How To: Make a light ray text swipe effect in After Effects
Making titles in After Effects is fun, relatively easy, and sure to make your film make a better first impression. This video will show you how to make a cool light ray text swipe effect with particles, like the one in the thumbnail. This isn't too hard as far as our After Effects titles tutorials, so try it out!
How To: Create cartoon animation with After Effects
A lot of people use Flash for 2D cartoon animation, but Adobe After Effects is another great tool to create some very cool cartoon animation. This how to gives you a clear idea of the steps to take to use AE as a cartoon creation device. This short video tutorial will demonstrate how to properly export character animation from Flash and import it into After Effects to combine with background and foreground elements. It also gives a handy trick of how to duplicate a character animation clip to...
How To: Recreate the Kick Ass title in Adobe After Effects
This tutorial uses a title screen from the Kick Ass trailer as its inspiration. Learn how many of the tools, functions and processes work within Adobe After Effects by completing this tutorial. You'll be an AE master by the time you're done.
How To: Create the title effect from the Inception trailer
Inception might be the most anticipated movie of the summer, and now that it's out and you've had the chance to bask in it's majesty, you may be wondering if you can use any of it's magic and trickery in your own films. You can! This video will show you how to create the titles like the ones from the Inception trailer using After Effects. It's clean and simple yet dynamic, and sure to make your next film's intro much more appealing.
How To: Change the language to English in After Effects
Have you got a copy of After Effects installed with the language set to another language? Check out this helpful video to learn how to set the language English, whatever the current language is. Maybe your film is in French, but that doesn't mean your visual effects software has to be.
How To: Create a twinkling star effect in Adobe After Effects
This is a great background for Christmas plays, holiday pageants or any other video you want to add a little twinkle! You can add a twinkling star quite easily in Adobe After Effects, and this tutorial shows you exactly how!
How To: Create the Half-Life 2 Portal storm in After Effects
Half-Life 2 and it's brilliantly creative baby Portal refuse to die, offering the same great gameplay today that they did when they were released in 2004. This video will show you how to mimic, in After Effects, a very cool effect from the game called a portal storm. It basically looks like lightning on steroids, and will give any movie that you are compositing in After Effects some really legit sci-fi flair.
How To: Stroke keylights in Adobe After Effects CS4 or CS5
This quick After Effects video tip will show you how to stroke a bitmap using Keylight and Solid Composite. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular vector editor or a seasoned graphic arts professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the program and its various features and filters, you're sure to be well served by this video tutorial. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, watch this free video guide.
How To: Create a 1980s retro video game look in After Effects
In this clip, Aharon Rabinowitz walks you through the process of creating the look of a vector style arcade game from the early 1980's. He'll use PlaneSpace, Particular, & Text Anarchy, as well as expressions and other techniques. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular motion graphics and compositing software or a seasoned video professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the program and its various features and filters, you're sure to be well served by this video tutorial. For ...
How To: Enhance footage in After Effects
This instructional video will teach you how to enhance your footage [remove grain, bring out more color] with after effects. So enjoy this tutorial, and you don't need any additional plug ins, just the built in tools of after effects.
How To: Make extruded shapes emit from Particular
Here is a simple way to make an extruded shape emit from Trapcode Particular. Particular is a particle plug-in for After Effects and this two video tutorial will show you how to create and then use 3D stars with Particular. It's a simple example, but the creative possibilities are great.
How To: Use After Effects to stabilize a shaky video recording
We don't always have a tripod handy when we need to grab some footage for our latest video project, but shaky footage can ruin an otherwise great video. Thankfully, After Effects has a 'stabilize motion' tool that you can apply to your recording to prevent headaches brought on by a shaky camera.
How To: Use Magic Bullet Looks for color correction in After Effects
This is your video guide to the Magic Bullet Looks plugin in for Adobe After Effects. If you are looking for a color correction tool, check out this video to see what Magic Bullet Looks has to offer. Learn how to use this color correction tool.
How To: Create slick floor reflections for crowds of people in After Effects
Create simple reflections in Adobe After Effects with keyed footage. In this video tutorial, Aharon Rabinowitz of All Bets Are Off demonstrates its use with video footage of both crowd and individuals. In addition, some potential issues with Collapse Transformations are also addressed.
How To: Turn a 2D still image into a 3D space using After Effects
This tutorial shows you how to replicate a popular Hollywood technique. It can be difficult to get the camera projection look with an actual camera, but Adobe After Effects has an easy alternative. Turn any 2-D still image into a dynamic 3-D clip.
How To: Import footage and create a new composition in Adobe After Effects CS5
The first step in any After Effects CS5 project is importing your footage and setting up a custom composition with reference to the technical settings of your individual clips. Learn how it's done with this video tutorial.
How To: Create a medieval Knights Templar styled intro in After Effects
If you've seen the films "Name of the Rose" and "Kingdom of Heaven", you're familiar with the medieval period, and if you want to create an animated intro in After Effects with a medieval style to it, follow along with Laurence Grayson in this three-part AE tutorial where he creates his own intro title sequence called "The Order". Learn how to quickly create a red wax seal, parchment paper and animated calligraphic text using only the standard toolset in Adobe After Effects (CS3, CS4 or CS5).
How To: Make a talking animals effect using After Effects
A LOT of movies have featured talking animals. Especially now that the technology is readily available to even low-budget filmmakers to make animals appear to be talking very realistically. If you've wanted to make your own talking-animal film, this video is here to help. It wills show you how to make animals talk using After Effects, creating and syncing mouth movements to fit your sound and leaving you with one charismatic cat, dog, fish, or marmoset.
How To: Animate text along the x axis in Adobe After Effects
Want to create simple animated text within Adobe After Effects but aren't quite sure how to go about doing it? You're in luck. This clip will show you how to animate text along the x position. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular motion graphics and compositing software or a seasoned video professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the program and its various features and filters, you're sure to be well served by this video tutorial. For more information, including detailed, ...
How To: Create an animated spider web with Adobe After Effects
In this tutorial, you will learn how to use Illustrator and After Effects to create a spider web that animates on and catches some text that flies into it. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular motion graphics and compositing software or a seasoned video professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the program and its various features and filters, you're sure to be well served by this video tutorial. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, watch this...
How To: Create a 3D glow text stroke effect in After Effects
This tutorial uses After Effects to design a quick animation that looks like several light streaks form the letters of a word. The letters burst from the light streaks with a particle explosion. This tutorial uses Trapcode 3D Stroke and Particular. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular motion graphics and compositing software or a seasoned video professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the program and its various features and filters, you're sure to be well served by this vi...
How To: Work with numeric text in After Effects
In this episode of Red Giant TV, Aharon Rabinowitz gives you some cool tips for working with Numeric Text, for things like video game scores and other digital readouts. No third-party Plug-ins are used in this tutorial. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular motion graphics and compositing software or a seasoned video professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with After Effects, you're sure to be well served by this video tutorial. For more information, including detailed, step-by-...
How To: Make a globe and radio wave animation in After Effects
See how to make a Radio Wave animation that encircles a 3D sphere. First, the clip demonstrates how to achieve this effect using After Effects. Next, it offers instructions on how to do the same thing within Cinema 4D. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to get started creating your own custom radio wave animation, watch this free video software tutorial.
How To: Create a Twilight Zone-style opening in After Effects
In this clip, Chad Perkins shows you how to create various elements for use in a Twilight Zone-esque TV show opening, using After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator and Cinema 4D. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular motion graphics and compositing software or a seasoned video professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the program and its various features and filters, you're sure to be well served by this video tutorial. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step ins...
How To: Build a car racing scene from photographs
In this great, albeit long, tutorial Nick from Greyscale Gorilla shows you how to create a car racing scene from a series of photographs in After Effects. It's very kinetic and looks great.
How To: Create handwriting in After Effects
In this Adobe After Effects tutorial, the instructor shows how to generate a hand writing effect. First, open Adobe After Effects. To do this effect, you need to use the Pen tool, which is a very good feature. Go to File menu, select new then create a new project. Go to composition and select a new composition. Right click and fit it to 100%. Go to the text tool and select a box on the composition and write something that you want. Apply a desired color and font to it. Select the text box, go...
How To: Use a fractal field in Trapcode Form in After Effects
This software tutorial takes a look at how to use the fractal field in Trapcode Form, an After Effects plug-in. Take a plane or object and work with the Fractal field parameters to create moving flowing shapes and objects. Trapcode form also allows you to synchronize your fractal field effects to audio as you'll see in this After Effects tutorial. Use a fractal field in Trapcode Form in After Effects.
How To: Use Trapcode Starglow After Effects plugin
This software tutorial shows you how to use the Trapcode Starglow plugin for After Effects. Add Hollywood glamour to text or shapes with the fast-rendering Starglow plug-in. With multiple colors and point and shimmer controls, the star power is all at your fingertips. If you have never used Starglow in After Effects, this tutorial will get you started. Use Trapcode Starglow After Effects plugin.
How To: Import images with transparency into After Effects
In this software tutorial you will learn how to manipulate images in Photoshop to remove the background and then bring that transparent background image into After Effects without loosing the transparency. The Photoshop section covers the use of the Magnetic Lasso tool and Quick Mask to remove a background. With the image adjusted, you will learn how to import your new image into After Effects with preserved transparency.
How To: Use the XML project file format in After Effects CS4
After Effects CS4 allows you to save any After Effects project in an editable text format known as XML. This tutorial will show you how to use the XML file format to modify and dynamically update an After Effects project without having to run the After Effects CS4 application. Using XML format After Effects files is a great way to save time and maintain flexibility by using a simple text editor to make changes. Use the XML project file format in After Effects CS4.
How To: Create realistic animated smoke in After Effects
This video editing software tutorial shows you how to create animated smoke in After Effects. You will learn how to create authentic smoke for any special effects purpose such as fires and action sequences. See how you can use After Effects CS3 filters to create animated smoke. The tutorial is best viewed full screen and you will need Particle Playground plug-in.
How To: Create a pond ripple effect in After Effects
An After Effects tutorial on creating a pond surface effect and simulating an underwater video. Start with footage of a person looking down at the camera and then "touching" the water, then follow along with this tutorial and you'll have rippling water in no time.
How To: Create Star Wars scrolling text in After Effects
This three part tutorial shows you how to use Photoshop to create Star Wars text and then make it scroll up like in the movie intro using After Effects.
How To: Rotoscope in Mocha
In this two part tutorial, Aaron Zander takes an introductory look at Imagineer's Mocha and its toolset. Mocha is a rotoscoping software and is often used in conjunction with After Effects. Aaron demonstrates some basic rotoscoping to be applied into a Gatorade style look. Video two takes a look at linking splines to other tracks, adjusting tracks and keyframes, and rendering. Rotoscope in Mocha - Part 1 of 2.
How To: Turn a sunny day into a cloudy day using After Effects
In this three part After Effects tutorial, Aharon Rabinowitz shows you how to change the weather from a sunny day at the beach to a very cloudy day, with a chance of showers. Part one goes over color correction and compositing, part two covers how to add rain to your shot, as well as drops of water on the camera, and part three shows how to add realistic lightning to the shot. Turn a sunny day into a cloudy day using After Effects - Part 1 of 3.
How To: Make a crowd with Particular in After Effects
This excellent tutorial shows you how easy it is to make a crowd out of a few people. Using the Trapcode plug-in particular, Mike Goedecke from the design firm Belief, teaches us how to do it. Turn a small group into a mass of people.
How To: Simulate slot machine reels in After Effects
Colin Lea has come up with a tutorial for creating animation that simulates slot machine reels. Ko Maruyama has made this video version of the tutorial for you to learn from.
How To: Build and animate a CG snake in After Effects
In this video tutorial, Jerzy Drozda Jr demonstrates how to create a dynamic animation based on a 'chain rig'. You'll learn how to animate one layer using keyframes, expressions, or both, and make other layers follow the leading layer. The rest of this After Effects tutorial is about texturing and making the final look. Project files are included on the video link page. Build and animate a CG snake in After Effects.
How To: Turn A Flat 2D Image into 3D
In this short tutorial i will show you how you can turn a flat 2D image of a room or hallway into a 3D Room using Vanishing points in Photoshop and After Effects.
News: AE Intro Electric Grid
Maybe it is inspiration for some people around here. I have done this in AE and want to share it. Feel Free to download and use or customize it however you want. Download the template here (music not included).