After Effects CC 2013 Essential Training

Delve into the world of motion graphics, keying, and compositing in After Effects CC.

Delve into the world of motion graphics, keying, and compositing in After Effects CC. In this course, Ian Robinson lays out six foundations for becoming proficient with After Effects, including concepts such as layers, keyframe animation, and working with 3D. To help you get up and running with the program, the course begins with a project-based chapter on creating an animated graphic bumper. Next, explore the role layers play in compositions and find out how to add style to your projects using effects and graphic elements. Last, see how to build 3D objects with CINEMA 4D Lite, as well as stabilize footage, solve for 3D cameras, and paint in graphics with the Reverse Stabilization feature.

Adobe After Effects

• What is After Effects?

Introduction

• Welcome
• Using the exercise files (CC 2014.1)
• Using the exercise files
• Understanding and managing applications with Creative Cloud (CC 2014.1)
• Which versions of After Effects CC does this course cover? (CC 2014.1)
• Relinking missing footage
• Working with keyboard shortcuts
• Different ways to use After Effects
• Exploring the interface of After Effects (CC 2014.1)
• Exploring the interface of After Effects
• Exploring important preferences, and setting up the cache (CC 2014.1)
• Exploring important preferences and setting up the cache
• Video terminology (CC 2014.1)
• Video terminology
• Updating After Effects with Creative Cloud

1. The Fundamentals of After Effects

• The six foundations of After Effects
• Understanding compositions
• Creating and manipulating layers
• Building animation
• Working with effects
• Introduction to 3D
• Understanding how to render

2. Up and Running with After Effects

• Importing elements
• Organizing projects
• Building compositions with layers
• Animating with keyframes
• Adding effects and graphics
• Output techniques

3. Understanding Compositions

• Exploring composition and project settings
• Importing Photoshop files as compositions
• Importing Illustrator files as compositions
• Viewing files in the comp panel
• Understanding Pre-compose
• Positioning layers with snapping
• Interpreting footage
• Keyboard shortcuts for compositions

4. Building Compositions with Layers

• Defining layers
• Creating type layers
• Precise typesetting techniques
• Creating layer solids and shapes with masks
• Creating design elements with shape layers
• Layer compositing: Masks, switches, and blend modes
• Using track mattes
• Precise compositing with variable-width feathered masks
• Working smarter by swapping layers
• Keyboard shortcuts for layers

5. Creating Animation

• Understanding animation
• Adding and adjusting keyframes
• Understanding keyframe interpolation (CC 2014.1)
• Understanding keyframe interpolation
• Adjusting keyframes in the Graph Editor
• The power of parenting
• Using null objects
• Creating expressions with the pick whip
• Creating and adjusting motion paths
• Building complex graphics with Pre-compose
• Preparing audio for animation
• Generating graphics with audio
• Working smarter: Navigating the Timeline

6. Using Effects

• Understanding the order of effects
• Generating backgrounds with effects
• Generating a scribble effect
• Animating strokes with effects
• Using adjustment layers
• Adding gradients and glows
• Saving pan and scan presets
• Fixing exposure with Levels
• Fixing color casts with Color Finesse 3
• Masking individual effects

7. Jumping into 3D

• Understanding 3D in After Effects
• Intro to cameras (CC 2014.1)
• Intro to cameras
• Intro to lights and material options
• Animating cameras (CC 2014.1)
• Animating cameras
• Creating depth of field
• Exploring the ray-traced 3D renderer

8. Introducing CINEMA 4D Lite

• Understanding CINEMA 4D Lite and After Effects (CC 2014.1)
• Understanding CINEMA 4D Lite and After Effects
• 3D foundations (CC 2014.1)
• 3D foundations
• Matching CINEMA 4D Lite and After Effects projects (CC 2014.1)
• Matching CINEMA 4D Lite and After Effects projects
• Understanding the CINEMA 4D Lite interface (CC 2014.1)
• Understanding the CINEMA 4D Lite interface
• Creating 3D projects from Illustrator files (CC 2014.1)
• Creating 3D projects from Illustrator files
• Exploring modeling in CINEMA 4D Lite (CC 2014.1)
• Exploring modeling in CINEMA 4D Lite
• Applying deformers (CC 2014.1)
• Applying deformers
• Understanding materials (CC 2014.1)
• Understanding materials
• Lighting your scene (CC 2014.1)
• Lighting your scene
• Looking at detailed materials
• Working with presets (materials and lights) (CC 2014.1)
• Animating in CINEMA 4D Lite (CC 2014.1)
• Animating in CINEMA 4D Lite
• Adjusting keyframes in CINEMA 4D Lite (CC 2014.1)
• Animating cameras in CINEMA 4D Lite (CC 2014.1)
• Animating cameras in CINEMA 4D Lite
• Working with CINEWARE (CC 2014.1)
• Working with CINEWARE
• Render settings and the multipass workflow (CC 2014.1)
• Render settings and the multipass workflow

9. Exporting and Rendering

• Rendering with Adobe Media Encoder
• Recommended settings for rendering graphics
• Creating presets in the Render Queue
• Prerendering with Import and Replace Usage
• Working smarter: One render, multiple outputs

10. Exploring Type and Shape Animation

• Creating type animators
• Creating and animating type on a path
• Animating shape layers
• Animating brushstrokes with Paint
• Animating text and prepairing templates for use in Premiere Pro (CC 2014.1)

11. Repairing and Retiming Video

• Retiming with Time Remapping
• Retiming footage with Timewarp
• Smoothing shaky camera footage with Warp Stabilizer VFX

12. Project: Keying Green-Screen Footage

• Getting started with Keylight
• Refining your key with Keylight
• Cleaning up keys with masks

13. Project: Rotoscoping

• Rotoscoping with paths
• Introducing the Roto Brush
• Refining the Roto Brush
• Using the Refine Edge tool

14. Project: Tracking

• Creating a single point track
• Applying motion with Warp Stabilizer VFX
• Warp Stabilizer VFX: Reversible Stabilization workflow
• Solving cameras

15. Media Management

• Archiving your projects
• Removing unused footage
• Moving compositions between projects in After Effects

Conclusion

• What's next?