ALT STUDIO PROJECT 5 + 6: WORKING WITH KEYFRAMES AND TEXT

 

M3 - STUDIO PROJECT KINETIC TEXT

DESCRIPTION

Work with text layers in After Effects to understand keyframe animation basics. Create a short 15 second animation of a word or sentence using at least 3 basic transformations - position, scale + rotation. Export and submit video file.

GETTING STARTED WITH AFTER EFFECTS

KEYFRAME ANIMATIONS

BASICS

POSITION

Note: Turn off the visibility of layers by deselecting the Eye icon next to each layer

  1. Expand Transformation Properties for Layer: Select layer > Click the triangle to expand your layer properties> Click Transform > Select Property (Position) and adjust its (x & y) values to mark the layer's position

  2. Creating a Key Frame - A Start (Point A) and End Point (Point B) in you Timeline: Click the Stopwatch next to the Position property to add a key frame starting position > Click and move the play head in your Timeline > Change the property values (in this case location: x, y values of your text) to create an end (point B) keyframe> Click and drag the play head to scrub through your Timeline to preview changes

  3. Setting Another Key Frame Point: Click and drag the play head forward on the Timeline> Change property values (in this case: the x, y location of your text) to create a new key frame point

  4. Alternate Way to Create Key Frames: Change the time of the play head > Select the Selection tool (hotkey: v) > In the Canvas window select the whole layer and drag it to change the text position

Editing + Navigating with Key Frames:

  • Hold Shift to select multiple key frames

  • Alter Timing: Select the key frame in the Timeline and move it closer to, or further from, the other key frames to change the speed of the moving text

  • Deleting Key Frames: select the key frame and click Delete

  • Copy/Paste: select frame(s) > Edit > Copy (hotkey: CTRL or CMND V)> Move play head forward or backward in time > Edit > Paste (hotkey: CTRL or CMND V)

  • Change the Value: Double-click a key Frame > Change properties values in the Dialog Box

  • Snap Between Key Frames: Hold shift as you move the play head to snap between keyframes

SCALE + ROTATION

EXPORTING projectS

Step 1 - Exporting Video in After Effects

In the video and steps below, I use the H.264 codec within the Quicktime format, which is not available on most newer versions of After Effects. If this option is not available, work with the Animation codec in Quicktime or use the AVI format if on a Windows machine and Quicktime is not available.

Optional Text Effect Tutorials

Tutorial 1 - Text Moving Along a Path

Tutorial 2 - Typewriter Effect

Also, a few reminders of your options with this different video format:

  1. Pop out of Canvas and watch in a new tab if any of the features aren't working

  2. There are fullscreen and CC (Sub-title) options available in the right hand corner. For being YouTube auto-captions, these are pretty clear. I think they must have improved their algorithm. Please email me with any accessibility needs.

  3. If you are feeling pressed for time, but don't want to miss anything, you can watch with audio in 1.5 speed by hitting that little gear icon.