Adobe After Effects Course Outline

1. Introduction to Adobe After Effects

What is Adobe After Effects
Applications of After Effects
Motion Graphics overview
Visual Effects overview
Compositing overview
After Effects vs Premiere Pro
After Effects interface overview
Adobe Creative Cloud integration
AI-assisted features overview
Course project overview

2. Installing and Setting Up After Effects

Installing Adobe After Effects
Creative Cloud setup
System requirements
GPU requirements
Preferences
Memory settings
Disk Cache settings
Auto Save settings
Audio settings
Keyboard shortcuts

3. Understanding the After Effects Interface

Home Screen
Project Panel
Composition Panel
Timeline Panel
Tools Panel
Effects & Presets Panel
Character Panel
Paragraph Panel
Preview Panel
Properties Panel
Customizing the workspace

4. Creating Your First Project

Creating a new project
Creating compositions
Composition settings
Resolution
Frame rate
Duration
Importing media
Saving projects
Auto Save
Project backups

5. Importing and Managing Media

Importing video
Importing images
Importing audio
Importing Photoshop files
Importing Illustrator files
Importing image sequences
Organizing assets
Creating folders
Renaming assets
Replacing footage

6. Understanding Compositions

What is a composition
Composition dimensions
Frame rate
Duration
Background color
Multiple compositions
Nested compositions
Pre-compositions
Composition hierarchy

7. Understanding Layers

Video layers
Image layers
Audio layers
Text layers
Shape layers
Solid layers
Adjustment layers
Null objects
Guide layers
Layer order

8. Layer Transform Properties

Anchor Point
Position
Scale
Rotation
Opacity
Transform shortcuts
Resetting transformations
Copying transform properties

9. Timeline Basics

Timeline navigation
Current Time Indicator
Layer duration
In Points
Out Points
Splitting layers
Trimming layers
Moving layers
Timeline zoom
Markers

10. Basic Animation

Creating keyframes
Position animation
Scale animation
Rotation animation
Opacity animation
Animating Anchor Point
Previewing animation
Copying keyframes
Deleting keyframes

11. Keyframe Interpolation

Linear keyframes
Bezier keyframes
Hold keyframes
Easy Ease
Ease In
Ease Out
Temporal interpolation
Spatial interpolation
Creating smooth animation

12. Graph Editor

Speed Graph
Value Graph
Editing animation curves
Adjusting velocity
Bezier handles
Smooth motion
Creating overshoot
Creating bounce animation
Professional timing control

13. Motion Paths

Editing motion paths
Changing path direction
Bezier motion paths
Roving keyframes
Orient Along Path
Complex object movement
Creating smooth trajectories

14. Shape Layers

Creating rectangles
Creating ellipses
Creating polygons
Creating stars
Creating custom shapes
Fill and Stroke
Shape transforms
Shape layer groups
Animating shapes

15. Shape Layer Animators

Trim Paths
Repeater
Offset Paths
Merge Paths
Round Corners
Pucker & Bloat
Twist
Wiggle Paths
Creating procedural shape animations

16. Text Basics

Creating text
Character formatting
Paragraph formatting
Fonts
Text alignment
Text colors
Stroke
Text backgrounds
Text organization

17. Text Animation

Text Animator overview
Animating position
Animating scale
Animating rotation
Animating opacity
Character Offset
Tracking animation
Blur animation
Text reveal effects

18. Advanced Text Animation

Range Selectors
Advanced selectors
Expression selectors
Per-character animation
Word animation
Line animation
Typewriter effects
Kinetic typography
Cinematic title animation

19. Masks

Creating masks
Rectangle masks
Ellipse masks
Pen Tool masks
Mask Mode
Mask Feather
Mask Expansion
Mask Opacity
Animating masks

20. Track Mattes

Alpha Matte
Alpha Inverted Matte
Luma Matte
Luma Inverted Matte
Using text as mattes
Using shapes as mattes
Creative reveal effects
Layer compositing

21. Blending Modes

Normal Mode
Multiply
Screen
Overlay
Add
Difference
Soft Light
Using blend modes creatively
Layer compositing techniques

22. Parenting and Null Objects

Parenting layers
Parent & Link
Using Null Objects
Controlling multiple layers
Creating complex motion
Camera rigs
Character controls
Animation organization

23. Pre-Compositions

Creating Pre-Comps
Moving attributes
Leaving attributes
Nested compositions
Organizing complex projects
Reusable animations
Pre-comp workflow

24. Adjustment Layers

Creating Adjustment Layers
Applying effects to multiple layers
Global color correction
Global blur effects
Cinematic looks
Using multiple Adjustment Layers

25. Effects and Presets

Effects & Presets Panel
Applying effects
Managing effects
Copying effects
Creating presets
Animation presets
Combining multiple effects
Saving custom presets

26. Blur and Sharpen Effects

Gaussian Blur
Directional Blur
Camera Lens Blur
Fast Box Blur
Sharpen
Unsharp Mask
Creating depth effects
Selective focus

27. Distortion Effects

Warp effects
Turbulent Displace
Bulge
Mesh Warp
Liquify
Wave Warp
Transform effect
Creating creative distortions

28. Generate Effects

Fill
Gradient Ramp
4-Color Gradient
Grid
Lightning
Lens Flare
Radio Waves
Beam effects
Creating visual backgrounds

29. Stylize Effects

Glow
Find Edges
Mosaic
Posterize
Emboss
Cartoon-style effects
Stylized looks
Creative visual effects

30. Color Correction

Brightness and Contrast
Exposure
Levels
Curves
Hue and Saturation
Lumetri Color
White Balance
Basic color correction
Shot matching basics

31. Advanced Color Grading

Lumetri Color workflow
Creative Looks
Curves
Color Wheels
Selective color correction
Cinematic looks
Film-style grading
Color consistency

32. Motion Blur

Enabling Motion Blur
Layer Motion Blur
Composition Motion Blur
Shutter Angle
Shutter Phase
Creating realistic movement
Using motion blur creatively

33. Time Remapping

Time Stretch
Time Reverse
Freeze Frame
Time Remapping
Speed changes
Slow motion
Fast motion
Creating speed ramps

34. Frame Blending

Frame Mix
Pixel Motion
Creating smoother slow motion
Improving time effects
Working with low-frame-rate footage

35. Green Screen and Chroma Key

Keylight
Removing green backgrounds
Screen Gain
Screen Balance
Screen Matte
Edge cleanup
Spill suppression
Background replacement
Virtual studio workflow

36. Rotoscoping

Roto Brush
Refine Edge
Isolating subjects
Separating foreground and background
Rotoscope corrections
Freezing Roto Brush results
Complex object isolation

37. Motion Tracking

Point tracking
Position tracking
Rotation tracking
Scale tracking
Tracking multiple points
Applying tracking data
Attaching graphics to objects
Tracking text

38. Planar Tracking with Mocha AE

Mocha AE interface
Planar tracking
Tracking surfaces
Tracking screens
Corner Pin data
Surface controls
Exporting tracking data
Screen replacement workflow

39. Stabilization

Warp Stabilizer
Motion tracking stabilization
Stabilizing position
Stabilizing rotation
Stabilizing scale
Fixing shaky footage
Professional stabilization workflow

40. Object Removal

Content-Aware Fill
Creating removal masks
Reference frames
Removing unwanted objects
Removing people
Cleaning backgrounds
Object removal workflow

41. 3D Layers

Enabling 3D layers
X, Y, and Z axes
3D Position
3D Rotation
3D Scale
Layer orientation
Moving layers in 3D space
Creating 3D scenes

42. Cameras

Creating cameras
Camera settings
Focal length
Camera movement
Orbiting
Dolly movement
Camera depth
Multiple cameras
Animating cameras

43. Lights

Point Light
Spot Light
Parallel Light
Ambient Light
Light intensity
Light color
Shadows
Lighting 3D layers
Creating cinematic lighting

44. Depth of Field

Camera Aperture
Focus Distance
Blur Level
Rack Focus
Animating focus
Creating cinematic depth
Professional camera effects

45. 3D Text and Graphics

Creating 3D text
Extruding text where supported
Animating 3D text
3D logos
Camera movement around text
Lighting text
Cinematic title sequences

46. Cinema 4D Integration

Cinema 4D workflow overview
Importing Cinema 4D files
Cineware
3D object integration
Lighting compatibility
Camera integration
Compositing 3D renders

47. Expressions Basics

What are expressions
Expression language overview
Pick Whip
Linking properties
Simple expressions
Loop expressions
Time expressions
Value expressions
Using expressions efficiently

48. Common Expressions

wiggle()
loopOut()
loopIn()
time
value
random()
linear()
ease()
Creating automatic animation

49. Advanced Expressions

Expression controls
Slider Control
Checkbox Control
Angle Control
Color Control
Linking multiple properties
Creating animation rigs
Responsive animation systems

50. Essential Graphics

Creating Motion Graphics Templates
Responsive Design
Protected Regions
Editable text controls
Editable color controls
Editable sliders
Creating reusable graphics
Exporting MOGRT files

51. Logo Animation

Importing logos
Separating logo elements
Animating logo reveals
Shape-based logo animation
Mask reveals
Glow effects
Sound synchronization
Professional logo intros

52. Lower Thirds

Creating Lower Thirds
Name titles
Job titles
News graphics
Corporate Lower Thirds
Animating entry and exit
Using Shape Layers
Creating reusable templates

53. Title Sequences

Opening titles
Cinematic titles
Film titles
Corporate titles
Documentary titles
Animated typography
Camera-based titles
Professional title sequences

54. Kinetic Typography

Animating words
Animating letters
Timing with music
Text transitions
Scale-based typography
Rotation-based typography
Fast-paced text animation
Social media typography

55. Infographic Animation

Animated charts
Bar charts
Pie charts
Progress bars
Icons
Counters
Data animation
Business presentations
Educational infographics

56. Character Animation Basics

Importing character artwork
Separating body parts
Parenting character layers
Anchor Points
Animating arms
Animating legs
Head movement
Simple walk cycles

57. Puppet Tool

Puppet Pins
Advanced Pins
Starch Pins
Bend Pins
Animating characters
Animating illustrations
Deforming objects
Creating organic movement

58. Facial Animation

Eyes animation
Blinking
Mouth animation
Head rotation
Expression changes
Simple lip-sync
Character emotions
Facial rig basics

59. Advanced Character Rigging

Controllers
Null-based rigs
Parenting systems
Expression controls
Character movement
Reusable rigs
Professional character animation workflow

60. Particle Effects

Particle systems overview
CC Particle World
Particle Playground
Emitter settings
Particle physics
Creating dust
Creating sparks
Creating magical effects

61. Smoke, Fire, and Atmospheric Effects

Creating smoke
Fire effects
Fog
Dust
Clouds
Atmospheric particles
Glow enhancement
Compositing atmospheric effects

62. Light Effects

Glow
Lens Flare
Light Rays
Volumetric-style effects
Light sweeps
Neon effects
Energy effects
Cinematic lighting enhancement

63. Camera Shake

Creating handheld movement
Wiggle expressions
Controlled camera shake
Impact shake
Action scene shake
Subtle realistic movement

64. Screen Replacement

Tracking screens
Mocha tracking
Corner Pin
Replacing phone screens
Replacing laptop screens
Replacing TV screens
Matching perspective
Adding reflections

65. Sky Replacement

Masking skies
Tracking scenes
Replacing backgrounds
Matching colors
Adding atmosphere
Creating dramatic skies
Integrating replacement footage

66. Compositing

Compositing workflow
Foreground and background integration
Layer blending
Color matching
Light matching
Shadow creation
Depth integration
Professional compositing

67. Visual Effects Integration

Adding explosions
Smoke
Fire
Muzzle flashes
Energy effects
Debris
Light interaction
Creating believable VFX shots

68. Camera Tracking

3D Camera Tracker
Analyzing footage
Creating tracking points
Setting ground plane
Creating cameras
Adding 3D text
Adding 3D objects
Integrating graphics into footage

69. Advanced Tracking

Tracking difficult footage
Manual track corrections
Multiple tracking points
Track stabilization
Solving camera movement
Combining Mocha and AE tracking

70. Photoshop Integration

Importing Photoshop files
Importing layers
Layer Styles
Updating Photoshop files
Creating graphics
Character artwork
Compositing workflows

71. Illustrator Integration

Importing Illustrator artwork
Continuous Rasterization
Converting vector layers to Shape Layers
Animating logos
Animating icons
Creating infographics
Vector motion graphics workflow

72. Premiere Pro Integration

Dynamic Link
Replacing Premiere clips with After Effects compositions
Editing motion graphics
Creating visual effects
Updating compositions automatically
Using MOGRT templates
Premiere and After Effects workflow

73. Audio in After Effects

Importing audio
Viewing waveforms
Audio Levels
Synchronizing animation to music
Markers
Sound effects
Audio-driven animation
Basic audio workflow

74. Audio-Reactive Animation

Using Convert Audio to Keyframes
Animating scale with audio
Animating glow with audio
Animating particles with audio
Music visualizers
Beat synchronization
Creating responsive graphics

75. Social Media Content

Instagram Reels
TikTok graphics
YouTube Shorts
YouTube intros
Animated captions
Motion Graphics
Vertical compositions
Social media advertising