Getting Started with Adobe After Effects

Creative Cloud 2015 - Windows

University Information Technology Services

Training, Outreach, Learning Technologies & Video Production

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 University Information Technology Services

Getting Started with Adobe After Effects

Creative Cloud 2015 - Windows

Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 5
Learning Objectives..................................................................................................................................... 5
Planning and Setup ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Planning Your Work ................................................................................................................................ 6
Storyboards and Scripts (Screenplays) ................................................................................................... 6
Acquiring, Choosing, and Preparing Footage ......................................................................................... 6
Project Settings ....................................................................................................................................... 7
Composition Settings .............................................................................................................................. 7
Performance, Memory, and Storage Considerations ............................................................................. 8
Cross-Platform Project Considerations ................................................................................................... 8
Project File Paths..................................................................................................................................... 8
File-Naming Conventions .................................................................................................................... 8
Resources ................................................................................................................................................ 9
Welcome Window....................................................................................................................................... 9
Preferences ............................................................................................................................................... 10
Exploring the Workspace .......................................................................................................................... 12
Toolbar ...................................................................................................................................................... 13
Timeline..................................................................................................................................................... 14
Importing Files .......................................................................................................................................... 14
Creating a New Composition .................................................................................................................... 17
Modifying & Animating Layer Properties within a Composition .............................................................. 18
Inserting a Shape................................................................................................................................... 18
Keyframing ................................................................................................................................................ 20
Generating a Stroke .............................................................................................................................. 22
Applying Green Screen to a Video ............................................................................................................ 24
Saving Your Project ................................................................................................................................... 26
Rendering Your Video ............................................................................................................................... 27
Additional Help ......................................................................................................................................... 32
Introduction
After Effects CC is an application that allows you to create dynamic, visually stunning motion graphics
and cinematic visual effects. This application can be used to create 2D and 3D animation that allows
you to also create dynamic text animation using the many typography tools within After Effects. It can
also be used to apply nondestructive effects to video, using various tinting and adjustment methods,
isolating objects from their background using rotoscoping technology, and correcting for camera shake
by utilizing cutting-edge stabilization features. After Effects also integrates with several other Creative
Suite applications, such as Photoshop for animating 3D layers, Premiere Pro with shared effects and
copy and paste support, and Flash Professional for creating engaging web animation sequences.

Learning Objectives
After completing the instructions in this booklet, you will be able to:
 Import and organize footage
 Create, arrange, and composite layers in a composition
 Modify and animate layer properties
 Add effects and modify effect properties
 Preview those changes
 Render and export your project

Revised 3/22/2016 Page 5 of 32

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