How After Effects Works

• Projects
• Compositions
• Layers
• Properties
• Effects
• Rendering

Projects & Compositions

• Importing and trinning footage
• Integration with Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator
• Layer Windows and the Composition Window
• Manipulation in the composition window: transformation, masks.
• Nesting Compositions

Timeline vs Composition window

Switches, buttons and modes

• Track Matte

Properties 1 - Transformations:

• Temporal properties: rotation and opacity
• Spatial properties: position and anchor point

More on Layer Windows

• Anchor Point Path
• Masks
• Effect Points

Previewing

• Scale and Quality
• Reduced framerate
• Wireframes
• Dynamic Preview

Adding Effects

• Managing the Timeline
• Effects switches
• Animating effect properties
• Adjustment layers

About Time

• Timestretching footage
• Time Remapping and holds
• Frame blending
• Time effects
• Synchronisation tricks

Rendering

• Render Checklist
• Output Modules

Basic Parenting and Expressions

• Using the pickwhip

Useful Keyboard Shortcuts

Additional Half Day Modules: (these can also be booked seperately)

MODULE 1

3D: Using it and Faking It

• Basic 3D, scale, drop shadow and other fakery
• 3D transform properties
• Material properties
• Camera views and tools
• Effect on render order
• 3D effects and intergration with other 3D packages

This module requires a basic grasp of 3D graphics

MODULE 2

Titling: Techniques for getting text in motion

• Path Text: still useful
• Introduction to text layers
• Animators for text properties
• Range selectors, simple and advanced
• Footage inside text
• Randomizing techniques

MODULE 3

Advanced Keyframing and expressions

• - Linear and bezier interpolation
• Spatial and temporal interpolation
• Using the speed graph to smooth effects
• Roving keyframes
• Writing advanced expressions
• Making expressions and parenting work together
• Motion Blur

This module is fairly mathematical. Some knowledge of Javascript and/or Object-oriented programming would be useful.

MODULE 4

Pro Compositing

• Motion Tracking and Stabilizing
• Basic Keying
• Using the Difference Key
• Chokers and the Spill Suppressor
• Painting on footage and alpha channels

This module focuses on the Pro version of After Effects

MODULE 5

Puppetry: advanced parenting

• - Preparing puppets in Illustrator and Photoshop
• Building a puppet in After Effects
• Nulls and anchors
• Techniques for bringing a puppet to life
• Motion Sketch
• morphing: animating masks, warps and other distortions
• lipsynch

MODULE 6

Stuff Everywhere! – getting the most from Particle Playground

• The basic types: Cannon, Grid and the Exploders
• Using After Effects layers as particles
• Text and numbers as particles
• Gravity, walls and repellers
• Property Mappers: persistent and ephemeral