Adobe After Effects is the industry standard for motion graphics, visual effects, and animated titles. Even basic After Effects skills dramatically increase your value as a video editor in Kerala's media market. Here is how to start.
Your First Composition
Open After Effects, create a New Composition (1920×1080, 25fps, 10 seconds). Import any image or video. This is your canvas. Everything in After Effects works in a timeline with keyframes.
Animating Text
Create a text layer with the Text tool. Click the stopwatch icon next to Position at frame 0 to set a keyframe. Move to frame 15, change the position. After Effects automatically creates a motion path between the two keyframes. Add Easy Ease (F9) to keyframes for natural deceleration.
Lower Thirds (Name Titles)
Lower thirds are the name and title animations in wedding films and corporate videos. Create a rectangle shape layer, animate its Scale from 0 to 100%. Add a text layer on top. Offset the animations by 5–10 frames for a staggered entry. Save as a Motion Graphics Template (.mogrt) to use in Premiere Pro.
Essential Shortcuts
- U — show all keyframes on a layer
- P/S/R/T — reveal Position, Scale, Rotation, Opacity
- Spacebar — preview
- Ctrl+D — duplicate a layer
After Effects is core curriculum in the Video Editing Master Program at CIMT Kochi.