How to Use Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects is a software program that allows its users to create animation and other special effects for graphic-related projects. Graphic designers use it to provide their projects with layer-based animation, audio clips and still images. Part of the Adobe family of software, After Effects projects are compatible with other Adobe software, helping to provide versatility to designers. Here are a few tips about how to use Adobe After Effects in your projects.

Steps

1. 1
   Start a new project. As you open After Effects, the option to start a new project is present.
   
   
   
   
   • Right-click in the project window and select "New Composition," or hold down "Ctrl + N" on your keyboard. From this point, you may also select the default size of the project and the projected video size.
     
     
     
     
   • You can import files by right-clicking in the project window and choosing "Import," or by holding down "Ctrl + I" on your keyboard. You may import files as a composition file if you wish to keep all layers during the transition.
     
     
     
     
2. 2
   Now that you've imported your files, drag and drop them into the Timeline window. To adjust which layer appears in your Composition window, drag them up and down in your Timeline window. Each layer will have a grey box around it. To adjust the size, drag the corners. To adjust the width and height drag the sides. To adjust the length of your clip, drag the end or the beginning of your layer and release at the desired point.
   
   
   
   
3. 3
   Animate key frames by clicking on the stopwatch beside each file. You will select a starting- and ending-point for each file. After Effects automatically fills in the animation clip between the stopwatch selections.
   
   
   
   
4. 4
   Preview your project. Select "Windows." From here, click on "Time Controls." A preview pane will pop up where you can select "Play" to see a rough draft of your project. If you wish to see a more finished version, click on "Ram Render Play." If your project is especially long or requires a large amount of memory, adjust the resolution before you preview it. After clicking to play it, the video will run continually until you click on the screen to stop it.
   
   
   
   
5. 5
   Jazz up your project with animations and effects. Click on "Window" and "Effects and Presets." You will see a list of various animations and effects that are available for application to your project. Simply drag and drop the effect or animation selection onto the object to which you'd like to apply it. You should see the change immediately. Samples of the effects are 3D, color correction and various camera views. Transitions are also included, such as wipe, fade and checkerboard. You may remove selections by dragging them off your projects.
   
   
   

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