Adobe After Effects CC 2017 Level 2 Book

Setup & Introduction

Downloading the Class Files

Before You Begin

• Adding fonts from Typekit

Section 1

Setting Preferences: Do This Before Other Exercises!

Vacation Stripes: Title Sequence with Custom Eases

• Editing audio length & volume
• Separately animating the X & Y Position properties
• Customizing an ease using the Graph Editor & Keyframe Velocity
• Using Alpha Mattes to hide/show text as it animates

Vacation Stripes: Working with Masks from Illustrator

• Using Illustrator to create masks in After Effects
• Repositioning & resizing masks
• Animating the five stripes to arrive sequentially

Vacation Stripes: Drawing Simple Masks in After Effects

• Using parenting to make the 12 noon text move with its container rectangle
• Drawing masks using After Effects’ vector shape tools
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Section 2

Superman: Simple Character Animation Using Masks

• Converting an expression to keyframes for realistic hair animation
• Using the Pen tool to create custom-shaped masks
• Pre-composing to change layer size & animate multiple layers
• Making the hero’s eyes blink using hold keyframes

Superman: Guide Layers, Text Presets, & Reverse Parenting

• Rendering an animatic using import settings
• Using a guide layer as an animation reference
• Converting PSD layers to editable text & adding a text animation preset
• Animating shapes
• Adding an overshoot
• Transitioning between layouts with reverse parenting

Superman: Shape Motion Paths & Audio

• Syncing audio & adding text presets
• Adding a property to a preset
• Creating a shape layer
• Creating a position motion path

Superman: More Transitions, Effects, & Camera Move

• Using the Hue & Saturation effect to change colors
• Adding a “camera move”

Section 3

Text Animation: Masking Layers & Using Scripts

• Using scripts to automate tasks in After Effects
• Hiding/showing moving layers using static alpha mattes
• Creating an animation that overshoots its final position
• More Illustrator masks in After Effects
• Scattering the masked pieces & animating them to recombine

Text Animation: Creating a Transition Between Layouts

• Using a guide layer as a positioning reference
• Moving the lines of text with multiple words using null objects
• Moving the lines away from the expanding chart using the guide layer
• Splitting layers to “unparent” a child layer

Text Animation: Rotating Layers in 3D

• Rotating each 3D line of text & graphic on its y-axis
• How After Effects’ 3D camera influences layer perspective
• Adding realistic oscillating overshoot keyframes
• Syncing the text color changes with their graphic’s spin
• Adding anticipation keyframes before a major animation
• Stacking the graphics to form a solid color square

Text Animation: Animating Text Character-by-Character

• Incorporating pre-animated comps into a larger project
• Keeping vector layers in nested comps sharp
• Animating the URL on a per-character basis
• Transitioning from the gold square to reveal the logo

Section 4

T-Mobile Commercial: Motion Tracking to Remove a Logo

• Splitting the interview clip
• Adding solids for the mattes that will cover the logo
• Feathering the mask to soften its edges
• Hiding the crocodile
• Using the tracker to hide the logo
• Refining the color of the patch using the Levels effect
• Turning the video black & white

T-Mobile Commercial: Greenscreen Removal

• Keying the backgrounds
• Color correcting the scene to black & white
• Creating a matte for the phone screen

Section 5

T-Mobile Commercial: 4-Point Tracking in mocha AE

• Using mocha AE for planar tracking
• Drawing the outer & planar surfaces
• Doing the tracking & refining frames with misalignment
• Compositing the T-Mobile screen
• Luma mattes vs. alpha mattes
• Using After Effects to manually track frames mocha AE has difficulty tracking

T-Mobile Commercial: Rotoscoping

• Copying the rotoscoping path from Illustrator
• Arranging the mask & the final result side-by-side
• Setting keyframes for a mask path
• Aligning the path every two frames and then every frame
• Fine-tuning the mask path

T-Mobile Commercial: Animating the Exclamation Mark!

• Revealing the exclamation mark’s stick
• Revealing the dot & keeping its stroke width consistent
• Adding & copying an expression

Section 6

T-Mobile Commercial: Animating the Logo & Backgrounds

• Expanding the T-Mobile logo by animating its Z Position
• Importing PNG sequences & using them as repeating tiling backgrounds
• Stop motion exclamation rotation! (using hold keyframes)
• Stop motion live footage: time remapping with hold keyframes

T-Mobile Commercial: Wipe Transitions & Shape Layer Fun

• Animating the plane that will initiate a transition
• Syncing a Linear Wipe transition with the plane’s flight
• Cloning & animating a shape layer using the Repeater
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• Enhancing a 3D layer’s depth of field with a blur effect
• Using a shape layer to initiate a Radial Wipe transition

T-Mobile Commercial: Lower Thirds & Final Transitions

• Making the lower thirds appear & disappear using the Pan Behind tool
• Animating the transition pattern & staggering its pieces
• Freezing on the last frame
• Transitioning to the end card
• Animating the end card
• Rendering

Bonus Material

Dr. Bob Website: Creating the Particle Background

• Creating & exploring particle properties
• Using a gradient to create the background color
• Adding an adjustment layer
• Fractal Noise

Dr. Bob Website: Animating the Main Graphics

• Positioning the graphics
• Adding a camera
• Animating the camera mover
• Animating the graphics in 3D

Dr. Bob Website: Lens Flare & Text Animation

• Adding Dr. Bob’s website URL
• Adding a lens flare
• Time-Reversing keyframes

Dr. Bob Website: Motion Dynamics & Depth of Field

• Temporarily replacing the background with a proxy
• Using auto bezier keyframes to smooth the motion of the Camera Mover null
• Adding depth of field