Welcome to our workshop!
In this workshop we will be creating a video from two static images. A panning background of the desert that will blur and eventually fade to black. We will also be inserting a logo that will transposed over the top. We strongly encourage those who intend to follow along have Adobe After Effects installed on your device before attending. You should also download the two assets we will be using from the link below.
CONTENTS
- After Effects Interface Overview
- Creating a New Document
- Importing files
- Using your timeline to create movement
- Adding a Blur effect
- Fading the background out using Opacity
- Adding a Logo that fades in and out
- Exporting your file to Media Encoder
- Completed Video
Video Tutorial
2. Creating a New Document
After launching Adobe After Effects click on "Create New" (A) and in the dialogue box that appears change the title of your project to something that makes sense (B). Next change the duration of the document to 10 seconds (C) then click "Ok."
After creating a New Document you will see a window similar to the one above. There are no items for you to work with until files are imported into the project.
3. Importing files
Click on "File>Import>File" (A) then navigate to the file you downloaded from the Assets Downloads called "AE DESERT SCENE DEMO.jpg" and then click "Open" (B).
Click and hold on your file in the "Projects Panel" then drag down into the "Project Elements" to add it to your document. At this point the photo should appear in your "Composition Window."
To scale your image to fit in the viewer click on it, then grab a corner of the "Bounding Box" and drag inward while holding the "Shift" key. Continue until the photo is the same height as the viewing window.
Click, hold and drag the image until the left side of the photo is flush with the left side of your viewing window.
4. Using your timeline to create movement
Open the photos "Properties" by clicking the arrow to the left of the name (A). Next make sure to move your "Playhead" to the beginning of your "Timeline" (B) then click on the small "Stopwatch" to the left of the word "Position" (C). This will create a "Keyframe" that states the photo will be in this location at this point in time until it is assigned another location later on.
Move your "Playhead" to the 7 second mark (A) then click on the photo in the "Composition Window" and drag the phot until the right side of the photo is flush with the right side of the viewing window (B). Once in place, click on the Diamond to the left of the stopwatch you clicked last time (C). This will create a new "Keyframe" that will cause the photo to move to this new position.
To test your animation return the Playhead to the beginning of your timeline and press the Spacebar. To stop playback press the Spacebar once more.
5. Adding a Blur effect
Click on "Window" to open the drop down menu and select "Essential Graphics."
Two new windows will appear these compose you "Effects Panel" and can be merged by dragging the window on the left to the one on the right and dropping it there. The result is the "Effects Panel" you see in the next slide near operation (B).
Move you "Playhead" to the 3 second mark (A) then double click on "Gaussian Blur" (B) after opening the "Blur & Sharpen" category in your "Effects Panel." In your "Project Elements" panel open the "Effects" category and set the "Blurriness" to 0.0, this will automatically set a new "Keyframe."
Move y9our "Playhead" to the 7 second mark (A) and then adjust the "Blurriness" to 100.0 (B) to se the new "Keyframe."
6. Fading the background out using Opacity
Before moving on to this section close the "Effects" category in your "Project Elements" panel by clicking the arrow to the left of it (A).
Move the "Playhead" to the 5 second mark (B) and then click on the "Stopwatch" to the left of "Opacity" (C).
Move the "Playhead" to the 7 second mark (A) then change the "Opacity" to 0% (B).
7. Adding a Logo that fades in and out
Import a new file by clicking on "File>Import>File" then locating the "AE CACTUS LOGO.eps" file you downloaded from the Assets Downloads link, and then click "Open."
Click and hold on the "AE CACTUS LOGO.eps" file in the "Projects Panel" then drag and drop it in the "Project Elements" panel (A) to add it to our timeline. It will also appear in your "Composition Window" (B). If you do not see the logo make sure the new file layer is above the background photo in the "Project Elements" panel.
Take your cursor and hover over the beginning of the timeline, when a double sided arrow appears click, hold and drag the segment to the 4 second mark (A). The logo will now appear in the animation from the 4 second mark but not before. Before moving to the next section open the "AE CACTUS LOGO.eps" options by clicking the arrow to its left (B).
Make sure your "Playhead" is at the 4 second mark (A) then drop the opacity to 0% (B).
Move your "Playhead" to the 5 second mark (A) and then increase your "Opacity" to 100% (B).
Move your "Playhead" to the 8 second mark (A) and then click on the diamond to the far left of the "Opacity" category (B) to add a new "Keyframe."
***Do not change the 100% Opacity
Move the "Playhead" to the very end of your "Timeline" (10 second mark) (A) then change your "Opacity" to 0% (B).
8. Exporting your file to Media Encoder
Click "File>Export>Add to Adobe Media Encoder Queue" and your computer will automatically launch the Encoder.
From the drop down menu select "H264" (A), then set the location you want to save the file to (B) and then click on the green play symbol in the upper right hand corner of the window to start the operation.
The file will automatically save to the destination you chose in the previous step, but you can click on the link highlighted above and it will open the folder.