After Effects CS5 level 1 beginner class

After Effects CS5 level 1 beginner class
Course Description:

This beginner class in After Effects training is an in depth courseware using the industry standard tool for creating motion graphics and Hollywood style effects for cinema, broadcast television and web formats. Learn to create rich compositions with video, Photoshop, Illustrator and other files. Create advanced text effects, video blending, keying effects and track mattes. Learn basic through advanced animation techniques that make AfterEffects an unrivaled motion graphics toolset. Your instructor will also cover nesting, creating precomps, expressions and other methods for streamlining video production.

After Effects 5 level 1 beginner class
Course Details:

Chapter 1. Getting to Know the Workflow

• Getting started
• Creating a project and importing footage
• Creating a composition and arranging layers
• Adding effects and modifying layer properties
• Animating the composition
• Previewing your work
• Optimizing performance in After Effects
• Rendering and exporting your composition
• Customizing workspaces
• Controlling the brightness of the user interface
• Finding resources for using After Effects
• Checking for updates

Chapter 2. Creating a Basic Animation Using Effects and Presets

• Getting started
• Importing footage using Adobe Bridge
• Creating the composition
• Working with imported Illustrator layers
• Applying effects to a layer
• Applying an animation preset
• Previewing the effects
• Rendering the composition

Chapter 3. Animating Text

• Getting started
• About text layers
• Creating and formatting point text
• Using a text animation preset
• Animating with scale keyframes
• Animating using parenting
• Animating imported Photoshop text
• Animating text using a path animation preset
• Animating type tracking
• Animating text opacity
• Using a text animator group
• Cleaning up the path animation
• Animating a nontext layer along a motion path
• Adding motion blur
• Exporting to Adobe Flash Professional CS5

Chapter 4. Working with Shape Layers

• Getting started
• Adding a shape layer
• Creating custom shapes
• Creating stars
• Incorporating video and audio layers
• Applying a Cartoon effect
• Adding a title bar
• Using Brainstorm to experiment

Chapter 5. Animating a Multimedia Presentation

• Getting started
• Animating the scenery using parenting
• Adjusting an anchor point
• Masking video using vector shapes
• Keyframing a motion path
• Animating additional elements
• Applying an effect
• Creating an animated slide show
• Adding an audio track
• Zooming in for a final close-up

Chapter 6. Animating Layers

• Getting started
• Simulating lighting changes
• Duplicating an animation using the pick whip
• Animating movement in the scenery
• Adjusting the layers and creating a track matte
• Animating the shadows
• Adding a lens flare effect
• Animating the clock
• Retiming the composition

Chapter 7. Working With Masks

• About masks
• Getting started
• Creating a mask with the Pen tool
• Editing a mask
• Replacing the content of the mask
• Adding a reflection
• Creating a vignette
• Adjusting the color

Chapter 8. Distorting Objects with the Puppet Tools

• Getting started
• About the Puppet tools
• Adding Deform pins
• Defining areas of overlap
• Stiffening an area
• Animating pin positions
• Recording animation

Chapter 9. Using the Roto Brush Tool

• About rotoscoping
• Getting started
• Creating a segmentation boundary
• Fine-tuning the matte
• Creating a transition from the full clip to the foreground
• Creating the logo
• Animating text
• Adding a background image
• Adding audio

Chapter 10. Performing Color Correction

• Getting started
• Adjusting color balance
• Replacing the background
• Removing unwanted elements
• Correcting a range of colors
• Warming colors with the Photo Filter effect

Chapter 11. Building 3D Objects

• Getting started
• Building a 3D object
• Working with a null object
• Working with 3D text
• Creating a backdrop for 3D animation
• Nesting a 3D composition
• Adding a camera
• Completing the scene

Chapter 12. Using 3D Features

• Getting started
• Animating 3D objects
• Animating a camera
• Adjusting layer timing
• Using 3D lights
• Adding effects
• Adding motion blur
• Previewing the entire animation

Chapter 13. Advanced Editing Techniques

• Getting started
• Using motion stabilization
• Using single-point motion tracking
• Using multipoint tracking
• Creating a particle simulation
• Retiming playback using the Timewarp effect

Chapter 14. Rendering and Outputting

• Getting started
• Creating templates for output modules
• Exporting to different output media

Our outlines are a guide to the content covered on a typical class. We may change or alter the course topics to meet the objectives of a particular class.

After Effects CS5 level 2 advanced class

After Effects CS5 level 2 advanced class
Course Description:

Take your After Effects skills to the next level in advanced training. You will start off with a refresher of the basics and move on to more advanced concepts. This training will cover several hot topics including creating complex tracking in Mocha AE, and exporting to Flash and using Flash Cue Points with After Effects.

In this class students continue more advanced topics in Adobe After Effects through the completion of several projects. This course assumes the student is already using After Effects and is familiar with video and digital video concepts and has used digital editing software such as Adobe Premiere, an Avid Media Composer or MCXpress, a Media 100 or some similar type of system. Additionally, some previous experience with Adobe Photoshop is also helpful.

After Effects 5 level 2 advanced class
Course Details:

• Using the anchor point to position images
• Using a two-viewer setup to animate the anchor point
• Modifying motion curves and keyframes to create natural motion
• Using an expression to create camera wiggle

• Choosing which properties are displayed for editing
• Keyframe interpolation types
• Understanding roving keyframes
• Moving keyframes in time
• Scaling keyframes over time

• Understanding what a blend mode is
• Using Screen and Multiply modes
• Creative effects with modes

• Understanding the function of a track matte
• Alpha and luma mattes
• Animating mattes and fill
• Understanding render order of effects
• Precomposing when using track mattes
• Using a matte to create a transition
• Layering using track mattes

• Understanding Z-Space
• New 3D features in After Effects CS4
• Using the universal camera tool
• Using Orientation vs. Rotation in 3D space
• Understanding local, view, and camera axis modes
• Moving in 3D space using multiple views
• Understanding camera settings
• Modifying camera view options

• Understanding light types
• Using surface options
• Enabling shadows
• Modifying shadow settings
• Creating Gels and Gobos

• Understanding parenting
• Using parenting to create complex animations

• Understanding nested compositions
• Precomposing an existing layer
• Understanding rendering order
• Using collapse transformations
• Using effects with nested layers

• Understanding how text is created in After Effects
• Creating paragraph text
• Text along a path
• Using text animators

• Understanding tracking and stabilization
• Setting up a tracker
• Tracking an area over time
• Tracking techniques
• Using a tracker to blur part of an image
• Using a tracker to replace part of an image
• Stabilizing footage

• Understanding the Mocha Tracker
• Creating a Mocha project
• Using the tracker
• Exporting data
• Applying tracked data in After Effects

Our outlines are a guide to the content covered on a typical class. We may change or alter the course topics to meet the objectives of a particular class.