After Effects
What is After Effects ?
Edited by Adobe, After Effects is a software dedicated to video compositing and Motion Design. Therefore it’s ideal for creating video animations and special effects.History of After Effects
It was at the end of 1980’s that Dave Herbstman, Dave Simmons and Dan Wilk, founders of the CoSA (Company of Science and Art) began developing Egg, an animation software for cinema and television. In January 1993, they presented the fruits of their labor (which later on became known as After Effects) as a part of Boston’s MacWorld. It was an immediate success thanks to its advantages (cheaper price, variable resolution, etc.). Following its success, After Effects was resold to Aldus Corporation which sold it to Adobe. A rather slow development process followed (4 years between version 3 and version 4) until sudden acceleration in 2001 with the release of new versions every 2 years. After Effect adopts the same evolution rhythm as Photoshop whom it joined in 2003 with the creation of Adobe Creative Suite. After Effect is still a part of Creative Cloud. The latest version to date is After Effects CC (2015 edition).
After Effects in detail
Thanks to a system of layer overlapping (same principle used by Photoshop), After Effects brings together multiple sources (whether videos or photos) in a single composition. Then animation then takes shape by attributing various parameters to each of these media files (shape, timing, movement, size, colors, opacity, etc.).After Effects makes it possible to create a transition between two sources, to set up automatic tracking, to animate a texture or letterpress or even special effects such as explosions and character evaporation.
Note that After Effects works on the concept of non-destructive files. That means it doesn’t work directly with the source file (if there is one) but extracts it instead. Therefore, it’s possible to check a motion animation but it’s impossible to visualize real-time videos, just like in classic montage software. To do this, it’s necessary to go through a calculation phase whose duration depends both on the resources of the station used and the complexity of actualized effects.
After Effects CC was developed afterwards as a software that integrates 3D capacities, notably thanks to CineWare that links with Cinema 4D (the Lite version is now included with After Effects).
After Effects tutorial and training
On tuto.com you will find video tutorials and complete After Effects training, posted by professional After Effects instructors which are sometimes certified by Adobe, but always passionate about sharing their experiences on this compositing software. This will allow you to learn After Effects and obtain a solid base in post-production video.Several types of After Effects training are offered :
- After Effects initiation training : this tutorial will help you discover basics of the software as well as allow you to make a quick tour of its main features
- After Effects complete training : training focused on the fundamentals of the software. All After Effects will be covered in this course, including all modules and all menus. This is a complete After Effects learning training!
- After Effects advanced techniques training : you will discover advanced techniques of compositing, tracking, animation, expressions and advanced use of 3D techniques linked to Cinema 4D in particular as well as mastery of details.
- After Effects Production training : this tutorial covers all the tools used in production, namely: 2D and 3D tracking, rotoscoping, keying, main expressions, use of native 3D and 3D via 3D Element or Cineware. This training will allow you to perfect your Motion Design and presentation techniques.
- After Effects Expressions training : tutorials focused on creating expressions (After Effects internal language, similar to JavaScript). This training covers both basic and advanced expressions.