S552 - Demystifying After Effects:

Motion Graphics for Video Editors

Kyle Hamrick | Senior Motion Designer, School of Motion
S552-Demystifying After Effects: Motion Graphics for Video Editors

▪ Animating elements in Premiere Pro and After Effects

▪ Using Motion Graphics templates to easily apply already-created customizable graphics

▪ Tracking elements into footage to add interest to a clip

▪ Isolating or removing unwanted elements in footage

▪ Compositing multiple elements or scenes together

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Premiere Pro / After Effects
Premiere Pro / After Effects

▪ Both work with video footage and images

▪ Add effects or graphics to stylize & transition between elements

▪ Make those sweet videos!

▪ They are different apps, with different jobs!

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Premiere Pro

▪ Built to be a non-linear video editor

▪ Manage & organize large footage libraries

▪ Easily view & trim your footage

▪ Easily arrange clips on a timeline

▪ Typically has instant playback

▪ Compositing & graphics tools are good for the basics

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After Effects

▪ Compositing, shot cleanup & visual effects

▪ Dynamic animated titles

▪ Animating and creating complex graphics

▪ 3D space and extrusion capabilities

▪ A bit like Photoshop + Illustrator + Premiere … and then a bunch more!

▪ NOT MEANT TO BE A VIDEO EDITOR

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Timeline Comparison (same clips)

Premiere Pro

After Effects

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Dynamic Link

▪ Seamlessly send elements between Premiere and After Effects

▪ From Premiere to After Effects, send:

▪ Single clips
▪ Groups of clips
▪ Entire timelines (live-linked or fully-editable)

▪ Drop un-rendered After Effects compositions directly into Premiere timelines

▪ Live-linked!

▪ Motion Graphics templates give you much of the power of AE directly in Premiere

Follow this link for more info about using Dynamic Link

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Animating in Premiere Pro & After Effects
Keyframes: “A value at a time”
Motion Graphics templates (aka “Mogrts”)
Follow this link to watch!

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Motion Graphics Templates

▪ Dynamic animated titles, transitions and more

▪ Download from Adobe Stock or create your own

▪ Simplified controls & ease of use

▪ Good for frequently-updated elements

▪ Make motion graphics accessible to users of all skill levels

▪ Save time & work more efficiently

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Compositing
Compositing

▪ Tools & techniques to change or combine elements to create

new or different visuals

▪ Shot cleanup

▪ Removing unwanted elements from shot

▪ Adding stylized text or graphics over or into a shot

▪ Creating special effects (obvious or invisible)

▪ Placing characters or elements in a new environment

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Blending Modes
Blending Modes

▪ Use color or brightness information to determine visibility

of different parts of an image

▪ Useful for both utility and creative purposes

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Follow this link to watch!

© 2021 Adobe. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.

Alpha Channel:
Extra channel that holds transparency information
Masks: Isolate or trim away visible areas of a clip
Follow this link to watch!

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Mattes: Use one image/clip to cut out another
Follow this link to watch!

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Chroma Keying (aka Green screen)
Chroma Keying (Greenscreen)

▪ One of the easiest ways to isolate a person or element in video

▪ If shot correctly, post-production is pretty easy!

© 2021 Adobe. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.

Motion Tracking (After Effects)
Motion Tracking in After Effects

▪ Rigid Mask Tracker

▪ Point Tracker (1 or 2 points)

▪ Planar Tracker (Boris FX Mocha)

▪ 3D Camera Tracker

▪ Again, choose the best tool for the job. Each has its purposes.

▪ Attach graphics or other elements to something in your shot, whether that object is moving,
the camera is moving, or both!

© 2021 Adobe. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.

Motion Tracking in After Effects

▪ Trackers look for high contrast and clearly-defined edges

▪ Tip: Add your own tracking marks when shooting

▪ Tip: Avoid motion blur when possible

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Motion Tracking in After Effects

▪ Remember: you’re just generating tracking information.

▪ The tracked clip itself doesn’t have to be pretty!

▪ Sometimes this clip may actually track better … looking like this!

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Content-Aware Fill (After Effects)
Content-Aware Fill

▪ Remove unwanted objects from a video clip, powered by Adobe Sensei

▪ Trim out unwanted object (doesn’t have to be pretty)

▪ Content-Aware Fill synthesizes new pixels to replace removed object

▪ Manually create your own reference frames if needed

© 2021 Adobe. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.

We learned about:

▪ Animating using keyframes

▪ Motion Graphics templates
▪ Blending Modes
▪ Masks
▪ Mattes
▪ Alpha Channels
▪ Chroma Keying and/or Roto Brush
▪ Motion Tracking
▪ Content-Aware Fill

© 2021 Adobe. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.

Recommended lab sessions for further learning:
L572: Beginning Motion Design: Must-Know Techniques - Nol Honig
L574: Beyond the Basics of Motion Design - Eran Stern
L576: Using After Effects to Enhance Video Projects - Ian Robinson
L578: Leveling Up Your Branding with Premiere Pro - Valentina Vee
Kyle Hamrick School of Motion
kylehamrick.com schoolofmotion.com
@KylasaurusRex @SchoolOfMotion
@kylasaurus_rex youtube.com/schoolofmotion