After Effects
- Getting Started With After Effects: The Interface
- Definitions of common AE terminology and a discussion of the most commonly used elements of the interface.(screenshots)
- Importing Files Into After Effects
- This covers how to get graphics, animations and videos you've created in other programs into AE. (screenshots)
- Supported File Types
- AE can import and work with dozens of file types; this covers some of the most common ones you will be working with.
- Creating a New Composition
- Compositions are where you build your videos in After Effects. This covers the basics of creating a new composition with the appropriate settings for your project. (screenshots)
- Transform Properties
- Each layer has properties which describe it's position, width, height, etc. These can be changed numerically on the timeline or visually in the Composition window. (screenshots)
- Keyframe Basics
- Keyframes are the most basic tool for animation in AE - they allow you to vary properties and effects over time to create motion.
- Working With Keyframes
- Once you've learned to set keyframes you'll quickly want to make changes to them, re-use them, etc. This covers copying/pasting, moving, deleting and changing keyframe types.
- Rendering
- Rendering is the process of turning your composition into a finished video file (screenshots)
- Working with Effects
- Effects are similar to filters in Photoshop, except that they can be varied over time. Discusses how to apply them to layers as well as keyframe their parameters.
- Solids
- Solids can be used either as blank layers (to hold effects) or as simple areas of solid color.
- Text Layer Basics
- Text layers are a new (and long requested) feature in AE 6. They provide typography controls very similar to those in Photoshop.
- Text Layer Animation
- Part of the new text layer feature is a sophisticated system for animating text within each layer. This allows you to create sophisticated animation without adding more text layers or using a lot of keyframes.
- Digital Video Compression
- A discussion of video compression with specific details about it's use when rendering your AE projects.
- Layer Transfer Modes
- Transfer modes change the way two stacked layers blend together, allowing you to create complex blends without masks or color keys.
- Using Photoshop With After Effects
- AE lets you bring in layered photoshop files and then add motion and effects to the individual layers.
- Layer Masks
- Masks in AE let you cut holes through your video or graphical elements; like most features in AE they can be animated over time.
- Track Mattes
- Track Mattes let you use the brightness levels or alpha channels of one layer as a mask for another layer.
- Parenting
- Perenting allows you to link layers to one another in a child-parent relationship, so that the child layers inherit the transform property changes from the parent layer.
- Audio in AE
- AE is fairly limited in it's audio capabilities, but it can be useful to bring temporary audio in as a reference.
- Property Graphs
- By default AE interprets changes between two keyframes in a linear fashion. Property Graphs let you vary the rate of change between two keyframes, giving your animations more natural movement.
- Common Keyboard Shortcuts for After Effects
- These are the shortcuts I use most frequently when working in AE.