What is Adobe After Effects and what are its uses?

We’ve all seen adverts and movies with magic, explosions, crazy weather, and animated text. But did you know it was most likely the impressive work of Adobe After Effects?

Adobe After Effects is a powerful software that has become the industry standard when it comes to creating visual effects in video. But that’s it in a nutshell. Of course, after Effects has a lot more to it. So let’s dive into everything Adobe After Effects can do and how you can use it.

What Is Adobe After Effects?

What is Adobe After Effects? To put it simply, it’s the tool you use to make really cool visual stuff.

As we’ve already mentioned, it’s software used to create visual effects. These visual effects can include motion graphics, moving titles, and special effects. You can even create animated 2D characters using it.

This software is used widely in the TV and film industry within post-production. So, once the footage for a movie or show has been edited together, the After Effects pros will get to work on creating all of the impressive visuals over the top.

Who Uses Adobe After Effects?

First of all, only those with the patience of a saint use Adobe After Effects. Using After Effects is no easy feat, and if you think you can learn the programme in a day, think again. It takes time and patience to learn its intricacies. But you can go far with such a skill if you’re an industry professional.

Anyone within the media industry has at least heard of After Effects if they haven’t used it for themselves. But mostly, those who use After Effects are video editors, animators, social media and video artists, and anyone within the world of video production.

If you fancy getting your hands on it and giving it a go, After Effects is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, but you can also purchase it on its own.

What Can You Do With Adobe After Effects?

Now you know what Adobe After Effects is, it’s time to get into the fun stuff and what you can do with it. Well, it would probably be quicker to tell you what you can’t do with After Effects. But we know you want to know all about the cool visual stuff you can make with this programme, so let’s take a look.

Visual Effects

Do you love it when things blow up in movies? You can thank After Effects for that.

Whether you want to create smoke trails or have lightning shoot from the sky, After Effects has the ability to create a multitude of visual effects.

You can use a green screen or add effects directly over the top of your footage – the possibilities only really stop where your imagination ends.

After Effects comes equipped with effects and templates ready to use, but you can also download plugins if you need something specific.

what can you do with adobe after effects

 

Animation

If you want to make static things move, look no further than After Effects. You can create 2D animations, including 2D characters/cartoons, with After Effect’s compositing tools. There’s also the option to create basic 3D animations, although this is a more limited tool.

However, the beauty of this programme is that you can use it in conjunction with other software to really bring your vision to life.

Whether you want to animate simple text or design and animate an entire video, After Effects can create seamless animations from start to finish. But remember, that’s if you have the previously mentioned patience to take it from start to finish!

Motion Graphics

Motion graphics are similar to animations, but instead of 2D drawings, they use 3D objects. Not only that, motion graphics incorporate music, sound effects and a story to convey a message.

Think of marketing campaigns, graphics within movies, and even adverts on TV; if there are moving graphics, they were most likely created in After Effects.

No matter what you want to do with Adobe After Effects, it is fully equipped with the tools to create visual effects. Here are some of the ways it can make your visual dreams come to life:

● Morphing – you can use this to transition (morph) from one image to another.

● Motion tracking – tracking the movement of an object within a frame.

● Keying – you can replace the background colour with this (think green screen).

● Colour correction – change the colour of the footage to suit your style.

Of course, Adobe After Effects has adapted and evolved to keep its users happy, too. Newer features to help you put together stunning visuals include:

● Using reference points to place an object in a scene simply by clicking on a photo.

● A longer timeline to work your magic.

● Rendering multiple compositions at once.

● 3D cameras allow you to animate objects moving towards or away from a camera.

Is Adobe After Effects Difficult to Learn?

Now, we already said you need the patience of a saint to learn Adobe After Effects, but don’t let that put you off. If you’re already an avid video editor, then learning After Effects won’t be as daunting.

Yes, After Effects is intricate, and there’s a lot to learn, but you just have to learn one thing at a time. Like anything, it takes practice. But once you know a thing or two, seeing the fruits of your labour will keep you motivated to learn the rest.

As for ways to learn After Effects, there’s no one-size-fits-all. You can go down the route of self-teaching and utilise the endless YouTube videos teaching you the software’s ins and outs.

On the other hand, you can pay for tailored courses or even go to school. No matter which route you choose, know that you’ll be learning for at least a few years to become proficient in After Effects.

Overall, Adobe After Effects is a powerful tool for video editors, animators and motion graphic designers to tell their stories visually. If you want to make your video come to life, there’s nowhere else to turn.