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: Make a pulse or pulsating wave effect in After Effects

Making really attractive titles for your films is just one of the way that you can dramatically improve them using After Effects. This video will help you make them by showing you how to create a pulse or pulsating wave effect from whence your titles can emerge. They look great, and will make your movie (especially horror or sci-fi movie) look much more professional right from the beginning.

How To: Export a camera from Cinema 4D to Adobe After Effects

This clip presents a lesson in how to export a camera from MAXON C4D to Adobe After Effects. Whether you're new to MAXON's popular 3D modeling application or are just looking to get better acquainted with Cinema 4D and its various features and functions, you're sure to enjoy this free video software tutorial. For more information, including complete instructions, watch this 3D modeler's guide.

How To: Scrub audio in After Effects & more

Take a look at this instructional video and learn how to scrub the audio with the program After Effects. You can go about performing this by simply holding the command key and scrubbing the timeline, then that will scrub the audio and render the video. If you hold the option key and scrub nothing will be rendered. But if you hold both the command and the option keys, no video will be rendered but you can scrub through the audio without waiting for the video to render.

How To: Avoid the wobbly keyframe in After Effects

Nick Campbell shows us how to avoid the wobbly keyframe in After Effects. When you are animating logos and want them to come onto the screen, stop for a few seconds, and then continue off the screen. To fix it, highlight your key frames and then right click on "keyframe interpolation". Now, where it says "temporal interpolation" click to make it say "linear" next to it. Save this change and now the wobbly effect should have gone away. This can come up in a number of different moves, no matter...

How To: Use Knoll Light Factory Pro After Effects plugin

This software tutorial shows you how to use the Knoll Light Factory Pro plug-in for After Effects. Knoll Light Factory Pro is the industry's favorite tool for creating lens flares, sunsets, photon torpedoes, stars and other effects. It offers a custom lens editor, auto tracking, alpha channel support, and pinpoint control over dozens of settings. If you haven't used the Knoll Light Factory Pro plug-in yet, watch this After Effects tutorial and get started.

How To: Use the Magic Bullet Looks plugin in After Effects

Stu Maschwitz, creator of Magic Bullet and veteran visual effects artist, demonstrates the tools within the finishing app Magic Bullet Looks within After Effects. Watch and learn how to build a look from scratch or apply a look from a library of presets available withing Magic Bullet and then apply the look to your footage in After Effects. Use the Magic Bullet Looks plugin in After Effects.

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: Create a Star Trek-style transporter effect in Adobe After Effects

In this clip, you'll learn how to use the Key Correct Pro, Knoll Light Factory Pro, Magic Bullet Looks and Trapcode Particular plug-ins in Adobe After Effects to create a sci-fi transformer effect. 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 detai...

How To: Create a 3D thunderstorm scene with After Effects and Trapcode Particular

In this clip, you'll learn how to create a realistic 3D thunderstorm scene using Adobe Adobe After Effects, Trapcode Particular and Horizon. 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 free video gui...

How To: Create a particle animation loop with After Effects & Trapcode Particular

This video guide offers a complete overview of how to create a seamless looping particle animation with Trapcode Particular and Adobe After Effects. 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 free v...

How To: Use After Effects to recreate the "Annoying Orange"

By now, everyone is familiar with the Annoying Orange, but how do they do their effects? This video will reveal the secret and show you how to put a face on an inanimate object like the Annoying Orange. See how to put any face on any object to make something that once was inanimate alive! This should work on all Adobe CS versions of After Effects. This example in this video is a beach ball.

How To: Create a simple scrolling LED display in After Effects

This simple After Effects tutorial from Laurence Grayson will show you how to use CC Ball Action effect in AE to create a realistic scrolling LED signboard effect, like the ones you see at conference centers and football stadiums. Then end result can be altered to suit your project, and corner-pinned into a scene. There are no plug-ins required, and this method uses the standard toolset in CS3, CS4, and CS5.

How To: Create a portal in After Effects

If you've ever played through Valve's amazing first-person puzzle game Portal, you probably have dreams and nightmares about orange and blue portals appearing in the walls around you. Do you want to recreate the effect in a film? This video will show you how to create your very own colored wall portals on film using After Effects.

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: Import footage into PFTrack and export it to Cinema 4D

In this tutorial, you'll see how easy it is to bring your footage into PFTrack and then quickly take that data into Cinema 4D to begin to add your elements. Whether you're new to MAXON's popular 3D modeling application or are just looking to get better acquainted with Cinema 4D and its various features and functions, you're sure to enjoy this free video software tutorial. For more information, including complete instructions, watch this 3D modeler's guide.

How To: Make a moving curtain animation within After Effects

Check out this tutorial of how to create moving curtains in After Effects. You create a set of curtains that opens up to reveal footage placed behind it. You can render the clip out with an alpha channel and always have a curtains clip ready to reveal some footage. 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 ...

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: Create fog and clouds in After Effects CS4 or CS5

This clip covers an easy method for creating semi-realistic fog inside of After Effects with nothing but a Photoshop document! 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 free video guide.

How To: Create an "Annoying Orange" in Adobe After Effects

Create an "Annoying Orange" to call your very own with this digital video guide. 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 free video guide.

How To: Make lightsaber effects using after effects

Did you ever want to know how to create Star Wars style lightsaber effects for your own home videos? Youtube user Comphelper225 has a way make this little bit of movie magic come to life using Adobe After Effects. Once you have a video of yourself or a friend swinging a base for your sword, the next step is to download Andrew Kramer's lightsaber presets from the Video Copilot website. Once it's installed, open up your video in After Effects to begin. Within the program, click Layer, New, and ...

How To: Use Trapcode Sound Keys After Effects plugin

Sound Keys is a keyframe generator plug-in for Adobe After Effects. Learn how to visually select parts of an audio track and convert that audio into keyframes. TrapCode Sound Keys After Effects plugin is great for audio-intensive animations. See how to use it in this tutorial. Use Trapcode Sound Keys After Effects plugin.

How To: Create advanced glitter using expressions & Particular

In this tutorial, Creative Cow leader, Michael Park, demonstrates another, more advanced method for creating shimmering glitter particles using Trapcode's Particular in After Effects. The main advancement is the implementation of 3d rotation of the glitter particles, as well as using expressions to convert the rotation of the particles in all 3 axis to drive a greyscale map, which in turn is used to color the particle using colorama and create the shimmer effect when the particles face the ca...

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