Master the complete toolkit and comprehensive skills needed to excel with Adobe After Effects, a powerful software application used across the industry for creating special effects in video and motion graphics projects. This course teaches students all the essential capabilities for professional-level effects creation, animation, and compositing work.
Target Audience:
This course is designed for graphic designers and video professionals who require comprehensive knowledge of video editing, motion graphics creation, and digital compositing techniques. Experienced users will find significant value in the hands-on projects and advanced professional techniques covered throughout the program. No prior experience with After Effects software is required to benefit from this comprehensive course. Training is available on both Macintosh and Windows platforms.
Detailed Course Outline:
Introduction: Real-World Usage of After Effects
- Defining what After Effects is and its primary professional applications
- Comparing cloud-based and standalone licensing options
- Identifying the types of media that After Effects can create
- Understanding what media formats can be imported
- Recognizing the main components of an After Effects project file
- Applying industry best practices for After Effects workflows
- Reviewing media deployment and file format options
- Understanding project resolution determination factors
- Learning how frame rate specifications affect projects
- Following best practices for managing graphical and audio assets
- Meeting required technical specifications
Hands-On Unit 1: Setting Up an After Effects Project
- Understanding RAM requirements and real-time rendering capabilities
- Working with linked media and reloading updated clips
- Setting preferences and configuring project settings
- Creating projects and importing video footage
- Building compositions and arranging layers systematically
- Adding effects and modifying layer properties
- Creating animated compositions
- Using the Time Controls Panel for preview and playback
- Working with switches and modes in the Timeline
- Creating rendering presets for consistent output
- Customizing the After Effects workspace
Hands-On Unit 2: Basic Animation With Effects and Presets
- Working with imported Illustrator vector layers
- Creating and formatting text elements
- Applying built-in text animation presets
- Applying effects to layers and adjusting parameters
- Previewing effects before rendering
- Nesting compositions and pre-composing for organization
- Adding transparency and alpha channel effects
Hands-On Unit 3: Animating Text
- Designing titles using text layers
- Creating and formatting text with styling
- Using text animation presets
- Animating text with keyframes
- Understanding keyframe interpolation techniques
- Using parenting to animate dependent elements
- Converting imported Photoshop text for manipulation
- Applying path-based text animation presets
- Animating type tracking adjustments
- Animating text opacity over time
- Using text animator groups for complex effects
- Converting path points to positional keyframes
- Auto-orienting layers along motion paths
- Adding motion blur effects
Hands-On Unit 4: Animating Shapes
- Understanding the differences between shape and mask layers
- Adding shape layers to compositions
- Creating and animating geometric shapes
- Using repeaters to multiply shape elements
- Incorporating video and audio layers into projects
- Applying a Cartoon effect for stylization
- Adding title bars and graphic elements
Hands-On Unit 5: Skills Summation Project
- Adjusting layer anchor points for precise positioning
- Masking video using vector shapes
- Applying self-generating effects
- Creating animated slide shows
- Mixing and balancing audio track levels
Hands-On Unit 6: Working with Masks
- Understanding alpha channels, masks, mattes, and keying
- Importing masks from Photoshop
- Animating masks over time
- Using the Graph Editor for keyframe interpolation
- Creating custom animation presets
- Creating and editing masks in After Effects
- Feathering mask edges for smooth transitions
- Using the Mask Feather Tool
- Applying blend modes for composite effects
- Creating vignette effects
- Performing basic color correction on masked areas
Hands-On Unit 7: Working in 3D
- Manipulating 2D text and objects in 3D space
- Creating and shading extruded 3D text
- Animating 3D text elements
- Using multiple scene views
- Applying lights to 3D layers
- Shading and shadowing 3D elements
- Animating light and materials properties
- Exploring third-party 3D plug-ins
Hands-On Unit 8: Color Correction and Cleanup
- Adjusting color balance
- Replacing backgrounds
- Using the Clone Tool to remove unwanted elements
- Correcting color ranges selectively
- Warming colors with the Photo Filter effect
Hands-On Unit 9: Rendering and Exporting
- Testing compositions before final render and export
- Understanding video and audio compression
- Rendering in After Effects' Render Queue
- Using the Adobe Media Encoder
- Creating render templates for consistency
- Rendering and exporting to multiple media types, including high-resolution recompositing, DVD-V, web video, YouTube, and mobile devices
Note:
Course outlines serve as guides to typical course content. Topics may be adjusted or altered to meet the specific objectives of individual class groups.
What's Included:
- Adobe After Effects Training Manual
- Adobe Certificate of Course Completion
- 6 Months Free Repeat Policy
