After Effects in a Day
Getting Started with Animation & Video Post-Production
After Effects is a powerful component of Adobe's suite of design software that allows you to create professional motion graphics with a simple but powerful user interface. This course will have you up and running quickly, as you learn to create animated GIFs, logos, transitions, and more. You'll get hands-on experience in a small class led by a leading motion graphics instructor. Get started in this one-day workshop, or dive right into our intensive After Effects Level 1.
This hands-on After Effects class is designed to teach you the essentials of the user interface, the timeline, video, layer animation, easing in and out, fade-ins, and more.
Prior experience with Photoshop is recommended, but not required.
This After Effects course is held at our design school, Noble Desktop, in SoHo.
Small classes
Computer provided
Book included
Free retake
Register for a Class
This course is offered at our design school, Noble Desktop, in SoHo. View upcoming dates and register for this course directly on Noble Desktop’s website.
Register at nobledesktop.comWhat You'll Learn
- Create animations with graphics such as logos and photos
- Become familiar with the interface, timeline, and layers
- Import and use layered files from Photoshop & Illustrator
- Animate the individual components of a logo
- Create fluid, natural motion with easing
- Add transitions such as fade-ins & fade-outs
- Export your project to create an animated GIF
Full Course Syllabus
Download PDF OutlineSection 1
Intro to After Effects
- The Project, Composition, & Timeline panels
- Importing a Layered File with all its Layers Intact
- Using Title Safety to ensure TV viewers can see the text
Working with Keyframes
- Animating in the Class Names
- Previewing in real time
- Adding Easing
- Sliding Over the Entire Class List
- Animating the Icons
- Animating the “In a Day” Title
- Adding Motion Blur
- Trimming Off Extra Time
Outputting to GIF
- Exporting from After Effects
- Making the Animated GIF in Photoshop
- Reducing the Number of Frames
Section 2
Noble Logo Animation: Anchor Points & Animating with Overshoot
- Converting an Illustrator file from CMYK to RGB
- Animating the black square to overshoot its final size
- Changing where the rectangles scale from by moving layer anchor points
- Setting layer in points using the In column
- Keeping vector layers sharp as they scale up
Noble Logo: Masking Layers & Parenting
- Pre-composing layers
- Hiding the letters before they animate using masks
- Moving the entire logo away from the rising letters using parenting
Noble Logo: Rotation, Fade-Outs, & Rendering
- Adding anticipation keyframes before a major animation
- Animating the Rotation property
- Adding a fade to white using a solid color layer
- How to find missing project files
Optional Bonus: Preparing an Illustrator File for Animation
- Resizing artboards & vector graphics
- Setting up layers to individually animate elements in After Effects
Bonus: HBO Intro Sequence
Importing Flattened Files & Adding Easing
- Importing a layered PSD as a merged file
- Isolating HBO logo, Feature & Presentation text using masks
- Creating fade-ins & fade-outs
- Adding automatic easing to slow down portions of the animation
Working with Numerous Layers
- Familiarizing ourselves with the Photoshop layout: layers extending outside canvas bounds, guides
- Scaling up each tile using a single null object and Parenting
- Randomizing the order in which the photos animate in
- Orchestrating the exit animation so the tiles fall down in diagonal groups
Vector Layouts
- Animating vector shapes using the Trim Paths feature
- Continuous rasterization
- More null objects: animating the three pay television content descriptors
Putting It All Together & Adding Audio
- Sequencing multiple compositions
- Animating like an editor: overlapping shots & using blending modes
- Adding audio to a composition