GSDigital Media Workshop - Adobe After Effects (Part 1)

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design

GSDigital Media Workshops - FALL 2015 Adobe After Effects - Tutorial1: Introduction 15.10.05 | Gund 111 “War Room”

by Leif Estrada | lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design GSDigital Media Workshops

F15 GSDigital Workshops - 2015.10.05 Adobe After Effects Tutorial 1 - Introduction

by Leif Estrada, MLA I AP | MDes-ULE ‘16 - lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

0_Tutorial Overview 0.1 Description

This tutorial will introduce beginners and intermediate users in the use of Adobe After Effects CC as a medium to create dynamic representations. The overall length of the workshop is 6 hours, which is divided into two 3-hour sessions working on an example project. It is recommended that you attend the first session so that you will have the necessary files and applied “effects” created to move forward for Tutorial Two.

• Tutorial Part One will be held on Monday, October 5th at 7:45 - 10:15 PM in Gund 111 “War Room.” The following are a list of session objectives which will be covered during the workshop:

• Software Instllation, Vimeo Account Creation • Software Interface • Creating a Composition • Objects: Images, Videos, Text, Shapes, Vectors, etc.

• Importing a Raster Image (PNG, JPG), Sequence Files (a batch of ordered images), Video files (MOV, M4V, MP4, etc.), Vector Files (AI) • Transforming Object: Scale, Opacity, Rotation, Position • Key Framing • Masking Objects

• Tutorial Part Two will be held on Tuesday, October 6th at 7:15 - 10:15 PM PM in Gund 111 “War Room” The following are a list of session objectives which will be covered during the workshop:

• Downloading youtube videos and sounds (make sure you cite appropriate credits, whenever using other’s materials.) Clip Converter (converting youtube files to MP3, MP4...

• Adding Visual Effects (color adjustments) • Adding diagramatic text • Counter + Typewriter Effect • Adding glowing lines • Adding Sound Effects and Music • Adding “green screen” elements • Rendering • Vimeo Video Upload

0.2 Goals

The goal of the two workshop sessions are to familiarize beginners in the use of a temporal medium that is not static, but dynamic. A short assignment will be assigned that will cover the fundamentals in creating a short video, which will then be uploaded to Vimeo.

0.3 Preparation

No advanced knowledge in After Effects is needed. We will go over everything from software installation to video uploading.

Pre-Workshop (Please have the following installed, created and downloaded prior to attending the workshop): Note: We will go over installation really briefly, but will immediately dive into the tutorial.

• Adobe After Effects CC (a 30-day trial is available through: http://www.adobe.com/downloads.html) • A Vimeo Account, http://www.vimeo.com • Examples Project Files, which is in the NetTemp folder under the file name: “AfterEffects_Spring2015”

[a short instructional step-by-step process of download, installation and account creation is detailed in section 1]

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design GSDigital Media Workshops

F15 GSDigital Workshops - 2015.10.05 Adobe After Effects Tutorial 1 - Introduction

by Leif Estrada, MLA I AP | MDes-ULE ‘16 - lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

1_After Effects CC Installation + Vimeo Account Creation Before beginning the software tutorial make sure you install Adobe After Effects, which is available through: http:// www.adobe.com/downloads.html (for a free 30-trial; if you do not have Adobe Creative Cloud)

1.1 After Effects CC 1.1.1 Adobe Software Downloads Page Find the After Effects CC icon and download the program • Upon landing on the Adobe Downloads Page, click on the After Effects CC icon to begin download

1.1.2 Adobe Sign In/Up Once you download After Effects CC or any other Adobe softwares, you will be prompted to sign in to your Adobe account, or sign up for membership.

• Answer the questions promptly as it applies.

• It is good to use your @gsd.harvard.edu student email address, in case you want to obtain a CC account later on, which is 60% off the regular membership price

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design GSDigital Media Workshops

F15 GSDigital Workshops - 2015.10.05 Adobe After Effects Tutorial 1 - Introduction

by Leif Estrada, MLA I AP | MDes-ULE ‘16 - lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

1.1.3 Adobe Sign In/Up After answering the prompt questions and signing in, the download will automatically start.

• Find the downloaded file in your Downloads folder and begin installation

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design GSDigital Media Workshops

F15 GSDigital Workshops - 2015.10.05 Adobe After Effects Tutorial 1 - Introduction

by Leif Estrada, MLA I AP | MDes-ULE ‘16 - lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

1.2 Vimeo 1.2.1 Vimeo Sign-Up Page Sign up for a free Vimeo account • go to: http://vimeo.com, and follow the instructions to create an account. We will later use this to upload the completed videos

1.2.2 Vimeo Profile Once you sign up for a Vimeo account, create your profile by adding details, a profile picture, etc.

• Vimeo allows for one (1) HD (500 MB) upload per week (or 25 GB/year) for a free membership account • If you choose to upgrade to VimeoPlus or VimeoPro, you will benefit from priority conversion, and sup port.

• Please note that Plus costs: $59.95/year and Pro costs: $199.99/year

F15 GSDigital Workshops - 2015.10.05

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design GSDigital Media Workshops

Adobe After Effects Tutorial 1 - Introduction

by Leif Estrada, MLA I AP | MDes-ULE ‘16 - lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

2_Interface Now that you have installed Adobe After Effects CC, you can now launch the application, by double-clicking the icon in the folder you have it under.

Figure 01 - After Effects Interface

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Composition Area Projects Tab Layers Layer (isolation mode) Timeline

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k Render Queue Effects + Presets Preview (Details) l Effects Controls Tab Character Paragraph Info/Audio Tabs

3_Composition Upon launching the application you will be prompted, like any other Adobe software, to input details on the logistical size of your “Comp.” This is similar to “Art Boards” in Illustrator or the “Canvas” in Photoshop. The only difference is, you will always be working with the 4th dimension of time (also, always RGB, never CMYK).

3.0.1 Composition Settings Use the following default settings when beginning a new project in After Effects: • Comp Name: name your file as you pleased

• Aspect Ratio: use the default HDTV (1920 x 1080) or 16:9; update this depending on the device you’re

planning on using to display the final video. example: iPads usually have an aspect ratio of 2048 x 1536 or

4:3

i

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design GSDigital Media Workshops

F15 GSDigital Workshops - 2015.10.05 Adobe After Effects Tutorial 1 - Introduction

by Leif Estrada, MLA I AP | MDes-ULE ‘16 - lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

• Frame Rate: typically between 24-30 fps (anything less, your video will look choppy, anything more wont

make a difference)

• Resolution: you can leave this setting to half, as we will only be previewing our progress, but we will

render in full resolution later.

• Duration: if you know how long your video is going to be input in the time; the format is: hours, minutes,

seconds, milliseconds.

• Background Color: typically you will use white or black; choose whichever suits you

4_Project “Project” is a tab that keeps the objects you import into after effects, which you will use in your composition.

Simply hit “ctrl + i” or “cmmd” for Mac to import in desired files such as images, videos, etc. This section will cover importing images and videos into AE, and creating shapes and paths within AE 4.1.0 Importing Images (Single Files)

Import Image “ctrl + i,” Select image file (jpg and png are best; TIFFs are unnecessary)

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design GSDigital Media Workshops

F15 GSDigital Workshops - 2015.10.05 Adobe After Effects Tutorial 1 - Introduction

by Leif Estrada, MLA I AP | MDes-ULE ‘16 - lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

4.1.1 Importing Images (Sequence Files)

Import Image “ctrl + i,” Select the first of the sequence batch image files (in numerical order, usually with numbers: 0000...); (you would have produced these ordered images from programs such as Grasshopper (slider animation), Maya Animation rendering, RealFlow simulations, etc. These programs automatically created and named the files in order to create the animated sequence.

Importing is similar to importing a single image, but be sure to click “PNG sequence” on the bottom.

Once imported into After Effects, the program will determine the duration of each image sequence batch.

If you have your compositions set to 30 fps, and you have 150 frames, this will create 5 seconds of footage.

Your Projects tab should look like the above image with a list of the imported images.

4.1.2 Importing Videos

Importing a video is similar to importing a single image; since it’s already compressed into one file, there is no need to treat it like a sequence.

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design GSDigital Media Workshops

F15 GSDigital Workshops - 2015.10.05 Adobe After Effects Tutorial 1 - Introduction

by Leif Estrada, MLA I AP | MDes-ULE ‘16 - lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

4.2.0 Importing AI (Illustrator Files)

Another feature After Effects has is to maintain layers in Illustrator when importing an AI file.

To retain the layers in your illustrator file, simply select “Composition” when prompted on how to “Import File As”

Upon importing your Illustrator file, AE will automatically create a folder of it and store each layer within

the folder. However, note that these vectors are rasterized in AE, as they are only referenced images (line

weights, colors and types can not me modified or altered in AE, but must be done in AI)

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design GSDigital Media Workshops

F15 GSDigital Workshops - 2015.10.05 Adobe After Effects Tutorial 1 - Introduction

by Leif Estrada, MLA I AP | MDes-ULE ‘16 - lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

4.3.0 Creating Shapes within AE

To create a shape in AE (if you are not importing an AI file, simply toggle on the Rectangle tool above the Projects tab, and a series of other shapes should drop down. Shapes can also be created using the pen tool, which creates “paths” Paths are similar to vectors in After Effects. Paths and shapes can be used as Masks, which will be explained at a later section. Paths can also be converted into a dynamic moving line.

5_Timeline Once you have your desired files imported into AE, drag and drop them into the composition. When files are placed on the composition, they will also appear on the Layers tab and will have a lifespan across the Timeline.

Static images will span across the entire length of the composition, while videos and sequence files will have their own time duration length. You can move these along the Timeline as you pleased.

6_Transformations + Key Framing Every object imported into After Effects has properties which can be animated. These are: Scale, Opacity, Rotation and Position. These can be manipulated either visually or numerically, by editing the values.

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design GSDigital Media Workshops

F15 GSDigital Workshops - 2015.10.05 Adobe After Effects Tutorial 1 - Introduction

by Leif Estrada, MLA I AP | MDes-ULE ‘16 - lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

To apply desired transformations on an object, set and key frame the initial state, by moving the “ticker” and clicking on the “clock” symbol. Once the initial states are set, move the “ticker” along the Timeline and make necessary changes to the object. This will automatically create key frames at that particular time.

Zoomed in view of the layer transformation and Timeline

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design GSDigital Media Workshops

F15 GSDigital Workshops - 2015.10.05 Adobe After Effects Tutorial 1 - Introduction

by Leif Estrada, MLA I AP | MDes-ULE ‘16 - lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

AE will interpolate the values in between and create a dynamic change in your object once you set the key frames.

Your objects should “transform” as you move the “ticker” along the Timeline, between where key frames have been set.

7_Masking Masking is a tool which you can use to either reveal (add) or hide (subtract) an object, by using the shape tool over an object.

Harvard University

Graduate School of Design GSDigital Media Workshops

F15 GSDigital Workshops - 2015.10.05 Adobe After Effects Tutorial 1 - Introduction

by Leif Estrada, MLA I AP | MDes-ULE ‘16 - lestrada@gsd.harvard.edu

Adjust whether or not you would like the maks to either reveal or hide the object along the Timeline. Adjust any necessary Masking properties, including Path, Feather, Opacity and Expansion. Set the initial and transformed conditions along the Timeline by keyframing them at appropriate durations.