After Effects Workshop

1. Keyframing
2. Grouping layers together
3. Use of audio\

Speed - Changing / adapting

Select key frame > Animation > Keyframe assistant > Select appropriate

Select 2 Key frames for 'Easy ease'

Graph tool icon

Anchor points can be adapted (yellow) to change speed

This changes line, circles with in it will get closer / further apart, the further apart, the slower, and vice versa. 

Turn a solid, to another shape. Select object, double click shape tool option

Holding anchor point, hold 'shift' to get it directly above

'n' shortcut to cut time to point of finish

Changing the graphs, to adapt speed - Rotation

Layer > Transform > Auto orientate  - Object will move and rotate appropriately to path




Layers selected > Layer > Pe-compose > name appropriately
Nested composition is synchronised when working with time, if you change something, it will automatically update

After effects workshop

Working with the typetool




To edit text > Character window


Square key frame - no gradual change between frame (hold key frame) 

Use the 'Text' option > Source text key frame - This allowed you to create an animation which almost 'spells out' your words, change your typeface, scale etc

Change the position > adapt start and end

To create 'mexican wave' > offset - 0, start 40, end 60

Changing Percentage to Index

One letter drops at a time, rather than several

Adapt 'amount' to move chosen letters words, up or below.

Adapt offset, start and end to similar values. Increase in scale over time period to create above.

Making singular moving letter increase in size and change colour

Decrease smoothness means the transference of increasing letter size is sharp.

Text is editable at all times, no matter how complex the animation.

Following a path

Create chosen artwork you want to follow a path

Draw path using path tool

Path > Mask 1

Increase 'first margin' to move along path

Can choose a path made in illustrator which text can be attached to.

After effects workshop 3

Key frame interpolation


Using illustrator paths


Using bezier curves
'p' position property
'stopwatch' starting 

Temporal - how it changes over time

Spacial: Shape of path in window

Hold key frame

Select all key frames

Animation > 'Toggle hold keyframe'

No dots n motion path between key frames

Half a yellow diamond 

What happens now, there is no interprelation, no in-between frames, position remains fixed at key frame position until another key frame is reached

Useful for, eg. the ticking hand of a clock, a blink

 Editing scale and opacity to mimic a blink

How to make key frames longer or shorter over a period of time

Select all of key frames

can be moved forward or backward

press ALT key, it can be compressed and be made to take longer or a shorter amount of time

Roving: Rove across time

Become black dots

Basically group key frames together, moving one key frame will adapt all

Using illustrator with after effects

Select object, press stop watch, paste object from illustator

The square will direct itself around the circle

If you want key frames to run anti clockwise

If you want object to rotate and orientate around circle:

Using masks

Masks in after effects are vector shapes

With layer selected, use a shape tool, 

Mask properties

Feathering

Opacity

Expansion

Anchor points can be selected and changed

Double click mask, it can be moved, and shape can be adapted

This can create a sequence animation in which the shape is changing its form over time.

Alternatively, you can use the pen tool to create the shape of the mask.

Mask path property : 'M'

Select chosen masks beforehand

Press toggle switches / modes to show more options.

Luma : Used with photography

In this case we use : Alpha matt

Before

After