Digital Photography and Imaging / Week 10

Week 10

Lecture 10 : 

Intro to After Effects

1. What is After Effects?

Adobe After Effects is a 2.5D animation software used for animation, visual effects, and motion picture compositing. 

After Effects is used in film, TV, and web video creation.

This software is used in the post-production phase, and has hundreds of effects that can be used to manipulate imagery. This allows you to combine layers of video and images into the same scene.

Adobe After Effects takes a different approach for creating movement. Motion graphics animation works by manipulating vector and rasterized art to create and tell a story. You can integrate physical based media as well through photographs and videography.

Pre-compositing in adobe photoshop

1. Transforming still images (graphic elements and photography) into moving images. 

Basically Photoshop is a platform to compositing the layers. All the layers need to be arrange and rename accordingly so that it will be organize and easy to be animated in After Effects. 

Pre-compositing in adobe after effects

2. Animating layers sequence from various elements and platform

Adobe After Effects is a digital visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing application.

Basically we can import elements such as images, video, vector and more into After Effects. 

All the layer elements need to be organized and synchronized to the external software platforms such as Photoshop & Illustrator. 

After Effects files does not embed its media, it links to it.

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W10 PRACTICAL: AFTER EFFECTS EXERCISE

INSTRUCTION:

1. Download the PSD composition below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1etLC49TGicn1FdLF4KRla_GzQJjFqksp/view?usp=sharing

2. Import the W10_ANIMATE.psd into Adobe After Effects.

3. Create a composition setting 1080 px (Width) x 1920 px (Height), Duration 15 second

4. Create a keyframe animation to the layers using Position (P), Scale (S) & Masking path.

5. Render output: Quicktime (.MOV) or .MP4

6. Upload your exercise into your Youtube Channel.

7. Update your progress and video to your E-Portfolio blog. 

8. Attach your E-Portfolio link on this Submission.

Video demo: Advanced keyframes

After effects exercise process: 

1. In Adobe After Effect, I created 5 folders and renamed them accordingly.

2. Imported the W10_ANIMATE.psd into Adobe After Effects.

 

3. After importing the file, I changed the composition setting to 1080 px (Width) x 1920 px (Height), Duration 15 second.

4. Then, I created a keyframe animation to the layers using: 

a) Position (P)

b) Scale (S)

c) Rotation (R)

5. Rendering 

Final work: 

Reflection : 

Using Adobe after effects was easier than I thought. It is quite simple to use for simple animations. Still need to practice more to see what else it can do.