Adobe After Effects Jumpstart

Prerequisites:

Before taking this course, you should have a basic understanding of your computer?�s operating you should know how to launch an application, create and save files, and copy files from.

Course Description:

This course is for people new to After Effects. A person who wishes to work in the video field or who currently works in the field, or an Adobe application user looking to expand his or her skills, looking to add effects to video projects. Some students may be mainly interested in creating video primarily for the Web, and others for film, but the majority are preparing more for work in broadcast video. The later part of this After Effects course you will master the concepts and advanced features of this program. It includes many advanced features, including tips and tricks using the latest version. We also recommend this course for those planning to obtain the Adobe Certified expert status in After Effects.

On this course you will become familiar with the After Effects interface, learn to create animations, work with layers, apply effects, work with masks and mattes, about type, use color effectively and to export files. You will also go on to learn Keyframe Complexity, graphs, keyframe graphic editor, expressions, render queue, path text, masks, color keying, track mattes, compound effects, motion stabilization and tracking, render order/precomposing, 3D animation.

This course includes the following modules:

After Effects User Interface and Animation

• What is a project file and what is in it?
• Tools and Panels: how to navigate around the application,
• Workspaces: selecting, saving, setting

Basic Animation

• Transform properties of layers
• Keyframing: making element move,
• Importing Photoshop and Illustrator files

Intermediate Animation

• In depth keyframe manipulation and interpolation
• Graph Editor,
• Motion Sketch/Smoother,
• Auto-Orient/Motion
• Blur, Roving
• Keyframes,
• Anchor Point/Pan Behind Tool,
• Panning a large graphic: technique
• Hold Keyframes

Layer Control

• Trim-move-stack-split (keyboard shortcuts)
• Quality, SlipTool
• Sequence Layers,
• Solo Switches,
• Looping Footage
• Image Sequences,
• Frame Rate vs. Time Stretch
• Blending Modes
• Effects and Solids with Blending Modes
• Effects and Presets Panel: animation presets
• Adjustment layers

Transparency

• Masks
• Shape, feather, expansion
• Masking with the Pen Tool:
• Bezier curves,
• Mask Shape Interpolation
• Mask modes
• Mattes and Stencils
• Mask shapes

Type and Titles

• Simple Rules of Titling
• Basic Text
• Text Animators/Range Selectors
• Randomizing
• Applying and Saving Text Animation presets
• Per character animators

Nesting

• Precomps
• Editing precomps
• Locking panels, Render Order
• How After Effects put it all together

Exporting Files

• Render Queue
• Export As
• Same Frame As
• Prerender

Keyframes

• Different types of keyframe
• Velocity
• Keyframe shortcuts
• Keyframe graph editor

Type Draw, Paint

• All About Alphas
• Working with Photoshop
• Dots, Pixels and Inches
• Working with Illustrator
• Plugging in Type

The Matrix

• Particle Playground

More On Effects

• Production Bundle Effects Round-Up
• Compound Effects

Animation Assistants

• Additional Assistants
• Motion Fun
• Express Yourself
• Animation and behavior presets

Keying

• Using Keylight

Time and Tracking

• Time Remapping
• Time Games
• On Stable Ground
• Motion Tracking
• Time warp

Expressions

• Writing a simple expression
• Linking expressions to motion track

Working with 3D

• Cameras
• Lights
• 3D Layers

NLE Integration

• Integration 101
• Integration with Nonlinear Editing Systems

Format Issues and Rendering

• Video Issues
• Playing the Field
• 3:2 Pulldown
• Luminance and IRE Issues
• Working with D1/DV NTSC
• Working with Widescreen
• Prerendering and Proxies
• Advanced Rendering-Render Farm Concept
• What's Your Preference?
• The Secret Preferences