Video by: Todd Blankenship

Post by: Robbie Janney

After reading our previous article about Getting Started With Adobe After Effects, here is Part 2. We come across 10 more Tips and Tricks for you that will definitely help your task in Office.

Things are becoming serious here. Todd,  A seasoned veteran in the AE world relies on a particular workflow of tricks he uses all the time on his projects. He gives his secrets away in this video so you can go and steal his clients and then ultimately challenge him to an AE-duel and defeat him, thus becoming the AE champion!

• Super Smooth Keyframes — Again, making use of the Speed Graph editor is a powerful, powerful tool.
• Null Stacking — Once you’ve learned the basics of the null object, you can start parenting nulls to other nulls to organize your project.
• Quick Vignettes — “To make a vignette, create an adjustment layer, and double-click the ellipse tool. Then, feather and customize your mask options, after adding an Exposure effect, and turn it down a stop or two.”
• How to Fix Banding — When working with vignettes, you might run into an issue with banding. Fix it easily with Gradient Ramp’s ramp scatter tool.
• Easy Text Reveals — Never settle for boring text reveals. Learn how to expose text creatively in minutes!
• Bordered Photo Template — When working with photo slideshows in AE, it’s always recommended to give them a little “zhuzh” by adding some motion — or in this case, give it a digital frame.
• Quick Organic Camera Motion — Using cameras in After Effects can seem complicated, but they really aren’t as bad as they seem. Think of them as glorified position adjusters.
• Finishing and Color Correction — Sometimes, a little contrast can go a long way. Find out how to use the curves tool to add it to any graphic.
• Textured Text — When trying to blend text into your composition, you’ll often need to do some work to make it look natural. Use Luma mattes to take on some of the texture from your background.
• Scale Wipe Animation — Think of this one as a really fun transition that you can create yourself. Learn how to take a solid layer and slide it across the screen in a fun way to get from one thing to another. You can also export these and use them in Premiere!