After Effects enables you to create stunning motion graphics and visual effects for a variety of purposes, including infographics, animated logos, advertisements, kinetic typography (animated titles), social media, e-learning, and broadcast content. 

Visual effects cover a range of disciplines, including compositing, image correction, animated effects, and, in our After Effects Essentials course, an introduction to 3D animation. Our course is designed to equip newcomers to video and graphic animation techniques, as well as self-taught individuals, with the skills to excel in this dynamic software. We expedite your learning of After Effects' essential functionality, incorporating practical exercises and a wealth of tips and techniques to enhance productivity. 

Our instructors, Adobe Certified and industry-experienced, are passionate about training! We recommend using the latest version - CC2024 for After Effects, which introduces techniques and workflows unavailable in earlier versions.

Introduction

• After Effects Workflow
• Video Terminology
• SMPTE Timecode
• After Effects Interface

Importing Footage

• Importing Assets
• Looping Video Footage
• Importing Photoshop & Illustrator Files
• Converting Photoshop Text Layers
• Continuous Rasterize

Starting a Project

• Setting up a Project
• Setting up a Composition
• Layers and the Timeline
• Animating Layers Independently
• Trimming and Moving Layers
• Uninterrupted Previews - Customising Preview Panel
• Keyboard Shortcuts

Understanding Keyframes

• Layer Attributes/Transform Properties
• Viewing Layer Attributes Efficiently
• Changing the Anchor Point
• Creating Keyframes
• Auto Orient along Path
• Keyframe Assistants
• Copying and Pasting Keyframes
• Spatial (Position) and Temporal (Speed) Interpolation
• Simultaneously Editing Keyframes
• Moving Motion Paths
• Retiming Animations
• Efficiently View Keyframes
• View All changed Properties + Keyframes

Linking Methods in After Effects

• Parent/Child Relationships
• Pre-Compose/Nesting Duplicating Layers
• Duplicating and Modifying Composition Copies
• Social Media Formats, eg. Instagram
• Workflow for Animated Gifs

Working with Effects

• Applying Effects
• Animating Effects
• Sharpening and Other Useful Effects
• Wipes, Path Effects
• Using Adjustment Layers
• Blending Modes
• Adding Photoshop Layer Styles to Layers and Text

Working with Text

• Text Layers
• Text Attributes, Source Text
• Animating Text
• Text on a Path
• Finding and Applying Presets - 'Reverse Engineering' Layers in Compositions
• Editing and Saving Custom Animation Presets

Using Masks

• Drawing Mask Shapes
• Mask Properties
• Scale/Rotate/Move Masks
• Editing Mask Shapes
• Animating Masks

Track Mattes and Alpha Channels

• Creating Track Mattes
• Blending Modes

Motion Tracking

• Motion Stabilization
• Tracking Moving Footage

Keying Techniques (Green Screen)

• Understanding the Keying Workflow
• Using Keylight Effects

Time Stretching - Speed Change

• Changing Playback Speed
• Reverse Speed

Shape Tools

• Drawing and Animating Shapes
• Creating Graphs and Charts for Infographics
• Converting Illustrator Files to Shape Layers
• Adding Animators to Shapes
• Animating Shape Layer Paths
• Adding Animated, Repeating Elements

Introduction to Working in 3D Space

• Creating a Layer in 3D Space
• Animating a Layer in 3D Space
• 3D Text Animation

Final Rendering - Saving Your Work

• Adding your Project to the Render Queue
• Using Adobe Media Encoder to Output .mp4 Files for Web
• Render Settings for Multiple Outputs
• Understanding Video Formats
• TV Broadcast and Web Standards - Common DV Codecs

Private/ Group Enrolments:
This course is available for individual enrolment and Private classes (min 10 students). Please contact Lumify to organise a quote.

What do I need to know to attend?

Creatives and professionals seeking to enhance their video editing, motion graphics, and visual effects skills with After Effects.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will leave with the capability to produce compelling motion graphics and visual effects, ready to apply these skills to enhance their video production projects.

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