After Effects Guru: Mastering the Timeline

Learn about time-saving features for navigating to specific timecodes, adjusting keyframes, changing layer behavior, and other tips for mastering the timeline panel in After Effects.

Introduction

• Welcome
• Exercise files

1. Navigating the Timeline

• Using workspaces
• Scrolling the timeline
• Going to a specific time
• Defining the work area
• Advancing frames
• Finding items in the timeline
• Controlling playback in the timeline
• Navigating your photo organization

2. Adjusting the Timeline

• Hiding, showing, and rearranging columns
• Using shy layers to simplify the timeline
• Controlling your timeline view by soloing layers
• Organizing with labels
• Controlling audio playback in the timeline

3. Working with Keyframes

• Essential animation shortcuts
• Viewing all keyframes
• Showing only audio levels and audio waveforms
• Viewing only effects properties
• Retiming keyframes
• Using the graph editor to refine keyframes
• Using animation assistants to refine keyframes
• Navigating keyframes in the timeline
• How to nudge keyframes
• Keyframing with motion sketch

4. Switches Revealed

• Improving playback with Draft 3D
• Smoothing movement with motion blur
• Scaling vector objects with the continuously rasterize switch
• The collapse transformations switch
• Smoother speed changes with frame blending
• Working with adjustment layers
• The effect of the layer quality and sampling switch

5. Controlling Layers

• Choosing a specific layer
• Moving a layer's in and out points
• Trimming a layer's duration with in and out points
• Nudging a layer in the timeline
• Changing the stacking order for a layer
• Splitting a layer
• Renaming layers
• Locking layers in After Effects
• Controlling layers with a numeric keypad
• Animating with the Sequence Layers command

6. Working with Layer Modes

• Getting results with blending modes
• Preserving underlying transparency
• Using track mattes
• Animating with parenting

7. Using Composition and Layer Markers

• Composition markers
• Setting a duration for markers
• Tapping out the beat

Conclusion

• What's next?