to ease repetition.
• Understanding motion paths.
• Working with layer blending.
• Controlling the speed of animations.
• Learning the easing principles.

Lesson 6: Adding text to your project.

• Creating text.
• Using the Character and Paragraph palette.
• Animating text with keyframes.
• Animating text using presets.
• Using Bridge with After Effects.

Lesson 7: Using Masks and alpha channels.

• Masking. Animating masks.
• Working with alpha channels.
• Track matte.

Lesson 8: Effect basics.

• Animating effects.

Lesson 9: 3D in After Effects.

• 3D capabilities and limitations.
• Creating 3D layers.
• Using multiple viewports.
• Understanding 3D transform.
• Animating 3D layers.
• Creating and using lights.

Lesson 10: Rendering and exporting.

• Rendering to various formats.
• Understanding the render queue.
• Adjusting render settings.
• Duplicating jobs in the render queue.
• Creating render templates.
• Exporting a project file.
• Rendering an individual frame.