After Effects Induction

Basic After Effects Skills

As my first experience on software of this kind, at first I really struggled to get my teeth into it, similar to my experience with photoshop.

After a few inductions, things started to make more sense once I learned the basic principles.

In our 3rd induction I managed to produce an animation I can be proud of as well as picking up some useful skills. I will hopefully be able to produce something using this software for studio brief 2, design for screen. Below are some screenshots that I can refer back to later on as a reminder...

The first screenshot is the basic skill of how to compose a new composition... 

The default setting for a document, recommended by the tutor, is to use prest 'PAL D1/DV Widescreen Square Pixel'.

To import any file, shape, sound etc then go to File>Import>File... and import one or more files at a time. It is then easy to drag each file into the document. One thing to remember is that if you import more than one file at a time, make sure to separate the layers using the window that pops up.

An example of my experiments is below. This was just a quick and simple task using a rocket shape. I was just brushing up on what I learnt last week, using the position tool and opacity. I also played around with the anchors on the movement line to create a zig zag.

In order for the shape to directly follow the line, then go to Layer>Transform>Auto-Orient>Orient Along Path... This will make the rocket in this case follow the line on the nose as apposed to staying horizontal. This makes for a more accurate and realistic movement.

Another useful tip I learnt was how to use 'Toggle Hold Keyframe'. This holds the object at a certain point until its told otherwise. This is useful when you want to create a constant loop.

Stormy Weather

For my proudest work yet, I created an animation involving some clouds, rain and lightning. I used all the techniques I have learnt this far as well as some new ones. In this animation, I also introduced sound along side the image, something that may prove useful when I put this into practice in Studio brief 2.