After Affects lesson 5

How to work with sound!!!

music

voice over/narration

sound effects

itunes

cd

royalty free audio websites

'sound library' in shared folder

FORMATS:

AIFF

WAV

mp3

m4a

if you download a file that is not in this format use SWITCH in applications

File>import> find audio file

will be imported as footage

will be found in project> drag to composition

has a fixed duration and has a length

Audio levels +0.00dB default level

can add key frames fade out or get louder

Waveform

change duration....trip the beginning of file.file still there but wont play

only hear the audio on ram preview

add to render queue>lossless>tick audio button

video with noise

Untitled from Elizabeth Ibbotson on Vimeo.

drag asset to layer

Grouping layers together:

Parent child relationship-add position keyframe to layers.drop down menus>parent>choose one layer>choose another layer in drop down menu

select all layers>parent

nesting composition

After effects lesson 4

importing from photoshop>make sure it is RGB

Animated presets >effects and presets>choose preset>select layer> double click

see all layer> U

show all modified UU

layer switches 3/4 buttons

shy switch>simplify layer palet>hides the layer in timeline

Rasterize button>for comp layers:collaps transformation

/ > high quality

fx>turns off all effects

frame blend- interpolates frame content by weight blending

motion blur-simulates shutter duration

adjustment layer- the affects applied to this layer effects only all layers behind it

3d layers.allows this layer to be manipulated in 3 dimentions

get drop down menus press thee three buttons

animation>keyframe assistant>easy ease

graph editor>speed

shows speed of shape or text.

A video that I made today, learnt how to make a pendulum.

Untitled from Elizabeth Ibbotson on Vimeo.

after effects lesson 3

Third and final lesson learning about text

There are two ways of adding text

Layer>new>text

or

Type tool>click in composition window and type

the anchor point can be changed by transform. this moves the layer while the anchor point stays where it is on the screen. The pan behind tool can also be used which moves the point itself

to change text as you go along you find the text in the timeline and use source text

animate>range selector allows you to change individual text properties

Mask= whole screen solid layer

Paths=Draw an open ended pen drawing in a text layer.

After effects lesson 2

Lesson two of after effects

First had a reminder of what we learnt in the 1st week with all the basics and whats what.

This lesson we learnt how to import a photoshop and illustrator file in to after effects

First in Photoshop or illustrator you press new file> film and video> AE(PAL DV widescreen square pixels. Illustrator only needs DV widescreen

Guidelines will appear on the art board screen

Inside guide- Title safe zone. you keep all text inside these line and in the middle, this is so when you see it on screen nothing is sniped off and you can see it all

Outside guide- this is the action safe zone. main action is kept within this area

To get a PSD and Ai file to AE:

File- import

find image

footage

flatten image

drag in to after effects timeline

Composition-use layers within the imported image centred round the middle of the screen

Composition Retain- each layer centred around itself, so can rotate or scale independently of the other layers. If it has been opened as a composition the double click on it and it adds the layer to the timeline

Illustrator artwork

If expanding, next to the Ai file in the timeline, there are three check boxes. The second one along rasterizes the image which means its vector quality is retained.

Photoshop artwork

Always make the image the largest you'll ever need it

Changing the speed of a composition

select all key frames

Press alt and click the very first or the last key frame, drag it left or right to make the composition go quicker or slower.

After Effects lesson 1

After effects is a digital motion graphics and compositing software by adobe. Its main purpose os for film and video post production.

On our first lesson of after effects we covered a lot of the basics to get us going.

Here are somethings that I learnt:

Project Panel- organise, view and manage footage. Add assest to this panel which are individual compositions

For Ai and Psd files go file>import>file

PAL= UK standard

NTSC US Standard- different sizes/ sequence speeds to uk

PAL Digital Videos are rectangular pixels.

DV Square pixel= square pixels

For the brief we are doing, silent movie we needs to use PAL D1/DV widescreen Square Pixels

Solid= layer filled with a colour, can be resized

Playback=spacebar...slow if a lot of layers. use RAM preview, plays in real time

reduce quality by clicking on resolution and changing to full, half, quarter.

Layer Properties>Transform>keyframes let you play around with effects

Keyboard shortcuts

Show only the current selected panel

Tild key -'

Layer property shortcuts

P- position

A- Anchor Point

S- scale

R- rotation

T- opacity

O- out point of current layer

I- in point of current layer

B- beginning of work area

N- end of work area

U- Reveal all animated properties

UU- Reveal modified layers

Exporting

Composition>add to render queue

render settings>best settings

Output module- Quicktime